The Queen Elizabeth 2 has embarked on its final cruise out of Southampton, England, Tuesday, its primary homeport for over 41 years of service. The Cunard Line ship left on its final cruise, which ends in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the ship will then become a floating hotel.
During the QE2’s farewell festivities the ship touched bottom on a mudbank on its early morning approach in to Southampton. Cunard said the vessel was assisted by tugboats and able to dock after about 90 minutes, with no impact on the ship or its passengers.
The rest of the day were filled with festivities, marked by fireworks and tributes from dignitaries such as England’s Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who made his seventh and final visit to theQE2.
One million poppies were dropped over the ship by aircraft to commemorate the QE2’s role in the Falkland Islands war, before a fireworks display accompanied the ship’s final sail downriver, on its way to the Mediterranean and then onto the Middle East.
