Saturday January 18, 2025 – Boarding New York City, USA set sail for Miami
After traveling from Arlington VT yesterday, stopping at Fiesta Mexicana (the original Mañanitas as that was closed for a party), Diana and Nelson Clifford, Anne and Roger got to Red Hook Brooklyn to see the Queen Anne in New York for the first time ever. It had just crossed the Atlantic (apparently a very rough crossing) and was boarding the US based passengers for the Maiden World voyage of the Queen Anne. We had booked for the four of us on the first day the voyage was announced as we were on the Queen Mary 2 on a World Cruise a couple of years ago and Yo-yo (our booking agent aboard) was able to get us two cabins with double sized balconies one on each side of the ship. The Cliffords are in 8117 and we are in 8130.
It was great to be back on board and who should be on our floor, none other than our favorite cabin steward – Bert Espinosa. We were so pleased to see him and hear all about the family. He had spent Christmas and New Year with them in Cebu, The Philippines and had just got back on the ship in Southampton.
Our Cabin Steward came to introduce himself (Shan) and after getting lunch, rearranging our dining table (as we had been placed at different tables), we unpacked and got ready for our long adventure. The sommelier was Sachin who a few days later was transferred to another area of the ship.
After a nice dinner (Table 383) and show with the orchestra and a Canadian Trumpet player (from Edmonton) – Nathan Samuelson – we all headed for a restful night.
The Key staff for this first segment were: –
Captain – Inger Klein Thorhauge
Deputy Captain – Struan Horsburgh
Hotel General Manager – David Shepherd
Human Resources Mgr – Francesca Hitchman
Chief Engineer – Jonathan Cammish
Entertainment Director – Michael Harvey
Safety Officer – Jonathan Davies
Chief Medical Officer – Dr. Chanel van der Westhuizen
Staff Chief Engineer – Michael Bales
Staff Electro-Technical Engineer – Alex Newton
Environmental Officer – Glyn Phillips
Hotel Operations and Retail Manager – Cynthia Hattingh
Housekeeping Manager – Olga Loos
Food and Beverage Manager – Anton Nootenboom
Senior Maitre D’Hotel – Ilven Anthony Miranda
Executive Chef – Sukresno Suryo
We had originally booked, with the Cliffords to do the full 4 month cruise leaving and arriving back in New York City, with the UK to US transatlantic, switching over to the Queen Mary 2. However, the Clifford’s decided that they would just do the first segment – New York to San Francisco, then drive to Los Angeles and return to Florida on another ship and then drive to Vermont to pick up their car and go back to Toronto, stopping for a few days in Orlando at the theme parks. We were to be joined by the Marquards (John & Lolita) in San Francisco to Australia, but they were obliged to cancel their trip. Then, because of the change in the route, we opted to get off in Singapore and after a few days there, fly to London from there. The route change was apparently due to the Middle East political situation and specifically, the war between Israel and Palestine. Thus, in lieu of going to the Emirates, Oman, Suez Canal and Mediterranean, it was to go from Penang, Malaysia to Reunion Island, South Africa and up the African coast to Southampton, with most of that segment being sea days.
Roger & Anne Travels 