Happy Birthday to the Queen!
May 05, 2005
After completing nearly 1,400 voyages, sailing more than 5.3 million nautical miles, and carrying almost 3 million passengers to spectacular destinations all around the world, Cunard Cruise Line's Queen Elizabeth 2 is now 36 years old! As this regal, world-famous vessel sailed in to port in Southampton, England on Monday, she marked 36 incredible years since she left that very same port bound for New York on her maiden voyage on May 2, 1969. A special Birthday party was held on board to honor the ship. Special guests included nine current and former Captains, as well as John Whitworth OBE, now 80 years old, who was the Managing Director of Cunard Cruise Line at the time of QE2's introduction and who played an immense role in the ship's original planning, design, and construction.
QE2 was originally dedicated and launched by Her Majesty the Queen in 1967, and over the past 36 years has truly become one of the most renowned and most recognizable ships in the world. During her nearly four decade reign, QE2 has assembled a pretty impressive resume. She is the only cruise ship to have ever been awarded 5-stars by the RAC, she has sailed far enough to equal 11 trips to the moon and back, she has completed 795 Atlantic crossings and 23 full world cruises, she has called on the port of New York 207 times, and Southampton 642 times, she contains nine of the most powerful propulsion engines ever used on a passenger cruise liner, each the size of a double-decker bus, making her the fastest cruise ship at sea with capable speeds of up to 34 knots, and has been commanded by a whopping 23 different captains.
When the Queen Elizabeth 2 was built in the late 1960's, she cost a mere $29 million to construct. Since then, Cunard has spent nearly five times that amount on upgrades, refurbishments, and other renovations to the ship. The $100 million cost of re-engining the QE2 in 1987 is the largest amount ever spent on such a project. Up until that time, her steam turbines had taken her a total of 2,622,858 million nautical miles, or the the equivalent of 120 times around the world!
The QE2 was once thought by many to be a waste of money. Critics dismissed her as simply being too large, and claimed that she would be out of commission within a matter of years since, according the them, the "fad" of passenger cruising was nearing an end. Well, we all know that this ridiculous sentiment couldn't have been further from the truth. Remarkably, Cunard's first cruise liner, the Britannia, could easily fit into QE2's Grand Lounge. The QE2 is actually rather modest in size considering today's "bigger is better" standards. Weighing in at a still impressive 67,139 tons, the QE2 is still less than half the size of the 148,528 ton Queen Mary 2, which holds the current title of the world's largest cruise ship.
2005 will continue to be a special year in more ways than one for the QE2. On September 4, she will become the longest serving Cunard cruise ship to sail the seas when she passes the 36 years 4 months and 2 days record of the Scythia, which sailed for Cunard from 1921 to 1957. In November of last year, she became the longest serving Cunard cruise express liner when she passed the 35 years 6 months and 1 day record previously set by Aquitania, which served Cunard Line from May 1914 to December 1949. QE2 has also held the title of the Cunard flagship for longer than any other previous Cunard vessel, from 1969 until she handed over the honor to the Queen Mary 2 last year.
Cunard has no immediate plans to retire this historic nautical treasure, which is currently offering an extensive array of cruise itineraries ranging in length from 4 to 20 days. Visit destinations all throughout Europe, including the the Baltic and Mediterranean regions, making stops in magnificent ports of call in Spain, Italy, Croatia, Portugal, England, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Scotland, Iceland, and so many more! Give your friendly Cruise Network Cruise Specialist a call today to plan your voyage aboard this extraordinary, unrivaled, and irreplaceable piece of out sea-faring past!
Brian Reitter
