With all the smart technology the world has to offer, QE2 is a floating, high-tech marvel!
Image courtesy of: QE2
The famed British cruise ship named Queen Elizabeth 2 has a long and storied history which is just about as fascinating as the ship itself. Inaugurated in 1967, the ship’s maiden voyage to New York City occurred two years later in 1969. Eight years later, in 1975, QE2 sailed it’s first world voyage. 1982 transformed the luxury liner into a troop ship, bringing soldiers to and from the Falkland War. QE2 reached a record 5 million miles at sea in 2002 and five years later, the famous ship was sold to a Dubai Government investment company. Her last voyage was in 2008, around the United Kingdom, before heading to her new home in Dubai.
Docked and virtually abandoned for 10 years in Dubai’s Mina Rashid, QE2 was recently lovingly restored to her former glory and is now ready to make her grand debut!
Quite a range… rooms can cost anywhere from $150 to $15,000 a night.
Image courtesy of: Travel Weekly
The restoration cost over $100 million… yet the ship feels like a throwback to its 1969 self. 2.7 million man hours went into making sure QE2 is the shining star she’s always been. Relaunched as a “floating hotel”, it’s the history behind the ship that provides it’s unique allure.
The hotel is essentially a museum… who wouldn’t want to spend the night in the room where Nelson Mandela rested his head, or the royal suites where Queen Elizabeth herself once slept alongside her mother? Currently, less than 250 suites are available for booking… at the grand opening scheduled for October of 2018, more than 600 suites will open up to the general public.
An interesting fact is that the QE2 wasn’t named after the current Queen Elizabeth, but rather for the wife of King George VI. Thus, the actual number “2” is used verses the Roman numerals that we’re familiar with for Queen Elizabeth II.
Image courtesy of: CNN
The ocean liner built for Cunard Line was a transatlantic liner and a cruise ship. Furthermore, QE2 served as the flagship of the Cunard Line from 1969-2004. The QE2 was also famous for being the last oil-fired passenger steamship to cross the Atlantic, it was refitted with a modern diesel engine in 1986.
QE2 departs Southampton for the Falkland Islands.
Image courtesy of: CNN
The ship became a very famous “lady” and crowds greeted her everywhere she docked. She was a grand representation of the golden age of liner travel and treated as an ambassador for England.
Even though it seems odd that the British icon ended up in the Middle East, it doesn’t much matter for QE2 enthusiasts, as long as the ship was able to get restored to it’s original, magnificent state. For the UAE, it was a “no brainer” because they are so heavily invested in travel and tourism. In essence, this is a shining example of the two economies at their best!
QE2 as a troop vessel during the Falkland War.
Image courtesy of: The Telegraph
There are so many interesting facts relating to QE2…
70,000 bottles of champagne were drank aboard the ship each year.
The ship was able to sail faster backwards than most ships sail forwards.
The ship is 62.5″ which is as tall as the Great Sphinx of Egypt.
QE2 had over 6,000 book in it’s library… by far the largest at sea.
The QE2’s total power output was enough to light a city the size of Southampton, England.