RMS Queen Mary 2
Queen Mary 2 arriving at Ft. Lauderdale, January 28, 2004
Career
Nationality	British
Ordered:	November 6, 2000
Laid down:	July 4 2002
Floated:	March 21, 2003
Named:	January 8, 2004
Maiden Voyage:	January 12, 2004
Status:	in service
General Characteristics
Tonnage:	151,400 gross tons
Displacement:	76,000 tonnes (approx)
Length:	345 m (1,132 ft)
Beam:	41 m (135 ft) waterline, 45 m (147.5 ft) extreme (bridge wings)
Draft:	10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Height:	72 m (236.2 ft) keel to funnel (includes 17 passenger decks)
Power:	117 MW (157,000 horsepower) CODAG
Propulsion:	Four 21.5 MW electric propulsor pods: 2 fixed and 2 azimuthing
Speed:	approximately 30 knots (56 km/h)
Complement:	2,620 passengers, 1,253 officers and crew
Cost:	UK £460 million (approx US $800 million)

The RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after the earlier Cunard liner Queen Mary, which was in turn named after Mary of Teck. At the time of her construction in 2003, the QM2 was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, and at 151,400 gross tons, was also the largest. She lost that last distinction to Royal Caribbean International's 158,000 gross ton Freedom of the Seas in April 2006, but QM2 remains the largest ocean liner (as opposed to cruise ship) ever built, and her height, length, and waterline breadth are unsurpassed by any other passenger ship. QM2's luxuries include 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and a planetarium.

Characteristics

The Queen Mary 2 is the current Cunard flagship and makes regular transatlantic crossings. The ship was constructed to complement the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) — the Cunard flagship from 1969 to 2004 - replacing it on the transatlantic route. The first RMS Queen Mary sailed the Atlantic from 1936 to 1967.

The prefix "RMS" on the QM2 originally stood for "Royal Mail Steamer", but now stands for "Royal Mail Ship". The QM2 is not a steamship like her predecessors, but is powered by gas turbines and diesel engines that produce the power to drive her four electric podded propulsors. Also like her predecessors, she is a transatlantic ocean liner, as opposed to a cruise ship, though she is used for cruising purposes from time to time.

History

Concept and construction

Queen Mary 2 under construction, her radar mast in the right foreground

The vision of a 21st century ocean liner — bigger than any that had gone before — started as the brainchild of Carnival CEO Micky Arison, who has stated that his company bought Cunard to create Queen Mary 2, not vice versa.

Cunard completed a design for a new class of 84,000-ton, 2000-passenger liners on 8 June, 1998, but immediately revised them upon comparing those specifications with Carnival Cruise Lines' 100,000-ton Destiny-class cruise ships and Royal Caribbean's 137,200-ton Voyager of the Seas.

Six months later, on 10 December, Cunard released details of "Project Queen Mary", the project to develop a liner that would complement Queen Elizabeth 2. Harland and Wolff of Northern Ireland, Aker Kværner of Norway, Fincantieri of Italy, Meyer Werft of Germany, and Chantiers de l'Atlantique of France were invited to bid on the project. If construction began immediately, the liner could be in service by 2002. But it was not until 6 November, 2000 that a contract was signed with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, a subsidiary of Alstom. This was the same yard that built Cunard's one-time rivals, the SS Normandie and SS France of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique.

Her keel was laid down on 4 July 2002, in Saint-Nazaire, France. Approximately 3000 craftsmen spent some 8 million working hours on the ship, and a total of 20,000 people were directly or indirectly involved in her design, construction, and fitting out. In total, 300,000 pieces of steel were assembled into 94 "blocks" off of the drydock, which were then stacked and welded together to complete the hull and superstructure. ^[1] She is so much larger than those that Chantiers normally build that the shipyard treated her as "1.6 ships." ^[2]

The QM2 was floated on 21 March 2003. Her sea trials were conducted on 25-29 September and 7-11 November 2003^[3], between Saint-Nazaire and the off-shore islands of Ile d'Yeu and Belle-Ile. The final stages of construction were marred by a fatal accident on 15 November 2003, when a gangway collapsed under a group of shipyard workers and their relatives who had been invited to visit the vessel. About 30 people on the gangway fell over 15 m (50 ft); 22 were injured and 16, including a child, were killed.

Construction was completed on schedule. Due to the size of the ship, the luxury of materials, and the fact that, due to her nature as an ocean liner, she required 40% more steel than a standard cruise ship, the final cost ended up being approximately $300,000 US per berth - nearly double that of ships such as Voyager of the Seas, Grand Princess, or Carnival Conquest. ^[4]

Cunard took delivery in Southampton, England on 26 December 2003. On 8 January 2004, the liner was named Queen Mary 2 by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Service history

Queen Mary 2 in Hamburg harbour

On 12 January 2004, the Queen Mary 2 set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the United States, carrying 2,620 passengers under tight security due to terrorist threats.

During the XXVIII Olympics the QM2 sailed to Athens and docked at Piraeus for two weeks for use as a hotel-ship, serving British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie, French President Jacques Chirac, former US president George Bush, and the US Olympic men's basketball team. ^{[5] [6]}

One 2005 transatlantic crossing saw the QM2 carrying, in a locked steamer trunk, the first US copy of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, autographed by the author. This marked the first time a best-selling book had been transported to its international launch aboard an ocean liner. ^[7]

In January 2006 the QM2 embarked on a circumnavigation of South America. Upon departure from Fort Lauderdale one of her propeller pods was damaged when it struck a channel wall, forcing the ship to sail at a slower speed, which resulted in Commodore Warwick's decision to skip several calls on its voyage to Rio de Janeiro. Many of its passengers threatened to stage a sit-in protest because of the missed calls, before Cunard offered to refund the voyage costs. The QM2 continued to run on reduced speed, and several itinerary changes were necessary until repairs had been completed after the ship returned to Europe in June, where the QM2 paid a visit to dry dock, and the damaged propeller pod was unseated, repaired, and reassembled.^[8]

Queen Mary 2 visits the original Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA

On February 23 2006, after completing the journey around South America, the QM2 met her namesake, the original RMS Queen Mary, which is permanently docked at Long Beach, CA. Escorted by a flotilla of smaller ships, the two Queens exchanged a "whistle salute" which was heard throughout the city of Long Beach. (see here for a podcast of the ships' meeting.)

Famous passengers and/or guests of the QM2 include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, jazz musician Dave Brubeck, former US president George Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, comedian and actor John Cleese, actor Richard Dreyfuss, author and editor Harold Evans, director George Lucas, singer Carly Simon, singer Rod Stewart, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, and financier Donald Trump. ^[9]

On 10 January 2007, the QM2 will start her first world cruise, circling the globe in 81 days. On 20 February she is to meet her fleet-mate, the Queen Elizabeth 2, also on her 2007 world cruise, in Sydney harbour. ^{[10] [11]} This will be the first time two Cunard Queens have been together in Sydney since the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth served as troop ships in 1941. ^[12]

A running mate is currently planned, to be known as the MS Queen Victoria and entering service in 2007.