I certainly love both of them. They are unique ships build for a purpose: sailing the North Atlantic. While most cruise ships today are just copy and paste only build for sunny weather.
For a modern passenger ship the QM2 has an elegance in her design that other modern passenger ships just don’t have, there is a clear ocean liner heritage in her look where newer passenger ship often look like some kid built it from lego and the look is less than aesthetically pleasing. As an Ocean liner she takes the best of 180 years of Atlantic luxury travel and moves it forward with grace. Its possible to love more than one ship, but there is only one Queen Mary 2.
I was privileged to sail on both of them, on transatlantic crossings and on other cruises. The QE2 was my first experience on any ship, and I was enthralled with the sailing experience.
I never got to sail on the QE2, but totally understand how iconic she is. QM2 is probably my favourite ship sailing today, simply because she’s the QM2! A one off, very unique ship and I can’t wait to be back aboard her January 2022. Thanks for the video. Best wishes from the UK, David
QE2 for me. She creaked and groaned whereas QM2 is quieter but QE2 had more character. I was lucky enough to sail on her 8 times inc. the first tandem NY to S'ampton when we had to keep slowing down for QM2 to keep up.
QE2 by a long way - she had more style and grace and sailed in the hey day of cruising when every voyage there was rich and famous. She drew huge crowds in every port she sailed into. Nowadays there are too many other "luxury ships" to make QM2 stand out .
The QE2 was probably the last “ship beautiful”. Designed before ships went way up and way out. She still looks ultra modern, and truely beautiful. The QM2 is ok compared to other ships of her size today, at least she has been made big to accommodate the amount of passengers and crew needed in a modern world, without being made gaudy as most other ships are today.
Thanks for that very fair comparison... QE2...9 out of ten QM2...9 out of ten... QE2 funnel looked iconic QM2 bridge takes the visual... Prefer QE2 for looks... but QM2 has some too...cheers
To me the Normandie is the ultimate liner but between these 2 the QE2. I do agree the QM2 has the nicer cabins but I love the more individualized layout of the QE2's cabins and I think her public rooms had a more efficient layout.
"The utimate liner" which was a fire-cage death trap, no wonder she burned down so quickly. I bet it's solely because of her sleek look alone. Another snotty Normandie fanboy.
@@muai09 Actually she had the most complete and advanced fire protection system ever set up. The problem was when she was being converted into a troopship the US military didn't keep it up. They didn't have her fire protection office manned, they were in the process of changing her French firehoses to American ones but had not done it in a timely or systematic fashion, there was a fire alarm on the bridge that was tied to a nearbye land based fire house but it had been disconnected & no one had been told, and when the fire started no one had made any attempt to try to close the massive fire doors at either end of the Grand Lounge which would have contained the fire. Actually the reasons I love thee Normandie are legion. She represents the high point of luxury & ocean liner style. John Malcolm Brinnin said as much in his book on ocean liner interiors "Grand Luxe: The Transatlantic Style" No other ship reached into the outer bounds of luxury without falling into mere excess. She represents a way of style & grace that died with World War 2. I think Ludwig Bemelmans said it best: "I have always given more affection to the Normandie than to any other ship. I loved her for her gaiety, for her color, for that familiarity with all the world that was her passenger list. In her decor she leaned toward excess; there was something of the femme fatale about her. She assumed a seigneur's privilege of frowning on the lesser, fatter, slower, and more solid boats. Like all aristocrats, she had abominable moods. I think she was more female than all other ships that I have ever known. I think that's why I loved her so." So no, it was not just her sleek lines. So next time try not just offering ignorant assumptions & childish insults so you won't be proven wrong by someone who has an infinitely superior knowledge of ocean liners than you do.
@ Angel Light. I agree, the Normandie is the ultimate liner. And between QM2 and the QE2 I would also go with the QE2. The QE2 was quite something in her day, even though some of the pictures of her do look a little outdated by modern standards.
QE2 wins out for me. She seemed to have a special personality. sailed 20+ times mostly cruises, but did 5 crossings on her, QM2 we have crossed 7 times. We have enjoyed our crossings on board her. Both ships handled them selves well in the North Atlantic.
You;'re making me envious ! I sailed on the QE2 only once - the very last westbound crossing but I have been aboard many times in Dubai as I don't live too far away
I ve been on the QE2 thrice ( including the very last two crossings) and on the QM2 once. Yes, QM2 is impressive but a bit too anonymous for me unless you have a good dinner table company. And then of course, QE 2 is real history. Maybe that patina will grow on QM2 in the next 20 or so years to come. However, I fear very much that the rest of the Cunard style will go with the new "Queen Anne" ( or so, expected in 2022 or 2023), which will just be another floating apartment block "a la Cunard".
