QM2 a Titanic step

Ocean Angel · 02-25-2007, 07:34 PM

STEPPING aboard the Queen Mary 2 is like stepping onto a movie set and I don't mean Titanic, says BRAD CROUCH.
QM2 is a larger-than-life, glamorous, luxurious superstar of the seas, positively wallowing in mystique.
She is not so much a ship as an event, one that can bring a city to a standstill.
When the world's largest and most expensive cruise liner came to Sydney this week traffic was gridlocked and the Harbour resembled a Sydney-Hobart race day as normally cool Sydneysiders gushed over the giant.
Tens of thousands flocked to vantage points along the harbour to see the lady rendezvous with its sister ship, the famous Queen Elizabeth 2.
Given the chance to peek inside the QM2 on a tour with Captain Christopher Rynd, it was easy to see why the ship is a floating star.
The owners and crew don't refer to the $1 billion, 151,400-ton vessel as a cruise ship; it is an "ocean liner".
And it is built in the classic style of a posh liner.
Leather, marble, chandeliers and polished wood are everywhere, it is dripping with artworks, the ceilings are high and the walkways wide.
The house champagne is Veuve Clicquot, the in-house shops include Hermes, Dunhill, Harrods and Swarovski.
Its size longer than three football fields, almost as high as the Santos building means you can fit in lots of features.
Its theatres include the Royal Court, a two storey Broadway-style theatre seating 1200, while in another theatre a huge dome lowers over the audience to become a fully-fledged planetarium.
While it has a kids' club and nursery, its staple crowd are the older, well-heeled variety the average age on a world cruise is about 60, we were told.
That's probably why the grand ballroom (ballroom dancing each evening) is larger than the disco.
The ship has 10 restaurants, five pools, spa centre, gymnasium and the largest floating library in the world.
Its sheer size has to be seen to be appreciated at 345m long it is more than triple the size of the Titanic, and with 17 decks it is about the height of a 23-storey building.
All this takes some power to propel.
"At full speed of about 29.5 knots we get about 32 feet to the gallon," Captain Rynd noted.
The liner can take some 3000 passengers, who enjoy a mind-boggling amount of food including 3.3kg of Russian caviar each day, prepared by 150 chefs.
Naturally it has a casino the pokies do not have any 1c lines that I could spy.
QM2 carries its heritage well, with plenty of references to its famous predecessors, including a portrait of Cunard line founder Samuel Cunard comprised of dozens of tiny paintings of the line's ships.
While the QM2 does attract the wealthy, willing to pay up to $500,000 for a top-of-the-line 81-day world cruise, you don't have to be a millionaire to enjoy the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
A six-day trans-Atlantic crossing later this year can be picked up for as little as $1399. For that price you not only get a cruise, you get the experience of travelling aboard an international celebrity.
Six days might give you enough time to get around and use all the ship's facilites just.
The meeting of the two Queens in Sydney on Tuesday sparked a party in the Harbour city, including a dazzling fireworks display.
The spectacle will be repeated next February when the QE2 is joined in Sydney by the new Cunard superliner Queen Victoria, to be launched in the UK in December.

AdelaideNow... QM2 a Titanic step