View source for Queen Elizabeth 2

{{Short description|British ocean liner}}
{{Redirect2|QE2|QEII|the monarch|Elizabeth II|other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
| display title = ital
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = VAE-dubai-QE II cropped.jpg
| Ship image size = 300px
| Ship caption = ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' as a floating hotel in [[Dubai]] on 5 March 2020
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship flag = |2''
| Ship name = Queen Elizabeth 2
| Ship namesake = Most likely [[RMS Queen Elizabeth]] 
Possibly [[Queen Elizabeth II]]
| Ship owner = * 1969–1971: [[Cunard Steamship Company]] Ltd
* 1971–1998: [[Trafalgar House (company)|Trafalgar House]]
* 1998–2008: [[Carnival Corporation & plc]]
* 2008 onwards: [[Istithmar World]], [[Dubai]]
| Ship operator = *1969–2008: [[Cunard Line]]
* 2008–2022: PCFC Hotels
* 2022–present: [[Accor]]<ref>{{cite press release| last=Rouquayrol | first=Gautier | title=Accor adds legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 to its portfolio in Dubai| publisher=Accor – Newsroom | date=9 May 2022 | url=https://press.accor.com/accor-adds-legendary-queen-elizabeth-2-to-its-portfolio-in-dubai/ |location=Paris}}</ref>
| Ship registry = * 1969–2008: {{flagicon|United Kingdom|civil}} [[Southampton]], United Kingdom
* 2008–2018: {{flagicon|Vanuatu}} [[Port Vila, Vanuatu]]
* 2008 onwards: {{flagicon|UAE}} [[Dubai, UAE]]
| Ship route = North Atlantic and cruising during Cunard service
| Ship ordered = 1964
| Ship builder = [[John Brown and Company]] ([[Upper Clyde Shipbuilders]]), [[Clydebank]], Scotland
| Ship original cost = [[Pound sterling|£]]29,091,000
| Ship yard number = 736
| Ship hull id = 
| Ship laid down = 5 July 1965
| Ship launched = 20 September 1967 by Queen [[Elizabeth II]]
| Ship completed = 26 November 1968 (Sea trials commenced)
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship maiden voyage = 2 May 1969
| Ship in service = 1969–2008
| Ship out of service = 27 November 2008
| Ship status = Floating hotel & museum at Mina Rashid, Dubai
| Ship identification = * {{IMO Number|6725418}}
* 1968–2009: Callsign: GBTT, British ON 336703
* 2009–present: Callsign: YJVW6, {{MMSI|576059000}}
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = Ship type=[[Ocean liner]]
| Ship tonnage = *(1968): {{GRT|65,863}}, {{NRT|37,218}}<ref name="auto">{{Citation | last=Frame | first=Chris | title=QE2 Facts | date=2024 | url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/queen-elizabeth-2-qe2}}</ref>
*(1994): {{GRT|70,327}}, {{NRT|37,182}}
| Ship displacement = 49,708 [[long tons]] (50,506 [[metric tons]])<ref name = PSIX>[https://cgmix.uscg.mil/psix/psixsearch.aspx Maritime Information Exchange], search for Queen Elizabeth 2</ref>
| Ship length = {{convert|963|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|105|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship height = {{convert|171|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = 
| Ship draft = {{convert|32|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship depth = 
| Ship decks = 10
| Ship deck clearance = 
| Ship ice class = 
| Ship sail plan = 
| Ship power = * 3{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}Foster Wheeler ESD II Boilers (original design)
* 9{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}MAN B&W 9L58/64 (1987 refit)<ref>{{cite web| url= https://themaritimehistorian.substack.com/p/the-unstoppable-power-of-a-floating | title=The Unstoppable Power of a Floating City Reborn | last1=Frame| first1=Chris| date=2025}}</ref>
| Ship propulsion = * Two Brown-Pametrada Steam Turbines (original design)
* Two GEC propulsion motors (2{{nbsp}}×{{nbsp}}44{{nbsp}}MW) (1987 refit)
* Two five-bladed variable-pitch propellers (post powerplant replacement)
| Ship speed = * {{convert|34|kn}} max
* {{convert|28.5|kn}} service
* {{convert|20|kn}} astern
| Ship capacity = * 1,777 passengers
* 1,892 (all berths) passengers
| Ship crew = 1,040
}}
|}

'''''Queen Elizabeth 2''''' ('''''QE2''''') is a retired British [[ocean liner]]. Built by [[John Brown & Company]] on the [[River Clyde]] in Scotland for the [[Cunard Line]], the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and [[cruise ship]] from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel in [[Dubai]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://chrisframe.com.au/post/172795288690/qe2-reopens-as—a-hotel-in-dubai-on-april-18|title=QE2 reopens as a Hotel in Dubai on 18 April after 9 ½ years of retirement. |newspaper=Tumblr |last=Frame |first=Chris |date=10 April 2018 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref>

''Queen Elizabeth 2'' plied the route from her [[home port]] of [[port of Southampton|Southampton]], United Kingdom, to [[New York Harbor|New York]], United States.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://chrisframe.com.au/post/184591429680/50th-anniversary-of-qe2-today-2-may-2019-marks |title=QE2 50th Anniversary |newspaper=Tumblr |first=Chris |last=Frame |date=2 May 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref> She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until she was succeeded by the {{ship||Queen Mary 2}} in 2004. ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' was designed in Cunard's offices in [[Liverpool]] and [[Southampton]] and built in [[Clydebank]], Scotland. She was refitted with a modern diesel powerplant in 1986–87.

''Queen Elizabeth 2'' retired from active Cunard service on 27 November 2008, and was acquired by the private equity arm of [[Dubai World]], which planned to begin conversion of the vessel to a 500-room floating hotel moored at the [[Palm Jumeirah]], Dubai.<ref name=asa>{{cite news|last=Fitch|first=Asa|title=QE II Ocean Liner Heads to Asia to Become Floating Hotel|url=http://www.zawya.com/story/QE_II_Ocean_Liner_heads_to_Asia_to_become_floating_hotel-ZW20130117000111/|newspaper=Zawya|date=19 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="Cunard Press Release">{{cite web|url= http://www.cunard.com/AboutCunard/NewsReleases.asp?Cat=&View=ViewArticle&Mode=News&ContentID=6656&Active=News |publisher=Cunard.com|title=QE2 To Leave Cunard Fleet And Be Sold To Dubai World To Begin A New Life at the Palm|year=2007|access-date=20 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706160214/http://www.cunard.com/AboutCunard/NewsReleases.asp?Cat%3D%26View%3DViewArticle%26Mode%3DNews%26ContentID%3D6656%26Active%3DNews <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=6 July 2007}}</ref> Due to the [[2008 financial crisis]], the ship was laid up at Dubai Drydocks and later [[Mina Rashid]].<ref name="CLYDE">{{cite news|last1=Morris|first1=Hugh|title='Forlorn' QE2 is not coming home from Dubai, campaigners concede|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/12097316/Forlorn-QE2-is-not-coming-home-from-Dubai-campaigners-concede.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/12097316/Forlorn-QE2-is-not-coming-home-from-Dubai-campaigners-concede.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=18 January 2016|publisher=Telegraph Media Group|date=13 January 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Subsequent conversion plans were announced in 2012<ref>{{cite news|title=Cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2 to be converted into hotel |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/travel/cruise-liner-queen-elizabeth-2-to-be-converted-into-hotel/article1-902010.aspx |access-date=29 August 2015 |publisher=HT Media Limited |date=3 July 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904050816/http://www.hindustantimes.com/travel/cruise-liner-queen-elizabeth-2-to-be-converted-into-hotel/article1-902010.aspx |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref> and then again by the ''Oceanic Group'' in 2013,<ref>{{cite news|title=New home for Queen Elizabeth 2|url=http://travel.cnn.com/new-home-queen-elizabeth-2-764401|access-date=18 January 2016|publisher=CNN International|date=18 January 2013}}</ref> but both plans stalled. 

The restored QE2 opened to visitors on 18 April 2018<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article99382.html | title=Queen Mary 2 Guests to be First to Board the QE2 Hotel in Dubai}}</ref> and today operates as a floating hotel in Dubai, managed since 2024 by French hotel chain Accor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Accor adds QE2 to its portfolio in Dubai |url=https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/accor-adds-qe2-to-its-portfolio-in-dubai |access-date=2025-06-11 |website=www.seatrade-cruise.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Development==
[[File:QE2 in John Browns shipyard - geograph.org.uk - 111928.jpg|thumb|''QE2''{{'}}s hull at Number 736 on the slipway, 1967|left]]

By 1957, transatlantic sea travel was becoming displaced by air transit due to its speed and low relative cost, with passenger numbers split 50:50 between them.<ref>Glen. Page 296.</ref> With jets capable of spanning the ocean non-stop replacing prop planes, and the debut of the [[Boeing 707]] and the [[Douglas DC-8]] in 1958, the trend was rapidly increasing.<ref name="PayneP31">Payne. Page 31.</ref> Simultaneously, the aging {{RMS|Queen Mary|3=2}} and ''[[RMS Queen Elizabeth|Queen Elizabeth]]'' were becoming increasingly expensive to operate, and both internally and externally were relics of the pre-war era.

Despite falling passenger revenues, Cunard did not want to give up its traditional role as a provider of a North Atlantic passenger service and Royal Mail carrier, and so decided to replace the obsolete ''Queens'' with a new generation liner.<ref name="chriscunard">{{cite web |url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-facts |title=QE2 Facts |year=2010 |website=Chris' Cunard Page |access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref>

Designated ''Q3'' during work-up, it was projected to measure 75,000 [[gross register ton]]s, have berths for 2,270 passengers, and cost about £30&nbsp;million.<ref name=PayneP31/><ref>{{cite web |title = A new Cunard Liner |publisher = University of Glasgow |url =https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/archivespecialcollections/digitisedcollections/qe2/anewcunardliner/|access-date =5 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064952/https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/archives/exhibitions/qe2/anewcunardliner/ |archive-date=3 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Work had proceeded as far as the preparation of submissions from six shipyards and applying for government financial assistance with the construction when misgivings among some executives and directors, coupled with a shareholder revolt, led to the benefits of the project being reappraised and ultimately cancelled on 19 October 1961.<ref name=PayneP31/><ref name="TheQE2Story">Cross.</ref>

Cunard decided to continue with a replacement plan but with an altered operating regime and more flexible design. Realising the decline of transatlantic trade, it was visualised that the new ''Queen'' would be dual-purpose three-class ship offering First, Cabin and Tourist passage for eight months a year on the transatlantic route, then as a [[cruise ship]] in warmer climates and during the winter months.<ref name=PayneP31/><ref name="hist1">{{cite web|url=http://members.tripod.com/~Tziper/history.htm |title=Queen Elizabeth 2: History |publisher=Members.tripod.com |access-date=5 September 2022}}</ref>

Compared with the older Queens, which had two engine rooms and four propellers, the newly designated ''Q4'' would be much smaller, with one boiler room, one engine room, and two propellers, which combined with automation would allow a smaller engineering complement.<ref name="PayneP32">Payne. Page 32.</ref> Producing 110,000 shp, the new ship was to have the same {{convert|28.5|kn|km/h}} service speed as her predecessors, while consuming half the fuel. A reduction to 520 tons per 24 hours<ref>Glen. Page 303.</ref> was estimated to save Cunard £1&nbsp;million annually.<ref name=PayneP32/> Able to transit both the [[Panama Canal|Panama]] and [[Suez Canal|Suez]] canals, her {{convert|7|ft|adj=on}} shallower [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|32|ft|1}} would allow her to enter more and smaller ports than the old ships, particularly in tropical waters.<ref name="chriscunard"/>

==Design==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2017}}
[[File:QE2 bow.jpg|thumb|''Queen Elizabeth 2''{{'}}s long bow was typical of regular service ocean liners, which sailed at high speed to keep a schedule in any weather.]]
[[File:QEII forty.jpg|thumb|upright|''Queen Elizabeth 2'' back on the [[River Clyde]] for her 40th birthday in 2007]]

The interior and superstructure for the ''QE2'' was designed by [[James Gardner (designer)|James Gardner]]. The result was described by The Council of Industrial Design as that of a "very big yacht" and with a "look [that was] sleek, modern and purposeful".<ref>QE2 [http://maritime.elettra.co.uk/qe2/design/ Engineering and Design]</ref>

===Characteristics===
As built, ''QE2'' had a [[gross tonnage]] of {{GRT|65,863}}, was {{convert|963|ft|m|abbr=on}} long, and had a top speed of {{convert|32.5|knots}} with steam turbines; this was increased to {{convert|34|kn}} when the vessel was re-engined with the diesel-electric powerplant.<ref name="chrisqe2hist">{{cite web|url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-history/|title=QE2 History|website=Chris' Cunard Page|access-date=5 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/index.htm |title=QE2's Major 1986–1987 re-engining refit |access-date=5 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=Chris Frame & Rachelle Cross |title=The QE2 Story |isbn=978-0-7524-5094-0 |publisher=The History Press, Stroud |year=2009 }}</ref>  At the time of retirement, the ship had a gross tonnage of 70,327.

===Hull===
The hull was of welded steel plates, which avoided the weight penalty of over ten million rivets and overlappeding of historic ship construction,<ref name=PayneP32/> and was fitted with a modern [[bulbous bow]].

===Superstructure===
Like both {{SS|Normandie|3=2}} and {{SS|France|1961|2}}, ''QE2'' had a flared [[stem (ship)|stem]] and clean [[forecastle]].

What was controversial at the time was that Cunard decided not to paint the funnel with the line's distinctive colour and pattern, something that had been done on all its merchant vessels since Cunard's first vessel, the {{RMS|Britannia}}, sailed in 1840. Instead, the funnel was painted white and black, with the Cunard orange-red appearing only on the inside of the wind scoop. This practice ended in 1983 when ''QE2'' returned from service in the [[Falklands War]], and the funnel was repainted in traditional Cunard orange and black, with black horizontal bands, known as "hands".

