Poor old QE2. Sold with such pizzazz to Dubai World, it is now up for sale because they no longer have any money to lavish doing up the old girl.
Carnival Corp probably can't resist a little chuckle. They pocketed £50 million for an old ship they decided long ago would cost too much to renovate and able to meet 21st-century cruising safety regulations.
The alternative would have been to pay good money to have it scrapped.
Now Dubai World, which bought the ship through subsidiary Nakheel, intending to turn it into an iconic floating hotel, has run out of money and is looking to hive off a few assets.
The rumour is that Abu Dhabi is interested. Really? I know they have plenty of oil millions, but they might also want to bear in mind that the ship has sat in Dubai for over a year now, unused and deteriorating.
Whatever the price tag for renovation that Nakheel was looking at, it will certainly have gone up by now.
Jane Archer
Comments (2)
OK so you've got this famous ship's name wrong for a starters... and she has not deteriorated at all... she's been drydocked, and fully maintained, including air-conditioning and all safety systems etc. being constantly run and maintained. The AC has even been repaired and improved.
She is GLEAMING with fresh paint, and is in better condition than when she arrived a year ago.
"They decided long ago would cost too much to renovate and able to meet 21st-century cruising safety regulations" - as recently as 2006, Carol Marlow is quoted as saying that SOLAS was not a significant hurdle for the ship, which has sailed through all regulation changes since her completion in 1968.
For the TRUE low-down on whats happening with QE2, visit www.TheQE2Story.com
Posted by Rob Lightbody | December 2, 2009 6:46 PM
Posted on December 2, 2009 18:46
You are correct. More haste, less speed. Name has been corrected.
Posted by Jane Archer | December 2, 2009 6:59 PM
Posted on December 2, 2009 18:59