Lastest on QM2 refit

[rgaudet]

Hello,

 

as written before I went to Hamburg to watch the Queen floating out of the drydock at Blohm & Voss shipyard. The floating out was cancelled due to bad weather. I uploaded a short video to give you an impression of the weather at that time. The link to that video is

 

Another rather long video which is not done by myself shows the conditions at noon but also the floating out at midnight.

The link to that video is

 

Frank

 

Thanks Frank. Great quality video! She looks great all lit up at night doesn't she? Easy to see why people get so passionate about her on these forums.

[JWB.ESQ]

Hello,

 

as written before I went to Hamburg to watch the Queen floating out of the drydock at Blohm & Voss shipyard. The floating out was cancelled due to bad weather. I uploaded a short video to give you an impression of the weather at that time. The link to that video is

 

Another rather long video which is not done by myself shows the conditions at noon but also the floating out at midnight.

The link to that video is

 

Frank

 

Danke Schoen, Frank:)

 

It is a pleasure to see our "home away from home" afloat again!

 

Best regards,

 

JWB

[JWB.ESQ]

And, I might add, it's a pleasure to again hear her whistle!

 

Thank you for staying awake to film her departure.

 

My son and his wife arrived in Hamburg on QM2 as part of their honeymoon in 2010. They fondly recall their reception in your city.

 

JWB

[jenno10388]

Ok I'm so impatient!!! Hurry up and give us a bloody update re the refit peter shanks!!!!!!! I keep checking this forums every hour hahaha! :p

[Oahucruiser]

On his wearecunard blog Peter Shanks said he'd have the second video with the finished product by the end of this week so it has to be in the next two days - - - or not. Let's hope!

[capnpugwash]

 

fixes needed for Golden Lion;

 

some sort of sound deadening on the ceiling & walls, it gets very noisy in there!

 

the bar needs to be moved back away from the windows, or cut off at the corner, to get an extra row of tables along the side behind the camera, its simply not big enough for the demand.

 

Let's see if I have got this correct, it is way too noisy in there but you still want to fit more people into the space. :eek::confused:

[edgeoftheworld]

Let's see if I have got this correct, it is way too noisy in there but you still want to fit more people into the space. :eek::confused:

 

yeps :)

 

the noise problem is due to all the hard surfaces which bounce the noise around too much;

walls, ceiling, windows, tables etc

 

compared to the rest of the rooms, theres a lot less soft furnishings to attenuate the sound

[heywood]

yeps :)

 

the noise problem is due to all the hard surfaces which bounce the noise around too much;

walls, ceiling, windows, tables etc

 

compared to the rest of the rooms, theres a lot less soft furnishings to attenuate the sound

 

Maybe that's because it's supposed to be a pub whilst other rooms are various bars.

[Oahucruiser]

Everything else looks great but, to me, the Champagne Bar is busy, busy busy with so many patterns. It used to have a restful/peaceful décor.

[moniquet]

There was a preview on Meridian TV this evening (UK South). The staterooms looked more or less the same, cheap looking cushions on the bed.

 

Everything looked pristine and bright and shiny...but, a bit gaudy, lots of swirly carnivalesque carpets. What are they thinking of, plain is best.

[safarigal]

Great photos, but Im not sure about the whirly carpet in the Champagne Bar. From the relative stability of my desk at work it looks kind of nice and retro. However, on a really rough crossing after a couple or more glasses of champers I'm concerned that it may upset ones equilibrium.

[Jim Avery]

I must say, it looks better than my office carpet. At least it would if I were on board instead of at work.:eek:

[SailorManBilly]

Everything else looks great but, to me, the Champagne Bar is busy, busy busy with so many patterns. It used to have a restful/peaceful décor.

 

I have to say that I agree with you, and I'm a self described "Cunard Cheerleader" usually. But I think the peaceful elegance that the Champagne Bar used to have, is now sadly gone and looks a bit too jazzy for my tastes. I don't think I'll go there anymore now that it has this carpet, so I must THANK Cunard, because my Veuve Cliquot bill has always been far too high. This will now save me some money.

 

Conversely, I thought I'd really HATE the stateroom changes, as I'm not a brown carpet fan, but now that I see it, I can't say that I adore it, but it's certainly liveable. And I might even grow to like it.

