Which staterooms would you save?

[Rob Lightbody]

When aboard QE2 in Dubai earlier this year, my mind was forced to look ahead to the future, rather than back to the past.  This is one of the things that surprised me about how I felt during my visit.  Seeing her laid up without crew, passengers etc., gave me a much more realistic view of things, as I hope comes across in the DVD.  My mind was also sharpened by being on board the SS Rotterdam Cruise Hotel since my last QE2 cruise,

How would I make this work?  What would I do if i was them?  What would people expect of hotel QE2? 

So here is your first related question to ponder -

If you had to make a choice as to what cabins to keep on board as part of any refit for hotel duties, which ones would they be, and why.  Try to think of the big picture rather than "I stayed in 1234".  Bear in mind what the SS Rotterdam's people have had to bear in mind - that most people staying on board will not be enthusiasts and that the hotel has to make money!

I have quite clear views, which I'll share later, but what do you think?

[Kindlychap]

One Deck and Two deck Q3.

Signal Deck Q2

Q1.

Nothing else would pass muster, in my view. You'd need to ditch the rest. I recognise that the Signal Deck cabins might not be the first choice of the ship lover, but they would be the first choice of the hotel resident.

Matthew

[Pat Curry]

Describe to me please,  for one who has not been on either ship, what is Rotterdam's accommodation like and ditto Queen Mary Huntingdon?

I'd keep it all, from 6 deck up, but I know it's not realistic.

We have to remember, poor dear QE2 is in Dubai, where hotel clients expect an ostentatious display of wealth but in the form of plastic and tat and to pay shed loads of money for it.   

[Peter Mugridge]

You'd need at least some of the M class accomodation to bring in budget people; you'd get quite a lot of these and the income would be a very useful "cushion".

[Bob C.]

I'm hoping the lessons from QM carry over to QE2.  QM was wantonly gutted with very little business planning that would have shown that the space they needed was going to be smaller than the space they gutted.  QM's forward boiler room is one of these and is where most of that hokey "Ghost Tour" takes place. 

My hope is that such planning for QE2 is carefully done and only removing the items that need be removed thus preserving as much of the ship as possible. 

In that light I would think vertically as well as horizontally.  Many of the stairways on QM are preserved but they do not go all the way down.  I would preserve Sairway D, G and A (in that order) as well as C and F as much as possible.  QM's stairway to the 1st class pool is not open to the public and I think that QE2's interior pools (at least one of them) should have access. 

For rooms not serving as hotel rooms in the QE2's rebirth, I would preserve a few token samples for history's sake but keep the fascade of the passageways as much as possible to give that "at sea" on a historic ocean liner feel. In other words gut the spaces for new operating spaces but keep the stateroom doors and other current passageway features.

If decks are to be interrupted because of convention space, then there should be some tactful way to interrupt the space rather than blank it off with a false bulkhead as is done throughout QM.

[Kindlychap]

You'd need at least some of the M class accomodation to bring in budget people; you'd get quite a lot of these and the income would be a very useful "cushion".

They are not fit for sale as hotel accomodation. I'm sorry to be brutal, but unless you're thinking charging £10 a night I think you can forget it.

I think you'd be ambitious asking more than £100.00 for a round porthole Q3. Perhaps £125 for a oval window Q3 or Q2 and then a little more still for the Q1. As hotel accomodation they are not fabulous. I know - I've stayed in 8081 for 28 nights.

Matthew

[cunardqueen]

How would I make this work?  What would I do if i was them?  What would people expect of hotel QE2? 

 

Well if its hotel QE2, l think we all need to wake up and smell the coffee, Would anyone (aside from us on here ) be prepared to fork out for the present state of cabins in any grade. But "they" would revamp some of the cabins, wouldn't they. But then at what stage does a revamp become a new cabin eg  the showers are at best quite lame. Would anyone expect an inside hotel room, with no window? And does location matter? try getting a cabin map for the Queen Mary in Long Beach.If you want a suite, they will make a note of your request, but no promises.  And unless you know the rooms your taking pot luck, port side or harbour view. Next time your booking a hotel try requesting a room ie near the stairs, quiet location, your at the mercy of the booking assistant and their mood.
Try booking an exact room in a hotel and see what reaction you get, Its ok in theory, in practise it might be surprising how often a guest is "moved" for various reasons on the hotel system and they wont even notice it, checkin at 2pm and you get first hit, checkin at tea time, everythings in place by then, arrive at 7pm and ask about an upgrade, the suites might not all be sold, and you might be lucky, ask !! and that leaves the remaining? unsold rooms for the people with no booking who turn up as a chance guest, and they can get charged anything.... And be kind to the checkin agent, they are perhaps second only to god.

