Equinox and Solstice liner-like?

[Holden von Vloppen]

I was reading up on the difference between ocean liners and cruise ships. (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=214334) Turns out the main difference is liners are built to regularly cross and handle rough seas like the Atlantic. However, the Equinox and the Solstice each cross the Atlantic twice a year while it looks like ships such as the Allure of the Seas do not.

 

Were the Equinox and the Solstice (and sister ships) designed with crossing the Atlantic in mind? Are they liner-like? What would be the difference in crossing the Atlantic on the Equinox versus, for example, the Queen Mary 2?

[Holden von Vloppen]

Thanks for your explanation. So the Equinox and sister ships would avoid rough weather in their crossings. If they did end up in rough weather, they would survive, but the ride would be uncomfortable?

[Muushka]

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people in all weathers from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a fixed schedule. A cruise ship on the other hand is designed for short cruises in protected waters and is used purely for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way.

 

A true ocean liner will be built to a higher standard than a typical cruise ship including higher freeboard and stronger plating (usually twice as thick) all designed to withstand rough seas and adverse conditions encountered in the open ocean. This difference in design and construction is that an ocean liner is more seaworthy than a cruise ship.

 

The last true ocean liner built in 2004 was the Queen Mary 2 and is currently the only transatlantic ocean liner in operation as a liner although the ship is often used for cruising as she also has the amenities of contemporary cruise ships. Since the lauchning of the Queen Mary 2 the lines between this ocean liner and cruise ships have blurred, particularly with respect to deployment, although the differences in construction remain.

 

Yes Cruise ships like the Equinox and the Solstice do regular tran Atlantic/Pasific crossings (usually called repostioning cruises) though will carfully scert any potentially really rough weather conditions. They are fast enough to out run major weather deprestions where as the Queen Mary 2 will meet these storms head-on because she was designed too and has a schedule to keep.

 

In strong winds Force-8 and wave hights of 20 – 25ft being in either the Equinox and the Solstice vs. the Queen Mary 2 is a night and day situation. You will be having a comfortable ride on the Queen Mary 2 but not so comfortable in the Equinox ot the Solstice.

 

THESE SHIPS ARE OF DIFFERENT DESIGNS AND ARE NOT APPLES TO APLLES COPARISONS.

 

Hmmmm. I'm not so sure about that bolded statement. I remember back in 2004 (which I think was QM2 maiden US cruise in the Caribbean) we were in port at St Thomas with QM2 (we were on Disney Magic. Got into an awesome horn war with QM2, but I digress....).

 

The night before we arrived in St Thomas we hit very rough seas, 25-30 ft waves, also F8 (if I remember correctly).

We met some people who were on QM2 and they said they had a very rough ride. I was surprised.

 

This was the storm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Catarina

[dmwnc1959]

I remember seeing an interview of Stephen Payne, the designer of the Queen Mary 2, and one point he mentioned that distinguished an ocean liner from a cruise ship was the freeboard, and that QM2's freeboard and lifeboats were as high as they were to avoid damage in rough seas. Most modern day cruise ships have their lifeboats (and freeboards) rather low like the Oasis of the Seas which suffered lifeboat damage on her Atlantic crossing from the shipyard to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Another critical point he mentioned was that ocean liners like the QM2 are built with heavier, thicker hulls, with much stronger steel and with stronger plating. The bow, hull, and stern of the QM2 are specifically contoured to give her both speed and stability in open ocean, where cruise ships are not. You want a long, slender bow (look at QE2) for cutting through the ocean waves and deep troughs of the wells, unlike the stubby noses on many modern cruise ships. So many new cruise ships have blunt bows and squared off, boxy sterns.

 

Ocean liners also have a deeper draft, typically as much as 10 feet deeper than a cruise ship, to afford them better stability in open ocean.

