QE2 "as is" Hotel (wherever) - what will it be like ?

[Chris]

Yes, but the reason the crew were put high up in outside cabins when there were passengers low down in inside cabins was that the ride was a lot less rough down there. If she's static there won't be any movement so the crew can be accommodated in the Deck Five inside singles!

Further to this, it was logical to situate the Captain and Officers quarters close to the Bridge while in the original design much of Sun Deck was dedicated to Officers activity (plus the close proximity to such amenities as the Wardroom). Furthermore, as there was no passenger accommodation above One Deck in the original design, it would have introduced a whole heap of new problems to accommodate passengers above Boat Deck as the main staircases & lifts ended there (A, E and G) ... this problem was later sorted by the 'hidden' staircase and lift via the QG Lounge...

[Chris]

PS: I must say I do wholeheartedly agree with Rob regarding QE2's interiors. My last voyage aboard was in September 2008 and I did not feel her to be old fashioned nor tired, in fact the general feeling aboard was "how can this be ready for retirement".

QE2 wasn't about glitz and glam. She may have made a statement in 1969 but she evolved, she aged gracefully to become a liner that "grew up" with her guests. She changed with the times and was adapted to keep her at the top of her game. I doubt any of the grand and glitzy 3-story restaurants aboard the newer ships can provide the same service and charm that one found in the PG or the Caronia Restaurant. It was unmatched in my opinion.

Thanks for the visual retrospective Rob (and Isabelle - magnificent pics). I am feeling very "home sick" now.

[Malcolm]

Yacht Club - old fashioned & tired?

the faded photos!

What about the worn out carpet and the tables fixed to the deck to prevent them falling over in rough whather?

Chart Room - old fashioned & tired?

Not old fashioned (I'm not really objecting to "old fashioned", more 90s would-be chic) but the room was getting tired. Nothing that a good cleaning, decorating and replacing of the soft furnishings wouldn't fix.

Princess Grill - old fashioned & tired?

The Princess Grill is one of the few rooms I've said could continue quite happily without any change

Britannia Grill - old fashioned & tired?

 

I like the Art Deco of the Britannia Grill. The thing, for me, that would put it well below the Princess Grill on a list of places to keep is its access.

Caronia Restaurant - old fashioned & tired?

When the Coloumbia was redesigned it was meant to become the ship's second class restaurant. Originally there were a lot of large tables for eight or twelve with plenty of space about them. When large tables became less popular extra small tables were added in place of these large tables. This made the space between the tables very tight.

The décor wasn't "old fashioned" because of its style but was old fashioned because it looked like what it was - something put in in the 90s to look as if it belonged on an old ship.

Crystal Bar - old fashioned & tired?

No

Queens Room - old fashioned & tired?

The fabric of the room was definitely old fashioned. That ceiling and those columns were works of art. However in the redesign the room had been built to seat as many people as possible. Instead of being large and luxurious the furnishings gave the impression they were there to be as small as possible. (I didn't like the bright blue and gold colour scheme but, as that's a personal taste, I'm not going to object to it).

The sides of the Queens Room were very heavy traffic flow areas. I don't think the carpet was replaced in her last couple of years so I would be very surprised if it didn't need some major work by now.

Those are some of the public rooms. What about the other areas of the ship? What about the A/C? The plumbing? Fire warning? They are all in need of urgent restoration/repair to be able to keep functioning.

[cunardqueen]

The Yacht Club, when you consider it is a night club with a lot of traffic and spilt drinks etc etc  l think its in very good shape, Especially  if you actually study the room,after a hard going night before !!  as in any of the rooms onboard yes of course you will find bits that are perhaps not as best as they should be. But anyone will tell you on that farewell crossings she was in great shape, same as the year before. And as Chris says they want to retire her when she appears in such a great condition.

 What surprised me was the Suites uptop on Sun and Signal deck, a look in them and l did wonder Goodness (or words to that effect a) all that money for this...  Now they were tired, Indeed on a vist to one of them in 2002 l was really quite shocked how tired,worn the whole room looked, and really l should have had more pressing matters on my mind than the state of the room and the bathroom.....

  When you consider Cunard were still laying new carpets down well into 2008 there must have been some sort of caring attitude among them or were they just using up odd rolls from the carpet stores.

