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The QE2's Bon Voyage

After carrying millions of passengers and sailing the equivalent of 230 times around the globe, the Queen Elizabeth 2 will soon make her last trip across the Atlantic. On Morning Edition, NPR's Susan Stamberg takes listeners aboard for a tour of the grande dame of passenger ships.

Cunard, the QE2's British parent company, is owned by the American cruise giant Carnival Corp. But Capt. Ian McNaught says, "We're not a cruise ship. We're a passenger liner." Touches of luxury abound, from the library, casino, kennel and spa to the Harrods department store aboard.

The QE2, which has been sailing since 1969, will soon make its last transatlantic voyage but will continue to sail the Mediterranean and the waters off Northern Europe. The even bigger Queen Mary 2 will take over her trans-Atlantic duties in 2004.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Susan Stamberg was one of NPR's "founding mothers" (she also coined the phrase). She joined the network at the time of its inception in 1971, and her career at NPR spanned more than five decades.

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