QE2 is still the only way to cross

On October 16, 2008, the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departed New York City, eastbound for Southampton, England for the last time. In June, 2007, the Cunard Line announced that after 41 years, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was being officially withdrawn from service in November, 2008, at which time the ship would be sent to Dubai to be permanently moored and converted into a floating hotel and theatre.

A cool rain misted down on the streets of Toronto on the evening of October 15 as I stood with my father in front of the main entrance to the Royal York Hotel. It was approximately 7:30 in the evening and we were waiting for the overnight bus to New York City. After 18 months of planning and a lifetime of talking and dreaming, we were finally on our way.

Waiting for us in New York on the banks of the Hudson River was the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 getting ready to depart New York City for a final transatlantic crossing to the Cunard Line’s home port in Southampton, England.

Christened as the Queen Elizabeth 2, launched by Queen Elizabeth II on the banks of the River Clyde in Scotland in 1967, and more commonly referred to as simply QE2, the ship has acquired a reputation, over the last 41 years, of being the last word in luxury at sea. Until the construction of a sister ship, Queen Mary 2, in 2003, it was regarded by ship enthusiasts as the last witness to a by-gone era when ships such as the QE2 were a common sight on the North Atlantic.

In the 1950s that changed, however, with the introduction of long-range aircraft and by the late 1960s, it seemed that the age of the transatlantic liner was over. When the Cunard liners, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the direct forbearers of QE2 and Queen Mary 2, were retired in 1967, many said that no such ships would ever be seen on the Atlantic Ocean again. That claim was dramatically refuted on the last day of the crossing when the QE2 and the Queen Mary 2 closed to within 300 feet of each other and traded blasts of their horns one last time.

“This week is a historic week in British maritime history,” said Ian McNaught, the QE2′s last captain.

Those thoughts were present in my mind as I boarded the bus for New York, but the historic nature of this voyage would not be brought home to me until the next day.

The bus ride down to New York City started smoothly enough. In order to save cost, Dad and I made reservations with Greyhound’s new Neon service, which offered us an express run to New York City for only $25.00 each. We found the trip down to Buffalo smooth enough, but when we stopped to change drivers, we found ourselves with a bus driver who seemed to think he was driving a sports car and not a highway bus.

From Buffalo, all the way to New York City, our speed was never less than 70 miles per hour and on more than one occasion, considerably faster. Our bus driver must have sensed our excitement and anticipation, because we actually arrived at our drop-off point, which was just a few blocks from Madison Square Gardens, a full hour early.

After a very early breakfast, we went to the pier to check our luggage and waited to board the ship. We found the QE2 already tied up and undergoing pre-departure preparations, such as taking on stores of food by the truckload and fuel, which was measured not in gallons or litres but in hundreds of tons.

After a very lengthy check-in process, which grouped the passengers according to the deck their accommodations were on, we boarded the ship around 1 pm.

The ship’s white superstructure gleamed in the morning sun. That combined with sleek lines and a thin, elegant funnel, or smokestack, painted black and red gave an impression of modernity, even though the ship is 41 years old.

The care and attention paid to the design of the ship’s interior was equally evident. Rich carpets covered the deck. The walls were covered with wood veneers with polished chrome and aluminium accents.

We came aboard into the circular Midships’ Lobby. Waiting to greet us as we boarded the ship were a dozen white-gloved stewards, all dressed in red and black waistcoats with the Cunard emblem, a crowned lion holding the globe, embroidered on the left breast in gold thread with a double row of brass buttons down the front. In the sunken area that dominated the room, a harpist played classical music.

Over all I was given the sense that the ship possessed a subtle elegance and an air of quiet refinement. Yet, on the outside, the QE2 was every inch an Atlantic greyhound.

Even at that point, the momentous nature of this crossing didn’t truly sink in for me, as our thoughts were preoccupied with Dad’s suitcase which went missing and didn’t appear in our stateroom until we were heading down the Hudson River and on our way out to sea.

At 5:30 pm, under a cloudy sky and with the New York City skyline in the background, we began to pull away from the pier and into the turgid waters of the Hudson River. It was at that moment, surrounded by Champaign-drinking, flag-waving passengers, the patriotic strains of Rule Britannia and God Save the Queen and the deep moan of the ship’s horn that I understood. The QE2 is the last in a long line of ships that stretches back to the first paddle wheelers to cross the Atlantic Ocean almost 200 years ago.

As we steamed slowly down the Hudson River toward the open ocean, the Queen Mary 2 took up a position a thousand yards astern of us, horn wailing in response to the QE2’s deep, undulating moan. Once we cleared the harbour, the Queen Mary 2 moved to come along side the QE2, remaining about 1000 yards away, but appearing on alternate sides of the ship every day for the entire crossing.

