Queen Elizabeth II docks in Dubai

QE2 leaves the Clyde for the last time

The QE II begins her transformation from luxury ocean liner to luxury seven-star hotel today. The 40-year-old ocean liner will sit at the end of a large reclaimed land bridge off the Palm Jumeirah Island in Dubai, and will become the centerpiece of a luxury residential, entertainment, marina, and hotel development.

The ship herself will be refitted entirely, and Manfred Ursprunger, the CEO of QE2 Enterprises said,

We say that life begins at 40 – meaning this has come at the right time for the QE II. We think that the ship still has another 50 years to go.

The QE II began life as a Royal Mail carrier between Britain and America, and later became famous as a luxury cruise liner after serving time as a troopship during the Falklands war. She certainly has an interesting history; has traveled more than 4 million nautical miles during 1,159 voyages, had two major refits costing tens of millions of dollars each time, and has run aground twice (once as she made her farewell voyage around Great Britain.)

Ursprunger said that the company would do everything they could to preserve the unique heritage of the ship. Certain rooms aboard the ship, such as those which have not been altered since the ship was originally built, will be restored and preserved, but the rest of the ship will be fittted out with a number of luxury restaurants and spas.

There will also be a three-story ballroom where guests at the hotel can enjoy the fine living at the peak of colonial Britain. “We want to bring people back to the grand old days of Transport Atlantica,” said Ursprunger. “We hope that they will have those kinds of experiences. They will be able to take part in ballroom dancing and listen to big band music. The language will remain the same with ‘aft’ ‘bow’, ‘port’ and ‘starboard’ being used to refer to different areas of the ship. Staff will be referred to as pursers and stewards.”

I am not entirely sure why “colonial Britain,” was chosen as the theme as colonial Britain was pretty much dismantled by the time the QEII was built, and Mr Ursprunger seems to be under the impression she was built in the mid-1800s rather than 1969.

“The soul of any ocean liner is the people and the experiences they have on board. We wanted to recreate those experiences and provide an educational and cultural experience in the whole precinct,” said Ursprunger.

Let us just hope the experiences of the staff are not also recreated.

QEII will probably spend the next 2 years or so in Dubai Dry Docks – which was opened by the real Queen Elizabeth II in 1979. In the meantime the specialised “precinct” will be constructed on the Palm. Ursprunger said that both projects were timed to be completed at the same time.

No one is admitting to the projected final costs ($50 million was the price paid for the ship) and when questioned about the viabilty of a project like this in the face of a financial meltdown, Ursprunger declined to comment. “We are committed to the vision. We will do whatever it takes to realise that,” was all he would say.