Julietta Jameson gets a taste of the high life aboard the QM2 on its first circumnavigation of Australia.
AS THE Queen Mary 2 glides effortlessly up the east coast on its inaugural circumnavigation of Australia, consider the efforts of the officers in charge.
The highly experienced group, under the command of New Zealand-born Commodore Christopher Rynd, spent months studying Australian ports before the biggest ship to visit this country commenced her antipodean journey. The captain did forward visits to glean information on the nuances of the ports, while officers undertook several simulations of docking and sail-away, so that when their 345-metre, 151,400-tonne charge visits for the first time, it does so without a hitch.
The liner enters Sydney Harbour.Credit: James Morgan
Brisbane saw the Queen Mary 2 for the first time on Thursday. Other maiden visits are scheduled for Cairns (today), Darwin (February 22) and Melbourne (March 5). The liner's command has simulated entries and exits into the ports of each.
One thing they can't replicate but surely would have anticipated due to the welcomes the vessel has received on all its visits since 2007, is the Australian enthusiasm for the grand lady of the sea who ploughs northern waters more regularly.
It'll be in Australian waters for a total of 28 days, the longest it has been in one country outside of its northern hemisphere home ports of Southampton and New York.
Style and class ... Queen Mary 2's luxurious interior.
On February 8, I joined the Queen Mary 2 at the first port of its Australian odyssey, Fremantle, where it had arrived direct from South Africa. On the sail-away from Western Australia and Adelaide three days later, crowds gathered onshore and in an accompanying flotilla to enjoy the spectacle of Cunard's flagship with its classic black hull and huge, bright red, 13.4-metre by 6.7-metre-wide funnel as it made its way out to sea. The onlookers added pageantry to the already festive sense of occasion generated on board during a sail-away champagne party on the aft decks featuring a Calypso band and the polished yet enthusiastic welcome of the hospitality staff.
The British-American-owned, English-themed beauty also put on a show for Adelaide onlookers, performing an amazing 360-degree pivot in harbour to make its way out. The swing basin at the port is 505 metres wide, meaning the QM2 had just 70 metres forward and 50 metres aft from the closest points during turns. On its trip around Australia, the QM2 is carrying more Australians than ever, with 1169 Aussies taking the opportunity to catch the coastline from the glorious teak promenade deck.
When registration of expressions of interest opened in March 2010, almost 1000 were received in the first 24 hours, one of Cunard's busiest booking periods ever. Out of the total 2482 passengers on board the next largest group is 630 Brits, then 192 South Africans, 148 Americans, 85 Germans and then a wide mix of nationalities, from Swedish to Namibian.
Queen Mary 2's teak promenade deck.
In Sydney on Tuesday 1070 boarded. Another 1290 will board in Sydney on March 7 for the sectors into Asia, Dubai and on to Southampton.
To cater for the influx of Australians, the menus in the main Britannia dining room (one of 10 restaurants and cafes on board) have featured lamb and barramundi, especially for local tastes. And the kitchen noted Australian guests were "eating a lot", in particular steak and lobster.
Australian guests are among the first to experience a refurbishment of the ship, completed last year.
Carpets and soft furnishings have been replaced in the 1310 staterooms and extensive public areas. The popular Golden Lion pub has been refurbished (but is still an olde English pub afloat) and less subtle but nonetheless vital upgrades have been made to such aspects as the lighting and sound equipment in the Royal Court Theatre, the showcase of the QM2's entertainment program.
Other aspects of the Cunard experience, however, remain unchanged. The custodians of the QM2 are at pains to point out she is "an ocean liner", not a "cruise ship", characterised from top to toe by a concerted effort to capture the glamorous golden age of travel. Balls, old time dancing parties, live jazz and big band, as well as international entertainment from the likes of Sir David Frost are designed to embrace guests in the glamour of world travel in days gone by. Renowned Irish flautist Sir James Galway was on the QM2 from Fremantle to Sydney performing two engagements for audiences: one concert and an interview and Q&A session.
Live music is a key feature. Most bars (there are 14) feature at least a pianist at cocktail hour and beyond. In the Charter Room there's a string quartet by day and a jazz trio at night. The line prides itself on top service - the crew to passenger ratio is nigh on two to one - and the courtesy flows both ways.
The grandeur of the QM2 seems to put people on their best behaviour. Despite the plenitude, inexpensiveness and excellence of cocktails in her numerous bars, we were happy to observe no raucousness, just high spirits.
Interesting shopping and a fabulous spa offering good daily specials on treatments were well patronised by Australian guests as was the wide-ranging program of daily activities, which included guest speakers, pilates and yoga, line dancing, watercolour painting, cocktail making and, of course, napkin folding.
The State Library of NSW has allowed one of its most precious treasures on board: Matthew Flinders's handwritten journal of his circumnavigation of Australia. Accompanied by a library historian, it was brought aboard in Sydney on Tuesday. It will be returned to the library on March 7.
The writer travelled as a guest of Cunard.
Trip notes
More information
13 24 41, cunardline.com.au.
Voyages for 2013
Next year the Queen Mary 2 will embark on a 12-night Royal Circumnavigation of New Zealand, another first for the grand liner.
Departing Sydney on March 7, 2013, passengers can choose a 12-night round trip from Sydney taking in Milford Sound, Lyttelton, Wellington, Auckland and the Bay of Islands and back to Sydney.
The alternative is 19 nights, from Sydney to Fremantle, via the New Zealand ports.
Priced from $3329 a person.
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