MERGED - Queen Anne Progress October 2023

[steamboats]

Cunard invited media and travel agents 6 months before the inaugual cruise of the Queen Anne to the shipyard. Here's a video (by my DH)

 

 

Hope you enjoy it!

 

More photos can be seen here.

 

steamboats 

[exlondoner]

Thank you very much. It is amazing to think that there is someone who actually know where all those wires and tubes are supposed to go.

[London-Calling]

 

 

The first Cunarder, since the QE2 with MODERN decor!

Edited October 8, 2023 by London-Calling

[andreadawn]

A fascinating insight, many thanks for sharing.

[steamboats]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Thank you very much. It is amazing to think that there is someone who actually know where all those wires and tubes are supposed to go.

 

That´s what I thought too!

 

steamboats

[foodsvcmgr]

Fascinating, hard to believe it can be completed so quickly.

Thanks for posting.

[sfred]

Really interesting - thanks for posting.  I wish that videos like these could exist of the construction of the great ocean liners of their day in Belfast, Newcastle, or Glasgow.  I wonder what people 100 years from now will think of QM2/QV/QE/QA's construction and design.

[rmsEtruria]

9 hours ago, sfred said:

Really interesting - thanks for posting.  I wish that videos like these could exist of the construction of the great ocean liners of their day in Belfast, Newcastle, or Glasgow.  I wonder what people 100 years from now will think of QM2/QV/QE/QA's construction and design.

In terms of construction and design, QM2 will stil be historically significant a hundred years from now (perhaps more so than we’d like, unless they build another liner when she retires). The others, not so much.

Speaking of Glasgow—the last major ship John Brown & Company (Lusitania, Mauretania, Aquitania, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth) built was the QE2 in 1969, two years before it went under. Now British ships are built in France or Italy . . . .

[aaaaa]

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/cunard-queen-anne-cruise-shipyard-preview/

 

 

[bluemarble]

I think I just learned some new marketing terminology. Here's a quote from that article by The Points Guy that @aaaaa posted.

 

'It's a "something for everyone" approach that is part of Cunard's wanting to offer more options and more "activations" on its top decks.'

 

I was puzzled by the term "activations". Apparently that's a marketing term where companies undertake "activations" to promote their products and increase brand awareness. I found an article from last year titled "Why (and How) Brands are Activating on Boats This Summer". I also discovered Cunard has a "PR Events & Activations Manager".

 

And finally, here's a quote I found in several online trade publications.

 

"Within the first month of welcoming Queen Anne into its fleet, Cunard will be offering opportunities for up to 500 of its most engaged travel partners from around the world to step on board during a variety of activations."

 

This is probably old hat for most of you, but I have to admit that's a new meaning to me for the word "activations".

[NE John]

10 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

I think I just learned some new marketing terminology. Here's a quote from that article by The Points Guy that @aaaaa posted.

 

'It's a "something for everyone" approach that is part of Cunard's wanting to offer more options and more "activations" on its top decks.'

 

I was puzzled by the term "activations". Apparently that's a marketing term where companies undertake "activations" to promote their products and increase brand awareness. I found an article from last year titled "Why (and How) Brands are Activating on Boats This Summer". I also discovered Cunard has a "PR Events & Activations Manager".

 

And finally, here's a quote I found in several online trade publications.

 

"Within the first month of welcoming Queen Anne into its fleet, Cunard will be offering opportunities for up to 500 of its most engaged travel partners from around the world to step on board during a variety of activations."

 

This is probably old hat for most of you, but I have to admit that's a new meaning to me for the word "activations".

That’s just great - I like to de-activate once onboard Cunard ships! I do not like busy and crowded ships/resorts/hotels etc and want to run the other way when I see the message of forced fun marketed elsewhere. Frankly, most cruise lines marketing scare me off. 

 

Cunard is certainly going after the Millennial and younger demographic on QA with “wellness” and the new marketing term you mentioned above.  It’s also interesting to note that they want to spread the newer QA vibe to existing ships. Let’s see how the  different demographics intermingle once onboard. 

[sfred]

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

I also discovered Cunard has a "PR Events & Activations Manager".

 

I find it interesting, and more than a little sad, to observe the sorts of jobs that exist in both the private and public sector these days.

 

A pity that Cunard doesn't have a "retrieve luggage that has fallen overboard" manager.  That would be an "activation" worthy of attention.

[carlmm]

In the first video posted there are also a few quite telling words to be heard by the "Cunard brand manager". The first I heard was about how wonderful it was for those instagram moments.  Alright. I am not sure this is the first concern of Cunard's loyal passengers. 

Later he was bragging that it was all about choices, having more choices. More of the kind of dress like a slob if you like? 

[tacticalbanjo]

13 hours ago, carlmm said:

In the first video posted there are also a few quite telling words to be heard by the "Cunard brand manager". The first I heard was about how wonderful it was for those instagram moments.  Alright. I am not sure this is the first concern of Cunard's loyal passengers. 

Later he was bragging that it was all about choices, having more choices. More of the kind of dress like a slob if you like? 

Can't dress like a slob if you want to take photos for the 'gram 😆

[Victoria2]

14 hours ago, carlmm said:

In the first video posted there are also a few quite telling words to be heard by the "Cunard brand manager". The first I heard was about how wonderful it was for those instagram moments.  Alright. I am not sure this is the first concern of Cunard's loyal passengers. 

Later he was bragging that it was all about choices, having more choices. More of the kind of dress like a slob if you like? 

