Comment by lmm | Hacker News Reader

Comment by lmm | Hacker News Reader

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> I believe Cunard (part of Carnival) operates the Queen Mary 2, the last running ocean liner on Earth. It does Southampton to New York via traditional Atlantic crossing, just like the Titanic (almost) did. Not sure if it makes money, but (pre-pandemic) it was likely subsidized by other cruise ships or by QM2 cruising herself.

I doubt it's subsidized, given how expensive it is. I'm not sure what distinction you're drawing between "cruise ship" and "ocean liner" - I guess in theory the QM2 runs to a timetable while cruise ships run to ad-hoc charter schedules, but in practice those cruise schedules are set years in advance and that timetable can be changed on fairly short notice. When I looked into a round-the-world trip it didn't seem like e.g. Vancouver-Hawaii was going to be any harder than NY-Southampton - in both cases you look at the schedule and book your trip months in advance.

The QM2 is a luxury service but it's not just for enthusiasts - there are plenty of people who can't or don't want to fly, and are willing to pay the price.

Oh there's significant structural differences between cruise ships and ocean liners. Ocean liner's bow is strengthened for travel in adverse seas, and the stern is cupped rather than box-shaped to reduce roll. The superstructure is tapered for better balance, and the engines are optimized for power / speed moreso than vibration / comfort. They're more expensive than cruise ships as a result.

See: https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-ocean-l...

Then presumably those ships doing Vancouver-Hawaii are "ocean liners" in that sense, and the QM2 is by no means "the last running ocean liner on Earth"?

With the exception of RMS Queen Mary 2 (Cunard Line: 2004-present), the ocean liner is nearly extinct.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-last-surviving-transatlan...

You don't seem to have engaged with the discussion. This was claimed two or three posts back, but what does it actually mean?

Plenty of passenger ships - to give a concrete example, the Spirit class - routinely make transoceanic crossings at a reasonable speed following schedules published years in advance. Perhaps a little slower than the QM2. Perhaps with slightly more onboard amenities. But I can see no clear distinction that justifies this talk of the QM2 being somehow "the last" and qualitatively different from these other ships that do very much the same thing in practice.

It was explained wasn't it? The design parameters are different, as the purpose is different (transportation rather than leisure).

"Bob is the last sheep"

"But I see all these four-legged ruminants wandering around eating grass, what about them?"

"Those are goats"

"You don't seem to have engaged with the discussion..."

I responded to that, and then grandparent just reverted to a blank assertion. It's more like:

"Bob is the last sheep"

"But I see all these four-legged ruminants wandering around eating grass, what about them?"

"Those are goats"

"We're shearing them and gathering wool from them; doesn't that make them sheep?"

"Bob is the last sheep"

"You don't seem to have engaged with the discussion..."

Ocean liner = designed to travel fast. Cruise liner = designed to have lots of amenities.

QM2 is one of the fastest cruise ships but:

> 41 feet for every gallon

Not great fuel economy either. When multiplied by the 3000 people on board at max capacity that extends efficiency but only to a point.

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