Queen for a week
Experiencing the thrill of crossing the Atlantic on the iconic Queen Mary 2 is near the top of many people’s bucket list. Here, David Wickers shares his sailor’s log…
Why would anyone choose to spend a week sailing where the weather is likely to be miserable, the sea possibly choppy, the views mostly 50 shades of grey and without a single port of call? The answer is… to experience the thrill of crossing the Atlantic on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, an iconic voyage on an iconic ship. Cunard has been connecting the Old and New Worlds for 178 years. But, since the arrival of jet aircrafts, transatlantic sailing has become a novelty rather than a necessity. QM2 is the only vessel offering regular sailings between Southampton and New York City, making about 15 round trips a year. I joined her on her 300th transatlantic passage.
SUNDAY First impressions? Queen Mary 2 is elegant, spacious and refreshingly bling-free, with lots of wood panelling and Art Deco touches – in 2015 she was extravagantly remodelled to recreate the grandeur of the 1930s, a time when she carried Hollywood stars and statesmen, kings and crooners. We cast off with sparkling wine and a band on the open deck, heading towards the Isle of Wight.
MONDAY The ship’s clock goes back an hour a day to ease us into US Eastern Time. A big plus about going by sea to New York is the lack of jet lag. QM2 is a peaceful ship. The only announcements are at noon when, following the traditional clanging of eight bells, Captain Christopher Wells delivers an update on where we are.
We dine on ‘Russian’ consommé, followed by chateaubriand, rounded off with a classic cruising pud, baked Alaska – the flambé pan close enough to singe my eyebrows. The swelling sea – and the wine – soon rocks me to sleep.
TUESDAY Yesterday was a blue day, both sky and sea. Today, the sky and sea have turned monochrome. Time to explore. Queen Mary 2, with 2,600 passengers, was built with maritime muscle. She has to be big and tough to plough through the moody Atlantic when it kicks up rough.
The Queen offers lots of things to do to fill six full days at sea. There’s a magnificent library and front-of-house views of the ocean, as well as a wrap-around wooden promenade deck (three laps to a mile) with thickly cushioned teak sunloungers where sea gazers lie swaddled in blankets. There’s even a deck area reserved for the dozen dogs on board, with a real lamp post and a red NYC fire hydrant.
WEDNESDAY The night sea was lumpy, but eased up by mid-morning with the sun making occasional breaks through the cloud. The Captain’s noon broadcast
welcomes us to ‘another day in the middle of nowhere’. The nearest point of land is the Azores, some 600 miles off our port beam.
THURSDAY There’s something mesmerising about looking at the sea. It has the same hypnotic effect as staring at the flames of an open fire. Herman Melville put it succinctly in Moby-dick, maintaining that ‘meditation and water are wedded for ever’. But today, there’s nothing to separate the sea from the sky as we plough through thick fog. We’re in The Perfect Storm waters, crossing the tail end of the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia, hence the fog, which is brewed by the meeting of the warm Gulf Stream with the cold Labrador Current. The latter carried the iceberg that sank the Titanic not too far south of our position.
What to do? Choices on today’s menu include a watercolour class, a bridge tournament, a talk on the painter Lowry, a film screening, an ipad workshop, yoga and, likely to be well-attended, a fitness seminar entitled ‘Eat More to Weigh Less’.
FRIDAY What a difference a day makes! It’s a beautiful sunny morning, blue above and below. I plan a mile hike around the promenade deck, perhaps a swim and gym session, lunch from the sushi and sashimi counter, a salsa class in the ship’s ballroom, a lecture on NASA and a show in the evening in the Royal Court Theatre.
What a difference an hour makes! In the time it takes to spruce up for dinner and head to the Commodore Club bar for a cocktail, the sky turns from blue to pewter and rain is falling in torrents.
SATURDAY How big the world is! It is the last full day at sea and I’m already feeling nostalgic. Crossing the Atlantic gives a sense of great achievement, even though I haven’t had to lift a finger to help.
SUNDAY Wow, wow, triple wow! I was up at 5am just as we passed under the Verrazano-narrows Bridge and into New York Harbour. The sun was just rising and ahead was one of the most famous skylines in the world, the Statue of Liberty to port, Staten Island ferries plying back and forth. All 2,600 passengers – a far cry from earlier huddled masses – seemed to be on deck, many in their towelling robes, snapping away at the amazing sight. We made it!
Of all the highlights on the trip, this has to take the ship’s biscuit – but that’s not to detract from the many shipboard pleasures. Queen Mary 2 is a means to a dramatic end, but is also memorable in her own right.
From £1,789pp for a balcony stateroom, including one-way flight and transfers. Visit cunard.co.uk for more information.