The Queen Mary 2 Sails into Cape Town

The glamorous Queen of the ocean sets her sights on the Mother City!

Last Updated: 25 January 2017

The Queen Mary 2 (QM2) will sail into Table Bay on Thursday, 26 January, and will dock in the Mother City for two nights before departing again on the 28 January.

This will be the first stop on her cruise of the world following a £100-million re-mastering, which included extensive enhancement of QM2’s renowned Queens and Princess Grill suites and restaurants.

Last year, Queen Mary 2 spent 25 days in the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg where her keel rested a mere 850-mm from the ground once the water had been drained. Thousands of people ensured that work on the extravagant mastering proceeded swiftly.

All 172 Grill suites have received a comprehensive restyling and have been rearranged to maximise space. The Grills dining experience has been elevated and the two Grill restaurants have been redesigned to offer more table size options and space. The King’s Court buffet has been redesigned to create a more open and central buffet area.

Queen Mary 2 in her glory!

The Carintha Lounge (QM2’s winter garden) is now unrecognisable as it has been reconfigured into a sophisticated, casual and versatile new venue. The Verandah replaces the Todd English restaurant.

Exactly 80 years after the first Cunard Verandah Grill went to sea on Queen Mary, the latest incarnation of The Verandah concept is now available on board Queen Mary 2 and offers contemporary premium French cuisine.

The Queen Mary 2 is a ship of superlatives:

• She is four football fields in length  –  a total of 345 metres;
• She is equal to the height of a 23-storey building with 17 decks that tower 200 feet above the waterline;
• She covers an area of 3.5 acres;
• Her whistle is audible for ten miles;
• Her speed of 29.5 knots is double the speed of a Caribbean cruise ship and nearly three times the speed of a blue whale;
• She’s constructed from some 300,000 pieces of steel; her hull is made up of 94 steel blocks and weighs 50,000 tons (more than a school of 330 blue whales).  The QM2 gross weight is 151,400 tons;
• She carries 343 different wines on board (with annual wine sales estimated at around 230 000 bottles);
• In total over one year, passengers will consume 17236 kilogram smoked salmon, 1309752.48 liters of fruit juice, 112944 kilograms of potatoes and 420,000 packets of breakfast cereal.  Excluding wine, the QM2 serves 1.5 million drinks per annum.
• There are 1,310 staterooms in total of which 955 (73%) cabins feature balconies.
• Maximum capacity is 3,090 passengers.

By Garth Prins

Image Credit: Wired

Source Credit: Elize Engle

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Want to read more news on what’s happening in the Mother City? Check out Ancient Pier Discovered.

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