Poll - If The QE2 Returned To The U.K.?

[Bob C.]

She would make it under the Erskine Bridge INTACT for sure, even if it meant a partial dredge... I do not think for one minute there would be a problem getting a dredging company to undertake the work for a nominal amount.

Dredging, temp removal of bridge section or temp removal of the mast/funnel - it will be whatever is most cost effective and that would most likely be funnel and mast removal.

[Rob Lightbody]

I confess that I failed phyiscs at school, but I still don't think dredging the river would help with getting her under the bridge... surely the water level would remain the same!?  She might require dredging, yes, but thats a separate issue (although I suspect "we" could get her light enough... even if she was temporarily not as stable as she normally is... to be honest, even if the engines had to come out to get her up the river that last time, it wouldn't be the end of the world...

[NairB]

I confess that I failed phyiscs at school, but I still don't think dredging the river would help with getting her under the bridge... surely the water level would remain the same!?  She might require dredging, yes, but thats a separate issue (although I suspect "we" could get her light enough... even if she was temporarily not as stable as she normally is... to be honest, even if the engines had to come out to get her up the river that last time, it wouldn't be the end of the world...

Rob, believe me, she will get under the Erskine Bridge no problem intact. I would put my house on it. The tide is the key and as I said above, we will take her funnel off if need be without dredging.....that would solve it....we built her, so we can take her to bits if need be and rebuild her to get her back home.....she would allow that!!!

QE2 Height - 52.2 m (171.3 ft)

Erskine Bridge Clearance - 45m (147.7 ft) (More depending on tide, timing and skill)

If there were extra ordinary circumstances stopping her, believe you me, 'we' - us 'Glesga' engineers would get our Queen (our baby) home, safe and sound...trust me...

I would go as far as to re-hire some of the original old fellow engineers that I speak to often in the pubs & bars in Glasgow to do the very job.....what more could she ask for. Her original creators bringing her home....she would be a very happy ship, regardless what it took to bring her home to retire!!!!!.....

[Kindlychap]

The image of RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 in her fitting out bay sounds perhaps the best long term option for her survival.

By "survival" I mean, naturally, that she is recognisable as the ship that we all know and love. I would rather see her on the beach at Alang than turned into something that she is not.

The funnel is a non-issue. It's come off before, and coming off again isn't really much more than an excuse for a very large crane. What matters is that it returns to where it was, as it was. That isn't an engineering issue at heart, it is a aesthetic one.

There would be scope for weddings (imagine being married in the Queen's Room, and then having your reception in the Queens' Grill!) as well as engineering backstage tours. There would be no need to turn the engine room into an attraction - it already is.

Entry to the wheelhouse could easily be a premier product, with the wardroom as some kind of high class bar. Imagine what they could charge for the ability to stay in the Master's cabin, or as a second best option, 8081 or 8082..... Indeed, the penthouse could be transformed into a superb boutique hotel - as indeed it was during her sea days - with the one and two deck Q3s as the standard "luxury" rooms. (Having said that I feel that perhaps the Master's cabin should be available as a museum.....)

Then each 20 September the ship could be the centre of the shipping world. There must be enough people to fill the ship for a weekend of shipping fans on an annual basis - most of the British membership of this board would be regulars, no doubt.

But coming back to reality, Tornado (the new A1 Pacific) is seen as a huge triumph. That took many, many years and cost "only" three million.......

Matthew

[highlander0108]

To me, the move to bring her back home makes perfect sense, with recent turn of events, making this whole idea even clearer as THE best option for the future use of the ship.  Matthew's onboard with this concept and has added further interesting ideas.  I envision the QE2 as the centerpiece for the waterfront development, which would include a land based museum honoring the shipbuilding on the Clyde.  Don't know how that would work with the Transportation Museum in Glasgow covering alot of it, but wouldn't it be wonderful if ALL the Queens and the other famous Navy ships could be honored under one roof, with the prime example sitting just outside for further inspection.  Featuring the local craftsmen that built her would also be a wonderful tribute.  Imagine taking a tour of the ship with one of her builders potentially.  I say with minimal changes, QE2 could function as a hotel and conference center right now, with future upgrades as time and funds permit.

Here are a few additional angles that could be pursued.  How about including a retired Concorde on the grounds.  We all know of the ties there.  I know this was brought up way be when, but since the ship is so much a part of the history of the UK, perhaps revisiting the Historical aspect is in order for some additional funding and landmark status.  I keep going back to the failures of the various Queen Mary ventures in Long Beach, but I think Hotel QE2 would have a far better chance of success with the immediate connection to the area.  There was/is absolutely no tie-in of Long Beach with the Queen Mary.  In fact, I do believe she never made a port of call there until her arrival for conversion.  Correct me if I am wrong, but I bet the local population as well as the whole of Scotland and the UK in general would make the ship a destination, for a night or two, or even dinner or drinks.  I bet everyone woudl love to spend a night on the real Queen of the Atlantic. We all saw the immense pride eveident on her final departure.  I also think the weather woudl be far kinder on the ship than in Dubai.  Heck, there would be no real need to upgrade the AC, for instance.

