|
CRUISE REVIEW
VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE ON QUEEN MARY 2 by Richard H. Wagner |
QM2 recently at the Mayflower Cruise Terminal in Southampton, England.
|
|
Having been in business for 185 years, Cunard Line is proud of its traditions. While tradition is a watchword, Cunard is also very innovative, particularly in its entertainment programming.
To illustrate, during the 22 years Queen Mary 2 has been in service, its programming offerings have included a wide variety of entertainment that is not usually found on cruise ships. These have included such things as songwriting workshops led by professional musicians, fencing lessons, acting lessons, creative writing workshops, fashion drawing lessons, fashion shows with well-known designers and astronomical films shown on the dome of the ship's planetarium. For various reasons, many of these programs are only presented only on one or two voyages and thus one cannot expect that a particular program offered on one voyage will be offered on all successive voyages. However, based on my experience with more than 60 voyages on QM2, one can expect that Cunard will be offering other sophisticated programs of similar cultural or intellectual interest. This Spring, Cunard has been experimenting with virtual reality experiences. Guests who choose to participate gather in a specially-equipped conference room in QM2's Connections area on Deck 2. Donning virtual reality headsets, they are transported away from the ship into another world. The technology is such that you find yourself reaching out to touch something that is not really there or swerving to avoid something that appears to be coming at you. During this trial, guests were able to select from three different programs: you could participate in the launch of a manned-spacecraft; explore the interior of the RMS Titanic; or in a program that combines two rather diverse, short experiences: travel to the bottom of the sea and going into Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa. Each of the three programs lasts about 20 minutes. I tried two of the programs. In the first experience, I found myself sitting at the bottom of the sea. Schools of colorful fish passed by, indeed some seemed like they were about to go through me. I looked in the eye of a giant blue whale who passed by. Looking upwards, I saw a giant squid. Swiveling in my chair, I saw that an octopus was near by. It was amazing how the real world disappeared and this animated reality took over. The underwater world faded to black and I found myself inside the Louvre museum in Paris. A narrator's voice came through the headset. He talked about the history of Leonardo's most famous painting and complained about the crowds preventing us from really seeing the painting. At his suggestion, we magically went inside the painting where we met an animated version of Lisa del Giocondo, the subject of this portrait. After a discussion of Leonardo's technique, the narrator suggested exploring the landscape that is the background for the portrait. To do this, we boarded one of the flying machines Leonardo imagined in his notebooks. Soon we were swooping over three-dimensional versions of the mountains and valleys that Leonardo created. It ended too soon. On another day, I explored the Titanic. The virtual reality technology brought me back in time to the day Titanic embarked on its ill-fated voyage. I was inside the ship near the grand staircase. Using a button on a handset, I could move about the interior of the ship. At various points, there were markers, which would turn into informational panels about what you were looking at. I looked in staterooms, restaurants, and even had a glimpse of the ship's boiler room. There was a surprising amount of detail for an animation. For example, an antique camera lay on a shelf in Father Brown's stateroom. (Father Brown left Titanic when it reached Queenstown, Ireland and his snapshots document life aboard the ship). Even with some knowledge of Titanic, it was easy to become lost. Perhaps it would be better if there was a set route for visitors to take. Alternatively, it might be helpful to issue each visitor a deck plan. Another aspect of the program that took some getting used to was that if a door was closed, there was no way to open it and travel through it. Thus, for example, you could not go into all of the staterooms because many of the doors were closed. Of course, if one were actually aboard Titanic in 1916, you would not have been able to go into all of the staterooms. This experience ended more abruptly than the visit to the Louvre. In the midst of trying to get down into the engine room, a distant voice was calling “Time is up.” I was plunged back into the 21st century. It took a few moments to recover but then it was much better to back in the luxurious surroundings of QM2. |
QM2 was built for innovative programming. Not only does the Illusions auditorium host lectures but the dome in the center can be lowered to create a planetarium.
|
Cruise review - - Cunard Line - - Queen Mary 2 - -Virtual Reality Experience - June 2025