Queen Anne

[Guest SilverHengroen]

32 minutes ago, rog747 said:

As you say it's only still a rendering being just of a glimpse of the 🎭 theatre. 

 

From what the designers are pulling out of the hat is a nod to the glamorous days of Art Deco so IMHO I would say be prepared to be wowed. 

The ships theme are definitely art deco minimalist tones light bright with beiges blacks and chrome. 

 

Don't get too downhearted and try to compare it with the other ships all which have different takes on traditions where the Qm2 and the Qe are both heavy and darker art deco whereas the Qv is more Edwardian Country House. 

 

The Queen Anne as much as I dislike the name does I think leave us wanting to see the finished article in its understated magnificance of which the designers have only just given us snippets of her themes. 

 

I only have two reservations of the ship and that is the name I would have liked it to have been the Aquitania or the Mauretania and also the fact of the promenade deck is so lacking in space. 

What you say is true, it is certainly the most difficult to render metal and lighting effects digitally in a way that reflects what is seen in person. Hopefully it will indeed look better in the flesh! I suppose if they are going for an authentic art deco era, it does remind me of the cinema on the original Queen Elizabeth somewhat - though that was a little spartan itself! 

 

I would probably agree about returning to -ia names, there's only so many options for Queens, and recycling the same 4 or 5 endlessly will slowly erode the meaning of each. It also makes expanding the fleet much further troublesome, though from their itinerary experiments they are possibly already struggling to fill the four ships they have. 

[bluemarble]

4 hours ago, SilverHengroen said:

The new rendering of the theatre is maybe a little disappointing? It looks quite low (being only double, not triple height, and lacking the higher 'tween deck spacing of Queen Mary 2) and fairly plain. I suppose when you're there to look at what's on stage not the decor it's relatively minor, but it's a really big departure from the equivalent on the other three ships, at least to me it feels more so than anywhere else we've glimpsed so far. 

 

Another thing to keep in mind about the Royal Court Theatre on Queen Anne is its seating capacity. The specs for Queen Anne indicate a total passenger capacity of approximately 3,000 with a seating capacity of 825 in the theatre. That compares to approximately 2,700 passengers on QM2 with a seating capacity of 1,105 in the theatre. Plus there is also Illuminations on QM2 providing an additional 500 seats for concurrent events.

 

I'll be interested to see how that's going to work out on Queen Anne. Queen Anne will also have the Bright Lights Society. Not sure what the capacity will be for that venue although it doesn't sound like it will be all that large.

Edited November 16, 2023 by bluemarble

[Guest SilverHengroen]

47 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Another thing to keep in mind about the Royal Court Theatre on Queen Anne is its seating capacity. The specs for Queen Anne indicate a total passenger capacity of approximately 3,000 with a seating capacity of 825 in the theatre. That compares to approximately 2,700 passengers on QM2 with a seating capacity of 1,105 in the theatre. Plus there is also Illuminations on QM2 providing an additional 500 seats for concurrent events.

 

I'll be interested to see how that's going to work out on Queen Anne. Queen Anne will also have the Bright Lights Society. Not sure what the capacity will be for that venue although it doesn't sound like it will be all that large.

Yes that's a good observation - actually it has finally struck me that the lack of a balcony level is one of the things that makes the theatre look so unusual compared to what I'm used to seeing on her older fleetmates. I suppose that accounts for a big chunk of the reduced capacity. It did look on the deckplans like there would be a balcony and a lower level of seating, but I think it's actually supposed to depict the seating starting on deck 3 at the aft end, and sloping down to deck 2 forwards. 

 

I believe there's also a large screen in the Pavilion, so perhaps the thinking is rather than most attending a show at the theatre as a nights' primary entertainment, Queen Anne will see people split between the Theatre, Bright Lights, and the Pavilion? It doesn't look as though there will be all that many seats that will have a good view of the screen though, so not sure how many a Pavilion screening will soak up. Someone mentioned acrobatics in the Queens room, too, recently if I recall which could be interesting...

