Queen Elizabeth comes home to Southampton (From Daily Echo)
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New Cunard cruise liner Queen Elizabeth arrives in her home port of Southampton
7:50am Friday 8th October 2010 in Queen Elizabeth By Echo Reporter
Queen Elizabeth comes home to Southampton
She's home!
Thousands of people lined Southampton Water today for the arrival of Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Elizabeth.
The vessel passed the city’s Mayflower Park at 7.45am and turned before berthing at the Ocean Terminal in the Eastern Docks.
A flotilla of smaller boats blasting their whistles turned out to escort the ship up Southampton Water.
Passengers of the Saga Pearl II berthed in the city also came out on deck to wave as Queen Elizabeth passed.
The Queen will officially name the cruise ship in a spectacular quayside ceremony in Southampton Docks on Monday in front of thousands of specially invited guests.
The third Cunard Queen to bear the name Elizabeth, will, after the naming ceremony, join vessels Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria based in Southampton.
As she undertakes this latest ceremony, the Queen will be recreating one of the most famous events of her long reign, when back in September 1967, she named the new vessel’s world famous predecessor, the legendary, Queen Elizabeth 2.
Built in Italy, the new ship is the sixth Cunard Queen in the company’s 170-year history and, at more than 92,000 tons, the second largest vessel ever built for the line.
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To celebrate the naming, Southampton City Council is hosting a series of free events.
Guildhall Square will be the scene of an Elizabethan Experience on Saturday and Sunday from 11am with demonstrations of music, dancing and sword fighting by costumed characters.
Tribute band The Kings of Queen will perform Queen’s greatest hits on Sunday from 7.30pm, after creative sessions for children at the Maritime Museum from 11.30am-3.30pm.
The naming ceremony will be broadcast live on a big screen in Guildhall Square on Monday from 3.25pm.
Queen Elizabeth will leave on her maiden voyage, a 13-night cruise to the Canary Islands, on Tuesday.
Comments(25)
Saint-Scooby
says...
8:31am Fri 8 Oct 10
freemantlegirl2
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8:45am Fri 8 Oct 10
And Pah! Sterling to you! ;) beat that if you can :P
dand_uk
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9:20am Fri 8 Oct 10
Ferngully
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9:20am Fri 8 Oct 10
freemantlegirl2 wrote:Likewise, saw her off calshot spit. No smelly, unshaven, shirtless, short wearing lorry drivers around and all the young layabouts were still in bed.
Saw her going down the river just now, with the foghorns going, helicopters - an amazing sight. Hoping to go down and see her close up. And Pah! Sterling to you! ;) beat that if you can :P
OSPREYSAINT
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9:35am Fri 8 Oct 10
Ferngully wrote:Because there is only one Queen Elizabeth (albeit the Second!). Pity it was not built in the UK but at least some of the fittings were made here in Southampton!
Why was it not called the Queen Elizabeth 3 ?
EarlyRiser
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10:46am Fri 8 Oct 10
Brite Spark
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10:49am Fri 8 Oct 10
dand_uk wrote:Good point, one of the pitfalls of Southampton's water front is that there is nohwere to see the Cunarders when they berth at Ocean Terminal, unless you go to Town Quay but even then they are some distance away. It's the Hythe Ferry for a close up look, or drive miles around to the other side of Southampton Water, still some distance from Ocean Terminal.
Where's the best place to view the ship on the southampton side of Southampton Water? Or is it best to go down to Marchwood etc to see it?
hedge end bob
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11:09am Fri 8 Oct 10
Brite Spark wrote:Go to DOCK GATE 4 and walk towards town quay, you will get quite a good view from there. your only about 700 yards away.
dand_uk wrote: Where's the best place to view the ship on the southampton side of Southampton Water? Or is it best to go down to Marchwood etc to see it?Good point, one of the pitfalls of Southampton's water front is that there is nohwere to see the Cunarders when they berth at Ocean Terminal, unless you go to Town Quay but even then they are some distance away. It's the Hythe Ferry for a close up look, or drive miles around to the other side of Southampton Water, still some distance from Ocean Terminal.
goard
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11:09am Fri 8 Oct 10
goard
News Fanatic
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11:16am Fri 8 Oct 10
Ferngully
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11:19am Fri 8 Oct 10
goard wrote:And there is me thinking it was built at Husbands Shipyard .....
I would point out this beautiful ship WAS NOT BUILT HERE; its questionable if it benefits Soton because I would like to see the actual figures, right down to port docking fees with all the ships - WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? I have this sinister dream of all these selfmade men/women and includes Various council top workers, office, even quango. Is there a fee for using our Mayflower Park - and is it put to cut all our taxes or anything beneficial to our own City not counting all those road works, modernising with projects by hungry greedy businessmen/women.A City of glass and steel. goard
Ferngully
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11:20am Fri 8 Oct 10
Vix1
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11:36am Fri 8 Oct 10
soton1980
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12:21pm Fri 8 Oct 10
Scrutinizer
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12:38pm Fri 8 Oct 10
redsnapper
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12:47pm Fri 8 Oct 10
goard wrote:Nothing of this size gets built here anymore, the investment required has never been made, the quality of work has dropped- just look at all the late running military contracts.