@@alexboysen9472 I much prefer the "classic" liners of the past. It seems that Carnival, Costa, Cunard and HAL seem to use the same ship design with alterations unique to the cruise line the ship is being built for.
It is hard to choose as they are very different and significant in their own right. For me personally though, it would be QM2 due to my personal connection to her as my wife and I spent our honeymoon onboard back in 2017. Wonderful video and hope to cruise onboard QM2 again soon!
QE2 externally beautiful but in her early iterations her interior was just too late 1960s. Did you know that the Beatles once toyed with doing a concert on board QE2. I like QM2 but I really like the new QE
It’s definitely QE2 for me, because her design is just beautiful her bow and everything about her is just magnificent. But queen Mary 2 I dont really like her design her superstructure isn’t my style but she is a beautiful ship I just don’t like the modern design of her
I say Qe2 .. I don't know about the Queen Mary 2 since I've never had a chance to sail on her but I plan on it in the future when this whole mess is over and I want to do a New England cruise on her.. back to the QE2 I was very lucky to sell on her when I was younger in my twenties because my mom worked for canard in Long Island City New York and got to see the qe2 many times and just even to go on the ship when it was docked here in New York for a visit it was awesome time back in the late '80s early 90s.
Having sailed on both venerable ladies many times over, I can say that each has her own charms, delights, and quirks. Both are endearing vessels, beautifully appointed and icons of ocean travel. QM2, however, is the most magnificently appointed, second only to the iconoclastic late great S.S. Normandie. All that said, there is nothing like a TransAtlantic crossing and the only way to really capture that experience today is on the Queen Mary 2. It's a life-shaping experience!
Also the QE2 said a last "Goodbye "to the bramble bank as se entered Southampton for the last time. Yes after of over 650 times around the bank , QE2went aground on the bank for a while, and as I can recall, had to be tugged off. I also found, for looks QE2 a better looking ship when close by. I hope people do not mind my own personal opinion, that QM2 from the outside close up looks like a floating hotel block of stretched posh flats lengthwise. Qm2 still has still got great looks although. Also I was at Hythe opposite Southampton th see QM2 arrive for the first time. Also, I was on a boat to follow QE2 down the Southampton Water towards and around Bramble Bank, and I was on one of the last boats to see this. This was an emotional last goodbye to the QE2.
We know that the QM2 is the only true ocean liner in service at the moment but you are right as she was built to follow the modern ugly apartment block style of modern passenger ships which is a shame that we have lost the looks of the older elegant more streamlined looks and ease of telling each one from another. Times have changed but regarding looks things have changed for the worse. However I still think the QM2 is the best looking on the modern block and still carries the title of the one and only true LINER with the best interior luxury, elegance, and service.
It is great to see people politely expressing their opinion why they like one ship more than the other without the usual “RU-vid-fight” - this also does justice to the two Queens I never had the opportunity to sail on QE2 but she definitely sounds like a great Queen with an own “personality”. On the other hand it is nice to see that QM2 is viewed so positively. Such successors often have a hard time among the admirers of the old model, but this is definitely not the case here. All in all, we have two legendary ships and that is the best thing about it 👍🏼
I like QM2, but she doesn't have that ocean liner profile that QE2 did. Like so many modern vessels, her profile view looks more like a condominium sitting in the water. And, no ship has those commanding whistles that QE2 did. Cunard should have replicated those whistles on one of the new builds.
I was stationed in Scotland in the late 60's to early 1970... I chose to stay in Greenock... I saw the QE2 brought from Clydebank to Greenock for it's final outfitting... When outfitting was finished an open house tour was held onboard... At the time I was simply amazed by the extent of detail and refinement of every aspect of the ship... This stuck with me... When I returned to the states I always dreamed of some day making an Atlantic crossing on it... But financially and having enough time away from work for a trip was always out of the question... Finally since retiring I have made 4 round trip crossings on the QM2 and have been impressed by all of them... I can't say enough about the ship and the treatment you get onboard... I probably would live onboard if I were able to afford it... Impressive are the ship's stablizers, they are amazing in most all situations at sea... We never had anything like that on Naval vessels... I just wished I had been able to make a crossing on the QE2...
QM2 is French and QE2 was British. QE2 was more of an ocean liner than the QM2 and certainly better looking. The QE2 could quite easily have been refitted, made an attempt at the Blue Riband and been the worlds premier ocean liner for another 40 years. The problem is that with British control of Cunard being sold off there was no patriotic interest in the QE2 or its replacement. So the Britishness and uniqueness of the QE2 and its replacement was allowed to die. The fait of the QE2 mirrors that of the UK as a whole sadly.
I have not sailed aboard the QM2. But sailed 2 times on the QE2. To me you can't compare crossing the Atlantic in 5 days On QE2, to the 7 days it takes QM2. I Know this is to save fuel.
