New York Harbor | Wetravel2u's Weblog

Queen Mary 2 Takes Center Stage in NYC for July 4

Cunard marked a landmark moment today as the Queen Mary 2, took center stage in New York Harbor for Sail4th 250, which is said to be the center piece of the United States’ 250th Independence Day celebrations.

Anchored in a prime position, the Queen Mary 2 gave guests front-row views of one of the most significant Fourth of July celebrations ever staged, featuring the largest gathering of tall ships and naval vessels ever seen in New York City.

The celebration drew national attention as NBC’s TODAY broadcast live from Queen Mary 2, with Jenna Bush Hager reporting from the ship during the historic festivities.

The day featured the International Parade of Sail, with more than 100 vessels parading through the harbor, including 47 tall ships from 20 nations, sailing from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge.

Guests also witnessed an International Naval Review, during which a Navy vessel formally acknowledged the anchored fleet of 37 U.S. and allied naval ships. The celebrations continued with a military flypast led by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels featuring more than 150 aircraft, including the Red Arrows, and a spectacular fireworks display lighting up the iconic Manhattan skyline.

Anthem of the Seas godmother Emma Wilby performed with the Only Boys Aloud choir.

British travel agent Emma Wilby on Monday named Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship, the 4,200-passenger Anthem of the Seas, in Southampton, England.

The naming took place in the ship’s Royal Theater, where Wilby, a 27-year-old travel agent from Sunderland, U.K., performed onstage with the Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud for more than 1,300 invited guests, dignitaries and media.

The Anthem, the second ship in Royal’s Quantum class, will sail from the U.K. on various European itineraries this summer and fall. In November, it will arrive in New York Harbor to dock at its permanent home port of Cape Liberty, N.J.

Wilby, an agent at Thomson Holidays, is a military wife and budding singer who performs in the Military Wives Choir in Kinloss, Scotland, where she is based with her husband, a Royal Engineer for the British Army. She was picked from a large group of agents who applied for the honor.