Atlantic Crossing

Richard, Cunard looks like the way to go. I’m not at the point where cruising is my only option for traveling, and am avoiding it until that’s the case. I also don’t want to be part of the phenomenon that’s overrun Venice, ports on Crete and in Norway, etc. Cunard has been advertising on (“sponsoring?”) programs on PBS lately, and the brief images do look appealing. Maybe there are some similarities with the Queen Mary 2 and full-on cruise agendas, besides a big ship of course, but it does appear to be a different situation. Having not personally done it, I can’t say, but my gut sense is that the QM 2 would be sublime.

We have sailed on the QM2, and it is still one of our standout vacations. The level of comfort and service was excellent. But I have to say that Cunard is not for everyone. They still respect tradition, so there are dress codes which are enforced. You will need to pack the necessary evening clothing. They still use the early and late dining times in the Main Dining rooms. But if you are OK with that, I think you would have an enjoyable transit. I hope you weren't thinking of a winter crossing, though. Those could be rocky.

Any number of cruise lines have transition cruises where in the spring their ships sail from the US to Europe and in the fall from Europe to the US. They will be longer than the QM2's transatlantic crossing that goes back and forth between Southampton and New York, which is typically seven nights. The best source for the Cunard offering is the cruisecritic website.

Keep in mind that Cunard is the most traditional of the cruise lines, and the QM2's transatlantic crossing is especially traditional. There are two formal nights (though men can wear a dark suit), and on the other nights, men are expected to wear a collared shirt and dress trousers, and many wear a sports coat. If you intend to travel in Europe before or after the crossing, you may need to have a suitcase with your clothes just for the TA crossing shipped one-way by a company like Luggage Forward. (If you do not dress up, you can eat dinner in the buffet, and you will be restricted to certain clubs and other parts of the ship.) With dining, I believe Cunard has recently introduced an open-dining option where you can go to the main dining room and asked to be seated with others who have recently arrived.

I personally found in a recent westbound December crossing with 25-hour days that there was not enough to keep me busy during the day, but most who sail on the QM2 would probably disagree with me. There was a recent thread on perhaps the England forum about the QM2's TA crossing that you need to do a search for. In it, I posted extensive information on the types of activities offered each day.

Intrigued, I did a search for the recent thread that RJ mentioned. This would seem to be it: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/considerations-for-taking-a-cunard-transatlantic-cruise

and here’s another. even more recent: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/transatlantic-crossing

So sailing with Cunard: Does that mean that a Steamer Trunk is the proper luggage, and nothing with spinner wheels?

Cunard has several transatlantics every year, basically from NYC to Southampton, England.
There are no port stops on those cruises.
Also, many cruise lines have transatlantics that do include some port stops. Those cruise lines are repositioning cruises and only take place twice a year, from North America to a European port in the Spring and a westbound from Europe to North America (most to South Florida) in the Fall.

We have done three transatlantics, two with Celebrity Cruise line and one with NCL. They are cheaper than expensive Cunard and you stop in a few ports.

We like doing them, since we are retired and have time to spend 10-14 days on a cruise, then more time touring Europe. You save on airfare and the cruises are enjoyable and relatively inexpensive.

Cyn, thanks for posting the links. In the thread in which I posted, it appears I sent the OP a PM listing the daily activities on the QM2 from the daily programs that I kept. If someone wants it, I can post that information in this thread.

I used the term "transition cruise" in my post above. I am reminded that the much more common and certainly correct term is "repositioning cruise."

As is usually offered here around cruising and cruises, Cruise Critic has both a dedicated Cunard section and also a general wealth of information on all things cruising.

As is stated elsewhere, most lines do multiple repositioning cruises per year, and many start/end in Southampton with only a few stops (like Bermuda or Iceland) along the way. Cunard does it more regularly, though, and that's pretty important when you're trying to travel in a specific time-frame.

Maybe https://www.freightercruises.com/voyages.php#transatlantic would interest you?

I haven't tried it, but I would love to hear from anyone who has.

Since the pandemic almost all Cargo ship voyages have ceased (or rather never restarted). The ones that do survive are short sea voyages. All deep ocean (Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific voyages, and to Australasia) ended in 2020.
Maris were promoting something that didn't exist in 2023.

