Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 Embarks on Eighth Transatlantic Season (United Kingdom)
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Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 Embarks on Eighth Transatlantic Season (United Kingdom)
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Category: Europe - United Kingdom
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2012-04-13
Legendary glamour, elegance and leisurely pace of flagship’s Transatlantic Crossing continue enduring appeal
With major refurbishments throughout, Cunard Line’s flagship Queen Mary 2 is set to sail her eighth Transatlantic cruise season beginning May 2012. This year she will sail 19 classic seven-day Crossings between New York and Southampton, and six nine-day extended voyages between New York and Hamburg.
The only liner to provide regularly scheduled Transatlantic service, Queen Mary 2 offers the ultimate luxury cruise vacation, rich in classic British traditions, fine cuisine and stimulating on board enrichment. This year’s season includes several new offerings, such as new theatrical productions, jazz workshops, lecture programmes, dining menus and spa treatments.
“As travellers seek more relaxing, hassle-free ways to travel, we’ve seen tremendous interest in our Transatlantic Crossings,” said Peter Shanks, president of Cunard Line. “In addition, these legendary voyages have wide appeal to first time and return Cunarders who want to experience the glamour and elegance of this unmatched ocean travel experience.”
Juilliard School of Jazz: New Jazz Appreciation Workshops
Musicians from the Juilliard School of Jazz return to provide entertaining experiences. New this year will be a series of Jazz Appreciation Workshops on select cruises throughout the season, whereby guests can interact with Juilliard musicians, appreciate music with open discussions and demonstrations of various musical instruments, and learn the history of jazz. Guests sailing on the Fourth of July Getaway on 1 July will experience a Big Band Voyage with a performance by 16 musicians from the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra.
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Cunard Line partner, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), continues its popular on board programme and will sail six performance troupes aboard Queen Mary 2 during her Transatlantic season, presenting new productions of three of Shakespeare’s most renowned plays, including The Merchant of Venice, Richard the Third and the timeless classic, Romeo and Juliet.
In addition, RADA actors will perform three versions of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, after which the audience will determine which performance was the best. Guests can also spot RADA actors strolling the decks dressed as “pilgrims,” singing on their way to Canterbury.
Finally, the company will once again run three one-hour-long workshops, continuing the storytelling theme from The Canterbury Tales. Each workshop features a different element and technique to storytelling, offering guests unprecedented access to RADA’s accomplished cast members.
Cunard Insights
Guests can also take advantage of the popular Cunard Insights enrichment programme, which offers lectures by famous authors, historians, celebrities and personalities. This season’s line-up includes such guests as former BBC news anchor and Royal correspondent, Nicholas Bowen; chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, Kenneth Walsh; and Steve Rivellino, TV producer and former vice president and general manager of New York’s Radio City Music Hall™.
Canyon Ranch SpaClub
Along with Cunard’s impeccable White Star Service, guests revel in the luxury of time as they enjoy the countless unique amenities on board, including the many treatments offered by the Canyon Ranch SpaClub. New this year are the spa’s Healthy Feet services which include:
Gait & Footwear Analysis: Guests meet with a highly trained foot expert for a complete evaluation including video analysis of gait and a precise assessment of the biomechanics of one’s feet while walking across an orthotics mat. Upon completion of the analysis, a foot expert will recommend appropriate and proper shoes.
Instant Relief: This treatment helps to alleviate painful symptoms associated with heel or arch pain, sore Achilles tendons, Morton's neuroma, shin splints or pain in the ball of the foot. A therapist tailors a massage for each guest.
Foot Rescue: This therapeutic treatment begins with a soothing foot bath in herbal salts. The spa technician focuses on the three “C's” of pedestrian wear and tear: calluses, corns and cracked dry skin, restoring damaged skin and nails.
Todd English Restaurant
Patrons of Queen Mary 2’s specialty restaurant, Todd English, can now enjoy the acclaimed chef’s lunch and dinner offerings a la carte, replacing the original prix-fixe menu. One of the most celebrated chefs in the world, Chef English offers Mediterranean cuisine featuring “common ingredients prepared in uncommon ways.”
