Agent tips a new surge in bookings for the remastered Queen Mary 2

That was the message from both agents and Cunard last week, following a tour of the ship which is undergoing a dry dock refurbishment at Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg.

New features will include 15 new single state rooms, a total redesign of the King’s Court Buffet and 10 new kennels.

Iglu managing director Simone Clark told TTG she had already seen both an increase in the number of enquiries – and bookings – as a result of interest around the project.

“This will increase further when people see the finished ship and see how stunning she will look, as I’m sure there are many, like me, who hadn’t appreciated the scale.

“There were 4,000 workers onboard restoring the teak decks, adding new cabins and kennels and transforming some of the main public areas,” she said.

“The new single cabins will be extremely popular as will the additional club staterooms and extra dining space – this category of cabin is often overlooked but offers separate dining for a fraction of the price of the Grills.

“And the newly refurbished Grills suites are much more contemporary and look stunning, as does the Queens Grill Restaurant which is much more sumptuous,” she added.

“Both the King’s Court Buffet and the Winter Lounge are also currently being completely gutted to make them more modern and easier to navigate.”

In addition to the new features, new artwork as well as a number of shops have also been added to the ship, including Michael Kors, Aspinal and Barbour.

Speaking during the visit, Cunard’s marketing director Angus Struthers insisted the scale of the work being undertaken during the ship’s “remastering” was “quite something to behold”.

“I am in awe of the logistics and the precise scheduling involved in this, one of the largest and most complex refits in Cunard’s history,” he added.

“While only 11 days into the refit, you can already see glimpses of how amazing our flagship will be when she returns to Southampton on June 23. My hats and praise go off to the thousands involved in making this happen.”