Tour of the Queen Mary 2

Had a tour of the inner workings of the ship yesterday. No photos were allowed nor any recorded conversations.

We first covered the behind the scenes of the main theatre along with a presentation by some of the performers who have spent the last 3 months onboard the ship and are approaching their last few days onboard when their contract ends on arrival in Southampton.

Next was on to the anchor locker to view 2 of the three anchors available. We were given an overview of the docking and anchoring operations including a view of the actual windlass operations and the massive number of ropes needed to secure the ship.

Helping some of the slower passengers up the metal stairways we moved on to the human resources department where we were given a rundown on the makeup of the crew – some 1400 crew members take care of up to 2650 passengers, a ratio of almost 1:2. No wonder we feel pampered! There are over 60 nationalities represented onboard with the majority from the Philippines. Most the people from the Philippines work on 9 month contracts after which they have 2 months at home and then return to work and not always on the same ship.

Then we were on to the fire suppression unit to be informed about how safe we would be if something caught fire. Then on to the engineers office which for me was the most fascinating. There are 4 propellers which ‘pull’, instead of push us through the water at up to 29 knots (although by international standards max speeds are held to 24knots) at a staggering cost for a transatlantic voyage in fuel alone of $650,000!!

The propellor hubs need inspection every 3 weeks, and a person can actually descend into the propellor area to affect repairs or make simple examinations.

After the engineers lecture it was on to the kitchens. Kitchen and service staff make up 720 or the total ship compliment of 1400 crew members. The kitchens are huge with 2 sets of escalaters to move staff and the food to the tables. Throughout the ship and all day, there is food available along with, at a rough guess, 7 different dining areas + cafes and bars. All an amazing operation and food, which I have to say, is kept to a pretty high standard considering the volumes. The one place we go for dinner is the main dining area and serves perfectly portioned meals – light and easy on the digestive system. If one wants more, you can always go to the cafeterias for “serve yourself as much as you want”.

Last was the bridge ie. the captain and the golden tower with commanding views of the fog and where the power lies! The captain gave us the tour of the bridge and was most accomodating providing an animated overview of the operations. The most important part of the bridge was the coffee machine! His words not mine – I can see why as there is always, like an airplane, a pilot and co-pilot in the command seats as well as 2 lookout watches and more if there is fog. I cannot imagine what the captain has to deal with in terms of overall operations.