For medical reasons I can't fly but our family is planning an European camping trip in 2012/13 so does anyone know an easy/cheap way to get from the East Coast to England or France?
Look for a repositiong cruise. You'll have to be flexible on departure port and date.
Easy but not necessarily cheap unless you get lucky with a promotion, the QM2 has scheduled transatlantic crossings from Brooklyn to Southampton and/or le Havre. Check it out at cunard.com
The problem with a repositioning cruise is that it is one way. Still have to get back. Of course, you wait five or six months until it repositions the other way. Unfortunately this is case with the options are neither cheap or easy.