VOYAGE WITH THE LAST “OCEAN LINER” PART 1
VOYAGE WITH THE LAST “OCEAN LINER”
PART 1
While there are hundreds of type of ship travel opportunities nowadays, today I would like to start by talking about one ship that is completely different from the others. Because, She is “Unique”.
In general, similar ship types and tour organizations are frequently encountered. These are Cruise Ships that travel on certain routes with a large population or River Ships that serve almost one twentieth of the passengers of these types of ships and Yachts in the very luxurious category (we can also call them ships; I mentioned them in my previous articles).
Cruise ships are huge ships that can carry more than 1,000 passengers. The largest ship today, the “Icon of the Seas”, is said to have a capacity of 7,600 people. It reaches 10,000 with its crew. It has 20 floors. As you know, the obsession with size/magnificence is not only unique to our orientalist geography, but also probably for whole over the world, too. Sometimes things can get out of control when you say the biggest, the tallest, the most gigantic. When I searched the visuals and advertisements of these types of ships, something like “an incredible crowd and the feeling of rolling around in a tin can” always comes to mind. “Human Tsunami”. The water slides surrounding the ship like its internal organs in that riot of color, the feeling that the cabins are squeezed into every corner as if illegal floors were being built to a construction…
Even as I write, believe me, my fingers are going backwards. I hope that you, the readers, will accept my criticism on this subject not as a snobbery, but as my thoughts against every example that has gone beyond a proportional approach. Therefore, I have not been curious about these types of ships in any way. However, one is an exceptional.
I think, this Hollywood effect is a bad thing. Some things that are engraved in a person’s mind, when the day comes and they appear to you, you somehow cannot get yourself away from it within its illusionary effect. Perhaps it is probably the desire to be in such an environment with the remnants of a movie you watched in your childhood that dragged me towards this ship.
With their unique design and style, the ships of the classic ocean voyages from the previous century, even two centuries ago, are called “Transatlantics; “Ocean Liners”. The unique charm of these ships eventually brought us together. The oldest known transatlantic operator since 1840, Cunard Lines, is the oldest company in the world in this regard, I can say. From the times when steamships carried both passengers and mail, they were referred to as part of the lifestyle of the Jet Set and Celebrities of a period, with the years when they transitioned to a segment in a very luxurious category in parallel with the developing demand. Imagine this, the Transatlantic Piers, known by their numbers like the airport aprons of the west coast of Manhattan Island in New York, would be full and empty regularly.
New York City Ocean Liner Piers
However, the obvious dominant effect of airlines in global transportation has also reduced the demand for such luxurious cruises to different dimensions. Especially, with the cruise ship operations in various segments, the “per passenger” costs have reached more reasonable levels in terms of accessibility and the incredible variety of routes have evolved into a direction where comfort and relaxation are preferred rather than the magnificent cruises of the past. Therefore, the crowd interested in the “iconic” symbolic cruises of the past has gradually decreased. Ultimately, there are very few companies left that say they are doing this job in this league. Cunard Line also carries out this job with its 4 ships and a truly loyal customer profile. In this fleet of 4 ships, the only ship with Ocean Liner status that I have mentioned at length is the “Queen Mary 2”, which I have personally been dreaming of for years. The other ships are cruise line type ships as you know. Cruise ships, as you may have noticed, stand out with their higher “main building” (Super Structure) structures. It is like a large hotel that is placed on a floating pontoon. The stability it will show against the waves in stormy seas will naturally be a little different. GM-KM is related to engineering calculations. When you experience a storm on those ships, you will definitely feel it.
Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2 is clearly different from all other ship types today in terms of design. Its construction structure is completely made of steel. In terms of stability, it exhibits a hydrodynamic stance that is unique to itself throughout the design, resistant to high stormy seas. (Cruise Line ships may include different concepts such as steel keels but aluminum superstructures). Therefore, this radical difference at the beginning puts this ship in the Ocean Liner category. For this reason, it is currently referred to as the last remaining Ocean Liner Ship in the world. In the sense that it is more resistant to ocean conditions. It is also the only ship that currently makes regular 7-day Transatlantic crossings between England and the USA. (Other ships also make crossings, but only once or twice a year, so as not to waste the seasonal transfer to regions). When you examine the ship from the profile view, you can easily feel the proportionality and stance of the ship in its entire form and that classic transatlantic design style.
View from Open Decks, The Terrace Form
Especially the terrace-shaped rear form of the ship and the “Promenade Deck” that continuously surrounds the ship are typical features. 2 laps equals to a 1 km walk, 3 laps equals to a 1 mile walk. It is truly fascinating with its 345 mt. length and 41 mt. width. I can say that the place where you will feel the width of the ship best is the main restaurant where you have dinner. When you turn your head to both sides, the depth perception exceeding 40 meters is very impressive. Its tonnage is approaching 80,000 tons.
