Queen Mary mechanical condition

[napria]

On 8/6/2024 at 5:56 AM, buchanan101 said:

That'd be good... have a New England cruise booked on QM2 for Sept 26 (given that, a gap in her itinerary now)

Are you booked for 2026 or September 26, 2024?  My husband and I will be on this September.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

2 hours ago, D&N said:

Yes, Walk of Life worked for a solo quickstep around the living room. And a samba, or a slow cha-cha or jive.

However, poor Coco-Canel ran off in horror when I started dancing! 🤣

 

Not so sure about Billy Idol though. I'd need a cat-less room to find something I could fit to that.

There is this other song called "Dancing Fool" by the late rock star Frank Zappa. It was a hit in 1979 and it was a spoof of the disco craze in the late 1970s

[IB2]

On 8/6/2024 at 3:10 PM, MCC retired said:

Please , please do not suggest more cabins !

There are already noticeable crowding in venues from the added cabins on Deck 13, 2 and 3.

The Planetarium is/was a unique feature also missing from all recent QM2 advertising.

Perhaps Cunard owes guests onboard and future , plans for it.

I hardly think the small rows of single person cabins on decks 2 and 3 have made much difference to the level of “crowding” on the ship?  Whether or not the bulk of numerous Britannia cabins are fully occupied will make far more difference to the number of people on the ship.

Edited August 10 by IB2

[MCC retired]

33 minutes ago, IB2 said:

I hardly think the small rows of single person cabins on decks 2 and 3 have made much difference to the level of “crowding” on the ship?  Whether or not the bulk of numerous Britannia cabins are fully occupied will make far more difference to the number of people on the ship.

As an example ,It is far more difficult to get into the Golden Lion for lunch than before the addition of those cabins and deck 13 .

[bluemarble]

The 2016 remastering of QM2 added 30 Britannia Club Balcony cabins on deck 13 and 15 Single Oceanview cabins on decks 2 and 3. That's an increase of 75 guests to her lower berth capacity.

 

It should be noted that 30 Inside and Oceanview cabins that used to accommodate four passengers were restricted to double occupancy only. So by my calculations the 2016 remastering increased QM2's maximum passenger capacity by 15 guests.

Edited August 10 by bluemarble

[Jim_P]

Am I the only one who finds the planetarium incredibly underwhelming and somewhat pointless? It was probably a cool feature and bragging rights for a ship to have in 2003 but in 2024 its not that impressive and its something that lasts 20 minutes and you might do it once or twice on a cruise. Personally I'd much rather see Illuminations remodeled into a state of the art cinema with more comfortable seats.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

5 minutes ago, Jim_P said:

Am I the only one who finds the planetarium incredibly underwhelming and somewhat pointless? It was probably a cool feature and bragging rights for a ship to have in 2003 but in 2024 its not that impressive and its something that lasts 20 minutes and you might do it once or twice on a cruise. Personally I'd much rather see Illuminations remodeled into a state of the art cinema with more comfortable seats.

i agree with your opinion that Illuminations should just become a state of the art cinema that shows current hit movies & classic movies. Does anyone here know that when movies are shown in Illuminations are movies shown using 35 millimeter film which is the same film used in movie theaters or do they use DVD discs or Blu-Ray discs?

[Pushpit]

1 hour ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

i agree with your opinion that Illuminations should just become a state of the art cinema that shows current hit movies & classic movies. Does anyone here know that when movies are shown in Illuminations are movies shown using 35 millimeter film which is the same film used in movie theaters or do they use DVD discs or Blu-Ray discs?

My understanding is that it projects from digital media held on a hard disk drive, so effectively equivalent to DVD disks.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

47 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

My understanding is that it projects from digital media held on a hard disk drive, so effectively equivalent to DVD disks.

Thanks for your reply

[D&N]

4 hours ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

i agree with your opinion that Illuminations should just become a state of the art cinema that shows current hit movies & classic movies. Does anyone here know that when movies are shown in Illuminations are movies shown using 35 millimeter film which is the same film used in movie theaters or do they use DVD discs or Blu-Ray discs?

I think it's at least 36 years since I was in a cinema.

Are you honestly telling me they still show films in 35mm?

I would hope they send them via a secure link to the theatres in 4K or 8K with a date limit on the files.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

23 minutes ago, D&N said:

I think it's at least 36 years since I was in a cinema.

Are you honestly telling me they still show films in 35mm?

I would hope they send them via a secure link to the theatres in 4K or 8K with a date limit on the files.

Well now that I think of it, I now remember that 35 mm film was no longer used starting around 2010, I'm not to certain of the date or if that is the exact year but I think that the movie is distributed either via a secure internet link or is it via a satellite link?

[NE John]

7 hours ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

i agree with your opinion that Illuminations should just become a state of the art cinema that shows current hit movies & classic movies. Does anyone here know that when movies are shown in Illuminations are movies shown using 35 millimeter film which is the same film used in movie theaters or do they use DVD discs or Blu-Ray discs?

You are not alone in your opinion and I have stated the same several times here since I last saw the production again about a year ago. A redo would be welcome from 2000’s era technology. However, I love having that second large venue on QM2 vs. her sisters and there is loads of potential for awesomeness for Illuminations. 
Adding that Cunard recently repaired the broken planetarium seats so I hope they still offer a planetarium in the future. 
 

