In April the Queen Mary 2 received a rousing
welcome to the Big Apple. The reception she received from New
Yorkers, who are known to be a cynical lot, exceeded all expectations.
As the ship sailed up the Hudson; she was warmly cheered by
onlookers positioned along the shore; and just as robustly cheered
her on as she departed five days later for Southampton. Traffic
was grid locked as motorists gazed in awe at the size and beauty
of the vessel. To add to the excitement, the QM2’s sister ship
QE2 docked along side her, the first time in four decades that
two Cunarders were in port together. Not only was the event
exhilarating to most, it also signaled that the cruise industry
as New York once knew it, is alive again and here to stay.
It wasn’t always so. During the 1960s with
the advance of jet travel, New York’s once thriving cruise industry
went into the doldrums. No longer would gracious ocean liners
dock weekly to discharge passengers coming from Europe and welcome
new voyagers en route to Europe with a festive air as well-wishers
threw confetti, streamers and blew noise makers as the ships
departed. This was the age of glorious travel—at least for those
who could afford it. Then the jet plane arrived in the’60s and
travel by speed was the in thing to do. Now it only took under
10 hours to Europe instead of a seven days or longer. The industry
crisis left the docks empty and Manhattan’s Westside piers from
midtown to the battery went into decay.
Today, there is a reawakening that ocean
travel might be the thing to do in this stress-filled, harried
era. An exciting new era is about to begin for New York with
the announcement of a major overhaul of the Westside piers to
accommodate the larger vessels and with a planned development
of a new cruise facility in Brooklyn. Across the Hudson River,
another cruise line is revamping existing pier facilities to
handle its larger ships in Bayonne, New Jersey on a slip of
land jutting out into the lower Hudson. The harbor again is
bustling, especially in the spring/summer/fall season with a
variety of cruises both long and short offered by various ships.
And thanks to one cruise line, New York will be homeport for
year-round weekly cruises to warmer climes.
But the star of this piece—the majestic
Queen Mary —involved spending five years from concept
to finish. The naval architectural-design team headed by Stephen
Payne, who is known for his designs of other vessels owned by
Carnival, Cunard’s parent company, has produced a vessel that
is a standout. It took the team 2 and ½ years to complete the
designs that were deemed “compellingly complete” by the Chantiers
de l'Atlantique shipyard’s naval architects. And another two
and a half to build the ship. Eighteen months after construction
began, the ship was embarking on her first sea trials.
I was able to have a brief cruise on her—not
long enough to truly assess the food and services on board but
long enough to get a feel for what went into creating this vessel.
Here are a few observations.
The QM2 is, indeed, all the superlatives
accorded her—the largest and heaviest (151,400 tons), the longest
(1,132 feet/345 \meters), the tallest (236 feet/72meters), the
widest (135 feet/41 meters), and the most expensive new build
to date (nearly $800 million).
She is so tall press reports raised the question
whether she could clear the underside of the Verrazano Narrows
Bridge in New York’s harbor. But the reports were erroneous.
The QM2 can easily pass under the Verrazano although if you
are on deck at the time of the passing, it looks as if the ship’s
funnel would hit the bridge underside. When I questioned the
ship’s master, Commodore Ronald Warwick, about the possibility
of the vessel not being able to clear the bridge, he replied
“ that all conditions including excessively high tides were
factored in” by the ship designers. Actually the funnel is lower
than usual to allow more maneuvering. Engineer Payne says that
he had to restrict the elevation of the mast and funnel top
in order to leave ten feet (39-plus meters) between the mast
and funnel and the underside of the Verrazano Bridge.
The QM2 is also the first dedicated ocean
liner to be built since the 1960’s when her smaller sister,
the QE2 made her debut (1969). I would like to add that despite
her size, she is one of the most beautiful vessels afloat. No
effort was spared on her interior design or in the furnishings
and the $5 million worth of art gracing the public rooms, stairwells,
and the suites. On display throughout the ship, a permanent
exhibition entitled Maritime Quest chronicles the history
of the Cunard Line from its first transatlantic crossing in
1840 to the present.
Although the ship may be the largest passenger
vessel afloat, she only carries 2,670 passengers (3,090maximum)
unlike other cruise ships that carry 3000 plus. As a result,
there is an air of openness on the ship. Walking through the
corridors or out on deck, from forward to aft, one not only
feels the great length of the vessel but its spaciousness. (A
couple of back and forths and you have had quite a workout.)
Even the promenade deck is wider than that of the QE2 or other
cruise ships. The ship’s interior configurations allow for lots
of private areas and even in the public rooms, there is no bunching
in of guests.
