Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 to Become Luxury Floating Hotel in Dubai

June 20th, 2007, by Mary Winston Nicklin

Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 to Become Luxury Floating Hotel in Dubai

QE2 The legendary QE2, launched by Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1967, has been sold to Dubai’s Istithmar company for a mere $100 million. The longest serving vessel in Cunard’s history, the ocean liner crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times and carried more than 2.5 million passengers. Now the ship will become a must-see tourist attraction in Dubai (where else?)– where it will be converted into a luxurious floating hotel at the Palm Jumeirah. After an extensive refurbishment program to recreate all the original interior décor, the QE2 will reopen in 2009 in its new permanent home: a pier at the Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest man-made island.