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RMS Queen Mary 2
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The
transatlantic ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2
is operated by the British Cunard Line and
succeeded Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) as the
their flagship. RMS Queen Mary 2 was named
after RMS Queen Mary (1936) which was named
after the consort of
King George V, Mary of Teck. When QE2 was retired in 2008, RMS
Queen Mary 2 became the sole transatlantic
ocean liner in service between Southampton,
England, and New York City, New York, USA. As well
as making transatlantic crossings, RMS Queen
Mary 2 is used for cruising and completes a
world cruise annually. When built RMS Queen
Mary 2 was the largest ocean liner and
passenger ship ever constructed and, although
Royal Caribbean International’s ‘Freedom of
the Seas’ became the largest passenger ship
in 2006, RMS Queen Mary 2 retains the honor
of being largest ocean liner ever built. Her
large size gives her the capacity to carry
2,695 passengers as well as 1,253 officers
and crew, and among the many facilities
aboard RMS Queen Mary 2 are the first
planetarium at sea, a casino, a theatre, a
ballroom, five swimming pools and fifteen
restaurants and bars.
Why
was RMS Queen Mary 2 Built?
Cunard’s flagship ocean liner RMS Queen
Elizabeth 2 had been had been in service
since 1969, so it was decided that an
eventual replacement should be built. RMS
Queen Mary 2 was built to be that
replacement.
Who designed RMS Queen Mary 2?
RMS Queen Mary 2 was designed by a group of
naval architects headed by Stephen Payne.
Unlike many of her predecessors RMS Queen
Mary 2 was designed to be powered by diesel
engines as opposed to steam. The funnel,
while being similar to that on QE2, is a
slightly different shape. This is to allow
RMS Queen Mary 2 to pass under the Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge in New York City. RMS Queen Mary 2 is
also too large to pass through the Panama
Canal, meaning that she has to pass around
South America to sail between the Pacific
and Atlantic Oceans.
Where and When was RMS Queen Mary
2 Built?
The keel of Queen Mary 2 was
laid down on July 4, 2002, at
Saint-Nazaire, France, by Chantiers
de l’Atlantique. It took roughly
3,000 men around eight million
working hours to construct the RMS
Queen Mary 2,
with a total of approximately 20,000
people being involved in the project
from design to completion.
When was RMS Queen Mary 2
Launched?
RMS Queen Mary 2 was launched on
March 21, 2003, and was then fitted
out in a different dock at the same
yard in France. She underwent two
sea trials, the first was September
25 – 29, 2003, and the second
November 7 – 11, 2003. RMS Queen
Mary 2 was handed over to Cunard on
December 26, 2003, and was
officially named on January 8, 2004,
by
Queen Elizabeth II.
How big is RMS Queen Mary 2?
RMS Queen Mary 2 has eighteen decks,
an overall length of 1,132ft with a
beam of 135ft at the waterline and
147.5ft at the bridge wings. She has
an overall height of 236.2ft, a
draught of 33.8ft and displaces
79,287 tonnes of water. RMS Queen
Mary 2 is fitted with 4 x Wärtsilä
16V 46C-CR / 16,800 kW (22,848 mHP)
and 2 x GE LM2500+ / 25,060 kW
(34,082 mHP). She is propelled by
four 21.5 MW Rolls-Royce/Alstom
'Mermaid' electric propulsion pods
(2 fixed and 2 azimuthing) and has
a top speed of 30 knots. RMS Queen
Mary 2 has the capacity to carry
2,695 passengers and 1,253 officers
and crew.
RMS Queen Mary 2 Accommodation
and Facilities
There are four levels of
accommodation aboard RMS Queen Mary
2: Britannia Stateroom, Britannia
Club, Princess Grill and Queens
Grill. There are fifteen restaurants
and bars, a ballroom, a theatre, a
library, a casino, a planetarium and a
small shopping arcade. RMS Queen
Mary 2 also has five swimming
pools and some kennels for cats and dogs.
When did the Maiden Voyage of RMS
Queen Mary 2 take place?
RMS Queen Mary 2 set sail on her
maiden voyage from Southampton,
England, to Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, USA, on January 12, 2004,
with 2,620 passengers on board. Her
return to Southampton was delayed by
the failure to close of the bow doors,
covering the thrusters.
The captain of RMS Queen Mary 2
during her maiden voyage was Captain
Ronald Warwick.
RMS Queen Mary 2 in Service
RMS Queen Mary 2 served as a
floating hotel during the 2004
Summer Olympic Games which were held
in Greece. RMS Queen Mary 2 was
docked at Piraeus for two weeks and
was used by the then Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and
his wife, United States President
George W. Bush, French President
Jacques Chirac and the United States
Olympic men’s basketball team.