There are 1,253 crewmembers to 2600-plus
passengers. This ratio of two crewmembers to one passenger provides
a degree of service not seen on most large cruise ships. The
ship’s officers are mostly British and the ship crew international.
Each crewmember has to undertake extensive training not only
in safety procedures but in the correct way to serve the passengers.
Indeed, all the crewmembers I encountered during my cruise were
respectfully polite, cheerful, and efficient in executing their
duties.
Staterooms in the lower categories appear
roomier than their equivalent on other cruise ships, thus allowing
two occupants to avoid bumping into each other as they dress
for the day’s activities. In the suites and the two-deck-high
deluxe apartments, there are walk-in closets with thick terrycloth
robes and slippers, as well as all the extra shelves and cabinets
for ample storing of one’s wardrobe and travel gear. On a lengthy
trip, this is a welcomed asset, since most nights on the QM2
call for formal attire. The beds are adorned with luxurious
Frette linens and comfy quilts and are turned down each night
when guests are at dinner. Flat-screen TVs are on hand where
one gets the latest news, music, updates on shipboard accounts,
and even emails. Complementing 73 percent of the cabins are
spacious eight-foot deep balconies with teakwood lounge chairs
and a small table.
The Junior Suite I stayed in measured 381 square feet and it
featured a full marble bathroom with tub/shower and a commodious
basin stocked with Canyon Ranch toiletries. There was a settee
and coffee table in the sitting area as well as a desk/vanity.
The mini-refrigerator cum bar is well stocked and there is a
safe to store one’s valuables.
As one reclines on the bed or sofa, one has
a view of the sea through the glass wall. At night since the
air temperature was mild, I slept to the sound of the ocean
through my opened balcony door.
One drawback was noise at certain times.
My suite had a connecting door to the next cabin to accommodate
families. And when the guests next door were in their cabin,
one could hear their muffled conversation or the TV through
the uninsulated door. But since ships today are constructed
with modular units placed within the steel framework, walls
may lack sufficient insulation as well.
For disabled guests, the ship has 30 specially
equipped cabins in different categories.
I briefly viewed the five duplex apartments in aft—named
Balmoral, Windsor, Holyrood, Buckingham, and Sandringham.
Passengers in each suite are served by a butler while their
room service is prepared by chefs from the Queens Grill dining
room. As for the ultimate in pampered living afloat, all five
apartments can be combined to create an area of 9,000 square
feet of living space.
I also checked out the four forward suites—Queen Mary, Queen
Anne, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth—overlooking
the ship’s bow, which measure between 796 and 1,194 square feet.
Each suite has two bathrooms. The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth
suites have a private elevator entrance. The four suites can
also be combined to create a 3,980-square-foot grand suite.
In addition to private laundry service, the
presence on each cabin deck of a self-service laundry is a definite
plus especially on long voyages in warm climes.
There are ten dining venues on the QM2 offering
a variety of dishes—Continental, American, traditional British
favorites, and Asian. Often regional dishes presented correspond
to the ports the ship visits. Which of the three main dining
rooms passengers are assigned depends on the price level of
their accommodation.
I
took a quick tour of the Britannia, the main dining room, and
was quite impressed by its setting. In a throwback to the grand
saloons of past British liners, the three-deck dining room spans
the full width of the ship. A dual sweeping staircase graces
the entrance while opposite the staircase, a stunning 20-by-30
foot semiabstract tapestry shows a Cunard liner in New York
surroundings. The ship’s master Commodore Ronald Warwick told
me that this dining room is where he holds “court” each night,
admiring the ladies making their dramatic appearance into the
dining room.
The
Princess Grill is an intimate restaurant, which serves
guests in the Junior Suites while its twin, the Queens Grill,
is the restaurant for those in the ship’s most expensive suites.
There is only one seating for dinner in the grills—there are
two in Britannia—and the cuisine is more selective. We ate in
the Princess Grill, which was lighter and airier in décor than
the more ornate Queens Grill. In all three restaurants, the
tables were dressed in thick linen with Wedgewood signature
tableware and Waterford crystal.
The food appears to have improved considerably under the aegis
of Cunard’s Culinary Consultant Daniel Boulud (of Daniel’s fame
in New York). He has put his mark on the cuisine now served
on board a Cunard ship with creative selections equaling those
of a three-star restaurant on land. A good selection of fish
dishes was available for lunch and dinner in addition to eclectic
offerings to suit all tastes. In all three restaurants there
is also a selection of spa food prepared from Canyon Ranch recipes
for those wishing lighter fare.
