Explanation of Recommendations for R Deck


Click here to open our "as proposed" deckplan in a new window. It will then be available for quick reference with a single click during the reading of this article. You can also open deckplans of the ship as built and as she is now by clicking on the below links.

Deckplan as built
Deckplan as is in 2000

 

Bow Area - the forward area of crew quarters, now partially intact, is restored for viewing on Tour B and for use in a sleep-over program for grade school children.

The area between the shafts for holds # 1 and # 2 - serves as the audio visual orientation center for the tour of the lower decks – our proposed Tour C. The new passenger elevator equipment recently placed in Hold # 2 is relocated to Hold # 1. After the orientation it takes visitors down to the tank tops of Hold # 1 to begin their tour of the entire length of the ship on the lowest deck. The catering sales offices currently located here are relocated to new administrative quarters on the property but off the ship. Some QM related catering sales offices might be housed in the aft deckhouse of Sun deck, along with the new upper deck kitchens.

Firestation Control Room – the original fire control station panels, currently displayed on A deck in the former third class smoking room, are relocated to their original location on the forward portside of R deck.

Banqueting storage - a portion of the current catering sales office area on the starboard side is used as auxilliary storage for the restored third class dining room.

Third Class Entrance and Stairs – are restored with upgraded lighting and pre-war linoleum. The Midlands Bank cage is recreated.

Third Class Dining Room – is fully restored for banqueting use. An expanded serving galley is located in the aft section of the room adjacent to the first funnel shaft. It connects to new cold storage and the other galleys on the ship via the new service lifts to the functioning working alley created on D deck.

The audio-visual presentation area recently inserted into the port side of this dining room is entirely removed. The Ghosts and Legends tour itself is replaced with our proposed Tour C that encompasses the entire length of the lowest decks and focuses on the engineering aspects of the ship.

The First Class Swimming Pool (balcony level) and Turkish Baths – are restored to their pre-war elegance. During visitor hours 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. they are reserved for the guided tour program. From 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. they are available for hotel guest and club member use.

Starboard Side Restrooms – added during the conversion are retained and upgraded. The passageway adjacent is upgraded with sofas as a lounge seating area.

First Class Entrance – is restored. All four elevators are put back in use. If new hotel cabins are added to the starboard side of C deck, then the first class grand staircase is extended down - displacing the telephone booths currently centered here

First Class Dining Room Entrance and Current Windsor Room – the original dining room entrance arrangement is restored. The Windsor Room’s aft bulkhead is replaced with a movable folding partition that allows the full integration of this area with the remainder of the first class dining room.

The current passageway entrances to the dining room – along the sides of the conversion created Windsor Room, are retained for use when these two rooms are let separately. Elegant doors, reminiscent of those once serving the private dining rooms (or the actual surviving doors) are mounted in pairs.

This arrangement permits these passageways to serve as bars for the dining suite when the two rooms are used together, or to serve as entranceways to the dining room area when the Windsor Room area is let separately.

Main Section of the First Class Dining Room – is restored for banqueting use. Wooden chairs, designed to be stackable, replace the standard catering industry metal stackable chairs and rolling in tables. All paneling and art is restored along with the original lighting system, porthole covers etc. The mirrored banquet table is recreated in the foremost bulkhead area of the Windsor Room. The two large original floor lights are restored to the dining room.

Central Kitchens – are renovated with consideration given to the original layout. The conversion-introduced passageway alongside the port edge of the ship that was created to link the first and second class dining rooms when used ensemble is retained and upgraded. The service entrance to the wharf is closed and re-plated. Extra large glass portholes are inserted into the inboard wall of the main kitchens – providing both banqueting guests and visitors with a safe view into the main galleys of the Queen Mary.

Second Class Dining Room – is fully restored with permanent furniture. The theme of this dining room reflects its use as the officer’s dining room during World War II when it hosted Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Sacrificing a service area on B deck above might raise the upper portion of the central area.

Second Class Entrance – is fully restored to its prewar elegance. An escalator and elevator to wharf are added to supplement the existing stairs from the boarding platform. The second class staircase is restored and extended once again down to current E deck.

New Dining Room – the area currently used as crew costuming is rebuilt as a new dining room reserved for hotel guest and Club Queen Mary members. As available and required it can be used in the catering service as well. A raised central area is also possible for this new dining room.

Second Class Aft Staircase – is fully restored and once again extended down to current D deck.

Baggage Handling Area – two major alternatives are possible here.

  • In Option A - the area is restored and upgraded to serve as a casual bar for hotel guests and Club Queen Mary members use. This option reflects the original crew bar /recreation function that was found here when the ship was at sea. It was called the "Pig ‘n Whistle." The service bar partially exists in derelict condition.
  • In Option B - the baggage doors on the portside of the ship are re-opened – but hopefully not enlarged. The original baggage handling area becomes the aft service entrance to the ship. The wharfside lift equipment now amid-ship is relocated here. Since this aft area is hidden behind the aft boarding and egress tower, the wharfside of the ship between the boarding towers is free and clear of service entrances.
Option B is only worthwhile if the high speed baggage service elevators that are still found (but not in operation) here are put back into service and again extended down to current D deck. From here supplies can be moved along the proposed new working alley and via the new service elevators to both the original and proposed new galleys. This requires sacrificing the rarely used conversion created "Royal Theater" on D deck.

If new cold storage is simply created in the aft former crew area or the current costuming area, then no direct path into the main kitchens for supplies will exist. This adds little logistical advantage to the Queen Mary and precludes the full restoration of the second class dining room.

Aft Steward Quarters Area – gutted in the conversion and now a derelict storage area is developed as a new aft galley that serves the proposed fourth dining room. It might also house a cordon blue cooking school for hotel guests, Club Queen Mary members and other paying subscribers.


  Return to Deckplans page