[bluemarble]

16 minutes ago, SilverHengroen said:

Someone mentioned acrobatics in the Queens room, too, recently if I recall which could be interesting...

 

Oh yeah, I had missed that. Found a mention of acrobatics in the Queens Room in this Cruise Critic article about Queen Anne. Could be interesting indeed.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/cunard-s-new-queen-anne-embraces-tradition-with-modern-twists-live-from-the-shipyard

 

"The Queens Room ballroom will as ever serve afternoon tea, with live music in the evening, but it will also have a few surprises – including a “circ acrobat” directly above."

[Guest SilverHengroen]

20 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Oh yeah, I had missed that. Found a mention of acrobatics in the Queens Room in this Cruise Critic article about Queen Anne. Could be interesting indeed.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/cunard-s-new-queen-anne-embraces-tradition-with-modern-twists-live-from-the-shipyard

 

"The Queens Room ballroom will as ever serve afternoon tea, with live music in the evening, but it will also have a few surprises – including a “circ acrobat” directly above."

Yes, that was it! that's one of the more interesting features I've seen for QA (I do also like the sound of the Gelateria!) 

[D&N]

22 hours ago, bluemarble said:

"The Queens Room ballroom will as ever serve afternoon tea, with live music in the evening, but it will also have a few surprises – including a “circ acrobat” directly above."

As long as they are high enough up that the dancing can continue underneath. And that they have safety equipment that prevents them hitting the dancers if they fall. 🤣🤣

[sogne]

FWIW a QA social media page is giving the alleged date of commencement of sea trials and naming ceremony date.

[Mareblu]

5 hours ago, sogne said:

FWIW a QA social media page is giving the alleged date of commencement of sea trials and naming ceremony date.

CC is my only social media, so I'm assuming the one you refer to is the one which can't be named.  Is it possible to kindly relate the details for us here?

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, Mareblu said:

CC is my only social media, so I'm assuming the one you refer to is the one which can't be named.  Is it possible to kindly relate the details for us here?

 

I'll jump in to help with this one. There's a post stating QA will be named on April 19th in Southampton and her sea trials are rumored to start February 2nd.

 

I see a possible issue with that date for the naming ceremony though. Recent tradition has been for the naming ceremonies to be no more than a few days before the maiden voyages. QM2's naming ceremony was four days before her maiden voyage. QV's and QE's naming ceremonies were both the day before their maiden voyages. It would be a departure to have QA's naming ceremony a full fourteen days before her maiden voyage on May 3rd.

 

Let's just say I'm skeptical.

Edited January 4 by bluemarble

[Mareblu]

8 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

I'll jump in to help with this one. There's a post stating QA will be named on April 19th in Southampton and her sea trials are rumored to start February 2nd.

 

I see a couple issues with that date for the naming ceremony though. First of all, the Southampton VTS Cruise Ship Schedule is posted through the end of April and Queen Anne is not listed on it.

 

Secondly, recent tradition has been for the naming ceremonies to be no more than a few days before the maiden voyages. QM2's naming ceremony was four days before her maiden voyage. QV's and QE's naming ceremonies were both the day before their maiden voyages. It would be a departure to have QA's naming ceremony a full fourteen days before her maiden voyage on May 3rd.

 

Let's just say I'm skeptical.

Thank you, Blue Marble.  Is there a Southampton “vacancy” 1-4 days before her mv?

[bluemarble]

20 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

Thank you, Blue Marble.  Is there a Southampton “vacancy” 1-4 days before her mv?

 

I updated my previous post when I saw the Southampton VTS Cruise Ship Schedule has now been updated through the end of May and QA isn't on it yet, even for her scheduled May 3rd maiden voyage and subsequent voyages in May. So I backtracked about using that schedule as any indication of the date for the naming ceremony. Not sure why QA isn't on that cruise ship schedule yet.