Todd
English is another first for Cunard. This cozy restaurant
seats 156 guests inside. When weather permits, an additional
52 persons can be seated on the adjoining terrace overlooking
the stern. Named after popular American chef Todd English (known
for his five restaurants named Olives in Boston, New York, Las
Vegas, Washington, D.C., and Aspen), this culinary venue serves
modern Mediterranean cuisine for the most part. At lunch, I
dined to some delicious food, notably a brown butter sautéed
turbot filet served with a garlic shrimp and citrus dressing,
and a mandarin-orange brûlée for dessert. To dine at this restaurant,
decorated in shades of aubergine and with Travira upholstery
covering the high-backed banquettes rimming the eating area,
there is a supplement of $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner with
reservations required.
--Kings Court. This dining area is
the ship’s informal cafeteria offers breakfast and lunch. In
the evening the dining pavilion transforms itself into four
casual alternatives: Chef’s Galley, The Carvery, La Piazza,
and Lotus. Except for the Chef’s Galley, which charges
a $30 fee that includes wine, there is no additional charge
to dine at these alternative venues.
--Golden
Lion. A replica of a British watering hole, it offers pub
fare English style.
--Boardwalk Grill, located up on Deck
12, is an outdoors café serving grilled food and sandwiches.
Cunard has introduced another first at sea—Canyon
Ranch SpaClub. This very upscale health club occupies 20,000
square feet on two decks and offers 24 massage, body and skin-care
treatment rooms, a gym and a weight room with some 50 pieces
of cardio and weight-training equipment. Designers incorporated
water features throughout to emphasize the therapeutic benefits
of water and heat. Around a large coed Thalassotherapy Pool,
there are airbed recliner lounges, neck fountains, a deluge
waterfall, air tub and body massage jet benches. Adjacent to
the pool is an extensive Thermal Suite with two different saunas,
reflexology basins and an aromatic steam room. The SpaClub also
offers the exotic Rasul Ceremony—a medicinal mud-and-steam therapy
derived from an ancient Middle Eastern cleansing ritual. In
addition, there is a beauty salon offering a full menu of hair,
skin, and nail services.
Other recreational facilities elsewhere include
five swimming pools. One, located midship in the Pavilion on
Deck 12, has a retractable Magrodome glass roof. On the same
deck forward there are two golf simulators, and a shuffleboard.
On the full-circle promenade on Deck 7, joggers
walk or run uninterruptedly on a course that equals slightly
more than a third of a mile. After a workout, one can take a
rest on the wooden steamer chairs aligned on the wide deck’s
port and starboard sides—a welcome change form the usual white
plastic chairs found on most cruise ships. There are other sunning
areas located on the upper decks midship and at the stern.
As
passengers embark onto the ship on Deck 3, they enter the two-deck
high Grand Lobby, located beneath the ship’s stunning
six-deck-high atrium, where uniformed Cunard employees graciously
direct guests to their rooms. Opposite the two glass lifts in
the area are two quite large paintings of the first Queen Mary
(now a floating hotel in California) and the QM2, which face
an equally impressive sculpture of the QM2 on the other end.
Surrounding the lobby is the Purser’s Office, the casino and
several bars.
Other
notable public spaces include, the Queen’s Room—the largest
ballroom at sea, the two-level GC2 nightclub for late-night
dancing, the Veuve Cliquot champagne bar, and the Commodore
Lounge on Deck 9 that affords wonderful views from its panoramic
bar of the ship’s bow. Adjoining the lounge is Churchill’s,
an enclosed haven for cigar aficionados and a vestige of smoking
rooms on former Cunard ships.
The
unique Winter Garden Lounge on Deck 7, where tea is served
in the afternoon and recitals are held at night, is a quiet
place located next to the Canyon Ranch spa. The space duplicates
somewhat the conservatory at Kew Gardens outside London with
its botanical replications and wicker furniture. There is a
wonderful trompe d’oeil painting on the ceiling and a wall opposite
the bar simulates a waterfall. I found this wonderful place
to be almost deserted in the evening during my trip, where one
could enjoy a quiet cocktail.
For entertainment there is the Royal Court
Theatre where up to 1,100 guests are treated to musical
productions on its revolving stage by members of London’s Royal
Academy of Arts (RADA). The stage can be divided into four platforms
of varying heights by remote control while the orchestra pit
can also be raised to stage level before proceeding upstage
as far as the back wall.
