QE2 on final voyage as Cunard flagship

The QE2 was nearing the completion of a transatlantic crossing that will see the end of the liner's status as Cunard flagship.

The 35-year-old liner is en route to Southampton, accompanied by the 150,000-tonne Queen Mary 2 (QM2), which is set to assume Cunard flagship status in a ceremony to be held on Saturday May 1.

Both vessels left New York earlier this week. The QM2, the world’s largest and most expensive liner, will now take over the QE2’s Southampton – New York sailings.

The two ships are expected to dock in Southampton at 5am tomorrow morning (May 1). Later that day, invited guests will be able to tour both ships and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott will preside at a ceremony, involving the masters of the vessels.

QE2 master Captain, Ian McNaught will also be handing over the Boston Cup to QM2 master Commodore Ron Warwick. The cup was presented by the people of Boston, Massachusetts to Cunard founder, Samuel Cunard, when he completed the first scheduled steamship Atlantic crossing – from Liverpool to Boston – in the vessel Britannia in 1840. The cup has been carried on Cunard’s flagship ever since.

After the ceremony, the QE2 will be sailing past the still-docked QM2 towards Germany, where she will undergo a refit before resuming passenger cruises, with a trip to Europe starting on May 22.

The QM2 will set sail for New York tomorrow evening.

(KmcA)