 

Here's a near exact scale comparison of the freeboards and lifeboat placements of:

 

- Oasis of the Seas

- Queen Mary 2

- Carnival Dream

- Celebrity Solstice

- Emerald Princess

 

[Muushka]

My only reason for telling about the QM2's pax experience is because I didn't want people to have the impression that they would be having a comfortable ride on the QM2 in very rough conditions, 25 ft waves.

[Muushka]

Point taken and understood though if you look at this video you will notice that there is very little rolling and almost no pitching on the QM2 in some VERY rough seas conditions (Force-11 severe storm)

Queen Mary 2 – storm watch – Filmed from deck 3: --- Queen Mary 2 in severe storm: between Quebec City and New York. You can distinctly hear the ship pounding into the waves as she maintains an 18knot speed through these rough seas. Yet you can walk around with ease ONE HELL OF A SHIP though I do not the old passenger class system Cunard still uses:

 

Whoa! That is amazing! And right you are. That ship did great!

Perhaps the folks we spoke to were more afraid of the rough seas than sea sick!

[Holden von Vloppen]

Whoa! That is amazing! And right you are. That ship did great!

Perhaps the folks we spoke to were more afraid of the rough seas than sea sick!

 

Yes, that is an amazing ship. I want to ride on her at least once in my lifetime. I have a thing for the Equinox. I would love to cruise the Caribbean in the Equinox, then cross the Atlantic in her, and then cruise the Mediterranean in her. My return to the USA would be on the Queen Mary 2.

 

I love the Equinox because it's insanely beautiful with its luxury and glass lookouts. I love the QM 2 because it's a great and historic ship. I would also love to do the 108-day world cruise on the QM 2. It goes all over the world -- Australia, Japan, China, South Africa, Vietnam, and many other places. I posted its itinerary in another thread. It's a mind blower. If you're interested, click on my name and "find all posts" and you'll be able to find it, or you could google it. What an amazing voyage that would be, though it would be extremely tough to afford.

 

My other dream voyage would be to invent a time machine and go back and ride on the Titanic and prevent her from sinking. I would probably have to be a first class passenger. Would I be able to convince Captain Smith to slow down? Perhaps I could give binoculars to the lookouts and warn them well in advance of the berg. In case I failed, I would have a modern wet suit and an inflatable rubber raft so that at least I could survive. Okay, that voyage isn't going to happen, but I can dream.

[ccletzgo]

I remember seeing an interview of Stephen Payne, the designer of the Queen Mary 2, and one point he mentioned that distinguished an ocean liner from a cruise ship was the freeboard, and that QM2's freeboard and lifeboats were as high as they were to avoid damage in rough seas. Most modern day cruise ships have their lifeboats (and freeboards) rather low like the Oasis of the Seas which suffered lifeboat damage on her Atlantic crossing from the shipyard to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Another critical point he mentioned was that ocean liners like the QM2 are built with heavier, thicker hulls, with much stronger steel and with stronger plating. The bow, hull, and stern of the QM2 are specifically contoured to give her both speed and stability in open ocean, where cruise ships are not. You want a long, slender bow (look at QE2) for cutting through the ocean waves and deep troughs of the wells, unlike the stubby noses on many modern cruise ships. So many new cruise ships have blunt bows and squared off, boxy sterns.

 

Ocean liners also have a deeper draft, typically as much as 10 feet deeper than a cruise ship, to afford them better stability in open ocean.

 

Here's a near exact scale comparison of the freeboards and lifeboat placements of:

 

- Oasis of the Seas

- Queen Mary 2

- Carnival Dream

- Celebrity Solstice

- Emerald Princess

 

 

The Oasis of the Seas life boats took some beating on its maiden crossing before its first scheduled cruise.. I remember reading a blog from an employee while on board. They really hit some crazy rough seas..

[Muushka]

I was talking with my husband about this thread. He mentioned that perhaps the QM2 had such a rough ride during our bad weather in March of '04 is because she couldn't go full steam (I think she was at St. Marten with us and then that short distance to St. Thomas).

