Crossing The Pond

[Tom K]

"Brian K" <brian1951BLOG@**************> wrote in message
news:jKidnZZeFsLYvdrXnZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@earthlink.co m...
> On 6/27/2009 11:40 AM MTV while holding "Agent 99", exclaimed:
>> Sandy wrote:
>>> Hi guys,
>>> Although we can only afford to take one cruise a year, as soon as we
>>> make our final payment on it, I am already looking ahead for another
>>> neat cruise the following year. For us, it is the itinerary that is
>>> most important. We like to go to new places and then take the excursions
>>> that are very unusual.
>>> Now my question is this;
>>> When would be the best time, best price, and best itinerary to do a
>>> re-positioning or trans-Atlantic cruise?
>>> This would be for 2010 since our cruise for 2009 is in September,
>>> Sandy
>>>
>>
>> Most are in Oct-Nov, and April-May, at least for ships plying the
>> Caribbean in the winter and Mediterranean in the summer. Some shift from
>> Gulf ports to Pacific ports or shift to So. America. Don't know where the
>> Boston/NE ships go.
>>
>> Marv
> A friend took the QM2 to South Hampton from NYC. He said figure on 12 -
> 14 days at sea.
>

The QM2 takes 5 days at sea (6 nights) crossing from Southampton to NYC....
where are you coming up with 12-14 days?

--Tom

[Tom K]

"Ray **********" <ray@*********************> wrote in message
news:ehte459g02agh2ahlrq733rp7acr5hnnhq@********...
> On Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:48:18 -0400, Brian K
> <brian1951BLOG@**************> wrote:
>
>>A friend took the QM2 to South Hampton from NYC. He said figure on 12 -
>>14 days at sea.
>
> Hi Brian,
>
> As a clarification the QM2 crossings from NYC to Southampton are a
> total of 6-days.
>

Technically, if you use his term, it's "5 days at sea". The first afternoon
and last morning on the ship aren't really at sea. More correctly it's a 5
day/6 night sailing. One day/night shorter than a typical week long cruise
which is 6 days/7 nights.

The voyage is actually comprised of what are called "2 Great Circle Routes".
The first great circle goes from the south-east most tip of England (called
Land's End) to the southern tip of the Grand Banks, which is the point where
Titanic sank. The shortest route from England to NYC would take you over
the Grand Banks, but they are too shallow to sail through. So you have to
sail around them. The first evening after departure, you sail along the
English coastline. The first great circle begins around 6:30 the next
morning, when the ship clears the cost of England and goes past the Scilly
Isles and takes until around noon of the 4th day. From there it changes
direction more eastward and begins the second, smaller, great circle route
toward the entrance of NY Harbor. The reason they're called great circle
routes is because, while the ship follows the shortest route on the
spherical shaped earth, when plotted on a flat paper navigation chart, the
route is actually curved (like an arc).

So, based on "days at sea" it's really 3.5 days from Southampton to Titanic,
and then another 1.5 days to NYC.

I actually put a small copy of a navigation chart on my door, and plotted
the ship's position each day. When coming to my cabin, I'd frequently find
people looking at it. One evening I got back to the cabin late and found
someone looking at it... we talked a little about it, and a lady from across
the hall with an Irish accent yelled at us to keep it down. Oops.

--Tom