Throughout the 20th century, massive ocean‑going behemoths criss‑crossed the North Atlantic, ferrying hopeful immigrants to the New World and whisking affluent travelers between New York’s bustling ports and Europe’s grand harbours. A few of these majestic vessels still sail today, while the majority survive only in sepia‑tinted photographs or in upscale restaurants that have rescued a fragment of their sumptuous interiors. Below we rank the most remarkable ships by length of service, sheer opulence, reputation, and overall amenities. Many of them once hoisted the coveted Blue Riband, the prize awarded for the fastest Atlantic crossing.
Remember, an Atlantic liner is not the same as a modern cruise ship. The latter are built for placid seas and pure entertainment, whereas the former were engineered to brave the notoriously rough North Atlantic and to transport passengers across oceans. For a deeper dive, check out Thomas Maxtone‑Graham’s classic “The Only Way to Cross.” Note that the years listed correspond to launch dates, not the moment each ship entered service; for example, Queen Mary was launched in 1934 but didn’t begin voyages until two years later.
10 great atlantic: The Ultimate List of Legendary Liners
10. Queen Mary II
For almost three decades the Queen Elizabeth 2 seemed destined to be the sole survivor of the super‑liner era, but its enduring transatlantic and cruise successes persuaded Cunard to commission another flagship. Queen Mary 2 now claims the title of the largest Atlantic super‑liner ever built (though the Freedom of the Seas surpasses her in sheer size, and the original Queen Mary actually displaced more tonnage). QM2 looks like a hybrid of a classic liner and a modern cruise ship, yet she was designed principally for Atlantic passages, even though she roams the globe today. If you have roughly $2,000 (about £1,000), you can book a cabin on the QM2 and experience her grandeur yourself. (And why is she ranked #10 instead of #1? Simply because she hasn’t been around as long as the others.)
9. Rex
The pride of post‑World‑I Italy, the SS Rex and her sister ship, the Conte de Savoia, were Italy’s answer to Germany’s sleek greyhounds (see #6). After a rocky start, Rex seized the Blue Riband in 1933 and held it for two years. She is perhaps best remembered for a dramatic 1938 “interception” by American B‑17 bombers while still far out at sea. The Italians laid her up during the war, but the Allies sank her in September 1944 to prevent the Germans from using her to block the harbor at Trieste.
8. SS France / SS Norway
One of the most celebrated of the final great Atlantic super‑liners, the France served as France’s flagship for nearly fifteen years. The nation truly adored her, and mourned when she was laid up in 1974. She was later sold to Norwegian Cruise Line and renamed the Norway, sailing under that banner from 1980 until roughly 2001. As the Norway she endured numerous challenges but remained a favourite on Caribbean routes. After several ownership changes and plans for refit or scrapping, she sat idle for environmental concerns before finally being dismantled in 2008.
7. Queen Mary
The original Queen Mary was built to restore British maritime prestige and to replace the aging Mauritania and Aquitania. Though traditional in her décor, she proved more popular than the more modern‑looking Normandie. Like her sister ship Queen Elizabeth, she was a prized target for German U‑boats during World War II, but they never succeeded. In the post‑war era the two Cunard queens dominated the Atlantic as originally intended. Today the Queen Mary is gutted and moored in Long Beach, California, serving as a hotel and tourist attraction, while her sister ship was burned to a husk in the 1970s during an ill‑fated attempt to convert her into a floating university.
6. Bremen
After losing its pre‑World‑I fleet of liner giants to reparations, Germany reclaimed a place on the seas with the Bremen and her sister ship, the Europa. This modern vessel sparked the “express liner” craze of the 1930s, offering sleek lines, breakneck speed, lavish luxury, and a “wet” (alcohol‑friendly) atmosphere that appealed to Europeans during America’s Prohibition. Bremen enjoyed massive popularity, but the outbreak of another war ended her career. The German military repurposed her as a barracks before she was torched and gutted in 1941, a victim of arson. She was scrapped in 1946.
5. Mauretania
Alongside her sister ship, the ill‑fated Lusitania, the Mauretania was the first true Atlantic greyhound. Powered by steam turbines, she was both mighty and luxurious, remaining a favourite for three decades. Mauretania held the Blue Riband for a remarkable twenty years before the Bremen snatched it away. She was scrapped in 1935, despite protests from ship enthusiasts, including Franklin D. Roosevelt. (In the opening of the blockbuster film Titanic, the snobbish Cal boasts that Titanic is “over a hundred feet longer than the Mauretania and far more luxurious.”)
4. Normandie
If you’ve ever seen 1930s travel posters, you’ve likely spotted the looming Normandie, her sleek, clipper‑like bow cutting through the water. She was ultra‑modern, boasting a steam turbo‑electric plant, a clean upper deck, and sumptuous interiors throughout. Yet despite her elegance, Normandie struggled to turn a profit during the Depression. When World War II erupted, she found herself in New York and remained there after France fell. U.S. officials seized her after America entered the war, renaming her USS Lafayette. She never sailed again; a fire during refitting in early 1942 caused her to capsize, and despite an expensive salvage operation, she was scrapped in 1946.
3. United States
Fast enough that her top speed was classified as a state secret, the United States remains the last of the classic greyhounds, now languishing at a Philadelphia pier, slowly rusting away. Built for both passenger service and potential military deployment, she embodied the dual‑purpose design many liners missed when WWII broke out. In the 1960s, the rise of the jumbo jet rendered ocean travel less attractive, and the great Atlantic palaces fell on hard times. United States still holds the westbound Blue Riband and, after being purchased in 2004 by Norwegian Cruise Line, awaits her ultimate fate.
2. Olympic
The glorious Olympic outlasted her sisters, the infamous Titanic and the ill‑fated Britannic (the latter never entered passenger service and was sunk by a German mine off Greece while serving as a hospital ship). Nicknamed “Old Reliable,” she served continuously—from 1911 until 1935—aside from brief interruptions. Notoriously prone to striking other vessels, she once deliberately rammed German submarine U‑103 in 1918, forcing the enemy to scuttle her. Olympic remained popular after the war despite her age, before being laid up in the mid‑1930s and scrapped in 1937.
1. Queen Elizabeth II
At the twilight of the golden age of Atlantic steamers arrived the QE2, launched as the first Queen Mary retired. From the late 1960s until 2004, the QE2 was the sole vessel offering luxurious Atlantic crossings (aside from the Norway before it became a cruise ship). She also ventured beyond the Atlantic, calling at ports such as Sydney, Australia. This magnificent super‑liner retired in 2008 and is slated to become a floating hotel in Dubai.
Notable omissions: Majestic (ex‑Bismarck), Aquitania, Berengaria (ex‑Imperator), Nieuw Amsterdam and the Kungsholm/Sea Princess/Victoria/Mona Lisa.