Europe, The Americas

Following a £90 million refurbishment, the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner is back on the water and ready to sail across the Atlantic.

Britannia Restaurant.

Britannia Restaurant. Image by © cunard3queens.com

On 23 June, the liner sailed from a shipyard in Germany to Southampton Water in the UK, flanked by the ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, and will soon sail to New York.

The world's only transatlantic liner, Cunard's Queen Mary 2, sails into Southampton Water following a £90million remastering. The vessel will set sail later today for New York, her first voyage following the most significant refurbishment undertaken by the world's most famous passenger shipping line.

The world’s only transatlantic liner, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, sails into Southampton Water following a £90million remastering. The vessel will set sail later today for New York, her first voyage following the most significant refurbishment undertaken by the world’s most famous passenger shipping line. Image by Christopher Ison/ © cunard3queens.com

The luxury liner is owned by Cunard, which launched the Queen Mary in 1934 and the Queen Mary 2 in 2003. Cunard offers the only regularly scheduled transatlantic liner service and the Queen Mary 2 sailed its 200th voyage across the Atlantic in July 2013.

QM2 Verandah Restaurant.

QM2 Verandah Restaurant. Image by © cunard3queens.com

The luxury liner has been “remastered” with new interior designs which take inspiration from the original Queen Mary, which “launched at the height of the art-deco movement in the 1930s”.

QM2 Atrium.

QM2 Atrium. Image by © cunard3queens.com

Cunard notes that more than one million man hours went into the refurbishment over 25 days, with more than 55,000 square metres of new carpets, 4000 new framed pictures and 15,000 litres of paint applied to the ship’s hull.

Carinthia Lounge.

Carinthia Lounge. Image by © cunard3queens.com

The liner will also offer new dining experiences, where guest can “sample the delights of the world’s finest wine cellar at sea, with a unique collection of 486 fine wines and a stunning collection of Ports, dating back to 1840”.

QM2 Princess Grill Suite.

QM2 Princess Grill Suite. Image by © cunard3queens.com

Some of the other changes to the iconic ship include the addition of 30 more Britannia Club staterooms, 15 Britannia single staterooms and more. The company also added 10 additional kennels “complete with a lamp post from Liverpool and a fire hydrant from New York to make dogs feel at home in the world’s only transatlantic kennel service”.