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Queen Mary 2 To Bring Home A Very Special Cargo

Posted on 4 October, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

When Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton on Wednesday 8 October she will be bringing home a very special cargo – the final sandbag to make the journey from the First World War cemeteries in Belgium containing soil from those cemeteries to create a Flanders Field Memorial Garden.

The arrival of the sandbag, and its subsequent onward journey to The Guards Museum in London marks the culmination of a project begun several years ago when the idea first formed to build a Memorial Garden containing soil brought back from every battlefield in Flanders where soldiers of the seven regiments of the Household Division died in World War 1.

This has been a unique project in that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission had previously never allowed soil to leave the battlefield cemeteries. The 70 bags of soil were gathered by British and Belgian school children during the summer of 2013 and over 1,000 children from 140 schools took part. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness Prince Laurent of the Belgians attended a ceremony at The Menin Gate in Ypres on 11 November 2013 when the sandbags of soil were brought together for the journey to England. That journey took place on a frigate from Belgium to the Thames when the sandbags were then moved on to a King’s Troop RHA gun carriage with a mounted escort accompanying it to its final resting place in Wellington Barracks. Her Majesty The Queen will open the garden in November.

The final sandbag will be taken from the Ypres Cemetery and under the iconic Menin Gate will be presented to Captain Kevin Oprey, Master of Queen Mary 2, prior to being taken aboard the ship in Zeebrugge on 5 October to be placed on prominent display for the ship’s 2,600 passengers to view. A Commemorative Dinner for all passengers will be held on board on 6 October and Andrew Wallis, Curator of the Guards Museum, will give a lecture about this project.

After being saluted by fireboats on arrival in Southampton on 8 October Captain Kevin Oprey will present the sandbag to the Mayor of Southampton who is also Admiral of the Port. Soldiers, the Padre and military vehicles from 17 PM Regiment will welcome the sandbag home. They will then take charge of this special cargo and will progress it through the City of Southampton to the Civic Hall where it will remain overnight, and on display to the public, before its final journey in Southampton the next day: to Southampton Central station where it will take the 1300 hours departure to London Waterloo. On arrival there the sandbag will be taken to its final resting place at the Guards Museum and the Memorial.

Angus Struthers, Cunard Director, says:
“We are honoured to play a small role in such a worthwhile and thought-provoking project. The centenary of the start of the First World War was a time for all of us at Cunard to reflect on the sacrifices of that immensely brave and selfless generation as well as remember the 20 ships Cunard itself lost due to enemy action in that awful conflict. We will remember them”.

Andrew Wallis, Curator of the Guards Museum
“We at The Guards Museum are thrilled to be working with Cunard in transporting this last bag to its final resting place in Wellington Barracks. The sacrifice made by the Guards in The Great War is echoed in the huge losses suffered by Cunard’s crew and passengers so we hope everyone onboard the Queen Mary 2 will empathise and share in this act of remembrance and commemoration”.

The Flanders Field Memorial Garden

Queen Mary 2 ship “Wiki facts”

