MS Queen Elizabeth

MS ''Queen Elizabeth'' (QE) is a cruise ship of the operated by the Cunard Line. The design is a heavily modified form factor compared to earlier ships of the same class, and slightly larger than , at . This is due to a more vertical stern, and additional cabins for single travelers. The bow of Queen Elizabeth (3) and Queen Victoria are both reinforced having thicker than the standard for hull plating, to handle North Atlantic weather. The ship is able to carry up to 2,092 passengers.

The ship's name was announced by Cunard on 10 October 2007. Since the retirement of in 2008 the company has operated three vessels. The naming of the ship as ''Queen Elizabeth'' brings about a situation similar to that between 1940 and 1948, when Cunard's original ''Queen Elizabeth'' was in service at the same time as the Royal Navy battleship .

Design

Exterior

''Queen Elizabeth'' is almost identical in design to ''Queen Victoria'', although because of the steeper stern, at her introduction into service the passenger capacity was slightly higher with up to 2,058 compared to ''Queen Victoria''s 2,014.

Also unlike many previous Cunard Queens, ''Queen Elizabeth'' is not a true ocean liner as she does not have the heavy plating throughout the hull. However, the bow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with the transatlantic run, and the ship has a high freeboard.

Interior

Although having an almost identical interior arrangement to ''Queen Victoria'', the decor is very different. The ship is a tribute to the two previous Queen Elizabeth-named ships: the original and ''Queen Elizabeth 2''. She also evokes the era of the 1930s, in which Cunard's first ''Queen Elizabeth'' was launched, with many art deco interior touches. The ship also features a Britannia Club section of the main restaurant, which is a feature popular on , but not available on ''Queen Victoria''. This service allows passengers in the Britannia staterooms to have single seating dining arrangements, without having to upgrade to the more expensive Grills classes. The sliding roof over the Winter Garden featured on ''Queen Victoria'' is replaced with a simple glass roof with the space being renamed The Garden Lounge.

Launch

Following the ship's construction in Italy from 2007 to 2010, Cunard Line officially confirmed that Queen Elizabeth II would name Cunard's new ship. The ceremony was held in Southampton on 11 October 2010 before the ship set sail on her maiden voyage to the Canary Islands the following day. Queen Elizabeth II was also the sponsor of the now-retired ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 1967 and Cunard's current flagship, ''Queen Mary 2'', in 2004.

Service history

The first master of ''Queen Elizabeth'' was Captain Christopher Wells. On 4 October 2010 ''Queen Elizabeth'' was formally handed over to Cunard. She sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton on 12 October 2010, following a naming ceremony with the monarch on 11 October 2010.

On 13 January 2011, two years after the first Cunard Royal Rendezvous, RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' met up with ''Queen Victoria'' and the then brand new ''Queen Elizabeth'' for another Royal Rendezvous in New York City. Both ''Queen Victoria'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' made an Atlantic crossing in tandem for the event. All three Cunarders met in front of the Statue of Liberty at 6:45 pm for a Grucci fireworks display. The Empire State Building was lit up in red to mark the event. At the end of October 2011 ''Queen Elizabeth'' and her fleet mates were registered to Hamilton, Bermuda, in order to host weddings aboard.

On 5 June 2012 all three 'Queens' met once more, but this time in Southampton in order to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. On 29 June 2012, the ship made her one and only visit to Ny-Ålesund, in Svalbard. The previous scheduled visit in 2011 had to be aborted due to bad weather. However, she was not scheduled to visit Svalbard in her 2013 schedule. Legislation relating to cruise ships visiting the archipelago (applicable from 2014) meant that ''Queen Elizabeth'' will never be able to visit again. On 15 July 2012 both ''Queen Elizabeth'' and ''Queen Mary 2'' visited Hamburg for the first time together.

On 12 March 2013 the cruise ship passed the former Cunard liner , then a hotel in Long Beach, California, for the first time along with fireworks display. On 31 August 2013, British journalist and broadcaster Sir David Frost had been invited to give a speech by Cunard whilst travelling on board the ship but died of a heart attack.

On 9 May 2014 both ''Queen Elizabeth'' and ''Queen Victoria'' led in single file, ''Queen Mary 2'' up the Southampton channel, with both ships docking in a bow to bow formation performing a birthday salute to ''Queen Mary 2''. Later on, all three Cunarders gathered for a fireworks display during which ''Queen Mary 2'' led both ''Queen Elizabeth'' and ''Queen Victoria'' back down the channel.

On 25 May 2015 the three 'Queens' were positioned at Liverpool celebrating 175 years of the formation of the Cunard Line, which was formed and based in the city. At low tide, the three ships stopped in line in middle of the River Mersey, bow to stern, turned 180 degrees in full synchronisation with each other, which was known as river dance), they then formed an arrow side by side. ''Queen Mary 2'' was in the centre with its bow in line with the Cunard Building at the Pier Head. The Royal Air Force's display team, the Red Arrows, performed a flypast in Vic formation, emitting red, white and blue smoke, over the vessels. An estimated 1.3 million people lined the river banks to witness the spectacle.

On 13 August 2016 ''Queen Elizabeth'' made the 2,500th cruise ship call at Kiel, Germany.

On 23 May 2019, ''Queen Elizabeth'' began regular service between Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and various destinations in Alaska, United States.

Special voyages

QE2 50th Anniversary Celebration

In September 2017 the ship hosted a special commemorative cruise to honour the 50th anniversary of its predecessor ''QE2''. The Mediterranean cruise was chosen to pay tribute to QE2's role as a cruise ship. Special guests include Captain Ian McNaught, Commodore Ronald Warwick, Maritime Historian Chris Frame and QE2 Social Hostess Maureen Ryan.

Australia 2019

''Queen Elizabeth'' began operating extended seasons in Australia in 2019.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

MS ''Queen Elizabeth'' on Cunard.co.uk
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Elizabeth (2010)
2010 ships
Ships of the Cunard Line
Panamax cruise ships
Ships built in Monfalcone
Ships built by Fincantieri
Passenger ships of Bermuda
2010 establishments in England