queen elizabeth 2

Cunard Wins Readers' Choice Award for Best Caribbean Cruise Line

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Arguably the grandest, most magnificent ocean liner ever built, Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 is the winner of the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice Award for Best Caribbean Cruise. Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of Cunard, whose history dates back to 1839 when Her Majesty Queen Victoria awarded Sir Samuel Cunard of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the first ever license to deliver mail across the Atlantic Ocean.

While she is described as "timeless elegance", Queen Mary 2, which debuted in 2004, offers the latest luxury amenities, from the pampering services of the first Canyon Ranch SpaClub® at sea to a pool with a retractable roof, allowing it to be enjoyed in inclement weather. Queen Mary 2 also offers an award-winning intellectual and entertainment enrichment program led by prestigious experts in a variety of fields, including literature, the arts, politics, the sciences, culture, maritime history and academia.

The ship, which cost an estimated $800 million to build, is 1,132 feet long--113 feet longer than her predecessor Queen Mary, with space for 2,592 guests in lower berths and 3,056 total guest capacity, when including third and fourth berths. Her crew numbers 1,253.

Tags: awards-main, canyon ranch, canyon ranch spa, CanyonRanch, CanyonRanchSpa, Caribbean cruises, caribbean vacation, CaribbeanCruises, CaribbeanTravel, CaribbeanVacation, cunard, luxist-awards, queen elizabeth 2, Queen Mary 2, QueenElizabeth2, QueenMary2, transatlantic, winners-winter-travel, wintertravel-awards, wintertravel-main

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Cunard: Timeless Elegance on the Caribbean Sea

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Arguably the grandest, most magnificent ocean liner ever built, Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Caribbean Cruise. Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of Cunard, whose history dates back to 1839 when Her Majesty Queen Victoria awarded Sir Samuel Cunard of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the first ever license to deliver mail across the Atlantic Ocean.

While she is described as "timeless elegance", Queen Mary 2, which debuted in 2004, offers the latest luxury amenities, from the pampering services of the first Canyon Ranch SpaClub® at sea to a pool with a retractable roof, allowing it to be enjoyed in inclement weather. Queen Mary 2 also offers an award-winning intellectual and entertainment enrichment program led by prestigious experts in a variety of fields, including literature, the arts, politics, the sciences, culture, maritime history and academia.

The ship, which cost an estimated $800 million to build, is 1,132 feet long--113 feet longer than her predecessor Queen Mary, with space for 2,592 guests in lower berths and 3,056 total guest capacity, when including third and fourth berths. Her crew numbers 1,253.

Queen Mary 2 has more than 10 different restaurant and other dining venues, including the first eponymously named restaurant at sea by celebrity chef, Todd English. She also boasts the only planetarium at sea (also serving as a movie theater and lecture hall) and a casino with 12 gaming tables and 115 slot machines. There are a total of six swimming pools on the ship, including one designed especially for children. There's an authentic English pub, complete with darts, ale and traditional pub fare including cottage pie and fish and chips. Guests can dance the night away in the elegant Queens Room, the largest ballroom at sea. The Royal Court Theatre, which can accommodate 977 guests, features lavish theatrical productions and guest entertainers. Sports enthusiasts can enjoy two golf simulators, paddle tennis, basketball and shuffleboard. The Zone/The Play Zone children's programs provide age group-specific activities and entertainment and even certified British nannies for the youngest guests.

During November, December and January, Queen Mary 2 offers 10-, 11- and 15-day voyages to the Caribbean, all round-trip from New York. The 15-day Festive Caribbean itinerary includes stops in Grand Turk, Tortola, St. Maarten, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Thomas; the 11-day Caribbean Delights itinerary stops in St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Grand Turk; and the 10-day Caribbean Calypso voyage calls into St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados and Grand Turk. There's also an option to extend the Caribbean Delights voyage to 17 days by adding a six-day Transatlantic Voyage from Southampton, Great Britain. Click here for more information about dates and rates.

Accommodation onboard Queen Mary 2 is lush, stylish and contemporary. Nearly three-fourths of the staterooms have private balconies. Suites, called the Grills, range in size from 506 square feet to enormous Grand Duplex apartments of up to 2,249 square feet. For her Caribbean voyages, per person rates start at $1,695 for inside rooms, while suites start at $3,955 per person. All rates are based on double occupancy and do not include government taxes and fees, air or ground transfers. Cunard's Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, which debuts in Fall 2010, also offer voyages to the Caribbean. Click here for information about fares and itineraries.

For more information about Cunard Line, consult your Travel Professional, call toll-free 1-800-7-CUNARD or go online to www.cunard.com.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed for each of the Winter Travel categories. Readers' Choice Awards for the Best in Winter Travel will be announced on January 31st.

Gallery: More from Cunard

Tags: awards-main, caribbean, caribbean cruises, CaribbeanCruises, caribbeantravel, cunard, cunard cruise line, CunardCruiseLine, luxist-awards, queen elizabeth 2, queen mary 2, queen victoria, QueenElizabeth2, QueenMary2, QueenVictoria, winter-travel-awards, winter-travel-main

Queen Elizabeth Plans Frugal Holiday Season

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

No Christmas gifts for the Queen of England? CBS News says that in an effort to show solidarity with the recession-stricken people of her land, Queen Elizabeth II has let it known that she and her husband Prince Philip do not require gifts this year. The Queen has had some financial struggles of her own this year, forced to cut costs and ask for additional money from the British government for the upkeep of the royal castles. According to Forbes, the monarch has a fortune of $450 million which sounds like a lot but that number is down $200 million from recent years.

The royal family generally spends Christmas at Sandringham Estate, the Queen's country manor in Norfolk, England, a few days before Christmas. The Royals generally don't splash out on fancy gifts anyway but the Queen is taking extra precautions requesting that any potential gifts be donated to local charities and hospitals instead. The Queen has also been reusing more of her wardrobe and has instructed family members to cut back.

Source

Tags: christmas, holidays, queen elizabeth, queen elizabeth 2, queen elizabeth ii, QueenElizabeth, QueenElizabeth2, QueenElizabethIi

Will Nakheel Sell The QE2?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

A few months back we saw that plans to turn the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship into a floating hotel in Dubai had been delayed. The owner, developer Nakheel had planned to moor it at the Palm Jumeirah development but now word has come that the ship may be on the move. The AP has an email from Nakheel saying that other ports have expressed interest in hosting the ship. Nakheel had purchased the ship for a reported $100 million and had plans to recreate the original decor and fittings of the ship from when she was launched in 1967 only with a modern day spin that included adding a 500-seat theater and building a massive spa complex. Those plans are are on hold as Nahkeel, which has developments across Dubai, is considering all offers and has applied to anchor the ship in Cape Town, South Africa.

The email said that the company is working "to ensure opportunities to experience QE2 in her current condition are maximized whilst ensuring her important heritage is at all times protected." This seems like more continued spin from Nakheel which has been hard hit by Dubai's real estate slump and tourism decline. The company has shelved a variety of projects including Donald Trump's planned hotel and has received some of the $10 billion in government bailout funds. There are also reports of widespread layoffs. The company has said before it has no plans to sell the ship. There is widespread speculation as to whether the company will be able to pay off $3.5 billion worth of debt coming due this year so it seems that they might be willing to sell the QE2 if they can find a buyer.

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Tags: cruise ship, CruiseShip, dubai, nakheel, qe2, queen elizabeth 2, queen elizabeth ii, QueenElizabeth2, QueenElizabethIi, yacht