SOUTHAMPTON, England — When the Queen Elizabeth, Cunard Line’s new 90,400-ton ship, was named here last week by Britain’s monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, it marked not only the introduction of a grand ocean vessel but a new brand positioning for Cunard.
The Queen Elizabeth is the second-largest vessel Cunard has built since the Queen Mary 2 was launched in 2003.
A slightly larger sister to the 2007-built Queen Victoria, the Queen Elizabeth has a decidedly different feel than that ship, with an interior design inspired by the art deco style of Cunard’s first two Queens, the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary ocean liners of 1930s-vintage.
This design is part of Cunard’s strategy to position its brand not as a luxury cruise line but as the fabled Cunard Line of years past, building on its 170-year history and its legacy of sailing great ocean liners.
"This is a turning point for Cunard Line," its president, Peter Shanks, said last week of the new ship launch. "This is the new age of ocean liner travel. … We have a mix of an incredible history with a powerful brand ."
While Cunard has long positioned itself as a luxury line, Shanks shied away from pigeonholing the brand in any niche.
" 'Luxury' is an overused word," he said. "I’d rather define our experience by better explaining exactly what it is. We don’t want to put ourselves in a box; we would rather explain the details. … We are unique."
Several travel agents onboard said they appreciated the new positioning because Cunard never fit exactly in the luxury category.
"I think they are doing the right thing by focusing a little less on luxury and more on their heritage, product consistency, etc.," said Rob Clabbers, president of Cruise Holidays of Chicago. "In the past, my concern was that Cunard positioned itself squarely within the luxury brands, but in my experience, that luxury positioning did not match the onboard experience when traveling in the regular Britannia staterooms."
Clabbers said the top-level Grills accommodations do "provide a luxury experience on top of a large ship with plenty of entertainment options," but he added that although those suites "are comfortable and reasonably spacious, [they] do not compare to the best suites in top hotels or even other ships in terms of finishings used and design."
In describing Cunard, Shanks described an experience akin to what passengers might have had on the ocean liners of the 1940s, which the newest Cunard ship hearkens back to more than any other vessel.
This Queen Elizabeth is now the only Cunard ship that does not have a Todd English signature restaurant.
Instead, this ship’s specialty restaurant is the Verandah, a space that inherits its name from a restaurant on the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary liners. It is decorated with identical art and authentic menus on display from the original Verandah restaurants. Instead of a celebrity chef, the Verandah’s French menu was created by Jean-Marie Zimmermann, a longtime Cunard chef.
This Queen Elizabeth also pays tribute to a more recent predecessor, the now-retired Queen Elizabeth II.
For example, it features a Yacht Club bar, built to look exactly like the one on the QE2.
Cunard was also able to reclaim some of the original artifacts from the QE2, such as its ship bell and a bust of Queen Elizabeth II that was in the QE2’s Queens Room.
Those are among many pieces of memorabilia on the ship. The Midship’s Bar, a re-creation of a space on the original Queen Elizabeth, has three cases of memorabilia related to the original liner, such as a 1938 invoice from the shipbuilder, a radiogram sent to the ship in 1946 and an original ship phone.
Christopher Kyte, chairman of Oakland, Calif.-based Uncommon Journeys and an ocean liner enthusiast, said that Cunard had done a very good job of giving the ship a 1930s ocean liner feel.
"It’s stunning for a modern vessel," he said, adding that while the ship reminded him of the first two queens, "it evokes rather than copies them. When you copy, you never get it right."
Kyte added: "In an age of 30 identical cruise ships, this is a distinctive ship."
Slightly larger than the Queen Victoria, the Queen Elizabeth has 38 additional cabins and capacity for about 100 more passengers, as well as space for some new-to-Cunard features, such as a Games Deck atop the vessel with an artificial-turf paddle tennis court, a croquet lawn and what is likely the only lawn bowling surface at sea.
One deck below, the soaring Garden Lounge is also new, inspired by the greenhouses in London’s Royal Botanic Kew Gardens. The space will host supper club dinners and dancing nights as well as afternoon tea and champagne hour.
Shanks has often pointed out that Cunard has both the youngest fleet at sea and the oldest name in passenger ships. It is also among the fastest-growing cruise lines, but Shanks said that three ships is a good size for the brand.
"This is today’s Cunard," he said of the Queen Elizabeth. "What you see on these three ships is Cunard today and for the future."
For more photos of the Queen Elizabeth, view our slideshow here.
This report appeared in the Oct. 18 issue of Travel Weekly.