Slowing Down to 24 Knots
the history and mystique of travel by ocean liner
2008-07-11
By Joseph Dumas

When I was a boy, my father was always urging me to slow down; as an adult, I have begun to heed his advice.

Recently, following a visit to London, I decided to slow down my return to the United States aboard Queen Mary 2. At 24 knots (equivalent, 27.62 mph) , the world’s second fastest and largest passenger ship crosses the North Atlantic Ocean in six days; by contrast, a crowded jet , whose average speed might be 500 mph, traverses the same distance in six hours.  And aboard an ocean liner, one of the unexpected pleasures is to arrive at one’s destination without jet lag (Nightly, clocks are changed by one hour at-sea).

Although the world of business may dictate the need for speed, maturity and the need for physical well-being, creates, eventually, the epiphany that faster is not always better.  Aboard Queen Mary 2, I learned to savor the journey.    
            
 America’s royalty (Hollywood) have always gravitated towards the unhurried elegance of ocean travel.  In their day, Paul Robeson, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, Elizabeth Taylor and Jayne Russell favored Cunard liners.  They were regular passengers on the original Queen Elizabeth (1938-1968) and Queen Mary (1936-1967) liners.  For more than 20 years, in tandem, these ships kept weekly transatlantic service between New York City; Cherbourg, France; and Southampton, England.

Nearly 40 years ago, simultaneously when the Supersonic Concorde jet made its test trials, the Cunard Line debuted the Queen Elizabeth 2—then, widely believed to be the last of the great transatlantic ocean liners.  Global travel was evolving, with speed!

But, five years ago, after 27 years of service, the Supersonic Concorde jets were retired. In 2004, Cunard Line defied expectations: Queen Mary 2 made its debut.

She is the longest (1,132 feet); the tallest (23 stories), the widest (135 ft.), in essence, the largest (150,000 tons) passenger liner ever built.  The Queen Mary 2 is 113 feet longer than the original Queen Mary (1936-1967). And in defiance of those early predictions, ocean travel seems assured until the next century.

Why?  In part, it is a question of tradition versus modernity.  Although ocean passenger traffic declined in the 1950’s with the advent of jet travel, Cunard Line (since 1840), continues to be, along with its famed “White Star Service,” part of the romance and history of travel between North America and Europe; and it remains the only company offering regularly scheduled North Atlantic ocean crossings.  In the past, ship voyages used to be the only way people traveled and their time and planning and participation made them journeys.

In a story set in the 1950’s, for example, writer Paule Marshall (“To Da-Duh, In Memoriam”), as a 9 year old, traveled from Brooklyn, NY, with her mother to Barbados to visit her grandmother.  She documented this memory in a passage about their arrival, she remembered “…[being] blinded from the sheen of tropical sunlight on the water of the bay which we had just crossed in the landing boat, leaving behind us the ship that had brought us from New York lying in the offing…”

Now, with the entrenched modernity of jet travel, the idea of boarding a ship becomes a question, simply, of slowing down.

                                                                 A Day Aboard Queen Mary 2
• At Noon, the ship’s whistle sounds.  It is from the original Queen Mary and can be heard for 10 miles.  Subsequently, the QM2 Captain acknowledges the ship’s speed, position, weather conditions and distance sailed; also, the remaining distance in nautical miles.

• Joggers will be happy to discover Deck 7, the Promenade Deck, whose circumference is 1/3 mile.

• Ever had a massage at-sea?  The Canyon Ranch Spa has a 20,000 square-foot affiliate aboard Queen Mary 2.  Have a deep-tissue massage; then, soak in the Aqua Therapy and Fitness Center.

• Pop in on a lecture by a leading author or expert, as part of Cunard’s Cultural Enrichment Program. 
 
• Visit Illuminations, the only planetarium at-sea whose venue also hosts plays, concerts, lectures and first-run movies.

• One day I participated in a wine seminar led by QM2 Chief Wine Sommelier, Jean-Sebastian Richer.  He paired similar wine styles from different regions, such as a New World wine (California’s Russian River Valley) with one from the Old World (France’s Burgundy region).  An ideal way to sample wine’s varied styles.

• At 3PM, daily, afternoon tea is served by white-gloved waiters in the Queen’s Room, along with fresh scones and finger sandwiches; in the background, a string quartet.

• For those traveling with Lady Luck, the 6,000 square-foot Empire Casino beckons, with slot machines; blackjack; roulette; craps and poker.

• Golfers can improve their stroke on Deck 12, at the Driving Range and Putting Green.

• Get lost in the 8,000-volume library on Deck 8.  The afternoon we had mild sea swells, I dove into a book in a low chair overlooking the bow, watching the ship’s gentle rise and fall into the sea.

• Three of the six nights at sea are formal.  The first was the Black and White Ball, held in the Queen’s Room, the largest ballroom at sea.

• After dinner, cigar and pipe smokers will appreciate Churchill’s Cigar Bar, where fine brandies are served.   Aficionados agree, taking the time to smoke a cigar, or a pipe is an investment of time; and, as with my ocean voyage, it is the journey, not the destination, which is important.  

Joseph Dumas is a freelance writer living in New York when he is on dry land.

Photos of Duke Ellington (front page), Pearl Bailey and Paul Robeson courtesy of Cunard.