I would point out this beautiful ship WAS NOT BUILT HERE; its questionable if it benefits Soton because I would like to see the actual figures, right down to port docking fees with all the ships - WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? I have this sinister dream of all these selfmade men/women and includes Various council top workers, office, even quango. Is there a fee for using our Mayflower Park - and is it put to cut all our taxes or anything beneficial to our own City not counting all those road works, modernising with projects by hungry greedy businessmen/women.A City of glass and steel.
goard
Meanwhile here in our own back yard the Southampton City Councils has proved completely and utterly visionless in marketing Southampton as a world class cruise port let alone developing an area of the docks into something like the Waterfront in Capetown where visitors to Southampton can rest, relax, shop, eat, sight see and generally spend more time and boosting the local economy big time. Instead we have a dock side which has hardly hanged in years and the recreation area are pretty much second rate.
Shame.
RobJChase
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12:55pm Fri 8 Oct 10
Keith Oftergrass
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1:41pm Fri 8 Oct 10
Scrutinizer
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1:47pm Fri 8 Oct 10
RobJChase wrote:Or good "Ol' Bess" to 'er mates, eh?!
Just for info, she should be referred to as "Queen Elizabeth", not "the Queen Elizabeth".
southy
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2:19pm Fri 8 Oct 10
Vix1 wrote:she got nice hull lines, ugly superstructure top heavy, in side around the dance hall ect it looks some thing like the old QE1 in style and you think wow that looks good till you get up close and see what its made off. its made up the same way you would fit out a kitchen in your home. pre made diy stuff not a good tight fit. unlike the old QE1 every thing on that ship was made on the spot and was a tight fit.
what a beautiful ship! shame they don't do tours for the likes of us ordinary folk. I would love to have a look around.
southy
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2:35pm Fri 8 Oct 10
redsnapper wrote:goard abpj dont keep its profits in a uk bank. it place all in a tax free heaven. you and every one else is paying for the fact those companys that put there money in tax free heavens by paying a higher tax on your interest in uk banks.
goard wrote:Nothing of this size gets built here anymore, the investment required has never been made, the quality of work has dropped- just look at all the late running military contracts.
I would point out this beautiful ship WAS NOT BUILT HERE; its questionable if it benefits Soton because I would like to see the actual figures, right down to port docking fees with all the ships - WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? I have this sinister dream of all these selfmade men/women and includes Various council top workers, office, even quango. Is there a fee for using our Mayflower Park - and is it put to cut all our taxes or anything beneficial to our own City not counting all those road works, modernising with projects by hungry greedy businessmen/women.A City of glass and steel.
goard
Meanwhile here in our own back yard the Southampton City Councils has proved completely and utterly visionless in marketing Southampton as a world class cruise port let alone developing an area of the docks into something like the Waterfront in Capetown where visitors to Southampton can rest, relax, shop, eat, sight see and generally spend more time and boosting the local economy big time. Instead we have a dock side which has hardly hanged in years and the recreation area are pretty much second rate.
Shame.
redsnapper there was a load of british workers on this building job in italy and its only because of the 80's tory government why ships like this are no longer built in the uk. they destroyed the british industry, whitch is one reason why our imports are far greater than our exports and has bankrupt this country. and our military contracts lagging behind is because those young people dont have the experience of the older guys, and this multi skill thing dont work all so none become master of a trade,
you can not compare us with capetown, capetown has a far larger harbour than southampton, southampton harbour is very tiny when put up against capetown harbour they have the room to expand we dont
Brite Spark
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4:01pm Fri 8 Oct 10
col123
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5:20pm Fri 8 Oct 10
g blocks of flats" and all the usual inane comments. We have a new breed of Ships.Get Used to it. She wasn't built in the UK for the very simple reason that there is no longer a British Shipyard capable of building big Ships At the end of WW2 the Allied Powers were so busy pouring money into German and other former enemies smashed up Shipyards there was no money to modernise British Shipyards,who were no longer able to compete.
southy
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1:03pm Sat 9 Oct 10
col123 wrote:is that why we was still building ships right in to the 70's and not just for the home market but also for overseas orders.
The usual carping from Landlubbers."Floatin
g blocks of flats" and all the usual inane comments. We have a new breed of Ships.Get Used to it. She wasn't built in the UK for the very simple reason that there is no longer a British Shipyard capable of building big Ships At the end of WW2 the Allied Powers were so busy pouring money into German and other former enemies smashed up Shipyards there was no money to modernise British Shipyards,who were no longer able to compete.
thatcher was the one who destroyed the ship building and repairs industry in the uk
Ferngully says...
7:54am Fri 8 Oct 10