Crossing? Cruise?

Regarding “Transatlantic Cruise Market Remains Tiny, Not Titanic” (Travel Insider, April 12): When the QE2 sails from New York to Southampton or vice versa it is not a cruise, it is a transatlantic crossing. There is a difference.

There is also a substantive difference between an ocean liner and a cruise ship. The QE2 was built to double as both. To purists, the last true ocean liner was the CGT French Line ship France, which sailed between New York and Le Havre and was retired from transatlantic service in 1974. This ship now sails as the Norway for Norwegian Cruise Line.

As a side note, hearing that Carnival had bought Cunard was the worst news of my Easter morning. How sad that the company that virtually invented the elegance, stylishness and luxury of crossing the Atlantic on an ocean liner has been taken over by the company that builds the tackiest, gaudiest cruise ships and promotes a cruise philosophy that appeals to the lowest common denominator.

KEVIN SCARLETT

Santa Monica