Queen to name new cruise liner today (From Daily Echo)
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Queen Elizabeth to be named in Southampton today by the Queen
6:00am Monday 11th October 2010 in Queen Elizabeth
Queen to name new cruise liner today
The Queen will officially name Cunard's new Queen Elizabeth liner today in a ceremony at the vessel's home port of Southampton.
The Italian-built, 92,000-tonne vessel will then leave tomorrow for its maiden voyage - a sailing that was fully booked less than 30 minutes after going on sale.
The 964ft-long ship joins two other ''queens'' in the Cunard fleet - the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) and the Queen Victoria.
Full of art deco flourishes, the latest Queen Elizabeth recalls the era of the 1930s ocean liners.
The new ship features mosaics, chandeliers and cantilevered balconies. In the grand lobby is a recently-completed portrait of the Queen by Burnley-born artist Isobel Peachey.
At 31, Ms Peachey is thought to be the youngest woman artist commissioned to paint the Queen.
Also in the grand lobby is a panel depicting the port bow of the original Queen Elizabeth. This panel was created by the Queen's nephew Viscount Linley.
With a capacity of 2,092 passengers, the new vessel is Cunard's second-biggest after the QM2 which was also named by the Queen, at Southampton in 2004.
Capable of a maximum speed of 23.7 knots (about 27mph), the 16-deck Queen Elizabeth will feature West End-style shows in an 832-seater theatre. Other amenities include a spa, a games deck and a shopping arcade featuring brand names such as Fortnum & Mason and Harris Tweed.
Of the 1,046 rooms, 71% have balconies. There are four grand suites and two master suites, as well as 25 penthouses.
The first Queen Elizabeth was launched on the Clyde in Scotland in 1938 by the then Queen Elizabeth, later to become the Queen Mother. The present Queen, then 12 years old, was present at the ceremony.
The second vessel to bear the name - the QE2 - was launched on the Clyde by the Queen in 1967.
• There will be a live broadcast of the naming ceremony of Queen Elizabeth in the newly refurbished Guildhall Square from 3.25pm today, on two huge TV screens.
Comments(16)
owen_thesaints
says...
9:32am Mon 11 Oct 10
Brite Spark wrote:Who wants to see the real thing?
Fantastic I am sure that she will have a very good close up view of the ship, unlike the rest of us, who will be able to see it hundreds of yards away from Southampton's awful waterfront.
Thanks to our fantactic council's vision, in the future you will be able to see pictures and models of ships in the new museum.
Don't worry either about the crush, I can't ever see it being busy....
security words: loss-make (lets hope not its my Council tax paying for it :( )
Ferngully
says...
9:44am Mon 11 Oct 10
Brite Spark wrote:For a closer view jump on the Hythe Ferry.
Fantastic I am sure that she will have a very good close up view of the ship, unlike the rest of us, who will be able to see it hundreds of yards away from Southampton's awful waterfront.
Day Dreamer
says...
9:59am Mon 11 Oct 10
Southampton the Pride Of the South and Europes no1 Port.
derek james
says...
12:35pm Mon 11 Oct 10
Greyhound1405
says...
1:33pm Mon 11 Oct 10
Brite Spark
says...
1:54pm Mon 11 Oct 10
Crikey! I hope that Prince Phillip doesn't mind her being a different colour from usual.
Cranthorn
says...
2:57pm Mon 11 Oct 10
geoff51
says...
4:19pm Mon 11 Oct 10
derek james wrote:To the Tower and off with his head! if it wasn't for the Royal family we would now have President Blair! and a ship named after him would more likely to be a dredger!
given that most people's opinion of the royal family is of a state funded bunch of layabouts why name such a ship after one of them?
Irate Wintonian
says...
4:40pm Mon 11 Oct 10
.
That'll be the company that was founded by a German and is now owned by a Norwegian?
Big Mac
says...
5:05pm Mon 11 Oct 10
derek james wrote:Because naming it Derek James would have been plain stupid.
given that most people's opinion of the royal family is of a state funded bunch of layabouts why name such a ship after one of them?
Cranthorn
says...
5:25pm Mon 11 Oct 10
Irate Wintonian wrote:Yes, that's as maybe, but at least they'd employ some Ukians. Actually, most of them are probably from some other country, no you're right.
Buy British - Harland and Wolff . That'll be the company that was founded by a German and is now owned by a Norwegian?
drakey
says...
6:14pm Mon 11 Oct 10
Cranthorn wrote:What a load of rot!!! for one British Ports cant make large liners at such great demand and also may I add you must of had one stupid Lego set as a young person - because ive personally have never seen lego like that? Well i got up to see this Liner come up Soton Water - and crikey that bow looked incredible appearing out of the mist - so my suggestion is - be proud of what we have, no other British cities have large liners named across their sterns ;) only beacause we've now left the stone age :)
Someone in the office just said that the new Queen Elizabeth looks as if it has been made of Lego. It does too!! Congratulation Cunard on buying another vessel with all the design qualities and sleekness of a house brick. Just like the other Victoria and QM2. Please look at the proportions of the QE2 and learn what looks pretty. The bulbous bow looks more at home on an oil tanker than a liner. Buy British - John Brown yard or Harland and Wolf, would have been please to build a nice looking liner worthy of the name.
WoolstonSean
says...
12:33am Tue 12 Oct 10
Day Dreamer wrote:Europes No1 Port as in what way?
Portsmouth, Liverpool how often does the Queen name ships in your poor excuses for a Port? Southampton the Pride Of the South and Europes no1 Port.
It is 'Northern Europes' busiest cruise turnaround port in terms of cruise ship calls and the amount of passengers handled but Barcelona handles far more cruise turnaround calls annually and a far higher amount of passengers making it Europes No1 cruise port.
Rotterdam, Hamburg, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Zeebrugge all handle more containers than Southampton.
Southampton is not even a large port compared to the likes of Rotterdam, that is the second biggest port in the world.
You could say that Southampton is the UK's premier port in terms of cruise passengers handled but Dover is the UK's busiest port in terms of total passengers handled annually be it by ferry or cruise ship with Portsmouth coming second!
Don't get me wrong I am very proud of our port but it annoy's me when people seem to think its Europe's No1 port.
monkeenuts
says...
12:45pm Tue 12 Oct 10
Cranthorn wrote:there's no ship yards capable of building cruise ships in Britain, Maggie saw to that
Someone in the office just said that the new Queen Elizabeth looks as if it has been made of Lego. It does too!! Congratulation Cunard on buying another vessel with all the design qualities and sleekness of a house brick. Just like the other Victoria and QM2. Please look at the proportions of the QE2 and learn what looks pretty. The bulbous bow looks more at home on an oil tanker than a liner. Buy British - John Brown yard or Harland and Wolf, would have been please to build a nice looking liner worthy of the name.
Cranthorn
says...
3:00pm Tue 12 Oct 10
Brite Spark says...
9:23am Mon 11 Oct 10