Golly, some folk can't wait to  berate the product before it's even launched.

 

I am not a slob. I love tradition and have hundreds of Cunard nights under my belt. I am sad we can't travel on QV  as she is fly cruising and although given the choice we would not choose QA, she is our alternative and we're looking forward to our cruises for '24 and '25. What I won't do is assume this new Cunard ship is a step 'down'.

She will be different but hopefully, in a good way.

As an aside, it was great to see a walk through of one of the cabins we have booked! 🙂

[foodsvcmgr]

Agreed Victoria, I’m eager to try QA and see for myself.

Cunard can’t be blamed for wanting to market to a larger and wider audience.

There is no reason they can’t offer “something for everyone” as they state.

I have no problem with others attending a wellness program as long as I can still enjoy a lecture or concert.

It doesn’t bother me that some will choose to eat informally in the new speciality restaurants as long as I can still enjoy fixed late seating in Britannia dressed in a tux.

The only issue will be if/when those in charge start removing the traditional options, and I optimistically don’t see that happening.

[NE John]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Golly, some folk can't wait to  berate the product before it's even launched.

 

I am not a slob. I love tradition and have hundreds of Cunard nights under my belt. I am sad we can't travel on QV  as she is fly cruising and although given the choice we would not choose QA, she is our alternative and we're looking forward to our cruises for '24 and '25. What I won't do is assume this new Cunard ship is a step 'down'.

She will be different but hopefully, in a good way.

As an aside, it was great to see a walk through of one of the cabins we have booked! 🙂

I hope my comments did not come across as negative as I did not mean them to be.
QA looks quite nice and should open Cunard to a wider audience. 
I am getting the popcorn ready to see if the new vibe Cunard is trying to create on QA is also incorporated to other ships. Cunard marketing still doesn’t know what it wants, from what I see. 
When I mention my recent TA and our Cunard experience to younger people, they  seemed very excited about the prospect of dressing up and experiencing that too. I do believe there is hope that the tradition can continue. 

[tacticalbanjo]

I don't think having more choices is a bad thing. Given how popular freedom dining is in the cruise marketplace it is safe to say that people want a choice of when they have dinner not to be stuck on one sitting. Personally I like to have the same waiter every night so I'll stick with traditional dining but its nice that those who like different things have a choice.

 

I'm not that interested in wellness but I do know that Gen Z and to a lesser extent Millennials are increasingly choosing to stay sober and I suppose that cruise lines have got to generate on board spending some how to stay afloat. If making space for a yoga studio means that Cunard can live on then I'm happy.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what QA has to offer and I hope that my favourite Cunard things are still present. If Michel Roux messes with the Golden Lion menu too much I'll be most upset! But at the same time I've seen things on other lines that I wish were on Cunard. I was on Sky Princess earlier in the year and really liked the medallion both for tracking down shipmates and opening the door without fishing in my pockets for a card. I also liked being able to select an embarkation time and how good the WiFi was. On P&O I liked that they had wine pairings on the menu for people like me who have no clue. But I didn't feel as at home as I did on Cunard.

[techteach]

What did you think of the rendering of the Golden Lion in the video? The glass panels didn’t feel very pub like to me. The main staircase is quite different from the other Queen’s. I’m not suggesting bad, just not the traditional. We were on the Oceania Regatta last week, which is very different from QM2 and actually liked the decor, especially in our suite. I’m looking forward to hearing the reviews from all of you booked on her.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Activation sounds like a name for an endurance-training vacation. Active vacation run together, like staycation. 

 

I'm disappointed in the spa, with the thermal suite being windowless and the heated loungers in the same room as the pool. They're separated from the pool by a glass wall. There appear to be a lot of hard spaces, so it could be noisy. I love the natural daylight and quiet of the lounger area on the Vistas, both Cunard and HAL. I'll take a look but doubt I will buy my usual pass to the thermal suite. 

 

I'm also disappointed that the video didn't show us the "promenade" deck to see if it will be any better than the HAL Pinnacles' "promenade" decks. 

 

So far, from all the advance info I've seen, those are the only things that I'm concerned about. Most of what I disliked about the K'dam appears to be different on QA. 

[Victoria2]

3 hours ago, NE John said:

I hope my comments did not come across as negative as I did not mean them to be.
QA looks quite nice and should open Cunard to a wider audience. 
I am getting the popcorn ready to see if the new vibe Cunard is trying to create on QA is also incorporated to other ships. Cunard marketing still doesn’t know what it wants, from what I see. 
When I mention my recent TA and our Cunard experience to younger people, they  seemed very excited about the prospect of dressing up and experiencing that too. I do believe there is hope that the tradition can continue. 

Not at all. Didn't cross my mind.🙂

[tacticalbanjo]

21 hours ago, techteach said:

What did you think of the rendering of the Golden Lion in the video? The glass panels didn’t feel very pub like to me. The main staircase is quite different from the other Queen’s. I’m not suggesting bad, just not the traditional. We were on the Oceania Regatta last week, which is very different from QM2 and actually liked the decor, especially in our suite. I’m looking forward to hearing the reviews from all of you booked on her.

I liked the look of it. I've always thought that the Golden Lion on QM2 looks less like a pub than those on the QV and QE but feels more like a pub in spirit. Hopefully that will carry on to QA. 

 

I actually like the fact that Cunard is trying modern design again. The QE2 originally had modern interiors and the art deco stuff was all retrofitted.