Liverpool's new cruise liner terminal was officially opened when the QE2 makes a 40th birthday visit to the city on the 21st September 2007. In
Many of the passengers were keen to take the opportunity of a trip on the Mersey Ferry in order to do some sightseeing in Liverpool City Centre.
HRH The Duke of Kent unveiled a plaque to open the £19m terminal. In the evening prior to the QE2's departure there was a concert and a huge
firework display which at one stage during the day looked in doubt due to horrendous weather conditions.
Tens of thousands of onlookers turned up to cheer the occasion.
The QE2 made her maiden voyage in 1969 and although she weighs 70,327 tons and is 963 feet long can travel at a top speed of 32.5 knots. It is often wrongly believed that the QE2 was named after the present monarch of England Queen Elizabeth II, in fact it was named after the previous Queen Elizabeth. The company who owns the ship is Cunard.It is named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth. She was the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. It was built in Clydebank, Scotland. The company Cunard was based in Liverpool from 1839 to 1967.
In 1982, she took part in the Falklands War, carrying 3,000 troops and 650 volunteer crew to the south Atlantic. She was refitted in Southampton in preparation for war service, including the installation of three helicopter pads along with the longes changes into dormitories.
It is understood the ship will spend another year on the seas until it retires. In November 2008 it will be delivered to Dubai World after and will then be transformed into a luxury floating hotel, retail and entertainment at The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, the world's largest man-made island.
