It has been fascinating reading the account of a passenger making his first Transatlantic crossing – much more interesting – and, dare I say, insightful – than a recent article by someone making the journey for the 157th time.
David Lebovitz is a renowned pastry chef and author, an American in Paris. He has written about desserts, puddings, and in The Perfect Scoop, penned a paean to ice cream.
Plans for him to sail across the Atlantic on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 last year were thwarted when Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano filled the atmosphere with ash. Fortunately he got another chance, and his musings on the voyage, together with a superb collection of pictures, are collected on his blog.
Unsurprisingly, he takes a particular interest in the food and drink on the ship: “Quite a few things on board are decidedly British, from the baked beans available for breakfast to queuing up for signing up for fitness classes,” he writes.
“I’m not British, but I’m finding a lot of their customs rather quaint and fun to participate in. I had an excellent gin martini at the bar last night. Interestingly, cocktail prices are surprisingly gentle – maybe I’ve been living in Paris too long, but my drink was only around $7. (At the Ritz in Paris, a martini hovers at around €25.)”
He is particularly fascinated by a tour of the galley. “The kitchen rolls out eight hundred croissants per day and over a thousand scones. Which means that only half of the guests on the boat have a scone in the afternoon. (Which makes me wonder – what the heck is wrong with the other half of the guests who don’t have one?).”
He has also been Tweeting from the ship, adding pictures and comments such as “I just saw a whale. And I don’t mean my reflection in the mirror after eating non-stop for six days… ”
David will be arriving in New York today, and was musing on Twitter last night about whether he should wake at 3.30 am in order to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, or just stay in bed and sleep through it.
I can’t wait to catch up with his final impressions.
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
I recognize the waitress in Lebovitz’s picture. I think I have seen her in the Commodore Club. She is charming and very efficient
Thank you so much for sharing his blog! I have followed you daily for nearly a year now and share you with every cruise lover I meet. I am planning my first transatlantic crossing next Spring…and my first visit to the UK.