Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed together for just shy of five years, before
QE2 was retired from service in late 2008. During this time the two liners were OFTEN compared.
Well over a decade later, many people still compare QM2 to QE2.
So lets look at the two ships, in the ultimate and perhaps final battle of the transatlantic liner.
Hi I’m Chris Frame. I write maritime history books and lecture aboard cruise ships about
Maritime History… I also make youtube videos on the topic of maritime history and cruising.
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It’s nearly impossible to objectively compare ocean liners,
as we all have our own measures of what is “best”.
Before we get started I will declare my own bias. QE2 is my favourite ship of all time. QE2 was my
first ship and the ship that sparked my passion in ocean liner history. But QM2 is the first ship
I transited the North Atlantic aboard, the first ship I experienced a Force 12 Hurricane aboard and
it has my absolute favourite lecture venue both on land or at sea – Illuminations. I like both ships.
So with that out of the way, lets look at a few aspects of the two
ships to see if one has the edge over the other.
First lets look at engines. While QM2 is the fastest ocean liner in service today, QE2 was
actually faster. QE2’s maximum service speed was 32.5 knots while QM2’s is just over 30 knots.
QE2’s was originally powered by unreliable steam turbines, but was re-engined as a diesel
ship in 1987. This lifted her top speed to 34 knots – that’s just over 62km/h!
QM2 on the other hand is more efficient and greener than QE2. QM2
is powered by a combination of diesel electric engines and gas
turbines and has recently had scrubbers installed to reduce her carbon footprint.
QE2 had the largest propulsion motors of any passenger ship, each about the size
of two London double decker busses. QM2 on the other hand has the largest pods.
Each weigh about the same as a Boeing 747 – yes you heard that right. Two
of the pods can rotate 360 degrees making the ship highly manoeuvrable.
QE2 could go faster with just two propellers, while QM2 needs four pods to achieve similar
speeds – but QM2 is double the tonnage of QE2 – so there’s a lot more ship to move!
So for engineering – sounds like a draw… QE2 was faster, but QM2 is more efficient, and certainly
more reliable than QE2 in her early days. QE2’s engines were more powerful, but QM2 is arguably
a more efficient ship, and with her pods could run circles around the less manoeuvrable QE2.
Now lets look at cabins. While QE2 was cutting edge in her day,
much of the ship’s accommodation can’t compare to that offered aboard the newer QM2. I realise
QE2 fans will probably turn the video off in protest right about now – but let me explain.
QE2 had some fantastic accommodation. The grand suites, penthouses and Grill suites on One,
Two and Three Deck were among the finest to grace a transatlantic liner.
They were spacious, well-appointed and comfortable – and in many cases
featured real wood, gold leaf ceilings and marble bathrooms.
But even in many of these luxury cabins, there were no queen or king beds – single only,
and only 32 cabins aboard QE2 had balconies.
And most of the cabins aboard QE2 were not in this high-end grade. QE2’s cabins were a delight
for maritime enthusiasts due to their original fixtures and fittings as well as unique layouts.
But with multiple categories and various shapes and sizes, many travellers in the
90s and 2000s found themselves a bit underwhelmed with their accommodation.
QM2 on the other hand has all the comforts of a modern hotel. Like for like, her cabins are larger
than QE2’s and all of the twin-share rooms can feature a Queen bed. There’s hundreds of balcony
cabins aboard QM2 and all of the cabins share a familiar layout as QM2’s design is standardized.
That said, you can argue that QM2’s cabins lack the personality and individuality of QE2’s
and aren’t as exciting to explore. But just like staying in a luxury hotel on land – customers
these days generally want to know what they're paying for – so because of this,
plus the higher balcony ratio and queen beds, QM2’s cabins prevail.
What about amenities. QM2 is a bigger, newer ship – so she should easily win here, right?
Well… not necessarily. It is true that QM2 has some amazing amenities… I mean she has a seagoing
planetarium – the first of its kind and largest ever to go to sea. QM2 has a terraced show lounge,
multiple outdoor pools and a Canyon Ranch Spaclub aboard, as well as the largest
library at sea. She’s bigger, more spacious and more modern than QE2 in almost every aspect.
But QE2’s amenities could hold their own. In fact, many of the iconic Cunard signature rooms
were created aboard QE2. QE2 introduced the Queens Room ballroom – which maintained its
iconic 1960s honeycomb ceiling and floating wood dancefloor throughout the ships career.
QE2 also introduced the Queens Grill and Princess Grill – both of which remained highly rated even
after QM2 entered service. QE2’s 1994 refit saw the creation of the Chart Room Bar, and the Golden
Lion Pub as well as the Yacht Club – spaces that have been copied aboard the existing Cunarders,
but I’d argue were their best aboard QE2 – particularly the pub and the yacht club.
And one of the nicest things about QE2 was the layout of the public spaces – which
encouraged an intermingling of passengers and a natural flow.
All of the public rooms were easy to access – and there was no need for bypassing corridors
like those found aboard QM2 to access the Queens Room. Aboard QE2, there was plenty
of seating, huge windows and lots of little areas to relax in and enjoy the atmosphere of the ship.
So this is a tough one, but I’d say while QM2 has more amenities, QE2’s layout pushes her
just ahead of QM2 in terms of overall design – so we’ll give this one to QE2 by a nose.
Finally, lets take a look at their place in history. Now this is a tough one.
QE2 is probably the most famous ocean liner of the
last fifty years – but QM2 holds her own in this category too.
QE2 was launched at a time when ocean liners were going out of vogue.
But she was built as a floating resort – meaning she could successfully cruise during
the winter and maintain an Atlantic schedule in summer. Because of this, she ended up as
the only liner to regularly ply the Atlantic from the 1970s until QM2 entered service.
QE2 sailed 5.8 million miles. She carried 2.6 million passengers,
including the Queen, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, The Queen Mother
and many other famous people – and she served as a troop carrier during the Falklands War.
But QM2 is no slouch! She is the first ocean liner built in a generation – and the only one
in service today. QM2 has attracted millions of onlookers, crossed the Atlantic hundreds of times
and also welcomed famous people aboard including George Bush, Tony Blair and the Queen.
She is also the longest, widest, tallest and most expensive ocean liner ever created,
and at the time she entered service was the world’s biggest passenger ship – an
accolade never enjoyed by the smaller QE2.
And as time passes by, QE2’s fame fades while QM2’s grows – meaning it is likely
the two ships will end up about as famous as each other by the end of QM2’s service career.
Do you agree? Let me know in the comments below. And thanks so much for watching.
If you want to know more about maritime history check out my maritime history playlist,
and until next time, I hope to see you onboard.
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