Want to get across the Atlantic, but not sure what mode of travel is for you? For your convenience, Street sent out liaisons to check out the travel options for any price range. Months later, they've finally returned to report back. Here are their findings.
The Titanic
Cost: Prices range from $172 for a place in steerage to $4,350 for a first class ticket. Adjusted for inflation for your convenience: $640 for the cheap seats and $69,000 for the good ones.
Accommodations: If you're in first class, expect the royal treatment: seven course meals, luxurious suites and priority access to flotation devices. However, third class passengers should expect foreign roommates, close proximity to the boiler room and for the unluckiest, scurvy, lice and/or a watery grave.
Comments: "The service was excellent and the food divine. I really enjoyed the detailed crown molding, stained glass and crystal chandeliers, but I was completely unsatisfied with their safety policies. Oh yeah, and 'women and children first,' my ass."
Bottom line: If you don't mind chillin' in icy cold waters, the Titanic is a great way to get you half way there.
The RMS Lusitania
Cost: US neutrality.
Accommodations: The Lusitania's luxury conditions are outstripped only by the Titanic's. Plus, the government-issued warning regarding the war-zoned seas provides a great adrenaline rush for the adventurous.
Comments: "Submarines? Seriously?"
Bottom Line: You may want to bring your own radar detector - those U-Boats can be really sneaky! And for the next time you travel, make sure that the government has deemed safe the seas safe - or you might find yourself treading water.
The Bering Strait
Cost: You may want to spring for several pairs of Uggs. It gets cold up there, and your shoes will definitely wear through more than once.
Accommodations: None. Supply your own tent!
Comments: "My friends told me that I'd have the chance to 'really experience nature,' 'meet some hip hunter/gatherers' along the way and that despite the cold climate there was a bountiful food supply. They lied. Trying to get to Asia from Alaska on foot was a bad choice. The only thing on the menu for six months was frozen fish and the whole experiencing nature thing got old after the second month. But in the end, I at least learned something about life: it's better to wait 3000 years for airplanes to be invented than to walk to Russia.
Bottom line: Unless you're really, really outdoorsy (and can kill an angry Grizzly with your bare hands), you may want to find another way to travel.
The Electra
Cost: Just a spare tank of gas. Amelia Earhart would appreciate it.
Accommodations: Seeing as there's really only room for the pilot and the navigator, it may get a little tight in that cab. But don't worry, there's a huge expanse of ocean below you if you get too claustrophobic.
Comments: "It probably would have been smart to bring someone who actually knew how to use the radio. But the aviator sunglasses and the leather jackets were definitely coolAnd hot. So all in all, two thumbs up. Hmmm. where am I?"
Bottom line: You may want to pack your water wings, just in case.