Posted on 29 September, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

RMS Queen Mary 2 makes $60,000 per hour profit.
QM2 power plant generates 118 million Watts of power – enough electricity to light up a city of 200,000.
For a Transatlantic crossing, the QM2 fuel consumption is 1850 tons of diesel oil, plus another 1000 tons of fuel for the ship’s gas turbine. Only to to fill the ship’s huge fuel tanks takes 6 hours.
It takes 10 hours to disembark all 2,600 passengers and all their luggage, in the same time getting ready for the embarkation of the 2,600 new ones. In these 10 hours: 1,300 beds will be made, 2,000 bathrooms will be cleaned, 2,.520,000 ft2 (234,116 m2) of carpets will be vacuumed, many hundreds of windows will be washed, and there is the laundry:
On a during turnaround day (in the ports of Southampton and Brooklyn, New York) the QM2 hotel staff wash about 3,200 towels, 1,700 hand towels, 3,000 face cloths, 8,000 linen napkins. This is also the time when QM2 staff processes 4,500 pieces of luggage, and the ~400 tons of supplies, of which 150 tons of food (wine, caviar, vegetables, fruits, meat, milk). Every free bar tender, waiter, cook and house keeper is involved in this process.
An these are the “RMS Queen Mary 2 food facts“. On a 7-day cruise are consumed: 65,000 eggs, 4,000 bottles of wine, 2 t potatoes, and of course, the 26,000 tea bags! Plus (per day) 3,3 kg caviar, 73 kg lobster, ~350 champagne bottles, 460 eggs, 1,200 L milk.
There are 1,070 deck chairs on the ship.
The artwork on the QM2 is worth more than £3,5 million.
The teak ship-around Promenade Deck length is 2,034 ft (620 m).
RMS Queen Mary 2 is a floating self-sufficient city. There is enough food on board to feed an army, plus the world’s biggest most extensive wine cellar afloat – with ~40,000 bottles (343 different labels), ranging in prices per bottle from US$25 to US$4,000. On the ship per year are consumed ~230,000 bottles of wine, and around 1,5 million drinks.
There are 150 chefs and 9 separate galleys on the QM2 ship, producing ~16,000 meals a day. Dishing out 16,000 meals day after day is a monumental feed of organisation. A computer program keeps track of what’s ordered, and what they’re running out of. The ship’s provision department is plugged into the same system. That way the F&B manager knows exactly down to the last crumb what the ship exactly has in stock.
Like on every big cruise ship, QM2 uses a lot of water – for drinking, for the 2,000 bathrooms, for the galleys, plus a hell of a lot water for washing. On a daily basis, ~80,000 pieces of china are used, so they have 85 people in charge only to wash dishes and they work 24 hours (day and night shift).
The QM2′s two whistles (attached to the funnel, length of 2,1 m, or 7 ft) are audible for 10 ml (16 km). The starboard one is an exact replica of the RMS Queen Mary (1) ship’s whistle.
QM2 has three anchors, each of 23t. They are 770 m (2,526 ft) long with the breaking force of 9,300 kiloNewtons.
The QM2 ship illuminated name signs near funnel are the history’s biggest ever – length 22 m, height 2,4 m (72×8 ft).
The QM2 ship’s Captain is called “Commodore“. It’s a military (navy) rank superior to Captain and below Rear Admiral. Commodores are usually commanding more than one ship at a time (flotilla), while Captains command a single ship.
When docked at the New York, Brooklyn or the Southampton cruise port terminal, huge number of computers are being linked to the QM2 database through fiber optics. Every cruise passenger gets a photo ID (it doubles as a room key and charge card as well). Passengers use it everywhere on the ship – from the gift shop to the casino (Cunard doesn’t accept cash on board).
One hour before departure the QM2 passengers experience the muster drill – to make sure they all know what to do/where to go in case of emergency.
The crew practices the fire drill once a week. Crew takes the fire drill so seriously, they manufacture smoke to make it more realistic, with the electric/ventilation systems being shut down in the “affected area”.
If QM2 is late for departure in NYC, she loses light for maneuvering, plus the ocean tides rise making the sailing under the Verrazano bridge a challenge – a very tight squeeze. Note: the New York’s Verrazano suspension bridge connects Staten Island and Brooklyn in NYC at the Narrows strait (between the sea protected upper bay and the larger lower bay).
The total number of all Cunard ships since the company’s establishment is more than 250.
And remember – the RMS Queen Mary 2 ship’s owner is Carnival, Cunard is the vessel’s operator. The reason I’m pointing this out again? Because good folks (ahem) can lose a bottle of expensive liquor or whatever over this one.

The huge difference with other liners is that when you book the Queen Mary 2 ship, you don’t book a cruise ship holiday – you buy an oceanic adventure. On each of her sailings, no matter the destination or the itinerary length, passengers always expect the ultimate White Star service and the traditional British cruising experience, a story of a lifetime – exactly what the Cunard QM2 ship was built for! She is not a queen to be missed!

