Queen Mary 2 prepares for its first Atlantic crossing with storm looming (pics)

yahoo ^ | 1/12/04

[finnman69]

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AFP) - The world's newest and biggest cruise liner, Queen Mary 2, was set to depart Monday on its first transatlantic voyage, braving a nasty North Atlantic winter storm en route to sunny Florida.

AFP Photo

The black-hulled 345-meter (1,139-foot) flagship of Cunard, the upmarket British unit of US cruise line group Carnival, was scheduled to sail at 5 pm (1700 GMT) for a 14-day journey to Fort Lauderdale.

It had yet to slip its moorings by 6:15 pm (1815 GMT), however, as it continued to load baggage at Southampton harbour.

"It's just an unusual amount of luggage that's being loaded," Cunard spokeswoman Penny Guy told AFP from the ship. "The last iron box is going on right now."

Once out of the relatively calm waters of the Solent, which separates the Isle of Wight from England's south coast, the Queen Mary 2 was expected to be tested by the storm moving up the English Channel.

Torrential rain and winds of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour were forecast and the sea was expected to be extremely choppy for the 1,400 passengers and crew.

The voyage, via the Canary Islands and the Bahamas, was to be the first serious test of Queen Mary 2's seaworthiness since it was constructed and launched last year at Saint Nazaire, on the French Atlantic coast.

A Cunard spokesman said the ship -- formally named by Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites) at a ceremony in Southampton, its home port, last Thursday -- would set sail regardless.

"She is built to go through the worst Atlantic storms," he said.

"If she was a normal cruise ship there may be an impact, but the QM2 is constructed for this. The only possible change there could be will be to the firework display to send her off."

The early days of the Queen Mary 2 were marked by tragedy -- 15 people were killed and 28 injured in an gangway accident at Saint Nazaire in November.

If the huge, towering ship rides out the storm, passengers will begin to enjoy the unrivalled luxury it offers, including 14 bars and restaurants, four swimming pools, a cinema and a theater with over 1,000 seats.

Ticket prices reflect the comfort available and the passenger list is made up of well-off, mainly North American, travellers.

The most expensive Grand Duplex cabins, equivalent to suites in a five-star hotel, cost 22,429 pounds (32,394 euros, 41,525 dollars) per person.

For this price, Cunard provides a private butler to serve the suite's guests, binoculars to observe the horizon and, for a finishing touch, a portraits of Queen Elizabeth linking arms with husband Prince Philip.

For those unable to afford Grand Duplex, the Royal Suite with private balcony or the Balmoral Suite with state-of-the-art entertainment system and gym machine, there is still top class service on offer.

Some cabins are admittedly smaller and some are not fitted with a porthole. But even their occupants can enjoy a game of golf, smoke a cigar in the Churchill bar or relax in one of the many jacuzzis.

[finnman69]

[finnman69]

Yes, The Sagafjord only carried 500 passengers or so. Very intimate comapred to larger cruseships. Also able to get really deep inot the fjords up in Alaska and close to the glaciers. I rememeber big chunks of ice falling in the ocean and actually rocking the ship

[Alter Kaker]

I hope no one quipped "She's unsinkable."

The Queen Mary II was built in France.

[Happy2BMe]

What does a room like that cost a night?

50, 60, 70 hundred dollars?

[Republicus2001]

what's the fare, might I ask?

[Age of Reason]

Thrifty people who work hard, and invest in stock....

At 41,525 dollars per person, I doubt those people are in the habit of being thrifty.

[Age of Reason]

I'll be darned--those propellers seem steerable.

Clever.

But is the added maneuverablity worth the added complexity?

[Atlas Sneezed]

Having enjoyed cruising with Mrs. Beelzebubba, I especially like the next-to-last photo. At the third row of balconies down from the top, in the middle (directly below the "M") there is a couple embracing on their balcony, enjoying the romance of a memorable moment.

[hoagy62]

The French may be yellow-bellied surrender monkeys, but the DO build good ships.

For example, the former flagship of the French cruise lines "S.S. France". When she was built, she was the longest ocean liner of her day. One of her designers boasted "There isn't a straight line on her". She was lavish, and she made many transatlantic crossings in her day. She was eventually sold to what is now Norweigian Cruise Lines and renamed "S.S. Norway". She is awaiting refit in Bremerhaven after years of service with NCL.

She may have been built in France, but I wouldn't discount the QM2 for that. As for the gangway collapse at the shipyards...it could've happened anywhere, even here. We'll see how she performs and how well she holds up. But personally, I don't think anyone will have anything to complain about.

As for being "unsinkable"...I doubt ANY shipbuilder in the world has uttered THAT line since Titanic went down.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I read this report of the 100 foot wave that hit the QE II in 1995 and wonder if the new, much taller vessel could survive a repetition.

[hoagy62]

Yes, two of those pods ARE steerable. QM2 has 4 of them, two fixed, two that can swivel 360 degrees.

Those pods are called "azipods" because they can "azimuth" (naval term for swivel). Rather than being connected directly to the engines by a drive shaft, all the propulsion motors are in the pods. The drivers are electric, getting their power from the main turbines.
Because 2 of the pods can swivel, and because she has 3 manuvering thrusters at her bow, she can technically put herself into dock WITHOUT a tug. (Tugs will be used, however, for safety's sake.)

Most major cruise liners are now being built exclusively with azipods, since it alows for faster docking and greater manuverability.

As for the complexity...it's really not all that much more so. Ships engineers and pilots love the new capabilities.

[finnman69]

Not the big one, but a big one hitting the QE2...

[finnman69]

http://www.oceanliner.org/qe2_31st_year.htm

And there have been several critical situations in the 30-year-long history of QE2. In September 1995, for example, a hurricane made a 30-meter wave roll over the vessel at 2:30 a.m.

"I was on the bridge," remembers Captain Warwick, "and it was pitch dark. The wave came out of the darkness, directly toward us." Even the white-bearded master of the QE2 was helpless. "You can only look to the side and hope that the bridge windows don't break.

[hoagy62]

If she takes the wave head-on (like QE2 did), she should have no problems and only minor damage...UNLESS the trough BEHIND the wave gets really deep. If most of the hull is out of the water, there's a chance the strain of several thousands tons of unsupported weight hanging out there in open air COULD cause the hull to break..and then she'd be in real danger of sinking.

If she takes the wave from the side..*gulp*...let's not think about that, shall we?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I've always believed this scenario played a part in the sinking of the Ed Fitz. Its possible her bow could have touched bottom while two or three hundred feet of the boat was above the waves.

[finnman69]

[kitkat]

This Art Deco design as it's done in this picture is nothing short of perfection of the genre.

[duckman]

"Thrifty people who work hard, and invest in stock...."

This description fits me; but I still can't afford it. I think the sarcasm tag was omitted.

[1066AD]

I would be thrilled just to watch her come into port. She's hugh!!!
Yes indeed. Sometime in the 50s the S/S United States won the "blue riband" (fastest crossing); my father took me to Southampton docks and there was the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and United States all in a row. Awesome sight. Some New Yorkers were probably just as lucky too.

[ThePointer]

i cannot fully explain why but I have no intention of ever going on a cruise. And I would never go to a Caribbean resort either.

To each his own but my idea of a vacation is to do everything on my own terms. I hate the idea of being locked up or restricted in some scripted fantasy world.

Give me a rental car and let me drive down the TX or FL coast and I am a happy man.