The original narrow funnel was rebuilt larger during her 1986 refurbishment in [[Bremerhaven]], using steel panels from the original,{{cn|date=June 2024}} when the ship was converted from steam to [[Diesel engine|diesel]] power.{{why|reason=Why was the funnel enlarged?  For aesthetic reasons?  Why would diesel power require larger funnels than steam?|date=June 2024}}

Large quantities of weight-saving aluminium were used in the framing and cladding of ''QE2''{{'}}s superstructure in place of steel. Reducing the draft of the ship lowered fuel consumption, but invited electrochemical corrosion where dissimilar metals are joined together, prevented by using a jointing compound. The low melting point of aluminium caused concern when ''QE2'' was serving as a troopship during the Falklands War, with some fearing that if the ship were struck by a missile her upper decks would collapse quickly due to fire.{{clarification needed|reason=Is this fear scientifically based?  A reliable citation, please.|date=June 2024}}

In 1972, the first penthouse suites were added in an aluminium structure on Signal Deck and Sports Deck (now "Sun Deck"), behind the ship's [[bridge (ship)|bridge]], and in 1977 this structure was expanded to include more suites with balconies, making ''QE2'' one of the first ships to offer private terraces to passengers since ''Normandie'' in the 1930s. Her balcony accommodation was expanded for the final time when her funnel was widened during the 1986/87 overhaul. 

''QE2''{{'}}s final structural changes included the reworking of the aft decks during the 1994 refit, following the removal of the [[magrodome]], and the addition of an undercover area on Sun Deck during the 2005 refit outfitted as the Funnel Bar.

===Interiors===
''Queen Elizabeth 2''{{'}}s interior configuration was originally designed for segregated two-class Atlantic crossings.  It was laid out in a horizontal fashion, similar to ''France'', where the spaces dedicated to the two classes were spread on specific decks, in contrast to the deck-spanning vertical class divisions of older liners. Where ''QE2'' differed from ''France'' in having only two classes of service, with the upper deck dedicated to tourist class and the quarter deck beneath it to first-class. Each had its own main lounge.

Another modern variation was providing tourist class with a grand two-story main ballroom, called the Double Room (later the Grand Lounge), created by opening a well in the deck between what were to have been the second and third class lounges in the ship's original three class design. This too was unconventional in that it designated a grander space for tourist class passengers than first class, who gathered in the standard height Queen's Room. The First-class was given the theatre balcony on Boat Deck, and tourist class the orchestra level on Upper Deck.

Over the span of her thirty-nine-year seagoing career, ''QE2'' received a number of interior refits and alterations.

The year ''QE2'' entered service, 1969, [[Apollo 11]] landed on the Moon, the [[Concorde]] prototype was unveiled, and the [[Boeing 747]] first took flight. In keeping with those technology influenced times, Cunard abandoned the [[Art Deco]] interiors of the previous ''Queens'' in favor of everyday modern materials like [[laminate]]s, aluminium and [[Perspex]]. The public rooms featured glass, stainless steel, dark carpeting and sea green leather.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Cunard Queens: Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth 2 |last=Schwerdtner|first=Nils |publisher=Seaforth Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84832-010-9|pages=27–28}}</ref> Furniture was modular, and [[abstract art]] was used throughout public rooms and cabins.

[[Dennis Lennon]] was responsible for co-ordinating the interior design, assisted by [[Jon Bannenberg]] and [[Gaby Schreiber]]; his original designs only remained intact for three years.<ref name="scotsman.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/art/sixties-splendour-revived-as-exhibition-celebrates-qe2-formica-fest-1-4687051|title=Sixties splendour revived as exhibition celebrates QE2 Formica fest|website=www.scotsman.com|date=11 February 2018 |access-date=5 March 2019}}</ref>

The Midships Lobby on Two Deck, where first-class passengers boarded for transatlantic journeys and all passengers boarded for cruises, was a circular room with a sunken seating area in the centre with green leather-clad banquettes surrounded by a chrome railing. In the centre was a flared, white, trumpet-shaped, lighted column.

The Theatre Bar on Upper Deck featured red chairs, red drapes, a red egg crate fibreglass screen, and even a red baby [[grand piano]]. Some more traditional materials like wood veneer were used as highlights throughout the ship, especially in passenger corridors and staterooms. There was also an Observation Bar on Quarter Deck, a successor to its namesake, located in a similar location, on both previous ''Queens'', which offered views through large windows over the ship's bow. The ''QE2''{{'}}s 1972 refit plated over the windows and turned the room into galley space.

Almost all of the remaining original decor was replaced in the 1994 refit, with Cunard opting to use the line's traditional ocean liners as inspiration. The green velvet and leather Midships Bar became the [[Art Deco]] inspired Chart Room, receiving an original, custom-designed piano from ''Queen Mary''. The (by then) blue dominated Theatre Bar was transformed into the traditional [[Edwardian period|Edwardian]]-themed Golden Lion Pub.

Some original elements were retained, including the flared columns in the Queen's Room and Mid-Ships Lobby. The Queen's Room's indirect ceiling lighting was replaced with uplighters which reversed the original light airy effect by illuminating the lowered ceiling and leaving shadows in the ceiling's slot.

By the time of ''QE2's'' retirement, the ship's synagogue was the only room that had remained unaltered since 1969.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://members.tripod.com/~Tziper/today.htm | title=Queen Elizabeth 2: Today |publisher=Members.tripod.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> However it was reported that during ''QE2''{{'}}s 22 October five-night voyage, the synagogue was dismantled and removed from the ship before her final sailing to Dubai.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelserver.net/travelpage/ubb-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=004606 |title=Cruise Talk&nbsp;– Topic: QE2's Synagogue dismantled |publisher=Travelserver.net |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

===Artwork and artefacts===
[[File:QE2 bell.jpg|thumb|''QE2'' bell on display on {{MS|Queen Elizabeth}}]]
The designers included numerous pieces of artwork within the public rooms of the ship, as well as maritime artefacts drawn from Cunard's long history of operating merchant vessels.

[[Althea Wynne]]'s sculpture of the ''White Horses'' of the Atlantic Ocean was installed in the Mauretania Restaurant.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/art-obituaries/9082747/Althea-Wynne.html Althea Wynne (obituary)] in [[The Daily Telegraph]] dated 14 February 2012, online at telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2012</ref> Two bronze busts were installed—one of Sir [[Samuel Cunard]] outside the Yacht Club, and one of Queen [[Elizabeth II]] in the Queen's Room. Four life-size statues of human forms—created by sculptor Janine Janet in marine materials like shell and coral, representing the four elements—were installed in the Princess Grill. A frieze designed by Brody Nevenshwander, depicting the words of [[T. S. Eliot]], Sir [[Francis Drake]], and [[John Masefield]], was in the Chart Room. The Midships Lobby housed a solid silver model of ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' made by Asprey of Bond Street in 1975, which was lost until a photograph found in 1997 led to the discovery of the model itself. It was placed on ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in 1999.

Three custom-designed tapestries were commissioned from [[Helena Hernmarck]] for the ship's launch, depicting the Queen as well as the launch of the ship. These tapestries were originally hung in the Quarter Deck "D" Stairway, outside the Columbia Restaurant. They were originally made with golden threads, but much of this was lost when they were incorrectly cleaned during the 1987 refit. They were subsequently hung in the "E" stairway and later damaged in 2005.

There are numerous photographs, oils, and pastels of members of the [[British Royal Family|Royal Family]] throughout the vessel.

The ship also housed items from previous Cunard ships, including both a brass relief plaque with a fish motif from the first {{RMS|Mauretania|1906}} and an Art-Deco bas-relief titled ''Winged Horse and Clouds'' by Norman Foster from {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}}. There were also a vast array of Cunard postcards, porcelain, flatware, boxes, linen, and [[Lines Bros]] Tri-ang Minic model ships. One of the key pieces was a replica of the [[figurehead]] from Cunard's first ship {{RMS|Britannia}}, carved from [[Quebec]] yellow pine by [[Cornwall|Cornish]] sculptor Charles Moore and presented to the ship by [[Lloyd's of London]].

On the Upper Deck sits the silver Boston Commemorative Cup, presented to ''Britannia'' by the City of Boston in 1840. This cup was lost for decades until it was found in a pawn shop in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On "2" Deck was a bronze entitled ''Spirit of the Atlantic'' that was designed by Barney Seale for the second {{RMS|Mauretania|1938}}. A large wooden plaque was presented to ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' by [[First Sea Lord]] Sir [[John Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse|John Fieldhouse]] to commemorate the ship's service as a Hired Military Transport (HMT) in the [[Falklands War]].

There was also an extensive collection of large-scale models of Cunard ships located throughout ''Queen Elizabeth 2''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magwa.co.uk/qe2/qe2prt01.htm |title=Interiors of QE2 following The Cunard Heritage Trail in part |publisher=Magwa.co.uk |access-date=10 May 2012}}</ref>

Over the years the ship's collection was added to. Among those items was a set of antique Japanese armour presented to ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' by the Governor of [[Kagoshima]], Japan, during her 1979 world cruise, as was a [[Josiah Wedgwood|Wedgwood]] vase presented to the ship by Lord Wedgwood.

Throughout the public areas were also silver plaques commemorating the visits of every member of the Royal Family, as well as other dignitaries such as South African president [[Nelson Mandela]].

Istithmar acquired most of these items from Cunard when it bought ''QE2''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://qe2thelastcrossing.blogspot.com/2008/10/qe2-heritage-trail.html |title=QE2 Heritage Trail |access-date=25 May 2010|date=28 October 2008 }}</ref>

===Crew accommodation===
The majority of the crew were accommodated in two- or four-berth cabins, with showers and toilets at the end of each alleyway.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} These were located forward and aft on decks three to six.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} At the time she entered service, the crew areas were a significant improvement over those aboard {{RMS|Queen Mary}} and {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}}; however the ship's age and the lack of renovation of the crew area during her 40 years of service, in contrast to passenger areas, which were updated periodically, meant that this accommodation was considered basic by the end of her career. [[Licensed mariner|Officers]] were accommodated in single cabins with private in-suite bathrooms located on Sun Deck.<ref name="TheQE2Story" />

There were six crew bars, the main four were split into the Senior Rates Recreation Rooms on Deck 2 and the Junior Rates on Deck 3, with Deck and Engine Departments on the port side and Hotel on the starboard side of the ship. The Female crew recreation room was on Deck 1 next to their dedicated mess room. Over time the Deck & Engine Ratings Room became The Petty Officers Club and then the Fo'c'sle Club when the British Deck and Engine crew were changed to Filipino crew. The Hotel Senior Rates room became a crew gym. The Junior Rates Rooms on Deck 3 were the main crew bars and were called ''The Pig & Whistle''.<ref name="journey_book" /> ("The 2 deck Pig" and three deck pig, for short and a tradition aboard Cunard ships) and Castaways on the starboard side. After the expansion of female crew following the conversion to diesel power, the female-only recreation and mess room became a crew library and later the crew services office. The final bar on Deck 6 aft was small and in a former crew launderette so it was called the Dhobi Arms, a hang out for the Liverpool crew but was closed in the late '80s. A bar, dedicated for the officers, is located at the forward end of Boat Deck. Named ''The Officers Wardroom'', this area enjoyed forward-facing views and was often opened to passengers for cocktail parties hosted by the senior officers.<ref name="lightbody1" /> The crew mess was situated at the forward end of One Deck,<ref name="journey_book" /> adjacent to the crew services office.

===Machinery===
[[File:20-QE2 Re-engine.jpg|thumb|''Queen Elizabeth 2'' being re-engined at [[Bremerhaven]], November 1986]]
[[File:21-QE2 Re-engine.jpg|thumb|''Queen Elizabeth 2''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s original funnel, removed while being re-engined; some of its panels were recycled to create QE2's new funnel.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} Her old fixed-pitch propellers are visible in the lower left of the photo.]]

''Queen Elizabeth 2'' was originally fitted out with a [[steam turbine]] propulsion system using three Foster Wheeler E.S.D II boilers, which provided steam for the two Brown-[[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] turbines. The turbines were rated with a maximum power output figure of {{convert|110000|shp}} (normally operating at {{cvt|94000|hp|disp=or}}) and coupled via double-reduction gearing to two six-bladed fixed-pitch [[propeller]]s.

The steam turbines were plagued with problems{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}} from the time the ship first entered service and, despite being technically advanced and fuel-efficient in 1968, her consumption of 600 tons of fuel oil every twenty-four hours was more than expected for such a ship by the 1980s. After seventeen years of service, the availability of spare parts was becoming difficult due to the outdated design of the boilers and turbines and the constant use of the machinery which was mainly due to Cunard's cost-saving deletion of the originally planned 4th boiler while the ship was still on the drawing board.

The shipping company decided that the options were to either do nothing for the remainder of the ship's life, re-configure the existing engines, or completely re-engine the vessel with a modern, more efficient and more reliable diesel-electric powerplant. Ultimately it was decided to replace the engines, as it was calculated that the savings in fuel costs and maintenance would pay for themselves over four years while giving the vessel a minimum of another twenty years of service, whereas the other options would only provide short-term relief.<ref name="Rob Lightbody">{{cite web| url=http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/1987_Refit/ |publisher=Rob Lightbody |title=QE2's Major 1986–1987 re-engining refit |access-date=8 February 2011}}</ref> Her steam turbines had taken her to a record-breaking{{citation needed|reason=Failed verification at the given citation.|date=June 2024}} total of 2,622,858 miles in 18 years.<ref name="The Cunarders">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecunarders.co.uk/QE2%20History.html |publisher=The Cunarders |title=QE2 History |access-date=23 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213081103/http://www.thecunarders.co.uk/QE2%20History.html |archive-date=13 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2024}}

During the ship's 1986 to 1987 refit, the steam turbines were removed and replaced with nine German [[MAN SE|MAN]] 9L58/64 nine-cylinder, medium-speed diesel engines, each weighing approximately 120 tons. Using a diesel-electric configuration, each engine drives a generator, each developing 10.5 MW of electrical power at 10,000 volts. This electrical plant, in addition to powering the ship's auxiliary and hotel services through transformers, drives the two main propulsion motors, one on each propeller shaft. These motors produce 44 MW each and are of synchronised salient-pole construction, nine metres in diameter and weighing more than 400 tons each.

The ship's service speed of {{convert|28.5|kn|km/h}} was now maintained using only seven of the diesel-electric sets. The maximum power output with the new engine configuration running increased to 130,000&nbsp;hp, which was greater than the previous system's 110,000&nbsp;hp. Using the same IBF-380 ([[Bunker C]]) fuel, the new configuration yielded a 35% fuel saving over the previous system. During the re-engining process, her funnel was modified into a wider one to accommodate the exhaust pipes for the nine MAN diesel engines.

During the refit, the original fixed-pitch propellers were replaced with [[variable-pitch propeller (marine)|variable-pitch propellers]]. The old steam propulsion system required astern turbines to move the ship backward or stop her moving forward. The pitch of the new variable pitch blades could simply be reversed, causing a reversal of propeller thrust while maintaining the same direction of propeller rotation, allowing the ship shorter stopping times and improved handling characteristics.

The new propellers were originally fitted with "Grim Wheels", named after their inventor, Dr. Ing Otto Grim.<ref name="Rob Lightbody"/> These were free-spinning propeller blades fitted behind the main propellers, with long vanes protruding from the centre hub. The Grim Wheels were designed to recover lost propeller thrust and reduce fuel consumption by 2.5 to 3%. After the trial of these wheels, when the ship was drydocked, the majority of the vanes on each wheel were discovered to have broken off. The wheels were removed and the project was abandoned.

Other machinery includes nine heat recovery boilers, coupled with two oil-fired boilers to produce steam for heating fuel, domestic water, swimming pools, laundry equipment, and galleys. Four flash evaporators and a reverse-osmosis unit desalinate seawater to produce 1000 tons of freshwater daily. There is also a sanitation system and sewage disposal plant, air conditioning plant, and an electro-hydraulic steering system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qe2.org.uk/engine.html |title=The engine room |publisher=QE2 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

==Construction==
On 30 December 1964, Cunard placed an order for construction of the new ship with [[John Brown and Company]], who would build it at their shipyard in [[Clydebank]], Scotland. The agreed price was £25,427,000 (equal to £{{Inflation|UK|25427000|1964|fmt=c}} today) provision for escalation of labour and materials increases, with an agreed delivery date of May 1968.<ref name="PayneP33">Payne. Page 33.</ref> To assist with its construction the British government provided financial assistance to Cunard in the form of a £17.6&nbsp;million loan at 4.5% interest.<ref name=PayneP33/>

The keel was laid down on 5 July 1965, as hull number 736 on the same slipway where previous Cunard liners such as {{RMS|Lusitania|3=2}}, {{RMS|Aquitania|3=2}}, ''Queen Mary'', and ''Queen Elizabeth'' had been constructed.

The ship was launched and named on 20 September 1967 by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], using the same pair of gold scissors her mother and grandmother used to launch ''Queen Elizabeth'' and ''Queen Mary'', respectively.<ref name="hist1" /> After the bottle of champagne was smashed the ''QE2'' stayed put on the slipway for 90 seconds before being let free. In a break with tradition, Cunard declined to give the ship [[Royal Mail|royal mail]] status. 

===Name===
Authorities disagree over whether the ship's namesake is the monarch Elizabeth II or the liner ''Queen Elizabeth''. During the naming and launching ceremony on 20 September 1967, the monarch clearly and verbally states the name of the ship is "Queen Elizabeth the Second". However, the written form of ship is "Queen Elizabeth 2", (Queen Elizabeth Two), not the "Queen Elizabeth II" (Queen Elizabeth the Second) formal title used by the monarch. It is likely that Her Majesty misinterpreted the written numeral "2" as the Roman numeral "II".

====Form of name====
[[File:QE2 stern 15 October 2008.jpg|thumb|''QE2'' stern name, October 2008]]
[[File:QE2 bow 15 October 2008.jpg|thumb|''QE2'' bow name, October 2008]]
The name of the liner as it appears on the bow and stern is ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', with upper- and lower-case lettering and an [[Arabic numeral]] 2 as opposed to the [[Roman numeral]] II, distinguishing her from the monarch, [[Elizabeth II]]; it is commonly pronounced in speech as ''Queen Elizabeth Two''.<ref name="UGArchiveShip736">
{{cite web
 | url = https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/archivespecialcollections/digitisedcollections/qe2/shipnumber736/
 | title = Ship number 736
 | first = Neil |last=Leitch
 | access-date =14 November 2008
| website = Queen Elizabeth Two (QE2) 40 years on
 | publisher = University of Glasgow, Archive Services exhibitions
 | quote = The name of the ship was kept secret and as the day of the launch approached ... Queen Elizabeth stepped forward and named the ship, ''Queen Elizabeth the Second'', being the second ship called ''Queen Elizabeth'' ... As Roman numerals are always used for monarchs, the Arabic numeral 2 is used in the ship's name to distinguish her from the monarch, and she has always been referred to as, ''Queen Elizabeth Two'', or most often as the QE2
}}
</ref> Soon after launching, the name was shortened in common use as ''QE2''.<ref name="ShipsandCruiseQE2Birthday"/>

====Background====
''Queen Mary'', in 1934, and ''Queen Elizabeth'', in 1938, were both named by and for contemporary spouses of reigning monarchs: [[Mary of Teck]] and [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]], respectively.<ref name="Mirror10Nov08lastvoyage"/> These two previous Cunarders both had capitalised bow names, as ''QUEEN MARY'' and ''QUEEN ELIZABETH''.

Cunard practice at the time of naming ''QE2'' was to re-use the existing name of [[Cunard Line#Former ships|its former ships]], for example, launching {{RMS|Mauretania|1938|3}} in 1938 after the previous {{RMS|Mauretania|1906|3}} was scrapped in 1935.

The original ''Queen Elizabeth'' was still in service with Cunard when ''QE2'' was launched in 1967, although she was retired and sold before ''QE2'' entered revenue service with Cunard in 1969.

The addition of a "2" in this manner was unknown at the time, but it was not unknown for Roman numerals to denote ships in service with the same name. Two non-Cunard ships were named ''Queen Mary II'': a Clyde steamer, and ''Mauretania II'', a Southampton steamer of Red Funnel, since the Cunard ships already had the names without Roman numerals.

====Launch====
As was Cunard practice at the time, the name of the liner was not to be publicly revealed until the launch.<ref name="GreatOceanLinersQE2page">{{cite web
 |url          = http://thegreatoceanliners.com/articles/queen-elizabeth-2/
 |title        = Queen Elizabeth 2, 1969&nbsp;– Present Day
 |author       = Henrik Ljungström
 |author2      = Daniel Othfors
 |access-date   = 14 November 2008
|website         = Ship Histories
 |publisher    = The Great Ocean Liners
 |quote        = And like the ''Queen Mary'', this new ship did not get a name until the day of her launch ... In the end, a decision was finally made. The new ship would be christened the Queen Elizabeth 2, to honour the previous ''Queen Elizabeth''.
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130609231824/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/qe2.html
 |archive-date = 9 June 2013
|url-status=live}}</ref> Dignitaries were invited to the "Launch of Cunard Liner No. 736",<ref name="UGArchiveShip736Invitations">
{{cite web
 | url = http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/archives/exhibitions/qe2/qe2photogallery4/ticketsforthelaunchofshipno736/
 | title = Tickets for the launch of Ship No. 736
 | author = Neil Leitch, Glasgow University Archive Services
 | access-date =14 November 2008
| publisher = University of Glasgow, Archive Services exhibitions
 | date = n.d.
}}
</ref> as no name had yet been painted on the bow.<ref name="MillerPicHistQMQELaunchHullpic">William H. Miller, In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=j3QVOW9EpikC Picture history of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth]'', Courier Dover Publications 2004, {{ISBN|0-486-43509-1}}, {{OL|3303843M}}, p97, [[Google Books]] search (partial preview), Picture showing the QE2 hull being launched without a bow name, caption: (p96) "Right: The joyous launch of the Queen Elizabeth 2 on 20 September 1967". Retrieved 14 November 2008</ref>

The [[Ships christened by Queen Elizabeth II|Queen launched the ship]] with the words "I name this ship ''Queen Elizabeth the Second'',"<ref name="BBCOnThisDay20Sep1967">
{{Cite news
 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/20/newsid_3075000/3075555.stm
 | title = On This Day, 20 September 1967: Queen Elizabeth 2 takes to the waves
 | author = BBC News
 | access-date =14 November 2008
| date = <!-- Unclear. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/bsp/about_this_site.stm] indicates that the "On This Day" series is "written as if the event had only just occurred", but does not claim to actually be a transcript of a contemporary report. Copyright at bottom of page says 2008. -->
 | quote = In clear tones, she pronounced: 'I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second. May God bless her and all who sail in her.'
 | author-link = BBC News
}}
</ref> the normal short form of address of the monarch, Elizabeth II herself.
The following day, the ''New York Times''<ref name="NYTimes21Sep1967archive">
{{Cite news
 | author = Alvin Schuster
 | title = Name of Cunarder Is a Surprise but Has Precedent; QUEEN LAUNCHES THE ELIZABETH II
 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40614F73E5C107B93C3AB1782D85F438685F9&scp=1&sq=21+september+1967+elizabeth&st=p
 | work=New York Times
 | date = 21 September 1967
| access-date =14 November 2008
| quote = CLYDEBANK, Scotland, Sept. 20—Queen Elizabeth II launched Britain's newest luxury liner today and named her Queen Elizabeth II.
 }}
</ref> and ''The Times'' of London printed the name as ''Queen Elizabeth II'', the short form of written style of the monarch. However, when the liner left the shipyard in 1968 she bore the name ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' on her bow, and has continued to do so ever since.<ref name="MillerPicHistQMQEBridgeFitpic">William H. Miller, In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=j3QVOW9EpikC Picture history of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth]'', Courier Dover Publications 2004, {{ISBN|0-486-43509-1}}, {{OL|3303843M}}, p98, [[Google Books]] search (partial preview), Picture showing the QE2 bow wearing the name Queen Elizabeth 2 while having the bridge lowered into place, caption: (p99) "this 1968 photo, opposite, top, shows the wheelhouse and bridge sections being lifted aboard". Retrieved 14 November 2008</ref>

====1969 authorised history====
In an authorised history of ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' published in 1969,<ref name="PotterAuthorisedStory1969genref">
{{Cite book
 |last = Potter
 |first = Neil
 |author2=Jack Frost
  |title = Queen Elizabeth 2: The Authorised Story
 |year = 1969
 |publisher = Harrap
 |isbn = 978-0-245-59444-1
 |ol=4616734M
}}
</ref> various explanations of events occur.

These state that, as at the launch ceremony, an envelope and card were also held in New York in case of transmission failure, and when opened the card was found to read the name Queen Elizabeth, and that the decision to add "The Second" to the name was an alteration by the Queen. The book quotes the Cunard chairman [[Sir Basil Smallpeice]]<!-- DO NOT CHANGE SPELLING! SMALLPEICE IS CORRECT--> as saying "The ''Queen Mary'' [named] after her Grandmother, the ''Queen Elizabeth'' after her mother, and now this magnificent ship after herself."

Following the unexpected addition of ''the Second'' by the Queen, the book attributes the use of upper and lower case lettering and a numeric ''2''&nbsp;– rather than a [[Roman numerals|Roman]] ''II''&nbsp;– to the decision by Cunard to use a more modern typeface to suit the style of the 1960s. The book also surmises that the naming of the liner after the reigning monarch, in the form Queen Elizabeth II, was potentially offensive to some Scots, as the title of Queen Elizabeth II (of the United Kingdom) relates to the lineage of the throne of England and Ireland (the Tudor monarch [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] having reigned only in England and Ireland).

====Ron Warwick, former captain====
In a later account by Ronald Warwick, who was the son of William "Bil" Warwick and the first master of ''QE2'', Warwick junior (himself later in his Cunard career a [[Captain (nautical)|master]] of the ''QE2'' and latterly the first captain of ''[[RMS Queen Mary 2|QM2]]'') supports the account that the Queen initiated the surprise move of naming the liner after herself rather than simply Queen Elizabeth as had originally been planned (the name having been made vacant by the retirement of the current liner before the new one was commissioned).<ref name="RonaldWarwick3rdEditionp60">Warwick junior is currently involved with ''QE2'' in Dubai and Cape Town on behalf of Nakheel.
{{Cite book
 |last = Warwick
 |first = Ronald W.
 |title = QE2&nbsp;– The Cunard Line Flagship, Queen Elizabeth 2
 |edition = 3rd
 |year = 1999
 |publisher = W. W. Norton and Company
 |isbn = 978-0-393-04772-1
 |ol=7451640M
 |quote = There was no question what Sir Basil and the Cunard board desired. The name was discussed with Lord Adeane, the queen's private secretary, and it was decided simply to ask that the new ship be named Queen Elizabeth, because by the time of her commissioning, both of the earlier Queens would be withdrawn from service and she could assume the name vacated by one of her predecessors ... Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II moved to the front of the launching platform and was handed an envelope by John Rannie with the name of the ship inside. This was a tradition because many years before someone purportedly had forgotten the name of a ship about to be launched. The envelope remained unopened as the queen stepped forward and uttered the words, "I name this ship the Queen Elizabeth the Second. May God Bless her and all who sail in her" ... Sir Basil {{sic|hide=y|Smallpeice}}<!-- DO NOT CHANGE SPELLING! SMALLPEICE IS CORRECT--> was overjoyed at the sovereign's alteration of the name. (paragraph reference his autobiography {{ISBN|0-906393-10-8}}) He could not have been more delighted with having the third of the great royal Cunarders named in this manner. The decision promptly was made to style the giant liner ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' using the numeral two to differentiate the ship from the sovereign.
}}
</ref> The name had been given to the Queen in a sealed envelope which she didn't open. The book, referencing his autobiography, states that the Cunard chairman Sir Basil {{sic|hide=y|Smallpeice}}<!-- DO NOT CHANGE SPELLING! SMALLPEICE IS CORRECT--> was delighted with this development, it being in keeping with the previous Queen liners, and the 2 was added by Cunard for differentiation of the ship while still denoting it was named after the Queen.

