Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

A celebratory Atlantic crossing on Queen Mary 2 ends in New York City

When the Queen Mary 2 made its way toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, beneath which we could see New York’s skyline peeking into the purple sunrise, half the ship’s passengers already were on deck.

Queen Mary 2 nears the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at 5:34 a.m., the New York skyline ahead (Photo by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

Passengers began arriving from their cabins by 5 a.m. Clad in bathrobes and other early morning garb, we lined the deck railings to watch the city emerge as Queen Mary 2 glided smoothly toward Manhattan (in the middle of the picture above), finishing our crossing of the North Atlantic from Southampton and Liverpool, England, to Halifax, Nova Scotia; Boston, and New York.

Bring black tie, party dresses, for crossing the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2

On a July voyage between Liverpool, England, and Canada’s Halifax, Nova Scotia, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 spent six nights and five days at sea.

Nearly a week, without possibilities for going ashore, seems a long time when you are looking over a brochure for a future crossing of the North Atlantic.

Popular spot in the library at the bow of Queen Mary 2 (Photos by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

But once Queen Mary 2 leaves the last glimpse of land and the sea-day countdown begins, time zips by in a series of meals, concerts, parties, movies, lectures, games, naps, reading, and hours for staring aimlessly at an expanse of gray-green water that never stops moving or changing.

Cunard marks 175 years as Queen Mary 2 cruises toward New York

Aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2

Queen Mary 2 sailed from Liverpool toward North America on July 4, exactly 175 years (and about 8 hours) after the first passenger voyage across the Atlantic by the line that became known as Cunard.

Red Arrows of the Royal Air Force fly over Queen Mary 2 in Liverpool, England

The company was the first to offer a scheduled transatlantic service, and now, 175 years later, it is the last, without competition.

This Queen Mary 2 cruise, ending in New York on July 14, is a celebration of those 175 years, with pomp, pageantry, and some 2,600 passengers caught up in the moment, waving flags, cheering, and toasting an anniversary that has sparked interest throughout the United Kingdom. In May, an estimated 1.3 million people turned out in Liverpool for graceful maneuvers on the river Mersey by Cunard’s three ships, the Queens Victoria, Elizabeth and Mary 2.