We took our meals in the Caronia Room. The walls were panelled in dark wood that was matched by equally darkly stained furniture. The room was lit by beautiful cut-glass chandeliers and fine art dotted the walls. Passengers are expected to dress for dinner on the QE2. The first night of the crossing was semi-formal, which still means a jacket and tie on the QE2.

Our waiters were extremely attentive and polite, addressing us as “Sir” or “Mr. Long.” It was in the dining room where I was able to see just where the Cunard Line’s reputation for impeccable service has come from over the course of the company’s history.

After dinner, which was excellent, the onboard entertainment was diverse, ranging from popular movies such as Iron Man and Prince Caspian to opera, ball room dancing and jazz in the ship’s pub, The Golden Lion. At night we were rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the ship moving back and forth in time to the waves.

During the day, there were as many diversions and activities on offer as there were at night. No cruise is complete without a celebrity or two and of particular interest to me was Dr. Stephen Payne, the chief architect of the Queen Mary 2 and the head of shipbuilding for the Carnival Corporation, the Cunard Line’s parent company. Other speakers of note included Jenny Bond, a former BBC Royal Correspondent and Robert Hoey, an author who is well known for his many books on the British Royal Family

Payne spoke of his love, not just of ships in general, but of the QE2 in particular. It was during a visit to the ship, while on a coach trip to Bournemouth less than month after the ship was commissioned and put into service by the Cunard Line that made him decide at the age of seven, to become a naval architect.

“One of the real deciding factors for me to become a naval architect was going on board the QE2 just one month into her service.”

Likewise, Payne was also philosophical about the decision to retire the ship, which he said was due in part to the “vast amounts of money” needed to keep the ship in service, but also due to the fact that as of 2010, the QE2 will no longer be considered seaworthy for safety reasons. New international safety regulations that are due to take effect in 2010 state that a ship must be capable of surviving a broadside collision to the centreline. This means that the QE2 must be able to survive a collision, as well as 50 feet of penetration into the hull.

According to Payne, it is unlikely that the ship could survive such catastrophic damage, given the size of the new generation of cruise ships currently under construction and just entering service, such as the Queen Mary 2 which weighs well over 100,000 tons, thus the decision was made to withdraw the QE2 from active service and put the ship up for sale.

“It is time to say good bye,” said Payne.

On our second night at sea was the captain’s reception. This took the form of a cocktail party in the Queen’s Room, one of the ship’s main public spaces. This was also the first formal night and many of the passengers were dressed in tuxedos, evening gowns and fine jewellery. After shaking hands and being photographed with Captain McNaught, an honour that few passengers decline, we sipped Champaign, talked and listened to the ship’s orchestra before going to dinner.

The historic nature of the QE2’s final crossing was brought home to me yet again on the third day at sea. One of the daytime programs offered aboard the QE2 was the Cunard Heritage Trail, which took the form of an hour long tour of the ship.

The Cunard Heritage Trail told the story of the Cunard Line and highlighted some of the many pieces of ocean liner memorabilia and antiques on display all over the ship. Among the items on display were a piano from the original Queen Mary, the builder’s model of the Mauritania, as well the bell from the Queen Elizabeth and models of other famous Cunard ships.

My tour guide and senior member of the ship’s cruise staff, Thomas Quinones, didn’t hesitate to make some scathing comments about what he thought of the decision to sell the ship. But he was also hopeful and believed that the QE2 will be remembered fondly by everyone who has sailed aboard the ship.

“She will be an icon forever,” he said.

 Another highlight was Baked Alaska Night. It has been a tradition aboard cruise ships since the 1950s to serve Baked Alaska on the last night at sea and the final night of the QE2’s last transatlantic crossing was no exception.

This night was doubly special, however, because not only was the voyage almost over, but it was Oct. 21, the anniversary of the British naval victory in the Battle of Trafalgar over the French Navy in 1805. The British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar ensured the supremacy of British sea power for the next two centuries.

For most of that time the shipping lanes that kept Britain in touch with the rest of the Empire were dominated by the ships of the Cunard Line.

Stephen Payne said that even though the QE2 will be radically altered by the new owners in Dubai, who are planning to convert the ship into a hotel, museum and a venue for live theatre, “her spirit will live on.”

As I walked down the gangplank and on to the dock in Southampton’s Ocean Terminal, I couldn’t help but think I had been part of something very special. I also remembered something Payne had said at the end of his lecture on the history of the QE2.

“Sic transit gloria mundi,” he said. “So Earthly glory passes away.”