The Queen is dead, long live the Queen
Cunard’s new Queen Victoria cruise ship has started out its
first world tour sailing in tandem with the Queen Elizabeth 2,
which is on its 26th and final trip around the globe.
The two ships had a historic rendezvous on January 13 in New
York Harbor with the Queen Mary 2, which homeports in Brooklyn.
It was the first and only time the three ships will ever meet.
The Queen Victoria was launched in December and the QE2 will be
retired later this year and turned into a floating five-star hotel
in Dubai.
Thousands of New Yorkers stood along the waterfront of Lower
Manhattan to watch the three grand vessels twinkling in the winter
darkness as they lined in front of the Statue of Liberty amid
fireworks.
“They are big!” said Brammy Sturley, 8, who watched from aboard
a Circle Line boat nearby in the harbour. Brammy’s dad Steve
described the boy as a “Cunard fanatic”.
A cold rain began to fall on the crowd on shore before the
fireworks were over, but Manhattan resident Nadine Ellman, who
sailed twice on the QE2, wasn’t about to leave early.
“This is for the die-hards,” she said. “I’m having such a good
time.”
“You’ll never see it like this again,” said John Stella of
Staten Island, who impressed other spectators with his knowledge of
Cunard history, mentioning, among other things, that the QE2
transported troops in the 1982 Falklands War.
The twin sailings and rendezvous underscored several differences
between the older and newer Cunard vessels.
The meeting of the ships started about half an hour late because
it took more time than expected to get the QE2 in place.
Cunard spokesman Brian O’Connor said the QE2 has older
propulsion and navigation technology than the other two and had to
be guided by tugboats.
The QE2 was built in the 1960s with trans-Atlantic crossings in
mind, while the Queen Victoria is a modern cruise ship with a lower
front hull.
As the two ships sailed from England to New York on the first
leg of their trip, they encountered rough seas, including waves so
high that they washed over the bow of the Queen Victoria. No one
was injured, according to O’Connor. But the waves did not wash over
the bow of the QE2, which is taller in front than the newer
ships.
After reaching New York, the two ships headed together to Fort
Lauderdale, Florida before parting and continuing their world tours
separately.
The QE2 will make one more final call in New York on October 16
before retiring as part of its “Farewell to America” trans-Atlantic
crossing.
The QE2 is the longest-serving vessel in the 168-year history of
the Cunard line. Since launching in 1967, it has travelled more
than five million nautical miles, including more than 800
trans-Atlantic crossings with 2.5 million passengers. The ship was
sold for $US100 million ($A114 million) to Dubai World, an
investment company that manages projects for the government in
Dubai.
Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, said the QE2
“represents a previous era, in style and substance, of ocean
liners, and it’s an era that so many of today’s younger,
newer-to-cruising travellers will never see. It’s an utterly unique
experience with a dedicated class system onboard - four classes of
passengers who dine in four different restaurants that reflect the
fares they pay. The emphasis on sea days, with erudite lectures and
elegant meals, including afternoon tea that’s the best in cruising
… will probably not be mimicked so beautifully in my
lifetime.”
The Queen Victoria has three classes of passengers, but the
differences in amenities are not as distinct as they were on the
QE2. The staterooms are smaller but more of them have balconies.
Like the other two ships, it has Cunard’s trademark red-and-black
smokestack, a “Queens Room” ballroom where elegant events are held,
as well as a pub where guests can wash down fish and chips with a
pint.
But the new ship has some features that the others do not, such
as a 6000-volume, two-deck-high library, a “Cunardia” history
museum, fencing classes and a theatre with private boxes.
Both the QM2 and the Queen Victoria also have restaurants
overseen by the celebrity chef Todd English in addition to their
regular dining rooms.
The 151,000-ton QM2, which began sailing in 2004, is the largest
of the three, carrying 2,592 passengers in 1,296 staterooms, plus
1,253 crew members.
The 90,000-ton Queen Victoria, which will homeport in
Southampton, carries 2,014 passengers in 990 staterooms, plus 1,001
crew members.
The 70,000-ton QE2 carries 1,792 passengers in 1,002 staterooms,
plus 921 crew members.
Cunard Line, a unit of Carnival Corp, is building a new Queen
Elizabeth at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard, which built the Queen
Victoria, with delivery in 2010.
The new vessel will be Cunard’s second-largest after the QM2. It
will allow Cunard to keep three Queens in service after the QE2
retires. But the new vessel will not be called the QE3 - just
simply the Queen Elizabeth.
IF YOU GO:
Australians and New Zealanders will be able to catch their first
glimpse of Queen Victoria when she makes her inaugural visits to
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Port Douglas in February.
In Sydney, she will join the QE2 for a history-making Royal
Rendezvous.
She will visit Auckland on February 15, Napier on February 16,
Wellington on February 17, Melbourne on February 21, Sydney on
February 23 and 24 (meeting with QE2 on February 24 with QE2
arriving February 24, departing February 25).
Then she’ll be in Brisbane on February 26 and Port Douglas on
February 29.
Fares for the 24-night sector from LA to Sydney, sailing January
30 are available from $3999 per person.
Meanwhile, nine Mediterranean voyages are available on Queen
Victoria, departing from a choice of ports and priced from $3289
per person, complete twin.
These 12-day Mediterranean, Greek Isles and Black Sea voyages
include visiting Dubrovnik, Cannes, Mykonos, Istanbul, Izmir,
Santorini, Odessa, Alexandria and Malta.
Details: call 13 24 41 or visit http://www.cunardline.com.au.
AP/AAP
Posted
on
Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 12:12 am under