====Cunard website====
From at least 2002 the official Cunard website stated that "The new ship is not named after the Queen but is simply the second ship to bear the name&nbsp;– hence the use of the Arabic 2 in her name, rather than the Roman II used by the Queen",<ref name="CunardWebsiteQE2First30YearsArchive16June2002">
{{cite web
 | url         = http://www.cunard.com/onboard/qe2/first30years.asp?Active=QE2&Sub=SF
 | title       =Queen Elizabeth II – The First 30 Years
 | access-date  =14 November 2008
| publisher   = Cunard Official Website, www.cunard.com
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20020616200739/http://www.cunard.com/onboard/qe2/first30years.asp?Active=QE2&Sub=SF
 | archive-date = 16 June 2002
| quote       = 1967: Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH Princess Margaret. The new ship is not named after the Queen but is simply the second ship to bear the name&nbsp;– hence the use of the Arabic 2 in her name, rather than the Roman II used by the Queen
}}
</ref><ref name="CunardWebsiteQE2First30YearsArchive20October2006">
{{cite web
 | url         = http://www.cunard.com/onboard/default.asp?OB=QE2&Sub=sp&SubSubSection=30Years
 | title       = The First 30 Years
 | access-date  =14 November 2008
| website        = Queen Elizabeth II
 | publisher   = Cunard Official Website, www.cunard.com
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061020013452/http://www.cunard.com/onboard/default.asp?OB=QE2&Sub=sp&SubSubSection=30Years
 | archive-date = 20 October 2006
| quote       = 1967: Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the presence of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH Princess Margaret. The new ship is not named after the Queen but is simply the second ship to bear the name&nbsp;– hence the use of the Arabic 2 in her name, rather than the Roman II used by the Queen
}}
</ref> however, in late 2008 this information had been removed due to the ship's retirement.<ref name="CunardWebsiteQE2First30YearsArchive11March2007">
{{cite web
 | url         = http://www.cunard.com/onboard/default.asp?OB=QE2&Sub=sp&SubSubSection=30Years
 | title       = Sail into History
 | access-date  =14 November 2008
| website        = Queen Elizabeth II History
 | publisher   = Cunard Official Website, www.cunard.com
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070311030132/http://www.cunard.com/OurShips/default.asp?Ship=QE2&main=int&sub=his| archive-date=11 March 2007| quote       = 20 September 1967: Launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
}}
</ref>

====Other accounts====
Other later accounts repeat the position that Cunard originally intended to name the ship ''Queen Elizabeth'' and the addition of a 2 by the Queen was a surprise to Cunard, in 1990<ref name="SeaviewQE2page">{{cite web | url = http://www.seaview.co.uk/cruiselines/cunard/QE2_Homepage.html | title = QE2 ... The most famous ship in the world | access-date =14 November 2008 | website = Cruise Ships | publisher = Seaview Network Ltd. | quote = <!--It is almost 41 years since the Queen launched job number 736 at John Brown's on the Clyde and on impulse, attached the number 2 to the name of the Queen Elizabeth, much to the surprise of Cunard. -->}}
</ref> and 2008,<ref name="Mirror10Nov08lastvoyage">{{Cite news | author = John Honeywell | title = The QE2's last voyage | url = https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/11/10/the-qe2-s-last-voyage-115875-20884639/ |work=Daily Mirror | date = 10 November 2008 | access-date =14 November 2008 | quote = [The Duke of Edinburgh] accompanied the Queen at the launching ceremony in 1967 when she surprised everyone by naming her ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' ... Cunard had intended to name her simply Queen Elizabeth, which was a 14–1 outsider because no British ship had until then been named after a reigning monarch. They were taken aback when Her Majesty pronounced "I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second."}}
</ref> although two books by William H. Miller state that Queen Elizabeth 2 was the name agreed on before the launch<ref name="GreatOceanLinersQE2page"/> between Cunard officials and the Queen.<ref name="MillerPicHistQMQEp99">William H. Miller, In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=j3QVOW9EpikC Picture history of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth]'', Courier Dover Publications 2004, {{ISBN|0-486-43509-1}}, {{OL|3303843M}}, p99, [[Google Books]] search (partial preview), "Queen Elizabeth II had agreed to do the naming at the ship's launch on 20 September 1967 and, in discussion with Cunard officials, agreed on Queen Elizabeth 2. The new ship was named after the previous liner, not the current queen". Retrieved 14 November 2008</ref>

Accounts that repeat the position that ''QE2'' was not named after the reigning monarch have been published in 1991,<ref name="MillerPicHistCunardp127">William H. Miller, Frank O. Braynard, In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NNvmenHh7OMC&pg=PA127 Picture History of the Cunard Line, 1840–1990]'', Courier Dover Publications 1991, {{ISBN|0-486-26550-1}}, {{OL|1886775M}}, p127, [[Google Books]] search (partial preview), "But it was left to Queen Elizabeth herself, who, like her grandmother in 1934 and her mother in 1938, consented to name the liner at her launching. And so, on 20 September 1967, ... Queen Elizabeth named the new Cunarder ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', honouring the original ''Queen Elizabeth'' (not, as many had thought, the Queen herself). Evidently it had been decided to let the name ''Queen Mary'' remain with the majestic old three stacker..." . Retrieved 14 November 2008</ref> 1999,<ref name="BBCNews14April1999QE230years">{{Cite news | author = BBC | title = QE2&nbsp;– 30 years of cruising | url =  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/319027.stm |work=[[BBC News]] | date = 14 April 1999
|access-date =14 November 2008 | quote = QE2 Facts: Contrary to popular belief, the vessel is not named after Queen Elizabeth II, but is the second ship to be named Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;– hence the use of the Arabic figure 2 rather than the Roman II.}}
</ref> 2004,<ref name="MillerPicHistQMQEp99"/> 2005,<ref name="ShipsandCruiseQE2Birthday">{{cite web |url=http://www.shipsandcruises.com/QE2_Birthday.htm |title=Happy Birthday To Cunard's Longest Serving Vessel |website=ShipsandCruises.com |publisher=Travel-Scope.com Communications |quote=This year on 4 September, the ''QE2'' becomes the longest serving Cunarder ever when she passes the 36 years, four months, and two days' record of the ''Scythia'' ... She is also probably the most misnamed ship in the world. She is ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (not Queen Elizabeth II) indicating she is the second Cunard liner named Queen Elizabeth. ... Christened by: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1967 (The Queen did not name the ship after herself; and so in time the ship became known as the ''QE 2'') |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813025204/http://www.shipsandcruises.com/QE2_Birthday.htm |archive-date=13 August 2007 }}</ref> and 2008.<ref name="BBCNews2June08Farewell">{{Cite news | author = BBC | title = Coronation farewell to QE2 liner
 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7430666.stm |work=[[BBC News]] | date = 2 June 2008 | access-date =14 November 2008 | quote = Although named ''QE2'', the ship was not named after the present Queen but rather the "2" shows that it denoted the fact the liner was the second ship named Queen Elizabeth. }}</ref><ref name="journey_qe2">
{{Cite news | author = Chris Frame and Rachelle Cross | title = QE2: A Photographic Journey | isbn = 978-0-7524-4803-9 |work = Book | publisher = The History Press | date = August 2008 | quote = Cunard agreed to name ship ''Queen Elizabeth'' after the elder Cunard Liner.}}
</ref><ref name="Times2Jun08Farewell">{{Cite news | author = Alan Hamilton |title = QE2: Queen bids farewell to a sovereign of the seas |url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4045920.ece |work=The Times | date = 2 June 2008 | access-date =14 November 2008 | quote = There is one common misconception about the ''QE2''&nbsp;– that she is named after the Queen. In fact, she is simply the second Cunarder of that name: the ship takes the Arabic 2, the Queen the Roman II. |location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 2008, ''The Telegraph'' goes further to state the ship is named not only as the second ship named ''Queen Elizabeth'', but is specifically named after the wife of King George VI.<ref name="Telegraph50QE2Facts">{{Cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/3440417/Fifty-fascinating-QE2-facts.html | title = Fifty fascinating QE2 facts | author = Jolyon Attwooll | access-date =14 November 2008 |work=The Daily Telegraph | date = 12 November 2008 | quote = Fact 10: The ''QE2'' was not named after the current Queen but rather after the wife of King George VI. This explains the convention of using the actual number&nbsp;– i.e. ''Queen Elizabeth 2''&nbsp;– rather than the Roman numerals of Queen Elizabeth II. | location=London}}
</ref> In contradiction however, some modern accounts continue to publish that the ''QE2'' was named after the reigning monarch, in 2001<ref name="RoyalBookofLists">Matt Richardson, In ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NSsCrCGz474C The Royal Book of Lists]'', Dundurn Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-88882-238-3}}, {{OL|8211792M}}, p70-71, [[Google Books]] search (partial preview), During the twentieth century the Cunard Shipping Line launched three famous luxury liners, each named for a different English Queen, 1. The ''Queen Mary'', 2. The ''Queen Elizabeth'', 3. The ''Queen Elizabeth 2''. Retrieved 14 November 2008</ref> and 2008.<ref name="Mirror10Nov08lastvoyage"/> There is a gilded bust that stands in the ship's queen's room depicting Queen Elizabeth II, not her mother.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dreamstime.com/bust-hm-queen-elizabeth-ii-board-ms-situated-just-inside-queens-room-starboard-side-ship-was-originally-qeii-image103390840|title=Bust of HM Queen Elizabeth II|website=Dreamstime|access-date=30 December 2020|date=30 December 2020|archive-date=5 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005104509/https://www.dreamstime.com/bust-hm-queen-elizabeth-ii-board-ms-situated-just-inside-queens-room-starboard-side-ship-was-originally-qeii-image103390840|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Delivery===
As construction continued on the new ship, Cunard found itself in increasing financial difficulties as increased competition from airlines resulted in the company's passenger ships losing money. With profits from its cargo ships eventually unable to offset the losses, Cunard was forced to sell ''Mauretania'', ''Sylvania'', ''Carinthia'', ''Caronia'', ''Queen Mary'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' between 1965 and 1968. Income also fell due to a seven-week-long seamens' strike in 1966.<ref name=PayneP33/> Then John Brown advised that the delivery would be delayed by six months, which meant the ship would miss the 1968 peak summer transatlantic season. Following market research, Cunard decided to take advantage of the delay to change the original three-class configuration of the ship to a more flexible two-class arrangement of First and Tourist.<ref name=PayneP33/>

On 20 September 1967 with the launch date approaching, Cunard (having lost £7.5&nbsp;million the previous year) approached the government with a request for an additional £3&nbsp;million loan to complete the ship.<ref name=PayneP33/> Eventually the government agreed to increase the original £17.6&nbsp;million loan up to £24&nbsp;million.<ref>Glen. Page 305.</ref>

On 19 November 1968, she left John Brown's fitting-out berth. Several industrial disputes with the Clydebank workers, with their resultant delays and quality issues, forced Cunard to transfer the ship to Southampton, where Vosper Thorneycroft completed the installation and commissioning work, prior to the sea trials.<ref>brumcarrier, commissioning engineer for Carrier.</ref><ref name="Highhopes">{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20020505/ai_n12576177 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150904050816/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20020505/ai_n12576177 |url-status=dead|archive-date=4 September 2015 |title=High hopes for a return of the Clyde's glory days |author=Alf Young |date=5 May 2002 |work=[[Sunday Herald]], Find Articles at BNET |access-date=7 October 2008 }}</ref>

Sea trials began on 26 November 1968 in the [[Irish Sea]], proceeding to speed trials off the Isle of Arran.<ref name="PayneP34">Payne. Page 34.</ref>

Cunard initially refused to accept the ship, as the sea trials identified that the ship suffered from a resonant vibration which was traced to a design flaw in the blades of the steam turbines.<ref name="PayneP36">Payne. Page 36.</ref> This delayed her being handed over to her new owners until 18 April 1969.<ref name=PayneP36/> She then departed on a "shakedown cruise" to [[Las Palmas]] on 22 April 1969.<ref name="QE2History">{{cite web|url=http://www.qe2.org.uk/history.html |title=QE2&nbsp;– History |access-date=7 October 2008}}</ref>

==Service==

===Early career===
[[File:Queen Elizabeth 2_IMO 6725418_P_Cuxhaven_08-1973.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''Queen Elizabeth 2'' in [[Cuxhaven]], [[West Germany]], in 1973|left]]
''Queen Elizabeth 2''{{'}}s maiden voyage, from Southampton to New York, commenced on 2 May 1969,<ref name=QE2History /> taking 4 days, 16 hours, and 35 minutes, at an average speed of 28.02 knots.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=26 October 2011|title=Harbor Whistles Greet a Stately Queen Designed for the Modern Age; 150 Vessels in Harbor Greet the Queen Elizabeth 2|work=The New York Times |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/05/08/88990994.pdf|first=George|last=Horne|date=8 May 1969}}</ref> Upon her arrival to New York Harbour, she was greeted by two [[Royal Air Force]] [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier]] jets that hovered on each side of the ship. The Harriers were in New York City at the time competing in the [[Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Bedlow |first=Robert |date=8 May 1969 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-new-york-welcome-for/165026588/ |title=New York Welcome For QE2 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=9 February 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 January 2017 |url=https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/goring/103432/the-day-i-won-race-to-fly-from-london-to-new-york.html |title=The day I won race to fly from London to New York |work=Henley Standard |access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref>

In 1971, she participated in the rescue of some 500 passengers from the burning [[Compagnie Générale Transatlantique|French Line]] ship {{SS|Antilles|3=2}}.<ref name="chrisqe2hist" /><ref name=QE2History />
Later that year on 5 March ''QE2'' was disabled for four hours when jellyfish were sucked into and blocked her seawater intakes.<ref name=PayneP36/>

On 17 May 1972, while travelling from New York to Southampton, she was the subject of a [[bomb threat]].<ref name=TheQE2Story/> She was searched by her crew, and a combined [[Special Air Service]] and [[Special Boat Service]] team which [[parachute]]d into the sea to conduct a search of the ship. No bomb was found, but the [[hoaxer]] was arrested by the [[FBI]].<ref name="chrisqe2hist"/>

The following year ''QE2'' undertook two chartered cruises through the Mediterranean to Israel in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the state's founding. The ship's Columbia Restaurant was koshered for Passover, and Jewish passengers were able to celebrate [[Passover]] on the ship. According to the book "The Angel" by [[Uri Bar-Joseph]], [[Muammar Gaddafi]] ordered a submarine to torpedo her during one of the chartered cruises in retaliation for Israel's downing of [[Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114|Libyan Flight 114]], but [[Anwar Sadat]] intervened secretly to foil the attack.

