QE2/Concorde: a unique air/sea program teams the world's fastest jet liner with the world's most famous cruise liner - Trans-Atlantic Tandem - Queen Elizabeth 2

Sailing aboard the QE2 westbound, an advantage is a 25-hour day for five of the six nights, because of the time change, while eastbound means just 23 hours a day. I prefer the former, and every evening brings the delightful surprise of a one-hour bonus to use as I please, usually putting off bedtime to take advantage of the nightlife.

The world's best known ship is also the fastest large passenger vessel, and she can make up to 32 knots, compared to most cruise ships' 18 to 22 knots. For the better part of three decades, the QE2 steamed at about 28.5 knots to maintain a tight five-night/four-day schedule, but in the last half-dozen years, she slowed her pace a bit to 25 knots to achieve a reliable on-time arrival and departure schedule in case of heavy weather, so she now makes the traditional crossing in six nights and five days.

Curiously, the sensation of speed at sea is much greater than in the air, especially the closer you get to the ocean surface. Stand aft on One Deck to look down on the wake frothing up from the propeller wash. The ship's vibration also adds to the exhilarating feeling of movement under foot.

A trans-Atlantic crossing is like no other voyage, because there are no ports to interfere with the rhythm of life at sea. While many cruise ships make seasonal positioning trips between the U.S. and Europe, the QE2 is the world's only true ocean liner, offering regular crossings from April through year's end.

Most cruise ships offer a main dining room, a reservations-only specialty restaurant or two, and large-scale buffets. On the QE2, the cabin category determines which of five restaurants you dine in, in addition to a choice of eating in the Lido buffet and the Pavilion for light meals.

At the top, the 225-seat Queens Grill provides special ordering beyond the extensive a la carte menu, the reward for paying top dollar. Many QE2 regulars prefer the Princess Grill and Britannia Grill, each with just 100 places and big-window ocean views. During the last refit, the Caronia Restaurant was handsomely redecorated in a grand British hotel style with dark-wood paneling and leafy, gold-flecked Murano glass chandeliers. Finally, the two-sitting Mauretania Restaurant, divided into cozy sections by etched-glass panels, offers affordable travel and the run-of-the-ship privileges--apart from the Queens Grill Lounge, which is reserved for grill-class passengers.

Cabins come in a huge variety of configurations, including high-up Signal Deck veranda suites (lots of motion in rough seas), large beautifully paneled center-of-the-ship staterooms with trunk room, 120 dedicated single cabins, good-size standard doubles, and economical insides with upper and lower berths.

What does one do with five days at sea when the weather becomes too wind-blown to be out ondeck? The QE2's daytime lecture program is the best at sea and includes well-known writers, actors, film producers, musicians, and historians--Fawlty Towers' John Cleese and Broadway's Elaine Stritch were aboard in 2002. QE2 Captain Ronald Warwick, whose father was the ship's first master, talks during interviews about his fulfilling life at sea. In 2003, the April 27 crossing is themed "New York Cabaret," May 26 is "British Comedy," and June 25 is "QE2 Goes To The Movies."