Unique Itinerary: A Winter Crossing

The classic Transatlantic Crossing.

Illustration courtesy of Cunard Line

When Charles Dickens sailed to America onboard Cunard's Britannia on January 3, 1842, he initially thought his cabin steward was playing a joke on him; surely the small, cramped cabin that stood before him was not to be his home for the next week-and-a-half. 

In fact, it was - Dickens described the cabin as "utterly impracticable, thoroughly hopeless."  Even the act of trying to get his luggage through the stateroom door was no more possible "than a giraffe could be persuaded or forced into a flower pot."  The man who gave the world Oliver Twist and Ebeneezer Scrooge would describe the entire ship with a phrase Cunard probably wouldn't be using in their 1843 brochure: "a gigantic hearse with windows." 

This endorsement coming from a man who lived year-round in the fog and soot-choked confines of nineteenth-century London.  To paint a picture, fifteen years after Dickens' crossing, the stench wafting off of the sewage-soaked Thames would finally become so unbearable that parliament was temporarily abandoned. 

While Dickens' initial voyage to America might not have won him over, one can't help but wonder what his reaction would be if he were shown one of Queen Mary 2's impeccable staterooms.  While the steamer trunk might still be a problem to store, he surely wouldn't think there was any joke about sailing across the ocean at a whopping 25 knots in comfort the great author could only have dreamed of.

Departing January 3, 2012 - one hundred and seventy years to the day Dickens embarked on the Britannia, guests can join Queen Mary 2 for a rare 7-day Eastbound Winter Crossing from New York to Southampton. 

These popular crossings are not for the faint of heart - winter on the mid-Atlantic can be a rough, stormy affair compared to the relatively calmer summer months.  And that's exactly how QM2's winter crossing guests like it.  No ship in the world is better built to withstand all that the rugged North Atlantic can throw at her than this modern maritime marvel.

Prices for this unique voyage start at just $1,359.75 per person for an inside cabin - appropriately named, perhaps, Britannia Class.

For more information, including itinerary, booking information, and extended pricing, be sure to visit Cunard's website.