HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, QUEEN MARY 2

Queen Mary 2 (Cunard)

It seems like only yesterday when Pam and I boarded the Queen Mary 2 for the Transatlantic crossing from New York. Today we are among the thousands who have made that unforgettable journey aboard one of the world's most magnificent ships.

This year marks a milestone for Cunard Line’s flagship: Queen Mary 2 will celebrate her first ten years of service in 2014. Over that time she has taken a total of 419 voyages, including over 200 Transatlantic Crossings, and has called at 182 ports in 60 countries.

Along with this special video, http://bit.ly/1koe4jr, here are some more facts about her first ten years from Cunard:


"In her first ten years of service, Queen Mary 2 has sailed the equivalent of three times to the moon and back, carrying more than 1.3 million guests, enough to fill Westminster Abbey 651 times. In addition, more than 2,000 dogs have travelled on Queen Mary 2, five times as many as in the UK’s famous Battersea Dogs Home.

"Looking after the guests on board Queen Mary 2 is what Cunard does best, and over the past decade the crew have served over 58 million meals, sufficient to feed the combined population of Hong Kong, Sydney, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai for an entire weekend. The 21.9 million cups of tea served on board to date would fill an Olympic swimming pool three times over. If the 2.7 million scones baked on board were stacked on top of each other, they’d reach 80 miles in height.

"Cunard’s passengers have enjoyed almost 8,000 guest lectures, the equivalent of nearly a year’s continuous radio broadcast. And they love to celebrate on board, too: the one and a quarter million bottles of champagne consumed since Queen Mary 2’s launch would be enough to fill 200 world-record-breaking 23-foot-high champagne waterfalls.

"Queen Mary 2 will depart on her tenth World Cruise on Jan. 10, 2014 when she and Queen Elizabeth sail together from Southampton after a fusillade of celebratory fireworks. The major 10th Anniversary celebrations will begin on May 9, 2014 when all three ships of the Cunard fleet will arrive together in their homeport of Southampton and sister ships Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will salute the flagship’s first ten years. The day will feature special sail-pasts, a celebratory lunch and a spectacular send-off of fireworks as all three ships set sail together from Southampton that evening, with Queen Mary 2 leading the way. Further details about the day’s events planned will be forthcoming soon.

"That day, May 9, 2014, Queen Mary 2 will set out on the first of two special commemorative Crossings to and then from New York that underline her role as the only passenger ship in the world maintaining a scheduled service across the Atlantic, something a Cunard ship has done since 1840."