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The 10 Things All Smart Cunard Transatlantic Passengers Do!

Tips For Travellers

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My 10 must-do and tips for anyone considering or planning doing a Cunard Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing. These are the smart questions and things to do if you are thinking of doing, or have booked, a Cunard Transatlantic Crossing

10 Must-Know Tips If Doing A Cunard Transatlantic Crossing and 10 Things You Need To Know About Cunard Transatlantic Crossings

ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 92 cruises I have done to date.

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#TransatlanticCrossing #TransatlanticCruiseTips #CunardTransatlanticTips

00:00 Start
00:40 Crossing or Repositioning?
02:25 Boring Program?
04:34 Dress Codes?
06:07 Fellow Passengers?
07:11 Best Direction?
07:49 Best Time Of Year?
09:23 Best Cabin Location?
10:14 Best Cabin Grade?
12:42 Budgeting Issues?
14:10 Getting Lost?

20 Comments

@sharonsmalls6846 4 years ago

How could you book a transatlantic crossing and not know there aren't any ports? I tell people it's the closest to the Titanic today.

@billlawton1186 3 years ago

I’m a 6 time veteran of QE2 transatlantic crossings. Each one was more enjoyable than the next. It was on QE2 where I perfected the art of doing nothing. Mezmerising to sit by the window and watch the sea roll past, to daydream and ponder the history of ocean travel. The same view once seen by the Vikings, Henry Hudson, early immigrants. The dress code always seemed to make people behave better and enjoy the privilege of conversation.

@petelobl 4 years ago

We brought our cat back from Southampton to NYC about 10 years ago, and it was wonderful. For cats, they make you take two kennel spaces because of the litter box - reasonable! We could go visit her and play with her as often as we wished, and the handler was a very sweet & caring young man. It’s the only way to cross the sea with a pet and not elevate, nor sail your own yacht.

@JJD76 4 years ago

I want to take a Cunard transatlantic cruise and just sit on my balcony alone all day and read a book, ordering room service when I get thirsty, and then dressing up at night for dinner.

@davidandrew1078 4 years ago

I am an Australian, and, dress appropriately. People want to travel as they feel. It is Cunard, not Carnival.

@gaerlan1946 4 years ago

My wife and I did a transatlantic on QM2 from New York to Southampton and found the trip one of the most enjoyable and wonderful cruise (ocean liner) ships we ever sailed in. The fact that there were no ports of call unlike typical cruise ships, we figured the ship itself was the destination. Considering the time of the year we sailed, it was stormy all the way but we still had so much fun on the one day the weather cooperated. So much to do inside, it never occurred to us we were in a ship. Will we do it again? Definitely.

@amazingandrea9983 3 years ago

With now 9 Cunard voyages (4 transatlantic) on my travel resume, I hereby declare I am addicted to Cunard for life! I feverishly search the website every few days for my next adventure. It is possible that other lines have their plus points ~ but I will never find out because I cannot imagine sailing on any other line than Cunard. I wear a gown every night because QM2 is my happy place. What a gift! I am a flight attendant with 38 years' service and no intention to retire while there are Cunard adventures to go on! ha. I absolutely LOVE Cunard!

@brndxt 3 years ago (edited)

I sailed on the QM2 some years ago, and I love this ship. It has:

1) The best library at sea, i.e., with books which are worth reading.

2) The best wine cellar at sea, from the affordable to tens of thousands dollars, including wines from less known but exotic regions, e.g., I had tasted a bottle of red from India.

3) Great speakers and lectures at sea, e.g., I had listened to talks presented by a retired director of NASA and a retired US Navy captain.

4) Fantastic afternoon tea, with scones, jam, and tea, plus dancing. Live band, too.

5) Formal nights, and many do dress up. While I know not all would fancy such formality, yet a dinner room full of well-dressed diners has a character of its own, reminiscent of the 1930s era.

By the way, I shall soon be crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2, and bringing my tuxedo.

I expect there will be one difference from my last sailing on the QM2. Then, it was potraits of Queen Elizabeth II. Now, I think they would be of King Charles III.

