Cunard is quick to point out that Queen Mary 2 is an ocean liner and not a cruise ship. It was designed for both purposes. QM2 can’t earn enough going back and forth between Southampton and New York to pay its keep. She makes between 20 and 25 nonstop 7 day Atlantic crossings each year taking up 40 to 45% of its operational time, sometimes adding stops at ports on either side, like Quebec, Boston, Hamburg, or Rotterdam. She often makes one long “world” cruise of between 105 and 110 days and finishes off its time with shorter cruises. In 2027 it will not do a world cruise.
After dropping us off in New York she traveled to Quebec via Boston, Halifax, and some other ports before returning to New York and then back to Southampton. Some Europeans are taking her round trip from Southampton for a three week cruise. She continues transatlantic service until her final eastbound crossing Nov 11 (on which our friends Joe and Monika will sail). After that she cruises the Caribbean the Med and finishes the season with a Norwegian Northern Lights cruise in March. After that she’s in dry dock for major modifications (she needs them). She starts her 2027 transatlantic season on May 19.
What makes her an ocean liner is a combination of design and power. Vista and Pinnacle (V&P) class cruise ships (Nordam and Rotterdam type ships on HAL and the other Queens on Cunard) have the outdoor promenade on deck 3. On the QM2 it is on deck 7. There is a lot of steel below lifeboats on QM2. On V&P ships the lifeboats are 40 or 45 feet above the waterline. On QM2 they are at 82 feet to prevent waves from ripping them from the ship. QM2 draws 33 feet, the other ships of the feet draw 28. The hull steel on QM2 is 28 to 30 mm thick. On other ships it is 20 to 23 mm.
The QM2 has standard diesel electric engines, plus two gas turbine engines to provide an extra boost of power if needed to make up time and to plow through heavy seas. V&S ships and QM2 both have two Azi pods that can rotate 360 degrees for maneuvering. The QM2 has two additional stationary pods to give it extra thrust. This all makes QM2 incredibly stable and fast. She can cruise at 30 knots while V&S ships can cruise at 22. She is designed with a service speed of 26 knots. While the QM2 does not normally cruise at that speed (that burns a lot of fuel) it means she can keep a schedule and outrun or out flank North Atlantic storms for a smoother ride. On our voyage we had to turn to the Northeast toward Ireland for several hours to get within helicopter range to take off a critically ill passenger. Our reserve speed meant that we could keep our schedule to New York.
Compared to the classic transatlantic Greyhounds, Normandie, the Queens Mary, Elizabeth, QE2 and United States, she is slower (Typically a 7 day crossing rather than a 5 day crossing) but is more stable and provides a smoother ride. The other Queens, and Normandie rolled quite a bit and the Big U’s ride in a storm was described as “brutal.”
QM2 features soaring ceilings in its grand public rooms, keeping with a tradition set by the earlier Queens. This makes the layout confusing with split level decks. For instance, Decks two and three are each 12 feet high instead of 8 on normal ships. The Britannia Dining Room in decks 2 and 3 is 24 feet high but on the third deck balcony the tables are tiered, so at the top tier there is an 8 foot ceiling. Under the Balcony there is also an 8 foot ceiling.
This creates 8 foot tall passageways on the ship’s outside between decks 2 and 3. On the Starboard side this passageway is an art gallery, on the port it is being converted into staterooms. This deck is called 3L. To get to them there is a half flight of stairs. There is a wheelchair lift on each side, but one of them was out of order. There are some 8 foot corridors and split level decks forward near the theaters but I never figured out how the layout worked.
Other public rooms on Decks 2 and 3, like the Queen’s Room, the Golden Lion Pub and Chart Room have lofty ceilings.
Our stateroom was on Deck 8. Decks 7 and 8, between them, are taller than normal decks. On Deck 8 forward the Library has a higher ceiling. It is over the gym on deck 7 with an 8 foot ceiling. The rest of Deck 7, the Carinthia Lounge and King’s Court Buffet have higher ceilings. So, there is a half flight of steps and a ramp on Deck 8 between the Library and the staterooms. According to Cunard, anyone who is 6’7 should be able to negotiate stateroom corridors without hitting their heads on hanging signs. Tough luck for my two 6’10 sons. That is the same headroom on the V&P class ships. According to Cunard, anyone who is 6’7 should be able to negotiate stateroom corridors without hitting their heads on hanging signs. Tough luck for my two 6’10 sons. That is the same headroom on the V&P class ships.