 

I'd like to say that the designer(s) ought to have his/her hand slapped for taking away the distinguished look and replacing it with the snazzy, as none of the new carpeting screams out "Cunard" to me, but let's face it, I would bet that the cost to upkeep the old carpets had to have been phenomenal, and now the spilled red wine, the ground I lipstick, the projectile canapés and everything else that regularly finds it's way to the carpet will be a LOT easier to mask.

 

And in 5 years, she'll be back for another refurb and hopefully Mr. Shanks will have developed some taste, or at least hire designers that have taste and appreciate tasteful elegance and she'll go back to her look of understated elegance.

 

Til then, I still remain a huge fan of my beautiful QM2, and will try to ignore the dirt colored carpets.

[SailorManBilly]

Great photos, but Im not sure about the whirly carpet in the Champagne Bar. From the relative stability of my desk at work it looks kind of nice and retro. However, on a really rough crossing after a couple or more glasses of champers I'm concerned that it may upset ones equilibrium.

 

Your post does help me add one thing to my TA checklist:

 

- when on a rough crossing that induces nausea, be sure to visit the champagne bar prior to vomiting, and "do the job there", so as to hurry along the need of a carpet replacement in this formerly peaceful and elegant room.

[Salacia]

Here's a BBC piece that includes footage of the interior filmed today in Southampton:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-16102122

 

All those swirly carpets seemed to be moving :eek:

[etruriaguy]

http://www.itv.com/meridian-west/fullprogramme/

 

heres the link to the meridian news bulletin.. you'll have to skip it to the 16 minute mark and it lasts about 3 minutes.. I think the carpets look pretty good here, way better than they appear in photo's..(even though I love them in the pics as well) Im loving the commodore club. stunning... :)

[moniquet]

They are worse than I thought, the designer should never work again. Sort of a retro 1970 look frequently found in elderly peoples homes in the UK:eek:

[jenno10388]

I like the finished look! Very fresh, and it certainly came together in the end in my opinion (PLEASE NOTE: 'MY OPINION') can't wait to board in feb :)

 

Cheers steve

[ednria]

They are worse than I thought, the designer should never work again. Sort of a retro 1970 look frequently found in elderly peoples homes in the UK:eek:

 

Then remind me not to stay in an elderly persons B&B when in the UK. I agree, I have stayed out of the fray on this until viewing this video.

 

I have always gone with the theory that a cruise/crossing was to be a relaxing event. Those carpets wore me out, just watching the video. They come close to hurting the eyes and the brain, trying to adjust to a focus point.

 

Oh well, I will simply look at the ceiling/walls when transiting these areas. I WILL enjoy my time on the QM2, despite the, in my view, obvious faux pas of the carpet selection.

[southwestie]

Well I loved the ship before and I still do, I cant wait till 2012 and to sail on her again and again and again:)

[rgaudet]

Well I loved the ship before and I still do, I cant wait till 2012 and to sail on her again and again and again:)

 

Agree. I'm seriously looking into the jan 3 2012 crossing, nothing better than a TA on QM2!

[jenno10388]

Any views of the Britannia cabins yet?

 

Cheers

[rgaudet]

found pics here:

 

http://www.stevedunlop.com/Cunard.html

 

Maybe just me, but I think it overall it looks quite rich and more modern than it used to.

 

Or maybe I'm just lovestruck and this girl would look great to me no matter what she is wearing! ;)

 

Rob

[Whitemarsh]

Thank you QM2 cruiser for those pics.

 

I'm not a big fan of the white quilt covering. A darker colour may have matched the new carpet more so. I still find the carpet a little 'out there' but perhaps it will grow on people.

 

The changes elsewhere are a bit bold but I still like them. The Champagne bar has a younger cheekier feel to it now.

 

It looks like they've changed the seating floor plan for the Princess Grill. Bugger, I had requested a particular table number, hopefully it will be in the same location.

 

I love those black chairs in the Queens Grill Lounge.

[foodsvcmgr]

I think the refitted areas generally look quite nice.

 

Interesting that QE2 started out shockingly modern, then became more conservative with each successive refit, QM2 seems to be moving in the opposite direction to a degree.