Itchen Abbas, talk on the 'Genesis of a Queen: QM2'

The subject of our autumn talk is the Queen Mary 2 (QM2), which is now twenty years old and remains the flagship of the Cunard fleet of Queens, operating as both an ocean liner and as a cruise ship. It is a truly magnificent vessel and never ceases to impress all those who  sail in her by the degree of refinement and level of craftsmanship.  Not only does it boast fifteen restaurants & bars, four swimming pools, a casino and a gym, but it also has a theatre, a library, a golf simulator and the largest ballroom to be found on any ship in service. 

The task of building a ship of this magnitude and sophistication is awesome and requires someone with a special ability to master the marine engineering necessary to produce something with such eye-catching beauty.  That person is Dr Stephen Payne, the chief designer who led a team of British naval architects to create the QM 2, which remains the largest ocean liner ever built. 

In 1998 Stephen was a designer working for the American cruise line operator, Carnival Corporation, which had taken over the Cunard Line in the same year – it now owns more than 90 vessels across nine cruise line brands.  Included in the Cunard fleet was the ageing Queen Elizabeth 2, and after a great deal of discussion Stephen persuaded Carnival Corporation to replace it with a new ocean liner, to be named Queen Mary 2, and he was given the job of designing the new ship. 

Many ideas influenced the planning but Stephen’s overriding thoughts were driven by his notion that to get things right the first time, you need to have an appreciation for history – of what has been done before.  On three occasions, Carnival’s board halted the project as they did not consider it commercially viable. Undaunted, Stephen refined the design and instituted several innovations to justify the new line’s construction cost. The ship was built and remains in active service today.

We are extremely fortunate to have Stephen to talk to us about the work and inspiration that went into the creation of Cunard’s flagship ocean liner. 

If you are a member, then you will have received an invitation already. If you are a non-member, then please click on the book here option below for more details.