On 9/01/04 17:39, in article , "Olivers"
wrote:



I suspect that both of you will find that the QM2 is a sheep in wolf's
clothing, no "ocean liner" at all but another big cruise ship, not designed
for and incapable (at least comfortably) of the high speed Winter voyages
across the North Atlantic that were required of "liners" in TransAtlantic
service.


They claim up 30 knot speeds and a 6 day crossing. That is not much
different than the liners of the past.

Another feature is a kennel! Most cruise boats don`t have pet facilities.
The SS France did, a wonderful one and our first dachs made a number of
crossing with us. He ate wonderfully!

The Elizabeth 2 did too but not so spiffy, we only
made one crossing and even cancelled our return trip because we
were not fully satisfied with the QE 2. Their kennel
facilities were inferior to the France's!

I read that when the SS France was refitted so the top speed was lowered
from 30 to 20, which I say is "dog paddle" speed so a ship can mossy around
the Caribbean.

Next new boat looks like a liner, not some floating Las Vegas whore house!

I must say I still pine for the SS France, the passage was 5 days,
the food great, and it was not expensive. We took it first on the last
passage of the season in November of 1965, the sea was rough and some
passengers spent part of the trip on deck chairs. We had our 5 yr old
daughter and dog with us, coming to France for a year. We had the
cheapest cabins on board, D deck, really in the belly of the ship.
I think we paid around $250 each.

The nice feature was they had separate dining facilities for the kids,
and a nice play room with help. So we`d take our daughter to her dinner
and then to the play area, dropping by after our dinner to pick her
up. All the help for the children was professional, the staff was all
French down to the last person on board. We`d visit our dog when we wished
and would walk him on a special desk area. We took the ship many times
afterwards and it was always the same man who handled the animals and
fed them.

For restaurant personnel, a period on the SS France was considered
a positive in their career, one of the first jobs out of training
schools which exist in France.

I suspect she'll "cruise" out of Southhampton with a 14 day
schedule to FLL, until that niche in the market is exhausted and then be
used in the parent line's other cruising services, likely replacing a
present hull. Currently, there's rampant over capacity in the cruising
business (and no cal at all for traditional Transalantic service).

Passenger vessels are not measured by hull displacement (as are naval and
cargo vessels and tankers), but by a formula calculating enclosed space
above the water line, and all that slab sided tophamper of QM2, lightly
framed and constructed by traditional standards, would be likely to make
her both hard to handle and uncomfortable for passengers on a NA sked,
especially in the gale season. Comparing her profile with the old QM, the
OE("1") or the US, she has more sail area than an aircraft carrier and
could be counted on to fall off to Leeward at a good clip. I certainly
wouldn't want to try to dock her on the Hudson on a windy day without all
the tugs in NY harbor on hand (having once conned a carrier docking on the
West Side during a tug strike).


The 2004 season is


January 12, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Maiden Voyage - Southampton to Fort Lauderdale
*
January 31, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Inaugural Caribbean - Roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale
*
February 11, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : South America - Fort Lauderdale to Rio de Janeiro

February 23, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : South America - Rio de Janeiro to Fort Lauderdale

March 16, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - Roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale
*

March 26, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Three Continents Transatlantic - Southampton to Fort
Lauderdale
*

April 16, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Inaugural Transatlantic Westbound - Southampton to New York
*

April 25, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Inaugural Transatlantic Eastbound - New York to Southampton
*

May 01, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York

May 07, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Mothers Day Cruise - Roundtrip from New York
*
May 10, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - Roundtrip from New York
*

May 18, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Eastbound - New York to Southampton
*

May 24, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Europe - Roundtrip from Southampton
**

June 05, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York
*

June 11, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - Roundtrip from New York
*

June 19, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Eastbound - New York to Southampton
*

June 25, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York
*

July 01, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Fourth of July Celebration - Roundtrip from New York
*
July 05, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Eastbound - New York to Southampton
*
July 11, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Europe - Roundtrip from Southampton
*
July 25, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York
*
July 31, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Eastbound - New York to Southampton


August 06, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Europe - Roundtrip from Southampton
*
August 18, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York
*
August 24, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Eastbound - New York to Southampton

August 30, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Europe - Roundtrip from Southampton
*
September 11, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York
*
September 17, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : US Canada - Roundtrip from New York

September 29, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : US Canada - Roundtrip from New York
*
October 11, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Eastbound - New York to Southampton
*
October 17, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Europe - Roundtrip from Southampton
*
October 31, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Transatlantic Crossing Westbound - Southampton to New York
*

November 06, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - Roundtrip from New York
*
November 16, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - Roundtrip from New York
*

November 26, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - Roundtrip from New York
*
December 06, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean - New York to Fort Lauderdale
*
December 20, 2004
Queen Mary 2 : Caribbean Holiday - Roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale