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Sailing Away From New York

Cunard Line's Remastered Queen Mary 2

By CHRIS OWEN

July 21^st, 2016

a queens queen

Truly a floating hotel operation as good or better than top land-based counterparts, cruise ships take a tremendous amount of work to keep clean and maintained. Still, from time to time ships are pulled out of the water for dry dock maintenance that can’t be done while in service. When it was time to go through that process with Queen Mary 2, Cunard Line chose to go a different direction. More than a remodeling, the Cunard remastering of their flagship brought far more than new carpet and a fresh coat of paint, addressing a number of ongoing issues that extend beyond the hardware

popular features introduced

One part of the Cunard remastering of Queen Mary 2 included adding a number of new features. That’s not a total surprise; other cruise lines do that as well, adding popular features from the newest ships to older ships. Unlike other cruise lines though, new Cunard remastering features are unique to this ship and not available anywhere else. The quick list:

15 new Single Staterooms
30 new Britannia Club Balcony Staterooms
10 new Kennels
Restyling of all suites and staterooms
Restyling the Grills Dining Experience
Tea and coffee makers in each stateroom and suite
Debut: The Verandah dining venue with regional French cooking Winter Garden now an elegant, airy gathering venue
Debut: The Carinthia Lounge, a light fare venue Kings Court moves beyond “the buffet” to a chef-manned demo of food journeys

attention to detail

“The Remastering is a testament to Cunard’s attention to detail, incorporating inspiration from our past that continues to propel the powerful Cunard story, which we think will strongly resonate with today’s travelers,” – David Noyes, CEO, Cunard Line”

smiles

The Cunard remastering of Queen Mary 2 solidly positions the ship, if not the entire cruise line to sail smoothly into the future. Long time fans will be happy with what has been done. At the same time, the extensive effort effectively positions Cunard Line as a viable choice for a much broader range of cruise traveler.

delights

The effect of remastering has put a contagious smile on the face of crew members that was previously absent. Look for Cunard Line to be a viable experience for far more cruise travelers going forward.

Culinary Images: Cunard Line

the world's best

Queen Mary 2, recently earned a new accolade as #1 cruise ship on the 2016 Travel + Leisure magazine’s World’s Best Awards in the mega-ship category (2,200 passengers or more).

the clear winner

When Travel + Leisure asked readers to evaluate individual ships on their accommodations, dining, service, itineraries, destinations, excursions, activities and value, Queen Mary 2 came out the clear winner.

spare no expense

The extensive $132 million Cunard remastering, brought far more than over a half million square-feet of new carpet. Continuing Cunard’s commitment to elevate and improve the guest experience and remain at the top of the industry, remastered Queen Mary 2 is truly a unique experience we recommend for all fans of cruise travel.

vison

“We pride ourselves on the level of service and offerings we provide our guests and our ongoing commitment to offer world-class luxury in the cruise industry.” -Richard Meadows, Cunard North America President.

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far from the end

Lisa and I sailed Queen Mary 2 during her inaugural year over a decade ago. Walking on to the ship to see what had been done brought back memories of one our more unique sailing experiences. We sailed a crossing from New York to Southampton, losing an hour each day on the way. To do it over, we would probably pick the westbound itinerary, adding an hour each day. Either one is far easier than the jetlag caused by a long flight from or to North America.

It has been said that the olden days of cruise travel were mainly focused on “the newlywed or nearly dead”. Those days are long gone but Cunard Line seemed to be clinging to them for life. This remastered Queen Mary 2 will take good care of those two groups of people while widening the net to catch other upscale travelers as well.

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