Queen Mary 2 Drydock in Brest

[Germancruiser]

Today marks the Drydock begin for my favorite ship out there. I can´t wait for news or pictures. Since she will stay in dry dock for only 3 weeks I do not expect major changes of her interiour, even though the bathrooms of Britannia Class are in dire need of an update.

[BlueRiband]

Good sluthing because Cunard has been silent about the drydock up to now.  All of QM2's previous refits have all been in Hamburg.  I quick online searched found that Damen Shiprepair has a 420M x 80M drydock.  Originally the spa was to have been gut-renovated.  It's unchanged since the ship entered service but with no revenue for a year and a half it's not surprising that Carnival would have to cut back on earlier plans.

[sogne]

10 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

Today marks the Drydock begin for my favorite ship out there. I can´t wait for news or pictures. Since she will stay in dry dock for only 3 weeks I do not expect major changes of her interiour, even though the bathrooms of Britannia Class are in dire need of an update.

the most important checks will under the waterline

[eroller]

14 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

Today marks the Drydock begin for my favorite ship out there. I can´t wait for news or pictures. Since she will stay in dry dock for only 3 weeks I do not expect major changes of her interiour, even though the bathrooms of Britannia Class are in dire need of an update.

I’m not expecting much in the interior but agree the standard bathrooms need a refresh.  If nothing else just the shower floors.  
 

Being that the ship has been essentially idol with a skeleton crew the past year I’m sure there is a long list of items to be completed.  New exterior paint for one.  

[Jack E Dawson]

21 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

Today marks the Drydock begin for my favorite ship out there. I can´t wait for news or pictures. Since she will stay in dry dock for only 3 weeks I do not expect major changes of her interiour, even though the bathrooms of Britannia Class are in dire need of an update.

I too look forward to seeing the results of this drydock and completely agree about the bathrooms. However, the "Remastering" that took place in 2016 was 25 days, only 4 days longer than the current 3-week planned schedule. Plus, a lot of the interior touch-up has probably been on going this past year. So I think that how much gets done will be more of a question of budget constraints than time constraints. Is it possible they will install that new bubble system that dispenses millions (billions?) of tiny bubbles between the hull of the ship and the water to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency?

Jack

[bluemarble]

Cunard is not providing much detail about QM2's refit that I've been able to find. There are a few statements in various publications about the refit mostly based on a Carnival press release. For those that haven't seen it yet, here's a link to that press release.

 

Queen Mary 2 returns to France prior to return to service

 

This quote from Simon Palethorpe is probably the most noteworthy.

 

"We want to ensure that Queen Mary 2 is checked throughout as we prepare for this return to sailing. The dry dock service will prepare all aspects of her technical and mechanical capability as well as her interiors and extraordinary guest spaces so that they are in the finest condition ready for November."

[BlueRiband]

Found the first image here:  "Queen Mary 2" will spend a month in the port of Brest

 

The publication is in French but according to the web translator she is "in form n ° 3, at the port of Brest (Finistère), for a maintenance period of 28 days, with the shipyard Damen Shiprepair.  The magnificent liner will be the subject of visits and work on the thrusters and stabilizers. Also on the program, sheet metal work in the fittings, fairing and painting and routine maintenance..."

[bluemarble]

Thanks for that find, @BlueRiband. I had been wondering about the duration of the drydock. "Three weeks" had been mentioned in most previous discussions here and elsewhere. But with QM2 not due back to Southampton until September 27th, I figured that left up to a maximum of 29 days for the duration of the drydock. I'm glad to see they are saying the drydock will be 28 days.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

I'm glad to see they are saying the drydock will be 28 days.

Just because the days in shipyard are increased (and that probably is not all time in drydock), does not mean they will be doing more, it might mean they are saving on not having full second shift or weekend work.  Pretty common if there is not a commercial reason to hustle the ship out.

[Germancruiser]

The almost total silence of Cunard about the dry dock is - i think- an indication that not much will be done inside the ship. If they would do more- they would much more of a " Song and Dance" about it. As they did in 2016!

At a closer look one can see that she needs a new paint- job from top to bottom.