 Looking at the Boat deck cabins, are they worth saving? Hotel wise more revenue could be obtained by turning them into shops or something else.

 What could be a money spinner is the families,block of some of the cabins, ie with the single cabins and turn them into mini suites or the cabins with interconnecting doors, use one room as the bed room and the other room as the lounge, incorporate the single room giving an extra bed, and privacy.

What l do think is that any visitors going onboard hotel QE2 in its present state and looking for the authentic feel, Might just get a bigger surprise than they imagined. Its one thing to have sailed on QE2 in her hey day as a liner, but tied up as a hotel is a whole new concept, and people might even think, heaven forbid She isnt very luxurious. Then again make the cabins big and guests might stay in them, make them a tad small and guests are out and about spending money, which is the name of the game

However not having visited Hotel Rotterdam its pretty hard to imagine what they have done with her, But are the cabins we see the original ones done up? or have they been expanded?
You can show ten people the same room and each will come back with much different views or comments.
Iv had three various cabins on the Queen Mary, each all totally different, all "original" but all different quirks

Looking at another things the cabin rates, Book a cabin on the Queen Mary and you end up paying more than you imagined, theres the local tax and tourism tax, the hotel parking, even if it is reduced rates, and the breakfast.

Personally four and five deck cabins are out, no matter how quaint they are, even 3 deck the ones amiships do give rise to the possibility of the mini suite idea with connecting door. 

You could always keep a few cabins in the original state and show visitors, how she used to be, show them the bunk bed cabins and they might not believe what they are seeing . 

[Rob Lightbody]

Myles,

LOVE your Mini-suite idea!

I actually stayed at a luxury hotel recently (for work) that had a very similar layout to what would be achieved with this.  It would give a large luxury hotel room and yet also still totally authentic to the ship.

[cunardqueen]

  Myles,

LOVE your Mini-suite idea!

 

Does this mean when its introduced, l can claim a special rate 
Hmm Its not really my idea, l just happened to see this sort of working on Hotel Queen Mary.
Though you do pose an interesting Question, which cabins would you save !!!

In relation to Queen Mary,I never sailed on her but from a hotel guest point of view, she does appear to work wonders in what you can get, Ok they could and perhaps should make better use of various spaces, But in general she does what it says, the cabins are located near the main venus. She has inside cabins, no idea what they look like.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

LOVE your Mini-suite idea!

I actually stayed at a luxury hotel recently (for work) that had a very similar layout to what would be achieved with this.  It would give a large luxury hotel room and yet also still totally authentic to the ship.

This is a bit how the SS Rotterdam works -- and yes, I could see that working even better on the QE2! Because of the various ways that adjoining cabins could already be used together by a family or friends, it would not even be necessary to demolish the walls in between them. Excellent creative thinking.

I have placed my replies concerning the SS Rotterdam here :

https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,3541.0.html

Going by the Rotterdam, I would probably try to save all the QE2 cabins, but make them larger (i.e. convert them to mini suites) and modernise the bathrooms. Cabins should only be converted to other uses if other uses are there...

The Rotterdam has some entirely new, modern luxury suites with new furniture and all. These are located where the officers' cabins used to be and are run by the conference organisers (not the hotel managers), whose pride and joy they are. They are located in a little corridor on a high deck with high security, i.e. special key cards to enter the corridor and no way for casual guests to wander in. It might be an idea to have a separate area for parties on QE2 as well -- the penthouse suites would be eminently suitable. This would allow people at a conference, or a wedding reception, or an anniversary celebration, to celebrate in one of the public rooms and then stay on board, all together, overnight, making for a perfect party, ending with a special breakfast.

[Peter Mugridge]

They are not fit for sale as hotel accomodation. I'm sorry to be brutal, but unless you're thinking charging £10 a night I think you can forget it.

I think you'd be ambitious asking more than £100.00 for a round porthole Q3. Perhaps £125 for a oval window Q3 or Q2 and then a little more still for the Q1. As hotel accomodation they are not fabulous. I know - I've stayed in 8081 for 28 nights.

Matthew

I've had 6 nights in 5050 as it happens...  

I was thinking they could probably get away with £15 to £20 a night per person in there on a B&B basis, your £10 per person rate if it was on a room only basis would be pretty much the same rate overall if you assume a £9.95 breakfast...

Once you have budget people on board you can offer them a tour of the more up market accomodation and maybe give them a valid for 12 months discount voucher if they book a better accomodation within that time scale.  Plus of course there would be a good chance of them buying a few souvenirs of their stay - and surely there would be souvenirs available?  Making money isn't just about the room rate; it's about what else you can tempt people to spend on.  But to do that you have to get them on board in the first place...