QM2 is my favorite I'd def book a ticket on it I'd love to cruise on it and do an ocean liner voyage on it I like the QE 2 aswell but it's retired soo there's an excuse for not sailing on it🤣🤣🤣( no offense I don't meen it )
I never got to sail on QE2.....I was freshly out of grad school when she was retired and just didn't have that kind of money or time. I have sailed on QM2 and I inquired about QE2 from the veteran staff and passengers. All say she was a much smaller ship and one could feel the ocean more....but were sad to see her retired vs having Cunard invest money in her to bring her up to code.
first a confession - I have never travelled on either ship! While I look forward to travelling on QM2 at some stage, the lines and shape of QE2 are just those of a liner... I know this is unfair to QM2 as the demand for balcony cabins makes lines like QE2's impractical. so as they say horses for courses - and they both win their course.
I sailed on the QE2 across the Atlantic in 1976. It was an impressive ship. It seems more seaworthy than cruise ships of today, as they are so tall, but I am not a marine engineer.
Stuff Call ! It’s kind of like asking a parent to pick a favorite child !! BOTH ships are fantastic in their own right. Standard bearers of their times !! But since this is the game topic, I would give the nod to QE2 for exterior styling. So sleek and elegant ! But I would give the nod to QM2 for interior design and beauty ! The Wonderful Britannia Dining Salon has no equal on the QE2 . It’s simply breathtaking , like the Dining Salons on Normandie, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth ( 1940) The Queens Room on QM2 is in my eye much nicer than the QE2‘S Queen Room. And QM2’s cabins are more elegant and modern. The QE2 interior styling looks more dated and hotel looking!?!
I've sailed on the QM2 twice, but never on the QE2. I hope Cunard gives the QM2 a major overhaul to conduct much-needed repairs, especially in the gym and the mid-ship Pavilion swimming pool. Plus the rust stains in the balconies of the hole in the hull cabins. This was the cabin we sailed on in 2016 on one of its Caribbean cruises from New York. In 2006 our balcony cabin was located on deck 8 which had its view obstructed by a lifeboat. I wish the lifeboats were designed to be located on a deck where no balcony cabins had obstructed views. The design of the QE2 harkens back to the ocean liners in their heyday. Although the QM2 is the only ocean liner in service, its height and plethora of balcony cabins give it a hybrid feel between the QE2 and large cruise ships. I loved sailing on the QM2 because of its spacious, hotel-like feel and the fact that it had unique attributes such as the Illuminations Auditorium and the really large Queens Room. When we sailed the QM2 in 2006, it made its first trip around the horn to LA. We were fortunate to enjoy its maiden voyage from LA to Hawaii on a 10-day round-trip cruise. We happen to live in LA. Our departure was magnificent. There were thousands of onlookers along the dock to check out this iconic ocean liner. We were all given streamers to throw overboard as we departed the LA harbor. Fire Boats accompanied the ship spraying arcs of water as a sign of recognition. While in LA it visited the Queen Mary docked in Long Beach, where that iconic aerial photograph was taken of the meeting of the two namesake Queens. It was on this voyage that originated from Southampton that one of its engines got damaged in Florida. Hence, the QM2 completed its remaining itinerary using only three engines. Yet it was able to maintain sufficient speed to complete its LA Hawaii roundtrip voyage in the allotted 10 days, as well as the rest of its stops on time. Many ceremonies were held in LA as well as in Honolulu, Hawaii to welcome the QM2 on its maiden visit to these ports. Oh dear, I realized that I have written so much about the QM2 when this post is about comparing the QM2 with the QE2, I had friends who had sailed on the QE2 before Cunard was purchased by the Carnival Corporation and they spoke very highly about it. As you stated. both Queens had unique attributes and are excellent examples of their ocean liner genres.
Having cruised on both many times I would have to say now it would be the QM2. The QE2 was fantastic in her day but times move on. The accommodation on the QM2 is superior in the she is much newer as is the lido area. The entertainment has the benefit of being better as she has a proper stage area. In it’s day it would have to the QE2 but now the QM2. Sad to say it though.
These magnificent ocean liners both have their time and place, and you really can't pick a winner. In my youth I always thought that the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth could never be topped. When the QE2 made her debut, I was rather surprised at first since she was such a departure from the original Queens, but came to appreciate her as well. Now the amazing QM2, designed for the 21st century, checks all the right boxes and proudly carries on the history, honor and tradition of Cunard and occupies a unique place in a changed industry.
QE2 was the last classic ocean liner which has that no balconies and yacht like superstructure. QM2 however is the first modern-era ocean liner which includes balconies and tall (very tall) superstructure and lots of windows and modern day luxurious interior, the furnitures and interior are nice. I never tried to travel on a ocean liner before but I would like to someday.
