Without a doubt, there have been few ships that have garnered such a devoted following as Queen Elizabeth 2 has. Indeed, with 39 years of service, sailing over 5.5 million miles and carrying over 2.5 million passengers, sailing to nearly every region of thew world, few ships have had the same sort of opportunity to win the hearts of the public. An icon even to those who have never stepped aboard, QE2 was nevertheless most beloved of us who have had the opportunity to get to know this great lady on a more personal level.

I first became aware of QE2 as a child in the early 1990s, having become captivated by passenger ships, and above all by the great ocean liners of the past. QE2, it was then said, would be the last ocean liner ever to sail. When she was retired, the era of the ocean liner would have come to an end. Cunard was in bad financial shape, its aging fleet falling behind those of its competitors, and the future of the Atlantic ferry was in question. Today we are fortunate enough to have a revitalized Cunard with a bright future, and a grand new ship, Queen Mary 2, to carry on the grand tradition of liner service across the North Atlantic. But the end of QE2 is the end of a great chapter of maritime history, of a ship that beat all the odds — succeeding where every one of her contemporaries failed — and went on to sail farther and carry more passengers than any other.

Throughout my childhood, as I sailed on numerous other ships, an Atlantic crossing aboard QE2 was a cherished dream. When, in April 2004, I saw her accompany the new QM2 on her maiden call to New York, I feared the opportunity to do so may have passed me by. Happily, while QM2 became Cunard’s primary North Atlantic liner, QE2 kept crossing the Atlantic several times a year right to the very end, and so in January 2006 I stepped aboard for the first time in Southampton to fulfill this lifelong dream.

If one builds rapt anticipation for something for nearly a decade and a half, it is bound to be either an enormous delight or an enormous disappointment. Fortunately, my first QE2 experience was the former. Long before the voyage had ended, I had fallen in love with this great ship as I have no other before or since, and resolved to return to her as many times as I could before the end I knew could not be so far off. As it happened I would only have the chance make one more voyage, another wonderful westbound winter crossing in January 2008, accompanied the whole way by the new Queen Victoria and joining QM2 for a historic rendezvous of three Queens in New York. By then everyone knew she had less than a year left, and every passenger and crew member on board was determined to make the very most of what time we had with her. I have never sailed in a “happier” ship.

Altogether I spent just under two weeks aboard (plus a couple of visits to “check up” on her on her periodic calls in New York), a modest sum indeed, but as much as I wish I could have known her longer, I feel tremendously honored and privileged to have had the opportunity to spend that time on board, to savor a truly singular experience and take part in the illustrious history of a grand ship the likes of which we will, perhaps, never see again. When I watched her sail from New York for the last time together with QM2 on an atmospheric, overcast October evening, thronged with sightseeing vessels full of well-wishers, fireboats saluting with their majestic spray, I knew that before my eyes was a great piece of history of which I shall forever be proud to have been a part.

I have made my peace with the future of QE2, but for me she died when the Red Ensign and the Cunard house flag were lowered for the last time in that emotional ceremony in Dubai. When she emerges from her conversion she will be something new — perhaps great, perhaps awful, likely somewhere in between — but the one thing she can never be again is the QE2 so many of us have grown to love. Perhaps someday I shall visit her in her new home, but I have the feeling that it would be like visiting a ghost. I know there are thousands of people around the world who feel exactly the same way.

As sad as we may be, we must remember it could very easily have been far worse. In 1969, when QE2 entered service, you could sail from Europe to the United States on any number of ocean liners — American, British, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian or Swedish. By 1975, they were all gone, off to the breakers or sent on full-time cruising duties, and QE2 was alone, remaining so until QM2 took over in 2004. QE2, born as a symbol of Space Age modernity with the unforgettable slogan, “Ships have been boring long enough,” would soon find herself playing an unexpected role: that of the last living link to a bygone era. She survived Arab terrorists, Argentine submarines, bad management, economic recessions, fuel crises, labor problems, jumbo jets, supersonic transports, the onslaught of a vast flotilla of glitzy new cruise ships, and even a brand-new ocean liner, Queen Mary 2 (after whose introduction some thought she would immediately be retired). And yet, she would sail off against all odds into the record books and into our hearts, perhaps the greatest ship of them all and certainly the greatest of her time.

