November 27, 2009, 10am, Dubai Cruise Terminal, Port Rashid:
It is the 1st Anniversary of the QE2’s arrival in Dubai, and what a stark contrast it is to last year: No welcome flotilla, no arrival celebrations, no champagne corks popping, no red carpets rolled out for the dignitaries anxiously awaiting her arrival, no media waiting to buzz the photos of her docking around the world, no curious locals hoping for a glimpse of the famous ocean liner that had been making front page headlines for the past weeks, no bagpipes playing, no cheering passengers standing on the decks and waving flags – nothing. Just the humming of the generators. The QE2 was scheduled to arrive at 6am on Nov 27th, 2009 but eventually she arrived ahead of schedule in the afternoon of the 26th so that the locals could arrange for a welcome flotilla to greet her into the port. The handover ceremony between Cunard and Nakheel took place on the ship in the early afternoon of Nov 27th.
The Dubai Cruise Terminal, where QE2 is docked, is located in this part of Port Rashid.
I am standing in front of my beloved ocean liner, and I am not embarrassed to admit it, I have knots in my throat and tears in my eyes. It is my first reunion with the QE2 since I saw her last year coming into the port, finishing her final voyage from Southampton to Dubai. Seeing the Queen in her full splendour is simply breathtaking.
The QE2 is docked about 500 metres from the Dubai Cruise Terminal, access to this area is very restricted.
The flag of Vanuatu is flying and the stern shows Port Vila as port of registration.
I am holding my very own anniversary celebrations: Walking her full length from bow to stern and back, scrutinizing the ship for signs of neglect and taking as many photos as I can. I won’t be getting any closer. I am very happy to report that the ship is looking stunning as ever and that she appears to be well cared for. Her exteriors are in excellent condition as far as I can see. In my mind I am replaying onboard scenes and wonderful moments aboard: The formal dinners, afternoon tea, pre-dinner drinks in the Chart Room, late nights in the Yacht Club, lazy hours on the sun deck and gentle strolls around the deck – and getting lost…. The gangway to one of the three open doors on Five Deck is decorated with a golden tub that holds a green plant which is causing me to smile: It’s a very nice gesture!
One of the gangways is decorated with a plant – I think it is a nice touch. However, the security guards inside the ship make sure no one is ‘welcome aboard’.
While I am taking a peak inside I can hear the Queen whispering: ‘Come, come on board, cut my ropes lose and take me on a World Cruise. Next stop Hong Kong….’ Oh, I wished!!! I touch her to give her the love of my friends before I was shooed away by the security guards: ‘No intruders please’. Intruders! There was a time I was a welcome guest enjoying formal dinners and ballroom dancing…
I am calling a friend on the US West Coast who stayed awake all night to hear from me, and I describe the atmosphere, the location and most important, the ship: She’s alive!!! A set of engines in running, smoke is billowing from her funnel and the lights in the restaurants are switched on. Many window blinds are pulled down to protect the interior from the relentless sun. The blue chairs on the sun deck are neatly stacked. She is well looked after. We both almost start crying. Not a soul outside. It is quiet, almost tranquil. No scenes of a bustling and hustling cruise terminal.
Smoke is billowing from the famous black and red funnel and many windows are covered to protect the interior from the merciless sun.
Someone forgot to remove the Cunard logo on the tender!
The lights are switched on in the restaurants and other public areas.
The blue deck chairs are neatly stacked on the sun deck.
The Cunard logo is long gone.
The entire ship looks scrubbed and clean. No Nakheel flag flying.
Take a bow…
The imposing superstructure
The Dubai Cruise Terminal area is deserted during the Eid holiday. The port is expecting a cruise ship today and one on the 29th. The season has not started yet. Behind the QE2, approximately 500 metres away, the AIDA Diva from Germany arrived in the early morning hours.
The AIDA Diva docked earlier in the morning. Cruise ships calling on Dubai are docked behind the QE2. Their web cams usually get an excellent view of the QE2’s stern and funnel.
Most passengers have already disembarked and were carted off to their next or final destination. A fence prevents them from veering into the secured area of the QE2. I wanted to find out if they were interested in the ship and what they thought about her being here. While waiting to pass the next security level I can speak to various passengers, neither of them know who the QE2 is or cannot be bothered. One gentlemen thinks she is already in Capetown, another couple wants to know where I am going and wishes me bon voyage on the QE2.
