Touring the Queen Mary 2
Posted on July 8, 2013
This is our second sailing on the QM2. Our first was a coastal cruise from New York to Bar Harbour to Halifax then back to New York. It was an autumn cruise in October and we enjoyed the ship very much. QM2 is regarded as an ocean liner as opposed to a cruise ship and it is reflected in her design. She presents a much higher freeboard than most ships, her draft is deeper and her foredeck is designed to clear water that might break over the bow in heavy weather. I have compiled her technical specifications below.
Her namesake, Queen Mary, first put to sea on her maiden voyage in 1936. Her basic specifications were:
Gross Tonnage – 81,237
Length – 1,019.4 feet
Beam – 118 feet
Cruising speed – 28.5 knots
Passengers – 2,139
Crew – 1,101
Queen Mary 2
Class: Queen (individual design)
Name:RMS Queen Mary 2
Namesake:Queen Mary
Owner:Carnival plc[1]
Operator:Cunard Line
Port of registry:Hamilton, Bermuda
Builder:STX Europe Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Saint-Nazaire, France
SIZE
Gross tonnage: 151,400
Length: 1,132 feet
Beam: 135 feet at the waterline
Draft: 32 feet 10 inches
Height: 236 feet keel to funnel
TECHNICAL
Speed: 30 knots (max); 26 knots (service)
Power Plant: 4 diesels (each capable of producing 16.8 MW), 2 gas turbines (each capable of producing 25 MW)
Propulsion: 2 fixed pods; 2 azipods
Thrusters: 3 (3.2 MW)
PEOPLE
Passengers: 2,620 (1,330 cabins, 173 suites)
Crew: 1,253
Officers: British
About the Crown Princess
Posted on July 12, 2013
As we complete our eastbound Trans-Atlantic crossing and make port in Southampton we will disembark at one pier and re-embark the Crown Princess at another. The Crown Princess is the second largest ship on which we will sail during this trip. We will be aboard for our 14 day Baltic tour. We sailed once on the first Crown Princess and we have sailed on earlier Grand Class ships but on neither of the Crown’s sister ships, the Emerald and Ruby. As you can see, the first Crown was about half the size of the current vessel.
Name: 1990—2002: Crown Princess (earlier) Now the P&O Pacific Jewel
Tonnage: 69,845 GT
Length: 245.08 m (804 ft 1 in)
Beam: 32.25 m (105 ft 10 in)
Draught: 7.90 m (25 ft 11 in)
Decks: 11
Crown Princess
Class & type:Grand-class cruise ship
Name:Crown Princess
Owner:Carnival plc
Operator:Princess Cruise Line
Port of registry: Bermuda
Builder:Fincantieri
SIZE
TONNAGE: 113,000 gross tons
LENGTH: 951 feet
BEAM: 118 feet (159 feet including bridge wings)
DRAFT: 27.88 feet
HEIGHT: 195 feet
TECHNICAL
SPEED: 21.5 knots (service) 23 knots (maximum)
POWER PLANT: Diesel electric Wärtsilä-Sulzer 16ZAV40S and 12ZAV40S diesel engines
PROPULSION: Two fixed pitch propellers with Siemens electric propulsion (19 MW each)
REGISTRY: Bermuda
OWNER: Princess Cruises
BUILDER: Fincantieri (Italy)
PEOPLE
CAPACITY: 3,080
CREW: 1,200
ENTERED SERVICE: June 2006
About the Ocean Princess
Posted on July 13, 2013
The smallest of the three ships on this tour will be the Ocean Princess. She is what is referred to as an R-Class ship, one of eight originally built for Renaissance Cruises. Now, 12 to 15 years later, Renaissance Cruises is no more but all eight ships are still in service. Two are with Princess Cruises as the Ocean Princess and the Pacific Princess, another is sailing for Hapag-Lloyd as the Columbus 2, two more sail as the Oceania Nautica and Regatta, another pair ply the seas as Azamara Journey and quest while the eighth in now the Adonia with P&O.
We are truly looking forward to this ship. It has a great reputation and it will be the first time we have sailed on such a small, intimate vessel.
Ocean Princess
Class & type:R class cruise ship
Name:1999–2002: R Four
2002–2009: Tahitian Princess
2009-present Ocean Princess
Owner:1999–2001: Renaissance Cruises
2002–present: Princess Cruises
Operator:1999–2001: Renaissance Cruises
2001–2002: laid up
2002–present: Princess Cruises
Port of registry: Liberia, Monrovia 1999–2002
Gibraltar 2002–2005
Bermuda, Hamilton 2005–present
Builder:Chantiers de l’Atlantique
St. Nazaire, France
SIZE
TONNAGE: 32,277 gross tons
LENGTH: 594 feet
BEAM: 84 feet
DRAFT: 19.5 feet
TECHNICAL
SPEED: 20 knots
POWER PLANT: Diesel electric 4 × Wärtsilä 12V32 diesel engines combined 13,500 kW
PROPULSION: Two propellers
Speed:18 kn (33.34 km/h)
REGISTRY: Bermuda
LINE:Princess Cruises
BUILDER: Chantiers de l’Atlantique (France)
PEOPLE
Decks:11 (9 passenger accessible)[3]
CAPACITY: 680
CREW: 373