On Wednesday I had the opportunity to spend the day on board Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 Remastered.

The ship docked at New York’s Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, preparing to depart that evening for Southampton, England. The remastered ship returned to the sea after a 25-day refit, sailing from Southampton to Boston, before arriving this week in New York.

From May 27 to June 21, more than 5,000 people worked on a 24-hour schedule to complete the refit — in total, more than 1 million man hours. Among the many changes, each of the 172 Queens Grill and Princess Grill suites were reconfigured and restyled, including specially commissioned carpets inspired by the rugs on the original Queen Mary. The bedroom of the Queens Grill Duplex Suite rivals any luxury hotel room.

Thirty additional Britannia Club balcony staterooms were added, and all the Britannia staterooms either have been or will be refurbished by the end of 2016. An entirely new class of Britannia accommodations were added: 15 single staterooms. As for dining, both the Queens Grill and Princess Grill restaurants were refreshed.

The King’s Court was reconfigured into a more open layout that now blends seamlessly with the new Carinthia Lounge, formerly the Winter Garden. The Carinthia Lounge serves light breakfast and lunch dishes and is an excellent place to spend the day relaxing.
An entirely new dining concept, The Verandah, replaces the Todd English restaurant. Already popular on the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, The Vernandah serves French seasonal dining and is available for lunch and dinner reservations at a surcharge. An additional 10 kennels were added, allowing dogs and cats to comfortably cross the Atlantic with their owners. The owners’ lounge area, an inside play area and the outside walking area were all enhanced.

A lamppost and fire hydrant sourced from Liverpool and New York were added to help create an at-home feeling for the dogs on the ship. After a tour of Queen Mary 2 Remastered, I enjoyed lunch in Britannia, tasting a selection of dishes by Executive Chefs (and twins) Nicholas and Mark Oldroyd. I started with a crayfish salad, followed by wild sea bass with new potatoes, spiced cauliflower and herbs, capped with a pistachio and vanilla soufflé. Of course, there’s so much more to savor on the ship.

I enjoyed my brief visit on the icon and can only hope to someday fully experience the splendor on a trans-Atlantic crossing.

— Kimberly Krol, editor in chief