World's Largest Cruise Ship Takes to Sea

Almost everything on the Queen Mary 2 can be best described in superlatives. It is the biggest, most luxurious and most expensive cruise ship that was ever built.

At 74 meters high (243 feet), it is taller than the towers of the spires of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. And at 345 meters, it is nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

Built in Saint-Nazaire, a fishing town-turned-shipbuilding center on the Atlantic coast of France, the massive ship cost €667 million ($826 million) and has room for some 2,600 passengers and a crew of 1,300.

As the ship was pulled out to sea by tugboats, tens of thousands of people waved farewell from the shore. A British maritime flag flew from its deck for the first time, following a handing-over ceremony during which its owner, Cunard Lines, officially took possession of its new flagship. Cunard is a British subsidiary of the U.S. group Carnival Corporation.

Tragedy throws a pall over farewell

Initial plans had called for a more exuberant send-off, but that was toned down after an accident on November 15 left 15 people dead -- many of them relatives of the workers who built the ship. They fell to their deaths during a guided tour when a gangway leading to the ship from the quay collapsed.

On Tuesday, several planned firework displays and other festivities were cancelled because of the tragedy. Many inhabitants of Saint-Nazaire lit candles instead. "The cruise liner is leaving, but we will stay here with our nightmares," one of the accident's survivors, Jacques Guyader told Reuters.

Astronomical costs

After a brief journey to Spain, to get the crew used to navigating its 150,000 tons, the QM2 will head to its home port of Southampton, England, where Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will formally name it in a ceremony on January 8.

It will then leave on its maiden voyage, to Florida in the United States. The cost for that trip also fits into the “superlative” category, with cabins running from €1,300 to more than €30,000.

For their money, passengers gain access to the ship’s many amenities. These include: five swimming pools, a Thalasso-therapy center, a planetarium, a casino, several bars and restaurants, a ballroom, a 1,000 seat theatre, a virtual reality golf drive, and an art gallery with 200 works of art valued at 4 million euros. There’s even a kennel for pampered pets.

Cruises enjoy a boom

There are apparently enough well heeled clients who can afford such luxuries; the first two QM2 cruises are already fully booked.

And it’s not just the new shimmering ocean liner that’s in demand. In general, ocean cruises are enjoying an unexpected boom.

The lucrative cruise market is currently dominated by Cunard Lines and its rival Royal Carribean, whose gigantic liners can carry up to 4,000 passengers. Despite the general travel slump in the wake of the Iraq war and the SARS epidemic, both shipping companies have registered hefty profits for 2003. Prospects look good for the coming year too, with stocks of both cruise companies on Wall Street shooting to a record year’s high last week.

The two companies also expect growth potential in Germany. About 400,000 tourists or 0.5 percent of the German population booked a cruise this year, compared to 1.2 percent in Britain and over 2 percent in the U.S. Both Cunard Lines and Royal Carribean are hoping for a rise in demand in Germany with an additional 800,000 passengers signing up for a luxury cruise.