QE2 QM2 and QV together

[James Carey]

Amidst a great fanfare, the world's newest Cunarder, Queen Victoria, and the world's most famous ocean liner, Queen Elizabeth 2, will leave their homeport of Southampton on Sunday 6 January 2008 and head for New York at the start of their 2008 World Cruises. QE2, making her 804th Atlantic crossing, will escort Queen Victoria, making her first, to New York where they will arrive a week later on 13 January to meet up with Queen Mary 2. Cunard's 168-year reign on the Atlantic has produced countless memories and historic occasions but none will have a finale like this.

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=158997

 

[Ryan Thompson]

Shorter 'Liner Voyages' are also available and include Southampton to Singapore (64-nights with Early Booking Fares ranging from £6,249 to £76,579) and Sydney to Los Angeles (35-nights with Early Booking Fares ranging from £4,319 to £43,269).

That is from the article. Am I reading that correctly? Those will be some of the fairs for the QE2 in 2008???

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Even though I don't even live in California,I live in the East Coast in New Jersey near New York City,I did just did find this information on a cruise website.According to this webpage all 3 Cunard Queens will call on the Port of San Francisco in late January,early February of 2009.The QE2 will be in the Port of San Francisco on January 28,2009,Queen Victoria will be in the Port of San Francisco on January 30,2009 and the QM2 will be in the Port of San Francisco on February 8,2009.You can read about it here www.sfport.com/site/port_page.asp?Id=61732 .This could also mean that either one or all 3 Cunard Queens could also call on the Port of Los Angeles.

 

[Joe Russo]

The QE2 and QV will be in LA in early 2008, but not the QM2. I'll be driving down to the port to see QV for sure. New York will be treated to all of them at once on January 13th, 2008.

 

[John Clifford]

I plan to see the QV in January 2008, if nothing else to do what I did when the QM2 was in LA in February 2006: see the ship docked in the morning, then come down to see the ship depart in the evening.

I will have to keep checking the Cunard site to see when the QV & QM2 will return to the Port of LA.

BTW, San Francisco and Los Angeles are alternating locations: the ships come to one or the other City.

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

John,Last January the QE2 visited both the Ports of Los Angeles and San Francisco,though I do admit that the QM2 did not sail into Los Angeles,she visited San Francisco.

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

I should have written that the QM2 did not visit L.A.in 2007,she did visit L.A. in 2006.

 

[Joe Russo]

Make that 2 Queens visiting SF in 2009. So sad.

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

I still think that Cunard's owner Carnival Corp. did not handle this QE2 controversy with any class.They are the ones who claimed that the QE2 was already 80% compliant with the 2010 SOLAS regulations.And Cunard President Carol Marlow who does really work for the Carnival Corp.,said in an interview last summer that Cunard claims that the 2010 SOLAS regulations would not be a major hurdle for the QE2.But now playing Devil's advocate if the above claims are true about the QE2 that Carnival Corp. planned to keep her sailing beyond 2010,Maybe when Carnival Corp. got the $100,000,000 offer for the QE2,Carnival Corp. then started thinking about when the time came for the QE2 to be retired whether it's 2015,2016 or beyond 2016,Carnival Corp. then probably thought that this is the best thing for the QE2.Carnival Corp. after it got the $100,000,000 offer,then must have thought we may not get this offer for the QE2 beyond 2010 and who knows if any other potential buyer post 2010 would want to preserve the QE2 as a floating hotel.It is possible that post 2010 Carnival Corp. may have ended up selling the QE2 for scrap metal for her steel hull and aluminum superstructure if no buyer would want to preserve the ship as a floating hotel.Then if that was the case possibly then Carnival Corp. feared of negative publicity at the sight of the QE2 being dragged onto a beach at Alang,India.Just look at the negative publicity NCL got when the S.S.Norway was dragged onto the beach at Alang,India.Then there was the attempt of British business interests of wanting to buy the QE2 to use as a floating hotel in Southampton,England.The problems with that idea is that Southampton being a busy port may lack a berth that the QE2 can permamently dock at.So if Southampton does not have berth space available could another British port have a available dock space for the QE2? How about Liverpool since Cunard used to have its headquarters there or how about a Scottish port since the QE2 was built in Scotland? Would British taxpayer money have to be used to buy and maintain the QE2?Would the majority of British taxpayers be for or against this proposal if their taxpayer money was needed to consumate the deal and to maintain the ship?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I still think that Cunard's owner Carnival Corp. did not handle this QE2 controversy with any class.<<

Perhaps not but then few businesses can really afford the luxury of being overly sentimental. They made a business decision which in their view was the best they could make given the available options and their obligations to their stockholders.

This may hardly be ideal from our point of view, and as a practical matter, it may not turn out to be the best, but there are some options out there which are a lot worse.

Alang anyone?

 

[Kyle Johnstone]

1967 - 2007

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In 1967, Chairman of the Cunard Line, Sir Basil Smallpiece, announces the retirement of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth:

"...we cannot allow our affections or our sense of history to divert us from our aim of making Cunard a thriving company, and no other decision will make commercial sense".

In 2007, those words are just as valid now as then.

"It's not personal...it's just business."
Michael Corleone

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>"It's not personal...it's just business."
Michael Corleone<<

Fortunately, Cunard's solution was a bit less drastic then a firefight at the toll booth. As always, the bottom line rules and in business it has to.

 

[Sam Brannigan]

Oops! Sorry - thought this thread was about something else! ;-)

 

[Michael H. Standart]

From Yahoo Canada:

Cunard Line Queens to Meet for Royal Rendezvous in New York Harbor on January 13

quote:

VALENCIA, Calif., Dec. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, January 13, 2008, Cunard Line operator of The Most Famous Ocean Liners in the World will, for the first and only time, sail their three luxury liner Queens -- flagship Queen Mary 2, famed Queen Elizabeth 2 and the new Queen Victoria -- together out of New York harbor. The regal fleet is scheduled to depart at 6:30 p.m. Queen Mary 2 will depart from her home port, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal while QE2 will depart from Pier 92 and Queen Victoria will depart from Pier 88 both at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Then, the three Queens will rendezvous and sail past the Statue of Liberty during a spectacular fireworks celebration at approximately 7:00 p.m.

Story at http://ca.us.biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071227/lath050.html?.v=101

Comment: With three different ships, I didn't quite know where to put this story, and this thread was as good as any. If you can get the time and you want to see three queens together, New York City on January 13, 2008 will be the place to be.

[Moderator's Note: This message was oiginally posted to another thread, but has been moved to this pre-existing one which addresses the same event. MAB]

 

[Jerry Nuovo]

Here is information from the Cunard website concerning next Sunday in New York Harbor when all 3 Cunard Queens will for the first time be in the same harbor on the same day.I will be there to take pictures. www.cunard.com/rendezvous

[Moderator's Note: This message was oiginally posted as a separate thread, but has been moved to this pre-existing one which addresses the same event. MAB]

 

[John Clifford]

Jerry, I look forward to seeing the pictures that you, and anyone else in New York next weekend, will be taking. Those pictures will be great.

 

[Ryan Thompson]

Did QM, QE and QE2 ever get to meet in the same place?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Did QM, QE and QE2 ever get to meet in the same place?<<

Not yet. Keep an eye on New York on the 13th of this month.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

The blog I posted in another thread continues, with additions and some photos of the QE2 running alongside. See http://www.cruisecritic.com/features/articles.cfm?ID=617 and check back daily.

 

[Joe Russo]

If you check QV's webcam today you have a very nice view as it is pointed at QE2 as they cross the Atlantic on the way to New York.

http://cunard.com/bridgecam/qv_cam1.asp