I'm from the states, but I would fight from a distance to bring her home.  It was a bittersweet experience visiting the Titan Crane and not seeing much of anything else left.  The newer waterfront development occurring  is quite not descript and does not appear to have any direct architectural design ties to the local community or history except to say that it is new and clean!  It coudl be anywhere, but having QE2 back would certainly carry the show and change everything.  I can hear the passion in NairB's comments for what now could be called the swansong of shipbuilding on the Clyde and I wonder how that passion can be spread and whipped up to present the current owners with a viable proposal to bring her back home.  Let's get people thinking!

[Mr B]

"Hear, Hear",  good words Highlander.

Worth reminding folks that a Concorde resides in it's own air conditioned hanger at 'East Fortune Airfield', a few miles east of Edinburgh.  

I'm 100% motivated for whipping up passion and worldwide interest but afraid have presently run out of ideas to communicate with anally retentive Nakheel.

If you're thinking more along the lines of a Pirates of the Caribbean / Braveheart uprising, to claim back what is rightly ours...
...then I'm well up for that too.

 

[billy]

Hi,

I'll give my reasons why she should come back to her birth place the Clyde, for obvious reasons, she was built here,it's her natural home.The Clyde has no permanent reminder of her ship building heritage,no Ship tourist attractions(Brittania etc),Shipyards or hardly any docks left (Thatcher put paid to that)There is no reason why  can not be berthed in Greenock,Clydebank or Glasgow or anchored off the tail of the bank, or Greenock's Inchgreen Drydock where she was fitted out after her launch. The Clyde has nothing to remind people of her past and I mean zilch,these are badly run down areas in need of serious regenaration which the Queen would bring.Why deny Clydeside people their natural history?
 
Forth/Leith---You have the Brittania, even though she was built on the Clyde, you won the race for her(over the Clyde),you also have a Concorde not far away as a tourist attraction(East Fortune air field) so that rules you out.

Southampton---good case as that was her home port for over 40 years, but you lucky people get to see cruise liners on a daily basis,wish we could, I would love to see the QM or QV or Aurora,Oriona,Slendour of the Seas etc when they came in and out of port, I think you are spoiled in no other way any port in the UK can be for the arrival and departure of cruise liners on a daily basis(7th heaven) so that rules you out.

Merseyside--- Might have been the Cunard/White star lines home port,but not anymore. QE2 might have been designed there, but she was'nt built there,thats the point, that rules you out.
.
London/Thames---- I think you have enough attractions on the Thames to keep you amused, ; Cutty Sark, Belfast etc.

[Matt]

Forth/Leith---You have the Brittania, even though she was built on the Clyde, you won the race for her(over the Clyde),you also have a Concorde not far away as a tourist attraction(East Fortune air field) so that rules you out.

Southampton---good case as that was her home port for over 40 years, but you lucky people get to see cruise liners on a daily basis,wish we could, I would love to see the QM or QV or Aurora,Oriona,Slendour of the Seas etc when they came in and out of port, I think you are spoiled in no other way any port in the UK can be for the arrival and departure of cruise liners on a daily basis(7th heaven) so that rules you out.

Merseyside--- Might have been the Cunard/White star lines home port,but not anymore. QE2 might have been designed there, but she was'nt built there,thats the point, that rules you out.
.
London/Thames---- I think you have enough attractions on the Thames to keep you amused, ; Cutty Sark, Belfast etc.

I’m sorry to say but this sounds rather selfish to me. It’s about what is best for the QE2, and where she will get the most custom that will determine where, and if she was positioned in the UK. Just because Southampton has many 'liners' per week, doesn’t mean that they are 'greedy', it’s simply the fact that QE2 would be extremely successful here. People would stay on the QE2 the night before their cruise etc, and also visits from the general public. It is well populated and has a larger demand for the QE2 than the Clyde, especially when they demolish the Holiday Inn.

Regards,
Matt

[billy]

Hi,
Sorry if I offended anyone with my comments in Southampton Merseyside,London,Forth/Leith.
I was not being selfish and I certainly did not call Southampton "greedy". I was trying to explain my reasons for the QE2 to be brought to the Clyde. Maybe not such much Glasgow but what an attraction for Clydebank and Greenock,both areas suffer from high unemployment and the jobs boost and tourism for both local economies would be beneficial to both towns.

