On 22nd September, 26 Lentune Probus Club members and guests boarded the Queen Mary 2 in Southampton, at the start of a 4 day mini-cruise to Hamburg. 

QM2 had previously left Quebec and sailed to Southampton via New York, on what is a well-established trans-Atlantic service. The mini-Cruise provided an opportunity to sample life aboard the flagship of the Cunard fleet.

We were told to expect a warm welcome and incredible service and so it proved from the outset, with 1200 crew serving up to 2200 passengers on board this well appointed, luxurious and very seaworthy vessel.

Once aboard and settled into our “staterooms”, the biggest challenge was finding our way around the ship, which has multiple restaurants and cafes, lounges, bars, a spa and health club, boutiques, galleries and a fully fledged theatre for daytime lectures and nightly shows. 

Lentune Probus members dined at reserved tables in the Britannia Restaurant, where the food was outstanding, the service equally so. Lectures each day were interesting: one about the design of the QM2, given by a senior designer involved, especially so. 

The QM2 berthed overnight in Hamburg on 24th September and, as daylight dawned, there was a choice of excursions: to medieval Luneburg, Hamburg itself (3 alternatives), Lubeck & Niederegger, or Bergen-Belsen, the former concentration camp. Some Lentune members preferred to take the Cunard shuttle bus into Hamburg and find there own way around. 

Our return voyage began all too soon and we docked in Southampton in the early hours of 26th September. With immigration procedures completed on-board the previous day, disembarkation was straightforward and, all too soon, we were heading along the A35 for Lymington.

An excellent trip, with many thanks due to organisers Sue and John Jolin.