Queen Mary 2 remastered and raring to hit the ocean
Today’s article comes to you direct from the North Atlantic, from the gently swaying decks of Cunard Line’s (cruise.center/cunard) superlative flagship, Queen Mary 2.
At 1,130 feet long and 236 feet tall, she is the only modern-day ocean liner, purpose-built to cross the Atlantic in any weather that comes her way. She carries on the tradition that Cunard began back in 1840, when it inaugurated the first scheduled steamship service across the Atlantic aboard the Britannia; a vessel that could, today, fit inside Queen Mary 2’s opulent Britannia Restaurant.
Last year, the ship underwent its largest refit since entering service in 2004. This multimillion-dollar remastering has changed much aboard this 2,705-guest ship — and from my past few days on board, these changes have been overwhelmingly positive.
The underused Wintergarden on Deck 7 is gone, replaced by the elegant Carinthia Club. Cunard didn’t just change the name of the room; it stripped it down to the steel and rebuilt it from the ground up. This new space serves up Illy coffee creations by day, and a huge selection of vintage port wines by night, including one dating back to Cunard’s founding in 1840 that goes for a cool US$4,445. By comparison, there’s a port on the menu for US$7.95 that’s highly affordable for freelance cruise writers.
Just aft of the Carinthia Lounge, the King ’s Court Buffet was also completely rebuilt, with new modern decor and hugely improved passenger flow. I used to avoid the King’s Court like the plague. Not anymore — it’s now become a strong contender for best improvement on board.
On the accommodations front, one of the ship’s 1,355 staterooms and suites have been given a sprucing-up, with new soft furnishings, a dramatic new Royal Blue colour scheme for bed runners and throw pillows, new lighting, headboards, artwork, and new wall-mounted flat-panel TVs.
If you cruise solo, Queen Mary 2 has 15 new Britannia Single Oceanview staterooms designed just for you. These are located on Decks 2 and 3L, carved out of former public spaces no one will miss. They’re generously sized, too, measuring 178 to 183 square feet. You’ll have to book early to get one — they sell out faster than some of the ship’s top-ofthe-line suites.
Other new and noteworthy features include 30 new Britannia Club class staterooms that add flexible dining, pillow menus and other niceties; and doubling the number of on-board kennels (to 24) for four-legged friends that want to make the crossing. Looked after by a dedicated kennel master, Cunard even added a lamp post and a fire hydrant to their special area on Deck 12 to make these furry friends feel right at home.
Other changes are subtler. Carpeting has been swapped out in every public room, corridor, elevator lobby and staircase, and the new colour schemes complement the ship’s grand decor well.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover bar menus throughout the ship have been given a refresh to add new drink options. This is particularly noteworthy in The Commodore Club on Deck 9, where cocktails have been crafted to honour past Commodores (the highestranking captain) of the Cunard Line, complete with fun-to-read histories.
Boredom is not an option on Queen Mary 2. You can take fencing classes, watch a planetarium show in the only such facility at sea, enjoy classical concerts
and live music throughout the ship, take part in acting classes, or enjoy multiple fascinating lectures that are often packed to standing-room only. White-gloved high tea is offered every day in the largest ballroom at sea, and the ship’s 20,000-square-foot Canyon Ranch SpaClub has a soothing hydrotherapy pool complex that’s worth the US$106 per person cost of admission for the week.
This year, Queen Mary 2 offers scheduled transatlantic voyages between now and December. Most of these are weeklong crossings from New York to Southampton or reverse, but some are eight and nine-night journeys that include stops in Halifax, Le Havre (France) or Hamburg (Germany).
Cunard also offers themed crossings, like Transatlantic Fashion Week (Aug. 31), World Space Week (Oct. 6), and the New York Times Insights crossings (six departures, May to September).
A trip on the remastered Queen Mary 2 might not be the only way to cross, but it’s still the best.
Happy cruising.