JT1101

Cunard will have guarantees from the yard on work contracted for being completed by the designated date. Penalties would accrue for time overruns.

Yeah I am sure they are not only changing carpets and upholstery but a LOT of machinery overhaul is happening too. This is the opportunity for all four of the big diesels to be fully dismantled, cleaned and renovated and such. Ditto the gas turbines. Ditto servicing the azipods and we already saw scaffolding that indicates they are updating the radars, GPS and other such equipment. They will also be doing all repairs that may have been deferred to the refit.

Can't say why they were so quiet about the dry-docking but remember - this seems to be the one that was supposed to occur in 2020 but the pandemic messed everything up. Makes me wonder if the big refit for 2026 is still on schedule or if they are splitting up that work into smaller stays. Also mildly surprised by the choice of vendor here - Cunard seemed to like Blohm and Voss in Hamburg for this kind of work.

I've sailed with and liked Captain Hashmi - the combination of him being a former BA pilot and also an old school sea salt does make for great anecdotes. Captain Hall I have yet to meet. Alas the other two Cunard Captains I had met both retired (Philpin and Wells).

On QM2 I just informed the Maitre'D on the first night (shellfish anaphylaxis allergy) and like said above they gave me next night's menu with the shellfish dishes marked to make them easy to avoid.

That scaffolding suggests updating her navigational aids (like radars and GPS).

I didn't say dry dock was required for that - I said it is one of the changes expected.

Glad to see/hear this. I would think she is now getting the refit she missed due to the pandemic shutdown. It will be great to see the changes. One of them should be (per earlier press releases) the move to Starlink for internet/email etc. Should be a massive jump in connection speed and stability.

IIRC she is supposed to have a three week refit in late October 2023.