Major QM2 interior refit 2016

[pepperrn]

I'll have to spend Christmas week riding up and down then... ;)

A friend boarded today... I think he is planning to do exactly that during the crossing! :) Edited December 15, 2015 by pepperrn

[deck chair]

Hello

 

Looking at the photograph rendering, the view is towards the Champagne bar that leads to the Chart Room. Again, I won't bet my life on it, but I am fairly confident that the existing elevators are on the opposite side that cannot be seen. If I may recommend, Cunard has posted a new picture on their Facebook page of the lobby of the QM2 with the Christmas decorations on display. If you look carefully it is of that same side of the lobby that is shown in the rendering. You will not see any elevators.

 

I will be on board again 1/17/16 for a 31 day world cruise segment so will take another look. I would not be surprised if I am wrong!! Thank you fellow Cunarders!

 

Deck Chair

[sfbearcat]

Hello

 

Looking at the photograph rendering, the view is towards the Champagne bar that leads to the Chart Room. Again, I won't bet my life on it, but I am fairly confident that the existing elevators are on the opposite side that cannot be seen. If I may recommend, Cunard has posted a new picture on their Facebook page of the lobby of the QM2 with the Christmas decorations on display. If you look carefully it is of that same side of the lobby that is shown in the rendering. You will not see any elevators.

 

I will be on board again 1/17/16 for a 31 day world cruise segment so will take another look. I would not be surprised if I am wrong!! Thank you fellow Cunarders!

 

Deck Chair

 

No sadly it appears the glass lifts are gone..that's a large mirror wall that's going to replace the lift tracks..that's why you see the metal art work that is covering that other side of the atrium..I was hoping that they would stay between decks 2 and 3 thou it must not be a workable option

[eroller]

I'm glad they are going. It will open up the lobby and I never felt they were practical anyway. I'm glad the two exterior elevators are staying. Much more fun and unique.

[pepperrn]

Now you seem them:

 

:)

 

Now you don't:

 

http://www.cunard.co.uk/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/accommodation/ :(

Edited December 16, 2015 by pepperrn

[Salacia]

Now you seem them:

 

:)

 

Now you don't:

 

http://www.cunard.co.uk/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/accommodation/ :(

 

:(

 

So, how do passengers who can't climb the stairs get to the upper gallery?

Edited December 16, 2015 by Salacia

[pepperrn]

I'm glad they are going. It will open up the lobby and I never felt they were practical anyway.

When there was a glass ceiling to the Grand Lobby (or a glass floor to that section of the Kings Court if you prefer ;)) the two glass "scenic" lifts made a visible and dramatic link between the three decks where the principal public rooms were located.

 

Once you could no longer see into the Kings Court from the atrium (or into the Grand Lobby from the Kings Court), they made less sense.

 

However I will miss them greatly as I found them VERY useful as express elevators for getting between decks 2/3 and 7 WITHOUT having to stop at each of the three cabin decks in-between to let people on and off (and fight my way out from the back of the lift); that can be a slow and painful business.

 

Without the glass lifts why do they now still need the soaring atrium? (Stephen Payne didn't want one, but was told people expected to see one). Convert the "Atrium View" cabins into "inside" cabins, and then add some more interior cabins on all three decks in the space where the atrium was.

 

By time I board next, the lifts will be gone, BooHoo! :(

Edited December 16, 2015 by pepperrn

[pepperrn]

:(

 

So, who do passengers who can't climb the stairs get to the upper gallery?

They'll be forced to use the already crowded "B" lifts just forward... :( . What would have been a journey of seconds, will now take minutes.

[Salacia]

They'll be forced to use the already crowded "B" lifts just forward... :( . What would have been a journey of seconds, will now take minutes.

 

Oh joy. Especially when the power goes out (however briefly). :(

 

No, I'm sorry, but I think it is a bad mistake to remove those elevators.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Salacia

[pepperrn]

Oh joy. Especially when the power goes out (however briefly). :( No, I'm sorry, but I think it is a bad mistake to remove those elevators.

Couldn't agree more.

 

Mind you, it was fun sometimes when I (unintentionally) startled :eek: people eating at tables next to the glass walls of the lifts on Deck 7 when I suddenly rose up from the floor right alongside them! :D

Edited December 16, 2015 by pepperrn

[Salacia]

Couldn't agree more.

 

Mind you, it was fun sometimes when I (unintentionally) startled :eek: people eating at tables next to the glass walls of the lifts on Deck 7 when I suddenly rose up from the floor right alongside them! :D

 

You Rascal! Sorry I missed that show :)

 

Did you take pictures? Can I see them, pretty please?