All good things, though, must come to an end, and so too it is with QE2. Today we sit at the end of an era. The future for Cunard could scarcely be brighter, with a magnificent new ocean liner, Queen Mary 2, about to celebrate her fifth anniversary carrying on the great North Atlantic liner tradition and finally step into the limelight as her more famous predecessor fades away, and a fine cruise ship, Queen Victoria, having been sailing the world for a year now, with a sister, a new Queen Elizabeth, soon to sail over the horizon as well. I have already had the pleasure of sailing in QM2, and in the next year and half plan on doing so two more times, and in due course I hope to sail in the rest of the fleet as well. So today I say wholeheartedly, “The Queen is dead, long live the (new) Queens.” But I shall never forget the many happy memories I have of the incomparable ship that captured my heart and mind like no other, the wonderful QE2.

Goodbye, old girl. I’ll miss you. We all will.

For those of you who haven’t yet, you can see my photos of QE2’s last departure from New York here. You can see a round-up of the BBC’s farewell coverage here.

Many of us have enjoyed the BBC’s excellent coverage of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2’s final months in service. For those who haven’t been following it, here is a round-up of the coverage in chronological order:

2008/06/02: Queen’s goodbye to QE2 liner: The Queen has boarded the QE2 cruise ship for the third, and final time, since she named it in 1967. The historic liner will be converted into a luxury hotel in Dubai in November. Ben Geoghegan reports.

2008/10/03: QE2’s last visit to Liverpool: The QE2 – designed in Liverpool – has sailed into the port for the last time before she sails for Dubai where she will become a floating hotel. 

2008/10/08: The final goodbye for QE2: The world-famous passenger liner, the QE2, has sailed into Tyneside for the last time, before she retires to Dubai.

2008/10/10: QE2 makes its final trip: The QE2 passenger liner is due to leave on its final transatlantic-round trip to New York before being transformed into a hotel in Dubai.

2008/10/22: On board the QE2 cruise liner Take a tour around the world-famous QE2 before it heads for retirement as a floating hotel in Dubai in November 2008. BBC South’s Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton has been on board.

2008/11/11: The 41-year reign of the QE2 A look at the QE2’s 41 year reign as the pride of the British Merchant fleet.
2008/11/11: The QE2 sails to war During the Falklands conflict, the QE2 was converted from a luxury liner into a troop ship. Paul Clifton reports.
2008/11/11: QE2’s permanent passenger: An American woman who is the only person who lives on the QE2 has been speaking about what she will do once the ship has gone into retirement.
2008/11/11: The QE2’s hotel manager: The hotel manager from the QE2 remembers his time on board.
2008/11/11: ‘We had Salvador Dali onboard’: A member of the casino staff on the QE2 remembers her time on board.
2008/11/11: Memories of a night steward: A night steward on the QE2 remembers his time on board.
2008/11/11: Fireworks farewell to the QE2: The QE2 has departed on her final voyage. This montage shows highlights of the ship’s 41-year reign.
2008/11/11: QE2 captain’s message: Watch the captain’s message and the firework display that has taken place as the QE2 liner left her home port of Southampton for the final time.

2008/11/12: Enthusiasts watch QE2 journey: As the QE2 liner headed towards a new life as a floating hotel in Dubai, enthusiasts were on board SS Shieldhall for a close-up view.

2008/11/26: QE2 arrives at her Dubai home: The world-famous QE2 has arrived in its new home of Dubai where the ship will be turned into a floating hotel.

2008/11/27: QE2 ready for conversion: BBC South Today has been following the final hours of the QE2 liner before it is converted into a luxury hotel in Dubai.

(Note: I have excluded some clips that largely duplicate these in content.)

Some of you may be wondering about the future of this site. I would especially like to thank those who have contacted me asking if everything is OK for your concern.

The reason for the lack of news postings since July is quite simple: it is too time-consuming to cover the entire cruise industry on an unpaid blog like this.

However, I do need somewhere to post my occasional ramblings on maritime subjects, so this site will not be going away (besides which, the archives might be of some use, and it doesn’t cost anything to keep them around). It will just be dormant, most of the time.

Most of us had long since written off Orient Lines after NCL announced the sale of its only ship, Marco Polo, in June 2007, with no replacement in sight. When Marco Polo ended her last Orient Lines voyage in April 2008 (she’s now owned by Global Cruise Lines and chartered to Transocean Tours), it seemed the 15-year-old line, founded by legendary industry entrepreneur Gerry Herrod and later bought by NCL, had sailed off into the sunset. So I was surprised to learn last week that former NCL parent Star Cruises, which retained the dormant brand after NCL gained its independence, had sold Orient Lines to an American company called Origin Cruise Group who intended to bring it back to its former glory.

It turns out that Origin Cruise Group is owned by Floridian Wayne Heller, who worked for NCL in the 1980s (long before Orient Lines existed, let alone as part of NCL) and then went on to found Cruises Only, America’s largest seller of cruises. In a release, Orient Lines said that it plans to buy ships similar to Marco Polo, “vessels that are rich in history and character and that can carry 600 to 800 passengers in great comfort and safety to all seven continents”.

