Arison recalls how his family immigrated to America aboard Cunard's Mauretania in 1954 when he was 5 and how, growing up in Manhattan, he would see the ocean liners docking on the West side.
Years later, influenced by the success of the movie 'Titanic' and people's nostalgia and desire for the past and a simpler world, Arison was thinking of building a liner. It was the acquisition of Cunard that brought that to fruition.
Queen Mary 2 was a 'very, very challenging project' because of the special strength and design needed, and nobody had constructed a trans-Atlantic liner in decades.
The rest of the story is here, in five-minute and three-minute versions.
It was just last year that Arison crossed the Atlantic again on Cunard, this time heading to Europe, aboard the newly remastered Queen Mary 2.
'A crossing is a unique bucket list experience,' he said in the video. 'It’s really something that you should try once, but don’t be surprised if you’re going to want to do it again.'
From May until December, Queen Mary 2 will make a total of 22 Atlantic voyages, some featuring special programming such as The New York Times Insights Series, the Greatest Generations Foundation, Julien's Auctions with the Judy Garland collection, Fashion Week and Le Havre's 500th anniversary.
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