The area around the QE2 is clean, tidy, no clutter lying around, and no equipment that indicates any activities. My two colleagues and I are the only visitors today to mark the 1
st anniversary of her arrival. It feels like she is almost forgotten in Dubai. She is certainly not forgotten in the books of Dubai World who own Nakheel; but it is quite obvious she is no longer on the minds of the local people: None of whom I spoke to take any interest in the ship or admit they are not informed about her current situation. It’s exactly as I predicted in my post
‘Dubai – End of a Voyage’ a year ago: She will briefly make headlines but soon will end up on the last page of the news papers like an actress whose celebrity status dropped from A to C.
We are spending as much time as possible in the area and make the most of it. There was a lot of red tape cutting required to get here. The QE2 area is a secured area; one can’t just walk or drive in to take photos. I owe big thanks to my colleagues in Dubai whose excellent connections with the Dubai Port Authorities and the Dubai Cruise Terminal Management enabled me to pass all pre-clearances in order to receive approval for access. DTCM provided us with two possible dates for a visit, the 27th or the 29th and I didn’t have to consider twice which date I wanted. It had to be the 27th, the anniversary date! The approval was given a couple of days before my visit, yet I have to pass 3 security levels: First the call at gate security to get into the cruise terminal area, then the check in with port security to obtain a pass for which they withheld my passport, and only after the last hurdle, ship security is taken, I am free to walk dockside and take photos.
My dear colleagues, thank you all for making this special day possible, you know who you are!!!
As we are leaving the cruise terminal, I am catching a final glimpse of the QE2, bathing in the sun and wondering about her future fate.
Just shortly after we leave the terminal I receive an email from a friend with a link to an article in
The Telegraph which announces the possibility of the QE2 being sold by Nakheel in an effort to pay off some of the mounting debt. I quickly grab some of the local newspapers:
Khaleej Times, Gulf Post, 7 Days – they all talk about Dubai World’s request to suspend its debt payments for six months while it undergoes fundamental restructuring. The group has an overall debt of $59 billion dollars, which comprises three-quarters of the Emirate’s total debt of $80 billion. The QE2 is considered a none-core asset like many other DP property investments and may be sold. What a royal tragedy: The high-profile “trophy asset’ has turned into a severe liability with an uncertain future…
At the moment, I just wonder about potential buyers who are prepared to invest millions into an acquisition of the ocean liner. Who would want her? Probably many. Who can afford her? Probably only few. Whilst I am not a pessimist by nature, I have these images of Alang ‘beach’ in my mind – a heart breaking thought.
The signs of bankruptcy have been there for a while – now the wake up call has come! In my opinion, Nakheel was already feeling the results of the credit crunch by the time the QE2 arrived in Dubai last year. The Trump Tower on Jumeirah Palm had just been put on hold, a day after the arrival newspapers announced that Nakheel was going to make 500 employees redundant. Many of my friends lost their work. I didn’t believe at the time that Nakheel had the financial means to pursue the ambitious plans that leaked to the press before her arrival. Throughout the year the company played their cards close to the chest. Their policy to communicate as little as necessary about future plans resulted in a flurry of gossips and rumours which kept the ocean liner forums busy debating possible scenarios. In a nutshell: Speculations were rife and in abundance, newspapers were citing ‘from reliable sources close to the decision makers’ which later turned out to be hot air. Remember those absurd plans to sail the ship back to Bremerhaven and have her cut up in 2 parts to insert an extension and tug her back to the UK? The plans to replace the red and black funnel with a glass penthouse which so infuriated the liner community? The online auctions where ship models of future designs were offered, stories of a possible investor in the UK who wanted to bring her back to Southampton? The recent announcement to transfer the QE2 to Cape Town as a floating hotel during the World Soccer Games 2010. This was possibly a last attempt to turn the idle ship into a money maker and to recoup some of the investment. Apart from the Cape Town move, most of the news was speculation. As of today, the future has become even more uncertain, if not even worse. One thing is for sure: The gossip kitchen will remain busy.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to see the ship one more time as I want to remember her: As the grandest and finest ocean liner in the world.
I’ve taken a lot more photos and posted them in the Cunard Queens Galleries .
Thank you – You have managed to do something incredibly important, both for all of us who know and love QE2 as well as for the great lady herself.
Simply the best.
Thank you for your up date and sharing you your photos.
It’s so nice to know that the Queen has been visted by an old friend. Alone but not forgotten……………………
Well done on your visit.
Thank you so much for your story, so pleased that you were able to get “up so close & personal” with the QE2. Brought tears to my eyes to see her again in your great pictures.
Wonderful!
