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On The Very Classy Queen Mary 2
The Classic Transatlantic Crossing  April 14-20, 2009Six nights on the incomparable Queen Mary 2, continuing Cunard's long tradition of luxury, British-flavored Atlantic cruise ships. We begin with a day in New York, then sail for London. The onboard pleasures are peerless--and you don't even have to be a peer to enjoy them. Enjoy them with style along with Tom Fitzmorris and the Eat Club! Queen Mary 2 The Classic Cruise When I read books or see movies about people traveling on passenger liners, I don't have to wonder much where they're going. In the Golden Age of ship travel, the transatlantic crossing was the most famous and most luxurious. And Cunard was there, with ships like the original Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and QE2. If you like me have always wanted to emjoy the Atlantic crossing, here's our chance.  For reasons I don't quite understand, the fares for transatlantic travel this spring have gone down --a lot. We weren't planning an April cruise, but I couldn't resist. Especially since among the more attractive fares I saw those of Cunard, the greatest name in cruising. You probably read about the Queen Mary 2 when it went into service a few years ago. How classy everything was. How the food and service were on a par with the best restaurants anywhere. (Even in New Orleans.) Everything about it whispers two words to me: Eat Club. So away we go. We fly to London. If you'd like go a day or more early, we will arrange packages, or you can make your own. (I plan to be there for at least a day ahead.) We sail from Southampton for five days and six nights in the swank accommodations of the Queen Mary 2. Unlike most ships, which cross the Atlantic only when repositioning at the end of a season, the transatlantic voyage is routine for the QM2. It has much more of interest going on all day and all  night. The ship itself is built for the Atlantic waters, with double stabilizers and a faster speed than most cruise ships. We will take full advantage of this luxury. Our group will socialize as much as you'd like. It starts with Tom's Pre-Dinner Martini Club, which convenes every evening before dinner. Let me buy the first round. We'll expand throughot the day and night into whatever strikes our fancy. Wine tastings, afternoon tea, and nightly entertainment, of course. I can't wait to see the rest of the program. (There's a planetarium, for example.) Traveling with a group is infinitely more fun than cruising alone. A week or two before the cruise, we'll get together for dinner to meet one another and answer any questions you may have about the cruise. The itinerary is pretty straighforward:
 If you have never sailed out of the New York harbor before, get ready for a stirring experience. Out from the Hudson River, past the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and out to sea. Cruise Fares And What They Pay For We have a number of cabin classes available, but here are the two that have been most popular on or previous cruises. There are special, lower fares for the third and fourth person in a stateroom. All these include:
Fares are per person. We highly recommend the balcony cabins. They're very much worth the extra cost, giving you your own private section of deck for great relaxation and sightseeing. They're spacious. A deposit of $350 is due at the time of booking. Final payment due January 15, 2009. Reservations or information Click here or call Debbie Himbert (after 3 p.m.): 504-456-0846 Often-Asked Questions About Eat Club Cruises Do I have to be a member of the Eat Club to go on this cruise? What is the Eat Club, anyway? The Eat Club is a loose association of people who listen to my radio shows and read my daily New Orleans Menu newsletter. It's not really a club. It's open to everyone. For over fourteen years, we've had wine dinners in New Orleans restaurants almost every week. And gone on cruises. This will be our fifteenth. Will I be a stranger among friends? And will I be able hang out with/avoid Tom? Maybe for about ten minutes. Most of our cruisers don't know one another, but after a drink and dinner together we quickly become buddies. Many of our cruisers and diners who didn't know one another before joining us now hang out together. I will personally be with you at dinner every night, plus any other group events we plan. I'd love to socialize with you, but if you want to go your own way I'll stay out of it. Must I do everything with the group, or can I make my own plans for touring, dinners, etc? Absolutely everything on our cruises is optional. You are always free to do whatever you like (except for what the ship requires, like the lifeboat drill). And you're always welcome to join in any group activity. I noticed that the fares on the Cunard web site are lower than yours. What's the deal there? If I make my own reservations, can I hang with the Eat Club anyway? The fares on the web probably don't include air fares. transfers, port charges, fuel surcharges, and the like. We also build in a number of extras for the group. If there's a difference in the final amounts, it's very small. Please understand that if you don't book with our group, we don't get the amenities the ship allows group members. So we can't give them to you. You must book with us to join us. If you have other questions, please click here to ask them. I hope you do join us! This will be our sixteenth cruise, and every one of them has been a pleasure, a ball, sometimes even a laugh riot. Tastefully yours, Tom Fitzmorris |
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