127-631: SS Waesland was a Cunard liner built by J & G Thomson of Glasgow as Russia . She was launched 20 March 1867 and made her maiden voyage in June of the same year. The writer Charles Dickens returned to England on the Russia after his second tour of the United States and was fulsome in his praise of the ship. On 25 May 1869, Russia ran into the ship Figlia Maggiore of Trieste off Bedloes Island , New York City , which sank without loss of life. She
254-439: A steam turbine propulsion system using three Foster Wheeler E.S.D II boilers, which provided steam for the two Brown- Parsons turbines. The turbines were rated with a maximum power output figure of 110,000 shaft horsepower (82,000 kW) (normally operating at 94,000 hp or 70,000 kW) and coupled via double-reduction gearing to two six-bladed fixed-pitch propellers . The steam turbines were plagued with problems from
381-530: A Hired Military Transport (HMT) in the Falklands War . There was also an extensive collection of large-scale models of Cunard ships located throughout Queen Elizabeth 2 . Over the years the ship's collection was added to. Among those items was a set of antique Japanese armour presented to Queen Elizabeth 2 by the Governor of Kagoshima , Japan, during her 1979 world cruise, as was a Wedgwood vase presented to
508-553: A brief foray into air travel via the "Cunard Eagle" and "BOAC Cunard" airlines, but withdrew from the airline market in 1966. Cunard withdrew from its year-round service in 1968 to concentrate on cruising and summer transatlantic voyages for holiday makers. The Queens were replaced by Queen Elizabeth 2 ( QE2 ), which was designed for the dual role. In 1998, Cunard was acquired by the Carnival Corporation , and accounted for 8.7% of that company's revenue in 2012. In 2004, QE2
635-523: A cruise ship, sailing out of Southampton, England. Queen Elizabeth 2 had no running mate and never ran a year-round weekly transatlantic express service to New York. She did, however, continue the Cunard tradition of regular scheduled transatlantic crossings every year of her service life. Queen Elizabeth 2 retired from active Cunard service on 27 November 2008. She had been acquired by the private equity arm of Dubai World , which planned to begin conversion of
762-403: A flared stem and clean forecastle . What was controversial at the time was that Cunard decided not to paint the funnel with the line's distinctive colour and pattern, something that had been done on all its merchant vessels since the first Cunarder, RMS Britannia , sailed in 1840. Instead, the funnel was painted white and black, with the Cunard orange-red appearing only on the inside of
889-552: A floating hotel in Dubai . Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed for the transatlantic service from her home port of Southampton , UK, to New York , United States. She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by Queen Mary 2 in 2004. Queen Elizabeth 2 was designed in Cunard's offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank , Scotland. She was considered
1016-404: A grander space for tourist class passengers than first class, who gathered in the standard height Queen's Room. The First-class was given the theatre balcony on Boat Deck, and tourist class the orchestra level on Upper Deck. Over the span of her thirty-nine-year seagoing career, QE2 received a number of interior refits and alterations. The year QE2 entered service, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on
1143-558: A major generator of US currency for Great Britain. Cunard's slogan, "Getting there is half the fun", was specifically aimed at the tourist trade. Beginning in 1954, Cunard took delivery of four new 22,000-GRT intermediate liners for the Canadian route and the Liverpool–New York route. The last White Star motor ship, Britannic of 1930, remained in service until 1960. The introduction of jet airliners in 1958 heralded major change for
1270-523: A new rival when the White Star Line commissioned the Oceanic and her five sisters. The new White Star record-breakers were especially economical because of their use of compound engines. White Star also set new standards for comfort by placing the dining saloon midships and doubling the size of cabins. Inman rebuilt its express fleet to the new standard, but Cunard lagged behind both of its rivals. Throughout
1397-516: A new £30 million joint venture with Cunard. BOAC contributed 70% of the new company's capital and eight Boeing 707s. Cunard Eagle's long-haul scheduled operation – including the two new 707s – was absorbed into BOAC-Cunard before delivery of the second 707, in June 1962. BOAC-Cunard leased any spare aircraft capacity to BOAC to augment the BOAC mainline fleet at peak times. As part of this deal, BOAC-Cunard also bought flying hours from BOAC for using
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#17328699986691524-448: A second ship, if Cunard merged with White Star. The merger took place on 10 May 1934, creating Cunard-White Star Limited . The merger was accomplished with Cunard owning about two-thirds of the capital. Due to the surplus tonnage of the new combined Cunard White Star fleet many of the older liners were sent to the scrapyard; these included the ex-Cunard liner Mauretania and the ex-White Star liners Olympic and Homeric . In 1936
1651-526: A significant share of the 1 million people that crossed the Atlantic by air in 1960. This was the first time more passengers chose to make their transatlantic crossing by air than sea. In June 1961, Cunard Eagle became the first independent airline in the UK to be awarded a licence by the newly constituted Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) to operate a scheduled service on the prime Heathrow – New York JFK route, but
1778-501: A smaller engineering complement. Producing 110,000 shp, the new ship was to have the same 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h) service speed as her predecessors, while consuming half the fuel. A reduction to 520 tons per 24 hours was estimated to save Cunard £1 million annually. Able to transit both the Panama and Suez canals, her 7-foot (2.1 m) shallower draught of 32 feet (9.8 m) would allow her to enter more and smaller ports than
1905-564: A subsidy to build two superliners needed to retain Britain's competitive position. Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929. Her sister ship, Lusitania , was torpedoed in 1915 during the First World War . In 1919, Cunard relocated its British homeport from Liverpool to Southampton, better to cater for travellers from London. In the late 1920s, Cunard faced new competition when
2032-502: A supplementary service to Montreal. The annual subsidy was later raised £81,000 to add a fourth ship and departures from Liverpool were to be monthly during the winter and fortnightly for the rest of the year. Parliament investigated Great Western's complaints, and upheld the Admiralty's decision. Napier and Cunard recruited other investors including businessmen James Donaldson, Sir George Burns , and David MacIver. In May 1840, just before
2159-506: A tradition aboard Cunard ships) and Castaways on the starboard side. After the expansion of female crew following the conversion to diesel power, the female-only recreation and mess room became a crew library and later the crew services office. The final bar on Deck 6 aft was small and in a former crew launderette so it was called the Dhobi Arms, a hang out for the Liverpool crew but was closed in
2286-479: A vast array of Cunard postcards, porcelain, flatware, boxes, linen, and Lines Bros Tri-ang Minic model ships. One of the key pieces was a replica of the figurehead from Cunard's first ship RMS Britannia , carved from Quebec yellow pine by Cornish sculptor Charles Moore and presented to the ship by Lloyd's of London . On the Upper Deck sits the silver Boston Commemorative Cup, presented to Britannia by
2413-523: A westbound voyage the same year, and the French Normandie crossed the Atlantic in just under four days at 30.58 knots (56.63 km/h) in 1937. In 1930 Cunard ordered an 80,000-ton liner that was to be the first of two record-breakers fast enough to fit into a two-ship weekly Southampton–New York service. Work on "Hull Number 534" was halted in 1931 because of the economic conditions. In 1934, both
2540-810: Is nothing, follow your own road, deliver her safe, bring her back safe – safety is all that is required." In particular, Charles MacIver's constant inspections were responsible for the firm's safety discipline. In 1850 the American Collins Line and the British Inman Line started new Atlantic steamship services. The American Government supplied Collins with a large annual subsidy to operate four wooden paddlers that were superior to Cunard's best, as they demonstrated with three Blue Riband -winning voyages between 1850 and 1854. Meanwhile, Inman showed that iron-hulled, screw propelled steamers of modest speed could be profitable without subsidy. Inman also became
2667-510: The Art Deco inspired Chart Room, receiving an original, custom-designed piano from Queen Mary . The (by then) blue dominated Theatre Bar was transformed into the traditional Edwardian -themed Golden Lion Pub. Some original elements were retained, including the flared columns in the Queen's Room and Mid-Ships Lobby. The Queen's Room's indirect ceiling lighting was replaced with uplighters which reversed
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#17328699986692794-814: The Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line . To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganised as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd , to raise capital. In 1902, White Star joined the American-owned International Mercantile Marine Co. In response, the British Government provided Cunard with substantial loans and
2921-728: The Celtic -class liners on the secondary Liverpool–New York route. In 1911 Cunard entered the St Lawrence trade by purchasing the Thompson line, and absorbed the Royal line five years later. Not to be outdone, both White Star and Hamburg–America each ordered a trio of superliners. The White Star Olympic -class liners at 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h) and the Hapag Imperator -class liners at 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h) were larger and more luxurious than
3048-573: The Crimean War Cunard supplied 11 ships for war service. Every British North Atlantic route was suspended until 1856 except Cunard's Liverpool–Halifax–Boston service. While Collins' fortunes improved because of the lack of competition during the war, it collapsed in 1858 after its subsidy for carrying mail across the Atlantic was reduced by the US Congress. Cunard emerged as the leading carrier of saloon passengers and in 1862 commissioned Scotia ,
3175-689: The Guion Line when that firm defaulted on payments to the shipyard. That year, Cunard also commissioned the record-breakers Umbria and Etruria capable of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h). Starting in 1887, Cunard's newly won leadership on the North Atlantic was threatened when Inman and then White Star responded with twin screw record-breakers. In 1893 Cunard countered with two even faster Blue Riband winners, Campania and Lucania , capable of 21.8 knots (40.4 km/h). No sooner had Cunard re-established its supremacy than new rivals emerged. Beginning in
3302-573: The Nomadic every 15 April in memory of the Titanic disaster. Queen Elizabeth 2 Queen Elizabeth 2 ( QE2 ) is a retired British passenger ship converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line , the ship was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic liner and a cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was then laid up until converted and since 18 April 2018 has been operating as
3429-570: The Oceanic Group in 2013, but both plans stalled. In November 2015, Cruise Arabia & Africa quoted DP World chairman Ahmed Sultan Bin Sulayem as saying that QE2 would not be scrapped and a Dubai-based construction company announced in March 2017 that it had been contracted to refurbish the ship. The restored QE2 opened to visitors on 18 April 2018, with a soft opening. By 1957, transatlantic sea travel
3556-405: The ocean liner industry. In 1960 a government-appointed committee recommended the construction of project Q3, a conventional 75,000 GRT liner to replace Queen Mary . Under the plan, the government would lend Cunard the majority of the liner's cost. However, some Cunard stockholders questioned the plan at the June 1961 board meeting because transatlantic flights were gaining in popularity. By 1963
3683-635: The 1870s Cunard passage times were longer than either White Star or Inman. In 1867 responsibility for mail contracts was transferred back to the Post Office and opened for bid. Cunard, Inman and the German Norddeutscher Lloyd were each awarded one of the three weekly New York mail services. The fortnightly route to Halifax formerly held by Cunard went to Inman. Cunard continued to receive an £80,000 subsidy (equivalent to £8,947,514 in 2023), while NDL and Inman were paid sea postage. Two years later
3810-480: The 1930s. Her balcony accommodation was expanded for the final time when her funnel was widened during the 1986/87 overhaul. QE2 ' s final structural changes included the reworking of the aft decks during the 1994 refit, following the removal of the magrodome , and the addition of an undercover area on Sun Deck during the 2005 refit outfitted as the Funnel Bar. Queen Elizabeth 2 ' s interior configuration
3937-543: The 1987 refit. They were subsequently hung in the "E" stairway and later damaged in 2005. There are numerous photographs, oils, and pastels of members of the Royal Family throughout the vessel. The ship also housed items from previous Cunard ships, including both a brass relief plaque with a fish motif from the first RMS Mauretania (1906) and an Art-Deco bas-relief titled Winged Horse and Clouds by Norman Foster from RMS Queen Elizabeth . There were also
SS Waesland - Misplaced Pages Continue
4064-520: The Allied powers as war reparations. In 1916 Cunard Line completed its European headquarters in Liverpool , moving in on 12 June of that year. The grand neo-Classical Cunard Building was the third of Liverpool's Three Graces . The headquarters were used by Cunard until the 1960s. In 1917, Cunard's facilities were co-opted by the War Office to build aircraft for the expanding Royal Flying Corps , later
4191-655: The Atlantic, Britannia reached Halifax in 12 days and 10 hours, averaging 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h), before proceeding to Boston. Such relatively brisk crossings quickly became the norm for the Cunard Line: during 1840–41, mean Liverpool–Halifax times for the quartet were 13 days 6 hours to Halifax and 11 days 4 hours homeward. Two larger ships were quickly ordered, one to replace the Columbia , which sank at Seal Island, Nova Scotia , in 1843 without loss of life. By 1845, steamship lines led by Cunard carried more saloon passengers than
4318-523: The COVID-19 pandemic. The ship has since been named Queen Anne . The British Government started operating monthly mail brigs from Falmouth, Cornwall , to New York in 1756. These ships carried few non-governmental passengers and no cargo. In 1818, the Black Ball Line opened a regularly scheduled New York–Liverpool service with clipper ships , beginning an era when American sailing packets dominated
4445-496: The City of Boston in 1840. This cup was lost for decades until it was found in a pawn shop in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On "2" Deck was a bronze entitled Spirit of the Atlantic that was designed by Barney Seale for the second RMS Mauretania (1938) . A large wooden plaque was presented to Queen Elizabeth 2 by First Sea Lord Sir John Fieldhouse to commemorate the ship's service as
4572-550: The Cunard Line and the White Star Line were experiencing financial difficulties. David Kirkwood , MP for Clydebank where the unfinished Hull Number 534 had been sitting idle for two and a half years, made a passionate plea in the House of Commons for funding to finish the ship and restart the dormant British economy. The government offered Cunard a loan of £3 million to complete Hull Number 534 and an additional £5 million to build
4699-463: The Cunard brand and the company began Project Queen Mary to build a new ocean liner/cruise ship for the transatlantic route. Following the Carnival acquisition, Cunard Line introduced White Star Service to Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia , as a reference to the high standards of customer service expected of the company. The term is still today onboard its newer vessels. The company has also created
4826-472: The Cunarders, but not as fast. Cunard also ordered a new ship, Aquitania , capable of 24.0 knots (44.4 km/h), to complete the Liverpool mail fleet. Events prevented the expected competition between the three sets of superliners. White Star's Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, both White Star's Britannic and Cunard's Lusitania were war losses, and the three Hapag super-liners were handed over to
4953-532: The Germans, Italians and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the Great Depression. In 1934, the British Government offered Cunard loans to finish Queen Mary and to build a second ship, Queen Elizabeth , on the condition that Cunard merged with the then-ailing White Star Line to form Cunard-White Star Line . Cunard owned two-thirds of
5080-609: The Mersey into Liverpool to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Cunard. The ships performed manoeuvres, including 180-degree turns, as the Red Arrows performed a fly-past. Just over a year later Queen Elizabeth returned to Liverpool under Captain Olsen to take part in the celebrations of the centenary of the Cunard Building on 2 June 2016. In September 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship
5207-612: The Moon, the Concorde prototype was unveiled, and the Boeing 747 first took flight. In keeping with those technology influenced times, Cunard abandoned the Art Deco interiors of the previous Queens in favor of everyday modern materials like laminates , aluminium and Perspex . The public rooms featured glass, stainless steel, dark carpeting and sea green leather. Furniture was modular, and abstract art
SS Waesland - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-778: The North Atlantic saloon-passenger trade that lasted until the introduction of steamships . A Committee of Parliament decided in 1836 that to become more competitive, the mail packets operated by the Post Office should be replaced by private shipping companies. The Admiralty assumed responsibility for managing the contracts. The famed Arctic explorer Admiral Sir William Edward Parry was appointed as Comptroller of Steam Machinery and Packet Service in April 1837. Nova Scotians led by their young Assembly Speaker, Joseph Howe , lobbied for steam service to Halifax . On his arrival in London in May 1838, Howe discussed
5461-660: The Queens was in drydock. The ex-Cunard liner Berengaria was sold for scrap in 1938 after a series of fires. During the Second World War the Queens carried over two million servicemen and were credited by Churchill as helping to shorten the war by a year. All four of the large Cunard-White Star express liners, the two Queens, Aquitania and Mauretania survived, but many of the secondary ships were lost. Both Lancastria and Laconia were sunk with heavy loss of life. In 1947 Cunard purchased White Star's interest, and by 1949
5588-496: The RAF. Due to First World War losses, Cunard began a post-war rebuilding programme including eleven intermediate liners. It acquired the former Hapag Imperator (renamed Berengaria ) to replace the lost Lusitania as the running mate for Mauretania and Aquitania , and Southampton replaced Liverpool as the British destination for the three-ship express service. By 1926 Cunard's fleet
5715-529: The United States, to Carnival UK , the primary operating company of Carnival plc. As the UK-listed holding company of the group, Carnival plc had executive control of all Carnival Group activities in the UK, with the headquarters of all UK-based brands, including Cunard, in offices at Carnival House. In 2004, the 36-year-old QE2 was replaced on the North Atlantic by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2 . Caronia
5842-506: The White Star Academy, an in-house programme for preparing new crew members for the service standards expected on Cunard ships. By 2001, Carnival was the largest cruise company, followed by Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess Cruises , which had recently separated from its parent, P&O. When Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess agreed to merge, Carnival countered with a hostile takeover bid for P&O Princess. Carnival rejected
5969-513: The basis of weight, at a rate substantially higher than paid by the United States Post Office . Cunard's weekly New York mail sailings were reduced to one and White Star was awarded the third mail sailing. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday a liner from one of the three firms departed Liverpool with the mail for New York. To raise additional capital, in 1879 the privately held British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
6096-555: The cargo business and focus solely on cruise ships. Cunard's cargo fleet was sold off between 1989 and 1991, with a single container ship, the second Atlantic Conveyor , remaining under Cunard ownership until 1996. In 1993, Cunard entered into a 10-year agreement to handle marketing, sales and reservations for the Crown Cruise Line , and its three vessels joined the Cunard fleet under the Cunard Crown banner. In 1994 Cunard purchased
6223-429: The centre with green leather-clad banquettes surrounded by a chrome railing. In the centre was a flared, white, trumpet-shaped, lighted column. The Theatre Bar on Upper Deck featured red chairs, red drapes, a red egg crate fibreglass screen, and even a red baby grand piano . Some more traditional materials like wood veneer were used as highlights throughout the ship, especially in passenger corridors and staterooms. There
6350-456: The company US$ 13 million. After Cunard reported a US$ 25 million loss in 1995, Trafalgar assigned a new CEO to the line, who concluded that the company had management issues. In 1996 the Norwegian conglomerate Kværner acquired Trafalgar House, and attempted to sell Cunard. When there were no takers, Kværner made substantial investments to turn around the company's tarnished reputation. In 1998,
6477-455: The company had dropped the White Star name and was renamed "Cunard Line". Also in 1947 the company commissioned five freighters and two cargo liners . Caronia , was completed in 1949 as a permanent cruise liner and Aquitania was retired the next year. Cunard was in an especially good position to take advantage of the increase in North Atlantic travel during the 1950s and the Queens were
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#17328699986696604-523: The cruise line conglomerate Carnival Corporation acquired 62% of Cunard for US$ 425 million. Coincidently, it was the same percentage that Cunard owned in Cunard-White Star Line and the company historian later stated the acquisition was in-part due to the success of James Cameron ’s blockbuster 1997 film, Titanic . The next year Carnival acquired the remaining 38% and stock for US$ 205 million. Ultimately, Carnival sued Kværner claiming that
6731-515: The decline of transatlantic trade, it was visualised that the new Queen would be dual-purpose three-class ship offering First, Cabin and Tourist passage for eight months a year on the transatlantic route, then as a cruise ship in warmer climates and during the winter months. Compared with the older Queens, which had two engine rooms and four propellers, the newly designated Q4 would be much smaller, with one boiler room, one engine room, and two propellers, which combined with automation would allow
6858-434: The end of each alleyway. These were located forward and aft on decks three to six. At the time she entered service, the crew areas were a significant improvement over those aboard RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth ; however the ship's age and the lack of renovation of the crew area during her 40 years of service, in contrast to passenger areas, which were updated periodically, meant that this accommodation
6985-422: The enterprise with his fellow Nova Scotian Samuel Cunard (1787–1865), a shipowner who was also visiting London on business. Cunard and Howe were associates and Howe also owed Cunard £300 (equivalent to £34,119 in 2023). Cunard returned to Halifax to raise capital, and Howe continued to lobby the British government. The Rebellions of 1837–1838 were ongoing and London realised that the proposed Halifax service
7112-447: The equally conservative Charles MacIver assumed Cunard's role. The firm retained its reluctance about change and was overtaken by competitors that more quickly adopted new technology. In 1866 Inman started to build screw propelled express liners that matched Cunard's premier unit, Scotia . Cunard responded with its first high speed screw propellered steamer, Russia which was followed by two larger editions. In 1871 both companies faced
7239-404: The ex-White Star Majestic was sold when Hull Number 534, now named Queen Mary , replaced her in the express mail service. Queen Mary reached 30.99 knots (57.39 km/h) on her 1938 Blue Riband voyage. Cunard-White Star started construction on Queen Elizabeth , and a smaller ship, the second Mauretania , joined the fleet and could also be used on the Atlantic run when one of
7366-451: The first British independent airline to operate pure jet airliners , as a result of a £6 million order for two new Boeing 707–420 passenger aircraft. The order had been placed (including an option on a third aircraft) in expectation of being granted traffic rights for transatlantic scheduled services. The airline took delivery of its first Bristol Britannia aircraft on 5 April 1960 (on lease from Cubana ). Cunard hoped to capture
7493-456: The first ship was ready, they formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company with initial capital of £270,000, later increased to £300,000 (£34,214,789 in 2023). Cunard supplied £55,000. Burns supervised ship construction, MacIver was responsible for day-to-day operations, and Cunard was the "first among equals" in the management structure. When MacIver died in 1845, his younger brother Charles assumed his responsibilities for
7620-474: The first steamship line to carry steerage passengers. Both of the newcomers suffered major disasters in 1854. The next year, Cunard put pressure on Collins by commissioning its first iron-hulled paddler, Persia . That pressure may well have been a factor in a second major disaster suffered by the Collins Line, the loss of its steamer Pacific . Pacific sailed out of Liverpool just a few days before Persia
7747-513: The four elements—were installed in the Princess Grill. A frieze designed by Brody Nevenshwander, depicting the words of T. S. Eliot , Sir Francis Drake , and John Masefield , was in the Chart Room. The Midships Lobby housed a solid silver model of Queen Elizabeth 2 made by Asprey of Bond Street in 1975, which was lost until a photograph found in 1997 led to the discovery of the model itself. It
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#17328699986697874-597: The four ocean-going steamers of the Britannia Class , departed Liverpool. By coincidence, the steamer's departure had patriotic significance on both sides of the Atlantic: she was named Britannia , and sailed on 4 July. Even on her maiden voyage, however, her performance indicated that the new era she heralded would be much more beneficial for Britain than the US. At a time when the typical packet ship might take several weeks to cross
8001-403: The framing and cladding of QE2 ' s superstructure in place of steel. Reducing the draft of the ship lowered fuel consumption, but invited the electrochemical corrosion where the dissimilar metals are joined together, prevented by using a jointing compound. The low melting point of aluminium caused concern when QE2 was serving as a troopship during the Falklands War, with some fearing that if
8128-501: The idea of selling Cunard to resolve antitrust issues with the acquisition. European and US regulators approved the merger without requiring Cunard's sale. After the merger was completed, Carnival moved Cunard's headquarters to the offices of Princess Cruises in Santa Clarita, California , so that administrative, financial and technology services could be combined. Carnival House opened in Southampton in 2009, and executive control of Cunard Line transferred from Carnival Corporation in
8255-400: The introduction of jet airliners in 1958, most of the conventional Atlantic liners were gone. Mauretania was retired in 1965, Queen Mary and Caronia in 1967, and Queen Elizabeth in 1968. Two of the new intermediate liners were sold by 1970 and the other two were converted to cruise ships . All Cunard ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags until 4 November 1968, when
8382-426: The last White Star ship, Nomadic was withdrawn from service. After this, the White Star flag was no longer flown and all remnants of both White Star Line and Cunard-White Star Line were retired. In 1971, when the line was purchased by the conglomerate Trafalgar House , Cunard operated cargo and passenger ships, hotels and resorts. Its cargo fleet consisted of 42 ships in service, with 20 on order. The flagship of
8509-518: The last of the transatlantic ocean liners until "Project Genesis" was announced by Cunard Line in 1995 after the business purchase of Cunard by Micky Arison ; chairman of Carnival and Carnival UK . Project Genesis was intended to create new life in the ocean liner saga, and in 1998, Cunard revealed the name: RMS Queen Mary 2 . Queen Elizabeth 2 was refitted with a modern diesel powerplant in 1986–87. She undertook regular world cruises during almost 40 years of service, and later operated predominantly as
8636-470: The last paddle steamer to win the Blue Riband. Inman carried more passengers because of its success in the immigrant trade. To compete, in May 1863 Cunard started a secondary Liverpool–New York service with iron-hulled screw steamers that catered for steerage passengers. Beginning with China , the line also replaced the last three wooden paddlers on the New York mail service with iron screw steamers that only carried saloon passengers. When Cunard died in 1865,
8763-402: The late '80s. A bar, dedicated for the officers, is located at the forward end of Boat Deck. Named The Officers Wardroom , this area enjoyed forward-facing views and was often opened to passengers for cocktail parties hosted by the senior officers. The crew mess was situated at the forward end of One Deck, adjacent to the crew services office. Queen Elizabeth 2 was originally fitted out with
8890-559: The late 1860s several German firms commissioned liners that were almost as fast as the British mail steamers from Liverpool. In 1897 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse of Norddeutscher Lloyd raised the Blue Riband to 22.3 knots (41.3 km/h), and was followed by a succession of German record-breakers. Rather than match the new German speedsters, White Star – a rival which Cunard line would merge with – commissioned four very profitable Big Four ocean liners of more moderate speed for its secondary Liverpool–New York service. In 1902 White Star joined
9017-449: The latter's aircraft in the event of capacity shortfalls. This maximised combined fleet use. The joint fleet use agreement did not cover Cunard Eagle's European scheduled, trooping and charter operations. However, the joint venture was not successful for Cunard and lasted only until 1966, when BOAC bought out Cunard's share. Cunard also sold a majority holding in the remainder of Cunard Eagle back to its founder in 1963. Within ten years of
9144-653: The licence was revoked in November 1961 after main competitor, state-owned BOAC , appealed to Aviation Minister Peter Thorneycroft . On 5 May 1962, the airline's first 707 inaugurated scheduled jet services from London Heathrow to Bermuda and Nassau. The new jet service – marketed as the Cunarder Jet in the UK and as the Londoner in the western hemisphere – replaced the earlier Britannia operation on this route. Cunard Eagle succeeded in extending this service to Miami despite
9271-507: The loss of its original transatlantic scheduled licence and BOAC's claim that there was insufficient traffic to warrant a direct service from the UK. A load factor of 56% was achieved at the outset. Inauguration of the first British through-plane service between London and Miami also helped Cunard Eagle increase utilisation of its 707s. BOAC countered Eagle's move to establish itself as a full-fledged scheduled transatlantic competitor on its Heathrow–JFK flagship route by forming BOAC-Cunard as
9398-556: The loss of two lives. For many years a painting of the Russia hung in the London offices of Cunard. Cunard The Cunard Line ( / ˈ k j uː n ɑː r d / ) is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton , England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc . Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda . In 1839, Samuel Cunard
9525-582: The main propellers, with long vanes protruding from the centre hub. The Grim Wheels were designed to recover lost propeller thrust and reduce fuel consumption by 2.5 to 3%. After the trial of these wheels, when the ship was drydocked, the majority of the vanes on each wheel were discovered to have broken off. The wheels were removed and the project was abandoned. Other machinery includes nine heat recovery boilers, coupled with two oil-fired boilers to produce steam for heating fuel, domestic water, swimming pools, laundry equipment, and galleys. Four flash evaporators and
9652-488: The new company. Cunard purchased White Star's share in 1947; the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950. Upon the end of the Second World War, Cunard regained its position as the largest Atlantic passenger line. By the mid-1950s, it operated 12 ships to the United States and Canada. After 1958, transatlantic passenger ships became increasingly unprofitable because of the introduction of jet airliners . Cunard undertook
9779-399: The next 35 years. (For more detail of the first investors in the Cunard Line and also the early life of Charles MacIver, see Liverpool Nautical Research Society's Second Merseyside Maritime History , pp. 33–37 1991.) In May 1840 the coastal paddle steamer Unicorn made the company's first voyage to Halifax to begin the supplementary service to Montreal. Two months later the first of
9906-514: The old ships, particularly in tropical waters. The interior and superstructure for the QE2 was designed by James Gardner . The result was described by The Council of Industrial Design as that of a "very big yacht" and with a "look [that was] sleek, modern and purposeful". As built, QE2 had a gross tonnage of 65,863 GRT , was 963 ft (294 m) long, and had a top speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) with steam turbines; this
10033-456: The original light airy effect by illuminating the lowered ceiling and leaving shadows in the ceiling's slot. By the time of QE2's retirement, the ship's synagogue was the only room that had remained unaltered since 1969. However it was reported that during QE2 ' s 22 October five-night voyage, the synagogue was dismantled and removed from the ship before her final sailing to Dubai. The designers included numerous pieces of artwork within
10160-474: The other pioneer transatlantic steamship company, did not submit a tender, the St George Steam Packet Company , owner of Sirius , bid £45,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax service and £65,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax–New York service. The Admiralty rejected both tenders because neither bid offered to begin services early enough. Cunard, who was back in Halifax, unfortunately did not know of
10287-440: The passenger fleet was the two-year-old Queen Elizabeth 2 . The fleet also included the remaining two intermediate liners from the 1950s, plus two purpose-built cruise ships on order. Trafalgar acquired two additional cruise ships and disposed of the intermediate liners and most of the cargo fleet. During the Falklands War , QE2 and Cunard Countess were chartered as troopships while Cunard's container ship Atlantic Conveyor
10414-658: The plan had been changed to a dual-purpose 55,000 GRT ship designed to cruise in the off-season. The new vessel design was known as Q4. Ultimately, this ship came into service in 1969 as the 70,300 GRT Queen Elizabeth 2 . Cunard attempted to address the challenge presented by jet airliners by diversifying its business into air travel. In March 1960, Cunard bought a 60% shareholding in British Eagle , an independent (non-government owned) airline, for £30 million, and changed its name to Cunard Eagle Airways . The support from this new shareholder enabled Cunard Eagle to become
10541-453: The pre-war era. Despite falling passenger revenues, Cunard did not want to give up its traditional role as a provider of a North Atlantic passenger service and Royal Mail carrier, and so decided to replace the obsolete Queens with a new generation liner. Designated Q3 during work-up, it was projected to measure 75,000 gross register tons , have berths for 2,270 passengers, and cost about £30 million. Work had proceeded as far as
10668-434: The preparation of submissions from six shipyards and applying for government financial assistance with the construction when misgivings among some executives and directors, coupled with a shareholder revolt, led to the benefits of the project being reappraised and ultimately cancelled on 19 October 1961. Cunard decided to continue with a replacement plan but with an altered operating regime and more flexible design. Realising
10795-731: The public rooms of the ship, as well as maritime artefacts drawn from Cunard's long history of operating merchant vessels. Althea Wynne 's sculpture of the White Horses of the Atlantic Ocean was installed in the Mauretania Restaurant. Two bronze busts were installed—one of Sir Samuel Cunard outside the Yacht Club, and one of Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's Room. Four life-size statues of human forms—created by sculptor Janine Janet in marine materials like shell and coral, representing
10922-521: The quarter deck beneath it to first-class. Each had its own main lounge. Another modern variation was providing tourist class with a grand two-story main ballroom, called the Double Room (later the Grand Lounge), created by opening a well in the deck between what were to have been the second and third class lounges in the ship's original three class design. This too was unconventional in that it designated
11049-470: The rights to the name of the Royal Viking Line and its Royal Viking Sun . The rest of Royal Viking Line's fleet stayed with the line's owner, Norwegian Cruise Line . By the mid-1990s Cunard was ailing. The company was embarrassed in late 1994 when Queen Elizabeth 2 experienced numerous defects during the first voyage of the season because of unfinished renovation work. Claims from passengers cost
11176-558: The sailing packets. Three years later, the British Government increased the annual subsidy to £156,000 so that Cunard could double its frequency. Four additional wooden paddlers were ordered and alternate sailings were direct to New York instead of the Halifax–Boston route. The sailing packet lines were now reduced to the immigrant trade. From the beginning Cunard's ships used the line's distinctive red funnel with two or three narrow black bands and black top. It appears that Robert Napier
11303-481: The service was rebid and Cunard was awarded a seven-year contract for two weekly New York mail services at £70,000 per annum. Inman was awarded a seven-year contract for the third weekly New York service at £35,000 per year. The Panic of 1873 started a five-year shipping depression that strained the finances of all of the Atlantic competitors. In 1876 the mail contracts expired and the Post Office ended both Cunard's and Inman's subsidies. The new contracts were paid on
11430-461: The ship backward or stop her moving forward. The pitch of the new variable pitch blades could simply be reversed, causing a reversal of propeller thrust while maintaining the same direction of propeller rotation, allowing the ship shorter stopping times and improved handling characteristics. The new propellers were originally fitted with "Grim Wheels", named after their inventor, Dr. Ing Otto Grim. These were free-spinning propeller blades fitted behind
11557-457: The ship by Lord Wedgwood. Throughout the public areas were also silver plaques commemorating the visits of every member of the Royal Family, as well as other dignitaries such as South African president Nelson Mandela . Istithmar bought most of these items from Cunard when it purchased QE2 . The majority of the crew were accommodated in two- or four-berth cabins, with showers and toilets at
11684-414: The ship were struck by a missile her upper decks would collapse quickly due to fire. In 1972, the first penthouse suites were added in an aluminium structure on Signal Deck and Sports Deck (now "Sun Deck"), behind the ship's bridge , and in 1977 this structure was expanded to include more suites with balconies, making QE2 one of the first ships to offer private terraces to passengers since Normandie in
11811-491: The ships were in worse condition than represented and Kværner agreed to refund US$ 50 million to Carnival. Each of Carnival's cruise lines is designed to appeal to a different market, and Carnival was interested in rebuilding Cunard as a luxury brand trading on its British traditions. Under the slogan "Advancing Civilization Since 1840", Cunard's advertising campaign sought to emphasise the elegance and mystique of ocean travel. Only Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia continued under
11938-405: The steam turbines were removed and replaced with nine German MAN 9L58/64 nine-cylinder, medium-speed diesel engines, each weighing approximately 120 tons. Using a diesel-electric configuration, each engine drives a generator, each developing 10.5 MW of electrical power at 10,000 volts. This electrical plant, in addition to powering the ship's auxiliary and hotel services through transformers, drives
12065-507: The tender until after the deadline. He returned to London and started negotiations with Admiral Parry, who was Cunard's good friend from when Parry was a young officer stationed in Halifax 20 years earlier. Cunard offered Parry a fortnightly service beginning in May 1840. While Cunard did not then own a steamship, he had been an investor in an earlier steamship venture, Royal William , and owned coal mines in Nova Scotia. Cunard's major backer
12192-412: The time the ship first entered service and, despite being technically advanced and fuel-efficient in 1968, her consumption of 600 tons of fuel oil every twenty-four hours was more than expected for such a ship by the 1980s. After seventeen years of service, the availability of spare parts was becoming difficult due to the outdated design of the boilers and turbines and the constant use of the machinery which
12319-431: The two main propulsion motors, one on each propeller shaft. These motors produce 44 MW each and are of synchronised salient-pole construction, nine metres in diameter and weighing more than 400 tons each. The ship's service speed of 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h) was now maintained using only seven of the diesel-electric sets. The maximum power output with the new engine configuration running increased to 130,000 hp, which
12446-568: The vessel registry of all three of its ships in service to Hamilton, Bermuda , the first time in the 171-year history of the company that it had no ships registered in the United Kingdom. The captains of ships registered in Bermuda can marry couples at sea, whereas those of UK-registered ships cannot, and weddings at sea are a lucrative market. On 25 May 2015, the three Cunard ships – Queen Mary 2 , Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria – sailed up
12573-579: The vessel to a 500-room floating hotel moored at the Palm Jumeirah , Dubai. The 2008 financial crisis intervened, however, and the ship was laid up at Dubai Drydocks and later Mina Rashid . When she started her new life in Port Rashid as a floating hotel, during that time she completed 1,400 voyages over six million nautical miles while carrying 2.5 million passengers over 25 world tours. Subsequent conversion plans were announced in 2012 and then again by
12700-584: The well-capitalized American combine, the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM), which owned the American Line , including the old Inman Line, and other lines. IMM also had trade agreements with Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd. Negotiators approached Cunard's management in late 1901 and early 1902, but did not succeed in drawing the Cunard Line into IMM, then being formed with support of financier J. P. Morgan. British prestige
12827-522: The wind scoop. This practice ended in 1983 when QE2 returned from service in the Falklands War , and the funnel was repainted in traditional Cunard orange and black, with black horizontal bands, known as "hands". The original narrow funnel was rebuilt larger during her 1986 refurbishment in Bremerhaven , using steel panels from the original, when the ship was converted from steam to diesel power. Large quantities of weight-saving aluminium were used in
12954-541: Was Robert Napier whose Robert Napier and Sons was the Royal Navy's supplier of steam engines. He also had the strong backing of Nova Scotian political leaders at the time when London needed to rebuild support in British North America after the rebellion. Over Great Western's protests, in May 1839 Parry accepted Cunard's tender of £55,000 for a three-ship Liverpool–Halifax service with an extension to Boston and
13081-490: Was also an Observation Bar on Quarter Deck, a successor to its namesake, located in a similar location, on both previous Queens , which offered views through large windows over the ship's bow. The QE2 ' s 1972 refit plated over the windows and turned the room into galley space. Almost all of the remaining original decor was replaced in the 1994 refit, with Cunard opting to use the line's traditional ocean liners as inspiration. The green velvet and leather Midships Bar became
13208-426: Was also important for the military. That November, Parry released a tender for North Atlantic monthly mail service to Halifax beginning in April 1839 using steamships with 300 horsepower. The Great Western Steamship Company , which had opened its pioneer Bristol–New York service earlier that year, bid £45,000 for a monthly Bristol–Halifax–New York service using three ships of 450 horsepower. While British American ,
13335-495: Was at stake. The British Government provided Cunard with an annual subsidy of £150,000 plus a low interest loan of £2.5 million (equivalent to £340 million in 2023), to pay for the construction of the two superliners, the Blue Riband winners Lusitania and Mauretania , capable of 26.0 knots (48.2 km/h). In 1903 the firm started a Fiume –New York service with calls at Italian ports and Gibraltar. The next year Cunard commissioned two ships to compete directly with
13462-595: Was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns together with Robert Napier , the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held
13589-516: Was becoming displaced by air transit due to its speed and low relative cost, with passenger numbers split 50:50 between them. With jets capable of spanning the ocean non-stop replacing prop planes, and the debut of the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC8 in 1958, the trend was rapidly increasing. Simultaneously, the aging Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were becoming increasingly expensive to operate, and both internally and externally were relics of
13716-534: Was considered basic by the end of her career. Officers were accommodated in single cabins with private in-suite bathrooms located on Sun Deck. There were six crew bars, the main four were split into the Senior Rates Recreation Rooms on Deck 2 and the Junior Rates on Deck 3, with Deck and Engine Departments on the port side and Hotel on the starboard side of the ship. The Female crew recreation room
13843-455: Was critical of Trafalgar's management of Cunard and their failure to correct Queen Elizabeth 2' s mechanical problems. In 1984, the Commission ruled in favour of the merger, but Trafalgar decided against proceeding. In 1988, Cunard acquired Ellerman Lines and its small fleet of cargo vessels, organising the business as Cunard-Ellerman, however, only a few years later, Cunard decided to abandon
13970-414: Was decided to replace the engines, as it was calculated that the savings in fuel costs and maintenance would pay for themselves over four years while giving the vessel a minimum of another twenty years of service, whereas the other options would only provide short-term relief. Her steam turbines had taken her to a record-breaking total of 2,622,858 miles in 18 years. During the ship's 1986 to 1987 refit,
14097-497: Was due to depart on her maiden voyage, and was never seen again; it was widely assumed at the time that the captain had pushed his ship to the limit to stay ahead of the new Cunarder, and had likely collided with an iceberg during what was a particularly severe winter in the North Atlantic. A few months later Persia inflicted a further blow to the Collins Line, regaining the Blue Riband with a Liverpool–New York voyage of 9 days 16 hours, averaging 13.11 knots (24.28 km/h). During
14224-479: Was greater than the previous system's 110,000 hp. Using the same IBF-380 ( Bunker C ) fuel, the new configuration yielded a 35% fuel saving over the previous system. During the re-engining process, her funnel was modified into a wider one to accommodate the exhaust pipes for the nine MAN diesel engines. During the refit, the original fixed-pitch propellers were replaced with variable-pitch propellers . The old steam propulsion system required astern turbines to move
14351-437: Was increased to 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph) when the vessel was re-engined with the diesel-electric powerplant. At the time of retirement, the ship had a gross tonnage of 70,327. The hull was of welded steel plates, which avoided the weight penalty of over ten million rivets and overlappeding of historic ship construction, and was fitted with a modern bulbous bow . Like both Normandie and France , QE2 had
14478-542: Was larger than before the war, and White Star was in decline, having been sold by IMM. Despite the dramatic reduction in North Atlantic passengers caused by the shipping depression beginning in 1929, the Germans, Italians and the French commissioned new "ships of state" prestige liners. The German Bremen took the Blue Riband at 27.8 knots (51.5 km/h) in 1933, the Italian Rex recorded 28.9 knots (53.5 km/h) on
14605-404: Was mainly due to Cundard's cost-saving deletion of the originally planned 4th boiler while the ship was still on the drawing board. The shipping company decided that the options were to either do nothing for the remainder of the ship's life, re-configure the existing engines, or completely re-engine the vessel with a modern, more efficient and more reliable diesel-electric powerplant. Ultimately it
14732-565: Was on Deck 1 next to their dedicated mess room. Over time the Deck & Engine Ratings Room became The Petty Officers Club and then the Fo'c'sle Club when the British Deck and Engine crew were changed to Filipino crew. The Hotel Senior Rates room became a crew gym. The Junior Rates Rooms on Deck 3 were the main crew bars and were called The Pig & Whistle . ("The 2 deck Pig" and three deck pig, for short and
14859-528: Was one of the significant factors in the firm's early success. Both of the first transatlantic lines failed after major accidents: the British and American line collapsed after the President foundered in a gale, and the Great Western Steamship Company failed after Great Britain stranded because of a navigation error. Cunard's orders to his masters were, "Your ship is loaded, take her; speed
14986-473: Was ordered for the fleet. It would be a modified hull platform of Holland America's Pinnacle class Koningsdam . The ship was original supposed to be delivered in 2022, but would eventually be pushed back 2 years. At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Cunard cut short three world-cruises, with the passengers being flown home. The White Star Line flag is raised on all current Cunard ships and
15113-409: Was originally designed for segregated two-class Atlantic crossings. It was laid out in a horizontal fashion, similar to France , where the spaces dedicated to the two classes were spread on specific decks, in contrast to the deck-spanning vertical class divisions of older liners. Where QE2 differed from France in having only two classes of service, with the upper deck dedicated to tourist class and
15240-534: Was placed on Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1999. Three custom-designed tapestries were commissioned from Helena Hernmarck for the ship's launch, depicting the Queen as well as the launch of the ship. These tapestries were originally hung in the Quarter Deck "D" Stairway, outside the Columbia Restaurant. They were originally made with golden threads, but much of this was lost when they were incorrectly cleaned during
15367-473: Was reorganised as a public stock corporation, the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd . Under Cunard's new chairman, John Burns (1839–1900), son of one of the firm's original founders, Cunard commissioned four steel-hulled express liners beginning with Servia of 1881, the first passenger liner with electric lighting throughout. In 1884, Cunard purchased the almost new Blue Riband winner Oregon from
15494-410: Was replaced on the transatlantic runs by Queen Mary 2 ( QM2 ). The line also operates Queen Victoria ( QV ) and Queen Elizabeth ( QE ). As of 2022, Cunard is the only shipping company to still operate a scheduled passenger service between Europe and North America. In 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship would join its fleet. This was initially scheduled for 2022 but delayed until 2024 due to
15621-402: Was responsible for this feature. His shipyard in Glasgow used this combination previously in 1830 on Thomas Assheton Smith 's private steam yacht "Menai". The renovation of her model by Glasgow Museum of Transport revealed that she had vermilion funnels with black bands and black top. The line also adopted a naming convention that utilised words ending in "IA". Cunard's reputation for safety
15748-585: Was sold and Queen Elizabeth 2 continued to cruise until she was retired in 2008. In 2007 Cunard added Queen Victoria , a cruise ship of the Vista class originally designed for Holland America Line . To reinforce Cunard traditions, Queen Victoria has a small museum on board. Cunard commissioned a second Vista class cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth , in 2010. In 2010, Cunard appointed its first female commander, Captain Inger Klein Olsen. In 2011, Cunard changed
15875-597: Was sold to the Red Star Line in 1880 and renamed Waesland . Red Star replaced her engine with a compound engine which, in 1889, was replaced in turn with a triple expansion engine . In 1895 she was chartered to the American Line for use on their services to Philadelphia . In 1902 she was in collision with the Harmonides , formerly the Woolloomooloo of Lund's Blue Anchor Line, off the coast of Anglesey and sank with
16002-592: Was sunk by an Exocet missile. Cunard acquired the Norwegian America Line in 1983, with two classic ocean liner /cruise ships. Also in 1983, the Trafalgar attempted a hostile takeover of P&O , another large passenger and cargo shipping line, which was founded three years before Cunard. P&O objected and forced the issue to the British Monopolies and Mergers Commission . In their filing, P&O
16129-416: Was used throughout public rooms and cabins. Dennis Lennon was responsible for co-ordinating the interior design, assisted by Jon Bannenberg and Gaby Schreiber ; his original designs only remained intact for three years. The Midships Lobby on Two Deck, where first-class passengers boarded for transatlantic journeys and all passengers boarded for cruises, was a circular room with a sunken seating area in
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