10 Of The Weirdest Things You Didn’t Know About The Queen Mary 2

Posted on 27 September, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

She’s big, she’s posh and she cost lots of dosh (approx $300,000 per berth = a heck of a lot!).

When it comes to the flagship liner in Cunard’s fleet of three, the above is all plain to see, even if you’ve only ever clapped eyes on her on a postcard from a gloating relative!

How about some fun facts that you might not know though?

With her spa, 3D cinema, planetarium (the only one at sea – take that, other ocean liners!), staterooms to accommodate 2,600 passengers and classy sophisticated interior that channels a golden ocean-going era when the cream of society toffs sailed between New York and Southampton in sumptuous style, there’s no better way to follow in these elite footsteps in 21^st century comfort!

Here are some fun facts from the www.CRUISE.co.uk team about the QM2 to get you excited about sailing on one of the most majestic ships on the ocean waves:

1- She’s Actually Not A Cruise Ship

Her sisters Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria are cruise ships designed to look like old-style ocean liners but as the only liner who sails the route she was designed for – the transatlantic crossing between Southampton and New York – Queen Mary 2 is the world’s only bona fide ocean liner; so don’t call her a mere cruise ship, OK?

For her 2,600 guests the experience is all about the voyage itself, so that’s why there are no port calls – the emphasis is on the amazing onboard experience and arriving at the best port of all, the Big Apple baby!

2.1 – She’s Big

On her maiden voyage in 2004, at 148,528 tonnes Queen Mary 2 was the largest cruise ship ever built.

Now eclipsed by Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, who is just plain showing off with her 225,282 tonnage, the QM2 still feels astonishingly large when you first see her but despite her bulk this girl sure can move, clocking up a maximum speed of 29 knots (33 mph) compared to the cruise ship norm of 24 (27.5 mph).

2.2 – And Long…

When Cunard’s first ship, Britannia, made her maiden voyage back in 1840, her size caused a stir – well it’s going to when the average Joe is used to looking at a two person horse and cart!

But at 1,130 feet to Britannia’s piffling 230 feet, Queen Mary 2 makes her ancient relative look like a mere dinghy!

2.3 – …Really Long

Queen Mary 2 boasts 17 decks and looms large 200 feet above the waterline.

That’s equivalent to a 23-story building (and she only stopped there as she has to get under the Verazzano Narrows Bridge in New York!).

She needs every inch of this space to fit in all those fabulous staterooms, restaurants, bars, library, theatre, spa, and not forgetting that cruise essential – the planetarium!

2.4 – …Really, Really, Really Long

If you still need a bit of help imagining this behemoth, put it this way – her length is equivalent to four football pitches (great for working off all those afternoon teas as you pace the decks). Not a football fan? She’s as long as 36 London double-decker buses (31 ½ feet).

Still not getting it? She’s more than twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall (550 feet), more than 3 ½ times as long as Big Ben is high, or 147 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall (984 feet), more than three times as long as St Paul’s Cathedral (366 feet) and only 117 feet shorter than the Empire State Building (1248 feet).

We could go on but if you don’t get the picture by now, just accept the fact that she’s incredibly long OK?

3 – Sea and Be Seen

QM2’s 360-degree promenade deck is a faithful re-creation of bygone eras where ladies and gentlemen ‘stepped out’ for a stroll to get a bit of sea air, pass the time of day and check each other out from behind those handy old-fashioned hats and parasols!

These days nothing has changed, except everyone’s decked out in cotton rather than crinoline.

The promenade deck, whose circumference spans more than one third of a mile, is well stocked with traditional steamer chairs – so there’s no need for any vulgar bagging of these with strategically-placed bags or cardigans (or parasols, if you so wish).

If the wind’s up, there are interior promenades circling several decks so you can take your daily stroll without the weather messing with the glamorous blow dry you’ve just had done for tonight’s black-tie dinner!

Image credit

4 – Rain On Your Parade?

There’s no chance of this with Queen Mary 2’s state-of-the-art retractable glass roof that means you can swim in the Pavilion Pool on Deck 12 come rain or shine. But if you’d rather swim inside (perhaps before a relaxing massage or facial) you can do so in the indoor swimming pool in the spa.