 All this talk of refitting QE2, do they really need to rebuild or change her, yes of course the cabins on 4/5 deck are maybe not upto scratch, but they could be sold at bottom rates, remember an empty hotel room brings in no money And How long is she going to be there? Is there any reason why QE2 couldnt be re opened as is. It is after all only some Rugby games that are being played 

As for QE2 beig old fashioned, well isnt that very much a personal view, Compared to Excrement of the seas yes she is old fashioned, But then the Ritz in London, go there and see some of their rooms and you might just be surprised how tacky they are and thats a 5 star hotel, and you start paying through the nose when the door  man greets you.
We should remember  that perhaps we are biased to my our ship and a lot of the folks out there dont really "get" QE2

The Queens,Princess and Britannia Grills can of course be opened up and used to cater for those that wish that service at a premium and no reason at all why either the Mauretania or Caronia couldnt be opened up so folks could have Dinner on the QE2. The possibilites are endless to what can be offered, Room only B&B or the full works Why cast the lido aside combine it with open air dancing and  Buffet

 Then again the classic afternoon tea thats an easy money maker as any hotel will tell you, and if we cast our mind back to when we took our  afternoon tea, How much would you pay for it?? £5, £15,£25 and yet as passengers we enjoyed it "free" same with the Dinner, what value would you put on it?  Gleneagles on my last visit was £18.00 and quite frankly a rip off, when it was suggested l pour my own tea the Dr was called, thankfully l made a full recovery.
 Surely anyone with an ounce of Business sense can see what could lay ahead, and dare they even go down that beastly road of having Weddings onboard   Anyway just my thoughts

[Andrew Collier]

The following messages contain much useful information on the ships restaurants, and how they evolved over time. They have been moved to form a new thread of their own 'QE2 Restaurants' in the 'Service Life (1969-2008)' section.

This thread remains open for discussion on QE2 in South Africa.

https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,705.0.html

Many thanks for the excellent input from all involved, the Moderating Team.

[Twynkle]

Might there be questions about security for QE2 in Cape Town?

Whenever she was in port (2008), there was a '50 metre exclusion zone'
printed on a long banner hanging from the railings of (?) her boat deck
Was / is this the case for all other ships?

[Malcolm]

Was / is this the case for all other ships?

Yes, it happened in most (possibly all) ports and with all ships.

[QE2maiden]

Hope I got this posted in the correct location.
http://business.maktoob.com/20090000008139/QE2_to_sail_for_Cape_Town_Nakheel_confirms/Article.htm

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Hope I got this posted in the correct location.
http://business.maktoob.com/20090000008139/QE2_to_sail_for_Cape_Town_Nakheel_confirms/Article.htm

No problem at all    . The article was posted here (reply no. 64) :

https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,686.msg8165.html#msg8165

Yes, it is good news that Cape Town is confirmed, and I for one am looking forward to visiting her there!

[RMS Queen Elizabeth 2]

It says she will have a modest refit does this mean back to her former glory?

I hope those plans of ripping her apart doesn't happen.

[Rob Lightbody]

I hope those plans of ripping her apart doesn't happen.

I think you can forget all about those, for now... well for at least the next 18 months!  I think its all tremendous news, and I couldn't be happier.  They simply CAN'T "rip her apart" now - they need her fully operational.  There's only two choices here - (1) - "as is" - fully operational.  (2) - complete conversion to a static hotel/building - like QM1 - I just don't think there's anything in between these two options.  We were looking at (2) or worse!  Now we're looking at (1).

- Happy Rob.

[mickey g]

I hope those plans of ripping her apart doesn't happen.

I think you can forget all about those, for now... well for at least the next 18 months!  I think its all tremendous news, and I couldn't be happier.  They simply CAN'T "rip her apart" now - they need her fully operational.  There's only two choices here - (1) - "as is" - fully operational.  (2) - complete conversion to a static hotel/building - like QM1 - I just don't think there's anything in between these two options.  We were looking at (2) or worse!  Now we're looking at (1).

- Happy Rob.

Put a thread on earlier about BBC South news confirming her move to Cape Town, can't wait to get there, hope cabin 5203 emergency instuctions will not be required, they have mysteriously turned up in Eastbourne

[Bob C.]

...hope cabin 5203 emergency instuctions will not be required, they have mysteriously turned up in Eastbourne

Duh!  It just hit me that the minor refurbisment mentioned is restoring QE2 to be sea, hotel and restaruant worthy once again after the lack of upkeep and rumors of items being discarded into skips, trash and otherwise.  There has been, and probably still is, some looting and lack of upkeep and I too would have taken a few "keep sakes" if I was on the last voyage or onboard for the last 8 months.  None of it would have been used once they started ripping out the lower decks, etc. so why not "donate" it to a worthy cause...our collections.

Got to get her back into shape for SA! (I usually get it stuff like this but it can take me a while...lol)

[highlander0108]

Well, the only way they're going to get my cabin #5075 key back is if they let me sail along to Capetown.     I am relieved that she will be underway on her own power again.  Wouldn't it make sense that they call back Commodore Warwick for the trip. I volunteer for crew!  Happy Ken

[Mauretania1907]

O yum, is it on for sure. I'm tempted to visit her in South Africa. She will not be as she was under Cunard, but this might be a whole new career - maybe she will woo a whole lot of new 'fans'. I toast her a successful future witn banana smoothie in my souvineer Canberra Cruises cup. (my QE2 cup resides in my china cabinet)