Vote now: Your favourite QE2 funnel.

[Chris Frame]

I absolutely love the current funnel and personally feel that QE2's appearance after her 1986/87 refit improved on an already beautiful ship. I liked the completed upper decks (I was never a fan of the "1/2 completed" Penthouse arrangement from 1972-1986) and I feel the fatter funnel gave QE2 an overall appearance of sheer power. This was improved again in 1994 with the restoration of the aft decking and in 1999 she thankfully was given her traditional colour scheme back which further complimented the entire appearance.

However, the original funnel suited the sleek, slim & streamline QE2 of 1969 and was absolutely revolutionary in its day. Had the new QE2 appeared in 1969 with a more traditional appearance it would've been less of a departure from the "old Cunard" and may have failed to attract the media attention that the funky '60's design achieved.

So... which is your favourite?

[Twynkle]

Interesting question, Chris!

Having voted for both -
Her funnel was always the indicator of how to find 'our way home' after doing our own orienteering!
It stood tall and red above the houses, warehouses, container depots etc
QE2 standing out above all else.

I never saw her with her earlier funnel - from all the images, that looks sublime, in a way - so for beauty I'd go for the first,
for function - the second!

[Rob Lightbody]

Despite the fact that I feel attached to the new funnel, and its the only one I ever saw in the metal, the original white, thin funnel gets my vote every time.  It was a key design element of the entire ship, one that the designer fought hard to protect.  The look of the "sail", and the modernity of it, and the contrast to everything that went before.... but I think it just looked beautiful.

Whats the exact opposite of this?  Making a poor copy of the QE2's later funnel, and sticking it on top of QV and QM2 - absolutely tragic.  What on earth would QV need a wind scoop for?

[Bob C.]

The later funnel to me is not just a QE2 icon but a symbol of the ingenious foresight to keep her competitive in the emerging cruise market.  If she had not been converted to diesel, requiring the fatter funnel, she would most likely have been sent to the scrappers by now.  

However, I will always pick the original as that funnel is the one I sailed on her with.  It was as different from any funnel ever designed and built to that point and the thick black smoke belching out of it was reminiscent of her predecessors, keeping with QE2's status as a true ocean liner.

[cunardqueen]

Its also surprising just how much the scoop overhangs

and the dents in the Funnel....


None the less, its still stunning

[Rob Lightbody]

I don't think the scoop overhung (is that a word?) at all before the funnel was widened in '87

The original funnel was also cleverer - the white bit (later red) wasn't completely attached the black bit, the wind passed between the outer shell and the inner bit.  The later funnel wasn't nearly so clever.

[Bob C.]

You're right Rob, the original did not hang over the edge as the new one does.  I know I have a better picture somewhere but these zoomed in versions will have to do.

[Twynkle]

These are great images!

So - was the red paint then - only on the inside of the wind-scoop,
the Cunard lettering and the 'bit beneath the water-line'?
(apologies for naive terminology!)


And...the White Funnel, this wouldn't have looked nearly as good without the black paint, would it?!

[Bob C.]

These are great images!

So - was the red paint then - only on the inside of the wind-scoop,
the Cunard lettering and the 'bit beneath the water-line'?
(apologies for naive terminology!)


And...the White Funnel, this wouldn't have looked nearly as good without the black paint, would it?!

On the exterior the Cunard red paint was in the scoop, on the letters of the "CUNARD" and the boot topping.  Inside it was everywhere originally. 

Cunard red was used in/on:
A baby grand piano (all the rage in 69 and early 70's)
Childrens playroom partitions
Double Room window and railing trim
Britannia Restaurant chairs
Coffe Shop/"Juke Box" (recently the Queens Grill Lounge) wall trim
Misc chairs
Binnacle in the Lookout Bar
And probably a few mor places I've forgotten.

Check out my photo stream for picture proof - https://www.flickr.com/photos/33120597@N03/

 

[Mr B]

"When will we see your like again..."

[Andy F]

Personally, I've gone for the later, fatter version.

I used to like the original design, which is what she sported when we first became acquainted back in '73.  As Chris says, it was sleek, unique and certainly in keeping with her modern lines.  Moving on slightly, the only good thing to come of the pebble grey post Falklands colour scheme was the introduction of the traditional Cunard funnel colours, which in my opinion improved the overall look of the ship at that time (once the hull was repainted).

I didn't like the new, fatter version at the time yet looking back now at pictures from the early days, the original funnel doesn't look right.   Maybe it's because I've become so used to seeing the later incarnation but irrespective which one we might prefer (and it's purely a matter of personal preference), it's still the best damn funnel around and unlikely to be surpassed IMHO.

[Mauretania1907]

I remember only a glimpse of the ship with her original funnel, but when she returned to Auckland with her new 'crown' I was totally blown away. But if she came back to Auckland today, what ever the colour or size of the funnel, I would be down to the waterfront like a shot, to adore. Canberra was the only other ship I'd get up in the wee hours to wait for her arrival. I'd sit up at the lookout by the Rose Gardens and wait for the first glimpse across the houses by North Head, which hid the entrance channel to Waitemata Harbour. The first you'd see of the ship would be her funnel. Ah, and then wait for the ship to clear North Head and turn in the channel to come up to the wharves and dock at Princes Wharf. QMary die Grosse is too fat to get to Princes, she has to dock at the container wharf at Jellocoe.

[LegendOfTheSeas]

Definitely the fatter funnel for me. I think it looks so much more impressive and like how a real liner funnel should look. I was never really a fan of the thin funnel.

[Kindlychap]

I have voted for the latter. Simply because it was the funnel from the ship I knew and loved.

I probably admire the original design of the exterior, but it is the final incarnation that I love.

Matthew

[Louis De Sousa]

With the white funnel she looked like a young lady the post 1987 funnel made her look more mature.Maybe we should reopen the voting, moderates?

Louis

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Voting is open, and more votes welcome.

All members who have not yet had your say, do tell what you think!

[riskygizmo]

The original funnel, in the original colours for me. Yes, it's the one I sailed with, and that consideration will almost always sway a vote
like this. When they painted it in Cunard colours (with the decidedly unCunard pale grey hull - what was wrong with cruising green?)
I thought they had lost the plot. Even after the hull went "back to black" the funnel didn't look right to me. The balance between
the thin white funnel and the forward raked mast had been lost and she looked much worse for it.

That said, the fat stack looked rather good in red and black and probably wouldn't have worked in white.

[Disco747]

I've only seen QE2 with her broader funnel, so that's the one I prefer. I also think she looks more powerful and majestic with the broader funnel, and the Cunard red and black suits her better than the original black and white. That's just my opinion, though!

[peter ward]

Its got to be the sleek funnel for me , as it was the funnel I knew from the time I was aboard ...it was so different and removed from 'other' funnels whereas the fat funnel seems to be reverting to type .

[QE2forever]

Voted for the fatter, more recent one.

I don't think that one would have looked good on the original QE2, but after the penthouses blocks were added, the after decks redesigned and a lot of front windows welded off, I think it gave the ship a more balanced and powerful look.