Thank you for the photos and the update on QE2. I am a former Chief Purser of the ship and had a 32 year career with Cunard Line as a Purser, 27 of which I spent onboard QE2.
Good stuff – thanks for sharing……
Thank you so much!! After a visit to the UNITED STATES, and seeing her in that dreadful condition, it’s great to see QE2 still looking so well.
I was in Dubai in March, during the Queen Victoria’s World Cruise. ( I worked in the spa on board) and was also brought to tears on that rainy morning as we pulled in behind her. I was a passenger on QE2 4 times, but never crewed on her. My friends that were crew on board her all made sure they got a photo of her with them in it. I shot a great bunch of pictures at twilight that night, and she still sparkled.
My dream and prayer is that the UK can take her back. I don’t know who has 30 Million at this point to buy her back, but she really deserves to be somewhere in the UK, either Southampton, Liverpool or Glasgow.
Thanks again for your trip, report and photos!!
Cheers Croix
Thank you so much for making your beautifullly written observations and photos available to us.
My memories of my time spent on QE2 as a musician shall always be cherished.
Thank you for your wonderful persistence, report and pictures. So good to see close-up photos of QE2 and to read that she is alive, humming and being taken care of!
Your report has created a stir of joy and gratitude in the QE2Story Forum, here :
http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,1279.0.html
and here :
http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,184.msg14022.html#msg14022
Thank you so very much for sharing this – tears are welling in my eyes.
First Class Update…what a privelage …..and thankyou for sharing it with us…I don’t think I could have done it….it;s just all too sad….it was bad enough disembarking from her final voyage in Dubai last year…but this news isn’t what we wall want to hear is it?
Congratulations on writing such a wonderful piece ….
Can’t thank you enough for visiting QE2, taking these marvellous photos, and posting them here with your great narraarive.
Hi Gabriele!
Thank you very much for the beautiful photos and touching story. I’m a newbie to this website but I was on QE2’s last transatlantic crossing last October. I tried to stir up interest in a mutiny… take her to the south seas and sail on forever! But nobody could afford the diesel fuel.
I hope someone who really loves her can afford to buy her and take her home to Southampton or Clydebank.
Thanks Garielle for sharing your story and great pics with us all!
Rgds
Andy
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Hi to all reading here and also to who love the QE2. Nice to see she is being looked after so well, for know! Also Thanks to Cunard Queens for taking the trouble in actualy being with the qe2 and taking these photo’s.
I worry so much, that with all the money problems around the world going on at the moment that one day the qe2 will end up in a sorry state or even as scrap. That for me and with no doubt along with many others around the world be our worst nightmare come true!
I have secretly shed a tear remembering some of the happy trips I took on her and for know I feel reasured to see by the way of these photo’s that she looks as if she’s in great shape. (Smile)
I have thought about this a few times and asked myself this question. Why couldn’t the QE2 have remaind in the UK. Im not being sentimental when I say this but the real question remains un-answered for me at least.
I seem to remember at the time there was a story being put around by the P.R. as part of the story on local tv as it was announced the qe2 had been sold for $100 Mil to Dubia that cunard had recieved an offer they couldn’t refuse for the qe2 at the price of $100 Mil and it couldn’t be matched by any other instrested partys.
Knowing people can sometimes be gullible when we get told stuff by the press I had to question this story about other instrested party’s not able to beat dubai’a offer, as if you think about is there’s plenty of spare dollars nocking about the Uk.
You just have look at the cost of buying a knew boeing 747. I just googled the cost of a 747 and found 19 on sale at avitop.com at $250M each and I reckon british airways may well have shed load of 747s nocking around the place at that price.
So if you think about it. The cost of bying the qe2 was a snitch at 100 mil compared to a knew 747 at $250 mil. I reckon we have become so laim that just like sheep. lol we just take what way are told for gospel and don’t bother to question what rubbish we are somtimes told by the press.
Anyway. Im happy for now the qe2 is doing fine. Long Live The QE2…
Thank you for such a poigniant and well written up-date on our QE 2. Like all, I just hope she finds a happy retirement and even beter, if she is out to sea on occasions.
Thank you Gabriele for this fantastic report and your wonderful photographs of our beloved QE2.
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Greetings Everyone!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, taking the time to comment and for spreading the word. I did not expect to receive so much feedback from the ocean liner community both on- and offline. I realise now how much they touched so many hearts and how lucky I was to get so close to the QE2. I am most grateful for the opportunity to help keep her memory alive.
Long live the Queen!