[cunardqueen]

I was thinking they could probably get away with £15 to £20 a night per person in there on a B&B basis, your £10 per person rate if it was on a room only basis would be pretty much the same rate overall if you assume a £9.95 breakfast...

  

Its all very well offering budget rooms, But you also want to make money, dont you, charging £20 for a room,any room l dont care how small it is, is commercial suicide,Factor in the charge for housekeeping and laundry, the mini toiletries, they cost money you know, throw in breakfast as well, and that room will end up losing you money as soon as the door is opened.
Carnival in a sense have the correct idea, no ship should sail with any empty cabins, hence you see the last minute deal on offer at give away prices, But then in doing so you do perhaps attract the wrong sort of passenger.

 If your looking at the easyhotel options, then do you really want to cater for that type of business. there is the Brand QE2 your thinking of. Besides has anyone ever stayed in an easyhotel.A great idea but you also have to sleep there!

Travelodge poor though they are do have a good business plan.Depending on how early you book it can be very cheap You get a basic room NO frills, and strict checkin/out times, you arrive early, they sting you for an early checkin fee, add on breakfast.    and your cheap room isnt so cheap.  Imagine the scene its Friday/Sat night you decide you wont check out till noon which is their checkout time, the next load of guests might want an early checkin, houskeeping still need to service the rooms within that three hour period.It can be  a very fine line between a smooth operation and the whole thing going pear shaped.
It might sound stupid with this whole idea QE2 isnt a ship, shes a hotel. and to complicate things you have that small matter of Guests.
Lets not forget, Guests are strange creatures, lv seen them on the Queen Mary moaning because the rooms are old......    

[Bob C.]

Question:  Does one save or scrap the inboard staterooms (those inboard of the passageways) on decks 5 through 1 and crew berthing?

I would say they have to be scrapped so that the center and ends of these decks can be designed to effectively handle the hotel operations (baggage, services, food and beverage, garbage, etc.) of Hotel QE2 but I would also include in this design preserving the "feel" of the passenger areas of the original ship as one walks the passageways.  In other words, maintain a superficial presentation of the original liner from 5 Deck on up accompanied by modern hotel conveniences once visitors enter their stateroom doors (those that lead to actual staterooms).  Although, folks would have to make due with a round porthole but that's part of the nostalgic draw and what is done on QM and it works.

Speaking of nostalgia, I would also look into saving a few unique passenger inboard staterooms and crew berths (according to the eye of the historical beholder) and believe too that by enlarging the outboard cabins as stated above into suites and mini-suites, most if not all of the staterooms and stairways can be preserved.  I believe it’s important to preserve the stairways as much a possible because they are not just stairs and lifts, they represent the class dividers of the golden age of ocean liners and Trans-Atlantic travel.

What should not happen at all is redesigners taking artistic license to the point of only the exterior of the ship being somewhat preserved and the interior becoming a completely new ship looking nothing like what she is/was.  Just like Nakheel's original QE2 transformation plans - hopefully those plans have found their way to the circular file.

[Peter Mugridge]

Its all very well offering budget rooms, But you also want to make money, dont you, charging £20 for a room,any room l dont care how small it is, is commercial suicide,Factor in the charge for housekeeping and laundry, the mini toiletries, they cost money you know, throw in breakfast as well, and that room will end up losing you money as soon as the door is opened.  

Ah, but it's per person not per cabin - most of the time I'd expect two people to be booking in together, so that's £40 or £50 per cabin - note that the lower rate I would envision as room only, giving an incentive to book at the B&B rate.  And don't forget the point about souvenirs; you could very easily tempt most of the people to buy at least a tenner's worth of these and given the mass produced nature of most souvenirs these days the margin on them would be quite good ( I've had one souvenir shop manager confide to me that those 99p fridge magnets they sell cost them less than 10p each on a bulk deal... )

Toiletries - only put a token amount of them out at that level, of the cheaper brands and the really small soap bars.  Cost wouldn't be that much ( the sheer volume alone would mean good bulk deals could be done with the suppliers ).

Check out / check in - solvable by having, for this level, a check out time about 90 minutes earlier than for the higher grades and a check in time 90 minutes later.  If they're late checking out then like you say, slap an extra night's charge on ( which I think is standard practice in the hotel industry anyway? )

As for "the wrong sort of guest"; there would no doubt be a few but this happens at the richer end of the spectrum as well - there would be a lot of people who would likely book it just so they could say they've stayed on the QE2 and the vast majority would behave accordingly.  Anyone who doesn't, just have them removed with no refund.

[Rob Lightbody]

OK Well here's my view.

Wherever Hotel QE2 is, she needs to sell herself based on being historic/quaint/British/old etc.  If people want a bog standard modern hotel room, they should look elsewhere.

