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| History | |
|---|---|
 Bermuda | |
| Name | Queen Elizabeth |
| Namesake | RMS Queen Elizabeth |
| Owner |  Carnival Corporation & plc |
| Operator |  Cunard Line |
| Port of registry |
|
| Route | Various |
| Ordered | October 2007 |
| Builder | FincantieriMonfalcone Shipyard,Italy |
| Cost | £350 million (approx.)[1] (US$560 million) |
| Yard number | 6187 |
| Laid down | 2 July 2009 |
| Launched | 5 January 2010 |
| Christened | 11 October 2010 |
| Completed | October 2010 |
| Maiden voyage | 12 October 2010 |
| In service | 2010–present |
| Identification | |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Vista-classcruise ship |
| Tonnage | 90,901 GT |
| Length | 294 m (964 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 32.3 m (106 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 8 m (26 ft 3 in) |
| Decks |
|
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 23.7 knots (43.9 km/h; 27.3 mph) |
| Capacity | 2,092 passengers lower beds, 2,547 maximum passengers |
MSQueen Elizabeth (QE[2]) is acruise ship of theVista class operated by theCunard Line. The design is modified compared to earlier ships of the same class, and slightly larger thanQueen Victoria, at 92,000 GT.
The ship's name was announced by Cunard on 10 October 2007. Since the retirement ofQueen Elizabeth 2 in 2008 the company has operated four vessels.[3] The naming of the ship asQueen Elizabeth brings about a situation similar to that between 1940 and 1948, when Cunard'soriginalQueen Elizabeth was in service at the same time as theRoyal NavybattleshipHMS Queen Elizabeth.
Queen Elizabeth is similar in design toQueen Victoria; however, the steeper stern allowed a slightly higher passenger capacity of up to 2,058 compared toQueen Victoria's 2,014.[4]
Also unlike many previous Cunard Queens,Queen Elizabeth is not a trueocean liner as she does not have the heavy plating throughout the hull. However, thebow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with the transatlantic run, and the ship has a highfreeboard.[5]
Although having an almost identical interior arrangement toQueen Victoria, the decor is very different. The ship is a tribute to the two previous Queen Elizabeth-named ships: the originalQueen Elizabeth andQueen Elizabeth 2. She also evokes the era of the 1930s, in which Cunard's firstQueen Elizabeth was launched, with manyart deco interior touches.[6] The ship also features a Britannia Club section of the main restaurant, which is a feature onQueen Mary 2, but not available onQueen 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.[7] The sliding roof over the Winter Garden featured onQueen Victoria is replaced with a simple glass roof with the space being renamed the Garden Lounge.[8]
Following the ship's construction in Italy from 2007 to 2010, Cunard Line officially confirmed thatQueen Elizabeth II would name Cunard's new ship.[9] The ceremony was held inSouthampton on 11 October 2010 before the ship set sail on her maiden voyage to theCanary Islands the following day.[10] Queen Elizabeth II was also thesponsor of the now-retiredQueen Elizabeth 2 in 1967 and Cunard's currentflagship,Queen Mary 2, in 2004.[11]
The firstmaster ofQueen Elizabeth was Captain Christopher Wells.[12] On 4 October 2010Queen 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.[13]
On 13 January 2011, two years after the first Cunard Royal Rendezvous, RMSQueen Mary 2 met up withQueen Victoria and the then brand newQueen Elizabeth for another Royal Rendezvous inNew York City. BothQueen Victoria andQueen Elizabeth made an Atlantic crossing in tandem for the event. All three Cunarders met in front of theStatue of Liberty at 6:45 pm for a Grucci fireworks display. TheEmpire State Building was lit up in red to mark the event.[14] At the end of October 2011Queen Elizabeth and her fleet mates were registered toHamilton, Bermuda, in order to host weddings aboard.[15]