@DogBoy987 4 years ago

Love your videos. Watch all of them. I was in the Navy 2 years on a destroyer. We went pretty much everywhere. Was in a storm in the Atlantic and in a typhoon in Asia. Pretty bad.
Very glad you mentioned Dramamine. The captain of our ship mentioned that he took it the first day of voyage. It works wonderfully well.
But...
But you must follow instructions and take it BEFORE you need it. Best to take it while you're standing on dry land. If you wait till you get a little queasy, it's too late. It won't work. You have to take it ahead of time. Read the instructions. After a half a day or so, though, you can stop.
In short, take it before you get on the ship and continue for the rest of the day. This should give you immunity from seasickness for many months.
In the 3-day typhoon with almost 45° rolls, no one got seasick. Once you're over your first bad weather, especially with Dramamine, you've been vaccinated.

@jenniferk6697 4 years ago

This honestly seems like a blast! I love the idea of a bit more formality in the dress code

@Amandasamazingadventure 4 years ago

Thank you for this Gary. Very realistic video. I am nearly Diamond+ on Royal Caribbean, but chose Cunard for the upcoming world cruise because I wanted the more dressed up experience. As a native Floridian, I get a bit tired of everything being so casual, so I go the opposite of what others may want. I’m very excited and really have appreciated your videos!

@edwardhiler3455 2 years ago

my wife and I love the transatlantic crossings so much that we’ve done five. It’s our go to vacation. As a matter of fact, we booked a round-trip Crossing this December. That’s 14 days of sure relaxation.

@JKH7023 9 days ago

We are Australian and about to do our first Cunard voyage. We can’t wait for the activities, festivities, dining and gala nights. How can people be so willfully ignorant of the dress codes and schedule?!

@lindataylor4397 4 years ago

I love the longer cruises. I took a 23 day cruise on one of Carnival’s journey cruises. It was amazing. Carnival provided a craft room with yarn and I learned to knit socks. The long days at sea are not for everyone. It is very doable with a kindle, audio books and knitting needles.

@spanishpeaches2930 4 years ago

Many years ago, in the early Nineties, I worked on the Canberra as a photographer. One evening , in Lisbon, we all went out and got thoroughly hammered, me and my cabin mate especially. When back on the ship. he climbed on me and I was on all fours and yehaa'd all the way back to our berth! Upshot was that we sailed into a storm and the next morning, I felt beyond sick..dreadful alcohol abuse and sea-sickness , was almost beyond hell....and we had to work too. It was truly terrible. That said, there were sickbags positioned everywhere...many were ill. Happy days...not !

@MusicalRomancegrl 4 years ago

I’m a young person, and I have to say I love the idea of a crossing, even more so now that I’ve seen your video. Lectures, libraries, and an excuse to wear my ball gown(s) honestly sounds like a dream. I can’t afford any kind of cruise at this point in my life, but I will be adding Cunard’s crossing to my bucket list.

@denizalgazi 4 years ago

Only boring people get bored!

@Catriona223 4 years ago (edited)

We’re a couple in our late 50’s and cruised Southampton - New York - Fort Lauderdale on the QM2 in February. We don’t dress up on Gala nights and don’t feel we missed out on anything. We were told by crew that we could do any evening activity/theatre visit in smart attire and didn’t have to be in formal but was mandatory in the MDR’s. It was a fabulous crossing and will most definitely do it again. We used the crossing instead of a flying to our holiday destination Walt Disney World.

@williamarmstrong3604 4 years ago

My partner and I crossed. We had a suite and dined in the Queens Grill. We gave a cocktail party in our cabin which was a great success. Our quests followed with drinks parties and gatherings in the bar. WE were so busy! Loved being formal and dressed in black tie. It's not for the T shirt crowd!!

@DaveP668 4 years ago

We did an Iceland/Norway trip which included almost three days at sea from Southampton to Reyjavik and time whizzes by. The talks, the quizzes, lazing by the pool, sealife spotting etc. With busy lives the opportunity to do nothing if we wanted to for a few days was bliss! Agree about the talks. Celebrity had a number of crew talks from Captain, engineer and navigator and they were fascinating.