Queen Mary To Meet 'Niece' Ship Queen Elizabeth In Long Beach
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Two queens are set to meet Thursday in Long Beach.
The queen Elizabeth, in the midst of a global cruise is scheduled to dock at about 7 a.m. within sight of the Queen Mary, which is permanently moored in the harbor. The original Queen Elizabeth was the Queen Mary's sister ship.
The two ships made more than 2,000 trans-Atlantic crossings when they were both in service for Cunard, and Thursday will be the first time a modern Cunard liner will dock and disembark passengers in Long Beach harbor.
"Queen Elizabeth will berth adjacent to the Queen Mary, and her arrival will begin a daylong series of events and activities to celebrate the unprecedented meeting of ships," Queen Mary General Manager John Jenkins said.
Admission to the Queen Mary will be free all day. The Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to leave the harbor at about 6 p.m., with an accompanying fireworks show launched aboard the Queen Mary.
Officials said prior visits by Cunard vessels were restricted to the vessels floating nearby, not docking.
As part of the day's events, Queen Mary officials will dedicate a Ship Model Gallery on the Promenade Deck, marking the beginning of an effort to create a "world-class maritime museum and learning center" aboard the ship.
The gallery will include models of ships including Titanic, Lusitania, Britannia, Oregon, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)