In short, instead of keeping it in our minds for so long, we were able to say let's go and experience the environment, thanks God.
I have not come across any advertisements for this ship in previous years as part of a package tour in our Turkish tour agencies. The reason was quite clear; lack of demand. Let's say there are no enthusiasts. Because with the image it gives, I think everyone may think that "passengers walk around in tuxedos like penguins from morning to night". When there is no demand, you do not have the chance to get all the services "all in one" turnkey without touching to cold from hot water for going on such a ship. You may only come across one or two tour advertisements for Cunard ships in a whole year. Probably, Turkish agencies advertise on the most likely routes where there will be demand, so that the distributor agreements continue. If you can catch such an option, since round trip transportation is also offered in the package, you can have such a holiday in the most comfortable way at a much more reasonable price.
Our situation was a little different. With the thoughts of having the “Queen Mary 2” ship, going to the USA once more before our visa expiring, sailing at the Atlantic Ocean and experiencing all four seasons, we convinced ourselves to take the 12-day trip between November 26 and December 8, departing from New York, visiting the Eastern Caribbean Islands and finally returning to New York.
When we started corresponding with Cunard, which we thought didn’t have an agency in Turkey, we learned that they actually had an agency that they had a contract with, and that this was the company that had previously organized our river tours, and we were happy. Because this made our things to do a little easier. Although it wouldn’t be a package tour that included transportation, the fact that our interlocutor was a Turkish company and that there was no difference between the amount we would pay Cunard directly and the amount we would pay the agency was a positive aspect of the job. After traveling so far, the idea of staying in New York for 3 days also put us in additional rush to arrange round-trip flights and individual accommodations. When you go somewhere with a package tour, you have to completely comply with the flight schedule included in that package. Therefore, after traveling so far, you don’t have the chance to say “We should have lingered here for 2 more days.” This issue is one of the dilemmas to consider for every trip.
Therefore, when you make your own program, you also have the privilege of organizing your trip with additional programs that are specific to you.
If you are thinking of going on a trip with Queen Mary 2, I can clearly state that, as far as I have followed and seen in previous years, the cabins of the ship can be filled 6-8 months in advance due to the demands coming from all over the world. In this case, if you are planning to go on this ship, you need to arrange your calendar in your annual program quite well in advance. If you think we can find a place at the last minute, this will definitely remain in the consideration stage. We made our reservation in March for the program at the end of November.
The cabin we preferred, the interior cabin, was on the 6th deck, close to the bow of the ship and on the keel line. We made this choice in order to be least affected by the possible oscillations of the ship. We would only know if we were right when we experienced the environment.
After registering for the trip, you are sent a code and access information about your trip. They are puting you in a holiday mood day by day with special information about the trip details and a countdown to the trip date. In the meantime, information about the ports you will visit and of course, refined coastal tour programs (excursions) that will leave a lasting taste on your palate about the places you visit are marketed to you. Whatever you want, whether it is a typical beach place you want to go to, a day adorned with waterfalls in the rainforest, adrenaline-pumping zip-line style activity options, diving, whale watching tours, you can purchase any of the 4-8 hour tours you want during the day and start determining your coastal programs.
In addition, in order to prevent loss of time when boarding the ship, you enter all the information of your passengers (passport, visa, emergency contacts, address, phone number, health insurance, etc.) into the system. 2-3 weeks before the trip, your boarding pass information, which includes your cabin information and which you will attach to your suitcases, is created under the name of check-in procedures. You also print and have your suitcases ready before you set off. Because, when you arrive at the terminal where you will board the ship, the team is quick to thank you and take your suitcases without leaving any room for questioning. You also proceed step by step to the check-in counters in the terminal. We went to the dock from Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to board the ship at the time interval given to us. After going through the passport exit procedures first, you proceed to the waiting area with the group numbers that will be given to you for identification for the ship's acceptance procedures. Before you can even sit down, your group is announced and suddenly you find yourself walking towards the ship in a group. After one or two slaloms, just like boarding a plane, it took us about 20 minutes to enter the ship through the apron-like connecting bridge. It is considered quite fast. From the moment you enter the ship, if you are someone like me who has studied all the ship's plans very well, you can go straight to your cabin. They have set up the system so practically that after confirming that you are the passenger who will join the trip, the issue is to get everyone on board as quickly as possible without delay. After all, they were told that 2500 passengers would join. They are successful in this regard.
As soon as we reached our cabin, we started exploring the ship until the suitcases arrived. Even though you imagine it in your mind, you can only understand how big the ship is when you see it in person.
There are so much to tell, I don't want to tire you all, at once. Let's see what happens in the next episode...
VOYAGE WITH THE LAST “OCEAN LINER” PART 2
VOYAGE WITH THE LAST “OCEAN LINER” PART 2
Because ...
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