Alex visiting QE2 Hotel - June 2022

[Rob Lightbody]

Alex is currently on board QE2 again, and has sent me an avalanche of photos and updates from on board.

Part 1

[Chris Thompson]

Great photos but depressing to see her so empty!

[Rob Lightbody]

Great photos but depressing to see her so empty!

She was jumping last night, with a large dinner and dance in the queen's room.  Photos & videos to follow.

[Rob Lightbody]

Some photos and a couple of videos from Alex last night.

His message was that she felt very much alive!

I love that the pillars have retained their lit bases.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Great that Alex was able to return at this key moment, and great to see the photos and videos. Making the most of her British heritage -- and it is obviously attracting the clientèle -- well done Dubai!

Is she under new management already? I wonder whether it is making a difference quite fast.

[June Ingram]

Great and encouraging to see the photos and videos !

[cunardqueen]

Interesting to see a no choice menu. Guess the chefs have an easy night .   

[Alex Tarry]

Great that Alex was able to return at this key moment, and great to see the photos and videos. Making the most of her British heritage -- and it is obviously attracting the clientèle -- well done Dubai!

Is she under new management already? I wonder whether it is making a difference quite fast.

The deal with Accor has apparently been signed, they now have around 440 rooms and expect to be busy, but there are no obvious signs of it yet…

[Rob Lightbody]

Britannia Grill still looking forlorn....

[Rob Lightbody]

... but attractive new signage in place

[Rob Lightbody]

In the Chart Room, the Chart Chest has gone AWOL, leaving only its sign in place.

I loved that chest and its charts, it was a nice touch, and Isabelle and myself tried to use it to communicate :-)

However the room still looks very recognisable, which is lovely.  BRING BACK THE PIANO !!

[Rob Lightbody]

Deck 1…the shop has gone, instead there are two displays showing historic settings…

[Rob Lightbody]

Deck 5 photos!

More faux wood panelling has been added, having been originally started to be added in the 90s refits.

[Rob Lightbody]

Each passenger accomodation deck now has a different carpet colour/theme.

[Rob Lightbody]

News of the museum in the reception building from Alex

A lot is missing from the museum, including the QE2 model, original furniture and the interactive display…
I just spoken to a staff member and …asked him about the displays.  He said they were moving the lobby towards a standard hotel reception…

[Rod]

Pics below "The Chart Chest" ones. Is that the wardroom?

[Rob Lightbody]

Pics below "The Chart Chest" ones. Is that the wardroom?

Showing the bar?  No that's still in the chart room (midships bar in your day)

[June Ingram]

It is great to see these marvelous photos ! Many thanks to Alex and to Rob for posting !

[Rob Lightbody]

Mauretania and Crystal Bar area.

[Rob Lightbody]

Around the midships lobby

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

... but attractive new signage in place

Agree.

Looks like there are new doors in place separating the cabin alleyways from the stairways. Maybe to keep out the casual visitors.

And an unattractive crew door... but perhaps not in a frequented place, so it does not matter much.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Deck 1…the shop has gone, instead there are two displays showing historic settings…

Historic maybe (and that is not a bad idea), but presumably never on QE2...?

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Each passenger accomodation deck now has a different carpet colour/theme.

I quite like those patterns, but there are some other carpets that do not seem to click with me.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

News of the museum in the reception building from Alex

In these photos, the reception area looks quite good. Is Alex saying that it would all be changed now?

[Chris Thompson]

So did they just throw away the original signs, what a waste, I would love to have one.
Good thing I wasn't on the last voyage, I would have had some tools with me and been busy in the wee hours!

[Rod]

I like the way the Falklands are shown.

[QE2forever]

Thanks for sharing these great photos, Alex.

Nice to see that QE2 is still alive, beautiful and doing well.

Well done, Dubai, and everyone involved.

[Rob Lightbody]

Some exterior shots

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Looking good, as far as I can tell. I like the fence along the quayside.

But what about that fence like structure up top, aft of the funnel? What is that, and what is it doing?

[Lynda Bradford]

A big thank you to Alex for sharing the photos, it has been fantastic to see what changes have recently made made to the ship.

Looking good, as far as I can tell. I like the fence along the quayside.

But what about that fence like structure up top, aft of the funnel? What is that, and what is it doing?

I think the structure could be something to do with the night club

[June Ingram]

Great to see these photos !

[Andy Holloway]

Ah my old friend the Mid Ships Lobby, spent many an hour there during Embarkation, [very enjoyable] & disembarkation [no quite so!].

[Rob Lightbody]

Alex has kindly sent us this review of his visit.