3QueensGirl
Thank you for such a moving and current report on the QE2 in Dubai. The photographs are superb; particularly the close-up of the funnel which made me very nostalgic. I was librarian onboard QE2 from 1987 – 2002 and have very happy memories of the ship, passengers and particularly the wonderful crew.
I had heard only last week that QE2 was already in Cape Town – now I know the true story. She does look well cared for but I so hope that she will be treasured by whoever owns her in the future.
What beautiful pictures!!! I miss her so much and now Dubai has gone belly up!! surely – some how – we can get her back !! As a Carnival Share holder and long term Cunard World Club member – and have not travelled with Cunard since she was sold (note Carol Marlow now running P&O – better suited to that division of Carnival) I want to contact Mr Shanks and say ” we know Cunard …..up” but buy her back as a floa ting maritime attraction – be proud she was a part of Cunard – she was Cunard and kept the name alive when all the other Liners and big shipping companies came and went – Carnival would never have bought Cunard if it hadn’t of been for her – she is Cunard past present and possible future- Why can’t they admit they were too keen to see her go – it was all down to Ted Dingle – P&O – he hated the QE2 and they listened – let the QE2 come home to Southampton – lets hear her deep and beautiful whistle up the southampton water – it was one terrific sound – could be heard in the New Forest!!
Wonderful to see her again and in such seemingly good condition……I performed as a comedian aboard the QE2 for many years, and, before I knew it, she became my all time favorite ship…..May she always enjoy a “good life.”
Another Thank You from one who treasures QE2 and her
wonderful memories –and friends made on board. I worked for Cunard for 18 years in various capacities to do with on board entertainment, and I spent a large amount of time on QE2, although I was not on ship’s staff.
The ship looks very good, and I appreciate the excellent photos and the chronicle of her reappearance in Dubai. I will continue to follow this very special ship, and I hope she will be well looked after for many years, wherever she may go.
This is a wonderful report and I am glad that she is being looked after so well. Long may that continue.
I only sailed on her once, 40 years after I saw her being launched on the Clyde. I still have the newspapers covering that launch.
May I add my thanks to those above for your wonderful photographs. Although so sad to see her abandoned, it is at least good to see her looked after.
Such a change though, from the excitement of her arrival. I really do worry about her future – and really hope she avoids the fate of either the SS United States or the RMS Queen Elizabeth.
Definitely the most beautiful ship in the world. At 80 million and for sale now, no? Should we buy her? 🙂 I fear her fate may be the same as her predecessor.
What lovely photos! There have been so many scare stories about the fate of our QE2, and these photos show that at least, at the moment she is safe and well!
I worked as Spanish Interpreter, and part of Cruise Staff on board QE2 during the 80s. I have many treasured memories and consider myself very privileged to have had the opportunity to sail on her, and appreciate the welcome she received when she docked at different ports around the world. She was welcomed as royalty, and royalty she remains!
Thank you so much for sharing the pictures and news.
Hi. I was just reading what Rupert said above, about him being able to hear the qe2’s whistle as far away as the knew forest. WoW! I never realised the sound of her horn could travel so far over land. lol
He is right thoe, on what he says. she did/does have a nice sounding whistle. just a few years ago one evening in november 2006. I was at southampton common walking the dogs around 5-6pm.
there was a mist in the air and it was so quiet and dark, you could almost hear a pin drop. there wasn’t another sole around, just myself and the dogs. there was just the lightest of breezes and I heard a sound that was so reassuring to me.
it was the qe2 leaving port. her voice was being gently carried across southampton and up to the common on the slightest of breezes.
hearing that sound come to me through the mist was so reasuring. that point in time has stuck with me, ever since that night. as it made me feel so warm inside, on that cold november night. at the time. I thought to myself, my life has changed so much in one year and some people have departed but some things still remain the same. at least the qe2 is still here. that was 2006!
I miss not hearing her whistle when i walk the dogs on the common at evening time in 2009 but its nice to see in photo’s that dubia are taking care of our much loved treasured lady of the seas.
RBS is Dubai World’s largest creditor. They’re not getting paid right now. Obviously I have little financial prowess, but is it possible for the bank to take her on in exchange for part of the debt, and obtain subsidized money from the gov’t for job creation?
Hey – how about another ‘School ship’? the times are pushing for it…
Thanks so mucy for these wonderful photos. I first sailed on her in 1984 when I was a young 35 and final sailings were the Farewell British Isles cruise 30 Sept. 2008 and then the final westbound transatlantic 10 October 2008. 22 voyages on this wonderful liner. Keep the updates coming. I hope that she can be sold back to interests in the UK! If not that, bring her to New York here in the USA. Thanks again. The QE2 looks beautiful.
