Queen Mary Has Royal Rendezvous In Long Beach With Queen Elizabeth II
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Royalty met Thursday for the first time in the Port of Long Beach.
The Queen Mary was visited by her "niece,"the Queen Elizabeth II, when she pulled into a nearby dock around 7 :30 a.m.
It is the first time a modern Cunard liner, which is in the midst of a global cruise, will dock and disembark passengers in the Long Beach harbor.
The Queen Elizabeth is a replica of the original ship, which, along with the Queen Mary, made more than 2,000 trans-Atlantic crossings while in service.
Both Cunard and the Queen Mary are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year.
Cunard is marking 175 years since the first Transatlantic Crossing from England to the United States. The Queen Mary is commemorating 80 years afloat.
Admission to the Queen Mary will be free all day.
Cunard will also donate three iconic ship models to the Queen Mary's new 65,000-square-foot Maritime Museum & Science Center, which is scheduled to open in 2016.
The Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to leave the harbor at about 6 p.m., with an accompanying fireworks show launched aboard the Queen Mary.
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