Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2 can be considered the greatest ocean liner ever built. She carries on Cunard Line’s 175 year old tradition of north Atlantic crossings between Britain and the United States, making up to twenty such voyages every year. Her size, her opulence and her technological advances exceed those of any other ship currently afloat, yet the seven day passage from Southampton to New York still allows passengers time to reflect upon the golden age of liner travel, with all its glamorous connotations. Queen Mary 2 is the most modern of vessels, yet her design, her interior and her service standards maintain her connections with Cunard’s long and glorious past.
Waiting at the quayside, QM2 towers over the surrounding buildings, her matt black hull level with the curvature of the terminal roof, and her glass-fronted balconies set high above the promenade deck. Fourteen decks above sea level, a rather squat funnel takes centre-stage, painted in the traditional bright Cunard red, and with just a wisp of smoke lazily drifting skywards. The waters of the harbour show barely a ripple, and are hard to reconcile with the waves the ship may face out at sea, which can easily break over the bow, seven decks high, and even threaten the rows of bright orange lifeboats set even higher still.
On boarding the ship passengers can experience the grandeur of yesteryear in the elegant and spacious public rooms. The Britannia dining room is tastefully arranged over two decks, with the centerpiece formed by twin staircases and a dazzling mural depicting QM2 sailing into Manhattan. From the adjacent galleys the inviting aroma of the evening’s menu welcomes guests, while the opulent fresh floral displays add a flavor of the first class dining salons of past Cunard Queens. A string quartet plays softly from the upper floor, the notes floating over the gentle hum of polite conversation as diners savour the succulent dishes so lovingly prepared and exquisitely presented.
The passenger staterooms provide further luxury when the sun has set beneath the waves. Compact, yet never cramped; tastefully decorated and with every amenity one could wish for, QM2’s accommodation is in a class of its own. The soft, inviting white duvets with the Cunard crown and golden trim provide a reminder of your location on a transatlantic liner, for there is no other clue but for the gentle pitching and rolling as QM2 slices through the Atlantic waves. The silence, but for the occasional creak and shudder, is strangely at odds with the motion of the waves yet the engines make no sound. The passenger hibernates in comfort for the duration of the crossing, then emerges into the springtime of New York.
Arrival in America might be the greatest moment of all; at four in the morning the place to be is a chilly deck thirteen, the lights of the ship illuminating teak decking wet and slippery from the Atlantic spray and mist. Ahead, the lights of the Verrazano Narrows bridge, under which the mighty funnel may just about squeeze, and then the Hudson river and New York itself. Early morning traffic on the bridge, the first sighting of land in a week, offers a reminder of routines of work and ordinary life. As dawn breaks, New York awakens; QM2 turns and eases sideways on to her berth; ropes are tied and the gangway attached. It may come as no surprise that for many passengers, the crossing turns into an annual voyage of a lifetime.