In this video you will get the answer to the ten most asked questions about
crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2. Hi, I'm Gary Bembridge of Tips For
Travellers. In this video I'm going to give you ten tips about doing a
transatlantic crossing on Cunards's iconic Queen Mary 2. The first question I get
asked is "should I do a transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 or one of
the much more inexpensive repositioning cruises on a cruise line?". Now while
repositioning cruises are a great way to get a low cost trip, these are when the
ships move between the Caribbean and the Mediterranean at the beginning and the
end of the season, you can get great deals on them crossing the Atlantic but
the Crossing is a very different experience. This is designed to recreate
and bring back the glory days of cruising, when the only way to cross the
Atlantic was on these magnificent ships. So in the 40s and 50s, when it was at its
absolute height of popularity, it was the only way to cross. It was glamorous. It
was very sophisticated, and the Queen Mary 2 is designed to recreate this. It
travels between Southampton and New York right throughout the summer season. So it
normally starts around April time when it returns from its world voyage, and
carries on through until the end of summer. Although they do do some winter
crossings as well. The reason you should do it is the Queen Mary 2 is the only
true ocean liner in service today. It's not a cruise ship and you're not crossing
the Atlantic on a cruise ship. You're crossing on a ship that's designed to
cope with, and deal with, the Atlantic storms, the Atlantic weather and the
Atlantic seas - which can be pretty challenging at times. The ship is
specifically designed to maximize the comfort of passengers. It will cross
Atlantic in a much more comfortable way than any cruise ship can. Also the ship
has a very large percentage of space per passenger, because it's designed for
people to be at sea for many days, it's got magnificent decor (it's very Art Deco
inspired inside) and tries to recreate the feel of those traditional
ships in the 40s and the 50s. It's a true ocean liner. It's the only one in the
world, so it is the only real way to cross the Atlantic - and it is an iconic
and really significant trip. The second thing I get asked is "will
get bored". The crossing can take up to eight days. The ship can actually cross the
Atlantic in about four days, but it actually goes much slower to give people
time to really relax and enjoy themselves. You'll be at sea for seven
or eight days and that terrifies people, because they're really worried that
they're trapped on a ship there's nowhere to go, there's no ports and they
will get bored. Quite the opposite in fact! Everybody I know that's been on a
crossing complains that they didn't have enough time to do everything that they
wanted to do and everything that's available. Cunard has learned over
many, many, many decades how to deal with activities and things to do on a
transatlantic crossing. You will find there is a huge range do from the time you
wake up until the early hours of the morning.
There'll be lectures by famous people, there might be authors they may be
actors they may be historians. There will be lessons and games - you'll learn
how to dance or you'll learn how to play bridge. There will be shows. There will be
tours, so you can get to see how the ship works by going behind the
scenes. There will be displays and demonstrations by the chefs and the florists, and also
because it's at sea, the casino is open pretty much all the time if you
want to go gambling and gaming. There's a nightclub on board. There is a huge
amount to do. One of the most important things of all that you should
do is the afternoon tea. This is a real classic.
The afternoon tea it's held at around about 3:30 in the Magnificent Queens
Room. It is extremely popular. Waiters in white gloves serve you and it is an
absolute must do. On a crossing you should do it at least once. There is no
way you'll get bored. I guarantee you will not get bored on a crossing. The
third thing I get asked a lot is "will I get seasick?". You are at sea for up to
eight days, you're crossing the Atlantic which can be very unpredictable and of
course there is always a chance (whenever you step on a ship) that you will get
seasick. Now the ship is designed to cater and cope with rough seas. It has a
specific shaped bow, it has stabilizers to keep the ship stable. There are three things
you should do if you are worried about getting seasick. The first of those is
book a cabin that's in the middle of the ship and ideally as low as possible.
The reason is if there are rough seas and the ship moves, it actually
pivots on the center points. So in the middle is where the least amount of
movement and, of course, lower down is even less
movement. The second thing that you should do is make sure that you take
with you, and have taken before getting on board, are those over-the-counter
motion sickness remedies. So there are things like Dramamine in the United
States or Sturgeron in Europe. Those are fantastic. You take them just before
you board or a couple days before you board and that should do the trick.
The other thing you can also do linked to that is do things like eat ginger,
make sure you get outside and get lots of fresh air. The third thing, and this is
the fallback option if you do get seasick for whatever reason, is go down to
the medical center and they can give you an injection it'll really knock you out for
a while but you'll wake up and you'll feel fantastic and ready to party and
enjoy the crossing. It will cost you up to about a hundred dollars to have that
jab. So you do want to have that as in reserve but at least you know that you have an
insurance policy if you do get seasick. You shouldn't worry about getting
seasick as the ship really knows how to cope with and deal with stormy Atlantic
weather. The next question I get asked is "when is the best time to go and when is
the worst time to go?". The best time to go is in the middle of summer -
so that's July / August time. It's when the Seas are likely to be calmest. You should
have the nicest weather. It's also peak time, so the prices are highest. One of
the things that I like to do is to go at the beginning and the end of the
season as prices tend to be a little bit lower and also you still have a
great chance of great seas and good weather. If you are concerned about rough
seas and your sea legs avoid the winter crossings. Every year just before
Christmas and just after Christmas the ship does one or two trips across the
Atlantic. You'll find great prices on them but the seas are likely to be rough.