On 1 April 1974, the ship suffered power failure due to boiler trouble on a cruise from [[New York City|New York]] to [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Virgin Islands]]. Passengers were transferred on to the [[MS Pacific|Sea Venture]] to [[Bermuda]]. Among the passengers on board were [[Kansas City Chiefs]] head coach [[Hank Stram]] and [[Sonny Jurgensen]] of the [[Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]], attending a [[Gridiron football|football]] themed cruise.<ref>{{cite news|title=QE2 Travelers Transferring In Mid-Ocean Rendezvous|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press/176366599/|newspaper=Asbury Park Press|page=4|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=3 April 1974|access-date=10 July 2025}}{{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bomb hoaxes, hijack scares, boiler problems plaque QE2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-bernardino-county-sun/176366999/|newspaper=San Bernardino County Sun|page=1|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=3 April 1974|access-date=10 July 2025}}{{Open access}}</ref>

She continued the Cunard tradition of regular scheduled transatlantic crossings every year of her service life, crossing on an opposite and symbiotic summer schedule with the [[French Line|CGT]]'s famous {{SS|France|1960}} between 1961 and 1974. Upon the withdrawal of competing SS ''France'' from service in 1974, ''QE2'' became the largest operational passenger ship in the world for a few years, until the ''France'' was returned to service as {{SS|Norway}} in 1980.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

[[File:qe2.750pix.jpg|thumb|QE2 in Southampton, 1976]]
On 23 July 1976 while the ship was 80 miles off the Scilly Isles on a transatlantic voyage, a flexible coupling drive connecting the starboard main engine high-pressure rotor and the reduction gearbox ruptured. This allowed lubricating oil under pressure to enter into the main engine room where it ignited, creating a severe fire. It took 20 minutes to bring the fire under control. Reduced to two boilers, ''QE2'' limped back to Southampton. Damage from the fire resulted in a replacement boiler having to be fitted by dry-docking the ship and cutting an access hole in her side.<ref name="PayneP36" />

By 1978 ''QE2'' was breaking even with an occupancy of 65%, generating revenues of greater than £30&nbsp;million per year against which had to be deducted an annual fuel cost of £5&nbsp;million and a monthly crew cost of £225,000. With it costing £80,000 a day for her to sit idle in port, her owners made every attempt to keep her at sea and full of passengers. As a result, as much maintenance as possible was undertaken while at sea. However, she needed all three of her boilers to be in service if she was to maintain her transatlantic schedule. With limited ability to maintain her boilers, reliability was becoming a serious issue.<ref>Payne. Page 37.</ref>

Between the late 1970s and early 1980s, the ship was testing a new ablative anti-fouling type paint for the Admiralty which was only available in blue. When they finally made the paint available in different colours they returned ''QE2'' anti-fouling paint to the traditional red colour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php?topic=8118.msg92582#msg92582%7CQE2|title=QE2 Refit and Repairs: 3 November to 14 December 1978|website=www.theqe2story.com}}</ref>

===Falklands War===
[[File:QE2colour jm.jpg|thumb|Berthed in [[Málaga]], Spain, 1982, with her original white funnel repainted red. Her hull is painted grey, a short-lived decision.|left]]
On 3 May 1982, she was requisitioned by the British government for service as a troop carrier in the [[Falklands War]].<ref name=PayneP36 />

In preparation for war service, Vosper Thornycroft commenced in Southampton on 5 May 1982 the installation of two [[helicopter pad]]s,<ref>{{cite web|title=QE2 History|url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-history/|website=Chris' Cunard Page|date=4 February 2015 |publisher=Chris Frame|access-date=29 August 2015}}</ref> the transformation of public lounges into [[dormitories]], the installation of fuel pipes that ran through the ship down to the engine room to allow for refuelling at sea, and the covering of carpets with 2,000 sheets of [[hardboard]]. A quarter of the ship's length was reinforced with steel plating, and an anti-magnetic coil was fitted to combat [[naval mine]]s. Over 650 Cunard crew members volunteered for the voyage, to look after the 3,000 members of the [[5th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|Fifth Infantry Brigade]], which the ship transported to [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia]].

On 12 May 1982,<ref name=PayneP36/> with only one of her three boilers in operation, the ship departed Southampton for the South Atlantic, carrying 3,000 troops and 650 volunteer crew. The remaining boilers were brought back into service as she steamed south.<ref name="PayneP38">Payne. Page 38.</ref>

During the voyage, the ship was blacked out and the radar switched off to avoid detection, steaming on without modern aids.<ref name="chrisqe2hist" /><ref name="Falk">{{cite web |url= http://www.cunard.com/AboutCunard/NewsReleases.asp?Cat=&View=ViewArticle&Mode=News&ContentID=6601&Active=News |title=''Cunard's QE2 Hosts Falklands Reunion'' |publisher=Cunard |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225184847/http://www.cunard.com/AboutCunard/NewsReleases.asp?Cat=&View=ViewArticle&Mode=News&ContentID=6601&Active=News |archive-date=25 February 2011}}</ref>

''QE2'' returned to the UK on 11 June 1982, where she was greeted in [[Southampton Water]] by [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] on board {{Ship|HMY|Britannia}}. Peter Jackson, the captain of the ocean liner, responded to the Queen Mother's welcome: "Please convey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth our thanks for her kind message. Cunard's ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' is proud to have been of service to [[Her Majesty's Forces]]."<ref name="Falk" /> The ship underwent conversion back to passenger service, with her funnel being painted in the traditional Cunard orange with black stripes, which are known as "hands", for the first time, during the refit the hull's exterior a decision was made to repaint the hull in a light pebble grey.<ref name=TheQE2Story /> The ship returned to service on 7 August 1982.<ref name=PayneP36/>

The new colour scheme proved unpopular with passengers,<ref name=TheQE2Story /> as well as difficult to maintain, so the hull reverted to traditional colours in 1983.<ref name="chrisqe2hist" /> Later that year, ''QE2'' was fitted with a [[magrodome]] over her quarterdeck pool.<ref name="Warwick1999">{{cite book|author=Ronald W. Warwick|title=QE2: The Cunard Line Flagship, Queen Elizabeth 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLFpqMZn5vkC&pg=PA191|year=1999|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-04772-1|page=191}}</ref>

===Diesel era and Project Lifestyle===
[[File:QE2 Port Melbourne 20080229.JPG|left|thumb|A new and wider funnel was installed in her 1986-87 refit to handle conversion from steam to diesel power. Moored in Melbourne 2008.]]

''QE2'' once again experienced mechanical problems following her annual overhaul in November 1983. Boiler problems caused Cunard to cancel a cruise, and, in October 1984, an electrical fire caused a complete loss of power. The ship was delayed for several days before power could be restored. Instead of replacing the ''QE2'' with a newer vessel, Cunard decided that it was more prudent to simply make improvements to her. Therefore, from 27 October 1986 to 25 April 1987,<ref name=PayneP36/> ''QE2'' underwent one of her most significant refurbishments when she was converted by Lloyd Werft at their shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany from steam power to diesel.<ref name="chrisqe2hist" /><ref name=PayneP38/> Nine [[MAN B&W]] diesel-electric engines, new propellers and a heat recovery system (to use heat expelled by the engines) were fitted, which halved the fuel consumption. With this new propulsion system, ''QE2'' was expected to serve another 20 years with Cunard. The passenger accommodation was also modernised.<ref name="chrisqe2hist" /> The refurbishment cost over £100&nbsp;million.<ref name=PayneP38/>

On 7 August 1992, the underside of the [[Hull (watercraft)|hull]] was extensively damaged when she ran aground south of [[Cuttyhunk]] Island near [[Martha's Vineyard]], while returning from a five-day cruise to [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax]], Nova Scotia along the east coast of the United States and Canada. A combination of her speed, an uncharted shoal, overestimating the height of [[tide]] and underestimating the increase in the ship's draft due to the [[squat effect|effect of squat]] led to the ship's hull scraping rocks on the ocean floor.<ref>[https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR9301.pdf Marine Accident Report—''Grounding of the United Kingdom Passenger Vessel RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 Near Cuttyhunk Island, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, August 7, 1992''] (NTSB/MAR-93/01), pp. 26–30. [[National Transportation Safety Board]]: 25 May 1993.</ref><ref name="h038">{{cite web | title=93065 Grounding of QE2 | website=Nautical Institute | date=1993-07-07 | url=https://www.nautinst.org/resources-page/grounding-of-qe2.html | access-date=2025-02-25}}</ref> The accident resulted in the passengers disembarking earlier than scheduled at nearby [[Newport, Rhode Island]], and the ship being taken out of service while temporary repairs were made in drydock at Boston. Several days later, divers found the red paint from the keel on previously uncharted rocks where the ship struck the bottom.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7DC1531F936A2575BC0A964958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink|title=Marine Surveyors Find Uncharted Rock That May Have Damaged Hull of the QE2|work=The New York Times|date=15 August 1992|access-date=20 June 2008}}</ref><ref>[https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR9301.pdf Marine Accident Report—''Grounding of the United Kingdom Passenger Vessel RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 Near Cuttyhunk Island, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, August 7, 1992''] (NTSB/MAR-93/01), pp. 21–26. [[National Transportation Safety Board]]: 25 May 1993.</ref>

By the mid-1990s, it was decided that ''QE2'' was due for a new look and in 1994 the ship was given a multimillion-pound refurbishment in [[Hamburg]]<ref name="chrisqe2hist" /> code-named Project Lifestyle.

On 11 September 1995, ''QE2'' encountered a [[rogue wave]], estimated at {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on}}, caused by [[Hurricane Luis]] in the North Atlantic Ocean about {{Convert | 200 | mi}} south of eastern [[Newfoundland]].<ref name="luis">{{cite web|url=http://www.qe2.org.uk/luis.html|title=''Hurricane Luis Passenger Certificate'' |publisher=Qe2.org.uk |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> One year later, during her twentieth world cruise, she completed her four millionth mile. The ship had sailed the equivalent of 185 times around the planet.<ref name="CunardHist">{{cite web|url=http://www.cunard.co.uk/ |title=''Cunard History at a Glance'' |publisher=Cunard.co.uk |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

''QE2'' celebrated the 30th anniversary of her maiden voyage in Southampton in 1999. In three decades she had 1,159 voyages, sailed {{convert|4648050|nmi|mi km}} and carried over two million passengers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cunard.com/onboard/default.asp?OB=QE2&Sub=sp&SubSubSection=30Years|title=Queen Elizabeth 2&nbsp;– The first 30 years|publisher=Cunard.com|access-date=14 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211231919/http://www.cunard.com/onboard/default.asp?OB=QE2&Sub=sp&SubSubSection=30Years|archive-date=11 February 2011}}</ref>

===Later years===
[[File:QE2 WEB.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Leaving Sydney 18 February 2004]]
[[File:QE2 and Ferry Too (3556981118).jpg|thumb|''QE2'' near the Cunard Building in Liverpool in 2004]]
[[File:Queen's Room Ballroom QE2.jpg|thumb|The interior Queens Room in 2006]]
Following the 1998 acquisition of the Cunard Line by [[Carnival Corporation]], in 1999 ''QE2'' was given a US$30&nbsp;million refurbishment which included refreshing various public rooms,<ref name=TheQE2Story /> and a new colour palette in the passenger [[cabin (ship)|cabins]]. The Royal Promenade, which formerly housed upscale shops such as [[Burberry]], H. Stern and [[Aquascutum]], were replaced by boutiques typical of cruise ships, selling perfumes, watches and logo items. During this refit, the hull was stripped to bare metal, and the ship repainted in the traditional Cunard colours of matte black (Federal Grey) with a white superstructure.<ref name="chrisqe2hist" />

In 2002 the ship narrowly avoided a major flooding incident after a corroded pipe failed in her aft engine room.<ref>https://themaritimehistorian.substack.com/p/when-a-tiny-flaw-puts-an-iconic-ship</ref>

On 29 August 2002, ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' became the first merchant ship to sail more than 5 million nautical miles at sea.<ref name=PayneP36/>

In 2004, the vessel stopped plying the traditional transatlantic route and began full-time cruising, the transatlantic route having been assigned to Cunard's new flagship, {{RMS|Queen Mary 2|3=2}}. However, ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' still undertook an annual world cruise and regular trips around the Mediterranean. By this time, she lacked the amenities to rival newer, larger cruise ships, but she still had unique features such as her ballrooms, hospital,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=247 |title=Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2)&nbsp;– Cunard |publisher=Cruisecritic.com |access-date=14 July 2010 |archive-date=1 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501033353/http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=247 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and 6,000-book library.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-deckplans/ |title=QE2 Deckplans |access-date=2 July 2010 }}</ref> ''QE2'' remained the fastest cruise ship afloat (28.5 knots<ref name="fuel"/>), with fuel economy at this speed<ref name="fuel"/> at 49.5&nbsp;ft<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecunarders.co.uk/QE2%20Statistics.html |title=The Cunarders: QE2 : Statistics |access-date=12 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326180245/http://www.thecunarders.co.uk/QE2%20Statistics.html |archive-date=26 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/QE2+GETS+SET+FOR+HER+LAST+VISIT%3B+Warm+welcome+expected.-a0168878004 |title=QE2 Fuel Usage |access-date=12 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://tripatlas.com/Fuel%20efficiency%20in%20transportation |title=Trip Atlas QE2 Fuel |access-date=12 July 2010 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> to the gallon (4 m/L).<ref>{{cite news|last=Clifton |first=Paul |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7663226.stm |title=UK &#124; England &#124; Hampshire &#124; QE2's funnel 'to be sliced off' |work=[[BBC News]] |date=10 October 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> While cruising at slower speeds efficiency was improved to 125&nbsp;ft per gallon (10 m/L).<ref name="fuel">{{cite web|url=http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/QE2_fuel_economy.htm |title=QE2 Fuel Efficiency |access-date=12 July 2010}}</ref>

