Uncle Larry writes:
I took her into Newport, RI on July 4thand then stayed on board and took her back out. The staff Captain gave me the $20 tour from the back to the front. It is very elaborate. A lot of high ceilings and they have their own planetarium in one of the theaters. The slot machines are in one area only and the public rooms are like the original Queen Mary that is now a hotel in Long Beach.
Flora and I stayed on the Queen Mary in Long Beach when I made the trip out to the west coast in early May of this year. Flora’s Father was delivered to England for the WW2 D-Day invasion on board the original Queen Mary. The QM2 was making a 4 day cruise out of New York when it came into Newport for the fireworks display on the 4th. Cunard gave Newport $10,000 toward the cost of the fireworks. I thought the fireworks were nice but not spectacular. (Falmouth spends $30,000 each year from private funds raised and that was better.) But the boats around the ship were amazing. Hundreds of them. They really wanted the QM2 in Newport. It just felt like everyone was “respectfully” of the ship. The inbound passage was slow, but all the boats kind of made a path for the ship. Everyone on the ship was very pleased.
Regards, Uncle Larry [aka Captain Larry Palmer]
How very appropriate, the world’s largest cruise ship gets the personal attention of the world’s finest pilot!
Larry, this must be quite an achievement for you. It must have been a glorious trip. Kathy