Queen Elizabeth 3: £365M, 90,000 Ton Luxury Ship
By Paul Harris
She might rank as the swishest and most modern cruise ship of her generation.
But Cunard's brand new Queen Elizabeth liner will turn the clock back more than 70 years when she makes her maiden voyage in October next year.
There will be striped blazers and boaters... lawn bowls and paddle tennis on deck... not forgetting the occasional tea dance and jitterbug evenings.
The Queen Elizabeth's Yacht Club will host 1940s dances and events
An artist's impression of the £365 million, 90,000 ton liner Queen Elizabeth, which will enter service in October 2010
In art-deco opulence and glamorous surroundings, the £365million ship will attempt to recall those halcyon days when the first of the Queen Elizabeth liners ruled the waves.
It was an age when international commercial travel was anything but routine - and when Britain was making the most of its social life during the inter-war years.
But yesterday it became clear that nostalgia can't recreate a bygone era in every glorious detail.
For the new vessel that is set to become a flagship liner for Britain is being built in Italy - and will take many of its 1,000 crew from countries around the world.
Official details of the 90,000-ton Queen Elizabeth were announced for the first time yesterday in London.
Passengers will consume 1.5 million eggs as well as nearly 13,000lb of smoked salmon every year in the art-deco restaurant
The games deck will be equipped with a full croquet green and bowling green
She succeeds the recently retired QE2 and will serve as a sister ship to the two other new Queens in Cunard's fleet, the Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2.
The new QE will carry the same royal standard that Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother presented when she launched the original Queen Elizabeth liner in 1938.
Although she will be the third Queen Elizabeth liner she won't actually be called the QE3 because the company wants to keep alive the memory of the original.
Quite whether this was the right time to announce the launch of a luxury liner in recession-gloomy Britain is the subject of some debate.
For those missing home comforts the liner even comes equipped with a full-scale West End-style theatre
The courtyard reflects the grandeur of Cunard's classic liners of the past
But Cunard president Carol Marlow said there had been 'tremendous interest' in the new ship, adding: 'We've done a lot of research and it's told us that people are still going to be taking their holidays.
'We are quite confident that this ship will be a success. There is a rise in the number of people looking for something more traditional and authentic and we have a unique product.'
The new QE, which will be able to accommodate 2,092 guests, will have a West End-style theatre with private boxes, a 4,000 sq ft shopping arcade, a games deck featuring a bowls green and croquet lawn, plus a 10,000 sq ft spa and fitness centre.
The pavilion pool on the Queen Elizabeth, where guests can relax as they travel round the globe
Guests can relax in the green surroundings of the garden lounge
A total of 85 per cent of the berths will boast outside views and 71 per cent will have balconies.
Cunard intends to create a traditional 1930s and 1940s on board with country house-style parties beneath the glass roof of the garden lounge, glamorous evening balls, dance marathons and classic films from the 1930s and 1940s.
The rather different feel of the Second World War, in which the original Queen Elizabeth played a gallant role as a troop ship, will be ignored - save for inviting passengers to learn wartime dances and let their hair down to big band sounds.
The QE2, the Queen Elizabeth's predecessor, bottom, sails past its sister ship, the world's largest ocean liner Queen Mary 2, top, to berth opposite the Sydney Opera House in 2007
The interior will boast what the company described as an 'art deco flourish', plus some solid, traditional materials such as oak, mahogany, stained glass and marble.
Almost certainly, a member of the Royal family will maintain seven decades of association with the Elizabeth liners by formally naming the ship when she is completed after sea trials in summer 2010.
Last to do so was the Duchess of Cornwall, who carried out the ceremony for the Queen Victoria 15 months ago.
Famously, the Champagne bottle failed to smash when Camilla let it swing towards the hull. Would the unnamed royal be invited to practise this time, I asked?
'It is our firm intention to make sure that the Champagne bottle does smash,' said Miss Marlow.
The Queen Elizabeth will depart on its maiden voyage from Southampton to the islands of the Atlantic on October 12 next year.
This 13-night voyage will include stops at Lisbon, Tenerife and Madeira and fares will range from £1,489 up to almost £16,000 per person for one of the grand suites.
And, a half dozen of those are priced to sell for less than $900. This special deals line up includes a pair of 20-inch iMacs, a hard to find BlackBook and the ever popular $999 MacBook Air.
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