Edited December 16, 2015 by Salacia

[BlueRiband]

When there was a glass ceiling to the Grand Lobby (or a glass floor to that section of the Kings Court if you prefer ;)) the two glass "scenic" lifts made a visible and dramatic link between the three decks where the principal public rooms were located.

 

Once you could no longer see into the Kings Court from the atrium (or into the Grand Lobby from the Kings Court), they made less sense.

 

However I will miss them greatly as I found them VERY useful as express elevators for getting between decks 2/3 and 7 WITHOUT having to stop at each of the three cabin decks in-between to let people on and off (and fight my way out from the back of the lift); that can be a slow and painful business.

 

Without the glass lifts why do they now still need the soaring atrium? (Stephen Payne didn't want one, but was told people expected to see one). Convert the "Atrium View" cabins into "inside" cabins, and then add some more interior cabins on all three decks in the space where the atrium was.

 

By time I board next, the lifts will be gone, BooHoo! :(

 

I'm divided on this after seeing the new CGI rendering without the 2/3/7 elevators.

 

First, I agree they made sense when the glass floor provided a visual connection between the levels. Now it's a discordant ride to go from the Grand Lobby to a school cafeteria. Certainly they are (were) convenient to quickly get up to the deck.

 

But filling in the space for insides? You lost me there. The new rendering greatly opens up this space the more than compensates for the loss of the glass floor. This bas relief is now dramatically visible while before it could only be viewed from directly below it. It now connects the business center with the rest of the ship. The elevators blocked it.

 

My focus group did not see this refit proposal. I would have like to have heard the pros/cons of keeping versus removing the 2/3/7 elevators.

[Salacia]

Just wondering about "focus groups"... would this forum be considered a focus group, and if not, how would you categorize this group? [Does that sound like a focus group type question?]:)

Edited December 16, 2015 by Salacia

[Underwatr]

Oh joy. Especially when the power goes out (however briefly). :(

 

No, I'm sorry, but I think it is a bad mistake to remove those elevators.

The lobby elevators aren't affected by a power outage?

[eroller]

Bottom line, if those lifts stayed the space would have never been available to open up and redesign the Kings Court. Everything is a trade off and I feel this is a very good one. I rarely saw those lifts used as they were very limited in scope. QM2 already has a very good lift to pax ratio and I don't see the removal of those two limited lifts as having any significant impact. I'll take the redesigned Kings Court over the lifts any day.

[Salacia]

The lobby elevators aren't affected by a power outage?

 

Not talking about lobby elevators, we were discussing the limited route of the interior elevators...but ok, yes, all elevators are affected by a power outage, and especially by fire.

 

Just my guess, but a elevator that goes half a deck has more chance of being functional in an emergency situation, whether it was run on battery power or human power - which is what the suggestion was for the 'scenic elevator' going from the Grand Lobby to the upper Gallery. - At least, I think that is what we were talking about?

Edited December 16, 2015 by Salacia

[pepperrn]

I'm divided on this after seeing the new CGI rendering without the 2/3/7 elevators. First, I agree they made sense when the glass floor provided a visual connection between the levels. Now it's a discordant ride to go from the Grand Lobby to a school cafeteria. Certainly they are (were) convenient to quickly get up to the deck.

Well put, I agree, thank you.

But filling in the space for insides? You lost me there. The new rendering greatly opens up this space the more than compensates for the loss of the glass floor. This bas relief is now dramatically visible while before it could only be viewed from directly below it. It now connects the business center with the rest of the ship. The elevators blocked it.

I was merely thinking of all that wasted vertical space... that no longer has lifts running up and down it (providing views of the scene below).

Instead of having a use, it is now a large/tall hole in the middle of the ship, with no discernible point to it.

As for the bronze relief sculpture (by John McKenna), early designs incorporated a large clock, which would have been useful. I wonder how many passengers even glance at it as it is now, or know it is there (unlike the versions on QE/QV).

I seem to remember that it was lit by ever-changing coloured lights at one time, that seems to have stopped recently (as far as I noted).

I was only suggesting one option for the space, as I said, Stephen Payne didn't want an atrium originally.

I'm glad we can agree to differ on this subject :)

My focus group did not see this refit proposal. I would have like to have heard the pros/cons of keeping versus removing the 2/3/7 elevators.

I expect the remodelling of the Kings Court was paramount over every other consideration, they coveted the space the lifts took up on Deck 7.

 

Best wishes to you.

[pepperrn]

... QM2 already has a very good lift to pax ratio and I don't see the removal of those two limited lifts as having any significant impact. ...