I have done several of them, and love them. They are the total opposite of any international cruise line, with a maximum 12 passengers, typically many days or weeks at sea, and no organised on board entertainment. A fantastic experience. You are at sea, not in a floating block of flats or shopping mall, with constant attempted underselling and entertainment.
You eat in the Officer's Mess.
On CMA/CGM there was some wonderful French food.
Port calls on freighter voyages can be at any time of the day or night (changed or abandoned at short notice), and as a general rule there are no shore excursions (Geest Line was the exception on that, with included small bus excursions in the Caribbean and chartered small boat waterway trips in Costa Rica). Also in many ports special rules apply to immigration, as effectively you are treated as crew- I have had to do special arrangements in Belgium (of all places), Colombia, Hong Kong (where my right of landing and residence did not apply), Malta and the UAE among other places.
In Belgium my embarkation had been moved from Southampton to Zeebrugge at 48 hours notice.

Just a counterpoint to the position that cruise ships are responsible for over-running places. If you look at the total number of hotel rooms available in certain locations and assume about an 80% occupancy rate, you will find that cruise ships are bringing in only a limited percentage of the the total tourist numbers.

Do they add to the over crowding? Absolutely. Are they responsible for it? Probably not in most instances.

A friend just did the QM2 crossing to NYC. She described the clientele as very, very wealthy, and the services and costs commensurate with that. .

Stan, it would be interesting to know how your friend came to that conclusion. Did they do a survey? Ask each passenger what their annual income was? A balcony cabin on next month's eastbound sailing is less than $1400. Inside and Oceanview were even less. Of course a Princess or Queens Grill suite will set you back many times that amount, but the costs are comparable to any premium cruise line. It's not Carnival, to be sure. But it's not Regent, either.

Stan, I also disagree with your friend. As far as cruise lines pricing goes, I think of Cunard and Holland America as being comparable. Cunard's fares are reasonable. For instance, there is a quickly approaching September 15 westbound TA crossing. Other than suites, only inside cabins are available. The pricing for one is $2,423 and for two is $2,758.

However, for the December 14 westbound TA crossing, the pricing is as follows: inside cabin--for one, $1,731, and for two, $1,978; oceanview cabin--for one, $2,186, and for two, $2,498; and sheltered balcony cabin--for one, $2,431, and for two, $2,778. There are some incidental fees taxes on, but they are minor.

Drinks and Internet service are extra, but frankly I found the pricing for drinks on the QM2 to be reasonable. I can't comment on the spa services, which seem to be popular.

Regarding the demographics of the passengers, I can only report that most seem over 60, and a QM2 TA crossing will attract those willing to dress up at night, wanting a traditional travel experience, and obviously traveling from England to the US. Because of who would sail on a QM2 TA crossing, I would not be surprised if many are fairly wealthy. However, I did not find that the passengers were snobbish.

Richard,
Just fyi, most TA crossings go down in price in the winter because the weather and the Atlantic aren't as pleasant. Seas can be rough and rain could be the usual weather. Hence the lower price. The price differential was even greater in the winter quite a few years ago, before the ships had the great stabilizers they have now. "Mal de mer" was more likely among the passengers. I wouldn't hesitate to take a winter crossing, but I have been lucky regarding seasickness all my life, whether it be an ocean liner or a 21 foot sailboat in the Santa Barbara Channel. If you found a price you like, go for it!

I went on 4 TA crossings, all on QE2. Absolutely loved it! I spent hours just looking out the windows at the sea. Sometimes smooth as glass, sometimes with 30 ft swells. Granted, this was all pre-covid but I am looking forward to crossing the ocean again. Despite being prone to motion sickness, I was never seasick on QE2. I am also a smalltown girl so fancy dress for me was not "fancy" dress. Never felt out of place.

RetiredinVT, I hope you get a chance to sail on the QM 2. You will notice a big change from the QE 2, which was retired in 2008.

Time of year does affect the fares for a TA crossing on the QM2. Also, there are theme crossings--for example, every November or so, there is a literary festival. These crossings tend to fill up more quickly and for that reason are generally more expensive.

The one time I made a TA crossing was December. I found the winter weather much more an issue in my travels in Europe before I boarded the ship than it was during the crossing. At times, we had high seas and winds. But the QM2 was built to cut through the north Atlantic in winter months. Some do find the rocking in high seas, even on the QM2, challenging. Others welcomed stormy weather.

Thanks for your really wonderful comments. The Cunard crossing seems to be an option for an old man with lots of time available and looking for a new experience.

CJean & RJ, she made that observation based on her dinner conversations with fellow passengers, the on-board shopping that she observed, and her lifetime experience of travel and being around the wealthy. They recognize their own. Like all generalizations, it's an opinion.