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RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' (also referred to as the ''QM2'') is a transatlantic ocean liner. She is the only major ocean liner built for Cunard Line since in 1969, the vessel she succeeded as flagship of the Cunard Line. The new ship was named ''Queen Mary 2'' by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 after the first 1936 namesake ship . ''Queen Mary'' was in turn named after Mary of Teck, consort of King George V. With the retirement of ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 2008, ''Queen Mary 2'' is the only transatlantic ocean liner in line service between Southampton and New York, which operates for part of each year. The ship is also used for cruising, including an annual world cruise.〔(Queen Mary 2 Cruises ) ''Cunard'' Retrieved 21 January 2012〕 The ship was designed by a team of British naval architects led by Stephen Payne, and was constructed in France by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 2003. At the time of her construction, ''Queen Mary 2'' was the longest passenger ship ever built, and with her gross tonnage of 148,528 also the largest. She no longer holds this distinction after the construction of Royal Caribbean International's in April 2006, but remains the largest ocean liner ever built. ''Queen Mary 2'' was intended for routine crossings of the Atlantic Ocean, and was therefore designed differently from many other passenger ships. The ship's final cost was approximately $300,000 US per berth. Expenses were increased by the high quality of materials, and having been designed as an ocean liner, she required 40% more steel than a standard cruise ship.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 The History, Construction and Design of ''Queen Mary 2'' )〕 ''Queen Mary 2'' has a maximum speed of just over and a cruising speed of , much faster than a contemporary cruise ship. Instead of the diesel-electric configuration found on many ships, ''Queen Mary 2'' uses integrated electric propulsion to achieve her top speed. This uses gas turbines to augment the power generated from the ship's diesels. ''Queen Mary 2''s facilities include fifteen restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and the first planetarium at sea. There are also kennels and a nursery on board. ==Characteristics== ''Queen Mary 2'' is the flagship of Cunard Line. The ship was constructed for eventual replacement of the aging , the Cunard flagship from 1969 to 2004 and the last major ocean liner built before the construction of ''Queen Mary 2''. ''Queen Mary 2'' had the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) title conferred on her, as a gesture to Cunard's history, by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route. ''Queen Mary 2'' is not a steamship like many of her predecessors, but is powered primarily by four diesel engines, with two additional gas turbines used when extra power is required; this integrated electric propulsion configuration is used to produce the power to drive her four electric propulsion pods as well as powering the ship's hotel services.〔 Like her predecessor ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' she is built for crossing the Atlantic Ocean, though she is regularly used for cruising; in the winter season she cruises from New York to the Caribbean on twelve- or thirteen-day tours. ''Queen Mary 2''s open ocean speed sets the ship apart from cruise ships, such as ''Oasis of the Seas'', which has an average speed of ; ''QM2''s normal service speed is .〔(archived from the original 6 January 2009)〕 While the hull of a cruise ship will typically have a block coefficient of 0.73 (a number closer to 1.0 would represent a rectangular block) ''Queen Mary 2'' has a coefficient of 0.61. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「RMS Queen Mary 2」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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