This was my seventh visit to QE2 as a hotel after previously sailing with her five times…the ship really is a home-from-home for me…

On first impressions things had improved, the museum was fully open after spending a spell as a Covid testing centre and the ship was looking great.  The staff were ever-cheerful and happy to see me back and showed us to Cabin 1034 after a much appreciated upgrade…

The ship’s profile is a little altered with the addenda around the Float nightclub, but otherwise appears in find fettle.

The cabin and ship were as expected, always very quiet and no evidence yet of the Accor partnership, but apparently 420 odd rooms are now available to book.

On board, noticeable changes included seemingly finished deck three and four accommodation, access to deck 5 corridor and of course the addition of the nightclub.

A joy was the gamut of Jubilee events, from which we chose the gala dinner in the Queens Room.  With welcome cocktails, round tables, a reinstated dance floor and music from pipers, military drummers and band it was just like the old days, we both danced the night away…fabulous!

From my partner’s perspective, she very much enjoyed the ship, felt is was well presented, but felt more areas should have been kept original…but overall she loved it!

We both hope that more events like the Jubilee can be held on board, they certainly recall the glory days and being the ship to life…

[Trevor Harris]

Looking good, as far as I can tell. I like the fence along the quayside.

But what about that fence like structure up top, aft of the funnel? What is that, and what is it doing?

Appears to be stage rigging, I think.

[Mauretania1907]

Ah, did I get a glimpse of the Mauretania model recessed into a wall, looks like. I am glad the QE2 is kept well, many places look different, but still beautiful.

[MiamiCunarder]

Can't say I'm a fan of the random displays at the now-closed Deck One shop. Seems like a mismatch of items on display. Moreover, the chair and table don't seem to match anything I ever saw onboard during her sailing days.

[Thomas Hypher]

Agree.

Looks like there are new doors in place separating the cabin alleyways from the stairways. Maybe to keep out the casual visitors.

And an unattractive crew door... but perhaps not in a frequented place, so it does not matter much.

Those are original fire doors onto the stairways. However, down on Five Deck (which is where staff who live onboard are accommodated) the watertight doors have been replaced by fire doors with windows in addition to her original fire doors. I saw this when I briefly looked around Five Deck in early 2020 given it was staff only.

Looking good, as far as I can tell. I like the fence along the quayside.

But what about that fence like structure up top, aft of the funnel? What is that, and what is it doing?

The "fence" is her old Jacob's ladders, creatively and fittingly reused in my opinion.

The structure is for the lighting for the nightclub that's on Sun Deck where the Funnel Bar used to be.

Can't say I'm a fan of the random displays at the now-closed Deck One shop. Seems like a mismatch of items on display. Moreover, the chair and table don't seem to match anything I ever saw onboard during her sailing days.

The chair is from the Caronia Restaurant.



Sad to see the original lighting and original wood veneer has now gone on the Three and Four Deck cabin passageways. This is despite both these things being in good condition and fully functioning on One and Two Deck after repairs and potential asbestos removal. Maybe she rotted more on Three and Four Decks during the disastrous cold layup and in the years after?

Still sad to see the redone lift facades that don't match with the rest of the stairways.

The new signage also confirms the lifts being extended up to Signal Deck from Boat Deck at I think D Stairway. I wonder what was sacrificed to make the needed space?

The cabin doors on Five Deck still have their original door handles, cabin numbers, and I presume locks. Does this mean that staff onboard are using the keys we used to use with the same Cunard branding on the metal plate with the cabin number attached to the key ring? That would be a nice touch but would also be surprising given her new branding and how sought after the Cunard branding on such QE2 items is these days.

As Alex has said, events are her bread and butter these days and are what bring her to life in her static role. I experienced this with the very popular Friday Brunch and some corporate events onboard during my stay in early 2020. The Lido came to life just like the old days and I was able to shut my eyes and go back in time. She isn't busy at other times given she no longer has a captive audience or anywhere like the same number of "crew" anymore, the same issue other static, ocean liners converted to hotels also have and is not necessarily a reflection on Dubai.

[Thomas Hypher]

So did they just throw away the original signs, what a waste, I would love to have one.
Good thing I wasn't on the last voyage, I would have had some tools with me and been busy in the wee hours!

I think so unfortunately, along with a lot of other items some of which I saw dumped on the dockside during my stay on her in early 2020. This is the second change of her onboard signage that Dubai have done since she opened in April 2018. Luckily her Boat Deck benches (that were amongst the dumped stuff) are being reused both onboard at her Five Deck gangways and now for much needed seating on the dockside (my photo from last month).