Her nostalgic journey has prompted huge crowds, pipers band and stirred up a festive atmosphere at nearly every port of call. Among the most notable was the reception that awaited the grand lady on her arrival at Manhattan on October 16 when she sailed down the Hudson River past Battery Park accompanied by the Queen Mary 2 and along The Esplanade and Hudson River Park in the blazing sunshine.
Several guests boarded the vessel for lunch including the British Ambassador to the US, the British Consul General to New York, travel agents, maritime historians and dignitaries from the Port of New York and the coastguards. Speeches brought a tear to the eye, as Captain McNaught Commodore Warner and Carol Marlow told of QE2′s life and the baton passing on to Queen Mary 2.
She had docked in the port of Cork, southern Ireland, on October 2, and then sailed onto Liverpool from where she travelled to Edinburgh and Newcastle before returning to Southampton on October 10th.
The QE2 was launched in Clydebank from the yard of John Brown on September 20, 1967, and made her official maiden voyage to New York in May 1969 where she has since docked a total of 706 times.
The QE2 is widely considered the world’s most renowned ocean liner and has logged more than 5.6 million nautical miles – the equivalent to travelling to the moon and back 13 times.
In her four decades at sea, she has carried nearly 2.5 million passengers.
In 2010, the line will debut a new ship to be named Queen Elizabeth.
During its 40 years the QE2′s passengers have included most of European monarchs, politicians and stars, including Nelson Mandela and some of the Beatles.
QE2 Dubai Hotel Project on Life Support?
The multi-million-pound transformation that would turn British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 into a floating luxury hotel in Dubai may be faltering under souring economic conditions. The beloved ship retired from the Cunard fleet in November.
According to online publication Maritime Matters, the world’s faltering economy and the subsequent decline of Dubai-area tourism may have stymied the QE2 project. Sources have indicated to Maritime Matters that Nakheel, the government-owned company that’s handling QE2′s transformation, may have altered or postponed the plans to convert the former cruise ship into a luxury hotel after scaling back on several major projects and slashing 500 jobs.
It’s still too early to tell exactly how the QE2 project will be impacted by Nakheel’s financial woes, but news of the company’s struggles have led Maritime Matters and Cruise Critic members to speculate about a different fate for QE2, including a one-way ticket to the scrap yard or even a repurchase of the classic vessel by Cunard.
Following more than 40 years in service, QE2 was handed over to its new owners in Dubai at the end of November 2008, and many fans of the ship were horrified by some of the alterations planned by Nakheel. Proposed changes to QE2 as part of the project included replacing QE2′s funnel with several penthouse suites; creating a new, 500-plus-seat theater for West End- and Broadway-style shows; gutting cabins and public spaces and replacing them with larger rooms and apartments; and the addition of a 5,000-square-meter spa complex — nearly twice the size of that found on any other cruise ship.
Hopeful members on the Cruise Critic boards have already begun to weigh in on the preliminary news and the speculation surrounding it. Sea-sea is keeping “fingers crossed they could scale back the ‘slice and dice’ they were planning to do and keep her more in line of what they did with QM at Long Beach.” Highlander0108 adds, “I suspect most of QE2′s fans are somewhat relieved at hearing this news, but concerned about her ultimate fate.”