TRAVELOGUE Crossing the Atlantic with the Queen Mary 2 24.09.18

The Industrial Revolution, originating in Great Britain, had rapid effects not only in continental Europe, but also in North America. The steel and automobile factories and train tracks on both side of the Atlantic began expanding in quick succession. Since back then, the connection between Europe and America was only possible via the ocean, an active ship building industry soon developed, first based on steam engines. The Canadian Samuel Cunard was one of the first pioneer entrepreneurs – comparable to the Rockefellers, Flaglers, or Carnergies – who recognised the demand and embarked on an entrepreneurial risk with significant investments. Ships can’t be built on the cheap, after all.

Dr. Helmut Schmidt

The Dining Hall "Britannia"

Since the Industrial Revolution didn’t just create wealth but also generated significant poverty – Karl Marx called it the Proletariat – many who were disadvantaged attempted their luck overseas. This initiated a huge wave of emigrants who all started their journey with the trans-Atlantic passage. The wealthy, on the other hand, discovered the pleasures of travelling, and so more and more rich tourists took to the seas in order to explore the other side of the Atlantic. While emigrants slept on the steerage, the maritime foyers and salons built for the rich tourists resembled the halls of grand hotels.

Dr. Helmut Schmidt

The Foyer

Technical developments in ship building progressed quickly. While the first ships of the pioneer Samuel Cunard were just paddle steamers with assisting sails, the ship propeller soon became the standard with which to increase speed. A further push was the switch from coal to oil-fueling in the 1920s, which decreased the travel time between the continents. Parallel to this development, ships were becoming faster, larger, longer, more comfortable, and more decorative, and they were able to carry more passengers. The British Cunard-liner RMS Lusitania, RMS Mauritania, and the Queen Mary were soon rivalled by the German sister ships Bremen and Europe and the French luxury liner Île de France and especially the Normandy, which had a length of over 300 metres. There was a harsh competition, and the Atlantic steamers became the flagships of nations.

Cunard Line

The Incomparable Magic

This development was definitely not linear and always ascending. The First World War abruptly ended this progress for a while, and was especially marked by the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912, which claimed 1,514 lives, and the tragedy of the Lusitania, which was hit by a torpedo on May 7, 1915, which killed 1,200 people. Then there was another period of flourishing during the 20s and 30s, in which the Cunard ships Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were built. This period ended with the start of the Second World War.

Dr. Helmut Schmidt

Dr. Helmut Schmidt (l.), Honorary Consul of Mali in Munich, with the captain of QM2 Sir Christopher Wells

The euphoria and the economic growth of the post-war period allowed the trans-Atlantic traffic to blossom again, but the rise of airplanes that could make journeys in shorter period thanks to jays caused the inevitable decline of passenger ships. Today we would call that disruption.

This history is important in order to understand the uniqueness of the Queen Mary 2. Today there are only five original classic trans-Atlantic liners, including the Queen Elizabeth 2, which goes on cruises, and the Queen Mary (1), which is a stationary hotel ship in Florida. The shipping line Cunard bucked trends in November 2000 when it commissioned the French shipyard Alstom Chantier to build the Queen Mary 2, or QM2, as a new trans-Atlantic liner. On July 4, 2002, the ship was laid down, and on January 8, 2004, it was christened by Queen Elizabeth II. On January 12 it was put into service, and today it’s the only ship that still regularly carries out the trans-Atlantic route. It is 345 metres long, can reach a travelling speed of 30 knots (56 km/h), can carry up to 3,000 passengers and 1,250 crew members, and costs about 870 million Euro. On June 1, 2018, it left from Hamburg to embark upon its 300th Atlantic crossing.

Who travels for 10 days between Hamburg and New York instead of flying for 7 hours? While there are many travellers who have a severe fear of flying, it’s certainly not 2,500 per trip. Some passengers already know the Studiosus catalogue from memory and are searching for something special and unique that they’ll certainly find aboard the QM2. Many have tested the QM2 only to not be able to leave it again. They become regular passengers and succumb to the QM2 nostalgia: Once QM2, always QM2! Whoever wants to be able to choose their cabin should book at least 18 months in advance.

Very British

What makes the QM2 so unique? There are now cruise ships, such as the MSC Seaside or the MSC Seaview, which can carry over 5,000 passengers, or the MSC Orchestra with a length of almost 400 metres. But the QM2 isn’t about length or masses or people, but about the ship experience itself; or, as Captain Sir Christopher Wells said himself during his greeting: “The destination is the Queen Mary 2!” The journey is the destination. The Atlantic occasionally changes colour from dark blue to bright silver, sometimes it’s a straight line and then again it’s stormy. But the actual attraction is the liner itself.

Style-wise, the interior of the ship is guided by the aesthetics of the Roaring 20s, and the ornamental entrance hall and the grand foyer display art deco designs. The daily after-dinner show takes place in the “Royal Court Theatre,” and the “Queens Room” serves as a dancing space and the salon for the traditional afternoon tea, while the “Illuminations” hosts lectures by guest speakers and concerts by international soloists under a starry ceiling. It’s all very British. There is a fitness studio for all exercise needs, and the biggest ship library in the world takes care of any intellectual interests. The exterior deck is panelled with teak wood and is available for joggers and walkers to make their rounds.

The dinner is served in two shifts in the ballroom-like restaurant Britannia, or better said celebrated – since it’s an anticipated event. The evening wear is described either as “formal” or “informal,” depending on the daily board announcements. “Informal” signifies the use of a dress or a jacket with a tie, while “formal” indicates the Black & White Ball and requires evening wear such as a tuxedo or at least a dinner jacket. Such conventions are usually looked down upon ever since Joschka Fischer held his parliamentary speech in jeans and trainers. But it’s still part of the human culture to dress up for special events and feel excited in doing so. The highlight is always the “Masquerade” dinner, which takes place on the second-to-last evening and features Venetian masks.

Heart on Deck

The crew of the QM2 primarily comes from Asia, particularly from the Philippines, as well as from Africa, and they’re all very friendly and open. Two worlds collide together; on the one hand you have the wealthy and well-travelled tourists on their hybrid journeys, and on the other hand you have the waiters and cooks who secure their families’ livelihoods on each trip, and call their families each night. But at the same time they don’t convey that artificial, professional smile that’s so typical of the tourism industry; instead they display genuine warmth and interest. They clearly feel as happy on the QM2 as the passengers do. This is also an authentic QM2 experience.

On the tenth day at sea, somewhere around 4 am, the QM2 approaches its destination, New York. Almost all passengers are on deck as the QM2 passes under the illuminated Verrazano-Narrows-Bridge. By sunrise, the ship is passing the Statue of Liberty and making its way to Manhattan. The ship orchestra plays “My heart will go on,” from the “Titanic” soundtrack, but it should actually be: “My heart will stay here!”

TEXT Dr. Helmut Schmidt