Queen Elizabeth 2 bids Boston farewell
After cruising more than 5 million nautical miles, circling the
globe 26 times, and making more than 50 port calls to Boston since its
maiden voyage in 1969, the Queen Elizabeth 2 - the grande dame of the
high seas and the world's most traveled ocean liner - is chugging
toward retirement.
On the ship's last call in Boston, Captain Ian McNaught could not contain his pride, saying, "She's as good as she was on Day 1. There won't be another ship that will last this long, I can assure you of that."
She appeared yesterday, in so many ways, a relic of a bygone era, when trans-Atlantic journeys were made on ocean liners, not airplanes, and the cruise industry catered to a landed gentry. The wine-colored velvet seating in the bar beside the main dining room is nothing if not a throwback. There's a "theatre," spelled in the British way, bathrooms for "gents," and a tuxedo rental shop. The ship boasts nearly as many crew as passengers.
There are no climbing walls or wave pools - standard accoutrements of more modern vessels.
The QE2, which hasn't had a major upgrade since 1994, is on its grand finale tour of North America. In November, she will leave her home berth in Southampton, England, for the last time before beginning a cruise ship afterlife as a hotel/museum in Dubai.
McNaught said her new owners bought the ship for $100 million - about $60 million more than it cost to build - and plan to spend another $450 million for renovations.
"It's a great compliment to the ship," he said.