On 5 November 2004, ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' became Cunard's longest serving express liner, surpassing {{RMS|Aquitania}}{{'}}s 35 years,<ref name="CunardHist" /> while on 4 September 2005, during a call to the port of Sydney, Nova Scotia, ''QE2'' became the longest serving Cunarder, surpassing {{RMS|Scythia}}{{'}}s record.<ref>QE2 Daily Programme 04:09:05</ref>

At the end of her 2005 world cruise, some pieces of her artwork were damaged when some crew members who had become [[inebriated]] at an on-board crew party, went on a vandalism rampage through the public areas of the ship. A unique tapestry of ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', commissioned for the launch of the ship, was thrown overboard by a drunken crewman. An oil painting of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and two other tapestries were also damaged, along with a part of the entertainment area and a lifeboat. The crew members involved were dismissed from service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1290 |title=Cruise Critic News: QE2 Winds Up World Cruise With a Whimper |publisher=Cruisecritic.com |date=20 April 2005 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

On 20 February 2007 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', while on her annual world cruise, met her running mate and successor flagship ''QM2'' (herself on her maiden world cruise) in [[Port Jackson|Sydney Harbour]], Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerary.asp?cruiseid=2802&LeftNav=Planner&Active=&Sub=&OB=&Region= |title=''Queen Mary 2'' world cruise itinerary |publisher=Cunard.com |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225153754/http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerary.asp?cruiseid=2802&LeftNav=Planner&Active=&Sub=&OB=&Region= |archive-date=25 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerary.asp?cruiseid=2803&LeftNav=Planner&Active=&Sub=&OB=&Region= |title=Queen Elizabeth 2 world cruise itinerary |publisher=Cunard.com |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225160201/http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerary.asp?cruiseid=2803&LeftNav=Planner&Active=&Sub=&OB=&Region= |archive-date=25 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6377633.stm |title=Royal liners in Sydney rendezvous |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 February 2007 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> This was the first time two Cunard ''Queens'' had been together in Sydney since the original ''Queen Mary'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' served as troop ships in 1941.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/queenelizabeth.html |title=Queen Elizabeth 1940–1973 |publisher=Thegreatoceanliners.com |access-date=14 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826125950/http://www.thegreatoceanliners.com/queenelizabeth.html |archive-date=26 August 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Retirement announcement ====
On 18 June 2007, Cunard announced that ''QE2'' had been bought by the [[Dubai]] investment company [[Istithmar]] for $100&nbsp;million.<ref name="QE2Sold">{{cite web |author=Cunard-Istithmar |date=18 June 2007 |title=Official QE2 Cunard-Istithmar Press Release |url=http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/qe2_sold.htm |access-date=21 March 2011 |publisher=Rob Lightbody}}</ref><ref name="GulfNewsQE2Sale">{{cite web |author=Shakir Husain |date=18 June 2007 |title=Istithmar buys QE2 for $100m |url=http://gulfnews.com/business/tourism/istithmar-buys-qe2-for-100m-1.184774 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118115116/http://gulfnews.com/business/tourism/istithmar-buys-qe2-for-100m-1.184774 |archive-date=18 November 2010 |access-date=21 March 2011 |publisher=GulfNews.com}}</ref> Her retirement, in part, was forced by the oncoming June 2010 implementation of the [[International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea|International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)]] regulations, which would have forced large and expensive structural changes to the ship.<ref name="Otago240912" />

===Retirement and final Cunard voyage===
[[File:QV in Southampton.JPG|left|thumb|{{Ship|2=QM2}} (left) next to ''QE2'' (right) with [[MS Queen Victoria|QV]] in the foreground]]
[[File:Osaka RMS Queen Elizabeth2 06bs.jpg|thumb|QE2 berthed in [[Osaka]] on 19 March 2008]]
In a ceremonial display before her retirement, ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' met {{MS|Queen Victoria|3=2}} and ''Queen Mary 2'' near the [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York Harbor]] on 13 January 2008, with a celebratory fireworks display; ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' and ''Queen Victoria'' had made a tandem crossing of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] for the meet. This marked the first time three ''Cunard Queens'' had been present in the same location. (Cunard stated this would be the last time these three particular ships would meet, due to the impending retirement of ''Queen Elizabeth 2''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cunard.com/rendezvous |title=Royal Rendezvous: Sunday, 13 January 2008&nbsp;– New York Harbor |publisher=Cunard |date=13 January 2010 |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113161744/http://www.cunard.com/rendezvous/ |archive-date=13 January 2008}}</ref> However, due to a change in ''QE2''{{'}}s schedule, the three ships met again in Southampton on 22 April 2008.)

''QE2'' shared the harbour at [[Zeebrugge]] with ''Queen Victoria'' on 19 July 2008, where the two Cunarders exchanged whistle blasts.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7360081.stm |title=Three 'Queens' in final meeting; 22 April 2008 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=22 April 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

On 3 October 2008, ''QE2'' set off from [[Cork (city)|Cork]] for [[Douglas Harbour|Douglas Bay]] on her farewell tour of Ireland and Britain, before heading for [[Liverpool]]. She left Liverpool and arrived in [[Belfast]] on 4 October 2008, before moving to [[Greenock]] the next day (the ship's height with funnel makes it impossible to pass under the [[Erskine Bridge]] so Clydebank is not reachable).<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 October 2008 |title=QE2 makes last stop on the Clyde |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7651286.stm |access-date=2022-11-17}}</ref> There she was escorted by Royal Navy destroyer {{HMS|Manchester|D95|6}} and visited by {{MV|Balmoral|1949|6}}. The farewell was viewed by large crowds and concluded with a firework display.<ref name=Highhopes/><ref name="Herald">{{cite news |url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2457396.0.Tearful_Clyde_says_goodbye_to_QE2.php |title=Tearful Clyde Says Goodbye To QE2 |author=Susan Swarbrick |date=6 October 2008 |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |access-date=7 October 2008 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009041547/http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2457396.0.Tearful_Clyde_says_goodbye_to_QE2.php |archive-date=9 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="PSPS">{{cite web|url=http://pspsscotland.blogspot.com/2008/10/balmoral-salutes-retiring-legend.html |title=The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society&nbsp;– Scottish Branch: Balmoral Salutes a Retiring Legend |access-date=7 October 2008|date=6 October 2008 }}</ref> ''QE2'' then sailed around Scotland to the [[Firth of Forth]] on 7 October 2008, where she anchored in the shadow of the [[Forth Bridge]]. The next day, following an [[RAF]] flypast, she left amidst a flotilla of small craft to head to [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], before returning to Southampton.

==== Final transatlantic crossings ====
[[File:QE2 Clyde 5 Oct 08 1157.jpg|thumb|Farewell to the Clyde]]
''QE2'' completed her final Atlantic crossings in tandem with her successor, ''QM2''. The ships departed for the final westbound crossing from Southampton on 10 October, sailing tandem and arriving in New York City one final time on 16 October. The Queen Mary 2 docked at the Brooklyn cruise terminal, while the QE2 docked in Manhattan. The two liners departed New York on 16 October for the final eastbound crossing, arriving in Southampton on 22 October. This marked the end of ''QE2''{{'}}s transatlantic voyages.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-dubai/|title=QE2 Hotel Dubai|date=4 February 2015 }}</ref>

==== Final voyage ====
On her final arrival into Southampton, ''QE2'' (on 11 November 2008, with 1,700 passengers and 1,000 crew on board) ran [[aground]] in the [[Solent]] near the [[Southampton Water]] entrance at 5.26&nbsp;am, on a triangular sandbank roughly equidistant between the mouth of Southampton Water and [[East Cowes]] named [[Bramble Bank]]. [[BBC]] reported "[[Cunard Line|Cunard]] has confirmed it touched the bottom at the Brambles Turn [[sandbank]] (sandback) near [[Calshot]], [[Southampton Water]], with three tugs attached to her [[stern]] (0530 [[GMT]]). A fourth tug secured a line to the ship's [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5howpLVxZV1XpwNbNPrkW5WU90P4w|title=ukpress.google.com, ''QE2'' runs aground on final tour}}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Solent Coastguard stated: "Five tugs were sent out to assist her getting off the sandbank, and she was pulled off just before 6.10&nbsp;am. She had been refloated and was under way under her own power and heading back to her berth in Southampton. She had only partially gone aground, and the tugs pulled her off."<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5128451.ece timesonline.co.uk, QE2 runs aground on farewell call to Southampton]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} </ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g_Lc8wcuxJVmvIJGYE1uoC31HkfA|title=ukpress.google.com, QE2 runs aground}}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Once safely back at her berth, preparations continued for her farewell celebrations. These were led by [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] who toured the ship at great length. He visited areas of interest including the Engine Control Room. He also met with current and former crew members.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/heritage/deheritageqe2/3838884.QE2_sails_away_on_tide_of_emotion/ |title=QE2 sails away on tide of emotion|date=11 November 2008 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630172918/http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/heritage/deheritageqe2/3838884.QE2_sails_away_on_tide_of_emotion/|newspaper=Southern Daily Echo |archive-date=30 June 2012 }}</ref> During this time, divers were sent down to inspect the hull for any possible damage caused by the vessel's earlier mishap&nbsp;– none was found.
[[File:Qe2-fireworks-soton.jpg|thumb|Southampton, 11 November 2008]]

''Queen Elizabeth 2'' left [[Southampton Docks]] for the final time at 1915 [[GMT]] on 11 November 2008, to begin her farewell voyage by the name of "''QE2''{{'}}s Final Voyage".<ref name="journey_book">{{Cite book |author=Chris Frame & Rachelle Cross |title=''QE2: A Photographic Journey'' |isbn=978-0-7524-4803-9 |publisher=[[The History Press]] |url=http://www.qe2book.com |year=2008 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821153720/http://qe2book.com/ |archive-date=21 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After purchasing her for US$100&nbsp;million her ownership passed to [[Nakheel Properties]], a company of [[Dubai World]], on 26 November.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thenational.ae/business/travel-and-tourism/palm-jumeirah-confirmed-as-qe2-s-final-stop-1.229382 |title=Palm Jumeirah confirmed as QE2's final stop |publisher=The National |date=27 July 2008 |access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7720966.stm |title=news.bbc.co.uk, QE2 liner runs aground near port |work=[[BBC News]] |date=11 November 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.teletext.co.uk/news/national/067853e1cb55ab9596cae00e0e2625ec/QE2+runs+aground+on+last+tour.aspx |title=teletext.co.uk, ''QE2'' runs aground on last tour |publisher=Teletext.co.uk |access-date=14 July 2010 }}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The decommissioning of the ship was particularly poignant for ''Queen Elizabeth 2''{{'}}s only permanent resident, [[Beatrice Muller]], aged 89, who lived on board in retirement for nine years, at a cost of some £3,500 (~€4,300, ~$5,400) per month.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/7719605.stm |title=news.bbc.co.uk/, The woman who lives on ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' |work=[[BBC News]] |date=11 November 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

At the time of her retirement, ''QE2'' had sailed 5.8 million nautical miles, carried close to 3 million passengers and completed 806 transatlantic crossings, plus 26 world cruises.<ref>{{cite web|author=GARY BEMBRIDGE |url=http://allaboutcunard.blogspot.com/2007/07/qe2-final-voyage-sold-in-half-hour.html |title=All About Cunard Blog |publisher=Allaboutcunard.blogspot.com |date=1 July 2007 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

==Layup==
===Istithmar, Nakheel, ''QE2'' in Dubai and Cape Town hotel proposal===
[[File:Queen Elizabeth 2 - IMO 6725418, Caledonian MacBrayne Saturn - IMO 7615490 (2919806828).jpg|thumb|upright|''QE2'' with her [[paying-off pennant]] flying]]
Her final voyage from Southampton to Dubai under the command of Captain [[Ian McNaught]] began on 11 November 2008, arriving on 26 November in a flotilla of 60 smaller vessels,<ref>{{cite news|title=Britain's Queen Elizabeth 2 Arrives in Dubai |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27933079|access-date=11 August 2016|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Crise Travel on NBCNews.com|date=26 November 2008}}</ref> led by [[Dubai (yacht)|MY ''Dubai'']], the personal yacht of [[Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum|Sheikh Mohammed]], ruler of Dubai,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2008/November/theuae_November575.xml |title=Shaikh Mohammed's Yacht to Join QE2 Flotilla |publisher=Khaleejtimes.com |date=26 November 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010 |archive-date=29 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929220336/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=theuae&xfile=data%2Ftheuae%2F2008%2FNovember%2Ftheuae_November575.xml |url-status=dead }}</ref> in time for her official handover the following day.<ref name="savetheqe2">{{cite web|url=http://savetheqe2.info/qe2_dubai.php |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602042858/https://savetheqe2.info/qe2_dubai.php |archive-date=2 June 2013 |title=QE2 in Dubai |publisher=savetheqe2.info |date=1 January 2013 |access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref>

She was greeted with a fly-past from an [[Emirates (airline)|Emirates]] [[Airbus A380]] jet and a huge fireworks display, while thousands of people gathered at the [[Mina Rashid]], waving the flags of the [[Union Jack|United Kingdom]] and the [[Flag of the United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]]. Since her arrival in Dubai ''QE2'' remained moored at [[Port Rashid]]. Shortly after her final passengers were disembarked, she was moved forward to the cargo area of the port, to free up the passenger terminal for other cruise vessels.

