Final Voyage Day by Day

[June Ingram]

12 November 2008 - where was our QE2 on that day ? and what do you recall about that day ?

[cunardqueen]

Thanks to various events, l missed the last train from Southampton to London on the 11th and stayed over unexpectedly with a lady from previous cruises. She had returned from QE2 on the 11th.  The night of the 11th a few of us gathered having pre arranged to meet at a bar and celebrated QE2 and our special times, turns out it was a salsa bar so we moved on. but after a  late night and a reasonably early morning quick train to London on the 12th l had gathered some newspapers and read the details of the night before. checked out of the hotel and passed some time in London before the long train journey home to Elgin .
 As was always the case with QE2 it was first class with East Coast, and l saw no reason to change that for this journey.

As things turned out l was registered for one of the Maiden cruises on Queen Elizabeth and after a holiday to America l promptly cancelled that cruise and knew then l would never ever sail Cunard again.
While l dont blame Carnival Towers Marlow and Shanks for what they did, l will never forgive them    EVER

Dont get me wrong there has been times on ship visits l feel l could easy book passage and sail away again with Cunard, but the cold light of day on disembarking tells me. No   

Which does beg the question, had things gone to plan and QE2 had been transformend into the new wonder would l hold different views,  rather than seeing her all tied up, like a dead fish, cast upon the shore left to mercy of the elements to rot away..well who knows
But l very much doubt it
 

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

I am attracted by the idea that we might try, six years later, to relive the final voyage day by day, both on-board (by linking to contributions already in the Forum), and on-shore (for those of us who were watching from afar or from her ports of call).

What I remember was that for me, QE2's bridgecam was never off, and I was constantly downloading the images. Following her journey via AIS and via some stories reaching me from on board. Once she left the Mediterranean Sea, I learnt a lot about the geography of the regions she transited -- and understood how huge the distances are!

As so often, I am not in the right place to access the materials I would want to use, such as the day-by-day schedule of the voyage. Would anyone have a scan of that, to start us off?

[June Ingram]

Hi Isabelle -

Thank you very much for your message.  To relive the final voyage day by day in view of what has and what has not happened in the last six years would give us an opportunity to reminisce and to share our feelings about our beloved QE2 now in 2014.  Links to previous posts would be wonderful as we progress through the final voyage.

Perhaps this exists on The Forum, but if so, I have not found it.  I am looking for or would like help in making a map which shows QE2's position and miles traveled for each day of her final voyage.  The map would also show each port of call and the amount of time spent there. 

June   

[June Ingram]

13 November 2008 of our beloved QE2's final voyage...

[Lynda Bradford]

Fantastic idea Isabelle and I also like June's idea of a map of ports of call. 

Commemorative menus, and first day covers would also be relevant.

I have a copy of the menu for 11 November 2008 but it is too large a file size to upload to the forum and for some strange reason the option to shrink on shrink pictures.com web site is not working but I am sure there will be other members have copies of the final voyage menus. 

[June Ingram]

Do we have access to QE2's log for the final voyage ?

If not, how can we determine how many miles she traveled each day, her exact route, and how long she was in each port ?

[Lynda Bradford]

The itinerary is noted on QE2 The Cunard Liner QE2 web site.  Perhaps Michael could help with information on the distance between ports etc. 
http://www.qe2.org.uk/itinerary.html#Nov

It would be good to hear from members who were onboard for this final voyage. 

[June Ingram]

Hi Lynda -

Thank you very much for the link to the itinerary.  Now we need to fill in the distances traveled each day and her coordinates and make a map showing that.  And then we need to fill in the amount of time spent in each port.

Menus, ship's newspaper, events, etc. would be good to add for each day as you mention. 

And yes, please let us hear from members who were aboard and from members who viewed QE2 from afar on her final voyage.

June   

[cunardqueen]

  13 November 2008 of our beloved QE2's final voyage...   

.....At home depressed..does that count...

[June Ingram]

.....At home depressed..does that count...

Hi Myles -

Yes, it does indeed count, very much !  I was at work very much depressed.  Whether aboard or at the far corners of the earth, the days of the final voyage seemed like a "death march".  J. 

[Twynkle]

June  - About QE2's final days in service with Cunard, there is already much posted here on the Forum under many and various topics!
It will be quite a feat to seek and find every post relating to QE2's Final Voyage - Images on Flickr as well as from the original gallery here should help with information for you, as well as the Final Calls and Personal accounts already posted, together with Rob's great time-line - these will give you much information too.
Personally, at the moment, this seems one of the saddest anniversaries - and for many of us who 'knew QE2' as well as we did, it could just be 'one ask too much' right now. There are plenty of  places here where much about feelings and thoughts have been expressed - and perhaps it could be just one step to far at the moment.
Please know that many of us went through abject misery at the time - spending time on the ship in whatever capacity will have taken enormous courage for many of those who knew her well. And with hindsight it could be easier or perhaps just as difficult for some, for others it maybe less important - life goes on....However I know very many crew members who still miss her a very great deal, memories can be painful as well as good fun, you know!
I feel almost too sad to think about it, let alone talk and post about it, perhaps others feel differently....
The fact that the future for QE2 seems pretty uncertain doesn't help either.

[June Ingram]

Hi Rosie -

Thank you very much for your message and take on the Final Voyage Day by Day.  Many of us here have had closer physical associations with our beloved QE2 than I have, but my attachment to QE2 started right around the time she was conceived.

June   

[skilly56]

Attached is a copy of the ship's chart for 25th/26th/27th of November 2008, with thanks to Single_Malt Ali, who permitted me to copy it from her mum's photos.

I am told the AIS was delayed/turned off when the ship was mid-Mediterranean so that nefarious parties would have no idea when the ship would be passing the Somali coast area. The ship's max. speed was down to 25 knots tops as the machinery was getting rather hot and the coolers had no capacity left, so they couldn't out-run anything.

I know the feeling, as I have just come home from Batam/Singapore, but as we went through the Java Sea I was logging the highest sea temperatures I have ever seen - 38⁰C! We had a few cooling issues as well. Normal sea temp in these areas is 34/5 degrees.

Skilly

[June Ingram]

Hi Skilly --

Thank you very much for your message, information, and the photo of the ship's chart.  That is absolutely awesome to see !  So QE2's final voyage through the Mediterranean was a bit like her run down to the Falklands.  I was not aware of that and very good to know.  Also very interesting to learn of speed, sea temps affecting machinery, and your own experience with same. 

June