Queen Elizabeth

[Arron]

Drove down to Southampton this past Sunday to catch a ferry down to Isle of Wight. While we was there, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was sat there. It was getting ready to embark on her first journey. The queen smashed the bottle on it or something. You can get more info on this website: http://www.cunard.co.uk/

Well I got a few pictures of the £404 million beaut. Not the best, but just look at the size...

http://i55.tinypic.com/143kpcz.jpg
http://i55.tinypic.com/2uhsoih.jpg
The camera was only 4.1 million pixels, so the quality probably isn't as good as a 12 mp.

edit. title error lmao :)

Moved from 'Discuss Anything' by Recursion (Forum Super Moderator)

[Phil]

That's actually one massive ship. What's it pupose? Is it for getting pople from A to B or is it a cruise ship?

[Arron]

It's a voyage I think.

[ChickenFaces]

Whoa dang, that's a big boat :)

I've never been on a large boat but I really want to!

[Arron]

The first sailing sold out in 20 minutes. This is no place for the poor.. :(

[-:Undertaker:-]

Interesting pictures, although it is sad that the ship was built in Italy and not Great Britain - the former top maritime nation of the world.

[Arron]

italy? i thought it was France? if not nvm xD

[Apple]

I don't really like the look of it at all, it has nothing on the Queen Mary.

[Arron]

Wednesday 27th October. I just saw an advert on telly about the construction of the QE2. Worth watching on Discovery Channel :)

[Mathew]

Massive ships like this really do amaze me. It's simply astonishing how a great big lump of metal like this can float. Yes it's a cruise ship for holidays rather than a form of transport. Nice bit of service history (despite the lack of paragraphing!) from Wikipedia; the world cruise must be brilliant.


On Monday October 4th 2010 Queen Elizabeth was formally handed over to Cunard. Queen Elizabeth sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton on Tuesday October 12th 2010, following a naming ceremony by the monarch on Monday 11th October 2010. Her maiden voyage will include calls at the Spanish port of Vigo before heading for Lisbon, Cadiz, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira. Afterwards the ship will make several European cruises until she departs on her first World Cruise leaving Southampton on January 5th 2011, stopping at New York, Fort Lauderdale, Aruba and Limon before transiting the Panama Canal. She will then call at Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas and Los Angeles before crossing the Pacific Ocean to Lahaina, Honolulu, Apia, Pago Pago, Fiji, Bay of Islands, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Bali, Hong Kong, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Ko Samui, Langkawi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, before crossing the Indian Ocean westbound for Kochi, Mumbai and Muscat. Sailing westbound again across the Arabian Sea before passing through the Strait of Hormuz to call at Dubai in the Persian Gulf, where the Queen Elizabeth will dock close to her predeccesor Queen Elizabeth 2 for the first time. After calling at Salalah and Aqaba the ship will transit the Suez Canal. Westbound Mediterranean calls will be at Athens and Rome, before passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to make a final call at Lisbon on the Atlantic coast of Portugal before returning to Southampton. The voyage is expected to take 103 days. She will then make many European cruises before September 2011 when she is expected to make her maiden Round-the-British-Isles cruise departing Southampton on the 2nd of September 2011 making her way to Edinburgh, Invergordon for Inverness, Greenock for Glasgow, Liverpool, Dublin, Cork and St Peter Port in Guernsey before returning to Southampton. Then she will make various other European cruises until departing for a Caribbean cruise in November and December 2011. She will make a European debut January 2012 and it is not known whether she will take part in a world voyage for 2012 as of yet.


The QE2 has retired now and serves as a hotel in Dubai if I'm not mistaken.

This ship was indeed built in Italy at the legendary Fincantieri (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fincantieri) ship builders (which is conveniently where the two best looking ships were made - the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder, which we have been on 3 and 2 times respectively).

http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/disney-wonder-5.jpg

[Cheryl]

The Cunard ships really do look delicious - never been on one though - may be on one this summer to NY.

Just out of interest has anyone ever been on a cruise?

I've been on 4. They're really great and people need to break the stereotype of 'cruises are for old people' they're wonderful social places for teenagers as well - especially in school holidays

And Mathew - I'm assuming you mean the QM2 is a hotel in Dubai

Dilusionate - it's purpose is a cruise boat, many start in England (Southampton or Dover usually) and go back to the origin stopping in many places - often for only a day or 2 in each location. Cunard are one of the most prestigious cruise ship companies

[Mathew]

The Cunard ships really do look delicious - never been on one though - may be on one this summer to NY.

