The Downton Abbey-inspired yearning for nostalgia has permeated the nation’s psyche – and impacted on our travel choices, too. Cruising is leading the way with transatlantic crossings undergoing a spectacular renaissance...and Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is at the forefront.
And Cunard’s pledge – that your experience will be ‘legendary, memorable and elegant’ – does not disappoint. As soon as we stepped on to the Queen Mary 2, under the gaze of the Statue of Liberty in New York, we left behind the frenzy of the internet age and entered a world of movie-star glamour and opulence.
From the scarlet and gold uniforms of the staff to the sumptuous carpets and the pristine wooden decks that encircle the ship, we were met with an atmosphere that breathed elegance.
Bite of the Big Apple: The QM2 leaves New York on its transatlantic voyageThe Queen Mary 2 is the largest of Cunard’s superstar vessels and during our journey some 2,500 ‘guests’ of 37 nationalities were served by a ratio of one crew member to every two guests.
Our voyage (the crossing from New York to Southampton is never a ‘cruise’, nor are ‘guests’ prosaically referred to as ‘passengers’) took six days and seven nights, and despite the four powerful stabilisers that adjust her balance in the Atlantic winds and waves, we had the exhilarating sense of travelling on board a great ship rather than a floating hotel.
Our spacious and ultra-comfortable cabin on Deck 10 came with a fridge, a walk-in hanging cupboard, a bath and a plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries that we ate on our private balcony while watching the changing pattern of the sea.
At almost any time, day or night, you can indulge in five-star cuisine in excellent restaurants, the choice determined by the level of cabin you are occupying. We were lucky to have a reservation in the classy Princess Grill where Crepes Suzettes are flambéed at your table, although we sometimes opted for the flamboyant drama of The Britannia restaurant.
Elegance: Couples take to the floor in their formal attireThe crew are briefed to accommodate guests’ every wish. One man told me he tested the pledge by asking his waiter for an elephant steak.
‘Would Sir prefer the African or Indian variety?’ came the subtlest of rebuttals. On formal nights (three of the seven on board), people dress to the nines, the women drifting (or tripping) down the dramatic double staircase in their swankiest gowns on the arm of black-tied beaux.
After dinner it is party time, when the theatre comes alive with a dance show or a comedy routine, the disco thumps and bejewelled ladies join their suave partners as they sweep on to the floor in the chandelier-hung Queen’s Room.
All aboard: Juliet revels in the ship¿s flamboyant Britannia restaurantI began to believe Fred Astaire himself might miraculously appear and invite me to dance cheek-to-cheek.
In the bowels of the vessel the huge operation that ensures the smooth running of the ship goes on largely unseen. Down here are the vast kitchens – where chefs prepare up to 16,000 meals a day – the crew’s quarters, a small hospital and a sophisticated recycling plant.
As well as the upstairs-downstairs life there is the inside-outside world. On deck you can swim in one of the five pools, play basketball, steam in a Jacuzzi, jog, walk, or just gaze at the view.
Fitness and well-being can also be preserved in the fully equipped gym or the Canyon Ranch Spa, where every conceivable beauty treatment is available (at a price) and Teresa gave me the most mind-blowing facial of my life.
The programme for the following day was delivered to our cabin every evening, tempting us with an abundance of activities including ballroom dance classes, hat decorating, bridge tournaments and watercolour classes, as well as talks by on-board experts on art, royalty, film, travel, cooking and flower-arranging.
If you are lucky the lecturers will include Bill Miller, an expert on these majestic ships, who said he attributes the renewed popularity for sea crossings to ‘a desire for a life free of decisions except what to order for lunch’.
After so much activity we were happy to escape to the quiet comfort of the deep-cushioned Commodore Club, the peace of the mahogany-panelled library and a bookshop as good as any you will find in London’s West End.
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At noon each day the ship’s whistle blasts out across the ocean – it’s audible up to ten miles away.
The captain’s daily report follows, with details of the ship’s position, speed, depth of the sea beneath the keel and, on one day and adding a collective frisson among us, the news that we were to pass within a short distance of the wreck of the Titanic.
Gazing through the huge windows that span the width of the Bridge – after an invitation from Captain Oprey – I realised how much more fun it is to sail across rather than fly above an ocean whose allure never fades from age to age.
Travel FactsCunard (0843 374 0000, www.cunard.co.uk) offers a seven-night cruise on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York from £939pp. This includes return flights, full-board accommodation, transfers and US$80 (about £50) on board credit per person.