Several reliable sources indicate that the company is now negotiating to purchase the 24,220 GT, 630-berth Maxim Gorkiy, whose charter to Phoenix Reisen ends in November 2008, from Sovcomflot. Built in 1969 as Hamburg for the now-defunct Deutsche Atlantik Linie and briefly renamed Hanseatic in 1973 before being sold to the Black Sea Shipping Company (Blasco), part of the Soviet state-owned shipping monopoly Morflot, in 1974 and renamed Maxim Gorkiy. Already established as one of Germany’s best cruise ships, she’s spent most of the remainder of her career on charter to German tour operators; Phoenix Reisen first chartered her in 1988 and has been her sole charterer ever since. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, her ownership passed on to Sovcomflot (unlike many other ships that remained with the less-financially-sound and now-extinct Blasco) and under the management of Sovcomflot and Phoenix she gradually became the grand old ladly of the German cruise scene. But her high running costs as a steam-turbine ship with a high consumption of bunker oil eventually led to Phoenix’s announcement of her retirement in November 2007. Since then, she’s been facing an uncertain future. It remains to be seen whether the problem of running costs and the upcoming SOLAS requirements that will enter into force in 2010 (a deadline that has reportedly been extended to 2013 for Maxim Gorkiy) will be surmountable or whether Orient Lines will resume operating with a more modern, probably less-interesting ship instead, but there is no doubt that Maxim would be an ideal fit for the Orient Lines product, and I’d certainly be delighted to see her flying the Orient Lines flag.

Saga has purchased the 18,591 GT, 500-berth Astoria from Club Cruise, as previously rumored. The ship, on charter to Transocean Tours until April 2009, will be renamed Quest for Adventure and become the second ship in Saga’s Spirit of Adventure brand. She’ll join the 9,570 GT, 352-berth Spirit of Adventure in offering an enrichment-focused product aimed at passengers 21 and over, unlike the company’s Saga Rose and Saga Ruby, which offer a more traditional cruise product for passengers 50 and up. Before entering service for Saga in July 2008, Quest for Adventure will undergo a major refit, which among other upgrades will reduce her capacity to 450 passengers.

Built at Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Hamburg in 1981 as Astor (not to be confused with Transocean Tours’ current, 1987-built Astor, a near-sister to the older ship) for Hamburg-based Hadag, she later briefly operated a liner service between Southampton and Cape Town for South Africa’s Safmarine in 1984 before joining then-East German Deutsche Seereederei as Arkona in 1985. Deutsche Seereederei’s cruise business, by then known as Arkona Touristik and also encompassing AIDA, was sold to P&O Princess Cruises in 1998, and she continued successfully operating for the German market until sold on in 2002 to Russia’s Sovcomflot (owners of one of Germany’s most popular cruise ships, Maxim Gorkiy, and also briefly the current Astor), who chartered her to Transocean Tours as Astoria. Sovcomflot sold her to Club Cruise in 2007, but she was put up for sale after Transocean decided not to renew its charter of the vessel in January 2008. She is the second ship recently sold by Club Cruise; the ferry Da Vinci, formerly Finnjet was sold for scrap last month and was recently beached at Alang.

Carnival Cruise Lines has unveiled details of the 130,000 GT, 3,646-berth Carnival Dream, which will enter service in September 2009. The new information sheds light on the company’s largest-ever ship, an evolution of a design that traces its origins back to Carnival Destiny of 1996 and also encompasses the Triumph-, Conquest- and Splendor-class ships. Carnival’s largest-ever ship will feature an improved layout and new features to set her apart from her predecessors.

Topping the list of new features is Carnival’s first wrap-around promenade deck, which will feature whirlpools cantilevered over the sides of the ship and access to the new Piazza indoor-outdoor café. Other highlights include a new indoor-outdoor dance club and family cabins with two bathrooms. The ship will feature Carnival’s most expansive spa and family facilities yet, and the improved layout adds an indoor promenade alongside the upper level of the main dining room located amidships, which should greatly improve passenger flow.

Currently under construction at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard, Carnival Dream’s maiden voyage on 21 September 2009 will be the first of three Mediterranean cruises for the ship. They’ll followed by an Atlantic crossing and two cruises to the Bahamas from New York before the ship repositions to her year-round home port of Port Canaveral, from which she’ll operate seven-night cruises to the Caribbean.

