Hacker News

points by kragen 2 days ago | 0 comments

If this is interesting to you, there's still one ocean liner left: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Mary_2

Buy a ticket while you can.

I had a coworker whose not a fan of flying who has done a couple crossings now, really enjoys it! I think of the Queen Mary 2 a bunch because of them, their tales. A little world of fans who really enjoy doing the crossing.

[–] whyenot 2 days ago

I wonder if Cunard/Carnival will ever build a replacement to her.

[–] kragen 2 days ago

No. Possibly Kishore Patil, who was born yesterday in Mumbai, will build a replacement for her on a whim when he is 70, using self-assembling nanobots, or possibly next century the Creative Cold War Re-Enactment Society will cosplay 20th-century steel-mill workers and welders long enough to build a replacement for her in a period-correct fashion, but nothing really resembling Cunard will exist in a future where building a replacement for her is possible.

[–] samatman 2 days ago

Not to toss cold water in the face of your maudlin science-fictional musings (kidding I’m totally doing that), QM2 is the 51st largest passenger ship afloat.

They call them “cruise ships” now, because the only reason to float around like that is fun, not business. So they have waterslides and such. Slightly less old-growth hardwood paneling, fewer places where one is allowed to smoke cigars.

But no. There are ten Greeks who could build another Queen Mary as a lark, and that’s just counting Greeks. However rich you think the world is? It’s richer than that.

Zeppelins, though. Those, I will grant you, have gotten scarce. Oh, the humanity.

[–] dn3500 2 days ago

Cruise ships and ocean liners are two different kinds of ship. An ocean liner has higher freeboard, higher service speed, longer bow, greater draft, and other features that make it more suitable for crossing oceans.

[–] ornateelephant 2 days ago

Forget the Greeks, have a look at Clive Palmer. Not just dreaming about building a replica Titanic, but also wanted to revive zeppelins commercially.

[–] prmph 2 days ago

I always wondered if there is not a market for old-school travel using such liners, not just for recreation.

Many people hate or fear flying. Some might also just prefer the laid back, retro, travel style. Not all are in a mad rush to get somewhere.

But I guess the market might be too small for regularly scheduled trips.

[–] kragen 2 days ago

Maybe you're right.

[–] Animats 2 days ago

> Zeppelins, though. Those, I will grant you, have gotten scarce.

Just saw a Zeppelin cruising over Woodside today. It's Sergey Brin's personal project, Pathfinder. It's a true Zeppelin, a rigid airship, not a blimp, and the world's largest air vehicle. [1] First flew in 2025, but, unlike the Airship Ventures craft we used to see giving tours over Silicon Valley, it's not flown often. It's normally parked in Hangar One at Moffet Field.

[1] https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/big-helium-airship-spott...

[–] kragen 2 days ago

Thank God for billionaires, but why can't he stop Google from creating dystopia instead?

[–] derwiki 2 days ago

Probably much, much easier to make a zeppelin

[–] Maxion 2 days ago

Definitely can't afford that, this is going to be one of those life regrets I think that I won't be able to do.

[–] boelboel 2 days ago

It's actually not that expensive if you take an inside cabin, I remember seeing prices of about 900usd at some point, which isn't more than a plane ticket if you take into account the food/entertainment. Right now there's some crossing from the UK to New York starting at about 450 pounds, you have to call though.

[–] Maxion 1 day ago

Huh, that's a lot more affordable than I thought. I think I'd prefer an inside cabin anyway, on a ship like that you don't really wanna spend time in the cabin.

[–] globular-toast 2 days ago

A two day ferry to Spain will set you back more than that!

Worth noting, though, being able to "afford" this kind of thing isn't just about the money. Most people get only a few weeks holiday per year, and many aren't allowed to take more than a couple of at a time. To get the most out of something like this you'll ideally have a month at the very least to holiday, which is not possible for most.

[–] yread 1 day ago

They do short hops too Southhampton to Hamburg IIRC is like 300 euro

[–] hluska 1 day ago

Their website currently has inside cabins listed at “CA$600.57” per person with a note that says “All prices in US dollars.” They have a deal now where third and fourth guests travel free so you could take four people to London for $1200 Canadian/US. I have no idea what currency Canadian/US is and as a general rule, I like it when big floating things are run by companies with a lot of attention to detail.

[–] rootusrootus 2 days ago

Are there plans to scrap it anytime soon? It's modern, built in the early 2000s, and seems in some ways more like a modern cruise ship than an ocean liner of the last century.

[–] kragen 2 days ago

Not that I know of, but it's the only ocean liner left, so when it does get scrapped (perhaps unexpectedly), there won't be any ocean liners.