 

[bluemarble]

I can't find anything noteworthy to say about the drydock, but I did notice a change to the QM2 bridge webcam image today. Anyone care to speculate about what the black object is in the lower righthand corner of this image? It hasn't been there in bridge webcam images from previous days of QM2 at the drydock in Brest that I've noticed.

 

[chengkp75]

Possibly a tarping structure to protect the foredeck cranes from blasting/painting.

[Bigmike911]

Looking at Cruisemapper for Queen Mary 2 you can spot the dry dock she is in. Then using the satellite map on google for Brest, you can see the dry dock and the buildings and facilities surrounding it. Obviously the satellite image is old, so that is not actually the ship in the dry dock, but comparing that with the Webcam from QM2 you can get a pretty good 'lay of the land' for her temp home. 

[Bell Boy]

I just hope they will replace those horrendous corridor carpets ! 

 

A couple of years ago I heard a tale from a reliable source ( senior housekeeping ) apparently the person in shoreside who signed off those 'QM2 corridor carpets' was eventually moved to another department in the Carnival enterprise  🤣

[TheOldBear]

1 hour ago, Bell Boy said:

I just hope they will replace those horrendous corridor carpets ! 

 

A couple of years ago I heard a tale from a reliable source ( senior housekeeping ) apparently the person in shoreside who signed off those 'QM2 corridor carpets' was eventually moved to another department in the Carnival enterprise  🤣

Thats not the sort of thing that requires a dry dock period - it just needs a maintenance 'availability' - time scheduled without passengers. [and a way to get new stuff on, trash off while employees or contractors work]

There's been lots of time since the covid shutdown.

[chengkp75]

11 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

Thats not the sort of thing that requires a dry dock period - it just needs a maintenance 'availability' - time scheduled without passengers. [and a way to get new stuff on, trash off while employees or contractors work]

There's been lots of time since the covid shutdown.

While you are correct about the availability, there has been no revenue to offset the cost of the carpet, so I doubt it was done.  I also don't expect wholesale renewal, perhaps just some passageways that are showing more wear than others.

[Bell Boy]

You are  quite correct, hopefully this might have been achieved over the last 12 months .

[transatlantic fan]

The major works will be done during the 2023 3 month refit.

[foodsvcmgr]

What does anyone know at this time about the three month refit in 2023?

[Germancruiser]

Oh those carpets - i almost forgot them. LOL. Well I could do with them- if they get rid of those ugly shower curtains. A complete change of the bathrooms will maybe be done  in the mentioned 2023 refit!

As I have seen on X- ships- here the Millenium Class- ships can be refited and end up beyond recogniton . I sure wont want that for QM2 to happen.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Germancruiser

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

What does anyone know at this time about the three month refit in 2023?

I am sure Cunard dont really know for definite yet.

[Jack E Dawson]

On 8/30/2021 at 9:45 AM, bluemarble said:

I can't find anything noteworthy to say about the drydock, but I did notice a change to the QM2 bridge webcam image today. Anyone care to speculate about what the black object is in the lower righthand corner of this image? It hasn't been there in bridge webcam images from previous days of QM2 at the drydock in Brest that I've noticed.

 

Could it be a shadow? Do you have another picture at a different time of day?

Jack

[bluemarble]

2 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Could it be a shadow? Do you have another picture at a different time of day?

Jack

 

Good idea, but I think we can rule out a shadow.

 

Here is the original capture I posted from two days ago, captured around 4:00pm local time.

 

Here is another one I captured about an hour ago, approaching 9:00pm local time.

 

And finally, here's one I just captured, approaching 10:00pm local time.

 

Starting yesterday that object in the lower righthand corner had shifted ever so slightly to the left relative to QM2 as can be seen when closely comparing the images. I figure it's something hanging above/over QM2 consistent with what @chengkp75 has surmised.

Edited September 1, 2021 by bluemarble

[chengkp75]

I believe that Cunard keeps a spare set of propeller blades up there, so they may be polishing those and want to keep blasting grit and paint overspray off.

[Germancruiser]

Or some tools and stuff that is needed during the refit.