This week, I thought I would take another look at Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) seeing as how she is the world’s most famous ship and will be leaving service this year. My own connection to the ship began in 1969, not long after the ship went into service, on a ship visit in New York. Since then I have sailed on QE2 some 70-odd times. I did not really set out to make so many voyages; I just enjoyed being on the ship and it just followed naturally that it was the place to be during those times when one has a choice of where to be.
During her service life, QE2 has garnered a long list of achievements. For many years, the ship was synonymous with luxury and numerous celebrities were included in the passenger list. Although for a long times, QE2 was the largest ship in service, she is considerably smaller than many of today’s mega-cruise ships. As a result, passengers often had direct contact with these celebrities, which made for some interesting experiences.
There was also QE2’s wartime experience as a troopship during the Falklands War. Without QE2 and P&O’s Canberra, Britain could never have transported an army half way around the world to the war zone. Thus, it is not too much to say that QE2 played a vital role in winning that war, which was important not only in the re-vitalization of Britain but in the Cold War because the Soviets were watching to see what kind of response the West would and could make to such a provocation.
QE2 evolved and grew during the course of her lifetime. The original concept was for a ship that could do both the transatlantic service between the US and Britain as well as cruising. Accordingly, she was built in a very technologically advanced manner but also in such a way as to allow her to be constantly up-graded. For example, the hull, accommodations and public spaces were such that it made sense nearly 20 years after she was built to remove completely her old steam engines and replace them with a diesel-electric plant - - a massive undertaking. QE2’s evolution also saw the addition of cabins, the addition and subsequent removal of a retractable glass roof, the lengthening of decks, the addition of new public areas and the modification of others, as well as various paint schemes. It is possible to look at a photograph of the ship and deduce the date the photo was taken give or take a year or two.
There was an evolution in the style of the ship as well. QE2 was built to replace Cunard’s original Queen ships: Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. For all practical purposes, the coming of the commercial jet in the late 1950s put an end to the use of ships as a means of transporting people from Europe to America. However, another factor in the demise of the old ocean liners was that the public viewed them as old-fashioned and dull. Therefore, QE2 was designed to be a hip venue reflecting the Swinging England of the 1960s. Her public rooms used abstract shapes, naugahyde, and spaceage lighting. Outside her curving lines of her bow and superstructure were a break from the past. She was not a traditional liner.
Over the years, as the pendulum of public taste swung back towards tradition, QE2’s interior gradually became more like that of the older liners. In addition, with new cruise ships entering the market which were even a more radical departure from the ships of the past, QE2 started to look more like a traditional ship.
This was tremendously fortuitous because by the late 1990s, Cunard was barely surviving and it was a good bet that the company and its flagship would soon expire. However, the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic, rekindled public interest in traditional ocean liners and seeing a market opportunity, Carnival Corporation stepped in and saved Cunard. QE2 would sail on for another decade.
On my website this week, I have posted three photo essays of the ship during her last year. Each of them shows the ship in a characteristic situation. The first shows QE2 in New York during her final world cruise. http://beyondships.com/QE2-WC-NY.html. We see the ship at the Passenger Ship Terminal in Manhattan and sailing down the North River (a.k.a. the Hudson River) like she did so many times when she was Cunard’s flagship. The second shows QE2 on a ceremonial occasion - - the last meeting with fleetmate Queen Victoria, Cunard’s newest ship. http://beyondships.com/QE2-QV.html Finally, the third shows QE2 in her homeport of Southampton, England preparing for a cruise. http://beyondships.com/QE2-hythe.html All of these photos are exterior photos. There is a comprehensive interior tour of the ship at http://www.beyondships.com/QE2Tour.html
During her service life, QE2 has garnered a long list of achievements. For many years, the ship was synonymous with luxury and numerous celebrities were included in the passenger list. Although for a long times, QE2 was the largest ship in service, she is considerably smaller than many of today’s mega-cruise ships. As a result, passengers often had direct contact with these celebrities, which made for some interesting experiences.
There was also QE2’s wartime experience as a troopship during the Falklands War. Without QE2 and P&O’s Canberra, Britain could never have transported an army half way around the world to the war zone. Thus, it is not too much to say that QE2 played a vital role in winning that war, which was important not only in the re-vitalization of Britain but in the Cold War because the Soviets were watching to see what kind of response the West would and could make to such a provocation.
QE2 evolved and grew during the course of her lifetime. The original concept was for a ship that could do both the transatlantic service between the US and Britain as well as cruising. Accordingly, she was built in a very technologically advanced manner but also in such a way as to allow her to be constantly up-graded. For example, the hull, accommodations and public spaces were such that it made sense nearly 20 years after she was built to remove completely her old steam engines and replace them with a diesel-electric plant - - a massive undertaking. QE2’s evolution also saw the addition of cabins, the addition and subsequent removal of a retractable glass roof, the lengthening of decks, the addition of new public areas and the modification of others, as well as various paint schemes. It is possible to look at a photograph of the ship and deduce the date the photo was taken give or take a year or two.
There was an evolution in the style of the ship as well. QE2 was built to replace Cunard’s original Queen ships: Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. For all practical purposes, the coming of the commercial jet in the late 1950s put an end to the use of ships as a means of transporting people from Europe to America. However, another factor in the demise of the old ocean liners was that the public viewed them as old-fashioned and dull. Therefore, QE2 was designed to be a hip venue reflecting the Swinging England of the 1960s. Her public rooms used abstract shapes, naugahyde, and spaceage lighting. Outside her curving lines of her bow and superstructure were a break from the past. She was not a traditional liner.
Over the years, as the pendulum of public taste swung back towards tradition, QE2’s interior gradually became more like that of the older liners. In addition, with new cruise ships entering the market which were even a more radical departure from the ships of the past, QE2 started to look more like a traditional ship.
This was tremendously fortuitous because by the late 1990s, Cunard was barely surviving and it was a good bet that the company and its flagship would soon expire. However, the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic, rekindled public interest in traditional ocean liners and seeing a market opportunity, Carnival Corporation stepped in and saved Cunard. QE2 would sail on for another decade.
On my website this week, I have posted three photo essays of the ship during her last year. Each of them shows the ship in a characteristic situation. The first shows QE2 in New York during her final world cruise. http://beyondships.com/QE2-WC-NY.html. We see the ship at the Passenger Ship Terminal in Manhattan and sailing down the North River (a.k.a. the Hudson River) like she did so many times when she was Cunard’s flagship. The second shows QE2 on a ceremonial occasion - - the last meeting with fleetmate Queen Victoria, Cunard’s newest ship. http://beyondships.com/QE2-QV.html Finally, the third shows QE2 in her homeport of Southampton, England preparing for a cruise. http://beyondships.com/QE2-hythe.html All of these photos are exterior photos. There is a comprehensive interior tour of the ship at http://www.beyondships.com/QE2Tour.html
1 comment:
Great pictures!
I linked your post in my new blog about the QE2 Last Atlantic Crossing
http://www.qe2thelastcrossing.blogspot.com/
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