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QE2 Shakedown Cruise, April 1987
In April 1987, QE2 underwent the biggest refit of her career, and the biggest rebuild of any ship ever. She was delivered back to Cunard after 179 days, which included 1.7 million man-hours of work.
To test that everything was working properly, the families of the German refit yard and the British owners Cunard were invited on board for a 3-night "shakedown" cruise for which we paid nothing except out travel costs to Bremen. The memories of those 3 exciting days are still clear 12 years on, and here I present the story of the trip and a collection of photographs taken during the trip.
Click here to view my photos taken inside
Click here to see my photos taken outside
See below for My Story of the trip.
Click here to go to the technical story behind the major refit.
To test that everything was working properly, the families of the German refit yard and the British owners Cunard were invited on board for a 3-night "shakedown" cruise for which we paid nothing except out travel costs to Bremen. The memories of those 3 exciting days are still clear 12 years on, and here I present the story of the trip and a collection of photographs taken during the trip.
Click here to view my photos taken inside
Click here to see my photos taken outside
See below for My Story of the trip.
Click here to go to the technical story behind the major refit.
The Daily Programme - Sunday April 26th 1987
Lorna Dallas in the Queens Room, the Hot Rhythm orchestra in the Theatre Bar, Arline Daniels at the Piano and Top Gun on at the cinema.
Lorna Dallas in the Queens Room, the Hot Rhythm orchestra in the Theatre Bar, Arline Daniels at the Piano and Top Gun on at the cinema.
QE2 Daily Programme April 26th 1987
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QE2 Daily Programme April 26th 1987
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QE2 Daily Programme April 26th 1987
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QE2 Daily Programme April 26th 1987
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The Daily Programme - Monday April 27th 1987
As above but with the Peter Gordeno Dancers in the Grand Lounge, and your tea dance was with the Mick Urry Orchestra. Mosquito Coast was on in the cinema.
As above but with the Peter Gordeno Dancers in the Grand Lounge, and your tea dance was with the Mick Urry Orchestra. Mosquito Coast was on in the cinema.
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My Story
Introduction
In April 1987 my Dad, Mum and I joined the QE2 as she left the port of Bremerhaven, Germany, where she had just had the most important refit of her life. Amongst many other changes, her Steam Turbines had been replaced with Diesels. This change-over also meant that my Dad's involvement in the ship was over - he had been Manager of Engineering Development for John Brown Power in Clydebank - they had built the ship in 1967 and it was her original engines that had been replaced. Engines which although sometimes unreliable, had allowed the ship to travel for 20 years across the globe at speeds exceeding 30 knots.
The cruise was just for 3 nights although I remember it so clearly even 12 years later that it could have been 3 weeks... There were some major problems during the trip including 5 deck being completely flooded and everyone having to have their rooms rearranged - we spent much of the first night in the Queens Room slumped in the brand new leather armchairs!
Arrival
We landed at Bremen airport and were taken by coach to the ship in Bremerhaven. I was aged 15 at the time and was incredibly excited. The cruise director was in our coach and made an announcement that there were some "teething troubles" but that they would make sure we had a good time anyway. Then I saw it - a big new red & black funnel rising above everything else - my first site of the QE2! We got closer and closer and I could see more and more windows and portholes - she just seemed to get more and more impressive the closer we got! Our coach drove right up alongside the QE2 and I jumped out and just gaped up vertically at the wall of black and white ship above me.
Boarding
We had to enter the ship up a scary looking 45 Degree gangplank (see picture) carrying our bags where you could see down the side of the ship into the water beneath your feet - my Mum nearly had a fit - I loved it!! I believe normal QE2 passengers are treated somewhat better than this! Then we stepped through the fairly small black hatch into the ships interior and were immediately in the Midships room - WOW!!!! We were welcomed by the stewards who took our bags and welcomed us. There was a pianist playing on the grand piano.
Where are our rooms?
Unfortunately our cabins on 5 deck were underwater (you could see the water if you looked down the staircase...) and we basically were told we would get a room the next day, but then my Dad spoke to someone high-up, told them who he was and suddenly we found ourselves in 2 Cunard executives own cabins on 3-deck - VERY nice!
Departure
I will never, ever forget that night. My Mum was tired after our long journey and the hassle of getting a room and went to bed, so Dad and I headed up to the deck to see our departure. The shipyard was in a built up area and was a long way from the sea down a river (I think its called the Weser) so we had to journey very slowly down the narrow river before we got to the sea. Everywhere we went, life on-shore stopped as people waved and honked their car horns and at one point there was a huge fireworks display - the QE2 was obviously a major event and the area were proud to have got the chance to equip QE2 for the second half of her life - 1987-2010+
Speed Trials!
Our second night on board was very exciting! After a leisurely stroll around deck in the late-evening sun, we entered the ship through the rotating doors next to the QE2 shop and walked through the new shopping mall and then stood and leaned over the banister to watch the evening's entertainment in the grand room below us. It was fantastic and I'll never forget it - fantastic music, the roof covered in tiny sparkling lights, the posh shops around the upstairs, the new double-staircase with built in spotlights and the full band.
