The Sunday Times, December 28, 2003

(link now removed)

‘Tacky’ QM2 goes touting for celebs

By David Robertson

THE OWNER of the world’s most expensive cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, is struggling to attract high-roller passengers, including a reclusive British millionaire, amid claims that the vessel has more in common with a “tacky” Las Vegas casino than a classic ocean liner.
Cunard, the ship’s owner, will launch a charm offensive next month by offering private tours of the £550m vessel to high-profile customers who regularly sail on the QM2’s sister ship the Queen Elizabeth 2.

The company hopes to tempt celebrities such as Terence Stamp, the actor, and singers Shirley Bassey and Rod Stewart to sail with the QM2 when it starts its transatlantic cruises next year.

However, Cunard has already been snubbed by one of its most prized British customers. Michael Rosenberg, 65, a retired financier, has refused to sail on the new ship because it bans smoking in its restaurants.

The blow came after the company made last-minute alterations to the design of the ship in an attempt to accommodate Rosenberg and his wife Jocelyn, 54. The couple, who live on the Isle of Man, spend four months of the year — at a cost of about £480,000 — holidaying on the QE2.

Their rebuff follows comments by travel writers last week who criticised the QM2’s “Americanised” decor. One complained that the Miami-based Carnival Corporation, which owns Cunard, had created a Hollywood version of a traditional British liner.

Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival, has admitted that one of the reasons his company invested such a large sum in a new cruise liner was the public’s fascination with Titanic, the Oscar-winning film.

Ostentatious gold pillars and statues of winged mythical gods in the QM2’s Illuminations auditorium, as well as “plastic-looking” bas-reliefs in the corridors, have been singled out for criticism in contrast to the more understated elegance of the QE2.

The QM2 has five swimming pools, 1,200 crew and 17 decks. Its defenders say the lavish facilities and sheer size will appeal to a modern clientele.

Arison said sales for 2004 and 2005 have been strong, even though the minimum cost of crossing the Atlantic on the QM2 is £999 a person. He added that if bookings continued at the same pace, Cunard would consider building a second transatlantic liner.

The QM2, which weighs 150,000 tons and is as long as four football pitches, sailed into Southampton, its home port, for the first time on Boxing Day.

The ship’s early days have been marred by the tragedy last month in Saint-Nazaire, the French dockyard where it was built, when 15 people fell to their deaths after a gangway collapsed during a guided tour.

The ship, which will be named by the Queen on January 8, will take over the QE2’s transatlantic route to New York from May. However, Rosenberg, who made his fortune on Wall Street, has said he wishes to stay with the QE2 when it transfers operations to the Mediterranean — in spite of Cunard’s efforts to cater for him.

When he was initially approached about switching his allegiance to the QM2, he is understood to have told the company that he did not want one of the ship’s grand duplex suites.

These split-level cabins cost more than £19,000 per person per week and have sweeping staircases that link their two floors. But they are in the stern and face backwards, while Rosenberg is believed to prefer a room that looks forward.

As a result, Cunard redesigned a forward-facing lounge beneath the bridge to squeeze in an extra four suites.

Despite that, the Rosenbergs are still refusing to change ship because Cunard has decided to make all the QM2’s restaurants non-smoking. This includes the exclusive Queen’s Grill — whose equivalent on the QE2 has been described as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world — where the Rosenbergs would have dined.

When Cunard wrote to tell the financier smoking would be prohibited he is understood to have replied: “Smoking is one of my greatest pleasures.”

Beatrice Muller, 83, from New Jersey, is another customer unlikely to transfer her loyalties from the QE2 — she has been the ship’s only permanent resident for the past three years. That leaves Cunard keen to entice the likes of Stewart — who plays for the QE2’s crew when he is on board — and his girlfriend Penny Lancaster.

Some critics believe the ship does not offer the upmarket glamour needed to entice stars on board. “There are elements that are incredibly tacky and more akin to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas,” said one. “But it would be churlish not to mention that there are also very stunning areas on the ship.”

Maria Harding, another travel writer, said: “Purists may wrinkle their noses at some things on the ship. Cunard expects about 60% of the passengers to be American. It is a matter of taste, but on the whole I think Cunard has created a grand ship that will appeal to a modern audience.”

