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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

I believe her Ocean Liner features, particularly the stronger hull and superstructure, added 50% to the cost compared to a cruise ship of similar size.

If a regular cruise ship did the QM2's regular crossings, including winter ones, it would quickly suffer structural damage. Notice how high the QM2's bridge is (and lifeboats) from sea level. Her bow also has a break-water the dispel big waves.

Ernst mentioned the speed, which enables her to still keep to schedule, even in storms.

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Well, you underestimate the structural strength of most modern passenger ships. Passenger ships are generally very, very sturdy - don't forget the decks and walls in the hull and the superstructure that contribute to the 'strength' of the whole structure as opposed to a 'hollow' tanker or cargo ship. ->

IT IS NOT ONLY THE HULL PLATING (THE OUTER SHELL OF THE HULL) THAT IS SUPPORTING THE WHOLE STRUCTURE.

-> the obsession with the thickness of the hull plating - which BTW usually varies across the surface of the hull - is therefore a bit strange. This thickness of the plating is chosen considering many factors like the overall size of the ship, the speed of the ship or how inclined the surface of the hull is at a certain location. To put it in very simple words: A thinner hull plating is sufficient for a slower ship because it does not have the power to smash the hull as violently into the waves as a faster, more powerful ship.

Also, allow me to point out that ANY ship can encounter damage during a storm - windows can break and even steel may be bent - but it is very, very unlikely that a passenger ship is suffering structural damage. QM2 is unlike most (or all) other passenger ships specifically built for serving on the North Atlantic on a frequent basis. Therefore it is more likely that she encounters large waves which are more common on the North Atlantic. And yes, this has been considered in her design. But this does not mean that other ships would immediately break apart in a storm that would not bother QM2 - and it does not mean that QM2 can never ever be damaged.

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Originally posted by viking109:
Dougnewman Come on what planet are you on? You know perfectly well that the SS france was designed as a transatlantic liner. Anyone else not sure? If the France was not classed as a liner then there never was such a thing as a "liner" in the first place.

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Of course she was built for that, and her design reflects that she has been built for the service on the North Atlantic - nobody denies that she was a 'liner'. BUT one must not confuse what characterizes a fast ships built for the North Atlantic with the definition for 'liner'. There were also slow ships serving on the Atlantic, and there were liners serving on other itineraries too - and cruise ship emerged from these liners - the transition was actually rather smooth.
The point is that one can NOT distinguish a liner from a cruise ship via technical terms or design features. An excellent, fast passenger ship is still a passenger ship - it is maybe better than other passenger ships but there is no principle difference. France was a passenger ship like nowadays cruise ships are passenger ships. France certainly meets the criteria for the very vague definition of what constitutes a liner - but there is no principle difference between her (a 'liner') and modern cruise ships.

[ 12-10-2007: Message edited by: Ernst ]

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Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:
In reality why would Cunard even bother w/a winter crossing(s) w/QM2. It makes more sense to have her do warm weather cruises (as liners in the past often did) during the coldest and roughest months on the North Atlantic. Filling a 2500-berth ship during the winter season on the N Atlantic would be very difficult.

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This is actually somehow sad - they built QM2 to handle that - and she somehow suffers from being able to do that on other itineraries - and then she is not doing it.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Every passenger ship will at first try to avoid a storm - also QE2 or QM2. It is not always possible to entirely avoid a storm and sometimes a compromise might be necessary. But I would not only be surprised but shocked to hear that a passenger ship has been deliberately steered into a severe storm.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Every passenger ship will at first try to avoid a storm - also QE2 or QM2.

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Not always. On a QE2 crossing that I did one December, the captain announced that we were heading for a storm (gale force ten) in the middle of the atlantic. He said that "the computer" had advised him that conditions would be better if the ship passed through the 'eye' than going around it.