QM2 v Titanic II – how do they compare?

Editor’s note: The Titanic II project has since been abandoned

Today, Cunard announced tenth birthday celebrations for its flagship QM2, including a ‘Three Queens’ event in Southampton on May 9 next year.

There will be 18 crossings between Southampton and New York in 2014, including two new eight-night trips via Halifax in Nova Scotia – birthplace of founder Samuel Cunard.

Two birthday crossings – one following the Three Queens event and the return from New York a week later – will include a number of special events, Cunard president Peter Shanks announced on board QM2 in Sydney.

There will also be four transatlantic round trips described as ‘perfect for shopping in the Big Apple without flying’.

But with the prospect of Titanic II looming on the horizon (or maybe not, depending on your scepticism), will the mighty QM2 face some competition for the route come 2016?

Here’s how they measure up…

Titanic II is just over a third of the size of its competitor, at 56,000 tonnes compared to 148,000. Nonetheless, it will carry almost as many passengers – 2,435 against QM2’s 2,620.

The Cunard ship also wins on number of crew – 1,253 against 900. And it’s 76 metres longer, at 345 metres or 1,132 feet. QM2 can also go faster, at 30 knots compared to Titanic II’s 24.

As for facilities, QM2 has a spa, planetarium and a disco. Oh, and balconies in many cabins. Titanic II, by contrast, will have period costumes and ‘authentic’ austerity and grandeur in equal measures.

So which would you rather go on?

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