| * Fans
of QM2 already know this, because they come home at night and pore over
their Cunard brochures going to sleep dreaming of their next cruise
aboard one of the Cunard queens. But for the rest of us, who are used to
thinking of QM2 crossing the Atlantic, it may have escaped our attention
that Queen Mary 2 is spending this winter in the Caribbean.
This is something unusual for a Cunard queen. This is QM2's first full winter season in service. Previously during the peak winter season, the line’s flagship, QE2, was sailing off on her world cruise, and this year QE2 will be doing that again, but QM2 gets to stay in the sun. From November thru April, QM2 is sailing 18 Caribbean cruises from New York and Ft. Lauderdale. Because they are sailing from ports fairly easy to get to, and they are round trip, it can make a cruise on this unique ship as easy to take as one on a mass-market line. (Yes, there are also two repositioning cruises as the ship moves between New York and Ft. Lauderdale.) Cunard is offering some attractive pricing on these cruises for those who may want to see what a luxury line is all about, or those who just want to say they’ve sailed on QM2. The 7-night cruises from Ft. Lauderdale have a lead price of $1,199, which not much more than the lead prices on mass market lines in the winter. Yes, of course, that’s for the inside stateroom, but there are lots of types of accommodations between there and the 2,249-square foot Grand Duplex apartment on which the lead price is $15,449. The 10-day cruises from New York start at $1,379. OK so now that you know that Canard is making this excursion into the world of QM2 affordable, where can you go? The fall series from New York has three 10-day cruises in November (St. Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Thomas). The two-week repositioning cruise starts on December 6 goes farther south (San Juan, Curacao, Bonaire, Barbados, Martinique, St. Maarten, and St. Thomas) and ends in Ft. Lauderdale. The first sailing from Florida is the 14-day holiday cruise on December 20 (San Juan, St. Kitts, Martinique, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas and Freeport). That follows up with a 5-day cruise to San Juan and St. Thomas on January 3. Then all through January and February QM2 settles into her regular eastern Caribbean 7-day pattern from Ft. Lauderdale (San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Thomas) for seven Saturday sailings January 8 thru February 19. An 11-day cruise repositions QM2 back to New York leaving Ft. Lauderdale on February 26 (Curacao, Bonaire, Barbados, Martinique and Ft. Lauderdale). Once in New York, there are three final winter sailings to the Caribbean. The three 8-day sailings begin March 9 can visit San Juan, St. Kitts and St. Maarten thanks to QM2's speed. Sailing on QM2, even if it’s in the least expensive accommodations allows you to try out all the things we’ve written about, like the Todd English restaurant, or the only planetarium at sea (in which you can also go for a virtual roller coaster ride), chill out at the Canyon Ranch spa, or simply sit back and enjoy a cool glass of the bubbly in the Clicquot Champagne Bar. Remember Cunard’s advertising campaign leading up to QM2's arrival: Can you wait? Now I can’t wait for winter. Can you? Excerpted from the full article which was carried in the August 18, 2004 edition of Cruise News Daily. Cruise News Daily Home Copyright 2004 by Cruise News Daily. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced, rewritten or retransmitted without express permission of Cruise News Daily. |
 One of our favorite cruise guide books. Steve Stern is
a tough reviewer, but his ratings are very fair and accurate. Stern
covers a variety of aspects of the cruise vacation in addition to just
descriptions and ratings of the ships. Among other diverse topics, Stern
also rates the ships' alternative dining restaurants, discusses cruising
for tennis buffs and cruising for joggers. The 700+ page guide also
includes thumbnail sketches of the world's major ports of call. |