Yes I agree the South Coast has a higher population but my point is the number of tourist attractions in the surrounding area and I'm including London are amazing, tourists are spolit for choice where they want to go and see.

As for Southampton being greedy, the word I woild use is lucky. When these liners call in to the Clyde they are only here for a few hours, people travel from all Scotland to see these ships, all I was saying is Southampton see them on a regular basis Again sorry if anyone has took offence. Regards Billy

[Matt]

Thanks Billy, That cleared it up for me, and i see where you are coming from. I do however believe it would make perfect economic sense to send her to Southampton as she would do best here, with the most custom. However it would be good to bring employment to the Clyde region, but it would be unlikely that she would have a large client base like she would in the South, Primarily due to the fact that most cruses have Southampton as a 'turn around' point where new passengers embark and disembark. This is not the case in the Clyde and would be where much of the revenue would be raised.

Regards, Matt

[Alistair]

I have been reading through the posts about where the QE2 could go if she was brought back to the UK. I voted for Clydebank as I am totally biased. Then I thought about the ecomonic reasons for keeping her based in Southampton. Then I thought about the aborted plans to sail her to Capetown for the World Cup so I have come to the conclusion that she should be brought back to the Clyde and be used as a hotel for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and beyond as Glasgow is still an expanding tourist destination  :-)
As to where she would be berthed I think i would be fantastic to have her up at the new Transport Museum however that could be a one way trip unless she could reverse down river at a later date. Therefore berthing her at Clydebank would be more practical of she was ever to sail on the seas again. This is all a flight of fancy of course but it is nice to dream.

As for Dubai knowing what they bought? I'm afraid they haven't a clue. I was on the Clyde for her last trip home and one of the pictures I took is now my screen background on my PC. I was working in Dubai at that time and when I went back to work and turned on my PC one of my colleagues, a local Emirati asked me if that was the Titanic!!  My response was "no Ahmed and here's a clue.....this one is still floating!"  I found that there was very little interest or knowledge of what the QE2 was, her lineage or her history. Thank goodness the credit crunch stopped all their mad plans in their tracks!

Alistair

[Cruise_Princess]

Wherever she returns to and becomes a floating hotel ....

 For me personally.. being on board QE2 going nowhere far outsells sailing on any new ugly cruise ship going anywhere.....don't you agree?? 

[Garcia!]

Hello All,

I think people are thinking with their hearts, instead of their heads!!

IF the ship were to return to the UK, the ONLY place she should go is Southampton. She needs to make money, lots of money. QE2 would make a brilliant hotel in Southampton and this is where the money is.

How many cruise ships arrive and depart Southampton each year? Lots... and this number is growing each year. How many people are we talking about? 18 million, heading for 27 million by 2020. Think of all those pre and post cruise hotel stays. For me, would I rather stay in a Holiday Inn/Hilton etc or would I rather stay on the QE2? It's a no brainer really. She could make a real success in Southampton.

Having her in Southampton would provide so many visitors right on her doorstep/gangway! You just wouldn't get that many people putting her anywhere else. Especially in the long term.

Regards,

David

[Cruise_Princess]

Yes Southampton would be great...but no doubt all the hotels would start tprotesting!   As after all Qe2 was all about cruising...going on a modern cruise ship today  is just being moved to a different place every day on a moving hotel... some folks dont even see the sea throughout the entire journey!......

I know where I would choose to stay....

[Peter Mugridge]

I'd disagree about the capacity - unless they've opened a couple of mega sized hotels in the last few years there's not really enough hotel capacity in Southampton as it is, so having QE2 there would be a way of allowing more people to stage there overnight - which would benefit Southampton itself.

Southampton isn't just a cruise base; it is also conveniently located to act as a base for quite a wide area from a tourist point of view.

However, I do agree that the hotels would start to protest - but look at how much they charge right now to stay in Southampton...!!

[Twynkle]

Not wanting to spoil the party... 
...about Southampton, it would seem worth bearing in mind that the council haven't been in any hurry to place QE2's spare anchor somewhere suitable - yet they have allowed planning permission for 3 Holiday Inns and 25+ other hotels of at least 3 star status!

However.. does anyone know yet whether the Harbour Master might agree to QE2 returning in a blaze of glory?
Dubai has strong links with Soton, too - it's just that the Council might need a bit of help in finding her somewhere that's 'appropriate to her needs'! 

Liverpool would love to have her  - however, it could be technically quite difficult because of the width of the River Mersey, she might get in the way!

[Mauretania1907]

I don't know what I voted for before, but the Clyde sound like a lovely idea, better and better the more you people suggest it. Then there would be at least ONE Clyde-built ship who made it home!