Cunard

The Cunard of today is not the Cunard of yesterday, but then again, it is. Formed in 1840 by Sir Samuel Cunard, the line provided the first regular steamship service between Europe and North America, and was one of the dominant players during the great years of steamship travel, which lasted roughly from 1905 to the mid-1960s. In 1969, long after it was clear that jet travel had replaced the liners, the company made what some considered a foolhardy move, launching Queen Elizabeth 2 and setting her on a mixed schedule, half crossing, half cruising. Through sheer persistence, the ship proved the critics wrong, and by the late 1990s she was still going strong, even if the company went through some rough times.

Today QE2 is doing cruise duty from Britain, relinquishing her transatlantic routes to the massive Queen Mary 2, the first true ocean liner built in more than 30 years. The 151,400-ton QM2 is as modern as passenger ships get, and was bigger than them all until Royal Caribbean's 160,000-ton Freedom of the Seas came along (though QM2 remains the longest passenger ship by 20 ft.). But, she's also an homage to all that went before, designed with oversized grandeur, old-world formality, and even a dose of blatant class structure: Some restaurants and outdoor decks are set aside specifically for suite guests only, if you please. As she's the only Cunarder currently serving the North American market, all details in this review refer to her alone.

Pros

Classic ambience: Despite a few chintzy touches, the ship really does live up to its billing as the grandest afloat, with some rooms that could have come right out of a 1940s liner.

S-p-a-c-e: This ship is absolutely enormous, from her hangar-size ballroom to the cavernously high ceilings of many public areas.

Comfortable amenities: Even interior cabins are comfortable (though not gigantic), with extralarge shower stalls and quality toiletries.

Pure prestige: There used to be ships that everyone in the world knew -- "Oh, you're sailing on the Queen Mary," they'd say. "That's the ship Marlene Dietrich took on her last crossing." QM2 is the only ship launched in more than a quarter century with that kind of broad public cachet.

Cons

Not quite luxe: Despite her grandeur, QM2 carries too many passengers to provide the kind of intimacy and personal feel you get on the other luxe lines -- especially those operating small ships (Silversea, SeaDream, and Seabourn), but also on relatively large vessels such as Crystal Serenity.

Occasional off notes: If you're going to design a huge corridor of showy Art Deco wall panels, don't make those panels out of plastic. And what's with the jarring white pillars in the atrium?