Guests can enjoy such popular appetizers as “Todd’s Truffled Potato Love Letters,” mouth-watering pasta pillows prepared with parmesan and madeira glaze; “Lobster and Baby Corn Chowder,” with parsnip purée, roasted corn and bacon; and “Tender Lettuce Salad of Boston Bibb and Mâche,” with shaved white onions, toasted walnuts, shallot dressing and Danish blue cheese. Signature entrees include “Paella,” with shrimp, mussels, clams, saffron rice, chorizo and chicken; and “Grilled Beef Tenderloin,” with braised oxtail ragù, whipped truffle potato, glazed baby carrots and tempura fried French beans. Desserts include “White Chocolate Bread Pudding” and Todd’s ever-popular “Chocolate Fallen Cake.”
During her 2012 Transatlantic cruise season, Queen Mary 2 will also offer European sailings to the Baltic, Norway, the North Cape, Iberia and Spain. These Europe itineraries can be combined with a Transatlantic cruise on either end to create a Grand Voyage, where North American guests can revel in glamorous on board experiences with an extended roundtrip luxury cruise vacation.
Queen Mary 2’s recent refurbishment included significant décor enhancements in all staterooms and suites, the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, the Queens Grill and Princess Grill Restaurants, the Commodore Club, the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar, Sir Samuel’s Bar and Lounge and the children’s Play Zone. The popular Golden Lion Pub also was completely redesigned.
For those planning to attend the 2012 Olympic Games in London, select East and Westbound Transatlantic Crossings afford guests a relaxing travel experience, as they avoid the jet lag of crossing five time zones in one day. Westbound Crossings also offer the “25-hour day” as guests gain time during the voyage, allowing for more socialising, enrichment, relaxation and rest. Guests also can extend their vacation to Paris upon arrival in Southampton with a convenient transfer to the Eurostar (via St. Pancras train station) for travel via railway between London and Paris.
Cunard’s hotel programme offers a variety of packages for guests booking a Crossing, and include accommodations in centrally-located properties, porterage, transfers between airport, hotel and ship, and the hospitality services of a Cunard representative. Participating hotels include:
New York: The Waldforf-Astoria, Hilton New York
London: The Goring, St. Ermins, Renaissance Chancery Court
Hamburg: Hotel Atlantic Kempinski, Grand Elysee Hamburg
Guests who enjoy spending time in New York City before or after their Crossing can find one- and three-day itineraries for first-time guests, families with kids, foodies, LGBT visitors and avid shoppers. Visit www.nycgo.com/itineraries.
For more than 170 years, Cunard Line’s Transatlantic Crossing has appealed to a broad range of sophisticated travellers with a love of glamour, elegance and tradition. Each Crossing features a series of Royal Nights themed balls held in the Queens Room, which features the largest dance floor at sea, and each evening, the Royal Court Theatre presents West End-style musical revues and guest performers.
As a testament to the glamour that awaits on board Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s flagship was most recently named the world’s “Top Large Resort Ship” in the new 2012 Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising, as well as “Best Luxury Cruise Ship” by Travel Weekly readers for the eighth consecutive year in the magazine’s ninth annual Readers’ Choice Awards.
About Cunard Line
Cunard Line, operator of the luxury ocean liners Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, has long been synonymous with the quest for new discoveries and the epitome of British refinement since the company's first paddle-wheeled steamer, Britannia, crossed the Atlantic in 1840. Cunard voyages bring together like-minded travellers who seek a civilised adventure and relish the Cunard hallmarks of impeccable White Star Service, gourmet dining and world-class entertainment. Today, Cunard offers the only regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic liner service and continues the legacy of world cruising which it began in 1922.
World’s Leading Cruise Lines
Cunard is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines. Our exclusive alliance also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, World’s Leading Cruise Lines inspires people to discover their best vacation experience. Together, we offer a variety of exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.
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