# When did the last North Atlantic passenger ship lines \[cease\] operations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2016, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325 "2016-02-17T10:55:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/21 "2016-02-17T16:41:01Z")
A friend of mine booked a trip on a cruise ship for a crossing. I forget what it’s called, but when cruise companies need to move a ship from one port to another (like it’s getting too cold for Alaskan cruises, so the ship will be moved to the Caribbean) you can book a cabin on it. It’s the same experience as a normal cruise but with no port stops. Or a new ship has been built in Italy and needs to come over to the US. You fly to Italy and stay on the ship while it crosses. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/22 "2016-02-17T16:43:35Z")
I have friends who recently took the Queen Mary 2 from the UK to NY, because they were relocating and didn’t want to put their dog through the trauma of a flight. Yes, you can take dogs. Yes, they stay in your cabin. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/23 "2016-02-17T16:47:00Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I have friends who recently took the Queen Mary 2 from the UK to NY, because they were relocating and didn’t want to put their dog through the trauma of a flight. > > Yes, you can take dogs. Yes, they stay in your cabin. There’s a kennel on board too. Cute video - [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wtfTgI2wB18/hqdefault.jpg "A Happy Schnauzer Dog on Cunard's Queen Mary 2: Pepper in Paris") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtfTgI2wB18) ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/24 "2016-02-17T18:45:36Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I forget what it’s called, but when cruise companies need to move a ship from one port to another (like it’s getting too cold for Alaskan cruises, so the ship will be moved to the Caribbean) you can book a cabin on it. It’s the same experience as a normal cruise but with no port stops. > > Or a new ship has been built in Italy and needs to come over to the US. You fly to Italy and stay on the ship while it crosses. The term of art for this is a [repositioning cruise.](http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-2/articles.cfm?ID=1212) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/25 "2016-02-17T20:16:15Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > [SS France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_France_%281961%29#Service_history_as_SS_France) did the Le Havre - New York route from 1962 until 1974. It’s hard to answer the OP definitively, but I think this is the best answer – 1974. The Comet airliner in 1958 (mentioned above) is a good answer for “the beginning of the end.” So you basically had a sixteen-year period when it wouldn’t be odd or unusual to go either way. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/26 "2016-02-17T20:55:48Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > It’s hard to answer the OP definitively, but I think this is the best answer – 1974. > > The Comet airliner in 1958 (mentioned above) is a good answer for “the beginning of the end.” So you basically had a sixteen-year period when it wouldn’t be odd or unusual to go either way. I took the QE2 from New York to France in 1980, and based on talking to people on board who had been doing it for years, it was not that much different from the past. Certainly more formal than cruises today, but that was more the time. And no port tours in the middle of the Atlantic. But a day on the ship was not that much different from days at sea which I’ve had during Mediterranean and Baltic cruises. Hint: If you do a transatlantic cruise, do it East to West. You gain an hour every night, and you need it to eat. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/27 "2016-02-17T21:03:29Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > It’s hard to answer the OP definitively, but I think this is the best answer – 1974. I think the QE2 did do regular Southampton - NY runs up until she was replaced by QM2 (here’s her [1996 itinerary](http://www.qe2.org.uk/itinerary_1996.html), for example) There might have been some years where that route wasn’t used eg 1982 when she was used as a troop ship for the Falklands conflict, and a few years later when she needed an engine replacement. I can’t find a complete list of her sailings though. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/28 "2016-02-17T22:56:00Z")
Although one thing to keep in mind is that, somewhat ironically, the arms race of ever faster, ever more luxurious ocean liners from the 30’s through the 50’s was largely a symptom of a business in a long decline. What killed it wasn’t an alternate mode of transport, but the immigration restrictions that were passed in the US in the mid-20’s that effectively ended the 2nd and especially 3rd class passenger trade had been the bread and butter of the great ocean lines. That along with bad economic conditions in the 30’s led the few lines that didn’t merge or go bankrupt to have to have to compete for an ever-shrinking pool of well-to-do passengers. It’s true that the airlines were certainly the final nail in the transatlantic passenger lines’s coffin, but I think the story of the Jet Age is less about the airlines stealing what wealthy customers the ocean liners still had but rather about the creation of a whole new market of middle-class international tourists and business travelers. By the time international flights started getting more affordable in the 70’s, the average jet passenger wasn’t someone who would have gone by ship a generation earlier; they were someone who wouldn’t have been able to travel internationally at all. