Cunard to replace Winter Garden onboard Queen Mary 2

Cunard Line is to transform Queen Mary 2’s Winter Garden into the Carinthia Lounge during the ship’s multimillion-dollar refit between 27 May and 21 June 2016.

Named in honour of the line’s former Carinthia ships, the new venue has been designed to offer a ‘serene and cheery’ lounge space serving light breakfast and lunch. Guests will be able to enjoy a dedicated patisserie and an afternoon tea service, including the option of a Veuve Cliquot Champagne Afternoon Tea experience. At night, the Carinthia Lounge will offer ‘premium wine, small plates and relaxed entertainment’.

The Carinthia Lounge will offer various seating layouts, including dining chairs and tables near the patisserie and curved lounge seating under decorative lights, as well as a wine wall, vertical metal Art Deco-inspired screens, and a dark walnut timber dance floor. It will be decorated with a powder blue, cream and gold colour palette.

“The Carinthia embodied the spirit of travel in the 1920s, which saw the rise in popularity in world voyages and winter cruises, and it is our honour to bestow this name onto our new lounge set to launch following refit,” said Richard Meadows, president of Cunard North America. “We believe this space will truly elevate the Queen Mary 2 experience, adding new innovative culinary options, as well as another level of refined relaxation and entertainment for our guests.”

UK-based SMC Design is to lead design efforts for the refurbishment project, introducing ‘classic Deco touches’ inspired by Cunard’s heritage, and new signature colour schemes, carpets, furniture and more decorative fixtures and fittings throughout the vessel.

During the 25-day refit, Queen Mary 2 will also be fitted with 15 new single cabins, 30 more Britannia Club cabins and an expanded area for pet kennels. She will also be updated with new features that have been tested with thousands of past and future Cunard guests worldwide over the past 18 months.