On 5 June 2012 all three 'Queens' met once more, but this time in Southampton in order to celebrate theQueen's Diamond Jubilee.[16] On 29 June 2012, the ship made her one and only visit toNy-Ålesund, inSvalbard. 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 thatQueen Elizabeth will never be able to visit again.[17] On 15 July 2012 bothQueen Elizabeth andQueen Mary 2 visitedHamburg for the first time together.[18]
On 12 March 2013 the cruise ship passed the former Cunard linerQueen Mary, then a hotel inLong Beach, California, for the first time along with fireworks display.[19] On 31 August 2013, British journalist and broadcasterSir David Frost died onboard of a heart attack. Frost had been invited to give a speech by Cunard whilst travelling on board the ship.[20]
On 1 March 2014Queen Elizabeth sailed into Sydney Harbour displaying a 126-metres long rainbow 'Happy Mardi Gras' banner from her top decks in tribute to theSydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.[21][22][23]
On 9 May 2014 bothQueen Elizabeth andQueen Victoria ledQueen Mary 2 up the Southampton channel in single file, with both ships docking in a bow to bow formation performing a birthday salute toQueen Mary 2. Later on, all three Cunarders gathered for a fireworks display during whichQueen Mary 2 led bothQueen Elizabeth andQueen Victoria back down the channel.[24]
On 20 December 2014Queen Elizabeth on a four night cruise was unable to dock in Amsterdam due to stormy conditions and was forced to circle in the English channel before returning to Southampton early.[25]
In April 2015 while visitingSihanoukville,Cambodia a passenger died on the Queen Elizabeth following an accident whilst boarding from a tender.[26][27][28]
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On 25 May 2015 the three 'Queens' were positioned atLiverpool 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 theRiver Mersey, bow to stern, turned 180 degrees in full synchronisation with each other, which was known as the "river dance", they then formed an arrow side by side.Queen Mary 2 was in the centre with its bow in line with theCunard Building at thePier Head. TheRoyal Air Force's display team, theRed Arrows, performed aflypast inVic formation, emitting red, white and blue smoke, over the vessels. An estimated 1.3 million people lined the river banks to witness the spectacle.[29]
On 13 August 2016Queen Elizabeth made the 2,500th cruise ship call atKiel, Germany.[30]
In September 2017 the ship hosted a special commemorative cruise to honour the 50th anniversary of its predecessorQE2.[31] The Mediterranean cruise was chosen to pay tribute to QE2's role as a cruise ship.[32] Special guests include Captain Ian McNaught, Commodore Ronald Warwick, Maritime Historian Chris Frame and QE2 Social Hostess Maureen Ryan.[33]
In January 2019 Queen Elizabeth underwent a two week refit at theDamen Shiprepair Brest. Cabins, corridors, the spa and retail spaces were refurbished. Two cabins were removed to install anexhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS).[34]
On 23 May 2019,Queen Elizabeth began regular service betweenVancouver,British Columbia, Canada and various destinations inAlaska, United States.[35]
Queen Elizabeth left Southampton in December 2019 for an extended cruise season in Australia.[36][37][38]
On 24 February 2020Queen Elizabeth was denied permission to dock inRabaul by the Governor ofEast New Britain Province,Papua New Guinea due to their growing concerns regarding theCOVID-19 pandemic.[39][40]
On 28 February 2020 the Queen Elizabeth was the largest ship to ever dock at the Port ofCairns,Queensland, after shipping channel and wharf upgrades.[41][42]
Australia banned cruise ships arriving from foreign ports from 15 March 2020, and on 27 March 2020 directed all foreign-flagged ships to leave the country.[43] Queen Elizabeth was initially moored offshore near Newcastle, Australia, before departing forManila Bay, Philippines, to anchor with a number of other cruise ships.[44] On 18 May 2020Typhoon Vongfong briefly forced to sea all the cruise ships anchored in Manila Bay.[45]
On 26 July 2020Queen Elizabeth departed Manila Bay and returned to the UK, where it was moored inWeymouth Bay withQueen Mary 2 andQueen Victoria, for the remainder of 2020 and the first half of 2021.[46]
