The Late Great Ocean Liners: UK / Cunard Line / Today

Two artists' concepts of the Queen Mary 2.

When the QE2 was built, she was touted as "The Last Great Ocean Liner". For the majority of her career, she carried the small percentage of people who were unwilling to fly, and it was fairly widely assumed -- especially during some lean years at Cunard -- that the transatlantic tradition would die with her.

In the late1990's Cunard made an announcement that stood the travel world on its ear. Not only would they build a new liner, but she would be the largest and most innovative in the world.

A number of events led to this bold proclamation. Most importantly, Cunard, which had been owned since 1996 by Kvaerner, a Scandinavian engineering company which did not want to be in the passenger shipping business, was purchased by Carnival Corporation, the most powerful player in the cruise industry.

Carnival saw marketing potential in Cunard's rich history, especially in light of public interest in the wake of the Titanic movie and Broadway show. Under Carnival's shrewd marketing guidance, Cunard dusted off the "White Star" name and included it in its 2000 brochure. It seems ironic, but a movie about a ship disaster got people interested in life on board, and QE2 enjoyed strong bookings on her transatlantic schedule.

Cunard's next ship, the Queen Mary 2 was launched in 2003 and commenced sailing in January. She was built at Chantiers d'Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France, at a cost of over $800m. At 1,150 feet long and 150,000 GRT, she is the largest passenger vessel ever constructed, but carries just 2,620 passengers (compared to 3,400 on smaller vessels of Carnival and Royal Caribbean). Among her innovations is a full-scale planetarium, but she has strong nods to tradition with a winter garden, observation bar and wide promenade decks.

I crossed on QM2 for her maiden arrival in New York in April. She is elegant, spacious and comfortable, and rides rough seas like a champ. A full photo tour of the ship is here.

Visit Cunard's site to read more about this ship.

Two artists' concepts of the Queen Mary 2. When the QE2 was built, she was touted as "The Last Great Ocean Liner". For the majority of her career, she carried the small percentage of people who were unwilling to fly, and it was fairly widely assumed -- especially during some lean years at Cunard -- that the transatlantic tradition would die with her. In the late1990's Cunard made an announcement that stood the travel world on its ear. Not only would they build a new liner, but she would be the largest and most innovative in the world. A number of events led to this bold proclamation. Most importantly, Cunard, which had been owned since 1996 by Kvaerner, a Scandinavian engineering company which did not want to be in the passenger shipping business, was purchased by Carnival Corporation, the most powerful player in the cruise industry. Carnival saw marketing potential in Cunard's rich history, especially in light of public interest in the wake of the Titanic movie and Broadway show. Under Carnival's shrewd marketing guidance, Cunard dusted off the "White Star" name and included it in its 2000 brochure. It seems ironic, but a movie about a ship disaster got people interested in life on board, and QE2 enjoyed strong bookings on her transatlantic schedule. Cunard's next ship, the Queen Mary 2 was launched in 2003 and commenced sailing in January. She was built at Chantiers d'Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France, at a cost of over $800m. At 1,150 feet long and 150,000 GRT, she is the largest passenger vessel ever constructed, but carries just 2,620 passengers (compared to 3,400 on smaller vessels of Carnival and Royal Caribbean). Among her innovations is a full-scale planetarium, but she has strong nods to tradition with a winter garden, observation bar and wide promenade decks. I crossed on QM2 for her maiden arrival in New York in April. She is elegant, spacious and comfortable, and rides rough seas like a champ. A full photo tour of the ship is here. Visit Cunard's site to read more about this ship.
Probably the most celebrated ship in modern times, the QE2 is named after her predecessor ship, not the sitting monarch. She was launched in 1967, but did not enter service until 1969 due to some engine problems. A single stacker, she is smaller than her predecessors, designed from the get-go to spend half her time cruising (by the 1960's, it was evident that most people would rather not brave the winter North Atlantic for five days when they could fly across it in 6 hours), and as such she has visited hundreds of ports around the world. Continuing the legacy of her predecessors, she served as a trooper, in 1982 during the Falkland Islands war between England and Argentina. She has had numerous revisions and refits, and was converted to burn diesel fuel instead of oil in 1986. She can still make 33 knots with her new engines, but there is nobody left to race. Since the Queen Mary 2 took over transatlantic duties in 2004, the QE2 is based at Southampton, performing a variety of cruises and line voyages, including her annual World Cruise. An unofficial QE2 home page Nancy's Photo Tour of the QE2 and description of her transatlantic crossing Preceding Two Photos: QE2's maiden arrival at Freemantle, © Darren Byrne
(above) My Aunt Bertha and Uncle Ziggy in the Tourist Class Dining Room in 1974 (right) My Aunt Bertha and Uncle Zig on the QE2's gangway for a 1974 crossing.
	The QE2 in Rio
The QE2 started out having two classes of service, but over time the lines between these have blurred significantly. Today, there are actually four quasi-classes, based on the stateroom category one books, but the only difference is where one dines. Occupants of the most expensive rooms, inc luding the penthouse suites, dine in the intimate Queen's Grill and also have at their exclusive disposal a small lounge. On trans-Atlantic crossings, tuxedoes are the norm just about every night in the Grill. Next in descending order are the Princess and Britannia Grills, which are the smallest and -- some argue -- the nicest restaurants aboard. Then there is the Columbia Grill and the Mauretania Restaurant for the cheaper cabins. Cunard postcard of QE2 at twilight
The Queen Elizabeth 2 passes the World Trade Center on an outbound crossing The Queen Elizabeth 2 pauses near the World Trade Center site on her first visit back to New York after the September 11th attacks - January 7 '02	The Queen Elizabeth 2 arrives in Boston instead of New York during her first post-September 11th westbound crossing.
(left) QE2 at her home port of Southampton, UK (right) QE2 flew the pennant of the White Star Line once to commemorate the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Here she is hove to at the site of the sinking.