#LinerQM2 – A once in a lifetime opportunity to see fantastic close-up views of the giant Queen Mary 2 (QM2) during the liner's historic inaugural call off Dun Laoghaire Harbour are available with a Dublin Bay Cruises excursion, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The Dun Laoghaire based operator is running two special cruises to circle the 2,620 passenger QM2, the world's only liner during her 'anchorage' call next Thursday (16 May). Cruises depart from the East Pier (15.30 and 17.00) and head into Dublin Bay where the 151,400 tonnes Cunard Line 'flagship' will tower above the excursion boat St. Bridget.
Queen Mary 2 was built at the famous shipyard of Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France and cost €659m (US$800 million). The liner entered service in 2004 and to give a sense of her sheer size, she is 1,132 feet long, 236 feet high, 135 feet on the beam and has a draft of 32 feet.
Among the facilities, there are 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, ballroom, theatre, spa-club, the only planetarium at sea and a 3D cinema. The Bermuda flagged liner which has 14 decks has a crew of 1,200.
She was named after the original Queen Mary which remains moored as a static floating hotel in Long Beach, California. Uniquely the Queen Mary 2 continues the tradition of the trans-Atlantic 'liner' which reflect a bygone era of the classic voyage between Southampton and New York.
Her call follows her predecessor the 70,000 tonnes Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), which twice made anchorage calls offshore of Dun Laoghaire more than a decade ago.