The Times, January 08, 2004
A return to the golden age, or a floating block of glitzy flats?
By Patrick Barkham

Under the watchful eye of police boats and Royal Navy divers, prospective passengers yesterday undertook their first epic voyage on Queen Mary 2: a guided tour up its 5,000 stairs, around its 17 decks and across its 280,000 square yards of carpet.

Amidst tight security, Cunard executives denied that the colossal cruise liner was a 151,400-ton target for international terrorists and confirmed that the French-built vessel was operating at its highest level of security ahead of the Queen's official naming of the ship in Southampton docks today.

Rising out of its berth like a giant shopping mall, Queen Mary 2 is the largest, longest, tallest, widest and most expensive passenger liner ever built. But it may not be the most tasteful.

With their plastic sun loungers, some "premium" cabins were more like "Butlins", said Sarah Court, from Worcestershire, who at 36 was one of the younger cruise passengers who won a Cunard lottery to attend the special preview.

Despite more than £3.5 million of artwork on board, one middle-aged man from Bath concluded that the ship was "a bit glitzy and a bit naff".

Members of the public and Cunard cruise veterans expertly navigated their way through miles of corridor lined with a plasticky wood veneer to sample the £550 million ship's extraordinary range of facilities, from the kennels to the "Rasul Ceremony" chamber, a Middle Eastern-style steam room involving mud, steam and water jets that in ancient times was intended for royal lovers.

Micky Arison, the CEO of Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Cunard, dismissed claims that the ship was jinxed or a terrorist threat. "We feel well-prepared," he said.   P amela Conover, the president of Cunard, said: "Clearly the safety of our passengers and crew is absolutely paramount and we have been operating a level of heightened security, but for obvious reasons we don't discuss the measures we have in place."

Fifteen people died in November when a gangway collapsed leading to the liner in its dry dock at St Nazaire, in France.   Last week, two elderly women broke their legs on the ship's inaugural voyage and had to be taken ashore by lifeboat in a storm. One had broken her leg when she slipped on the dancefloor. Mr Arison added: "To me this is the luckiest ship in the world because of our advanced bookings."

The ship sold all tickets for its 1,310 cabins for its maiden transatlantic voyage in 24 hours, although the regular Cunard
passengers invited to the special open day said they had been inundated with virtually half-price offers for trips on the Queen Mary 2.

The ship may already be associated with tragedy, but it is certainly unafraid of any unfortunate comparisons with that other ill-fated transatlantic cruiser, the Titanic.  Some rooms have been "inspired" by The Titantic, whilst Titanic memorabilia adorns the walls and the 8,500-book library is well- stocked with maritime classics such as The Titanic in Picture Postcards.

"Very nice," said one retired gentleman through his moustache, as he listened to the hollow ring from tapping the plastic marble-effect pillars in the dining hall. It may boast the largest ballroom at sea, a 1,094-seat theatre and the exclusive "Queen's Grill" restaurant, but some visitors found that the Queen Mary 2's spotted red carpets, gold-trim skirting boards and coloured floor lighting were reminiscent of their local multiplex cinema.

While 79 per cent of the cabins boast private balconies, some of the cheaper interior cabins (prices start at £999 pounds for a six-day transatlantic crossing) face into the ship's cavernous atrium.

Mrs Court said: "It's like being in a block of flats. What if you saw something you didn't like on the other side of the atrium? If you have a cabin looking out on the ocean at least you are not going to see Mr so-and-so undressing."

Other visitors were amazed and slightly overwhelmed by its sheer size as they trudged down corridors stretching as far as the eye could see, almost four football fields in length along the ship.

"If I was going to spend a holiday on another cruise I'd prefer the QE2," said Norma Theobald, who was visiting from Ascot with her husband Edwin. "This is a bit on the large side. It's not quite so homely."   Mr Theobald agreed, but admitted: "The French have done a marvellous job to put this together in just two years. It's been very well done."

But some hidden crannies remained apparently unfinished before the Queen's visit, including toilets with out-of-order notices on the doors and tape across the entrance to the games area with a notice mysteriously reading: "Work zone: golf simulators still in action."