Just out of interest has anyone ever been on a cruise?

I've been on 4. They're really great and people need to break the stereotype of 'cruises are for old people' they're wonderful social places for teenagers as well - especially in school holidays

And Mathew - I'm assuming you mean the QM2 is a hotel in Dubai

Dilusionate - it's purpose is a cruise boat, many start in England (Southampton or Dover usually) and go back to the origin stopping in many places - often for only a day or 2 in each location. Cunard are one of the most prestigious cruise ship companies
Wikipedia is telling me both the ships are in Dubai so I don't know! :P

I do agree about the sterotype. Older generations believe that cruising is primarily for adults when I would now suggest they are for families more than anything.

We've been on the Disney Magic three times, the Disney Wonder twice and the Royal Caribbean Soverign of the Seas twice. The Disney ships have a bit of everything for everyone - they are truly the best ships afloat!
I really do enjoy going to the different ports of call and seeing how people live their lives. We've visited places in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, including Nassau, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, St. Martin, etc. Nassau in particular is rather interesting, straw market (the poor community right next to the rich). Simply amazing.

[Apple]

Wikipedia is telling me both the ships are in Dubai so I don't know! :P

I do agree about the sterotype. Older generations believe that cruising is primarily for adults when I would now suggest they are for families more than anything.

We've been on the Disney Magic three times, the Disney Wonder twice and the Royal Caribbean Soverign of the Seas twice. The Disney ships have a bit of everything for everyone - they are truly the best ships afloat!
I really do enjoy going to the different ports of call and seeing how people live their lives. We've visited places in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, including Nassau, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, St. Martin, etc. Nassau in particular is rather interesting, straw market (the poor community right next to the rich). Simply amazing.

I would really like to go for a cruise on the oasis of the seas with my family, my mum looked into it but she said it didn't look as if it went on cruises around the Caribbean which is what we wanted. Do you know anything more about it? :)

[Mathew]

I would really like to go for a cruise on the oasis of the seas with my family, my mum looked into it but she said it didn't look as if it went on cruises around the Caribbean which is what we wanted. Do you know anything more about it? :)
Oasis of the Seas? I'm jealous! Absolutely massive ship with great amenities on board.

According to the official Royal Caribbean (http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?br=R&shipCode=OA&wuc=GBR) site, it does indeed go to the Caribbean :) The Oasis of the Seas departs from Ft. Lauderdale in Florida and stops off at: St. Thomas, Cozumel (Mexico), Costa Maya (Mexico), Nassau, St. Martin, Haiti and Jamaica.

We've visited them all other than the final two, so if you decide to book and need more info, let me know :P

[Apple]

Oasis of the Seas? I'm jealous! Absolutely massive ship with great amenities on board.

According to the official Royal Caribbean (http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/findacruise/ports/group/home.do?br=R&shipCode=OA&wuc=GBR) site, it does indeed go to the Caribbean :) The Oasis of the Seas departs from Ft. Lauderdale in Florida and stops off at: St. Thomas, Cozumel (Mexico), Costa Maya (Mexico), Nassau, St. Martin, Haiti and Jamaica.

We've visited them all other than the final two, so if you decide to book and need more info, let me know :P

It's the shear size of it that got me interested in it in the first place. Then after watching the documentary on it being built I just knew that I had to go for a cruise on it.

When sailing back into Athens on a rather large ferry (had gone out exploring some random islands) we were lucky enough to see the Navigator of the Seas. Here are the pics we took, as you can see it towers above the city of Athens and compared to the Oasis of the Seas; it's tiny lol!

http://i56.tinypic.com/35b9ron.png

http://i53.tinypic.com/24qtjxu.png

(excuse my crappy editing)

[Mathew]

Might as well post pictures of the one we saw in St. Maarten. Just looked on the back of the ship and it's the Mariner of the Seas :P
The only Royal Caribbean we've been on is the Soverign of the Seas which is the smallest; much prefer Disney :P

http://i54.tinypic.com/33zblmf.jpg

http://i53.tinypic.com/2a5khw2.jpg

[Suspective]

I'd love to go on a cruise one day!

aha
those ships look like mighty things

[Cheryl]

I do want to go on the Oasis but my dad doesn't want to go on any bigger than the 3,000 odd we went on: Crown Princess and P&O Ventura - both wonderful ships - sisters as it happens.
We have also been on Royal Caribbean - Legend of the Seas and Norwegian Cruise Lines - Norwegian Dream.
Those two are fairly small less than 2,000 each I think.
Then way back I went on P&O Oreana