Cunard is slowing down its famed Queen Mary 2 trips from New York to Southampton. The cruises will last seven days on some crossings and eight days on others, which is slightly longer than the original six-day sailing. The reason? To cut fuel costs.
Anyone who has ever owned a boat—even a small one—knows that a minor increase in speed typically means a big increase in fuel consumption. Water is even more resistant to speed than air.
But slowdowns aren’t likely to affect conventional cruising. Speed doesn’t matter much on those trips—even modern cruise ships, capable of up to 20 knots, generally amble along at an easy 10 to 15 knots, enough to get from one port to the next overnight.
However, nonstop transatlantic ships have traditionally aimed at faster trips. Remember the big fuss about a race for the fastest crossing, won by the S.S. United States? But air travel rapidly took over the market for people who needed to cross the Atlantic quickly, and high-speed liners suddenly became irrelevant.
Presumably, these days people take the Queen Mary 2 because they want the ocean liner experience, not to get across as quickly as they can. So probably nobody will complain about an extra day or two.
You Might Also Like:
- New High-Speed Train to Debut in Italy
- Why Does Delta Want to Buy an Oil Refinery?
- Another Airline Files for Bankruptcy
We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
Related
Top Fares From
Today's Top Travel Deals
Brought to you by ShermansTravel
Kenya: 14-Night Tour, Incl. Tanzania &...
smarTours
vacation $7125+7-Night Caribbean Round-Trip Cruise From Orlando:...
Norwegian Cruise Line
cruise $739+Ohio: Daily Car Rentals from Cincinnati
85OFF.com
Car Rental $19+