This is Emmy, rescued more than 10 years ago from the basement of the house next door, on the Queen Mary 2 somewhere in the Atlantic. Emmy is the last in a long line of rescued cats and dogs we had living in the United States. He got his “pet passport” and entered the U.K. in Southampton without going into quarantine. We wouldn’t fly him because on trans-Atlantic flights you’re not permitted to take companion animals into the cabin with you. Our only option was the QM2.
Cunard, which runs the QM2, were excellent with regard to how they looked after Emmy and the one other cat and four dogs in the liner’s kennels. We were able to visit Emmy several times a day. In fact, we spent quite a lot of our time in the kennels and on the outside deck where the dogs walked with the human companions. Many of these people were like us: English returning home to live with their cats and dogs.
After a disastrous start, Cunard took care of our needs as vegans with well prepared and delicious meals.
We’ve never taken a voyage like this before and unlikely to do so again. The most beneficial aspect was that we had one week between leaving the U.S. and arriving in the U.K. when we were basically enforced to relax. But it was a bit like being locked up in an up-market shopping mall with 3,000 elderly people.
