QM2 2022

[57eric]

I haven't seen this posted yet, so here goes.  If anyone has more details, please share!

 

Cunard's iconic flagship, Queen Mary 2, will embark on a 71-night cultural foray into the Caribbean and South America. Queen Elizabeth will perform an enticing series of in-depth voyages between Sydney to Auckland and into the bustling heart of the Far East.

Highlights for Queen Mary 2   ♦ Caribbean and South America   ♦ Grand Voyages, by Cunard & 'Region' by Cunard   ♦ 23 voyage combinations ranging from 2 to 73 nights   ♦ Over 30,700 nautical miles   ♦ 17 ports in 14 countries   ♦ 2 maiden calls   ♦ Overnight stays in Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro   ♦ Scenic cruising around Cape Horn, through the    Magellan Straits and Beagle Channel   ♦ 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

[57eric]

Actually, itineraries are on the Cunard site.

[57eric]

Ah, BlueMarble beat me (no surprise) and I missed it in the QE/QV thread. 

[roadtripper]

I can't open the QM 2 itinerary for some reason. Anyone have a screen shot? Please and thank you!

[alibabacruisers]

I will give it a try from an online TA.

 

M203C

10 Jan 22

Grand Voyage

71

Southampton, New York, St. Thomas, Tortola, Curacao, Dominica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Salvador, Sao Paulo, Puerto Madryn, Punta Arenas, Montevideo (overnight in port), Rio de Janeiro (overnight in port), Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, New York, Southampton

[Bedruthen]

Anyone else think this is a strange itinerary? We were hoping for a trip around South America, to include the Panama Canal, for us not enough ports of call in South America for us to consider this particular one.

[bluemarble]

2 hours ago, roadtripper said:

I can't open the QM 2 itinerary for some reason. Anyone have a screen shot? Please and thank you!

 

Yeah, on the Cunard US website, the new 2022 voyages only seem to work for now if they start or end in a US port. They seem to be working better on the Cunard UK website.

 

Here is a link to the full 71-night QM2 2022 world voyage Southampton-Southampton as found on the UK website. This may work in the US if you get and accept a prompt to allow you to proceed to the UK website.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M203C/M203C

 

Alternatively, here is a link to the 55-night New York-New York segment of the QM2 2022 world voyage that does work on the US website.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/find-a-cruise/M204B/M204B

Edited December 13, 2019 by bluemarble

[bluemarble]

Perhaps lost in our discussions about the QM2 2022 "Caribbean and South America" world voyage are these additional QM2 itineraries that have also been announced for later in March/April 2022 following the world voyage.

 

Norway And Northern Lights

Mar 22 - Apr 3, 2022

Mar 22: Southampton

Mar 24: Hamburg

Mar 27-28: Tromso

Mar 30: Trondheim

Mar 31: Alesund

Apr 1: Stavanger

Apr 3: Southampton

 

Westbound Transatlantic Crossing

Apr 3 - Apr 10, 2022

[sfred]

6 hours ago, Bedruthen said:

Anyone else think this is a strange itinerary? We were hoping for a trip around South America, to include the Panama Canal, for us not enough ports of call in South America for us to consider this particular one.

 

Unfortunately QM2 cannot fit in the Panama canal.  Only QE and QV. 

[Bedruthen]

13 hours ago, sfred said:

 

Unfortunately QM2 cannot fit in the Panama canal.  Only QE and QV. 

Yes, that’s right, that’s why we were hoping it might be on Victoria again.

 

[sogne]

3 hours ago, Bedruthen said:

Yes, that’s right, that’s why we were hoping it might be on Victoria again.

 

QV world cruise does the Panama Canal in 22

[Underwatr]

17 hours ago, sfred said:

 

Unfortunately QM2 cannot fit in the Panama canal.  Only QE and QV. 

Actually it can, under certain conditions of tide in accordance with the Panama Canal Regulations. The limiting factor is now the clearance under the Bridge of the Americas. QM2 is too tall for unrestricted passage but the Regulations would permit her at low tide with special arrangement.

 

Every year I'm disappointed they haven't decided to give it a try.

[sfred]

Thanks Underwatr.  Yes, that's my understanding also, that the limitation is the Bridge of the Americas.  The dimensions I've seen are:

 

QM2 height from keel to top of funnel:  72 meters

QM2 draft:  approx 10 meters

Resulting height from waterline to top of funnel:  62 meters

62 meters = 203.4 feet

Stated clearance at high tide of Bridge of Americas main span:  201 feet

 

So I imagine that at low tide, QM2 could scrape under (perhaps literally).  Maybe Cunard will give it a go sometime.  By comparison, the stated clearance of the Verrazano Narrows bridge in NY harbour, a key factor in QM2's design, is 228 feet. 