I've never sailed on either of them so I can't quite say from a personal perspective. Historically, I'd say QE2 is the winner. She single-handedly saved the breed of transatlantic liners, and were it not for her, we might not have QM2. Personally though, I'd say QM2 wins. She was launched only a few months after I was born, and she single-handedly continues what QE2 started. So when it comes to picking who's #1 overall, I can't say. I'm just looking forward to visiting them both someday. :D
I remember summer 2006 when I went on QM2, crowds of people would long the streets and piers to see her off and welcome her, helicopters everywhere. It was like we were famous lol, I’ll never forget those amazing moments In this digital age I think QM2 is already much more famous than QE2
I prefer QM2. Her cabins are more to standard with the modern world, where as QE2's seem bland but i'm sure where to people's needs in the 60s, 70's, and 80's. QM2 offers more luxuries, entertainment, and is more spacious, and her overall size makes here seem more solid, and steady. Each to their own, but the QM2 soars ahead for me. But both of the liners are great ships.
True 21st century ocean liner. Irrespective of all balconies, she's still beautiful ship. I hope i can sail aboard her. She's 100% on my bucket list. Damn it, in 4 yrs I'll be 60!
Never board either one of them, but I visited the Queen Mary at Long Beach. For me, the original Queen Mary is the ultimate ocean line ever existed. Nobody forgets the neck to neck race with Normandie for the Blue Ribband. During the beginning of WWII, the QE, the QE2 and the Normandie made a last reunion at NYC before the Normandie was accidentally burned to the ground. She served WWII in U-Boat and Luftwaffe infested Atlantic Ocean making the QE2 Falkland stint a walk in the park. QM survived a massive freak wave, a few more degree of list she could have been a goner! QM had carried most iconic Hollywood stars in history and appeared on many films. QE2 is very iconic in 80's yuppie culture and QM2 needs more time to prove herself, to me she is just size and technology.
With all, genuine, due respect to you Chris, any real comparison between the two ships is entirely spurious...and I think you probably know that. Whilst both built as liners, QM2 was also designed as a cruise ship, QE2 was not. They were built for different times at different times and for a wholly different demographic and use. It's not quite chalk and cheese but its pretty close.
Had our 50th anniversary on the QM2. Fourteen nights in the Queens Grill. Splurged yes, but it was worth it for my Queen. Only little complaint, was getting from one part of the ship to the next. But at our age it may have been age induced. Would love to do an Atlantic crossing but we're not fond of NYC. We are now thinking of an Alaska cruise on the Victoria.
I adore QM2's poseidon elements, and she is more cozy, and feels more luxorious, QE2 just looks tacky and plasticky, with hideous cielings, and ugly exteriors, compared to Aquitania, QM, QE, and QM2
Queen Elizabeth 2 is scrapped and l saw in google the Queen Elizabeth 2 is a older ship . That means l will ride on the ship that is Queen Mary 2 because it is looking more beautiful than Queen Elizabeth 2 . I know Queen Mary 2 is biggest ship in cunard line.
Would love to sail aboard but cannot afford. Spent money on essential dental work. NHS do not cover! Sadly had to have dental treatment costing £4,150. Not sure that's even a return sail in balcony cabin/suite aboard this magnificent ship. Also being muslim my diet needs.
I can't comment on the QE2 as I have no experience of her. The QM2 is most impressive, 3 years ago we crossed the Atlantic in October as part of our 40 years wedding celebration. Some rough weather at times but the ship handled it wonderfully , I wouldn't have liked to have been on one of those typical cruise ships.
Great presentation and debate. Although close, I will give my vote to the current QM2. Her sheer size and prescence is exciting and gives me a feeling I can go anywhere safely anytime in luxury.
QE2, smaller, easier to get around, 5 day crossing, could dock in strong winds, cabins were smaller but felt more intimate, less passangers, and didn't have that cruise feel like QM2 but more importantly the ship had a personality and you didn't mind spending time on her, with QM2 after 7 days at sea you are ready to get off, with QE2 it wasn't like that!
QE2 every time. A true liner. QM2 is a horribly ugly monstrosity that should never have been allowed to set sail. Same goes for Victoria. Nothing more than glorified channel ferries! Certainly wouldn't want to be on one in an Atlantic winter storm.
QM2 wins for me just because she is my generations ocean liner. She came into her own at the same time I did. I’ve never sailed on her or even seen her for that matter but I am a big fan. Would have loved to see QE2 as well though.
This comment is directed to RU-vid. An ad is blocking the entire width of the lower part of the screen. It redacts part of the picture and interferes with enjoyment of the video. Unfair to RU-vidrs who invest their time to post good videos.