Resumption of cruising byQueen Elizabeth, scheduled for 19 July 2021, was delayed due to a small number of crew contracting COVID-19.[47]
Queen Elizabeth finally returned to sailing on 13 August 2021 after a 17-month break.[48]
On 28 November 2021 theQueen Elizabeth was unable to dock in Southampton due to the extreme weather ofStorm Arwen causing the next voyage to be cancelled.[49]
In July 2021 large cruise ships returned to Alaska.[50] However, Canada extended the ban on cruise ships until April 2022.[51][52][53][54]
In May 2022Queen Elizabeth returned to the North Pacific to start the Alaska cruise season.[55]
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recognised the contribution of theQueen Elizabeth for reporting 192 whale sightings in 2022 to their Whale Alert Alaska program.[56][57]
In August theQueen Elizabeth returned to Europe for the 2022 autumn season.[55]
Australia reopened for cruise ships on 17 April 2022[58][59] and on 31 July 2022, New Zealand's borders reopened for cruise ships.[60]
Queen Elizabeth returned to Australia for an extended summer cruise season on 7 November 2022.[61] On 27 November 2022,Queen Elizabeth was prevented from visitingBali, Indonesia, due to some passengers testing positive for COVID-19, and was diverted toFremantle but was then able to continue the scheduled cruise around Australia.[62]
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In January 2023, theQueen Elizabeth was forced to skip visits toFiordland, includingMilford Sound, andDunedin in New Zealand due tobiofouling concerns.[63] On 15 January 2023, adverse weather offshore fromTauranga prevented safe hull cleaning and the ship was prevented from visiting theBay of Islands.[64][65]
In February 2023, after extensive consultation with New Zealand authorities, it was stipulated that additional work was required in advance of visiting any New Zealand destinations, which was not possible. The planned cruise to New Zealand was replaced with visits to Australian ports.[66] Having completed the Australian cruise season theQueen Elizabeth sailed forSingapore viaBali andJakarta. On 16 March 2023, theQueen Elizabeth enteredSembcorp Marine Shipyards drydock for scheduled maintenance in preparation for the North Pacific summer cruise season.[67]
On 15 November 2022, Japan announced it would be reopening for cruise ship visits.[68] On 3 April 2023, theQueen Elizabeth leftSingapore on a repositioning cruise to Japan via Vietnam, Philippines and Taiwan.[67]
TheQueen Elizabeth was based in Japan for the spring cruise season.[69] This coincided with the 100th anniversary year of the visit of theCunard RMS Laconia to Japan on the first continuous circumnavigation of the world by a passenger liner in 1923, the firstworld cruise.[69][70][71]
To celebrate theCoronation of King Charles III on 6 May 2023, theQueen Elizabeth channeled the ceremony live fromWestminster Abbey into the ship's Royal Court Theatres and stateroom TVs. There was also a special Coronation dinner menu, cocktails and events.[72][73][74]
In May 2023 theQueen Elizabeth sailed to Alaska for the summer.[75][76][77]Queen Elizabeth is one of a handful of cruise ships permitted to sail in theUNESCO-listedGlacier Bay National Park.US National Park Service park rangers onboard the ship provided special presentations about the park.[78][79] Former SAS member turned TV adventurerBear Grylls also provide motivational presentations.[80]
TheQueen Elizabeth crossed the Atlantic in September 2023 to spend the autumn in the Mediterranean before transiting the Suez Canal and heading for Australia for the 2023/2024 Christmas season in the southern hemisphere summer, Japan for spring 2024 and back to Alaska in early summer 2024.[79]
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In October 2024, along with the Norwegian vesselLodbrog, theQueen Elizabeth responded to the mayday and eventual sinking of theRoyal New Zealand Navy shipHMNZS Manawanui off the coast ofSamoa.[81][82]
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