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/29 "2016-02-17T23:06:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > The Comet airliner in 1958 (mentioned above) is a good answer for “the beginning of the end.” It also was “the end” for a number of people, at least until they fixed the stress fracture problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people still do the North Atlantic crossing for relaxation and nostalgia, as well as luxury accomodations. And maybe food (the France had legendary cuisine). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/30 "2016-02-17T23:41:27Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > From what I can tell the QE2 kept doing regularly scheduled transatlantic crossings until the QM2 took over in 2004. Regular in the year-on-year sense, but not frequent within the year - transatlantic runs were a minority activity, interspersed by often months and months of other itinerary such as world or Med cruises. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/31 "2016-02-17T23:56:27Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > Yes, but the Queen Mary is a cruise ship (see my question). > > :o The Queen Mary is most certainly _NOT_ a cruise ship. It is an ocean liner. Saying it is a cruise ship is like calling Motel 6 the Waldorf. Cruise ships can’t sail around the world. They just aren’t designed for it. Interestingly, the Titanic II makes it’s first voyage in 2018. It’s modeled after the doomed ocean liner albeit a little larger and much safer. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/32 "2016-02-18T00:04:49Z")
Missed the edit window. A cite. > **[The difference between "liners" and "cruise ships" Interesting article. -...](https://www.fodors.com/community/cruises/the-difference-between-liners-and-cruise-ships-interesting-article-930283/)** > > Cruises - The difference between liners and cruise ships Interesting article. - The terms “cruise ship” and “ocean liner” are often used interchangeably. However, while both are types of passenger ships, there is a difference. An ocean liner is a... ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/33 "2016-02-18T03:48:28Z")
The QE2 (1964-2008) was probably the last “Real” “Oceanliner”. Cunard (which acquired White Star (RMS Titanic) in 1934) is now owned by Carnival. QM2 is now an over-sized cruise ship (see any current pic). So, for OP: 2008, last voyage of the QE2. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/34 "2016-02-18T03:50:52Z")
The “classic” oceanliner did not have 10 decks. The QM2 may have begun life as a “First, Second. and Steerage” ship, but its current form is patterned after cruise ships. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/35 "2016-02-18T04:31:10Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I took the QE2 from New York to France in 1980, . . . A ++1 for username / post content? (Or is this one just a little too obvious?) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/36 "2016-02-18T04:35:40Z")
Typo in title fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/37 "2016-02-18T04:43:20Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > What killed it wasn’t an alternate mode of transport, but the immigration restrictions that were passed in the US in the mid-20’s that effectively ended the 2nd and especially 3rd class passenger trade had been the bread and butter of the great ocean lines. Continued longer between Aus and England. I think the last migrant ship to arive in Australia was the SS Australis, December 1977. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/38 "2016-02-18T04:52:26Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > QM2 is now an over-sized cruise ship (see any current pic). Could you clarify what you mean by that? Is a cruise ship vs. ocean liner somehow defined by appearance? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/39 "2016-02-18T05:29:50Z")
Fear of flying is why my mom took herself, my older sister and me to England via the sea in 1972, while Pop went via air. (He couldn’t take the time off from work.) We went via the _QE2_ to England, something I vividly remember as being awesome despite being only 5 because the crew and passengers were so amazingly lovely. Alas, we returned via the _France_, which was a far less enjoyable experience for me; snotty crew and terrible food in the children’s area that I couldn’t keep down. (And it wasn’t seasickness, since the seas were way choppier on the _QE2_ and I loved it.) The _France_ was rechristened the _Norway_, if I recall correctly, which eventually had some kind of accident… fire? But continued for a few years into the 2000s. I will definitely be taking the _Queen Mary 2_ some day. That transatlantic journey of my youth was one of the most delightful experiences, all these years later, and though I doubt I can repeat the magic, being old and wizened and all, I’m sure gonna try. Anyway, point is, having religiously read all the literature that Cunard sends me, I can assert (as does Cunard) that the _QM2_ is most definitely an ocean liner, and in fact is the largest passenger liner ever. Her design may be lavish but for the cost and the length of the journey, why on earth would you expect anything but grandiosity? Cunard’s European cruise ships are the _Victoria_ and the new _Elizabeth 2_. (In all honesty I’m rather surprised it took them so long to come up with a _Victoria_. Why would they go with _Mary_, of all awful sovereigns?! At least with _Mary 2_ I can convince myself it’s named after William’s wife, not Bloody Mary.) ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325/40 "2016-02-18T05:40:20Z")
> [@choie](#): > > . . . (In all honesty I’m rather surprised it took them so long to come up with a _Victoria_. Why would they go with _Mary_, of all awful sovereigns?! At least with _Mary 2_ I can convince myself it’s named after William’s wife, not Bloody Mary.) Cunard’s first _Queen Mary_ was named after the consort of George V. _Queen Mary 2_ is not named after any queen, but after the earlier ship. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-north-atlantic-passenger-ship-lines-cease-operations/746325.md?page=3)