If the cabins are the same, and the "shaking" is worse,

[paulista1950]

why is it that the higher you go the more you pay? I always prefer to stay down bellow and I am very happy that I pay less for that.

I'm talking about the QM2 but I guess this aplies to almost every ship

[jgsmuzzy]

that's not quite true. You pay more for a balcony on 5 & 6 than you do on 8.

[transat_jon]

It wasn't always like this!

 

Back in the "olden days", the days days of the Mauretania, Queen Mary, Normandie, The France and even when the QE2 was "new". Almost all cabins were down in the hull (typically third class bow, first class midships, second class stern - QE2 also put the lower classes on decks 4 & 5, the france also had traverse splits although also the courtyard cabins).

 

It is only the modern desire for balconies that has changed ships into condominium blocks where how high you are is a sign of your status.

 

The other side of this is modern ships now have stabilisers and roll less than many of the ships of old in any case. Add to that modern communications and forecasting means that bad weather can be avoided.

 

QM2 is a pretty stable ship and does not roll about that much making this not much of an issue.

[carlmm]

why is it that the higher you go the more you pay? I always prefer to stay down bellow and I am very happy that I pay less for that.

I'm talking about the QM2 but I guess this aplies to almost every ship

 

A very good question and I always wonder why people are ready to pay much more for identical cabins on higher decks.

Yet, Cunard seems to be aware of this inconsistency and acts at least in parts differently than other lines. As you are talking about the QM2:

- The most expensive cabins, Queens Grill, are for the most part on deck 9; the next less expensive, cabins, Princess Grill, are one deck higher, deck 10;

the two decks on top, 11 and 12, are Britannia staterooms.

- Price differences between the Britannia Balcony cabins can be explained by other factors: the most expensive ones of these on the tops desks are the only ones with unrestricted view. Thus cabins are not the same.

 

Yet, for the one kind of cabins, where I find the pricing most bewildering, Cunard acts like every other line: inside cabins. Why pay more for the non-existing view on deck 12 than on deck 4?

[paulista1950]

Since I'm going on a inside cabin, I choosed deck 4.

[hooked cruiser]

We are on Deck 8 with an obstructed balcony view (premium) and in all honesty the only reason we took it was that it was a lot cheaper than the same cabins with a view on the same deck and having cruised before in the Caribbean we don't tend to spend that much time on it anyway but its nice to have the fresh air.

[travel-to-go]

Thank you, Jon. This does explain some things. I always wondered why, if the more stable cabins are those down in the hull, and at the lower levels where roll would be felt less, that the higher the deck, the higher the cabin class (and price). I can only assume that this goes back to the days when "steerage" was associated with the lower decks, (Near the steering mechanism) before the days of modern lighting and air conditioning, where belowdecks was a dimly lit, clasutrophic, ill-smelling place with smaller cabins (due to the inward dimensions of the lower portions of the ship.) Back in the days of the Mayflower, or the Masterpiece Theater recent three parter, The End of the Earth, when there was no running water, and slop buckets were the means of relieveing oneself, rats infested the lower levels, and anyhing eating at the wood was more rampant alowdecks, and below the water line, one could certainly understand that the higher the cabin, the closer to fresh air, and safer one might be, Not to mention, the reason steerage got it's name as that it was closer to the steering mechanism, the great rudder, which extended, I think through the lower level. I assume that the rather large "handle" of the rudder (Sorry, I don't know what the interior portion of it is called) probably extended the length of the ship, for the purpose of better leverage.

 

In later days, of gas or oil lamps, and early last century, when fresh air was brought to lower levels vias the huge "horns" (I'm sorry, Again, I don't know what they were called) which scooped in air and distributed it down through the levels, those closest to the surface got the most and the freshest air.

 

Take it away, Jon!

 

Karie,

who thinks it might not have been very pleasant in those days. Having seen the Charles Morgan, an authentic ship in our Olde Mysticke Village here in CT. I don't think I would want to saiil for three months in one of those! and our grocer tonight was telling me how all aboard in the really old days drank beer, even children. As the water, of course was rotten witin a few weeks of sailing. And we all know the tale of the term, Limey- For the sailors who ate limes to avoid scurvy! That's why I have this mojito at my side right now~ Or a Margarita some nights! <G>