This is quite the woman. She has crossed the Atlantic Ocean 200 times. She has served 8.4 million cups of tea, 980,000 scones and 644,000 eggs. She has logged more than half a million miles yet looks pretty much the same as she did nine years ago.
I'd say this was my wife — who is also quite the woman — except that she serves coffee, not tea.
The object of my affection…er, attention…this weekend is, of course, the Queen Mary 2. This weekend marks the end of her 200th Transatlantic "crossing." All of them are 
from Southampton to New York or vice-versa, and this one is vice-versa. She may be in Southampton as you read this and, knowing how the British are about Cunard ships, it should surprise nobody if there's a big celebration.
The ship the Queen Mary 2 succeeded is now a tourist attraction-cum-hotel and lives in Southern California. Her predecessor was used extensively to transport troops across the ocean during World War II and she sailed the high seas for three decades until time and the cost of crossings caught up with her. She was retired to a life of luxury in Long Beach in 1967.
The original's successor didn't come along until 27 years later. Her maiden voyage was in January 2004 after she was christened by another "Queen 2" — Elizabeth the 2nd, the current and long-serving British monarch. Since then the Queen Mary 2 has become something of an icon, as the oldest of the three ships in the Cunard fleet. Stephen Payne OBE, the man who designed the ship was on her this week, the guest of honor at a gala dinner on Thursday night, one of many special events held during the 200th crossing.
We have never sailed on the Queen Mary 2, alas, but we have a friend who has been on the ship many times. The fact that he keeps going back speaks volumes about the ship's attractiveness.
At 200 crossings, she is still young. The Queen Elizabeth 2 crossed the Atlantic 812 times. The original QE crossed 896 times. The record is 1,001 times.
That's right…it was her "mother."
Photo: JAMES MORGAN/CUNARD
Norwegian Gem
7 nights
August 31, 2013
New York (return): Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay, Nassau
Inside: $689
Cost per day: $98
www.ncl.com