Britain's famed Queen Elizabeth 2 ship now a hotel in Dubai
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In the photo above, Queen Elizabeth II and John Rannie, the managing director of the Clydebank shipyard, can be seen attending the launch of the Queen Elizabeth 2. The ship was built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Scotland, for the Cunard Line. Here's a look back at what the Queen Elizabeth 2 looked like when it first launched and during its heyday during the 1960s and '70s. For the complete history of all actual voyages and more see the companion site QE2 Abstract Log. Shorts, torn or tattered clothing, sandals or sleeveless T-shirts are not permitted in any part of the ship after 6 p.m.
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The 27-day Pacific Ocean crossing itinerary (Asia-Alaska repositioning, May 5-31, 2019, Yokohama to Vancouver) included as call ports Aomori, Tomakomai-Sapporo, Kodiak, Juneau, Anchorage, Skagway, Sitka, Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point. Cunard's 2019 Alaskan program included all four 10-night long roundtrips out of Vancouver to Tracy Arm Fjord and Hubbard Glacier. The inaugural cruise/maiden voyage started on October 12, 2010, leaving from homeport Southampton to Canaries (Spanish autonomy territory). The itinerary visited Lisbon, Cadiz, Tenerife, Santa Cruz de la Palma and also Funchal (Madeira Island, Portugal). For its first year of service, Queen Elizabeth did around 142,000 mi (230,000 km) of cruising to 100+ different destinations. Among the many celebrities who participated in the onboard show programs were Ruth Scott, Lord Jeffrey Archer, Brian Hoey.
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When she first came into service, the QE2 had a slick modern '70s “space-age-y” design, Dinsdale says. Public spaces were decorated with plastic laminates, modular furniture, and abstract art. Over the years, refurbishments led to a slightly more grandiose aesthetic, but many original structural elements remained. Apart from a few high-trafficked areas, like the buffet or close to the theater after a show, you'll never feel crowded on Queen Elizabeth; there are plenty of nooks and crannies to settle into and enjoy the quiet that comes with this style of cruising.
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It marks the first foray into hotels for the corporation, said Mustafa, who previously served as a managing director at the government-owned developer Nakheel and at the investment arm of Dubai World. In 2007, Cunard sold the QE2 to an arm of the state-run conglomerate Dubai World for 50 million pounds ($100 million). She arrived to Dubai’s Port Rashid the following year as part of a glitzy armada led by a mega-yacht owned by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, at the height of the former British protectorate’s real-estate bubble. Of course there were plenty of rumours about the name of the new vessel, but not before her launching would it be known that this would be Queen Elizabeth 2, often shortened to QE2. In the photo above, an employee makes the bed of one of the ship's cabins in 1975.
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During the re-engining process, her funnel was replaced by a wider one to accommodate the exhaust pipes for the nine MAN diesel engines. Three custom-designed tapestries were commissioned from Helena Hernmarck for the ship's launch, depicting the Queen as well as the launch of the ship. These tapestries were originally hung in the Quarter Deck "D" Stairway, outside the Columbia Restaurant.
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So great was the demand from customers wanting to experience the iconic ship, that her last sailing, from Southampton to Dubai on 11 November sold out in just 36 minutes. In July 1990, The Queen became the first reigning monarch to go on a voyage on a commercial liner with passengers. To allow for the work, the QE2 was out of service from November 1986 to April 1987. The Cunarder’s Sagafjord and Vistafjord were used to cover QE2’s transatlantic schedule as well as world cruises. On 4 January 1975, the QE2 set sail from Southampton on her first World Cruise, a journey of 38,000 miles. She visited 23 Ports in 92 days and it was the first of 25 world cruises during her career.
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Family-oriented in terms of facilities, Queen Elizabeth has the look of a "grown-up" ship. For that reason, families might feel better on P&O or Princess lines. The Zone on Deck 10 is a teenagers' room for computer games, air hockey, Xbox, and for the smaller ones QE suggests a colorful children's playroom full with toys.
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But while it's a modern ship, Queen Elizabeth relies on its chic, geometric Art Deco-inspired interiors to set the tone. Instead of capturing the public's imagination with water slides and high-tech nightclubs, Cunard cashes in on its nostalgic heritage with ballroom dancing, lawn bowls and afternoon tea in the Garden Lounge. Queen Elizabeth captures the glamour of yesteryear when steamer trunks, formal dining and ballroom galas were all the rage at sea.
World cruises attract a mix of older passengers from all over the globe -- and the well-traveled variety at that. She was greeted with a fly-past from an Emirates Airbus A380 jet and a huge fireworks display, while thousands of people gathered at the Mina Rashid, waving the flags of the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Shortly after her final passengers were disembarked, she was moved forward to the cargo area of the port, to free up the passenger terminal for other cruise vessels. The Theatre Bar on Upper Deck featured red chairs, red drapes, a red egg crate fibreglass screen, and even a red baby grand piano. Some more traditional materials like wood veneer were used as highlights throughout the ship, especially in passenger corridors and staterooms. There was also an Observation Bar on Quarter Deck, a successor to its namesake, located in a similar location, on both previous Queens, which offered views through large windows over the ship's bow.
Cunard even had to cancel her maiden voyage for which she was fully booked. Plans for a successor of both Queens, known as the Q3-project were short lived. Q3 would have been a transatlantic liner again, and although ship owners were reluctantly to surrender to air travel, it all became clear as they saw passenger loads dwindle.
Cunard is headquartered in Southampton (England UK) and is among the world's oldest passenger shipping companies. Like other ships with royal connections, Britannia sails a variety of European itineraries, homeporting from Southampton in the summer to offer visits to Scandinavia, the Norwegian fjords, the Baltic Sea, and the Mediterranean. The ship has also sailed in the Mediterranean, Australia, Asia, Alaska, the Caribbean, and many other amazing destinations, just as each British monarch’s influence has stretched around the globe. Today, Queen Elizabeth is sailing from Barcelona, offering Mediterranean itineraries through mid-October. After being retired, Queen Elizabeth 2 was converted into a floating hotel, which opened to guests in Dubai in October 2018.
Due to high demand, the Alaskan 2020 program was doubled (in comparison to 2019) with 10 roundtrips from Vancouver (ranging 9 to 12 days) plus one roundtrip to San Francisco (overnight on Independence Day). Operated regularly and starting in January each year, Queen Elizabeth offers Cunard World Cruise deals with affordable pricing, popular destinations, and big-city ports to visit around the world. In October 2011, the vessel changed its registry/flagstate from the UK to Bermuda, which allows cruise wedding ceremonies to be held on the ship. Queen Elizabeth itinerary program each year has a World Cruise leaving roundtrip from Southampton UK, with several one-way itinerary segments.
They were originally made with golden threads, but much of this was lost when they were incorrectly cleaned during the 1987 refit. They were subsequently hung in the "E" stairway and later damaged in 2005. On January 13, 2011, the 3 Cunard liners met in the USA (New York City) on a second "Royal Rendezvous" to commemorate the second year after the first Royal Rendezvous. On this occasion, Elizabeth and Victoria crossed together the Atlantic Ocean.
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