Sad day for CUNARD and Maritime History

CUNARD flagship was in Southampton yesterday for the last time as a British Merchant ship. QM2 will be registered in Bermuda as from the 1st of December, the ship left Southampton yesterday to Hamburg for a 14 days refit. 171 years of CUNARD ships having the RMS status simply vanished, sad chapter in Maritime History. Photo of QM2 in Liverpool last September

RMS "QUEEN MARY 2" returns to Madeira after seven years

QM2 was yesterday at Funchal, after a gap of 7 years, the first port of call of the ship during her maiden voyage was Madeira, she returned later in the year and has not been since then. Photos sent by local ships photographer João Abreu which of course we thank the colaboration

The three CUNARD QUEENS in Southampton together for the first time

5th of June 2012 is a date to pencil on your diary if you are a ships enthusiast, for the first time the three new CUNARD ships, flagship QM2, QUEEN VICTORIA and QUEEN ELIZABETH will be together at their home port for the very first time, an occasion not to be missed

Spectacular farewell to QM2

Last night Liverpool organized a wonderful send off for CUNARD flagship "QUEEN MARY 2", the CUNARD  building was displaying  footage of Company´s History with emphasis on the new QM2, the atmosphere was electric with onlookers and passengers on board singing, the fireworks started at 22.00 at Birkinhead, people standing at the cruise terminal didn´t have a great view because the ship is so big that the majority of the display was obstructed by the sheer size of QM2, still great entertainment, a proper send off from the city, there´s no place like Liverpool for CUNARD

"ARCADIA" A SHIP OF HER OWN

the MV "ARCADIA" was initially ordered by HAL to become their fifth VISTA CLASS ship, in 2003 it was decided that she would sail as the QUEEN VICTORIA operated by CUNARD LINE, just before her launch  in 2004 a decision was made to transfer the vessel to the P&O CRUISES fleet, as a result of all these alterations she became rather a unique ship, a vessel of her own, she sports a modified QE2 style funnel unlike the traditional P&O funnel like the ones seen on ORIANA and AURORA and her mast shows remarkable similarity with the CUNARD ships, QM2 for instance, she looks splendid, pictures taken yesterday

POSTCARDS PROMOTING MAIDEN VOYAGES BY "QUEEN MARY" AND "QM2"

Two postcards full of character, the first one promoting "QUEEN MARY" maiden voyage from Southampton in 1936, the second one, tribute postcard of "QM2" first transatlantic crossing, Southampton/New York, back in April 2004

THE FORMIDABLE "QUEEN MARY 2" FUNNEL

When I sailed on the QM2 back in 2006, the ship was using the BROOKLYN PASSENGER TERMINAL for the first time, our sending off was quite spectacular, for me the most memorable moment was the exchange of whistles between the ships, an unforgettable moment was the sound of the old QUEEN MARY whistle, of course today on board QM2

MISSING THE QE2

this morning I woke up with the QE2 in mind, it came to me the recent trip to Dubai by Rob Lightbody, to visit the ship,so I went to my photo archives and here she is in Southampton in 2004 and 2005, if you like the ship (who doesn´t ?) and never visited the QE2 story, please visit http://www.theqe2story and be amazed

QE2 IN LISBON IN 1985

Today´s posts are remembrance ones, this one is dedicated to one of my favourite photos of a great friend, the QE2, the ship is showm here still with the original funnel, powered by turbines at the time, photo was taken late in the year of 1985, she´s always been lovely, incredible how time flies, I remember this as if it was yesterday

QUEEN MARY2 IN SOUTHAMPTON

Last friday the QM2 was at her home port once again, I had a close encounter with the ship at the Ocean Terminal and late in the evening I went to Calshot to take a few photos of the QM2 on her way out, it was a great day for me, I am the greatest admirer of this ship, I believe there´s never been a passenger ship like the QUEEN MARY 2, for further pics and posts please visit my QM2 blog.

QUEEN VICTORIA AND QUEEN ELIZABETH TOGETHER IN SOUTHAMPTON NEXT MONTH

the new CUNARDERS "QUEEN VICTORIA" and "QUEEN ELIZABETH" will be together at Southampton on the 1st of July, it´s always a great spectacle when two ships like this meet, the two photos included are, the maiden arrival of "QUEEN VICTORIA" in Southampton, 7th December 2007 and the "QUEEN ELIZABETH" in Lisbon on Good Friday the 22sd April 2011, for more information and photos of these two ships please visit my CRUISE SHIPS AND LINERS blog

THE FOUR CUNARD QUEENS

The most prestigious liners in the world

Since the beginning of CUNARD in the 19th century six QUEENS have sailed across the world seas, the QUEEN MARY, QUEEN ELIZABETH, QE2, QUEEN MARY 2, QUEEN VICTORIA and QUEEN ELIZABETH. I have never seen the first two QUEENS live, which is disappointing for me, one of them is still in existance at Long Beach, the first QUEEN ELIZABETH was lost by fire many years ago. Photos of the four QUEENS I´ve seen live included

THE CUNARD SHIP VISTAFJORD

The MS VISTAFJORD seen here at Dover in 1997 was built in the UK by SWAN HUNTER she was delivered in 1972 to NORWEGEAN AMERICA LINE, in 1983 NAL was bought by CUNARD and the ship moved to this operator retaining the same name but the funnel was painted in the famous red orange CUNARD colour, in 1999 the name of the ship was changed to CARONIA and the vessel received full CUNARD traditional colours, in 2004 she joined SAGA CRUISES and changed the name to SAGA RUBY, she is one of the most beautiful classic liners still sailing today

THE NEW CUNARDERS QUEEN VICTORIA AND QUEEN ELIZABETH

The new cunarders are in my opinion beautiful ships by today´s standards, they do not have the elegance of other classic ships like the QE2 or even the new QUEEN MARY 2, but I trust they are the type of passenger liners that all ships enthusiasts will say in 15/20 years time " they don´t build ships like this anymore ". Some images of the two vessels, first the QV introduced in 2007 and the QE which debuted October 2010