Concorde & Queen Elizabeth 2: The Ultimate Journey, August 1987
The Cunard Line has, with great wisdom, marketed the illustrious Queen Elizabeth 2, the last of the celebrated trans-Atlantic superliners, not as a class-divided, traditionalist ship, but as a very contemporary, well-entertained floating hotel that moves between continents. More succinctly, she is a vacation within herself. It’s not just transport, a 5-day hop (at 28 ½ knots or more when needed) between Point A and Point B. Instead, for many of her passengers the crossing is part of a travel plan. Cunard offers enticing packages: QE2 and London, QE2 and the English countryside, QE2 and the Grand European Tour, QE2 and the Orient Express. But the ultimate coupling, at least for more ordinary travelers such as myself, is the combination of QE2 and Concorde. What an incredible pair!
The time was perfect. The QE2 had just finished (the previous spring) her most extensive and expensive refit and general overhaul, an enormous process that cost over $160 million (108 million pounds) (or twice her entire construction cost some twenty years before). Concorde was about to celebrate its tenth anniversary and was, to the pleasure of British Airways’ directors, deemed a considerable success after all. In the past decade, British Airways has flown 1.1 million passengers on its Concorde fleet and had just posted a $32 million (22 million pound) profit on that division of its passenger operations.
The Queen had undergone major surgery at Bremerhaven in West Germany (sadly, no British shipyard was able to bid seriously for this prized task) and was, most notably, converted from her original steam turbine propulsion to a more efficient diesel-electric. It was all akin to a full heart transplant and took a full six months with barely a minute wasted. As a result, it is now expected that the ship will be able to sail well into the next century. Additionally, there were some internal changes (such as the complete rebuilding of the Main Lounge and the creation of still more penthouse suites), some redecorating, general house cleaning and maintenance, and the changeover from an all-British staff to far more of a multi-national crew (she does retain British registry and British officers, however).
The QE2 reappeared, however, with some initial and quite glaring problems. There were mechanical troubles, reports of poor service and then even some cases of flooded cabins. The press, particularly in the US and Britain, seemed to be merciless at times. There were certainly some of the worst headlines that the Queen had ever received. Consequently, she has been under some very critical eyes ever since, but reports grew increasingly favorable. For me, she is still the great QE2 – the experience, the thrill, the enormous floating city, surely with some of the best entertainment anywhere (from evocative lecturers to big screen films, from dance classes to computer instruction).
But, back to Concorde.
There’s a special Concorde lounge at New York’s Kennedy Airport, so any wait is not really a wait at all. There’s an open bar, buckets of champagne, coffee and fine pastries, canapés, fresh shrimp and a bowl of caviar. We were to board Alpha-Alpha, the first and therefore “queen mother,” if you will, of the Concorde fleet. It was commissioned in 1976, has a capacity for 100 passengers and has broken the sound barrier 3,300 times. Average one-way Atlantic fares are $3,000 (£2,027).
Once aboard, you are comfortably seated (all those rumors about it being cramped are just that – rumors) and, quite promptly, a six-course gourmet luncheon begins (later, by that second cup of coffee with dessert, the announcement that the aircraft is rapidly approaching London Heathrow comes as something of a surprise).
At Kennedy, we departed on time – within 3 minutes of schedule – and were then airborne in an astounding 63 seconds, at 288 mph. Quickly, we were off Nantucket Island and had accelerated to the speed of sound, a mere jolt as we clocked 1,400 mph. The salmon canapés were just being served.
Luncheon itself was served on white linen with sparkling Wedgewood china, glistening crystal, polished silver and the whole setting topped by a red carnation. By the main course (of succulent fillet of beef), the four lighted digital clocks along the forward bulkhead read:
Machination: 2.0 (or twice the speed of sound)
Feet: 57,000 (or about 10 miles high)
Temperature: -60 degrees C (with an alternating message that read 2,870 miles to go)
Miles per hour: 1,390
As we continued, at a speed equivalent to one mile every 2.75 seconds, we were invited to the cockpit for a look at the mind-boggling control system. We finally reached Heathrow after 3 hours, 17 minutes – 6 minutes early!
After an all-too-short visit on British soil, I reversed direction for home, sailing westbound on the Queen. I was housed in one of those ultra deluxe cabins on Two Deck that is, in fact, more like a shoreside apartment. It was an extremely spacious accommodation: two single beds, a sitting area, long desk, three windows, television and VCR system, refrigerator, walk-in wardrobe, dressing room and large bathroom with full facilities. The total space was nearly 500 sq ft. This cabin grade also affords another exclusive privilege: dining in the luxurious Queen’s Grill, often said to be the best sea-going restaurant.
The five days at sea on board the QE2 are barely noticeable – there’s so much to do. Often, there doesn’t seem to be time for that nap or that good book in a deckchair. We were quite full, nearly 1,700 passengers, yet I rarely felt the effect. There’s very little crowding, or so it seems. Otherwise, the service was crisp, precise, always attentive, the maintenance very good, and the overall improvements in the ship quite praiseworthy. In fact, the Queen could easily be rated as better than ever. The criticisms might include periodically noticeable vibrations in the stern section, an inconsistency in such areas as the air-conditioning system and less than efficient breakfast and luncheon buffets.
Assuredly, however, one of the liner’s greatest new assets had very little to do with the Bremerhaven refit. Her recently assigned master, Captain Allan Bennell, is one of the most personable, cheeriest, in fact downright nicest commanders ever. The praises for him seemed to be unanimous – and from his crew as well. Consequently, there seemed to be a new mood, a fresh spirit aboard the Queen.
We had experienced some nasty weather just outside the Channel, rather like those storm sequences in Brideshead Revisited. Consequently, we were off schedule by about 8 hours. The Queen was due in Boston the following day (under a strict contractural stipulation for a charter as a floating hotel for a business convention), so to the great credit of Cunard’s management she was “turned around” in a rather amazing 2½ hours. Nearly 1,700 passengers and some 3,500 pieces of baggage were off-loaded at a remarkable pace. It was all very encouraging — and very considerate.
Sumptuous airborne lunches at twice the speed of sound, a stroll along the promenade of the last Atlantic super-ship, that extraordinary movement from continent to continent – Concorde/QE2 is the ultimate journey.
