Having only docked in Table Bay for two nights, I was lucky enough to receive a private tour of the now remastered Queen Mary 2.
This was my first time on a liner of this size and believe you me I had every possible scene from the Titanic running through my head each time I toured another revolutionary space on board the ship.
From an on board Planetarium, a high end art gallery and numerous pool decks the shear offering of the Queen Mary 2 was breath taking, it was hard to fathom that so much had been “improved” upon after the remastering.
Last year, Queen Mary 2 spent 25 days in the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg where her keel rested a mere 850mm from the ground once the water had been drained.
Thousands of people, working in shifts around the clock, ensured that work progressed rapidly for the lavish remastering.
All 172 Grills suites have received a comprehensive restyling and have been reconfigured to maximize space. The Grills dining experience has been elevated and the two Grill restaurants have been redesigned to offer more table size options and space.
The King’s Court buffet has been redesigned to create a more open and central buffet area. The Carinthia Lounge – QM2’s Winter Garden – is now unrecognizable as it has been reconfigured into a refined, airy and versatile new venue.
The Verandah replaces the Todd English restaurant. Exactly 80 years after the first Cunard Verandah Grill went to sea on Queen Mary, the latest incarnation of The Verandah concept is now available on board Queen Mary 2 and offers contemporary premium French cuisine.
10 quick fire facts about the R1700 million remastering and the Cunard, Queen Mary 2 .
- She is four football fields in length (or three blocks on Broadway) – a total of 345 metres
- She is equal to the height of a 23-storey building with 17 decks that tower 200 feet above the waterline
- She covers an area of 3.5 acres
- Her whistle is audible for ten miles
- Her speed of 29.5 knots is double the speed of a Caribbean cruise ship and nearly three times the speed of a blue whale
- She’s constructed from some 300,000 pieces of steel; her hull is made up of 94 steel blocks and weighs 50,000 tons (more than a school of 330 blue whales). The QM2 gross weight is 151,400 tons.
- She carries 343 different wines on board (with annual wine sales estimated at around 230 000 bottles)
- In total over one year, passengers will consume 38,000 lbs of smoked salmon, 346,000 gallons of fruit juice, 249,000 lbs of potatoes and 420,000 packets of breakfast cereal. Excluding wine, the QM2 serves 1.5 million drinks per annum.
- There are 1,310 staterooms in total of which 955 (73%) cabins feature balconies.
- Maximum capacity is 3,090 passengers.
