#CunarderCALL – Cunard Line's newest cruiseship, the 90,901 tonnes Queen Elizabeth is to make her maiden call off Dun Laoghaire Harbour tomorrow. She is the second largest ship built for the company after Queen Mary 2 which called earlier this summer, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Queen Elizabeth has 12 passenger decks accommodating 2,068 guests and the 294m vessel first paid a visit to Dublin Bay with a call to Dublin Port in 2011, the same year of her namesake's historic state visit by Queen Elizabeth. A subsequent return call by the cruiseship as previously reported was made this time last year.
Captain C. Wells has command of the 2010 built ship which is currently docked alongside Liverpool Cruise Terminal and is due to arrive in Dublin Bay around 07.30hrs tomorrow morning.
Her visit to Dun Laoghaire is part of a British Isles 12-Day Cruise which set off from Hamburg late last month and terminates in Southampton following an en route call to St. Peter Port, Guernsey.
Cunard Line's third ship, Queen Victoria is a sister and they both are of the same design to P&O Cruises Arcadia which called offshore to Dun Laoghaire almost a month ago. There are external differences particularly along the uppermost decks.
Both companies are subsidiaries of the world's largest cruise shipping group, Carnival Corporation which too operates Holland America Line (HAL) whose medium-sized cruiseship, Eurodam recently visted Dublin Port and as previously reported off Dunmore East.
Eurodam also shares this same Italian built cruiseship design, from the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Venice, albeit the most notable difference is the twin funnel stacks.
Additonal information from Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company:
The prestigious Queen Elizabeth cruise liner will dock in Dún Laoghaire Harbour tomorrow, Wednesday, 7th August 2013, from 7am to 6pm.
The ship belongs to the world-famous Cunard Line and is decorated in an art deco style reminiscent of 1930s ocean liners. Dún Laoghaire will be the fifth port of call for the Queen Elizabeth since it set sail from Southampton a week ago on a 10-day cruise of Britain and Ireland.
Speaking ahead of the arrival, CEO of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, Gerry Dunne, said: "The iconic Queen Mary 2 visited Dún Laoghaire in May and today we are delighted to welcome her sister ship, the Queen Elizabeth. It is a tremendous boost for the harbour to have a visit from a ship of her calibre."
