The great ocean crossings have defined sea travel since the age of steam, and they retain an enduring romance that modern aviation can never fully replicate. A transatlantic crossing aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 — the world’s only purpose-built ocean liner still in regular service — is the classic expression: seven nights on the open Atlantic between Southampton and New York, with formal dinners, a Cunard lecture series, spa treatments, and the building anticipation of the Manhattan skyline appearing through the dawn mist as the ship sails into the Hudson River. Transatlantic repositioning cruises — when ships move seasonally between European and Caribbean or American ports — offer excellent value for ocean crossings, typically spending five to seven days at sea with occasional port calls in the Azores, Canary Islands or Bermuda along the way. These crossings attract experienced cruisers who love the sea passage itself as much as the destination. Transpac voyages across the Pacific are longer — typically 15 to 30 days from the US West Coast to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. The Pacific crossing is the grandest of all ocean passages, covering thousands of miles of empty ocean with few island stops (Hawaii, Tahiti and Fiji being the main exceptions) before arriving at the remarkable port cities of the western Pacific. Sydney Harbour, Tokyo Bay and Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour are among the world’s finest port arrivals. These voyages suit experienced travellers who relish time at sea, enjoy the social rhythms of life aboard ship and find meaning in the experience of being genuinely far from land. They pair naturally with hotel stays before or after at the embarkation or disembarkation port.