A VOYAGE OF SELF-DISCOVERY
Crossing the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2 is a peaceful and restorative experience
A friend of mine recently asked me a question: if I could only go on one more cruise, what would it be? It’s a tough question, but one that I readily had an answer for: I’d cross the Atlantic again on the Cunard Line (cruise.center/cunard) Queen Mary 2.
I don’t tend to get too personal each week in these articles, but I’d like to change that. I’ll admit to you now that my health has been all over the place recently. I’m fine overall and am not going anywhere, but it’s been a real roller-coaster of a journey that has seen me scale back my cruising dramatically. I’m sure I’m not alone in that; we can all probably relate to something unexpected sidelining us.
I joked to my doctor that in the “old days” a long ocean voyage was routinely prescribed for a wide array of maladies. Which, if I am being honest, I do believe in: there is something quite restorative about the sea air. The tendency to graze at the Lido buffet — perhaps not — but the sea air, yes.
My doctor laughed a bit but didn’t, as I had hoped, prescribe a voyage on the Queen Mary 2. It’s just as well. The folks at Blue Cross would have had questions, and that would have led to more paperwork and so on.
With all joking aside, as many of you know I do love crossing the ocean and doing it on the Queen Mary 2 is such a special journey. The ship sails from Southampton to New York or reverse, and offers nothing but seven straight days across the open ocean. No ports. No stopping. Just the sound of the sea and the gentle hum of the ship for a week.
The reason I like it is because of how restorative the crossing is. For the first two days or so, I usually get up and perform my usual routine. I rise early, get in some exercise and participate in nearly every activity — from planetarium shows to ballroom dance classes to lectures, movies, afternoon tea and the always-enjoyable jazz trio in the Chart Room.
After about Day 2, things change. I sleep in and stay up late. I read more. On one crossing, I spent the whole afternoon in a deck chair, gazing intermittently at my book and at the sea thundering along.
I also disconnect my devices. It’s hard for people to phone you mid-atlantic anyway, and even if they can (I know about Wi-fi calling), why would you want them to? You’re on a crossing, not a cruise. You’re busy doing All the Things.
Most importantly, the crossing gives you time to reconnect with yourself — something we don’t always get nowadays. Don’t have time to read? You will on a crossing. Need to exercise more? Go for a few laps around the spacious promenade deck, then hit the gym before a plunge in the aft pool. Feeling burnt-out? Indulge. Go for afternoon tea. Have those raisin scones with clotted cream.
My rambling point is that, despite the trappings of its modern amenities and thoroughly enjoyable on-board programming, crossing on the Queen Mary 2 offers an experience that has been essentially unchanged for centuries. Sure, it’s been made safer and has become much more luxurious. But crossing the Atlantic is still crossing the Atlantic: a wild, adventuresome, and restorative experience.
Queen Mary 2 offers transatlantic crossings for much of 2020, including special theme crossings. Try it out. You might just find it is the escape you’re seeking.
Happy crossing.
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