 

Edited August 10 by NE John

[Cruise Liner Fan]

9 minutes ago, NE John said:

You are not alone in your opinion and I have stated the same several times here since I last saw the production again about a year ago. A redo would be welcome from 2000’s era technology. However, I love having that second large venue on QM2 vs. her sisters and there is loads of potential for awesomeness for Illuminations. 
Adding that Cunard recently repaired the broken planetarium seats so I hope they still offer a planetarium in the future. 
 

 

If Cunard decides to no longer use Illuminations as a planetarium, maybe what they could do is to remove the domed planetarium screen and hang a beautiful crystal chandelier from the center of the domed ceiling like I remember seeing crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings of the grand movie palaces that were built in the 1920s. If Cunard decides to keep the planetarium, I hope that they do install state of the art movie projectors and show both current & classic movies

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

18 hours ago, bluemarble said:

The 2016 remastering of QM2 added 30 Britannia Club Balcony cabins on deck 13 and 15 Single Oceanview cabins on decks 2 and 3. That's an increase of 75 guests to her lower berth capacity.

 

It should be noted that 30 Inside and Oceanview cabins that used to accommodate four passengers were restricted to double occupancy only. So by my calculations the 2016 remastering increased QM2's maximum passenger capacity by 15 guests.

Compared to her introduction quite a lot has been lost for passengers use on Queen Mary 2. Some spaces that were free for passenger use have become pay to use spaces or just disappeared. This includes Todd English/Verandah, part of Sir Samuels, part of the casino, one indoor promenade/gallery, more deck space made over to dog exercising, deck space used for new cabins, an outside pool, two lifts, and public spaces used for weddings. Other facilities seem continually broken at the moment such as the planetarium, and one lift (I have read here).  Other facilities seem rarely to open like the Broadwalk Cafe (perhaps a shortage of crew).  Add this to the extra cabins and you have a more crowded ship.  Saying all that she is fantastic ship just not as spacious as before. 

Edited August 11 by stephen@stoneyard.co.uk

[Jonem2001]

I think Illuminations definitely has potential to be ‘more’ than it currently is. A planetarium - if working - is nice, but not the draw it once was, I think. 
 

I think the current mixed-approach of using it for Insight lectures at peak times is a good step in the right direction. Possibly enhancing the cinematic options would be a lower investment than dance-floor/entertainment options, given the existing seating, but the attractiveness to Carnival’s accountants of a ‘Bright Lights’ style venue would be tempting.

 

I’d suggest a large crystal chandelier, whilst attractive, might not be desirable in a venue prone to significant movements though… might terrify the passengers! 😂

[sucramdi]

3 hours ago, Jonem2001 said:

the attractiveness to Carnival’s accountants of a ‘Bright Lights’ style venue would be tempting

 

My suspicion around bright lights potentially coming to QM2 would be that it replaces G32. It would draw in more people over a longer period of time and still maintain functionality as a night club late at night.

[WantedOnVoyage]

Yuck.

[Cruise Liner Fan]

1 hour ago, sucramdi said:

 

My suspicion around bright lights potentially coming to QM2 would be that it replaces G32. It would draw in more people over a longer period of time and still maintain functionality as a night club late at night.

So will the Bright Lights Society replace the G32 Club in the same room that the G32 Club occupies?

[sucramdi]

1 minute ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

So will the Bright Lights Society replace the G32 Club in the same room that the G32 Club occupies?

 

Yes, that's how I would envision it. I don't see Cunard tearing out a venue like Illuminations for something like this. Not to mention what a huge undertaking that would be, a multi-deck, sloped theatre isn't as easy to reconfigure. 

[Cruise Liner Fan]

2 minutes ago, sucramdi said:

 

Yes, that's how I would envision it. I don't see Cunard tearing out a venue like Illuminations for something like this. Not to mention what a huge undertaking that would be, a multi-deck, sloped theatre isn't as easy to reconfigure. 

I hope that there will not be any silent disco in that room whether it's called Bright Lights or G32. I think that it looks awkward dancing to the music while wearing headphones on my head.

[MylesS]

2 hours ago, sucramdi said:

 

My suspicion around bright lights potentially coming to QM2 would be that it replaces G32. It would draw in more people over a longer period of time and still maintain functionality as a night club late at night.

For me this would be a welcome change, having loved it on the Queen Anne. The current G32 venue meets all the "requirements" for something like this to happen, too.

Ignoring the height as G32 is two decks, I'd suspect the floor space is around the same if not a little bigger than QA's venue as well.

This would I also assume help Cunard in regards to people's comments of QM2's entertainment needing to be changed as they've seen it all so many times.

[NE John]

3 hours ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

I hope that there will not be any silent disco in that room whether it's called Bright Lights or G32. I think that it looks awkward dancing to the music while wearing headphones on my head.

There already is Silent Disco in G32 and the Yacht Club on QE. 

[Cruise Liner Fan]

26 minutes ago, NE John said:

There already is Silent Disco in G32 and the Yacht Club on QE. 

Is the silent disco every night? I would accept if the silent disco thing was every other night

[NE John]

3 minutes ago, Cruise Liner Fan said:

Is the silent disco every night? I would accept if the silent disco thing was every other night

No, no, no… only once. Karaoke once and regular “Brooklyn Wedding” dancing most of the time. 

[Cruise Liner Fan]

31 minutes ago, NE John said:

No, no, no… only once. Karaoke once and regular “Brooklyn Wedding” dancing most of the time. 

To be sure is when it is Brooklyn Wedding dancing the music is coming out of the QM2's sound system in the night club?