Queen Bids Farewell
By Janet Go | August 11, 2008
In June 2008, five months prior to leaving the Cunard fleet, Queen Elizabeth 2 welcomed Her Majesty The Queen for a farewell ceremony in Southampton. The Queen met nine Captains and members of the ship’s crew, some of whom entered service aboard the ship in 1969, at a luncheon with 300 guests. On the bridge, The Queen gave a signal to sound the whistle to salute Queen Mary 2, which was also in port. The Queen has taken a close interest in this vessel for 40 years, since she launched her and reviewed her four times. The most famous vessel in the world, QE2 has been the flagship of the Cunard fleet for 41 years. She has traveled over 5.6 million nautical miles, carried more than 2.5 million guests, completed 25 world cruises, and cross the Atlantic 803 times.
On April 22, the three Queens–QM2, QE2, and Queen Victoria–assembled in their British home port of Southampton for the first and only time. Earlier in January, the ships rendezvoused in port for the first time in New York Harbor during the Queen Victoria’s first World Cruise. All three ships sounded their whistles simultaneously in salute to this historic occasion before leaving their home port.;
The ship leaves Cunard service in November 2008 to start a new life in Dubai as a first-class hotel and entertainment destination. She will leave Southampton for the last time November 11 en route to her new home at Dubai World. New owner, The Palm Jumeirah, will reburbish the QE2 to recreate her original interior decor and fittings and will include a museum celebrating the rich history of the ship. Her farewell and final voyage to Dubai was sold out within 25 minutes.
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By Janet Go | July 27, 2008
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