Besides "Your Baby" - Which is your favourite Liner?

[JollyJackTar52]

Obviously excluding [I]Queen Mary 2[/I] which is your favourite Liner of all time & why?

[QM1]

Let me guess: the original Queen Mary, the original Queen Elizabeth, the Normandie and QE2?

As a ship like QM2 could only be created with a deep love for the project and features of these four are being found on QM2 I am pretty sure they must be your alltime favourites.

But go on and surprise us;-)

[Stephen M. Payne]

JollyJackTar52,

I was hoping that someone would ask me that question!

Of ships of the past, I regret that I never got the chance to see the great French Line Normandie 1935. She was of course the arch rival to the first Queen Mary. Whilst the Queen was evolutionary, Normandie was revolutionary in almost every way. Her turbo-electric propulsion system was very advanced and was a forebear of what we use today, whilst her interiors (especially First Class) were just incredible. It was such a sad loss when she was destroyed by fire during WW2.

Of ships that I've sailed on, it has to be Holland America Line's former flagship SS Rotterdam of 1959. She was to me the most perfect ship with elegant modern lines, just big enough to be a good sea boat and blessed with some beautiful public rooms that stood the test of time remaining more or less as built to the end. I am very pleased that she is now a museum ship in her home-port of Rotterdam. I spent many happy days cruising on the ship and I was very fortunate in being asked to be the Project Manager for her successor, the present MS Rotterdam that embodies echoes of her namesake.

Thank you for question.

Stephen

[Stephen M. Payne]

[quote name='QM1']Let me guess: the original Queen Mary, the original Queen Elizabeth, the Normandie and QE2?

As a ship like QM2 could only be created with a deep love for the project and features of these four are being found on QM2 I am pretty sure they must be your alltime favourites.

But go on and surprise us;-)[/QUOTE]


You were of course correct!

Stephen

[Sabrina Fair]

Mr. Payne,

Rotterdam of 1959 was a favorite of mine and the central grand rooms (without the engine uptakes) of Normandie appear breathtaking.

However, Queen Mary 2 is magnificent!! Thank you for your vision, skills, & innovations.

I look forward to your presentations aboard Queen Mary 2's 10th Anniversary Crossing, 9 May 2014.

Gayle Kennerly