Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A New "Queen Elizabeth" on Tap

Although the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2 is leaving the Cunard fleet in just a little over a year, the line won't be without a "Queen Elizabeth" for long. Cunard Line announced today that it has ordered a new 92,000-ton liner, to be named "Queen Elizabeth," scheduled to enter service in the autumn of 2010.

"Cunard already owns and operates the two most famous ocean liners in the world, Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2, and a third, Queen Victoria, is due to be named by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales, in December of this year," said Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Line. "The decision to order another ship for Cunard Line has been taken as a result of the strong booking response to the new Queen Victoria, and we are extremely pleased that Cunard will once again become a three-ship fleet so soon after the departure of the much-celebrated Queen Elizabeth 2 in November next year. Furthermore, we are delighted that Her Majesty The Queen has given her blessing to our calling this new Cunarder 'Queen Elizabeth', after our first vessel of that name."

While it's a bit early to expect design details and itineraries, the new 2092-passenger ocean liner will be the second largest Cunarder the company has ever built. It is known that Queen Elizabeth will fly the Red Ensign with Southampton as her homeport.

In the meantime, interiors are beginning to take their final shape on Cunard Line's soon-to-launch Queen Victoria. Get a glimpse of the progress made in the magnificent two-story, wood paneled Library, Queen's Room, and Grand Lobby on CruiseDiva.com.

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