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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Well done, she's a WONDERFUL ship!

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G32 closes about 2am. Revelers move to the Kings Court which is open; enjoy comfort food, burgers, pizza, Chinese, Indian fare. It takes on the atmosphere of a 24 hour Manhattan diner after the clubs close.

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Originally posted by desirod7:
In a storm, its like she rides on rails bolted to the ocean floor.

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But she's the only ship I have ever had to pull my self back onto the bed and hang on to stop myself sliding off the end on to the floor. I however enjoy rough seas, many don't.

You will have a great time Scott H regardless of any weather issues. Enjoy the time aboard

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
All ships rock and roll in storms, but some slap and crash, the QM2 gently rises and falls!

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During one of my crossings in QM2, we had two days of stormy weather, with waves washing over the windows in the Britannia D.R. Only about half the passengers even made it to the Captain's Gala reception and dinner one night! Those ubiquitous "comfort bags" were placed in handrails all over the ship. So no matter how big a ship may be, the ocean is always bigger and you can feel it.

But as David and Malcolm have said, she handles rough seas quite well.

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Originally posted by Linerrich:
But as David and Malcolm have said, she handles rough seas quite well.

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That was an interesting little diversion that we had on the second day out, when we diverted by 100 miles towards Newfoundland to meet the Coast Guard helicopter for a medical evacuation. During dinner, I saw one of the flares being dropped from the Hercules aircraft, to light up the area for the helicopter. We were not allowed out on deck.

To make up time, the ship travelled fast for the next couple of days, with the result that we had a lot of shaking, vibration & creaking up on our deck 11 inside cabin. It also shook with the wind up there. We were not aware of this last year in our deck 8 outside cabin, even in a force 8. I think it only got up to force 7 or 8 this time. We were lucky (or otherwise) to miss Hurricane Bill (by a whisker). Next time I think I would like to try deck 5.

She is a very stable ship though. Stephen Payne, the architect, told us on the Saga Ruby that the tank tests on the model showed that she was TWICE as stable as QE2! He also said that he experienced a force 12 on her last August & he was hardly able to feel it. I have difficulty in swallowing that one though!

She is a great ship, although very big. Good for a crossing. I do prefer the older, smaller ships though. I do not like the poor flow through those narrow art & photo studios to the Queen's Room. As a major public room, it should have better access from the rest of the ship. I wanted to ask Stephen Payne about it but I was not sure how he would take the criticism! I would not hesitate to sail on her again though. She is changing to 7 night crossings which will allow more time to enjoy this huge ship.

As we arrived in Southampton, the Black Watch looked beautiful, in contrast to the modern monsters around her. This was to be our second ship & quite a contrast to the QM2. I was surprised that even sitting next to the Independence of the Seas, she did not look that small.

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Originally posted by bcscot:
I do not like the poor flow through those narrow art & photo studios to the Queen's Room. As a major public room, it should have better access from the rest of the ship. I wanted to ask Stephen Payne about it but I was not sure how he would take the criticism!
Graham.

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It had been noted before on this board that the QM2 is not like the standard cruiseship where they lay out a GA plan and build a ship around it. Mary being an ocean liner, the hull and superstructure came first and there is a very strong backbone and structure which results in the broken up layout. The galleries adjacent to Britannia are 'tween' decks which is the only way to get the fore-aft circulation when Britannia is closed.

For more info

Graham.