Cunard has announced the name of the new ship joining its fleet, the Queen Anne. (Queen Anne was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland between 8 March 1702 and 1 May 1707).
The Queen Anne will be Cunard’s 249th ship and will make up a quartet of Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. This will mark the first time since 1999 that Cunard will have four ships at sea.
Queen Anne will be the second largest ship to fly the Cunard flag when she launches in 2022 with capacity for 3,000 guests at 113,000 tons. (The Queen Mary 2 being the biggest at 150,000 gt.)
The first sections of the ship is under construction at Fincantieri’s Castellammare di Stabia ship yard. The shipbuilding group previously delivered Cunard’s Queen Victoria in 2007 and Queen Elizabeth in 2010.
Cunard’s new ship, will be delivered in Monfalcone, Gorizia, Italy, in 2022.
Cunard used the occasion to announce the commissioning of a unique sculpture, crafted from the first piece of metal cut for the new ship. Acclaimed sculptor Sam Shendi will complete the work, which will be displayed onboard the ship.
Shendi is an Egyptian-born British sculptor and uses contemporary industrial material, steel, stainless steel, aluminium and fibreglass to create his figurative work.
Cunard said it will open bookings for the 2022 season next year.
Tihany Appointed Creative Director For Cunard Newbuild
Cunard has appointed designer Adam Tihany, as creative director of Queen Anne. He will oversee the entire interior design process.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s most talented designers, Tihany has made his name creating beautiful spaces for luxurious and iconic hotels, restaurants and resorts across the globe.
“The name Cunard is obviously magical and I’m very excited to be involved in this project,” said Tihany. “If you look at the history of Cunard, it has always been a forward-looking brand”.
“It has a classic image but actually each ship has been innovative for its period. “We want to continue this tradition and move the brand forward with the creation of an exciting and spectacularly beautiful new cruise liner.”
Tihany promises plenty of surprises. “Guests can expect a much lighter, contemporary feel, but crucially it will still feel like a Cunard ship and Cunard’s loyal guests will feel very at home.
“The new ship will celebrate Cunard’s British heritage but with a whisper, not a shout”.
“Everything a guest expects to see on a Cunard ship will be there, but in a different way to the other three.”
The design work is well underway, in preparation for Queen Anne’s construction at the Fincantieri shipyard, Italy. Tihany and his team of designers are currently working on plans for the new ship’s dining areas and he confirms that Queens and Princess Grill restaurants will feature among the dining options.
(Cunard)
Team of Designers Announced
Cunard has announced the team of designers recruited to create the interiors for its new ship, a variation of HAL’s ‘Pinnacle’ class.
Simon Rawlings (David Collins Studio), Terry McGillicuddy (Richmond International) and Sybille de Margerie (Sybille de Margerie Paris) are already working with the ship’s creative director, Adam Tihany.
“The calibre of talent we have brought together for this project will bring to life our vision of creating a truly world class ship”.
“Working alongside the legendary Adam Tihany, the team is working hard to ensure that every aspect of our new ship is exciting and forward-looking, yet unmistakably Cunard,” said Simon Palethorpe, president, Cunard.
Tihany added: “We have assembled a dynamic, passionate team of talented creatives whose unique design sensibilities and innate understanding of the Cunard brand will move the dial forward while recapturing the beloved spirit of Cunard travel in this next generation cruise liner.”
(Breaking Cruise News)
A closer Look At Cunard’s Newbuild
.In 2022, a new ship will join Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth as the fourth member of the fleet, the first new Cunard ship in 12 years and the first time since 1998 that we’ll have four ships in simultaneous service.
Queen Anne will be the biggest Cunarder yet, in terms of passenger capacity (not volume/gross tonnage). She’s the first new Cunard ship to enter service in 7 years, making it the first time since 1998 that Cunard will have four ships in simultaneous service.
The new ship will be 113,000-gross-tonne and will carry 3,000 passengers. It will be built by the Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri.
However I hear that the design will be based on Holland America Lines’s ‘Koningsdam’. This ‘Pinnacle’ class design is a slightly bigger version of the ‘Vista’ class, like Cunard’s QV and QE are. Using existing ship designs is a cheap way for Carnival to add tonnage to their brands.
QV and QE are around 91,000 gross tonnes and carry up to 2,547 passengers. The new ship will carry 453 more passengers. (The Queen Mary 2 is around 150,000 gt but only carries up to 2,620 passengers. That’s spacious!)
From the rendering, Queen Anne appears to be no beauty Queen, with a very top-heavy superstructure, when compare to QV and QE.
The ‘Koningsdam’ design does have a walk-around promenade deck, but it is not the traditional design, which has always been a popular Cunard feature. The lifeboats sit on the promenade deck with just a narrow walkway behind them, obscuring much of the promenade view. I hear ‘HAL’ regulars were not impressed with this aspect of the design. Will the new Cunarder have the same design flaw?
Perhaps most surprising is that Queen Anne appears to have modern interiors, rather than retro-Ocean liner style ones. However the QM2 was the first to have retro interiors, followed by Queen Victoria. All previous Queens had contemporary interiors, at the time.
Technically the new vessel will be another “cruise ship” rather than a real “ocean liner” like the Queen Mary 2.
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