It's very likely that the sea will be rough but if you're not worried about
seasickness and you have great sea legs it's a great time to go, because you'll
get great prices. The fifth thing I get asked is "which is the best way to go?".
Should you go from Southampton to New York or New York to Southampton?
Personally I like doing the Southampton to New York route. The reason for that is
you get five days of 25 hour days, because of the time change as
there's a five hour time difference. More time on board to enjoy the
ship and really get your money's worth. If you head back the other way you lose
an hour for five days - so you actually have a shorter trip effectively because
you are losing time. So I really strongly recommend if you can do
the Southampton to New York route. The other great plus of that is you have
that great experience of getting up early in the morning when the ship sails
into New York and you can see the Statue of Liberty. That's a fantastic and
magical experience. So that's another reason I'd recommend that route. The
sixth thing I get asked, and it's one of the things that people do worry a lot, is about
is dressing up. People ask when I go on the transatlantic crossing do I have to
dress up all of the time? The answer is no! During the day it's very casual. You
can wear jeans or t-shirts or shorts - or whatever you want to wear. It's
very casual. At night there is a very strict dress code. There are two broad
dress codes. One of them is formal, and quite a few nights on the crossing
will be a formal night. Formal night for men is tuxedos and bowties for ladies
it's cocktail gowns ball gowns - and it is very strictly enforced. If you really
do not want to dress up on formal nights, you can go to the buffet restaurant (the
King's Court) and they do allow you to go there without getting dressed up - but
they do ask that you don't really use the other parts of the ship when you're
not in the dress code. Although I have seen quite a few people slip
into the theater. The other dress code is a smart dress code for men. You are expected
to wear jacket ,there's no tie required. It still is a relatively dressy code
versus other cruise lines. The seven thing I get asked is "what happens if I
fall ill or I have dental problems?". There's a medical center, you do have to
pay to go and see the doctor and the nurse. They are able to do things like
x-rays (which actually get sent and evaluated on land), they do have a high
dependency bed so if something's very serious they can also look after you -
sort of like a intensive care until they can really get you off the ship. The goal
though is to keep you stable and the idea will be as soon as they can get you off
the ship they will. There it's a very short period of time for a couple of
days in the middle of the crossing where you can't even be airlifted off the ship,
because it's just too remote for helicopters to get to you. But sometimes
you might have seen on the news reports when it gets close to land sometimes
people will be evacuated if they are ill. If you have a dental problem that's more
of a problem. There's no dentists onboard. So one of the things I always recommend
you do is take with you one of those dental repair kits so you can base a patch
yourself up if you you have something like a filling come
out or a crown come off or something like that. Very important, of course, is take
out travel insurance because first of all it will cost you a fair bit of money
if you do have to see the medical center and have to have pills and drugs etc and
of course if you do have to get evacuated from the ship that is very
expensive. So make sure you have travel insurance before you go on a crossing.
The other question I get asked is "what sort of cabin should I book?". On Queen
Mary 2 there are three grades of cabins: Queens Grill,
Princess Grill and Britannia. The way of thinking about it is Queen's Grill is
sort of like going first-class if you are on a plane, Princess is sort of like
travelling club or business class and Britannia is sort of coach class - now
saying that it's a very special kind of coach! You can actually cross the
Atlantic in the Queen Mary 2 spending just a couple of hundred dollars or
spending about forty thousand dollars on the same ship because they have
massive big Suites down to inside cabins. So you can actually probably find a
cabin to suit your budget - no matter what that is. Another question I get asked is
"what about my table for dinner - how do I get a great table?". In Princess and
Queens Grill, based on my experience, it does seem to me that the best tables
get allocated to people who have the higher grade of cabins and also are
regular travellers. One of the things to do though if you do get a table that you
don't like, is speak to the maitre d. In all of the restaurants you can choose a
table size, you can ask to have a table for two, four, six or eight. In
Britannia Grill there are much more limited to tables for two, so another
things you need to think about when requesting a table is do you go for
table of four, six or eight? One of things I often recommend to people, if they're
traveling by themselves, is go for a bigger table size because then you're
going to meet more people and also you've got a greater chance of clicking
with people. So in terms of getting a great table it does appear to really
depend on the grade of cabin you've got and also your how much of a frequent
traveler you are - and of course speaking to the maitre d. The tenth thing I
get asked about is service and gratuities. Cunard, like many cruise
lines, auto add gratuities to your on-board bill. So it's not in your fare and it will be added
to your onboard account. The gratuity level keeps
changing and evolving (going upwards) all the time, but you will pay
gratuities if you're in Britannia and you will pay a different level of gratuities
if in Princess or Queens Grill, and it varies between about $14 and $18
per person per day. Of course to find out what the current level is when you
book ask what the gratuity is. It will be Auto added to your bill but you can
go to the Pursar's desk and ask for it to be increased, decreased or even
removed if you want to actually hand over cash tips. Crossing the Atlantic on
the Queen Mary 2 is a magnificent experience. It really is something i
strongly recommend people do. It is just an iconic trip and it is really
magnificent. It really is a glorious thing to do. Those are the things that I
get asked the most and I hope that's helped give you a good sense
about Transatlantic Crossings and what it is what it is and isn't and the things you need to
know before you actually go on one. I hope you found that helpful and I'd love it
if you gave the video a "like" and a thumbs up but please very importantly
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