QUEEN ELIZABETH For Refit
Cunard’s QUEEN ELIZABETH has arrived at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, for her first scheduled dry-docking since she entered service in 2010. As well as conducting standard checks and maintenance, this multi-million dollar refit will create the ship’s first-ever single accommodation options, along with enhanced stateroom and other amenities and improved restaurant facilities. In line with the company’s environmental sustainability thinking, scrubber technology is also being introduced on the ship.
QUEEN ELIZABETH will leave the shipyard on June 1 and sail for Southampton, ahead of her June 4 cruise to Amsterdam.
“QUEEN ELIZABETH is already a much loved ship and following this multi-million dollar refit, she is sure to shine brightly for years to come,” said David Dingle, CEO for Cunard Line. “Whilst there has been investment across the ship, we are particularly delighted to announce that following this refit, there will be staterooms for single travelers on board a Cunard ship for the first time since QE2.”
In response to passenger demand and changing demographics, a total of nine new single staterooms are being created on Deck 2 midships by remodeling part of QUEEN ELIZABETH’s casino. Eight of the single staterooms will be a new grade of Ocean View accommodation, and the ninth will be a standard Inside.
In The Lido, the ship’s informal restaurant, refurbishments will mean that waiters with insulated coffee and tea pots will in the future serve passengers with hot drinks at all meals, while recessed risers will improve the styling of the self-service area as well as passenger flows within it.
More generally, carpets are being renewed and large flat-screen TVs – mostly 32” or above – are being installed in all passenger staterooms.
Sun awnings are being erected on the open area near the Lido pool at the stern on Deck 9 and on both sides of the Grills Upper Terrace area near the top of the ship to offer more shade on deck.
The creation of a dedicated studio will enable the ship’s photographers to offer high-end portraiture, while the addition of touch screens in the photo gallery will continue the development of a digital environment in which passengers can more easily find and select their photos taken by the team.
Significant work is planned for the retail area on board: the footprint is increasing, new shops are opening, and the layout, lighting and overall shopping experience for passengers are being enhanced.
On the technical front, scrubber technology is being installed in line with Cunard’s commitment to minimizing the company’s environmental impact. This involves installing a new filtration system for the exhaust gas from the ship’s engines.
Queen Elizabeth Technical Figures
|
Length |
294 m |
|
Width |
32 m |
|
Draught |
8 m |
|
Maximum Speed |
23.7 knots |
|
Passenger Capacity |
2,068 |
|
Staterooms |
1,034 |
|
Crew |
1,005 |
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Wonderful news, this redo. The addition of single cabins is surely a plus for those seeking the accommodation. Hopefully the price will reflect a fairly priced single rate.
Hopefully the QM2 is next.
Or just reduce the rate for a group of QM2 cabins and design them for one passenger each.
Single cabins are LONG overdue. Cunard is now realizing what NCL and other cruise lines already know. There is a large and ever expanding population of singles who love to cruise. Many refuse to pay the penalty for being single.
Too bad it’s only 9 Cabins. Wish there were more, but it’s a start.
I hope these changes will apply to the Queen Victoria and QM2 as well. We need many more single cabins on all three ships. 9 is not enough. Lets start with 30 on all three ships!
The QUEEN MARY 2 had -enjoyed – a very extensive refesh two years ago, the passenger acommodations were enlivened, that dreary blonde tone was jazzed uo, the Commodore Club went from grand to fabulous and the asfot spots in the carpeting was replaced with new carpet liner, as well as other things.