She was expected to be refurbished and berthed permanently at Nakheel's [[Palm Jumeirah]] as "a luxury floating hotel, retail, museum and entertainment destination."<ref name="Cunard Press Release" /> The refurbishment planned to see ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' transformed into a tourist destination in Dubai;<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7664539.stm |work=[[BBC News]] | title=QE2 makes last New York trip | date=10 October 2008 | access-date=10 April 2010}}</ref> however, due to the [[2008 financial crisis]], ''QE2'' remained moored at [[Port Rashid]] awaiting a decision about her future.

''QE2'' remained an oceangoing vessel at this time, and as such, former Captain Ronald Warwick of ''QE2'' and {{RMS|Queen Mary 2||2}} (''QM2'') and retired commodore of the Cunard Line was initially employed by [[V-Ships]], who managed ''QE2'' post the Cunard handed her over as the vessel's legal master,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/articles/2008/11/12/qe2_farewell_clifton_feature.shtml |title=Hampshire&nbsp;– History&nbsp;– A fond farewell to QE2 |publisher=BBC |date=19 November 2008 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> but was replaced by other V-Ships captains over time as the ship remained idle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,3175.msg33788.html|title=Login|website=www.theqe2story.com}}</ref>

It was anticipated that ''QE2'' would be moved to the [[Dubai Drydocks]] sometime in 2009 to begin a series of far-reaching refurbishments which would result in a conversion into a floating hotel.

Due to the [[2008 financial crisis]] and the [[Great Recession]], it was rumoured that ''QE2''{{'}}s refurbishment and hotel conversion would not take place and that the ship would be resold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4119668.Fears_that_QE2_could_be_cut_up_for_scrap/ |title=Fears that QE2 could be cut up for scrap |website=Southampton Daily Echo |date=12 February 2009 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.2489394.0.fears_grow_over_developers_bid_to_turn_qe2_into_a_hotel_in_dubai.php |title=Fears grow over developers bid to QE2 into a hotel |website=Glasgow Herald |date=16 February 2009 |access-date=14 July 2010 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> These rumours resulted in the owners, [[Istithmar]], issuing a series of press releases stating that plans for QE2's conversion were ongoing, with no intention to sell.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/articles/1/34145/ |title=QE2 owners deny ship selloff&nbsp;– Retrieved on 21 February 2009 |work=Clydebank Post|date=18 February 2009 |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725014838/http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/articles/1/34145/ |archive-date=25 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4123549.No_intention_to_sell_QE2__say_owners/ |title=No Intention to Sell ''QE2'' |website=Southampton Daily Echo |date=13 February 2009 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> However, since arriving in Dubai the only visible exterior change to ''QE2'' was the painting out of the Cunard titles from the ship's superstructure.

''QE2'' was joined in Mina Rashid by ''QM2'' on 21 March 2009 while ''QM2'' visited Dubai as part of her 2009 world cruise.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/chriscunard/15905077515/in/album-72157622194866138/ |title=QE2 in Dubai |website=Chris' Cunard Page on Flickr |access-date=12 July 2019 |date=29 November 2014 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308101235/https://www.flickr.com/photos/chriscunard/15905077515/in/album-72157622194866138/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She was joined once again by {{MS|Queen Victoria||2}} (''QV'') on 29 March 2009 as a part of her 2009 world cruise. ''QM2'' and ''QV'' again visited ''QE2'' in 2010 and on 31 March 2011 the new {{MS|Queen Elizabeth||2}} ''(QE)'' called at Dubai during her maiden world cruise&nbsp;– photos were arranged by Cunard to capture the occasion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,3055.msg32880.html#msg32880 |title=QE2 Visited by QE |publisher=theQE2Story.com |access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> ''QM2'' called in Dubai two days after ''QE'' left.<ref name="savetheqe2"/>

In April 2009, a supposed concept model of the post-refurbishment ''Hotel QE2'' was shown for sale on an online auction website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5204106&sid=1941c26b-7c33-4844-81c9-f6d36e76c4b3 |title=Christie's Online Auctions&nbsp;– Dubai Concept Model of Queen Elizabeth 2&nbsp;– Retrieved on 30 April 2009 |publisher=Christies.com |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> The model depicted a much altered ''QE2''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,454.0.html |title=Re: Concept Model of the altered QE2 in Dubai&nbsp;– Retrieved 30 April 2009 |publisher=The QE2 Story |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref>

In June 2009, the ''Southampton Daily Echo'' reported that ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' would return to the UK<ref name="theqe2story.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,686.0.html |title=Login |website=theqe2story.com |year=2009|access-date=13 July 2009}}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2022}}</ref> as an operating cruise ship. On 10 July 2009, it was revealed that ''QE2'' might sail to Cape Town, South Africa, to become a floating hotel for use primarily during the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]], in a Dubai World sponsored venture at the [[V&A Waterfront]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://business.maktoob.com/20090000007446/Nakheel_admits_QE2_may_leave_Dubai/Article.htm |title=Nakheel Admits QE2 May Leave Dubai |year=2009 |access-date=13 July 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713172152/http://business.maktoob.com/20090000007446/Nakheel_admits_QE2_may_leave_Dubai/Article.htm |archive-date=13 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,25771636-5014090,00.html|title=QE2 cruise ship may become floating hotel|year=2009|access-date=13 July 2009|archive-date=14 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714045332/http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,25771636-5014090,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was confirmed by Nakheel on 20 July 2009.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8160146.stm |work=[[BBC News]] | title=QE2 to be moved to South Africa | date=20 July 2009 | access-date=10 April 2010}}</ref> In preparation for this expected voyage the ship was placed into the Dubai Drydock and underwent an extensive exterior refurbishment. During this refit, the ship's underwater hull was repainted and inspected.<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref name="theqe2story.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,872.0.html |title=Login |year=2009|access-date=9 September 2009}}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2022}}</ref> Shortly after the refit, ''QE2'' was registered under the flag of Vanuatu, and Port Vila was painted on her stern, replacing Southampton.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,962.0.html |title=QE2 under the flag of Vanuatu |year=2009|work=The Age |access-date=9 September 2009}}</ref>  ''QE2'' returned to Port Rashid, where it was anticipated she would soon sail for Cape Town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,990.0.html |title=News from Cape Town |publisher=Theqe2story.com |date=23 June 2010 |access-date=14 July 2010}}</ref> The arrival of ''QE2'' in Cape Town was expected to create many local jobs<ref>{{cite web|author=CapeTown_2010 |url=https://twitter.com/CapeTown_2010 |title=2010 Cape Town World Cup Twitter Page |website=Twitter |access-date=14 July 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926123503/http://twitter.com/CapeTown_2010 |archive-date=26 September 2009 }}</ref> including hotel staff, restaurant staff, chefs, cleaners and shop attendants, all being sourced from the local workforce.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Delmar-Morgan|first1=Alex|title=Nakheel in talks over QE2's Cape Town future|url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/nakheel-in-talks-over-qe2-s-cape-town-future-12687.html|access-date=11 August 2016|publisher=ArabianBusiness.com|date=17 September 2009}}</ref> But, in January 2010, it was confirmed that ''QE2'' would not be moved to Cape Town.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.capetown.travel/images/uploads/Cape_Town_Tourism_responds_to_possible_berthing_of_QE2.pdf |publisher=The Official Guide to Cape Town |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006205944/http://www.capetown.travel/images/uploads/Cape_Town_Tourism_responds_to_possible_berthing_of_QE2.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2011 |title=Cape Town Tourism responds to possible berthing of QE2 |date=2009|access-date=11 December 2009}}</ref>

===2010 sale and relocation speculation===
[[File:Queen Elizabeth 2 at DryDock World Dubai in 2012.jpg|thumb|At Drydock World Dubai in 2012]]
[[File:ANCHOR FROM OUEEN ELIZABETH 2 (QE2) DONATED TO THE CITY OF SOUTHAMPTON BY CUNARD IN MARCH 2010, TO COMMEMORATE THE LONG ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THIS ICONIC LINER.jpg|thumb|upright|Anchor from ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' donated to the city of Southampton by Cunard in March 2010]]
In early 2010, due to the continued poor financial performance of Dubai World, there was much media speculation that ''QE2'', along with other assets owned by [[Istithmar]], Dubai World's private-equity arm, would be sold to raise capital. Despite this sale speculation, a number of alternative locations for QE2 were cited including London, Singapore, [[Clydebank]],<ref name="fremantlegazette"/> Japan<ref name="fremantlegazette"/> and [[Fremantle]],<ref name="fremantlegazette">{{cite web |url=http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Freo-to-house-QE2/7560490/ |title=Freo to house QE2? |year=2010 |access-date=29 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706041842/http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Freo-to-house-QE2/7560490/ |archive-date=6 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="mirrorqe2freo"/> the latter showing interest in using QE2 as a hotel for the [[ISAF Sailing World Championships]] to be held in December 2011.<ref name="mirrorqe2freo"/> However, as at June 2010 Nakheel's official statement regarding QE2 was that "a number of options being considered for QE2".<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref name="fremantlegazette"/><ref name="mirrorqe2freo">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2010/07/new-hopes-for-two-old-girls.html |title=New hopes for two old girls |year=2010 |access-date=2 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705175222/http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2010/07/new-hopes-for-two-old-girls.html |archive-date=5 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===2011 drifting===
On 28 January 2011 during a heavy [[dust storm]], ''QE2'' broke loose from her moorings and drifted out into the channel at Port Rashid. She was attended by pilots and tugs and safely returned to berth at Port Rashid. Images of ''QE2'''s unexpected movements appeared on-line after being taken by an observer on the ship in front of QE2.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,2857.msg32405.html#msg32405|title=QE2 mooring lines snap during Sandstorm!&nbsp;– Friday 28 January |publisher=Theqe2story.com |access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref>

===Warm layup===
Throughout 2011 and 2012, ''QE2'' remained berthed at Port Mina Rashid in Dubai {{As of|2011|alt=in 2011}}.<ref name="lightbody1">{{cite web|url=http://www.roblightbody.com/liners/qe-2/news/2010/index.htm |title= QE2, 2010 News |access-date=10 May 2010}}</ref> She was maintained in a seaworthy condition and generated her own power. Each of her nine diesel generators were turned over and used to power the ship. A live-in crew of approximately 50 people maintained ''QE2'' to a high standard.<ref name="lightbody2">{{cite web |url=http://theqe2story.com/aboutQE2/QE2Today.html |title=The QE2 Story |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717023027/http://theqe2story.com/aboutQE2/QE2Today.html |archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref> Activities include painting, maintenance, cabin checks, and overhauls of machinery. Istithmar were considering plans for ''QE2'' which could have involved the ship sailing to an alternative location under her own power.<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref name=lightbody1 />

On 21 March 2011, ''QM2'' called in Dubai and docked close to ''QE2''. During the departure, the two ships sounded their horns.<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref>{{cite web|title=QE2 sounds her whistle to Queen Mary 2 in Dubai|website = YouTube| date=27 July 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzZ21hR8DLI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/VzZ21hR8DLI| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===2011 move to Liverpool plan, Port Rashid and ''QE2'' development plans===
On 28 September 2011 news circulated that a plan was being formulated to return QE2 to the United Kingdom by berthing her in Liverpool.<ref name="liverpool">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2011/09/a-liverpool-home-for-historic.html |title=A Liverpool home for historic liner QE2? Don't tell the Dubai owners |access-date=2 October 2011 |date=28 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003215307/http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2011/09/a-liverpool-home-for-historic.html |archive-date=3 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Liverpool has a historic connection with [[Cunard Line]] being the first British home for the line as well as housing the iconic [[Cunard Building]].<ref name="savetheqe2"/>

It was revealed that [[Liverpool Vision]], the economic development company responsible for Liverpool's regeneration,<ref>{{cite web|title=Liverpool Vision Homepage|url=http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/Default.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026191008/http://www.liverpoolvision.co.uk/Default.aspx|archive-date=26 October 2011}}</ref> has been involved in confidential discussions with Out of Time Concepts, a company headed by a former Chief Engineer on the ship, who recently advised its current owners<ref name="savetheqe2"/> on plans to turn it into a luxury hotel in [[Dubai]].<ref name="liverpool" />

In a letter from Out of Time Concepts to Liverpool Vision, it was explained that "The free global media attention derived from bringing home ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' will without question promote Liverpool's new waterfront developments, its amazing architecture, its maritime and world heritage sites, its museums, its culture and its history".<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref name="liverpool" />

On the same week that the Liverpool Vision plans were revealed, Nakheel stated that plans for ''QE2'' to be berthed at The Palm had been dropped because they now planned to build 102 houses on the site which was once intended to be named the QE2 Precinct.<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref>{{cite web|title=QE2 Palm Plan Sinks|url=http://dubai-waterfront.com/featured/796/qe2-palm-jumeirah-plan-sinks-as-nakheel-floats-townhouse-project-instead|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630142328/http://dubai-waterfront.com/featured/796/qe2-palm-jumeirah-plan-sinks-as-nakheel-floats-townhouse-project-instead|archive-date=30 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New Home for QE2|url=http://oceanlinersblog.org/?p=3008|access-date=2 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425013827/http://oceanlinersblog.org/?p=3008|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Rebecca Bundhun |url=http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/qe2-palm-jumeirah-plan-out-as-nakheel-floats-townhouse-project-instead |title=QE2 Palm Jumeirah plan out as Nakheel floats townhouse project instead&nbsp;– The National |publisher=Thenational.ae |date=25 May 2010 |access-date=10 May 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422212117/http://www.thenational.ae/business/property/qe2-palm-jumeirah-plan-out-as-nakheel-floats-townhouse-project-instead |archive-date=22 April 2012}}</ref>

Nakheel suggested that ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', under the ownership of Istithmar, would remain at Port Rashid to become an integral part of the growing cruise terminal. "The ''QE2'' would be placed in a much better location", Ali Rashid Lootah, the chairman of Nakheel, told Dubai's The National newspaper "The Government of Dubai is developing an up-to-date modern cruise terminal which will mean a better environment", confirming the ship would remain in Dubai for the foreseeable future.