 

[Underwatr]

The pertinent paragraph of the Vessel Requirements document:

The allowable height for any vessel transiting the Canal or entering the Port of Balboa at any state of the tide is 57.91 meters (190 feet) measured from the waterline to its highest point. With prior permission from the Transit Operations Division Executive Manager, height may be permitted to 62.5 meters (205 feet) on a case-by-case basis, with passage at low water (MLWS) at Balboa. Maximum Height Restrictions are due to the tide and the unpredictable upward movement of water from swells, surges, waves, etc., and maintenance equipment suspended beneath the bridge at Balboa.

 

At 205 feet there would still be just a skosh of wiggle room so in all likelihood there would be more than a foot and a half of clearance when/if QM2 went under the bridge. But you know I'd be standing out on deck videoing the funnels going under.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Underwatr

[Underwatr]

I think QM2's draft is stated as 34 feet or 10.36 meters, so maybe another foot of clearance there.

Height is 236.2 feet from keel.

Air draft is therefore around 202 feet +/-. Over 190 but within the extreme allowance of 205 feet. C'mon Cunard!

[sfred]

That would definitely be worth a video!  Maybe they could load a few extra cases of Pol Acker and double up the rations on the deck 7 Kings Court to temporarily increase the draft!  🙂

 

I see in your signature line that you are off on the Caribbean Christmas trip in a few days.  Best wishes!  The wife and I are doing that trip next year 2020, and counting the days already.

[sfred]

Sorry everyone,  didn't mean to divert this thread into a canal discussion.  But perhaps some interesting info on why QM2's 2022 world voyage doesn't go around the cape and back up the west coast of South America like QV often does.  Thanks Underwatr - good data and references.

Edited December 14, 2019 by sfred

[roadtripper]

Thanks for sharing the itinerary; I was finally able to see it online as well. We had been hoping for a NY to NY World Voyage on QM2 in 2022, but this might be a nice way to see how well we do on longer voyages. Anyone else thinking of booking?

[babs135]

Just to quickly go back to the subject of the Panama Canal, which locks would the Mary use and I wonder why Cunard have not thought to do a partial transit?

[MarkBearSF]

When I read "South America" for the QM2, I was desperately hoping that she'd go around the Horn as she did one time only, in 2007. She was a sensation when she docked in San Francisco and I was hoping we'd see her again!

(From what I was told, when we took the Celebrity Infinity around South America - that, yes the seas can be unpredictable and tricky, but with modern ships, it's not nearly as problematic as it had been in centuries past.)

[Underwatr]

7 hours ago, babs135 said:

Just to quickly go back to the subject of the Panama Canal, which locks would the Mary use and I wonder why Cunard have not thought to do a partial transit?

The new ones. QV & QE are Panamax (just narrow enough to fit in the old locks) and QM2 is wider than her sisters.

 

QV & QE: 106 foot beam

QM2: 135 foot beam 

 

Maximum beam for the Panamax locks (from the vessel requirements doc referred to above) is 106 feet.

Maximum beam for the "Neopanamax Locks" is 51.25 meters (168.14 feet).

[canoncruiser]

To chime in in another direction, I’ve just gotten the new brochure and I’m booked in 2021 on QE from Tokyo to Sydney. They are now showing a continuing trip from Sydney to Auckland; but my excellent TA says she can’t even get me on a Waitlist because presently Cunard is limiting sales to the Australian market!😠 Je suit tres annoyed!😠

[maggiemou]

On 12/14/2019 at 9:57 PM, MarkBearSF said:

When I read "South America" for the QM2, I was desperately hoping that she'd go around the Horn as she did one time only, in 2007. She was a sensation when she docked in San Francisco and I was hoping we'd see her again!

(From what I was told, when we took the Celebrity Infinity around South America - that, yes the seas can be unpredictable and tricky, but with modern ships, it's not nearly as problematic as it had been in centuries past.)

The last time QM2 went round the horn was in 2009. I still have my T Shirt to prove it.😊

 

[bluemarble]

I think the last time QM2 rounded Cape Horn was a bit more recent, during the 2016 world cruise. I wasn't on that voyage, but that's what Cunard's 2016 World Voyages brochure shows, as well as the past QM2 itineraries found on "qm2.org.uk".

[bluemarble]

10 hours ago, canoncruiser said:

To chime in in another direction, I’ve just gotten the new brochure and I’m booked in 2021 on QE from Tokyo to Sydney. They are now showing a continuing trip from Sydney to Auckland; but my excellent TA says she can’t even get me on a Waitlist because presently Cunard is limiting sales to the Australian market!😠 Je suit tres annoyed!😠

 

This has me a bit confused since I am seeing QE voyage Q133, Sydney-Auckland, Nov 21 - Dec 2, 2021 available to book on the Cunard US website. I'm not intending to actually book that voyage, but the Cunard US website is quoting me a fare for that voyage and allows me to proceed through the booking process as far as the deposit payment page. Assuming this is the voyage you are interested in, it does not appear to me that sales are being limited to the Australia market.