Ft. Lauderdale to say goodbye to QE2
Mark April 10 on your calendars, for that is the day that the great Cunard liner will make her last appearance at Port Everglades. (At the age of 40, she is off to Dubai to become a floating hotel, a la Queen Mary in Long Beach.)
The QE2 has a graceful line the newer ships lack, and I'm expecting there to be a small group of admirers gathered on the Point of the Americas beach that evening to watch her sail off to a sedentary life at the edge of the desert.
In any case, I'll be there. She took me to France in 1975 and gave me an everlasting love of ships. Among their many charms is the fact that, unlike with planes, you can revisit the one that changed your life. Though now I'll have to go to Dubai.
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams, Getty Images
Comments
As much as I lament the passing of the QE2, I'm pleased to know that cruise ships have been rediscovered as an exiting, leisurely way to travel. The newer luxury ships are grander than the QE2, with larger staterooms and more things to do.
I'm probably alone in missing some of the formality associated with the QE2, which I think is gone forever on all cruise lines. Although you didn't need a tuxedo for dinner, most men were in suits and ties, and the women in cocktail dresses. One evening meal on the ship was "formal night". On that special occasion, the men DID wear tuxedos and the women were in evening gowns. I asked the cabin steward to get me a boutonniere for the night and a pink corsage for my Mother. His response was "Yes sir, wrist, hip or bosom?" Too wonderful....
Posted by: Mr. Adams | March 14, 2008 2:59 PM
Dear Mr. Adams,
Thanks so much for your lovely story. Something else to consider: because of the popularity of cruising, we have again the beautiful sight of great vessels in port. One Saturday I drove across the MacArthur Causeway in Miami - about five ships were docked and the Goodyear blimp flew overhead. It felt like 1940 again.
Posted by: Tom | March 14, 2008 4:06 PM