===2011–2012 New Year's party aboard ''QE2''===
On 31 December 2011, ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' was the location of a lavish New Year's Eve party in Dubai.<ref name="nye2011">{{cite web |url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-dubai/qe2-new-years-eve-2011/ |title=QE2 New Years Eve 2011 |access-date=1 January 2012 |archive-date=12 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712042342/https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-dubai/qe2-new-years-eve-2011/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The black tie event<ref name="gulfnews">{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/celebrity/a-glamorous-end-to-2011-aboard-the-qe2-1.959534 |title=A glamorous end to 2011 aboard QE2 |date=January 2012 |access-date=1 January 2012}}</ref> was run by Global Event Management and included over 1,000 guests.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45666865/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/dubai-open-famed-liner-qe-new-years-bash/]{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-dubai/ |title=QE2 Today: QE2 2011/2012 New Years Eve Party |access-date=1 January 2012 }}</ref> {{As of|2012|alt=In early 2011}} Global Event Management were offering events aboard QE2 in Dubai for 2012 and 2013.<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref name="gulfnews" />

===July 2012: Hotel announcement===
On 2 July 2012 in a coordinated press release, the ship's owner, operator and Port Rashid operator, DP Ports, jointly announced ''QE2'' would re-open as a 300-bed hotel after an 18-month refit. The release claims the ship was to be refitted to restore original features, including her 1994–2008 'Heritage Trail' of classic Cunard artefacts. The ship was to be berthed alongside a redeveloped Port Rashid cruise terminal which would double as a maritime museum.<ref name="savetheqe2"/><ref>{{cite press release|url=http://webapps.dpworld.com/portal/page/portal/DP_WORLD_WEBSITE/Media-Centre/News-Releases/News-Releases-2012/2%207%20QE2%20Port%20Rashid%20plans%20final.pdf |title=PORT RASHID TO BE NEW PERMANENT HOME OF QE2, DUBAI MARITIME MUSEUM PLANNED|website=DP World|date=2 July 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722050502/https://webapps.dpworld.com/portal/page/portal/DP_WORLD_WEBSITE/Media-Centre/News-Releases/News-Releases-2012/2%207%20QE2%20Port%20Rashid%20plans%20final.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2012|location=Dubai}}</ref>

===Scrapping in China, ''QE2'' London and ''QE2'' Asia===
On 23 December 2012, it was reported that ''QE2'' had been sold for scrapping in China for £20&nbsp;million, after a bid to return her to the UK was rejected. With monthly berthing and maintenance charges of £650,000, it was reported that a Chinese salvage crew arrived at the vessel on 21 December, to replace a crew of 40 which has been maintaining the vessel since it arrived at Port Rashid.<ref name=Otago240912>{{cite web|url=http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/240912/reported-sale-qe2-ship-breakers-sad-news|title=Reported sale of ''QE2'' to ship-breakers sad news|author=Doug Wright|work=[[Otago Daily Times]] |date=31 December 2012|access-date=8 January 2012}}</ref> However, Cunard dismissed the reports as "pure speculation".<ref name="Cunard Facebook">[https://www.facebook.com/cunard/posts/10151389239703223 CUNARD status update]. Cunard Facebook page, 24 December 2012.Retrieved 24 December 2012</ref> When the ship was sold in 2007, a clause in the contract which started from her retirement in 2009 stipulated a ten-year "no onward sale" clause, without payment of a full purchase price default penalty.<ref name=Otago240912/><ref name="savetheqe2"/>

The "''QE2'' London" Plan had included a £20&nbsp;million bid for ''QE2'' and a further £40&nbsp;million refurbishment that was supposed to create more than 2,000 jobs in London, with ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' docked near the [[The O2 Arena|O2 Arena]]. It had reportedly obtained the support of the then London Mayor [[Boris Johnson]].<ref name="savetheqe2"/>

[[File:Queen Elizabeth 2.jpg|thumb|''QE2'' in Dubai with ''Cunard'' titles removed from her superstructure]]
On 17 January 2013, the Dubai Drydocks World announced that ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' would be sent to an unknown location in Asia to serve as a floating luxury hotel, shopping mall, and museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://savetheqe2.info/qe2_hotel_asia.php|title=Save the QE2: QE2 Hotel|access-date=22 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602041152/http://savetheqe2.info/qe2_hotel_asia.php|archive-date=2 June 2013}}</ref> Despite this move, the QE2 London team stated on the same day that "We believe our investors can show Dubai that ''QE2'' London is still the best proposal".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-dubai/|title=QE2 Today|access-date=7 March 2013}}</ref>

==="Bring ''QE2'' Home" proposals===
Cunard's 175th anniversary celebrations on 25 May 2015 led to renewed interest in ''Queen Elizabeth 2''. John Chillingworth secured the backing of London mayor [[Boris Johnson]] for a plan to anchor the ship opposite [[The O2 Arena]] at Greenwich.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Christopher|title=The state of the once glorious QE2 is a tragedy. I intend to bring her home restored|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/579605/cruise-ship-Cunard-175th-anniversary-QE2-refurbished-John-Chillingworth|access-date=29 August 2015|publisher=Northern and Shell Media Publications|date=24 May 2015}}</ref> A move to London however would require the ship to pass through the [[Thames Barrier]]. In late 2015 there was disagreement between ship preservation advocates and harbour authorities on whether a dead ship of her size could safely manoeuvre through the barrier.<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Rourke|first1=Tony|title=Why QE2 Will Never Come to London |url=http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php?topic=6930.0|website=The QE2 Story|publisher=QE2 Story Forum|access-date=14 November 2015}}</ref> John Houston suggested returning the ship to Greenock as a maritime attraction, hotel and events space.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Swarbrick|first1=Susan|title=Why it's time to bring the QE2 home|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13415137.Why_it_s_time_to_bring_the_QE2_home/|access-date=29 August 2015|publisher=Herald & Times Group|date=30 June 2015}}</ref>

[[Inverclyde Council]] leader Stephen McCabe has called on the UK and Scottish governments to campaign to buy the ship, saying that "Bringing the ''QE2'' home is a Herculean task, one that requires national support in Scotland and perhaps across the UK, if it has any chance of happening."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Christison|first1=Greg|title=Herculean effort to save the QE2 from a sorry end in Dubai|url=http://www.express.co.uk/scotland/581820/Queen-Elizabeth-Dubai-Scotland-ship-save|access-date=29 August 2015|publisher=Scottish Express|date=3 July 2015}}</ref> In January 2016 Aubrey Fawcett, the chair of the working group to regenerate the Clyde, admitted defeat in this effort as ''QE2's'' owners refused to respond to any requests regarding her condition or sale. "Consequently, we must conclude that it is highly unlikely that Scotland features in the future plans for the vessel."<ref name="CLYDE"/>

===2015–2016===
[[File:Queen Elizabeth 2 at Drydock World Dubai in 2012.jpg|alt=Moored at Drydock World Dubai in late 2013|thumb|QE2 moored at Port Rashid, Dubai, in late October 2015]]
On 12 August 2015, the QE2 was observed to have been moved from her berth within Dubai Dry Docks, where she had been since January 2013, to a more open location within Port Rashid. On 17 November 2015, QE2 was again moved within Port Rashid, to the former cruise terminal. It was not known whether these recent moves are connected with any of the publicly known plans regarding the ship's fate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,7066.0.html|title=Positions of QE2 since 26.11.2008|website=www.theqe2story.com}}</ref>

Between May and August 2016, observers noted that the ship's lifeboats were lowered and stored on a nearby car park. Following this, the lifeboat [[davit]]s were removed in September, giving the ship an altered profile on her boat deck. Subsequently, the wooden decking was removed from the deck and replaced by synthetic block flooring.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,7341.0.html|title=Lifeboats/Davits Removal 2016 and Discussion After That|website=www.theqe2story.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://maritimematters.com/2017/01/hotel-ships-and-qe2-preservation-versus-practicalities/ | title=Hotel Ships and QE2 – Preservation versus Practicalities| work=Maritime Matters &#124; An archive of Maritime Matters 2006-2018| date=20 January 2017}}</ref>

===50th anniversary celebration===
September 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of QE2's launch.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/chris-frame-qe2/8808814|title=Monday Night Travel -QE2|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=15 August 2017}}</ref> To mark the occasion, Cunard Line, the ship's former owners, arranged a commemorative voyage aboard MS ''Queen Elizabeth''&nbsp;– a 17-night cruise, with special activities and theme days.<ref>{{cite web | title=Celebrating QE2's 50th Anniversary Cunard Style! |first=Chris|last=Frame | website=CruiseMiss Blog | date=3 October 2017 | url=https://cruisemiss.com/2017/10/03/celebrating-qe2s-50th-anniversary-cunard-style/ }}</ref> Meanwhile, in Glasgow, the QE2 Story Forum hosted a 50th anniversary conference with Captain Nick Bates as a speaker.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=7b6902df06064c57291faf573a43796a&topic=6971.0| title=QE2 50 year event, 22 September 2017|website=The QE2 Story }}</ref> Several books were released for the anniversary, including ''Building the Queen Elizabeth 2'' by Cunard historian Michael Gallagher, and ''QE2: A 50th Anniversary Celebration'' by Chris Frame and Rachelle Cross.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qe2book.com |title=QE2: A 50th Anniversary Celebration |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821153720/http://qe2book.com/ |archive-date=21 August 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Hotel and tourist attraction==
''Queen Elizabeth 2'' reopened in Dubai as a floating hotel on 18 April 2018 following an extensive refurbishment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://chriscunard.com/qe2/qe2-dubai/ |title=QE2 Retirement & QE2 in Dubai &#124; Chris Frame's Cunard Page: Cunard Line History, Facts, News |date=4 February 2015 |publisher=Chriscunard.com |access-date=2019-04-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://chrisframe.com.au/post/172991740845/hotel-qe2-grand-opening-media-release-this-is | title=This is the official media release from Hotel QE2 about her opening}}</ref> Over 2.7&nbsp;million man-hours were committed to the work to upgrade and rebuild the ship to meet hotel standards.<ref name="hotelnewsresource.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article99341.html | title=The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) Opens as Floating Hotel in Dubai}}</ref> This included a full hull repaint and the replacing of Port Vila registry with Dubai on her stern.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cruisearabiaonline.com/2018/04/04/when-will-the-qe2-hotel-in-dubai-open/ | title=When will the QE2 Hotel in Dubai open? -| date=4 April 2018}}</ref> It was a 'soft opening' while remaining work continued.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/qe2-floating-hotel-dubai-open-date-cruise-ship-pcfc-hotels-a8306676.html | title=QE2 finally opens as a floating hotel in Dubai| date=16 April 2018}}</ref>

On board is a new QE2 Heritage Exhibition, adjacent to the lobby, detailing the vessel's history.<ref name="hotelnewsresource.com"/> The ship was operated by PCFC Hotels, a division of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, which is owned by the Dubai government.<ref name="express.co.uk">{{cite web | url=https://www.express.co.uk/travel/cruise/947336/qe2-queen-elizabeth-ii-ship-transformed-luxury-floating-hotel-dubai | title=Cruise news: Where is the QE2? Iconic ship unveiled as luxurious floating hotel in Dubai| date=17 April 2018 |work=Express}}</ref> French hospitality group [[Accor]] took over operation of the hotel and attraction in May 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Margaret |title=Accor Adds Legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 to Its Portfolio in Dubai |url=https://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/accor-adds-legendary-queen-elizabeth-2-to-its-portfolio-in-dubai/ |access-date=2022-06-11 |website=Hotel-Online |language=en-US}}</ref> Accor announced plans to further renovate the vessel to encompass 447 rooms,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lau |first1=Evelyn |title=Dubai's 'QE2' to get a makeover under new ownership |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/travel/hotels/2022/05/10/dubais-qe2-to-get-a-makeover-under-new-ownership/ |work=The National |date=10 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> and has managed the property since 2024.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
*{{RMS|Queen Elizabeth}}
*{{RMS|Queen Mary}}
*{{RMS|Queen Mary 2}}
*{{MS|Queen Elizabeth}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{Cite book|title=QE2 A Photographic Journey |last1=Frame |first1=Chris |last2=Cross |first2=Rachelle |year=2008 |publisher=The History Press |location=UK |isbn=978-07524-4803-9}}
*{{Cite book|title=The QE2 Story |last1=Frame |first1=Chris |last2=Cross |first2=Rachelle |year=2009 |publisher=The History Press |location=UK |isbn=978-0-7524-5094-0}}
*{{Cite book|title=QE2: A 50th Anniversary Celebration |last1=Frame |first1=Chris |last2=Cross |first2=Rachelle |year=2017 |publisher=The History Press |location=UK |isbn=978-07509-7029-7}}
*{{cite book | last = Glen | first = Francis E. | title = Cunard and the North Atlantic 1840–1973: A History of Shipping and Financial Management | location= London | publisher = The Macmillan Press | date = 1975 | type = Softback | isbn= 978-1-349-02392-9}}
* {{Citation | last = Payne |first = Stephen | title = Queen Elizabeth 2 : Cunard's Q4 Project |  journal = Ships Monthly  | pages = 31–38 | date = December 2017  }}

==External links==

===''Queen Elizabeth 2'' official websites===
*[https://www.qe2.com ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' official website]

===''Queen Elizabeth 2'' official social media===
*[https://www.facebook.com/qe2dubai ''Facebook'']
*[https://www.instagram.com/qe2dubai ''Instagram'']

===''QE2'' history websites===
{{Commons|Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship, 1969)}}
*[http://www.qe2.org.uk/ Sam Warwick's ''QE2'' homepage – since 1996]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/hampshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8353000/8353074.stm BBC Hampshire&nbsp;– ''QE2'' One Year On]
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/50-facts-about-the-qe2/ Bomb threats, champagne and dead whales – 50 remarkable facts about the QE2 ''Daily Telegraph'']

{{Cunard ships}}
{{Falklands War British ships}}
{{1992 shipwrecks}}
{{1995 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen Elizabeth 2}}
[[Category:1967 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Cruise ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1972]]
[[Category:Falklands War in South Georgia]]
[[Category:Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ocean liners of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Rogue wave incidents]]
[[Category:Ships of the Cunard Line]]
[[Category:Steamships]]
[[Category:Troop ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1992]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1995]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Dubai]]
[[Category:Accor]]