Over forty years the QE2 earned a reputation as the world's most famous ocean liner, regarded with great warmth and affection the world over. The QE2 sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 2 May 1969. The QE2 has served her country in both peace and war, carrying troops to the Falkland Islands following the outbreak of war in 1982. During her career the QE2 carried 2.5 million passengers and sailed over 5.6 million nautical miles. She has completed 25 world cruises and crossed the Atlantic 803 times before her retirement in November 2008. On 11th November 2008 the QE2 departed Southampton for the last time, en-route to Dubai where she will be converted to a hotel and tourist attraction.

Designed to replace the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth for the Cunard Line, the vessel, initially known as the Q3 and then the Q4, was built at the Clydeside John Brown shipyard. Unlike her predecessors the Q4 was designed not only as a transatlantic ocean liner, but also as a cruise ship, able to alternate between the Southampton-New York express service and cruises to exotic ports of call across the world. The Q4 was launched on 20 September 1967 by HM Queen Elizabeth II and named Queen Elizabeth 2. She would go on to serve the Cunard Line for over forty years, earning herself the affection of all her passengers, crew, and the general public alike. Read more about the story of the QE2

At the centre of this QE2 website is a virtual tour of the Queen Elizabeth 2 containing over 100 panoramic images of the interior spaces and exterior decks, taken during her final year of commercial service on three separate occasions between June 2008 and October 2008. The Virtual Tour allows visitors to this website to explore the QE2, moving from deck to deck. Each of her major public rooms, restaraunts and bars are illustrated in one of the widest collections of panoramic photographs of the QE2. Alongside these are panoramic photographs of her accomodation, entertainment venues, on-board facilities, lobby spaces, staircases and external deck spaces. Launch the QE2 Virtual Tour