Mix it up by heading for the main pool on Deck 8 or feel on top of the world in the Splash Pool on the top deck. Little ones will love the Minnows pool next to the play area on Deck 6 (and parents will love the English nannies who will supervise little ones in the Play Zone while they go off for a relaxing dip. Now that’s just supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!).

5 – Fly Me To The Moon

Yes, it’s that planetarium at sea again – we know we keep going on about it but it really is an amazing thing to find on a cruise ship (sorry, ocean liner!).

The stars look incredible from the middle of the ocean anyway, as the lack of light pollution makes them shine extra bright and the Cunard Enrichment Programme provides telescopes and binoculars plus expert tuition from the Royal Astronomical Society for mesmerizing on-deck star gazing.

However, the 150 seat full size planetarium, Illuminations, means you can take a (virtual) flight to these distant planets during one of the stunning constellations shows!

Talk about out of this world…

6 – An Audience With The Queen

When a Queen speaks, everyone listens and this is especially true when it comes to this floating monarch – when her whistle blows, it can be heard for 10 miles!

This means lesser vessels are left in no doubt that someone important is sweeping towards them.

Out of the way, ocean royalty coming through!

The sound of QM2’s whistle is a nostalgic echo down the years as it’s the original whistle from Cunard’s Queen Mary who ruled the waves between 1936 and 1946.

Cunard loves to mix old and new where it can and this little nod to times past is a nice touch (and sure to be of interest to the cruise line geeks onboard!).

7 – She Puts the Luxe Into Library

If your only experience of libraries is the dog-eared school one or the council one that never has the book that you want, then you’re in for a treat, bookworms!

With cosy carpets, lit bookshelves and great views over the bow, the QM2 onboard library, with its choice of over 8000 books, is the best library at sea bar none.

If there was a bestseller’s list for libraries at sea, this one would consistently take the number one spot.

It’s a great place to curl up on a comfy chair for an hour and play lord or lady of the manor, even if you’re only reading the latest blockbuster.

(Top tip – we like to hide our rather worn copy of 50 Shades in a hardbacked War and Peace).

8 – To Act or Not To Act?

With the Cunard Insights and Cunard ConneXions programmes on all three ships you’ll disembark every Cunard cruise ship feeling that little bit cleverer (it compensates for those extra pounds you’re sure to be carrying!).

However QM2 offers something really special with its RADA Acting Workshops, where the actors from the prestigious theatre school will have you treading the decks like a seasoned luvvie in no time and with the cost of a two hour taster session at RADA on dry land costing £25 (plus the cost involved in getting to London), this activity offers a great opportunity to give acting with the experts a go for free.

Who knows, you could turn out to be the next Kate Winslet or Leonardo Dicaprio – then you can cruise the QM2 as often as you like!

9 – Feeling Good (or Slightly Nervous?)

QM2’s Canyon Ranch Spa Club brings the exquisite pampering packages and facilities of this prestigious American chain to the seas.

There’s an emphasis on health as well as pampering (better save that glass of bubbles for afternoon tea!) and if you think an Indian head massage is unusual then you’ve obviously never had a Japanese Ashiatsu massage where your therapist holds onto overhead bars and massages you with their feet – let’s hope they have a strong grip!

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10 – Pack Your Pet

Never mind the kids, you can bring Rover or Felix along for the ride with Queen Mary 2’s kennels service, complete with visiting hours and dog-walking area!

All pampered pooches and kitty cats will receive a Frisbee (every self respecting pet needs its own Frisbee, don’t you know!), nametag, food dish and scoop, fleece blanket and premium food but there’s no need for your pet to stress about the dress code – black tie is not required for dinner!

History, style and more than a splash of glamour (plus, yes, the world’s only onboard planetarium!) – Cunard’s regal ocean liner Queen Mary 2 has got it all and now you know all about her, you’ve got a few handy opening gambits for that all-important getting-to-know-you first night dinner.

Don’t forget to mention the planetarium, after all, it is the only one at sea!

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