Cunard starts to build Queen Elizabeth

Carol Marlow, Cunard Line President with Queen Elizabeth Keel

Cunard has just laid down the keel for Queen Elizabeth, its newest superliner, at the Monfalcone shipyard of Fincantieri near Trieste, Italy and is scheduled to take to the water come December this year.

Queen Elizabeth’s keel weighs in at a hefty 364 tonnes, which doesn’t come as too much of a surprise seeing as it will soon become Cunard’s second largest ship ever built.

“I am sure that Queen Elizabeth will be just as popular and successful as her two sister ships,” said Carol Marlow, Cunard Line President.

“We at Cunard are always impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm of everyone at Fincantieri, and we look forward to the next year-and-a half of working closely with them on this ship.”

Successor to Queen Elizabeth 2 and named after the first Queen Elizabeth, Cunard says the new Queen Elizabeth will feature events of a bygone era such as “country house parties at sea, evening piano sing-a-longs and period dancing”.

Queen Elizabeth will take off on her Maiden Voyage on the 12th of October, 2010 with a 13-night tour from South Hampton through to Vigo, Lisbon, Seville, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira.