Archive through January 2009

If the interiors of this ship are really like the photos - inside Jeannies bottle, I am not too fussed about travelling in her. Looks like Queen Mary der Grosse is not only big outside, but gross inside. It's such a pity, because they could do 'understated elegance' and really make her a ship to see, rather than another Carnicunard ship of tickytacky.
 
>Odd that they would go through the trouble to strip the loud colors, but then leave that tacky artificial agapanthus in that "planter." They also left that "rain" falling in front of the mural.

And the quiet elegance of the painted glas...plastic...skylight. Is it still present? The plastic plants were/are a nice touch~ zero maintenence, other than dusting, and thematically compatible with the plastic rain and the plastic birds.

>I avoided it too.

~Buffet.
~Winter Garden.

>I think it's like kryptonite for guys like us.

Yes.

>If the interiors of this ship are really like the photos - inside Jeannies bottle,

If only. Jeannie's Bottle, although garish, was at least cheerful. In order to give the ship that....elegant olde worlde feel, much of its interior is sheathed in woodgrain laminate in the shade refered to as Dogsh*t Brown. Does one HAVE to French Polish laminate? Due to the extensive use of partitioning to create that unneccesary "Processional":

gross_qm2_9_copy1.jpg


there are only "accidental" port-to-starboard views on the lounge decks. A mistake continued as well on the Kings Court deck where the preparation areas are centrally located, blocking off most side-to-side light. Add to that a prevalence of "Regal" reds, "Royal" blues, and "Dogsh*t" brown laminate and you have an interior that is frequently quite gloomy as well as "Internal" feeling. Also, see those pseudo-Deco relief works in the Grande Processional? (Aka Big Pointless Hallway) They are not even metal. They are either plastic or fiberglas. Time to drag out that old saw about an unadorned neck being more beautiful than a neck draped with rhinestones.

To balance that...QM2 IS the first ship I've been aboard to provide adequate in-cabin bookshelfs. Two of them. TRUE....the majority of people do not bring ten or more books with them on a six night cruise, but for those of us who do, it was nice not to have to stack them atop the dresser.

gross_qm2_cabin_2.jpg


gross_qm2_bookcases.jpg


So, it's not a 100% wash. True...the only room I REALLY liked now looks like the brunch room in a retirement condo complex, BUT, if I upgrade into Princess Grill I get adequate bookshelf space.
 
>>And the quiet elegance of the painted glas...plastic...skylight. Is it still present?<<

With the exception of having the colors being stripped from the mural in 2005, and the new seating arrangement put in place in 2006, the Winter Garden remains the same as it was back in 2004. The Winter Garden has a variety of odd functions when the ship is at sea. During a part of the voyage, the room is full of different works of art, which are later auctioned off in the same room. And after the change in seating, the room now basically serves as an overflow dining area for the Kings Court.  Despite the food being terrible there, the place can get very, very crowded. The same issue was present onboard the QE2. I rarely spend time in either area, and the only time I saw them on my last couple of voyages was on my way to the spa which, btw, is fantastic.
 
>Despite the food being terrible there, the place can get very, very crowded.

That's because of its major design flaw. Internal service areas. Internal buffets. Multiple small buffet islands. Only two transverse corridors. A HUGE amount of space is devoted to preparation and serving, with only two narrow strips of unused space on the far side of the (for want of a better term) promenade decks left for seating. The space wasted as opposed to the effect achieved is horrific. As such, it is inferior to the Lido on the QE2. Like much else on the ship, it is an inexplicably weird design choice, the principal flaw of which should have been painfully evident from day 1: more space is devoted to spreading minimal amounts of food out over a VERY large area than is devoted to the comfort of the passengers who have to eat there.

Myself...the single most disgusting-tasting thing that has EVER been in my mouth entered it in that room. I have NO idea what it was- other than that it was breaded- but the aftertaste one gets from the pungent odor of decaying raccoon roadkill in midsummer actually represents an improvement....
 
>>but the aftertaste one gets from the pungent odor of decaying raccoon roadkill in midsummer actually represents an improvement....<<

Well, there goes my appatite! It may have been just as well that whatever it was, was breaded. Some things are best left unknown.
 
It was round. It was breaded. I THINK the inside was some form of pureed meat. I thought it some form of canape. I STILL can't describe the flavor, but Mike P. MIGHT recall that I was queasy at intervals for the rest of the day.
 
>>I THINK the inside was some form of pureed meat.<<

The pureed whatever (An organ meat of some kind perhaps?) is probably a lot like the CIA: You don't know, and you don't want to know!
 
Michael or Mr Kalafus, can you tell me if Q Mary has a squared off section at her stern. In this pix I have before me, showing her from starboard side stern side, the stern appears to have a U shaped flat portion underneath the curve above. WHY would she have such a queer-looking stern, would this have something to do with her pod propulsion. It just looks weird to me. I am speaking of the hull at the stern.
 
And Mr Kalafus, regarding the pix you posted above re the processional with the dog-brown walls, I think Q Mary der Grosse is trying to copy Mauretania 1907, but is not succeeding. In spite of people of that era reportedly said to have preferred Lusitania's white interiors to Maury's dark woods, the Mauretania did have many fans who preferred her decor. I don't see the Mary's attempt to emulate Maury's carved interiors as particularly successful and why french polish laminate anyway. The effect is not bad, but neither is it good, in my mind, it misses the point - although I do reserve my final judgement until I actually see the area in question (I will have to win the lotto first)
 
>>can you tell me if Q Mary has a squared off section at her stern<<

Yes, the Queen Mary 2 has a cross between a vertical transom stern and a cruiser stern. Payne wanted the traditional look of a cruiser stern for the QM2, but her pod propulsion required the vertical transom stern. So, they built the cruiser on top of the vertical transom. Although it looks odd from the waterline, it's impossible to notice it once you're onboard.
 
I still think it looks odd. Altho I conceed the points you give, re pods and vibration. I will have to factor in a ferry-ride to Devenport and back to get a good look at it - unfortunately she comes in on a Monday, and I have lectures to attend.
 
A nice example of showing that going "green" can pay some dividends. Fouling has always been a problem with ships hulls, robbing them of performance while required greater power to achieve the same speeds or less. Unfortunately, some of the old coatings which worked by leaching out toxic substances were sometimes worse then the disease.
 
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