But
my favorite was Illuminations, a three-tiered theater,
which not only presents lectures, film screenings, and religious
services but also astronomy shows. I stumbled upon the theater
by accident after a Royal Court musical production as Illuminations
is behind the Royal Court forward. I entered the almost deserted
area where I met Steve Savage, the engineer in charge of designing
the first planetarium at sea. He explained how the six Sky Cam
projectors, which are installed among the audience rows, allows
projection up to an overhead dome that can be lowered into place
quickly. Since he was showing the theater’s latest acquisition
to a small group of Cunard personnel, I was invited to see the
American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center’s popular film
The Search For Life: Are We Alone. Although I had seen
the film last year at the New York planetarium, being in this
arena at sea was a terrific experience. Although the theater
accommodates 475 guests, the celestial presentations are shown
to only 150 persons.
There is a 6000 square foot Empire
Casino on Deck 3 includes the usual slot machines and
gaming tables.
Lets
not forget the Library—a wonderful place to go after
lunch or any other time. More than 8000 books are displayed
on its faux mahogany shelves, categorized by subject of interest.
There are British and American magazines for every taste as
well on display. Full-time librarians are on hand to assist
in selecting a book or answering questions. Comfortable leather
chairs are placed in the windowed area facing the sea where
one can quietly read, which I did for a while. Several computer
workstations are also tucked into the space.
There is also a Book Store adjacent
to the library where an ample supply of maritime and destination
books are sold as well as souvenir items.
On Deck 2, there are seven rooms that duplicate
as meeting or classrooms called ConneXions are part of the ship’s
enrichment program. Guest instructors lecture on topics as varied
as cooking or wine appreciation, the arts, and maritime topics.
The first classroom doubles as a Cyber Centre for email
or Internet use or class instruction on how to use the computer.
But beware, sending email or surfing the net can be pricey—it
cost more than $3 for three minutes of use. On-board seminars
or conferences are also held in these rooms, which feature the
latest audiovisual equipment and can be combined for large meetings.
(There is also a private boardroom—the Atlantic—on Deck 11 forward
behind the Observation Deck.)
The
collection of eight boutiques located on Deck 3 off the Grand
Lobby offer upscale wares—from a Hermés scarf to jewelry sold
by Chopard and H. Stern. Referred to as The Mayfair Shops, the
area also includes a store to purchase ship souvenirs, and a
formalwear shop for those black-tie nights at sea. There is
also an art gallery located in aft portside where art is sold.
By day, the gallery doubles as a photography gallery called
Images.
There was no time to tour some of the other
facilities on board, including the Children’s Room. It
was closed when I walked by but peeking through the windowed
door, it seem to be quite a fun place for the young set, which
is supervised by British nannies. Special activities are planned
by the youth counselors such as scavenger hunts and costume
parades. There is also a special pool for small children in
aft called Minnows. A children’s dinner is served nightly in
the Kings Grill. For teens, there is a mini-disco, the video
arcade and Xboxes.
If you are considering bring your pet along,
check first with Cunard. While kennels are on board, the company
is working with the British regarding their new laws on bringing
in pets to the UK. A Cunard spokesperson says the kennels should
be open by next year. One exception: guide dogs for the disabled
are allowed on board.
I made a point to visit was the Medical
Department located in the bowels of the ship forward since
the availability of medical expertise is of great concern to
many passengers. The staff, which includes two British-licensed
medical doctors and four nurses, rotates on 24/7 standby duty.
The facility contains 11in-patient beds including five fully
equipped intensive-care units, x-ray facilities, the latest
cardiology equipment, a pharmacy and a dental suite. The medical
personnel are employed by Cunard, unlike many other cruise ships
where the staff is contracted out. The chief attending doctor
told me that the facility is a “five star medical service. We
can deal with most medical problems that occur on board.”
If need requires outside help, the medical
facility through its telemedicine system, is able to consult
with land-based specialists when advice is needed on complex
cases. The system enables the specialists at well-recognized
medical centers to see and talk with the patient, and receive
live recordings of cardiac monitors, EKGs, x-ray and patient
documentation.
Complementing the medical department, portable
automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are strategically located
in passenger areas to assist in the rapid treatment of sudden
cardiac arrest. The ship also has a variety of wheelchairs,
stretchers, spinal boards and other devices to assist in the
transfer of sick or injured patients. In extreme cases, patients
can be helicoptered out to a land-based medical facility.
There is no substitute for the great thrill
of being on this beautiful ship. Despite her size, this steel
mammoth—built to last a 40-year lifespan—cuts through the sea
with a regal bearing. The workmanship and details that went
into creating this ship are outstanding.
The QM2 is the new icon of ocean travel in
the 21st Century. Following in the wake of her illustrious
predecessors, she is a marvelous mélange of maritime traditions
and the technology of the present. As voyagers discover the
QM2’s many charms and strengths, let’s hope she will earn the
respect and popularity from her passengers as did the original
Queen Mary.
Click Ship
Stats and Technology for
more information on the QM2