Royal Caribbean has announced Boardwalk and Royal Promenade, two more “neighborhoods” on board its new 220,000 GT, 5,400-berth Oasis of the Seas, set to enter service in December 2009, and sister Allure of the Seas, which will debut in 2010. They join the previously announced Central Park and four other as-yet-unannounced neighborhoods, which together will make up the public spaces of these enormous new ships. The company also announced Oasis of the Seas‘ 2009-2010 inaugural season of itineraries from Port Everglades.

Boardwalk will be a family-oriented, open-air space located aft of Central Park, designed to be reminiscent of the seaside piers of England and other classic resort areas like the Coney Island boardwalk. Key features include the first working carousel at sea and AquaTheater, a pool area by day that will transform into an entertainment space at night and also offer SCUBA lessons in the afternoon. It will also feature 28 two-level, loft-style suites with double-height, ocean-view windows, which will be among 37 categories of accommodations on offer aboard the new ships.

Meanwhile, Royal Promenade will be an enhanced version of the same space that has been so popular on the company’s five Voyager-class and three Freedom-class ships. Located beneath Central Park, a focal point will be the previously announced Rising Tide, the first moving bar at sea, which will ascend three decks to Central Park above. Royal Promenade will also be the location of many venues that have become signature spaces for Royal Caribbean over the years, like the Schooner Bar and Champagne Bar, both of which first appeared back in 1988 on Sovereign of the Seas, and the Latin-themed Boleros bar, which is a popular offering on many of the line’s newer and recently-refurbished vessels.

Ever since Royal Caribbean announced that it would be building what was then known as Project Genesis, many cruise enthusiasts have been waiting with bated breath for the opportunity to book a cruise in one of these immense new ships. They’l finally get that opportunity on 3 September 2008, which will undoubtedly be a blockbuster day for bookings at Royal Caribbean. Oasis of the Seas‘ maiden voyage is scheduled for 12 December 2009 and will the first of 19 consecutive seven-night cruises from the ship’s homeport at Port Everglades, Florida to Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and Nassau, Bahamas. Beginning 1 May 2010, these cruises will alternate will seven-night departures from Port Everglades to Labadee, Haiti; the newly-developed port of Falmouth, Jamaica; and Cozumel, Mexico.

Be sure to take a look at Royal Caribbean’s dedicated Oasis of the Seas web site for more information and images of this spectacular new ship. I’m particularly enamored of the new loft apartments — put one on land and I’d more than gladly live in it!

Last week, Holland America Line took delivery of its newest ship, the 86,273 GT, 2,104-berth Eurodam. Beginning today (27 June) the ship is in Southampton for a series of introductory events. On Sunday, 29 June she’ll sail to her home port of Rotterdam where there will be more festivities, culminating on her naming by HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on 1 July.

My friends over at HAL’s fabulous Eurodam News Blog have been blogging away with loads of photos and news about this new ship, so if you haven’t been keeping up, now is the time to go over there and see what you’ve missed out on! And of course, you’ll want to keep reading the blog in the next few days for first-hand accounts of the inagural festivities. Cruise Critic’s intrepid editor-in-chief, Carolyn Spencer Brown, is also on board starting today, so you should also be sure to have a look at her blog for another perspective on HAL’s newest ship.

Eurodam, the first of HAL’s new Signature-class ships (a modified version of the successful Vista-class), will be in New York later this year, and I hope to be able to visit her and give you my own impressions then. In the meantime, I’ll be watching the fun from here with the rest of you!

Clipper Group has acquired the 4,954 GT, 226-berth sister ships Cape Cod Light and Cape May Light from the US Maritime Administration (Marad) for $9 million each. Both ships will be upgraded and offered for charter beginning in the summer of 2009 as Clipper Discoverer and Clipper Voyager respectively. The ships will be managed by Miami-based International Shipping Partners, which manages Clipper Group’s cruise investments and in which it recently acquired a 50% stake.

The pair of ships were originally intended for Delta Queen Coastal Voyages, a subsidiary of US-flag cruise operator American Classic Voyages (AMCV); they have been owned by Marad since AMCV defaulted on loans guaranteed by Marad. The first ship, Cape May Light, entered service in the spring of 2001 but AMCV filed for bankrupcy in October 2001, when Cape Cod Light was still under construction at Atlantic Marine in Jacksonville, Florida. She was later completed in 2004 and both ships have since been laid up near Jacksonville.

…Though I can’t really blame you if you thought I was!

I have been extremely busy with that inconvenient thing called “real life” in the past month or so. I should have posted earlier to say that I’m still here, but you know, “Out of sight, out of mind,” or so they say…!

(Note to self: Stop using so many ellipses.)

Anyway, I’m back now, and hopefully I won’t be disappearing again for extended periods in the near future. Thanks all for hanging in there, assuming, that is, that anyone did!