Queen Mary 2 - Transatlantic Crossing

Where this cruise calls, day by day

2 ports and 6 sea days over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   New York, NY

   United StatesDepart

   New York sails from two very different places. The Manhattan Cruise Terminal occupies Piers 88 and 90 off Twelfth Avenue in the West 50s, a 1930s finger-pier arrangement with rooftop parking and Midtown at the end of the block. Brooklyn's terminal in Red Hook is calmer and roomier but further from a subway. Either way the ship must clear the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which rules out the largest ships afloat.

   • The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a ten-minute walk from the Manhattan piers
   • The High Line and Chelsea Market, with Hudson Yards on the way back
   • The sailaway itself - past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazzano; be on deck
   • Red Hook if you sail from Brooklyn: Louis Valentino Jr. Park has the best free Statue view in the city

   Getting ashore

   Manhattan berths at Piers 88 and 90 (West 46th to 54th Streets) with drop-off on Twelfth Avenue, while Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is in Red Hook; reckon 45-60 minutes from JFK or Newark and 30-45 from LaGuardia, all of it hostage to traffic.

   Best months

   May-Oct (Bermuda and Canada/New England runs; Sep-Oct adds foliage sailings)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8

   Southampton

   United KingdomArrive

   Britain's main cruise homeport, on Southampton Water at the head of the Solent. Almost nobody calls here as a port day - you join or leave your ship at one of five terminals (Mayflower, Ocean, QEII, City and Horizon), which are spread across the working docks and reached by taxi or coach rather than on foot. The city itself was heavily bombed in 1940, so the old core is patchy: surviving medieval walls, the Bargate, and a good maritime museum.

   • SeaCity Museum and its Titanic exhibition - the ship sailed from Berth 44 here
   • Walking the medieval town walls and the Bargate
   • Day trip to Winchester Cathedral, about 20 minutes by train
   • The New Forest for wild ponies, roughly 30 minutes by road

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth alongside; terminals are 2-4 km from the city centre and from Southampton Central station, so use a taxi or the cruise line coach, and allow about 80 minutes by train to London Waterloo.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct (peak turnaround Jun-Aug)