Then the strangest thing happened! The ship started to vibrate quite a lot - paper filters began to drop from the coloured spotlights in the roof and the singer looked more than a little nervous! My Dad told me they were conducting speed trials with the new engines and new propellers. He was proved right the next day when the captain made an announcement that the QE2 had achieved record speeds of over 35 knots (a speed she sustained on her subsequent transatlantic run to New York). That is about double what the new cruise ships can do... Prior to the vibrations, by the way, the ship was smooth and silent. The ship at the time had extra fins fitted behind her main propellors (known as grim vanes) but these proved troublesome and were later removed which may be why her current top speed is quoted as "only" a still magnificent 32.5 knots.
Stabiliser Tests!
This was even more exciting! The captain made an announcement that they were going to conduct stabiliser tests and that everyone should be somewhere where they could hold onto something solid. The stabilisers are like big fins that stick out the side of the ship below the waterline and counteract the rolling effect of big waves in the transatlantic. For this test they made them work in reverse to make the ship roll violently and then suddenly activated the stabilisers to stop the roll.
I wish I'd been on deck at the time, but we were outside the Columbia restaurant at the time - suddenly QE2 rolled right over to one side, then gently swung to the other side and did this 2 or 3 times and then just as suddenly as it had started she stopped dead upright. The stabilisers were working - and how!
Introduction
In April 1987 my Dad, Mum and I joined the QE2 as she left the port of Bremerhaven, Germany, where she had just had the most important refit of her life. Amongst many other changes, her Steam Turbines had been replaced with Diesels. This change-over also meant that my Dad's involvement in the ship was over - he had been Manager of Engineering Development for John Brown Power in Clydebank - they had built the ship in 1967 and it was her original engines that had been replaced. Engines which although sometimes unreliable, had allowed the ship to travel for 20 years across the globe at speeds exceeding 30 knots.
The cruise was just for 3 nights although I remember it so clearly even 12 years later that it could have been 3 weeks... There were some major problems during the trip including 5 deck being completely flooded and everyone having to have their rooms rearranged - we spent much of the first night in the Queens Room slumped in the brand new leather armchairs!
Arrival
We landed at Bremen airport and were taken by coach to the ship in Bremerhaven. I was aged 15 at the time and was incredibly excited. The cruise director was in our coach and made an announcement that there were some "teething troubles" but that they would make sure we had a good time anyway. Then I saw it - a big new red & black funnel rising above everything else - my first site of the QE2! We got closer and closer and I could see more and more windows and portholes - she just seemed to get more and more impressive the closer we got! Our coach drove right up alongside the QE2 and I jumped out and just gaped up vertically at the wall of black and white ship above me.
Boarding
We had to enter the ship up a scary looking 45 Degree gangplank (see picture) carrying our bags where you could see down the side of the ship into the water beneath your feet - my Mum nearly had a fit - I loved it!! I believe normal QE2 passengers are treated somewhat better than this! Then we stepped through the fairly small black hatch into the ships interior and were immediately in the Midships room - WOW!!!! We were welcomed by the stewards who took our bags and welcomed us. There was a pianist playing on the grand piano.
Where are our rooms?
Unfortunately our cabins on 5 deck were underwater (you could see the water if you looked down the staircase...) and we basically were told we would get a room the next day, but then my Dad spoke to someone high-up, told them who he was and suddenly we found ourselves in 2 Cunard executives own cabins on 3-deck - VERY nice!
Departure
I will never, ever forget that night. My Mum was tired after our long journey and the hassle of getting a room and went to bed, so Dad and I headed up to the deck to see our departure. The shipyard was in a built up area and was a long way from the sea down a river (I think its called the Weser) so we had to journey very slowly down the narrow river before we got to the sea. Everywhere we went, life on-shore stopped as people waved and honked their car horns and at one point there was a huge fireworks display - the QE2 was obviously a major event and the area were proud to have got the chance to equip QE2 for the second half of her life - 1987-2010+
Speed Trials!
Our second night on board was very exciting! After a leisurely stroll around deck in the late-evening sun, we entered the ship through the rotating doors next to the QE2 shop and walked through the new shopping mall and then stood and leaned over the banister to watch the evening's entertainment in the grand room below us. It was fantastic and I'll never forget it - fantastic music, the roof covered in tiny sparkling lights, the posh shops around the upstairs, the new double-staircase with built in spotlights and the full band.
Then the strangest thing happened! The ship started to vibrate quite a lot - paper filters began to drop from the coloured spotlights in the roof and the singer looked more than a little nervous! My Dad told me they were conducting speed trials with the new engines and new propellers. He was proved right the next day when the captain made an announcement that the QE2 had achieved record speeds of over 35 knots (a speed she sustained on her subsequent transatlantic run to New York). That is about double what the new cruise ships can do... Prior to the vibrations, by the way, the ship was smooth and silent. The ship at the time had extra fins fitted behind her main propellors (known as grim vanes) but these proved troublesome and were later removed which may be why her current top speed is quoted as "only" a still magnificent 32.5 knots.
Stabiliser Tests!
This was even more exciting! The captain made an announcement that they were going to conduct stabiliser tests and that everyone should be somewhere where they could hold onto something solid. The stabilisers are like big fins that stick out the side of the ship below the waterline and counteract the rolling effect of big waves in the transatlantic. For this test they made them work in reverse to make the ship roll violently and then suddenly activated the stabilisers to stop the roll.
I wish I'd been on deck at the time, but we were outside the Columbia restaurant at the time - suddenly QE2 rolled right over to one side, then gently swung to the other side and did this 2 or 3 times and then just as suddenly as it had started she stopped dead upright. The stabilisers were working - and how!