Voyage M632 · Early & Away Curated Group
Queen Mary 2 · New York → Southampton
The Case for Going
Have you ever wanted to cross the Atlantic by ship? Just slow down. Read. Talk to interesting people.
If you're anything like me, it sounds perfect — until you picture yourself standing in the dining room on night one, trying to figure out where to sit. Now add this: what if the whole crossing was built around a literary festival?
Queen Mary 2's partnership with the Cheltenham Literature Festival brings authors, journalists, and historians aboard for seven nights, New York to Southampton. I'm going. Book through me, and you won't arrive as a stranger.
Seven days at sea with no agenda except the books in your bag and the Atlantic outside your porthole. There's a reason people have been taking this crossing for a century.
Author talks, panel discussions, and conversations with the people who wrote the books — all on a ship in the middle of the ocean, with nowhere else to be.
The 2026 lineup includes bestselling novelists, award-winning historians, a BBC News presenter, and a cryptic crossword editor. Twenty-two guests confirmed and counting.
QM2 carries the largest library of any ocean liner — 8,000 volumes available to guests throughout the crossing. You may not need the books you packed.
QM2 is the only ship at sea with a working planetarium. Seven nights with no light pollution and the Atlantic horizon in every direction — then a seat under the stars without going outside.
Book through Early & Away and I'll open a private group channel weeks before we sail. By embarkation day, you'll already know the people you're crossing with.
Life Aboard
2026 Confirmed Speakers
Cheltenham's partnership with Cunard brings an extraordinary lineup aboard for the crossing — novelists, historians, journalists, and a few people who defy a single label. Here's who's confirmed so far.
Voyage Details
| Ship | Queen Mary 2 — the only ocean liner still in regular transatlantic service |
| Voyage | M632 · New York (Brooklyn) → Southampton, England |
| Departs | Saturday, November 28, 2026 — the day after Thanksgiving |
| Arrives | Saturday, December 5, 2026 |
| Duration | 7 nights at sea |
| Cabin category | Lower Ship Sheltered Balcony (Class BV or BY) — Britannia Stateroom with your own private outdoor space, sheltered from the wind. |
| Pricing | $1,667 per person — double occupancy $3,234 — single occupancy Early & Away group rates. Book independently and you won't get these. |
| Cunard inclusions | All meals in the Britannia Restaurant, 24-hour room service, half bottle of sparkling wine on embarkation, nightly turndown service with chocolate, Penhaligon's toiletries, bathrobe and slippers, tea and coffee-making facilities, refrigerator, safe, hairdryer, satellite TV, and the Cheltenham Literary Festival programming. |
| Early & Away extras | A bottle of French champagne in your stateroom on arrival, a private group cocktail party with canapés, and access to our group channel starting 6–8 weeks before sailing — so you know your fellow travelers before you board. |
| What's not included | Flights home from Southampton, onboard extras (spa, specialty dining, drinks packages), travel insurance. |
| Book by | Cabins fill — book early for best selection and pricing. |
The Early & Away Difference
Solo women don't avoid experiences like this because they can't travel alone. They avoid them because arriving into a social environment as a complete stranger is genuinely uncomfortable. A week-long crossing where you don't know anyone can go from dream to dread before you've even unpacked.
Book through Early & Away and I'll open a private group channel six to eight weeks before we sail. We'll discuss the books on the reading list, figure out who wants to sit together at the author talks, ask the cabin and packing questions, and generally get to know each other before embarkation day. By the time you step aboard, the group already exists.
Reading recommendations. Packing questions. Deck plan orientation. Who wants to sit together at Alexander McCall Smith's talk. It's the thing that turns a crossing into a crossing with the right people.
After the Crossing
You'll arrive in Southampton on a Saturday morning with a week of good reading behind you, the English countryside at your doorstep, and — if you play it right — no reason to fly home immediately. I can help you plan a few extra days before you head back.
The ship docks within striking distance of some of England's most literary destinations. Whether you want a few days in London, the villages of the Cotswolds, the Georgian streets of Bath, or — for the true literary traveler — Hay-on-Wye or Cheltenham itself, I'll put together a custom itinerary to extend your trip.
Reach out and I'll answer your questions, send you full details, and get you booked.
Get the reading list for this trip.