Absolutely essential - all of one deck - this deck has the best cabins, and at each end has cabins representative of lots of cabins on 2 and 3 decks too.

Sensible suggestion - In addition to all of one, the best cabins on 2 and 3 deck should also be kept - these form a rectangle when viewing the ship side-on.  Interconnecting doors should be used to make 2 rooms into 1 larger room with a sitting room, while retaining originality and layout.

4 and 5 deck - i think its important to keep some of the quaint rooms on these decks, perhaps just as museum pieces that people can look into, because this type of cabin represents the history of transatlantic travel, as well as simply the days when travel by ship was the only way to get places and as many had to be squeezed in as possible.  The genius of the way all the wee weirdly shaped cabins were designed to fit into the available space is of interest.  If it is essential to make use of the rest of these decks, the rest of the space should be knocked 2 or 3 rooms into one, retaining as much original features as possible - e.g. wooden wall linings, furniture, fitted furniture etc. - all refurbished of course.

The penthouses up top - should revert to their early 70s configuration (where there were 10 large luxury suites where there are now 20).  If people are in these rooms, they will expect them to be fairy impressive.

[Michael Gallagher]

Perhaps this shouldn't be here but I wanted to take further a point Rob made about the Penthouses. When originally built they were two-room suite as shown on the plans below. There were ten of them with the two top suites being called Trafalgar and Queen Anne - these were originally over two decks. The two-room suites were named Pall Mall, Grosvenor, Kensington, Mayfair, Piccadilly, Westminster, Buckingham and Chelsea.

The suites were later all made one room = 20 Penthouses. However, for those willing to pay they could still be set up as two room units and you could have the choice of going either upstairs or downstairs to be in the Queen Anne and Queen Victoria Suites (the Trafalgar name was changed in 1999).

[Twynkle]

If QE2 is going to be a 'Party ship' then would you keep the same staterooms as you would if she was a Conference or a Hotel ship?
The Caledonian Suite is the only one I saw - and loved it.

[Rob Lightbody]

Hi,

While looking at the Veronica Duqm page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/veronicaduqm), I came across these photos showing the treatment her original staterooms got.

It very much looks like what I had in mind for QE2.  i.e. Knocking rooms together, while retaining original features.  I'm sure in the attached photo, there are 2 original rooms into 1.  It would be easy to do this, for at least some of QE2's original staterooms, to keep some of her DNA intact.

The Veronica Duqm's conversion to hotel looks to have been done very cleverly, retaining a huge amount of her original features.

 - Rob

[June Ingram]

The pictures do indicate a design very well done.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

A similar approach was adopted for many of the Rotterdam's cabins. There are quite a number of "original" cabins, which in reality are probably two cabins merged, retaining much of the original layout and (marvellously) furniture. We did a cabin cavalcade when a group of us was there and found a most inspiring mix of layouts and some beautiful furniture, well preserved and obviously treasured.

This is something to watch out for when staying on the ship. The other cabins also have some original furniture, combined with standard hotel furniture.

Yes, a solution of this nature would be ideal for a stationary hotel ship QE2...

[Twynkle]

In the light of this website recently becoming a hub of interest - maybe we need to take another look at the possibilities of what accommodation might - (and fear-fully might not) be of further interest; available, as well as unavailable!
Unless there has been a complete disaster - a personal choice would be the Caledonian suite.

 

[dellboy]

Cabin 4068 "The Beatrice Muller Cabin" as museum piece with glass or acrylic wall.

 

[dellboy]

OK Well here's my view.

4 and 5 deck - i think its important to keep some of the quaint rooms on these decks, perhaps just as museum pieces that people can look into, because this type of cabin represents the history of transatlantic travel,

and

Cabin 4068 "The Beatrice Muller Cabin" as museum piece with glass or acrylic wall.

[Pete Hamill]

As a hotel then it would need to be the Q  and P Grade cabins to meet paying guest expectations, but as a museum, a selection of cabins from every deck would be required.
Probably impractical, but it would be a pity to lose the history.

[Twynkle]

Hopefully, this  topic could still hold sway - it may not be too late for the Hosts Owners and Project Managers to note well the recommendations made by the above posters.
After all - these are the people who knew the Suites and have first hand experience of just how good - or possibly how noisy and or cramped etc these areas are when QE2 was in service.
Dare we ask - would any of the the Officers Quarters be appropriate for QE2 as Hotel's Guests?
Skilly - Happy NY, btw - we know you were hidden in a shoe box - what thoughts might you have now?
Bearing in mind too, the newly quiet, and still QE2!

A New Year's Resolution - perhaps!
Which Cabins and why - for retaining?
Which and why- for changing, or rejecting?