Last glimpse of legend QE2
Oct 9 2008 by Chris Robinson, The Journal
SPECTATORS turned out in their thousands yesterday to catch a glimpse of luxury liner the QE2. The Cunard vessel sailed into the Tyne as part of her final voyage before she becomes a floating hotel in Dubai.
There were 14 different nationalities on board and 1,000 British passengers sailing for the final time.
Jim Stanley, 72, and his wife Joan, 70, were not only celebrating their golden wedding anniversary but their birthdays.
Mr Stanley, of Liverpool, said it was an emotional voyage but was pleased the QE2 stopped off on the Tyne to celebrate the North East’s rich shipbuilding history.
He added: “Everything has been fantastic, very memorable.
“There have been an awful lot of emotions from all ages groups on board, it has been a wonderful experience.”
Last night a firework display lit up the night skies before the vessel sailed on her final voyage to Southampton.
Sunderland-based Captain Ian McNaught, master of the QE2 for five years, said the last leg of the journey had been spectacular.
“I’m very proud to be here but feel a little bit of sadness as well as the ship travels to the end of her working life,” he said. “I am so pleased when passengers come back on board and say how much they enjoyed their visit to the North East.”
Fergus Poole, cruise and international passenger terminal manager for Port of Tyne, said the success of hosting the QE2 showed how the port had the capability of hosting vessels of a similar size.
He added: “This is the most incredible cruise ship in the world. It puts the port on the map and also the region.”
The ship, launched by the Queen in 1967, has carried more than two million voyagers. She was launched on the Clyde 41 years ago.
The 70,300-ton liner was sold last year in a £50m deal and will end her days entertaining holidaymakers in the Middle East. Her new berth will be in the Palm Jumeirah resort, a set of man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree off the coast of Dubai.
Despite reports that the QE2 had made her final trip to the Tyne last September, the Port of Tyne co-ordinated her final farewell last night.
Plans for the QE2 include her transformation into a floating hotel, featuring public promenades, shops, cafes and restaurants and a museum.
The QE2, one of the world’s most famous ships, has circumnavigated the world 25 times, crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times and carried more than 2.5 million passengers, including royalty, prime ministers and presidents, astronauts and The Beatles. She carried 3,000 troops to the Falklands War, survived a 95ft wave during Hurricane Luis in 1995 while off America’s east coast and rescued 500 passengers from a burning ship.
