I must admit I was a little bit anxious sailing on board the Queen Mary 2 in December from Southampton. Why you ask, well for anyone that knows me I’m not the best sailor around. Not that it puts me off cruising in anyway, but usually I have to rely on my pressure point bands and my sickness tablets. Before I left for the cruise I was talking to one of my customers, a seasoned cruiser, and he assured me I would be fine! Abbi he said she is an Ocean Liner…built for crossing the Atlantic!
My cabin number was 5001, the very first cabin at the very front of the ship, not a place I would usually choose to be. I am a mid ship kind of cruiser! I lay in my cabin ready to feel the rolling and swaying of the ship…..did it happen? Well not really, there were times I felt a little motion but not enough to make me feel sea sick at all.
So how is Queen Mary 2 the famous Ocean Liner designed and built differently to the usual cruise ship. Well whilst on board my cruise I came across these 3 reasons why she is classed as an ocean liner. I must admit even though I have been in the cruise industry for a lot of years now this was the first time I had heard these facts.
QM2 has four stabilisers, two on each side weighing around 90,000 tonnes each! Now that’s heavy. The stabilisers reduce the ships sway by 90% which is why even in the roughest of seas you hardly feel the motion.
She has an Atlantic Wall which is there to cut through the waves and any bad weather, this is how she crosses the Atlantic with such ease.
QM2 also has a very deep hull as you can see from the photos built for cutting through those waves! The hull is designed in a way that it is much thicker than usual and this gives the Queen Mary 2 extra stability and strength for her atlantic crossings.
Queen Mary 2 is well known for her Westbound and Southbound transatlantic crossings, Southampton to New York and usually you will be at sea for 6 or 7 nights. Before my QM2 experience I wasn’t sure if I’m honest if this kind of cruise was for me, now I wouldn’t hesitate. Confident in the ship as an Ocean Liner I think it would be such an amazing experience and much better than sitting on a cramped plane for a long haul flight, why not do it in the luxury of the QM2!
If you would like to find out more about Queen Mary 2 do get in touch, I would as always love to hear from you.
Abbi x