Customer Reviews

QM2 - The Queen Mary 2; Special Commemorative Maiden Voyage Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This filmed in high def video is a worthy tribute to a wonderful ship and the only ocean liner plying the seas today, the Queen Mary 2.

The DVD covers the ship from its inception through its construction to its launch and maiden voyage. It also ties the QM2 into its predecessors, the ocean liners of the past that once ruled the waves and were in fact the only way to cross.

The photography on the ship is stunning and colorful as it traces the January 12, 2004 maiden voyage from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale.

We were lucky enough to be on the QM2 for the maiden voyage and bought this video to be a family keepsake and reminder of our fantastic voyage.

Every time I watch it I get goose bumps and tear up at parts realizing what a wonderful experience it was.

If you love to cruise or love ships you will love this DVD.

Thanks Ed!!!

Ewald Wiberg
author of The Perfect Vacation: One Couple's Adventures at Sea With and Without the Kids

The "Voyage" part is about the 12 January 2004 voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, and not to be confused with the maiden crossing on 16 April 2004. This DVD views more like a 36 minute travel promotion piece with a couple of interviews from the director's friends. It doesn't view like a documentary, and that is the only disappointment. I was hoping for more chronological details of the journey as in interviews from fellow passengers, ship events, malfunctions, any storms or rough seas, workers who wanted to quit, etc. That would have been more interesting. This is very vanilla and why I gave it four stars.

However, the introduction includes the history of Cunard showing wonderful footage of the previous Queens Mary of '36, Elizabeth of '38, and Elizabeth 2 of '67. No exaggeration, I was tearful. I wanted to see a little more of this. The Commodore Warwick interview and retirement segments of this DVD are insightful both lasting longer each than the "Maiden Voyage" part. But again, this is for the liner fan only as the mildly interested person could find it dull.

The quality of the footage is excellent as it was filmed in HD. The sound, however, is another issue. Turn your volume adjuster down because it has a tendency to distort at normal volume. Overall, it makes a great addition to my ocean liner "porn" collection.

My wife and I had the good fortune to cross from New York to Southampton in July of 2006, and thought that this DVD might bring back some happy memories. Instead, we got stuck with a product so awful that we can't even in good conscience donate it to Goodwill. The whole thing comes across as though it were done by a high school student with a cam-corder. As I am a seventh-grade teacher, I might conceivably use this as punishment by showing it at after-school detention and making the students answer questions while they watch it. It's really that bad. To give you an idea of the sloppiness, a still close-up of a cottage at Madeira is labeled "Madiera". Apparently a proofreader was not in Genessee Productions' budget. And what a cottage at Madeira has to do with the Queen Mary 2, only the director of this DVD knows.

My issues beyond the above are many. First, the musical theme is the Barry Manilow version of "Sentimental Journey". Sounds like the entire band is on thorazine, and has the effect of transforming a vital, modern, supership into a thing of memory. It's bad enough that the mood is set with this wretched musical offering, but it repeats ad infinitum throughout the show. Further, it would appear that most of the passengers on the initial voyage were elderly, overweight, and caucasian, which has the effect of making the ship appear to be a very affluent home for the aged.

There are three main characters in this DVD. One is a "335-day plus" Cunard traveler (who is also the director, heaven help us), and the other two are his friends, a newly married couple, who have never traveled on a ship. None of them has anything remotely interesting or intelligent to say about the QM2 - the wife says it's big and has different levels; the husband says he likes not having to worry about parking the car; and the director (who of all people should know better) refers to the QM2 as a "boat" and compares her to a five-star hotel. Oh, the director is also very preoccupied with "elegance", and talks delightedly about getting to "dress up and be Fred Astaire". This is apparently a reference to the transAtlantic tradition of formal dress for dinner.

The actual film footage of the ship's exterior and interior conveys almost nothing of its majesty, which is great, or the attention to detail of its design team, which was absolute. The film crew does most of its shooting from three vantage points, and the filming technique creates the impression that the ship is standing still, even as it is crossing the Atlantic. In fact, the only footage in the whole documentary that conveys the power and motion of a transAtlantic liner is the stock footage provided by Cunard which shows the original Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, and the Queen Elizabeth 2.

There is a little talk by the three silly people about the QM2 carrying on Cunard's British heritage. This is just ignorant, as Cunard, the parent company, was purchased long ago by Arab interests and later sold to the Carnival consortium, which is American. Further, the QM2 was built in France, unlike all past Cunarders, which were built within the U.K. (Note - Cunard's latest ship, the Queen Elizabeth, was built by the Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri, as was the Queen Victoria.) And, if you sail on the QM2, you can speak to staff members all day long without encountering anyone British. My most memorable encounter was with a German woman at the purser's office. The problem created by the German was later solved by another young lady who was Italian. Our dining room waiters and room steward were Filipino, and the only U.K. staff member I recall was a young Scotsman in one of the stores.

The QM2 is a magnificent ship (Not a "boat".), and crossing the Atlantic on her is memorable. If you have any interest in doing so, then avoid this DVD at all costs. And if you do watch it after reading this, don't say you haven't been warned.

As a person who has never been on a trans Atlantic voyage, it was extremely fun and interesting to view this DVD.
It made me feel as if I had accompanied the passengers and crew on a historic trip on a fascinating
ship. If you cannot sail on the QM2, then you will find this film to be the next best thing!