Notable Passengers on RMS Queen
Mary 2
Passengers on RMS Queen Mary 2 have
included various celebrities
such as singers, Rod Stewart,
James Taylor and Carly Simon, as well
a jazz musician Dave Brubeck. RMS
Queen Mary 2 also carried the first
United States copy of J. K.
Rowling’s novel 'Harry Potter and
the Half Blood Prince' for it’s
launch in the United States.
RMS Queen Mary 2 Meets her
Namesake
RMS Queen Mary 2 left Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, in January 2006
to circumnavigate South America.
During departure one of her
propeller pods was damaged when it
hit a channel wall. this damage led
to the RMS Queen Mary 2 reducing it’s number of
expected stops and travelling at a
slower speed. RMS Queen Mary 2 met
her namesake RMS Queen Mary when she arrived at
Long Beach California where the two
ships whistled to each other.
RMS Queen Mary 2 Meets Two Other
Queens
RMS Queen Mary 2 met Cunard’s MS
Queen Victoria and RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
near the Statue of Liberty in New
York City Harbor on January 13,
2008. It was the first time that all
three Queens had been in the same
location at the same time. RMS Queen
Elizabeth 2 and MS Queen Victoria had
crossed the Atlantic to meet with RMS Queen Mary 2 and a celebratory
fireworks display marked the
occasion. The three Queens met again
on April 22, 2008. It was the first
and last time that the three luxury
liners met in their home port
Southampton. The three ships,
including RMS Queen Mary 2, sounded their
whistles in greeting and
Southampton’s Town Crier rang his
bell.
Registration of RMS Queen Mary 2
changed to Bermuda
RMS Queen Mary 2 had her
registration changed from
Southampton to Hamilton, Bermuda, on
October 19, 2011, in order to allow
her to host weddings. For the first
time in history Cunard was left with
no ships registered in the United
Kingdom.
World Cruises of RMS Queen Mary 2
RMS Queen Mary 2 embarked on her
first world cruise on January 10,
2007. Arriving in Sydney, Australia,
on February 20, 2007, she met with
QE2 which was also on a world
cruise. The arrival of RMS Queen
Mary 2 caused the Sydney Harbour
Bridge and the Anzac Bridge to be
blocked by onlookers. On January 10,
2012, RMS Queen Mary set off on a
world cruise that would last for
three months. During the cruise she
sailed around Africa,
circumnavigated Australia, visited
Japan and sailed through the Suez
Canal on her way back to
Southampton.
RMS Queen Mary 2 Propulsion Pod
Failures
The 21.5 MW Rolls-Royce/Alstom
'Mermaid' electric propulsion pods
that were installed in RMS Queen
Mary 2 proved to be unreliable with
the thrust bearings having a
tendency to fail. This problem led
to Cunard’s owners, the Carnival
Corporation, taking Rolls Royce to
court in the United States and
securing an award of $24 million.
10th Birthday Celebrations of
Queen Mary 2
MS Queen Elizabeth, MS Queen
Victoria and RMS Queen Mary 2 met in
Lisbon Portugal and sailed in line
abreast to Southampton. On arrival MS
Queen Elizabeth and MS Queen
Victoria led RMS Queen Mary 2 up
Southampton Water where they docked
in formation. RMS Queen Mary 2 was
toured by His Royal Highness The
Duke of Edinburgh as part of the
celebrations.
RMS Queen Mary 2 and Cunard’s
175th Anniversary
On May 25, 2015, RMS Queen Mary 2
met with MS Queen Elizabeth and MS
Queen Victoria at the entrance to
the River Mersey before the three
ships sailed toward Liverpool. RMS
Queen Mary 2 then left for Guernsey.
RMS Queen Mary 2 embarked on a 175th
Anniversary Crossing in Southampton
on July 2, 2015. Following the route
of Cunard’s original ship Britannia,
she sailed to Liverpool and Halifax,
Nova Scotia, before heading to
Boston and New York.
RMS Queen Mary 2 Specifications
Class and Type: Ocean Liner
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Complement: Officers and Crew
1,253 - Passengers 2,695
Displacement: 79,287 tonnes -
Length: 1,132 ft -
Beam: 135ft at the waterline -
147.5ft at the bridge wings
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Draught: 33.8ft
Power: 4 x Wärtsilä 16V 46C-CR /
16,800 kW (22,848 mHP) and 2 x GE
LM2500+ / 25,060 kW (34,082 mHP)
-
Propulsion: 4 x 21.5 MW
Rolls-Royce/Alstom 'Mermaid'
electric propulsion pods
Speed: 30 knots
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