Hello !
Brilliant post & pics, many thanks!!
I to have treasured memories of a East bound transatlantic crossing in 96. She was and always will be a treasure. This is what being English is about.
I remember being in New York the day before we embarked, my wife saw naval officers in white uniforms, they were smart, going about buisness. ‘Their our lads, She’s here’, so right she was.
My favourite memory is getting in a cab outside the hotel in New York and saying to the cabby, the ocean liner terminal, ‘No way’ he replied. We had to explain to him what QE2 meant to us – The best bit was walking along side her below the towering & eligant bow breathtaking!
What will become of her? One things for shaw it’s not looking good. If she ends up on in India I vote we have the biggest party ever right beside her!
God Bless QE2
I’m French. My only cruise on the QE2 was in June 2008, between Southampton and Longyearbyen ( 15 days ). it was my first cruise, and a very beautiful remember. Dont’t forget the QE2. With the actual problems of Dubai¨, English ships lovers have to find the only solution: come back to UK. Remember France/ Norway; don’t make the same mistake !
Gérard Guérit
Paris
France
Thank you for posting such a great link to the past! I never had the opportunity to sail on her, but the QM2 I have, and I could certainly feel her influence. She is greatly missed, and not only in Britain. I can assure you of that!
I was a Band Leader on board QE2 for 7 years plus a keyboard player with the Joe Loss Orchestra in 1985 and 1986 total of 9 years . My first ship and my favourite . lots of happy memories . Nice to see that John Duffy is still going strong . I do so hope that she will continue cruising or as a Hotel instead of being scrapped or become the victim of a “convenient fire ” . I met and worked with so many terrific people all of whom seem to have like me a soft spot for the Ship . Fingers crossed that she continues
John Simons Trentham Staffordshire
Its great seeing my one and only looking good. Having sailed on her final world cruise lasy year it was a dream come true. I live in Melbourne, Australia and miss seeing her come into port every year.
Having grown up with the QE2 i am very priviliged to have sailed on her, and its the QE2 that helped made us some life long friends on that voyage.
I am booked on the maiden world cruise segment voyage in Feb,2011 for the new QE and am very excited.
Long live the only ship that and the first that made my dream come true of sailing with Cunard. Many more voyages lined up.
Re: 1st Anniversary of the QE2’s arrival in Dubai photographs.
Is it possible to be able to obtain a disc of/purchase copies of these beautiful photographs for my collection in the original large format/pixel??
I would be very grateful, if this were possible.
Many thanks in advance,
Angus Cameron.
Great to see these wonderful photographs and that she is still looking in great shape.
Just wish we know what will really happen to her and hope she is put to very good use.
Having seen her launched all those years ago and having cruised on her in 2008, I have a great affection for her.
Thankyou Gabriele for your wonderful report and brilliant photo coverage of our never-to-be forgotten QE2. You have done all of us QE2 lovers a great service.
Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us who love the QE2 still. I’m sick today but looking at pictures so glad she’s so well looked after even if in a lonely state. What a waste she should be in UK for the Olympics we need extra luxury accommodation in the South by Weymouth or even the Thames Barrier – I wish someone like Richard Branson could see the benefit and buy her back! Plenty of uses after it too hotel, museum and training ship – the thousands who came to see her last sailing showed how much loved she is and always will be by all the thousands of crew and passengers who sailed on her!
Great to see thank you again Gabriele for showing it. Jeanna x
We thank you for the nice detailed report and great photos of our beloved QE2. We began a love affair with her after our first sailing out of New York to Newport R.I. and Bermuda with Capt Robin Woodall on 16th of May 1988. We have 68 cherished sailings on her, and every one was unique. We met so many wonderful people, and gained so many friends among both passengers and crew. We still to this day remain in contact with some of them. The QE2 was a world unto herself, with many cultures, and a diversified gathering of many nationalities from all walks of life. We considered ourselves very privileged to have had the opportunity to meet and talk to so many great people. We knew when her retirement was eminent we would be very sad indeed. Even with all the modern technology I don’t think there will ever be another ocean liner to match her capabilities.
Thank you so very much Gabriele for taking the time and effort to visit her once again, and thank you for sharing these really nice photos with us.
For those of you who we know from the QE2, we hope you share very fine memories of our time together on board.
Campbell & Annette Pritchett
Orlando, Florida
It’s nearly impossible to find well-informed people about this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
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