Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth Float Out

Photos courtesy Cunard Cruise Line

Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, was joined January 5th by 79-year-old Florence (Dennie) Farmer, honored as the “Madrina” to the third Queen Elizabeth at the float out of Cunard's latest ship. Dennie's husband, now deceased, joined Cunard in September 1938 and served as Chief Engineer on both the first Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2 until his retirement in October 1979.

Two ceremonies were held at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard near Trieste, Italy. The first ceremony involved the welding of significant coins beneath the mast of Queen Elizabeth for good luck. Three coins were chosen – a half crown dated 1938 (the year the first Queen Elizabeth was launched), a sovereign dated 1967 (the year Queen Elizabeth 2 was launched) and a sovereign dated 2010 (to acknowledge the new Queen Elizabeth being floated out in 2010). After the coin ceremony, the new liner was blessed and a bottle of Italian prossecco was smashed against the hull by the Madrina. The valves of the dry dock were then opened and the liner met the water for the first time.

For more information about Queen Elizabeth, see previous article, Construction of Queen Elizabeth Begins. Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden Voyage, now sold out, will depart on Tuesday October 12, 2010. Her Maiden Season will run from October 2010 to January 2011 and include voyages to the Western and Central Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

Click here for information about itineraries and pricing on Queen Elizabeth.

For information about her maiden World Voyage, see Cunard 2011 World Voyages.




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