Tag Archives: Queen Mary 2

Cunard welcomes three ships to Southampton

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By Robin Searle 

Cunard welcomes three ships to SouthamptonPhotos credit: James Morgan/Cunard

Cunard’s fleet of three ships arrived in Southampton on Friday morning ahead of the tenth anniversary celebrations of its flagship, Queen Mary 2.

The three Cunard ships are rarely seen in the same place at the same time, but this morning’s event marks the third time it has happened in Southampton.

Plans for today include a reception and lunch in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh, and a ten-minute firework display from 10pm.

Cunard

Cunard

Queen Mary 2 will then lead the three ships down the Solent before embarking on a transatlantic crossing.

Queen Elizabeth will sail on a short break to Hamburg and Queen Victoria will head for the Baltic capitals.

 

Cunard’s Three Queens Arrive at Southampton 2014

Cunard

Final voyage for last truly ‘British’ cruise ship comes to an end

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Saga Ruby marked a little piece of history with the completion of its final voyage this week, in what was the last sailing by a cruise ship to be built in Britain.

According to BBC News, no vessel has been constructed in this country in the 40 years since the Ruby sailed out of Swan Hunter’s Tyneside shipyard in 1972.

Previously, it has sailed under Cunard’s flag and the name MS Caronia, but last year it was announced that the vessel would finally be retired.

While it wasn’t expected back in Southampton until after the weekend, poor weather over the Atlantic prevented it from crossing the Bay of Biscay on its return journey, meaning that it arrived home early.

Ruby’s final cruise was a month-long Caribbean affair, which also visited Antigua, Portugal, Madeira and Spain en route to the islands.

All three of Saga’s vessels witnessed delays this week as a result of stormy seas, as did Queen Mary 2, which is preparing to celebrate its tenth anniversary.

Queen Mary 2 in mid-Atlantic mercy mission

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Queen Mary 2 in mid-Atlantic mercy mission

By Phil Davies

Queen Mary 2 in mid-Atlantic mercy missionCunard flagship Queen Mary 2 stopped in mid-Atlantic yesterday to provide assistance to a lone woman rowing across the ocean.

The ship, sailing from New York to Southampton, received a request to assist after Canadian solo rower Mylène Paquette lost her anchor and a satellite phone in a storm.

She received four watertight canisters containing the requested items including a new satellite phone after 83 days at sea and two months to go.

QM2 slowly circled the boat at 10 knots to calm the water before the provisions, including food, bottled water, tea and coffee, were dropped into the sea and collected by Paquette.

The ship also supplied a scraper to remove the barnacles underneath the rowing boat, duct tape, soap, shampoo and body lotion.

Captain Kevin Oprey, master of QM2, said: “We are happy to have given assistance to Mylène and help her recover from the damage inflicted by the storm. We wish her the very best of luck with her solo Atlantic rowing adventure.”

Paquette said: “This is a dream come true! For me to see the Queen Mary 2 in the middle of the Atlantic is something I would have never hoped for. I want to thank all of the members of the crew for making this encounter happen.”

She is aiming to become the first North American woman to row solo across the Atlantic, a total of 2,700 nautical miles, having set out from Halifax, Canada on July 6 for Lorient in France.