QM2 10th Anniversary:
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Part One: A Reason To Celebrate Part Two: QM2 Today and Tomorrow Photo feature: QM2 Birthday Celebrations |
 Commodore Ronald Warwick
As Commodore Warwick pointed out Queen Mary 2's tenth anniversary is a “milestone.” As such, it is an appropriate point to access where QM2 is today and where she is going. When a human being celebrates his or her tenth birthday, you instantly know where in that person's life he or she is. But the lifespan of a ship is different than that of a human being.
“The design life is 40 years.” explained Dr. Payne. In designing Queen Mary 2, “I was very conscious that the QE2 had been sailing for nearly 40 years and I was very conscious that the upkeep for the QE2 was getting higher and higher mainly because of the aluminum [superstructure]. The aluminum had gotten very brittle and was forming a lot of cracks. So a lot of money each year had to be spent on cutting out or putting in [patches]. So the first decision I made on QM2 was that we would have no aluminum; it is all steel, the whole ship. By taking the decision to have it all steel, I was ensuring that it would have a long lifespan.” “She is now 10 years old and has crossed the Atlantic 200 odd times. She has encountered some significant weather but she is holding up extremely well and I am absolutely convinced that she will serve the 40 years.” “I think the ship is in fantastically good shape,” added Commodore Warwick. “The company has looked after it and maintained it. They have kept it in the style that is in our vision - - it exceeds the expectations of everybody.” When QM2 was constructed, she incorporated the latest technology and thus was ahead of her time in many respects. As a result, 10 years later, technologically “she is still at the forefront. She still has significant margins in things like stability, which means that although the rules have changed, she compares favorably to those new rules,” observed Dr. Payne. Commodore Warwick added: “You have to move with the times. The technology in the QE2 changed dramatically. Marine technology is moving along as we speak, ships embrace it as we go along. It is quite conceivable that other systems will come in and we will adopt them as we go along.” One of the reasons Queen Elizabeth 2 was able to serve for 40 years was that the ship was able to adapt to the changing times, not only with respect to technology but also to changes in public tastes, and world conditions. QM2 has demonstrated a similar adaptability. For example, since Queen Mary 2 entered service, the price of fuel has risen dramatically. |
“That has been reflected in lowering the speed,” Dr Payne explained. “Hence instead of six day crossings, she is now doing seven [day crossings].”
QM2 is capable of doing 30 knots. However, she now normally travels at 23 knots. “Basically when you start going above 18, 19, 20 knots, for each knot that you increase the speed, the amount of fuel that you have to burn goes disproportionately high. For each knot, it shoots up. By slowing the ship down, they have kept the fuel costs under control.” In addition, the ship's original design has helped her deal with the rise in fuel cost. “Because she is such a fine hull, she is very, very efficient versus the more blocky kind of big cruise ships - - ones out there that are much more squared off in the front and at the stern, below the water as well as above. Here, she slips through rather easily.” Going forward, Queen Mary 2 will continue to do very much what it is doing at the moment.” Mr. Dingle stated. “What I do know is the transatlantic itself is growing in popularity every year so somehow I have to think of having more transatlantic crossings. I may dedicate Queen Mary 2 entirely to transatlantic crossings. I may need to have one or two of the other [Cunard] ships also [do] partially a transatlantic program. We just have to wait and see. We have a number of options there. But the transatlantic is absolutely at the core of Cunard. It defines what the experience is all about.” “Then when we think about our transatlantic crossings, should that only be between Southampton and New York. We have already extended some of our transatlantics through to Hamburg but should we also include some of the other historic ports - - Liverpool in the U.K., Cherbourg in France. Might we be able to bring back crossings to places like Boston, Halifax or even down to Quebec? Those things are in my mind.” “There will be points in the future where some of the facilities may need to be upgraded to keep moving on. Any hospitality environment does need to keep pace with modern convention. For instance, the television systems in the cabins. Technology there is moving incredibly fast so that is something we are thinking hard about - - how to upgrade that and keep it moving.” Along the same lines, there is the question “whether we have enough alternative dining outlets, particularly for people who sail on long segments of the around the world cruise. No matter how satisfied they are with their main restaurants, the Grills restaurants or the Britannia, there will be days when [guests] just want something a bit different. Maybe we might have to ramp up the choice of alternative dining, it is something we may think about.” |
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Cruise ship interview - - Cunard Line - - Queen Mary 2 - - Cunard CEO David Dingle, Commodore Ronald Warwick, Dr. Stephen Payne - - page 2