Seven Sea Days in an Inside Cabin – Fun, But Never Again!

I’ve always wanted to take a transatlantic crossing, experience a classic Ocean Liner route, and take that Iconic sailing from New York to Southampton.

I booked the trip knowing the Atlantic in January is often rough, but I hoped the Queen Mary 2 would handle any sea conditions well, after all, she was built specifically for these crossings.

I booked myself an inside cabin. After all, there wasn’t going to be anything but sea to look at for days and days on end.

The Idea vs. The Reality

I envisioned this crossing as a time to relax in a glamorous environment, reminiscent of the great days of Ocean Liner travel of times gone by.

I was looking forward to catching up with work, reading and having plenty of time to relax away from the daily distractions of life.

In reality, it wasn’t quite like that!

The weather was very rough, the ship was constantly pitching and rolling, and there were no port days to break up the monotony.

It was so rough that Queen Mary 2’s sister ship, Queen Anne (the newest and biggest ship in the Cunard fleet), took an extra day to cross the Atlantic. She was travelling the opposite way that very week.

Queen Anne is a cruise ship, not an Ocean Liner, so she wasn’t designed for such rough seas.

The First Few Days

The first couple of days were exciting. We explored the ship, which has a very different layout from most ships I have sailed on.

We spent a lot of time in the Carinthia lounge, enjoying the entertainment, attending interesting lectures, and enjoying Cunard’s wonderful afternoon teas.

Not having a window or a balcony wasn’t a big deal, because we were busy out and about around the ship, only returning to our cabins to sleep.

The Weather Turned Bad

The Captain kept us informed with his daily updates at twelve noon every day.

I was well aware that we were sailing into a storm, and could see that other cruise ships in the area had taken evasive action and moved away!

I thought everything would be fine, after all, we were on the Queen Mary 2, and there is no better ship to be on when things get rough.

The ship began to rock and roll more dramatically, and the sick bags started to appear, hung by the stairs. That is never a good sign!

The crew then began closing the outside decks for safety reasons. I began to feel more and more unwell, and I couldn’t get outside to get some fresh air as I normally would.

This is when the inside cabin started to feel more confining. I wished I had booked one of Queen Mary’s sheltered balcony cabins.

These cabins are on low decks – 4, 5 and 6 – you can still get outside to get some fresh air, but because of the low down position on the ship, you feel less movement. Perfect for transatlantic crossings such as this.

I could hear the wind outside whistling as I walked around the ship, but I had no idea what the seas looked like.

The lack of daylight and fresh air made the days feel much longer, and we couldn’t ignore the movement of the ship, no matter how hard we tried.

Plates and cups slid across tables, and walking down some of the ship’s corridors was a challenge!

Coping With the Cabin Fever

As the days went by, I adapted by spending time in the lower lounges, attending lectures, taking naps, having small meals, and taking gentle walks inside.

I was lucky enough to win a book about the Tudors after attending an interesting lecture on that period of history. Unfortunately, I was too ill to go and collect my prize on the day, so my mum had to collect it on my behalf!

When I felt up to it, I wandered the corridors and explored the ship’s unusual layout, rather than going outside and walking the decks.

All the days seemed grey and drab. Most days at noon, the clocks went forward by an hour, which made it even harder to keep track of time.

Find out more about that here:

My Cruise Skipped 12pm–1pm Most Days: Here’s Why

The Sea

The ship pitched and rolled in the rough January seas. I found myself leaning at an angle as I walked along the corridors, trying to compensate for the ship’s movements.

When a ship rolls, there is a feeling of temporary weightlessness – similar to the feeling of being in freefall or going over a hump on a roller coaster.

The sick bags were put out around the ship, and I was feeling rather delicate.

My inside cabin became my refuge. It was the only place where I could lie down flat and rest, but I desperately missed the fresh air and wished I had a balcony I could go out on.

My parents had been “upgraded” from an obstructed-view balcony cabin in the middle of the ship to an unobstructed-view cabin, right at the top of the ship, very close to the bridge.

The movement and the noise of the ship ploughing through the waves was far, far worse in their cabin, so I wasn’t venturing up there!

On some days, the movement was so bad that my dad had to come down to my cabin to lie down and rest. He gets as seasick as me, and his cabin was making him feel really ill.

Find out about their “bad” upgrade here:

Why I Wouldn’t Recommend This Balcony Cabin on Queen Mary 2 (Full Cabin Review)

Have a look at my “atrium view” cabin that overlooked the central atrium area of the ship here:

The Highlights Of The Trip

There were lots of good points about this trip – the lectures, the afternoon tea, the big swing band in the ballroom to mention but a few.

I even saw a dog on the top deck, once the weather had improved, and I was able to get outside.

Queen Mary 2 is the only ship that allows you to take dogs and cats onboard. They are kept in kennels at the top of the ship, and owners can visit them daily.

Find out more about that here:

I Took A Cruise That Allows Dogs (And Cats) Onboard!

I enjoyed the entertainment and the food. The crew were lovely.

The ship handled the extreme weather conditions very well, but rough sea days are often the reality of seven straight days on the Atlantic Ocean.

Seeing Land Again

I was very relieved to arrive in Southampton on that cold and wet January morning.

It was lovely to stand on solid ground once again.

I was very pleased to have successfully made the Atlantic crossing, but it is something I don’t want to repeat.

Have a proper look at that rocky transatlantic sailing here:

What I Learnt From The Experience

Inside cabins are fine, and I would happily stay in them again, but perhaps not on a journey like this, where there is a risk of the outside decks being closed for days on end.

If I were to book another long sailing where bad weather was a risk, I’d book an oceanview or balcony cabin to get some daylight.

Seven sea days on an Ocean Liner is an amazing experience, but I prefer itineraries with at least some port stops to break up the endless sea days. Feeling seasick for days on end is not a pleasant experience!

Before You Go

Find out what makes Queen Mary 2 unique here:

Queen Mary 2 vs. Other Cruise Ships: What Makes Her Unique?

Learn about the things you can do onboard the Queen Mary 2 that you can’t do on other ships here:

10 Things You Can Do on the Queen Mary 2 That You Can’t on Most Cruise Ships