Author Topic: QE2's original Penthouses  (Read 3915 times)

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Online Michael Gallagher

QE2's original Penthouses
« on: Apr 06, 2018, 09:41 PM »
Moderator Note - All Content is Copyright © Michael Gallagher for The QE2 Story and not to be used without permission.


A major transformation in the external appearance of QE2 occurred during the major 1972 refit with the addition of a new, two-deck block of Penthouse accommodation featuring two luxury duplex apartments and eight two-room Penthouse Suites.

A fact of life in the cruise industry is that the most expensive and the least expensive cabins in liners sold first. On most vessels there was always some middle-range accommodation available. While the luxurious standard of the majority of QE2’s cabins had stood the test of time, a study revealed the interesting information that if more ‘suites’ were available they could be sold. Accordingly, a survey of QE2’s decks was undertaken and it showed that the Signal Deck open space and the Sports Deck forward activities area were not being fully employed as they might be and was space that had been largely wasted hitherto in terms of earning capacity. According to Cunard the area had also been something of a ‘dust bowl’ when the ship sailed at speed.

The decision was made to restyle this area into ten of the most luxurious and distinctive suites afloat resulting in the loss of the observation platform on Signal deck and the loss of open deck space and the outdoor children’s area and pool on Sports deck.

According to Cunard:

   “High up, on the topmost decks of Queen Elizabeth 2, we’re building a new group of luxury suites…for people who want to cruise in the utmost elegance".

The new penthouses were carefully formed and prefabricated in aluminium alloy to minimise the additional weight and to avoid spoiling the ship’s sleek silhouette any more than strictly necessary. Although a very few passenger ships dating back to the 1920s had had cabins with private verandahs, in terms of design and manufacture, these new top deck penthouses were the first of their kind on any ship. Not surprisingly, they became QE2’s most exclusive and sought-after accommodation and they were highly-profitable for Cunard.

Preliminary Work and Prefabrication

The design work for the new accommodation was undertaken by the Danish architect Tage Wandborg of Knut E Hansen A/S.

The preliminary work was carried out while QE2 was at sea shuttling across the Atlantic during the summer of 1972 with over 100 welders from the Vosper Thornycroft yard on board. Welding at sea with passengers on board was an unsettling business. The preparations on the ship and the pre-fabrication of the block itself at the shipyard had to be to a very high level of exactness for the pieces to fit.

Cunard and Vosper Thornycroft designed the aluminium alloy complex so that it could be fitted out and furnished in two halves, port and starboard, on the quayside ready to be lifted by floating crane on to QE2 at the start of the refit period.

EC Payter and Co of Bilston, Staffs, tendered for the work and was asked to make a start on 30 June before detailed drawings were available. When the structure was formally ordered on 5 July, Alcan Booth (E C Payter’s parent company) were already busy extruding beams and stiffeners and rolling the plate and all the required material was delivered at Bilston by 12 July.

Keeping to the subsequent fabrication programme meant no summer holidays for the workers at Bilston – a sacrifice they volunteered to make at the inquiry stage to help secure the business.

By the end of July prefabricated sections were on the quay in Southampton and work there started with Bilston platers and welders assembling the two halves.

At the beginning of September Vosper Thornycroft started work on schedule, marking out and fitting internal partitions. When the two sections were lifted in October only the central corridor area where they were joined remained unfinished.

Each block was 80-feet long by 24-feet wide and weighed about 50-tons. The aluminium alloy structure was lined with electrical and plumbing services (completed ashore) together with the fixed joinery and glazing before the units were lifted into position on deck by floating crane.

Installation

The installation started soon after QE2’s arrival in Southampton prior to the vessel entering dry-dock on 13 October. Southampton’s 150-ton floating crane brought the port side cabin unit from berth 40, where fitting out work had been done, and lowered it onto QE2’s top deck where special girders had been fitted for it to rest on. This carefully planned operation went without a hitch.

The next day the new starboard cabin unit was loaded the same way. QE2 then left her berth for the dry-dock immediately after this where the work of installing the new cabins and connecting them up to the ship’s plumbing and electrical installations was carried out.

General

To provide access to the new suites for passengers and provide steward service in the area, the following facilities were built.

•   A new passenger lift extending from the new Queens Grill Bar on Boat deck to Signal deck.

•   A new staircase from the Queens Grill Bar on Boat deck to Signal deck.

•   New pantries on Sports and Signal decks were built.

The new Penthouse area soon became referred to as the ‘motel’ by the crew.

Shortly after the installation, an article in Steamboat Bill reported:

   “The price range for the new suites begins in the $5,000 per occupant category and they are reportedly selling quite well. Soon after completion all were occupied on a Caribbean cruise that grossed in excess of $160,000 on these cabins alone for Cunard!”

