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Queen Mary 2
by Jennifer Stewart
QM2's reputation as the
world's longest, largest, tallest and most expensive passenger ship ever
built didn't stand long. Launched in 2003, she was eclipsed in 2006 by the Royal
Caribbean International's "Freedom of the Seas" which has
the world's first on-board surfing pool, called "Flow Rider," a
skating rink and a rock-climbing wall, and will carry up to 4,375 passengers,
but only on Caribbean cruises.
Not Just Another
Cruise Ship
However, QM2 isn't just another
over-large cruise chip; she's been designed as an ocean liner and is equipped to
weather the fierce Atlantic Ocean in comfort. Her slender bow will slice
through the waves that pound the blunt bow of other cruise ships and lead to
reduced speeds and passenger discomfort. To further prepare the ship for her
Atlantic endurance runs, the QM2's steel hull is 50 percent thicker than for a
ship cruising in gentler waters.
Queen Mary 2
Statistics
Her statistics are impressive:
| Tonnage: |
148,528 gross tons |
| Displacement: |
76,000 tonnes (approx) |
| Length: |
345 m (1,132 ft) |
| Beam: |
41 m (135 ft) waterline, 45
m (147.5 ft) extreme (bridge wings) |
| Draft: |
10 m (32 ft 10 in) |
| Height: |
72 m (236.2 ft) keel to
funnel (includes 17 passenger decks) |
| Power: |
117 MW (157,000
horsepower) |
| Propulsion: |
Four 21.5 MW electric
propulsor pods: 2 fixed and 2 azimuthing |
| Speed: |
approximately 30 knots (56
km/h) |
| Complement: |
2,620 passengers, 1,253
officers and crew |
| Cost: |
UK £460 million (approx
€700 million, US $900 million) |
She can accommodate between 2,620
and 3,090 passengers, and with a crew of 1,254, there's a passenger
crew ratio of around 2.1 / 2.5, and that spells service!
She's just the ticket for your trip
Down Under ...
Travel to Australia
in Luxury
There are 1,310 staterooms and suites
(they're not called cabins any more!) and three quarters of these have private balconies ... no more getting lost in a
labyrinth of undersea cabins for the QM2's passengers.
Activities Aboard
Queen Mary 2
And if being bored is sometimes a
worry on long ocean voyages, the QM2 has that sorted, too. With five swimming
pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre and a planetarium, as well as the normal
shops, gyms, sports decks, lounges, bars and an 8,000-book library, there's no shortage of things to
do.
Dining Aboard Queen
Mary 2
Then there's the food ...
Ten passenger restaurants operate
24 hours a day, every day. If you miss dinner (which is always available till
midnight at one of the restaurants) you can visit the nightly buffet that stays
open for all the night-owls. And if you want to dance the night away or be
entertained at one of the night clubs, you can get an early-bird breakfast from
4 am. (There are also three restaurants for the crew.)
Does that sound like a lot of meals? Pity the
ship's chefs who prepare and serve 14,000 meals a day. These consist of three
meals a day, plus afternoon snacks and a buffet.
On a typical day this will involve 5,000 to 6,000
eggs, 120 pizzas, 700 English scones during afternoon tea, and 9,500
canapes during the captain's cocktail parties.
Every six days, the chefs use 50 tons of fresh
fruit and vegetables, 8 tons of poultry, 13 tons of fish and other seafood and
20 kilograms of Russian caviar.
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And if you think the chefs have a tough time,
just imagine being on clean-up duty ... 87,000 pieces of china and glassware are
used daily, so the ship has 85 dishwashers, pot washers and galley cleaners,
supervised by two sanitation officers!
If you're thinking of a cruise to anywhere on
this lovely planet of ours, you'll want the best cruises and the best deals.
Click now to find a cruise and ask how
you can save on cruises.
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