Cunard’s majestic MS Queen Elizabeth will dock at Cape Town’s harbour tomorrow morning at 6am and stay for one night. On January 26, The Queen Mary 2 caused quite a stir when she cruised into Cape Town.
Her enormous structure filled up the waterfront – and Queen Elizabeth only differs in size slightly – so Capetonians are in for a treat. The Queen Mary 2 is 345m in length and has a capacity of 2,691 passengers whereas the Queen Mary is 294m in length and can carry 2,081 passengers.
Here some interesting facts about the Queen Elizabeth ship:
1. The cruise liner is a tribute to the two previous Queen Elizabeth-named ships – the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2 which is now a floating hotel in Dubai.
2. She is the newest ship in the fleet. Her maiden voyage was from Southampton on 12 October 2010.
3. English television host, media personality, journalist, comedian, and writer, Sir David Frost was aboard the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship, on 31 August 2013, when he died. He had been invited to give a speech by Cunard but died of a heart attack while aboard.
4. This ship is almost identical to the Queen Victoria liner, although Elizabeth’s capacity is slightly higher with up to 2,058 compared to Queen Victoria’s 2,014.
5. On 13 January 2011, all three queens, the RMS Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth met in New York City for the first time. All three beauties met in front of the Statue of Liberty and The Empire State Building was lit up in red to mark the occasion.
Picture: Supplied