QE2's final visit to NYC, with the QM2, fireworks, flotilla
The Queen Elizabeth 2 will make her final visit ever to New York City on Thursday and will receive a grand sendoff to her Dubai retirement - complete with fireworks, an FDNY Pipes and Drums performance, a flotilla of local boats and escort by the Queen Mary 2.
The QE2 has made 710 visits to New York City since her maiden call here on May 7, 1969. And while she may be old, take heart, she’s still the fastest passenger ship in the world, able to sail at 32.5 knots. Even backward she can sail faster than most cruise ships sailing forward, according to her owner, Cunard Lines.
As she returns toward Southhampton England on Thursday evening, it will be her 806th and final Transatlantic Crossing. The QE2 will complete her service in November 2008 and serve as a hotel and floating museum at The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, much like the original Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif. Last year, Dubai World’s Istithmar purchased the QE2 for $100 million. In New York, Istithmar also owns stakes inproperties including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the W at Union Square, Barneys and Loehmanns.
You can watch her arrival or departure from land, or buy a ticket on one of the boats that will take part in the departure flotilla.
The QE2 final New York City schedule:
4:45 a.m. - QE2 and QM2 sail under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and will sound their whistles
5:30 a.m. - QE2 and QM2 pass Statue of Liberty
6 a.m. - QE2 docks at Manhattan Cruise Terminal, Pier 90
Queen Mary 2 docks at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
5 p.m. - QE2 and QM2 depart
5:30 p.m.- FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums perform at Battery Park City Promenade at the southern tip of Manhattan
5:45 p.m. - FDNY Fireboats escort and water display with flotilla of local boats
6:10 p.m. - QE2 and QM2 meet for a Cunard Royal Rendezvous at the Statue of Liberty
But note that the above schedule, which was e-mailed to NewYorkology by Cunard, doesn’t precisely mesh with the schedule posted on the Cunard website. In practice, other Cunard events in New York City haven’t gone according to schedule, including January’s 3Queens meetup and fireworks at the Statue of Liberty, which started more than an hour late.
Cunard suggests the best view points will be Battery Park, Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park, The Esplanade of Battery Park City, Hudson River Park in Manhattan.
QE2 flotilla cruises:
Circle Line Downtown - from 4 to 7 p.m. on the Zephyr with cocktails and a buffet. $100, reservations required. Departs from South Street Seaport. (Part of the fee benefits the Working Harbor Committee.) Classic Harbor Line - on the 1920’s style Luxury Yacht Manhattan with hors d’ oeuvres and a standard open bar from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Departs from Chelsea Piers. $150
