The QE2 Story would like to thank Michael Gallagher for giving his permission to extract information from information he had compiled on refits and allowing us to make this information available on the QE2 Story Forum.
Timescale: 3 Weeks
Date: 7 – 25 November 1976
Place: Southampton
Captains: R Arnott and L Portet
Dry Dock: QE2 was placed into the No 7 Graving Dock on 10 November and remained there until 19 November 1976.
Passenger Areas
Dining: £130,000 was spent on the modifications and refurbishment of dining areas.
The area port side of the Colombia Restaurant, initially occupied by the Grill Room was transformed into the new 100 seat Princess Grill Restaurant. The refit also saw the reintroduction of the Grill Room Cocktail Lounge on deck one with the spiral staircase giving access from the lounge to the restaurant.
This change increased the number of restaurants on board to four, enabling Cunard to offer one-sitting dining for all cruises and Atlantic crossings.
Princess Grill and Lounge Designer: Dennis Lennon
“The design of the new Princess Grill was entrusted to Dennis Lennon who redid the space with bulkheads panelled in Burgundy red leather and banquettes covered in velvet wool (rather than leather as they were originally in the Grill Room) and shiny metal trim. The ‘Four Elements’ statues were not placed back in the room at this time – their original spaces being taken by potted plants. The colour scheme was complimented with red drapes and Perspex lights (or cones of crystal) would sit on pink table cloths at night.”
The original Grill Room Lounge on One deck forward was decorated in the same style as the Grill itself. Passengers would gain access to the Princess Grill through the Princess Grill Lounge on One deck via a spiral staircase.
Galley: Modifications were made to the Columbia Galley in order to service the new Princess Grill.
Queens Grill: was renovated at a cost of £50,000. The new scheme, in ruby red, white and gold, included new chairs, new carpet, furniture covering, bulkhead covering and new Dumb Waiters.
New Tour Offices and Conference Room: These were built on the port side of Upper Deck, between the Double Down Room and the Double Down Bar, at a cost of £20,000.
Passenger Accommodation:
Penthouses and Suites refurbished.
Staterooms - refurbishment work was carried out.
Behind the Scenes and Technical Work:
• Crew accommodation refurbishment work was undertaken.
• New Decca radars were installed.
• A new telex machine was installed.
• QE2’s paintwork was inspected.
• The lifeboats received work.
