There are cruise ships.
And then there is the Queen Mary 2 — an ocean liner, which in the world of big boats, is a big difference from a floating hotel with waterslides and all-you-can-eat buffets.
Dramatic video, linked here and from a harrowing crossing seen below, from the North Atlantic shows Cunard’s flagship motoring through reported 40-foot seas, its enormous bow climbing over rolling walls of dark water before plunging into the troughs below.
“This is the North Atlantic we came to see,” the video’s caption reads, adding that with the “wind building” and “seas rising,” Queen Mary 2 was “doing exactly what she was built to do.”
That last part is important.
Queen Mary 2 isn’t technically a conventional cruise ship. Cunard calls her the world’s only true ocean liner — the last passenger ship operating regular transatlantic crossings and a vessel specifically engineered for the notoriously rough run between Europe and New York.
Launched in 2004, QM2 stretches 1,132 feet, carries roughly 2,700 guests and can run at 28 knots. Her four massive stabilizers can reduce roll by as much as 90%, helping make her one of the most stable passenger ships afloat.
And she has proven herself in ugly water before. Accounts from winter crossings describe the ship enduring Force 11 gales and 30-to-40-foot waves, while passengers watched the Atlantic explode outside from the warmth of lounges and ballrooms.
Inside, it’s almost absurdly civilized. QM2 features 10 restaurants, 13 bars and lounges, the largest library at sea, a planetarium-style cinema, a ballroom with the largest sprung wooden dance floor at sea, and even kennels for dogs and cats crossing the Atlantic.
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The ship also carries a piece of her namesake.
The original Queen Mary entered service in 1936, became one of the great luxury liners of the transatlantic era, served as a troopship during World War II and retired in 1967 before permanently docking in Long Beach, California.
One of her original whistles now sits aboard Queen Mary 2.
Nearly a century later, the tradition continues.
And when the North Atlantic turns ugly, that’s when this ship looks most at home.
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