 

Yes, that is an amazing ship. I want to ride on her at least once in my lifetime. I have a thing for the Equinox. I would love to cruise the Caribbean in the Equinox, then cross the Atlantic in her, and then cruise the Mediterranean in her. My return to the USA would be on the Queen Mary 2.

 

I love the Equinox because it's insanely beautiful with its luxury and glass lookouts. I love the QM 2 because it's a great and historic ship. I would also love to do the 108-day world cruise on the QM 2. It goes all over the world -- Australia, Japan, China, South Africa, Vietnam, and many other places. I posted its itinerary in another thread. It's a mind blower. If you're interested, click on my name and "find all posts" and you'll be able to find it, or you could google it. What an amazing voyage that would be, though it would be extremely tough to afford.

 

My other dream voyage would be to invent a time machine and go back and ride on the Titanic and prevent her from sinking. I would probably have to be a first class passenger. Would I be able to convince Captain Smith to slow down? Perhaps I could give binoculars to the lookouts and warn them well in advance of the berg. In case I failed, I would have a modern wet suit and an inflatable rubber raft so that at least I could survive. Okay, that voyage isn't going to happen, but I can dream.

 

We also have QM2 on our bucket list.

And we also think Equinox (the only S class ship that we have sailed..until 3/12!) is insanely beautiful.

 

It is fun to dream, isn't it.:)

[emcee207]

I remember back in 2004 (which I think was QM2 maiden US cruise in the Caribbean) we were in port at St Thomas with QM2 (we were on Disney Magic. Got into an awesome horn war with QM2, but I digress....).

 

LOL, we were on our first cruise on the Constellation in Feb of 2004. Also was in port in St Thomas with the QM2 and we ALSO had quite a horn thing going with her. Was very cool!

[rafinmd]

Yet you can walk around with ease ONE HELL OF A SHIP though I do not the old passenger class system Cunard still uses:[/color] [/font]

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Exactly what do you think "BLU" is? Fact is today's Cunard ships are generally more accessible and no more of a class structure than any other mainstream cruise ship.

 

Roy

[Muushka]

Exactly what do you think "BLU" is? Fact is today's Cunard ships are generally more accessible and no more of a class structure than any other mainstream cruise ship.

 

Roy

 

Suite guests do not get to dine in Blu. I don't see it as a class structure, rather a venue available to Aqua Class pax.

Plus I wasn't particularly thrilled with Blu when we could have eaten there nightly.:rolleyes:

[Chunky2219]

The Cunard keeps the old passenger class system pretty much intact from the old days of steerage. “Yong man, I might remind you to remember your station in life and respect your betters”

 

.

Wow! How wrong can you be?

 

Perhaps you can tell us about your experience of sailing with Cunard and just how exclusive your experience in the grills was? You must have seen something that I didn't when I was there!

 

Or are you just imagining the golden floor tiles and the swan feathers for restroom paper instead of that recycled rubbish?

.

.

[Underwatr]

Queen Mary 2 – storm watch – Filmed from deck 3: --- Queen Mary 2 in severe storm: between Quebec City and New York. You can distinctly hear the ship pounding into the waves as she maintains an 18knot speed through these rough seas. Yet you can walk around with ease ONE HELL OF A SHIP though I do not the old passenger class system Cunard still uses:

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I think the audio was dubbed in later. You can't hear those kinds of noises on deck 3 of the QM2 even in rough seas (e.g., the whistling wind).

[TLCOhio]

The Cunard keeps the old passenger class system pretty much intact from the old days of steerage. “Yong man, I might remind you to remember your station in life and respect your betters”

 

Very interesting thread with lots of historic background. With the above comment on Cunard and their "class system", that seems to be a good reason to avoid that cruise line and such an out-dated mentality. Like Celebrity much better. Classy, but not hung up on that old stuff and silly value system. Snobs might like a "class" system, but not me.

 

THANKS for those posting! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 54,182 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474