Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/771981
photography credits: Cunard cover story Cunard: The Queen Mary 2 7 TheSouthShoreMagazine.com Are you looking for a truly different travel experience? As the South Shore has settled in for an early winter, the cold days and long nights are here to stay. Of course, that does not mean that you cannot plan for a one-of-a-kind adventure. What if I told you that you could escape it all while enjoying an exciting, elegant and civilized vacation? That is exactly the sort of trip that is ideal for anyone who is looking to let the journey be part of the destination, as well as the excitement. That is what the Cunard Line offers, especially on the newly remastered Queen Mary 2. Having just celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2015, the Cunard Line originated as a postal service and also served as an instrumental part of immigration. From the early days of Samuel Cunard's Britannia, to the world's largest ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2, people have been enjoying their time crossing the Atlantic for nearly two centuries. In recent history, the Queen Mary 2 is the only ship built as an ocean liner. While many people are unfamiliar that there is a difference between an ocean liner and a cruise ship, the two are not at all interchangeable. Ocean liners are ships that are designed to transport people from one point to another. The classic example of such a voyage is a transatlantic crossing east and west between Europe and America. Because a ship could encounter any type of weather on its journey, an ocean liner must be built strongly, using a great deal of steel in the hull. The bows are long and tapered to allow them to cut through the waves. Finally, to allow the voyage to be completed within the allotted time frame, ocean liners are built to go much faster, all while doing so in an extremely safe manner. Now that you know the difference, what can you expect on board the Queen Mary 2, otherwise fondly referred to as the QM2? Well, to say that the possibilities are endless would be an extreme understatement. When you book a crossing with Cunard, you are choosing an experience that can be summarized as "all about you," according to Beverley Burgess Williams, who serves as the Business Development Manager for Cunard. "I have had the pleasure of experiencing two transatlantic crossings, traveling from New York to London, eastbound," recalled Burgess Williams. "I filled my days to the extent that I was still not able to do everything that I wanted to accomplish. I missed one Proving That the Journey Can Be the Best Part of the Destination by Rob Kelley