« Last Edit: Apr 07, 2018, 06:46 PM by Rob Lightbody »

Online Michael Gallagher

Re: The original Penthouses
« Reply #1 on: Apr 06, 2018, 09:43 PM »
Moderator Note - All Content is Copyright © Michael Gallagher for The QE2 Story and not to be used without permission.


Queen Anne and Trafalgar Suites

The new block featured two premier units, the Queen Anne and Trafalgar Suites, situated farthest forward and spanning both the Sports and Signal decks – both levels connected by their own private internal stairs (with one turn and a platform at the midpoint). These were the first two-storey ‘town house’ cabins afloat.

These two 793-square foot (the upper rooms measured 420-square feet each while the rooms below were 373-square feet each) luxury duplex apartments were styled with ingenuity and flair by top designers from Britain and America and were innovative in their appointments and lavish in their furnishings and decorations. Each featured two dressing rooms, a private cocktail bar with refrigerator, two bathrooms and a window facing forward. Each level had a 15 by 18-foot teak-decked furnished veranda.

These two suites were, according to Cunard:

   “…designed to be the top rated rooms on the 65,000-ton ship. The suites are the most lavishly furnished and decorated accommodations on any passenger ship in the world”.

Each was decorated with distinctive elements characteristic of the historic periods they represented.

Trafalgar Suite: Designed to resemble Lord Nelson’s quarters on HMS Victory with nautical features. Furnishings included a teak campaign desk, oversize lounge chairs, bar, coffee table, occasional chairs and triple dresser. Ship models, a sextant and other nautical items decorated the room, along with an original oil painting of Lady Hamilton. The picture windows were swagged in red velvet edged with gold braid, a direct adaption from Nelson’s quarters. A blue and gold carpet was laid on both floors.

Queen Anne Suite: Decorated in 18th Century style and elegance with contemporary antique furniture including carved mahogany panelling, a drop-leaf table, camelback sofa and a pair of damask wing chairs on a floral carpet with gold drapes that brought the atmosphere of the Queen Anne period to life even at sea.

Both suites could be set up so that either the upper or lower levels could become the bedroom or sitting room.

Here is the Trafalgar Suite in artists impression and as built.

This suite was renamed Queen Victoria Suite in the 1999 refit.
« Last Edit: Apr 07, 2018, 06:43 PM by Rob Lightbody »

Online Michael Gallagher

Re: The original Penthouses
« Reply #2 on: Apr 06, 2018, 09:43 PM »
Queen Anne Suite

Online Michael Gallagher

Re: The original Penthouses
« Reply #3 on: Apr 06, 2018, 09:44 PM »
Moderator Note - All Content is Copyright © Michael Gallagher for The QE2 Story and not to be used without permission.


Penthouse Suites

The installation of the eight Penthouses gave QE2 additional superlative accommodations, which would prove to be very popular. Fares for the new rooms would be around £65 a day with Cunard confident of selling the space.

Each unit was made up of pairs of cabins (each being 355 square feet) on one level with a communicating door so that they could provide a separate bedroom and dayroom. The double-room suites could also be configured to form 16 single-room suites.

All the Penthouses were given their own distinctive atmosphere and were decorated in modern or traditional décor but were very contemporary 1970s in style (so much in vogue at this time).

Bedrooms featured foldaway beds (in the same style as those used in the Hotel Bristol), coffee table, love seat, occasional chairs, lounge chairs, bar and triple dresser. Carpets were tufted on a Hessian backing. The rooms had large bathrooms and walk-in closets as well as private oceanfront terraces. Original oil paintings were hung in each.

When combined with the adjoining room, a two-room suite was created with separate living room and bedroom as well as two verandas.

Each was named after exclusive London areas and addresses:

   Signal deck   8010 / 8008         Piccadilly
            8006 / 8004         Westminster
            8009 / 8007         Buckingham
            8005 / 8003         Chelsea

   Sports deck   8110 / 8108         Pall Mall
            8109 / 8107         Kensington
            8106 / 8104         Grosvenor
            8105 / 8103         Mayfair

« Last Edit: Apr 07, 2018, 06:43 PM by Rob Lightbody »

Online Isabelle Prondzynski

Re: The original Penthouses
« Reply #4 on: Apr 07, 2018, 06:40 AM »
A superb story, description and explanation, Michael, thank you! That was a fascinating read.

I very much admire the skills of the designers and builders, to get everything so exactly right, and that within a very tight time frame.

Did Cunard specify how many passengers could be accommodated in each of these suites? For instance, a large family, a party of several friends, etc.?

How many crew served them?