The Most Iconic Ocean Liners in the World

The world famous Cunard Queens have gone down in history as some of the most legendary ocean liners ever built. The original pair, the RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth, are renowned as having introduced the famous and coveted two-ship Atlantic Ferry for Cunard Line and thus became acclaimed in the post war era as the way to travel between Europe and the United States of America. However these Queens of the Atlantic also gave sterling service as troopships during the Second World War. Indeed Sir Winston Churchill credited the two iconic Queens with having shortened the war by two years.

Eventually these original Cunard Queens were retired from service in the late 1960s. The Queen Mary sailed into honoured retirement in Long Beach, California, USA where she remains today as a hotel and museum. Meanwhile the Queen Elizabeth was preserved for a while but sadly succumbed to fire in Hong Kong in 1972. In the late 1960s Cunard introduced the now equally world famous RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 which single handedly continued the renowned transatlantic service until 2004. The QE2 as she is affectionately known is often acclaimed as “The Most Famous Ocean Liner in the World”. She truly is a British icon and maritime masterpiece and draws huge crowds wherever she goes. The QE2 also had her own brush with war as she was called up as a troopship during the Falklands War and so like her predecessors has served her country in wartime.

However the legend of the Cunard Queens does not end with the QE2. In 2004 Cunard Line (by this time now owned by Carnival Corporation & PLC) introduced another Queen to take the transatlantic service into the 21^st century. This ship is the RMS Queen Mary 2 and is set to become as famous as her three predecessors. She is the first true transatlantic ocean liner to be built since the QE2 in the late 1960s. Once again with the QE2 and the RMS Queen Mary 2, Cunard Line had two Cunard Queens sailing the oceans of the world thus continuing the traditions of their legendary predecessors.

But the story of the Cunard Queens does not end here as they look set to rule the waves long into the 21^st century as the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 and RMS Queen Mary 2 were joined by a new cruise ship called the Queen Victoria which was introduced in 2007. For the first time ever Cunard Line had three Cunard Queens in service at the same time. The Queen Victoria set new standards in cruising and takes the legend of the Cunard Queens on into the future. It is named the Queen Victoria in recognition that this was the name intended for the Queen Mary. So it was felt that the time had come for a ship in the fleet to be given this name. Sadly this trio of Cunard Queens wasn't to last long, as the QE2 was withdrawn from service in November 2008 and sailed into honoured retirement in Dubai and a permanent home as a floating hotel and museum at The Palm Jumeirah development.

With the retirement of the legendary QE2 in November 2008, Cunard Line entered a new era with a modern two ship fleet consisting of the RMS Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria. For the first time there was no ship in the fleet with a direct link to the original iconic Cunard Queens - RMS Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. It was truly the dawn of a new age for Cunard Line.

However on the 10th October 2007, Cunard Line made the surprise announcement that it was ordering another Cunard Queen. This new ship, like the new Queen Victoria, would also be built by Fincantieri S.p.A., Marghera, Venice, Italy and it would enter service in 2010 and become the latest ship in the legendary Cunard Queens sextet. So soon Cunard Line will have a trio of Cunard Queens in service at the same time once again! The name of the new Cunarder will be Queen Elizabeth in recognition that this was the name intended for the QE2 and also to honour the first Queen Elizabeth and the QE2.

RMS Queen Mary (1936)

RMS Queen Elizabeth (1938)