Bon Voyaggeee
Posted on 01/11/2004 7:53:35 PM PST by knak
World’s Largest Cruise Ship Set for First Transatlantic Luxury Voyage
S O U T H A M P T O N, England, Jan. 11 — As the Queen Mary 2 prepares for its maiden voyage, leaving England Monday for Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., the world's largest ocean liner has two kinds of admirers — the 2,600 people who have tickets, and the millions who don't and may not be able to afford them anyway.
"We can't get up there," said Christie Taylor, an admiring bystander near the tightly guarded ship's berth in Southampton, England. "We can't get any closer."
As Britain's Queen Elizabeth II saw when she christened the ship named after her grandmother in Thursday, the $800 million "QM2" is more like a floating city, generating enough power to light a city of 300,000 people. The ship can carry 2,600 passengers, with a crew of 1,300.
‘Glamour and Aura … of the 1930’s’
The QM2's owners are gambling that luxury travel will be in demand. Some passengers on the 14-day maiden voyage are paying $2,900 to cross the Atlantic in a room without a window. Others are paying $37,000 for a fancy suite. There is a ballroom, planetarium, 14 restaurants, a 1,000-seat theater and 24 massage parlors.
"Because of the size, we've been able to recreate the glamour and aura of the ships of the 1930s," said Stephen Pryor, the ship's chief architect.
It is the largest, longest, tallest and widest passenger ship ever built — almost as long as the Empire State Building is high, more than twice the length of Seattle's Space Needle, and longer than four football fields. It's a quarter of a mile from bow to stern.
"Ships are getting bigger for two reasons," said Jim Glab, a travel writer for CruiseMates.com. "Number one is economic — the more passengers per ship, the more revenue per sailing. And on the marketing side, surveys have shown that people want more things to do on board."
With their ever-increasing size, and with the new luxury features, the ships themselves may be becoming a more important vacation destination than the countries their sailing to. And navel architects say such cruise ships are not even near their maximum possible size.
Experts on terrorism say a ship the size of the QM2 is a potential target. But some people see it as a safe option.
"Yes, basically is," said Liz Lourie, a prospective passenger. "And the bigger the better, because the bigger the safer."
‘The Same Hobnob’
To get on board the first trans-Atlantic crossing, you have to be rich or clever, or both.
Dan Tobey of Philadelphia, among the increasing number of Americans who are booking ocean cruises, booked his Queen Mary 2 ticket two years ago. To say he is an ocean cruise buff would be an understatement.
"The Queen Mary 2 will be my 31st sailing," Tobey said. "I must have spent weeks deciding what to pack. … Believe it or not, I actually have a second tuxedo packed in here.
"I'm in the cheap seats," Tobey added. "But you know what? I'm on the ship. I'm eating the food. I'm going to be walking around the same decks, the same hobnob."
Cruise Boom
The departure of the Queen Mary 2 may set new standards for maritime travel. And there are a lot of people hoping it does the same for the cruise industry.
"Most of the travel industry has been really static, or in a bit of a decline since 9/11," Glab said. "The cruise industry has been the exception. Their passengers' numbers have continued to grow."
There are several reasons.
"I think it's in part because a lot of people see it as a more secure kind of vacation," Glab said, "and in part because the shipping industry has re-deployed a lot of its ships away from foreign ports and has more of its sailings out of U.S. ports."
More ships mean more competition for passengers, and therefore cheaper tickets.
Still, Taylor and her friend Hazel Twyman were unsure they ever will be able to afford a trip on the ship.
"But we will one day when we're rich and famous," Taylor said. "In our next life."
| Rank | Location | Receipts | Donors/Avg | Freepers/Avg | Monthlies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Missouri | 541.00 |
16 |
33.81 |
331 |
1.63 |
203.00 |
15 |
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Move your locale up the leaderboard!
It's doubtless ugly to appeal to the modern taste of landlubbers.
my idea is a boat for two and a couple of fishing poles!
Add a couple of beers and a sandwich or two, and you get my vote!
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