The original 1977 artists impressions for the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Suites attached....
Total cost: $1 million ($500,000 each)
America’s only contribution to the superstructure of QE2 was made when the most luxurious passenger accommodation was fitted on Signal deck forward of the 1972 Penthouse block. Constructed from a framework of aluminium, the two new suite blocks, costing $500,000 each, weighed 15 tones each, measured 50 by 30 feet and were 16 feet high.
Preparatory construction work was undertaken over a period of several months during periodic calls at Southampton and involved the removal of decking and setting the foundations of the new units. Each module was constructed ashore at the yard adjacent to the dry dock and were hoisted aboard (fully furnished) by crane within days of QE2’s arrival at Bayonne.
Each block contained four suiterooms:
ROOM SIZE
8082 544 square feet
8084 437 square feet
8081 544 square feet
8082 437 square feet
Named after the two most famous Cunarders, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the interior design for these suites was undertaken by Dennis Lennon and were outfitted in the last word in European and American designs in a style called ‘classic modern’.
Both suites featured two bedrooms, sitting room, two bathrooms, two patios and a walk-in closet / dressing room.
Sitting Room: The suites’ distinctive architectural feature was the split-level configuration with the sitting room above the main bedroom. A 12-foot suede covered sofa curved around one corner, a glass and satin stainless steel coffee table and chairs covered in handmade Scottish tweed. There was a cocktail fridge and music centre. Additional storage space was to be found under the ‘balcony’ separated from the bedroom by a transparent balustrade. A small four-step staircase connected the bedroom and sitting room above. Towards the bow the room faced a large private patio.
Bedroom: The bedroom area featured a dressing table, side table, wardrobe and lamps. The area was done in muted beiges and pale pastel silks; bedlinen under the blue and white Italian bedspreads was by Halston. Sycamore chests and other furniture were especially handmade.
The Queen Mary Suite featured a gold hand-woven silk panel behind the bed.
The Queen Elizabeth Suite featured a blue hand-woven silk panel behind the bed.
Bathroom The large bathroom in each suite featured two marble basins, carpeted floor, gold-plated fittings, a large bathtub, shower, toilet, bidet and cabinet with sycamore and mirrored walls.
The suites could be combined to form two 891 square feet ultra-luxury, split-level apartments:
8082 (main room) and 8084: Queen Mary Suite (decorated in gold)
8081 (main room) and 8083: Queen Elizabeth Suite (decorated in blue)
The floors throughout each suite were covered with a champagne shaded hand-woven carpet and the walls were covered with heavy white linen. Each suite had its own cocktail service and Minton china and silver for breakfast and teatime use. The patios featured white furniture. The split-level areas could be lit from a single $800 lamp on a dimmer switch and a number of ‘infinitely variable’ lighting schemes.
The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Suites were more luxurious than any other accommodation available at sea: so lavish were these accommodations, they were referred to in the New York Times as “two rooms riverside view; rent $125,000 quarterly”. The price passengers would be charged for tenancy on one of these ‘bolt-on-boxes’ was around £1,000 per day. Fares for the first cruise after the refit (20 December 1977, fourteen days to the Caribbean) were $15,590 per person. The 1978 90-day Great Pacific and Orient Cruise would see fares of $160,000 per person for these suites.
If required, the new rooms could be sold as four separate units.
8083 and 8084
To enable these rooms to be sold individually, these two Penthouses were of a similar layout to the existing Penthouses.