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Splendor at sea: the Queen Mary 2 evokes the golden age of timeless and luxurious transatlantic travel

Everett Potter

As the Queen Mary 2 made her way out of New York Harbor in the gathering dusk, the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed by her side. Amid fireworks, circling helicopters and thousands of flashbulbs from lower Manhattan and New Jersey, I stood on the deck of the QM2 with my wife, Gayle, and our daughter, Emma. We felt like we'd been transported back to the golden age of ocean liners, when the only way to travel between the United States and Europe was by sea.

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"The Queen Mary 2 represents an era that's gone, the glory days of transatlantic voyages," said Steve Winograd, chief executive officer of Winograd World Ventures, a New Jersey-based travel company. Winograd was a few decks above us during the departure that magical evening in late April, raising a champagne flute on the balcony of his penthouse cabin and savoring the spectacle. A veteran of more than 100 crossings, as transatlantic passages are known, he described the voyage as "a chance to live with 1930s grace and style."

This was the QM2's maiden eastbound voyage, formally assuming the transatlantic route that the QE2 had run for 35 years. To mark the occasion, the two Cunard ships would sail in tandem to England. But the massive $800 million QM2 dwarfs her sister ship. She's the longest, largest, tallest and widest liner ever built. Stood on end, the 1,132-foot ship would be nearly as tall as the Empire State Building. In fact, the QM2 is so big that we slipped under the Verazzano Narrows Bridge with barely 13 feet of clearance.

Five and a half days later, after black-tie dinners and afternoon tea, lectures on marine biology and strolls on the promenade deck, we would dock in Southampton, England. Days at sea would meld pleasantly into each other, a rare feeling indeed. "The one thing missing in contemporary life is time," said Winograd. "And a ship is the only place that you can capture that."

Cunard introduced regularly scheduled transatlantic service to the North Atlantic in 1840 and has launched nearly 180 ships since, including such legendary vessels as the Mauritania and the original Queen Mary. But the QM2 has married maritime heritage with modern amenities. The 151,400-ton ship is replete with domed salons, sweeping staircases and a teak promenade deck, not to mention a planetarium. There are 14 passenger decks, and the ship is as high as a 23-story building. Like its predecessors, the QM2 is one of the last ships afloat that has different classes.

Winograd was in the top class, the Queen's Grill, which has its own restaurant. His 758-square foot penthouse cabin featured a living and dining area with a large balcony, a bedroom with a master bath, a whirlpool tub and separate shower, and a powder room. It's spacious, to say the least.

Below are cabins in the Princess Grill class, and passengers at that level dine in their own private restaurant as well. But most of the passengers, including ourselves, dined in the Britannia restaurant. Ours was a balcony cabin, although the view was partially obstructed by a lifeboat. At 248 square feet, it wasn't spacious, but it was cozy for the two of us and our 20-month-old daughter. Emma was one of a few children on board, and we availed ourselves of the excellent nursery, run by British nannies.

By and large, passengers ranged in age from mid-30s to 80s, including a few who recalled sailing on the original Queen Mary with German U-boats in pursuit in the 1930s. It's important to note that a crossing is not a cruise. There are no ports of call between New York and Southampton. The voyage itself is the reason for going.

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Start with the rhythm of the days. Turning your clock back one hour each night, as passengers do on the ship, might well be the most civilized way to acclimate to a foreign time zone. And should you make the crossing in the opposite direction, you gain an hour each day, which is even better.

For exercise, you can go to a morning Pilates or yoga class, or walk around the promenade deck, which is just over a third of a mile. There's also a large gym with dozens of machines, and a two-story Canyon Ranch Spa, where a shiatsu massage can remove your kinks. There are 8,000 books in the library, and the Oxford University at Sea program offers lectures on a host of subjects.

Why would a busy CEO take the time to do this? "Because they have six days at sea to spend quality time with their family and do all of the things that they never have time to do at home." says Pamela Conover, the president and COO of Cunard. "Imagine being thousands of miles away from anything disruptive, like cell phones and pagers." If you need to stay in touch, she says, you can use the phone, or send and receive email over the ship's in-cabin interactive TV system.

Also, companies can bring small groups of executives and their families on board the QM2 for a crossing. There are classrooms, meeting rooms and a computer center set up for email and faxes.

For business or personal travel, the QM2 offers timeless pleasures. Afternoon tea, to the accompaniment of a harpist, is a pleasure you never knew you'd enjoy. Curling up with a book in a teak deck chair, watching the QE2 to starboard, was like inhabiting "Brideshead Revisited." Then there's the lost art of the nap.

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For us, the sea itself was the tonic. By North Atlantic standards, we had a peaceful crossing. The rolling waves, giant swells that gently lift the ship, were punctuated by the occasional sight of a flock of petrels or gannets, while pods of dolphins would leap beside the ship. One day, a whale spouted in the distance. If you allow yourself to slow down and succumb to the rhythms of the ocean and the voyage, a crossing can be something of a spiritual recharging.

Meals aboard the QM2 are an event. The menus are overseen by the famed New York chef Daniel Boulud. On a few days, we enjoyed leisurely two-hour lunches with wine. At night, we opted for the late dinner seating at 8:30 p.m. The ship's three-story main dining room has Titanic-like splendor and proportions, with sweeping staircases made for grand entrances. Since there are Canyon Ranch Spa options at every meal, you can watch your waistline at the same time. There's also a restaurant run by the celebrity chef Todd English, when a craving for butter-poached lobster and crispy sweetbreads strikes, or you could go for Asian or Italian food in separate restaurants, or Guinness and fish and chips at the Golden Lion Pub.

Several evenings offer formal galas, for which 99 percent of the passengers put on black ties or evening gowns, eager for a chance to evoke Jazz Age glamour. You could begin the evening with a cocktail at our favorite spot, the Commodore Club, a cozy bar in the bow, or head to the Chart Room, which affords a good view of the passing parade of decked-out passengers.

After dinner, you can head to the blackjack table or the slots in the casino. Perhaps catch the Broadway-style revue in the Royal Court Theatre. There's also dancing to a live orchestra in the Queen's Room, magnificently hung with chandeliers, or disco at a nightclub. We preferred simply to stroll on the promenade deck. When the stars were visible, the inky sky was dotted with pinpoints of light. If we'd encountered Cary Grant, we wouldn't have been surprised.

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