You're probably correct from a practical point of view, she has 22 public lifts*, she will have 20 from next summer.

Compared to the 12 found on QE and QV, this is generous (I always seemed to have to wait forever to get a lift going in the direction I wanted on either of QM2's smaller sisters).

 

However, as I said above, they were useful "express" lifts avoiding cabin decks 4, 5 & 6.

 

(*plus the six accessible lifts found forward near the Royal Court Theatre, and aft near the Britannia Restaurant, that all have very short "runs").

Edited December 16, 2015 by pepperrn

[eroller]

You're probably correct from a practical point of view, she has 22 public lifts*, she will have 20 from next summer.

 

 

However, as I said above, they were useful "express" lifts avoiding cabin decks 4, 5 & 6.

 

(*plus the six accessible lifts found forward near the Royal Court Theatre, and aft near the Britannia Restaurant, that all have very short "runs").

 

 

 

Compared to the newest mega ships QM2 is a dream. I recently enjoyed the maiden crossing of NORWEGIAN ESCAPE. 16 lifts in two stair towers for 4500 pax. Even though I greatly enjoyed the ship, it makes me appreciate QM2's spaciousness. She has a generous space ratio as well as over lift capacity I would say by today's standard.

 

I can see your point about the convenience of express lifts, but funny enough I never used them for that. I guess I was never in the lobby prior to heading to the King's Court. More likely I was already on Deck 7 on the Promenade or coming from a swim in the Pavilion Pool or possibly my cabin. To me those lobby lifts were nothing more than a novelty.

[sfbearcat]

I use them all the time..I love the ride up thru the atrium and yes the quick express between 2-3 and 7...So I put this down as a negative of the refit and hopefully the forward set have been kept, thou we still have not seen any profile pictures of the ship with the added deck.

[Salacia]

I use them all the time..I love the ride up thru the atrium and yes the quick express between 2-3 and 7...So I put this down as a negative of the refit and hopefully the forward set have been kept, thou we still have not seen any profile pictures of the ship with the added deck.

 

Ah yes, the added deck...that will be interesting.

 

Above the 13 Deck with additional cabins...there will be another deck, n'es pas?

[pepperrn]

You Rascal! Sorry I missed that show :) Did you take pictures? Can I see them, pretty please?

:D So sorry, no, I didn't. Wish I'd thought of doing so :D

[pepperrn]

Compared to the newest mega ships QM2 is a dream. I recently enjoyed the maiden crossing of NORWEGIAN ESCAPE. 16 lifts in two stair towers for 4500 pax. Even though I greatly enjoyed the ship, it makes me appreciate QM2's spaciousness. She has a generous space ratio as well as over lift capacity I would say by today's standard.

She sure has; sometimes as I wander about, I wonder where those 2,600 other passengers are... (then I glimpse seemingly most of them in the Kings Court last morning breakfast :eek: ... as I head to the Britannia Restaurant)

I can see your point about the convenience of express lifts, but funny enough I never used them for that. I guess I was never in the lobby prior to heading to the King's Court. More likely I was already on Deck 7 on the Promenade or coming from a swim in the Pavilion Pool or possibly my cabin. ...

There were part of my after dinner route from Britannia Restaurant to Commodore Club; forward to the Grand Lobby, interior glass/scenic lift up to Deck 7, forward to the "A" lift lobby, exterior glass/scenic lift up to Deck 9 and the Commodore Club...

Bypassed all those busy lifts and didn't stop at a single "cabin deck"... :)

Edited December 16, 2015 by pepperrn

[pepperrn]

Ah yes, the added deck...that will be interesting.

Above the 13 Deck with additional cabins...there will be another deck, n'es pas?

It will demonstrate the generous/extra lifeboat capacity already available if they don't add another pair of boats to cope with all those extra cabins (singles and Britannia Club)(Or maybe they'll add extra inflatables?).

 

If the new top-deck "Deck 14" is open to passengers when QM2 is in port, I doubt it will be when she is underway as it will be awfully windy and exposed up there :eek: (frequently on crossings the existing (and somewhat protected) Deck 13 is closed "due to high winds")

Edited December 16, 2015 by pepperrn

[Bell Boy]

Hi

 

I can certainly be wrong but I don't think the elevators are at this end of the lobby that is pictured. If my memory serves me, the glass elevators are on the other end of the lobby....so I think the 2017 deck plans are correct. The elevators are not going to be removed.

 

Deck Chair

 

I can see why it looks a bit confusing at first glance . There appears to be mirrored glass in the new rendering (from where the lifts have been removed) and it reflects the copper/metal mural from the opposite side.

 

I think :confused: