Cunard Line’s newest ship, Queen Elizabeth, has arrived at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, for her first scheduled dry-docking since she entered service in 2010. As well as conducting standard checks and maintenance, this multi-million dollar refit will create the ship’s first-ever single accommodation options, along with stateroom and other amenities and improved restaurant facilities. Eco-friendly scrubber technology is also being introduced on the ship.
Queen Elizabeth will leave the shipyard on Saturday, June 1, and sail for Southampton, ahead of her June 4 cruise to Amsterdam.
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A total of nine new single staterooms are being created on Deck 2 midships by remodeling part of Queen Elizabeth’s casino. Eight of the single staterooms will be a new grade of Ocean View accommodation, and the ninth will be a standard Inside.
In The Lido, the ship’s informal restaurant, refurbishments will mean that waiters with insulated coffee and tea pots will in the future serve passengers with hot drinks at all meals, while recessed risers will improve the styling of the self-service area as well as passenger flows within it.
Carpets are being renewed and large flat-screen TVs – mostly 32 inches or above – are being installed in all passenger staterooms.
Sun awnings are being erected on the open area near the Lido pool at the stern on Deck 9 and on both sides of the Grills Upper Terrace area near the top of the ship to offer more shade on deck.
Work is planned for the shopping area on board: the footprint is increasing, new Fine Jewellery and Watch shops are opening, and the layout, lighting and overall shopping experience for passengers are being enhanced.
On the technical front, scrubber technology is being installed in line with Cunard’s commitment to minimising the company’s environmental impact. This involves installing a new filtration system for the exhaust gas from the ship’s engines.
For more information, visit www.cunard.com.