 

Edit to add: There is room in Southampton for QA most dates through May. April 28th will be especially busy with QM2 and QV both in Southampton along with two other ships.

Edited January 4 by bluemarble

[Mareblu]

54 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

I updated my previous post when I saw the Southampton VTS Cruise Ship Schedule has now been updated through the end of May and QA isn't on it yet, even for her scheduled May 3rd maiden voyage and subsequent voyages in May. So I backtracked about using that schedule as any indication of the date for the naming ceremony. Not sure why QA isn't on that cruise ship schedule yet.

 

Edit to add: There is room in Southampton for QA most dates through May. April 28th will be especially busy with QM2 and QV both in Southampton along with two other ships.

Thank you again.   Relieved there’s room in May;  we are booked on “British Isles” on 24 May.  How marvellous:  two Queens on one day.

[Colin_Cameron]

There's also the question of the availability of whoever is doing the naming.

[TowandaUK]

Not sure when this date was released, but I already had it noted in my calendar that the naming date was to be April 19th. 

[Austcruiser84]

48 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

There's also the question of the availability of whoever is doing the naming.

Probably Queen Camilla, though how lovely it would be if Princess Anne could do it. 

[exlondoner]

3 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

I updated my previous post when I saw the Southampton VTS Cruise Ship Schedule has now been updated through the end of May and QA isn't on it yet, even for her scheduled May 3rd maiden voyage and subsequent voyages in May. So I backtracked about using that schedule as any indication of the date for the naming ceremony. Not sure why QA isn't on that cruise ship schedule yet.

 

Edit to add: There is room in Southampton for QA most dates through May. April 28th will be especially busy with QM2 and QV both in Southampton along with two other ships.

I don’t think any Cunarders are down for May yet, so it may just be that they haven’t got round to it.

[sogne]

4 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

I updated my previous post when I saw the Southampton VTS Cruise Ship Schedule has now been updated through the end of May and QA isn't on it yet, even for her scheduled May 3rd maiden voyage and subsequent voyages in May. So I backtracked about using that schedule as any indication of the date for the naming ceremony. Not sure why QA isn't on that cruise ship schedule yet.

 

Edit to add: There is room in Southampton for QA most dates through May. April 28th will be especially busy with QM2 and QV both in Southampton along with two other ships.

no Cunard ships are on it for May but there is plenty of space. I suspect Southampton already have provisional dates for arrival and naming.

[exlondoner]

15 minutes ago, sogne said:

no Cunard ships are on it for May but there is plenty of space. I suspect Southampton already have provisional dates for arrival and naming.

I’m sure they do. They seem to update their website very much in dribs and drabs.

[sogne]

2 hours ago, Colin_Cameron said:

There's also the question of the availability of whoever is doing the naming.

When on board in September I was told that although she was ahead of schedule consultation with the likely person making it dictated dates.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, sogne said:

When on board in September I was told that although she was ahead of schedule consultation with the likely person making it dictated dates.

I would also guess they would avoid a Thursday, just in case there is a general election.

[sogne]

Southampton will probably not list QA. until Cunard  make an official announcement.

[bluemarble]

Thanks for the follow-up comments about the possible April19th date for QA's naming ceremony. I'll temper some of my skepticism about that date now. The post found elsewhere on social media mentioning that date was from a group moderator which might tend to give it some weight.

[sogne]

there are no ships in Southampton 19th April(yet) and on QA 3 dates in May Mayflower is vacant. 

 

[exlondoner]

6 minutes ago, sogne said:

there are no ships in Southampton 19th April(yet) and on QA 3 dates in May Mayflower is vacant. 

 

Wouldn’t it be nice if she was christened and/or set off on her maiden voyage on a day when at least one of her sister Cunarders was there?

[sogne]

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Wouldn’t it be nice if she was christened and/or set off on her maiden voyage on a day when at least one of her sister Cunarders was there?

Originally her 2nd cruise to the Canaries departed with QM2 & QV world cruises. We were scheduled to be there.