Destination: Across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2; Age appeal: Leave the children at home (not on their own, of course); When to go: All the year round.

There's something about Mary. Is it her classy looks, her sleek lines, the way she caters for your every whim? Or is it because she's so much bigger than the other girls?

Really, it's all these things and more that entice thousands of people to undertake a transatlantic crossing aboard the Queen Mary 2.

The world's largest, longest and tallest ocean liner measures 1,132 feet from bow to stern. She'd stretch from Bradford City Hall to beyond the Wool Exchange, I reckoned as I paced the deck during a crossing from New York to Southampton this month.

I was relieved to discover the voyage didn't entail six wintry days of battening down the hatches and ending up locked in with 2,000 or so elderly millionaires.

Because while many of her passengers are mature Americans who have sailed more seas than Captain Birdseye's had fish fingers, all sorts of folk are lured by her variety of food, things to do and prices.

My weather predictions would have made Michael Fish blush. Unseasonable Halloween temperatures of 20C in New York didn't drop until England was almost in sight. Storms were howling over Greenland, but we sailed almost as far south as the Azores to miss them.

The jumpers stayed in the suitcase. And so did the pile of books I'd packed. There just aren't enough hours in the day - especially as eastbound passengers turn their clocks forward an hour every evening!

Before leaving Manhattan we thrilled at the QM2's 300-yard corridors, sumptuous public rooms and our Princess suite with king-size bed, walk-in closet, port-side balcony and bubbly on ice.

The night-time sailaway is pure romance, sipping Champagne as the city's lights glide by. As the famous red Cunard funnels squeezed beneath the Verrazano Narrows Bridge we said goodbye to terra firma for six days and 3,500 miles.

But how quickly the hours passed - many of them spent eating. There are more than a dozen eateries on board, ranging from burgers in the Boardwalk Caf to afternoon tea and scones served by whitegloved waiters in the Queen's Room.

Evening meals are a major event and passengers dress accordingly. Guests in the top accommodation share the Princess and Queens Grills, where there is no set seating time and the food is as good as any in a top restaurant on land.

But the rest are by no means missing out by dining in the dazzling Britannia Restaurant, where there are two seating times for dinner. The food and service is of the same excellent standard and the menu identical - and diners still eat off Wedgwood and drink from Waterford.

Indeed many may prefer the glitz of Britannia to the understated elegance of the grills. We ate there with Chief Purser Jonathon Leavor, who comes from Queensbury. ''Our guests come aboard as passengers and leave as cargo, '' he joked as my tuxedo's waistband bulged.

Afterwards there's dancing in the biggest ballroom at sea and the trendy steel-clad G32 disco, while the Royal Court Theatre is the venue for Broadway-style shows.

There's also the casino, the Golden Lion - the local of your dreams, with leather sofas, sea-view windows and table service - and musicians in half a dozen lounges and bars.

It's the perfect end to a packed day which could include dance classes, Oxford University lectures, shows in the only planetarium at sea and RADA Shakespearean performances.

But my fondest memories are of quieter moments on this luxury vessel.

Snoozing at a sunny window in the world's biggest floating library. Playing Scrabble while 20ft waves crash by behind the inch-thick windows just above the water line on deck two. Relaxing in the top-deck Jacuzzi without a soul in sight and a sapphire sea all around Maybe Mary's greatest trick is that with 2,600 passengers and 1,300 crew on board, she can still make you feel like it's just you, her and the Atlantic.

FACTFILE The full brochure price for Paul Green's trip in a P1 junior suite, including flight to New York, would cost £4,619 at the same time next year, but can be bought for £2,539 including early booking discount.

There is a wide choice of Transatlantic air/sea fares ranging from £799 to £14,249, including early booking discount.