When I traveled on Furness (A little younger than Liam) and the United States Line (a little older than Liam) with my grandfather I don’t remember much of an organized kid’s program. We could play shuffle board, quoits (you can on QM2 as well) and were allowed to join the bingo but I don’t remember nannies.
Cunard has a good children’s program, although it may take Fiona a while to get used to the style of an English Nanny. Fiona’s new best friend, Ivy, is not pleased with the kids program so Fiona and Ivy spent a lot of time at the pool with Brian and Ivy’s parents, or on sail in, Suzi and me supervising.
QM2 is overdue for a dry docking this fall. She has a lot of rust and the pool areas seem to be falling apart. Brian reports that at one of the hot tubs sheets of some material are peeling off. In the hot tub I used the plastic grating over the overflow gutter was broken and in places missing. Including over where we stepped into the tub, leaving a tripping hazard. I moved some of the grating to the entry area to make it a bit safer.
But more interesting for the kids is that tiles from the pool are falling off. Some of them are in the overflow gutter, which they can see because the plastic grating has fallen off, and some are on the pool floor, giving kids treasure to dive for. The most coveted souvenirs of the crossing for some kids are tiles from the pool. They are in different shades of faded blue, and have become trading stock, like baseball cards when I was a kid. Two faded light blues for three darker hues.
Suzi and I took the kids to a magic show. The magician “Bob’s Your Uncle” had Fiona up before the audience, gave her a magic wand and asked her to tap a pillow. Bob pointed to Liam and asked, “Is that your brother?” Fiona gave a wicked smile, Bob put the pillow on Liam’s head and told her to tap it with the wand and say “Abbra Cabbra.” He understands siblings. As Fiona wound up for the pitch, a glint in her eye, he removed the pillow and had her tap it while he was holding it. Liam enjoyed the puns and sight gags.
Liam and I went to two more performances by “Bob’s Your Uncle,” another magic show and a science show (science can be magic to kids.) Liam knows a lot about science and when Bob asked if anyone could explain why a plane could fly, Liam had the answer. That led to an experiment with a bent straw (made of biodegradable material, Bob stressed) and a ping pong ball that could be made to “float and spin” using the principles of a wing.
There were other experiments and Liam was in the thick of them including someone dropping a fake currency note and the other person trying to catch it with their fingers. Most people had trouble, I did pretty well. I think it is because, as kind of a photographer, I’ve learned to anticipate. Whether it’s the drop of a bill or the dive of a whale.
The bridge has a viewing area. This is a great thing for kids, and adults. I wish HAL would do this. You can go to the navigation deck. The hallway behind the bridge has glass windows that allow you to look onto the bridge during certain hours. There are brochures about what you are seeing and interpretive signs. No photos, which makes sense. A flash could distract the bridge staff. There is a video screen elsewhere that shows the bridge.
Crossing on the QM2 is a great way to travel with kids. The kids loved “dress up” nights, playing games with us on the green felt tables in the games area and lots of other stuff. Please read Suzi’s post on this blog site for more on kids and crossings.
