Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2 sailed into Southampton early this morning following a 25-day refit costing around £90 million.
The so-called ‘remastering’ of the 12-year old ship sees 50 new cabins added, including 15 for single travellers.
Ten additional kennels have been added for passengers taking their pets on transatlantic sailings, complete with a lamp post from Liverpool and a fire hydrant from New York to make dogs “feel at home”.
The work at a shipyard in Hamburg has seen a redesign and refurbishment of the Queens Grill and Princess Grill suites and restaurants, as well as Britannia cabins, with the remainder of the accommodation to be fully completed by the end of the year, according to Cunard.
A new speciality restaurant, The Verandah, has been introduced while the Kings Court buffet area has been completely restructured.
The redesign of key public spaces and restaurants includes transformation of the former Winter Garden into the Carinthia Lounge.
The ship’s exterior has been repainted, using more than 15,000 litres of paint applied to the hull alone, and “significant technical enhancements and structural changes” have been carried out.
More than one million man hours went in to the refurbishment over the 25 days with 55,200 square metres of new carpets laid – the equivalent of 10 football pitches.
A total of 4,000 new framed pictures have been brought on board as part of the refurbishment.
Cunard senior vice president, Simon Palethorpe, said ahead of the ship departing for New York later today: “Cunard’s passion for delivering a service and experience that both meets and exceeds guest’s expectations is transforming the way we travel by sea.
“Remastering Queen Mary 2 honours the heritage and iconic status of our magnificent ship to take our passengers forward into a new era of ocean travel.”