Royal Rendezvous

Fireworks light up the sky over New York harbor as the Queen Mary 2, right, Queen Victoria, center, and Queen Elizabeth 2 rendezvous near the Statue of Liberty Jan. 13, 2008. This is the only time the three Queen ships will ever meet. The QE2, one of the world's most famous ships, will be decommissioned in the fall and turned into a floating five-star hotel in the United Arab Emirates.

The Queen Victoria, the newest of the Cunard line ships, makes its way down the Hudson River toward New York Harbor to rendezvous with its sister ships, the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, in New York. The ship was christened Dec. 10, 2007, in Southampton, England, by Camilla Parker Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Queen Mary 2 sits in New York Harbor at the tip of Manhattan waiting to rendezvous with her sister ships, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth 2 Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, in New York harbor. The 151,000-ton QM2, which began sailing in 2004, is the largest of the three, carrying 2,592 passengers in 1,296 staterooms, plus 1,253 crew members.

Fireworks explode in the skies over the Queen Mary 2 in New York Harbor, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. Three Cunard Line ships, the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed together for the first and only time. The Queen Victoria and the QE2 left England and crossed the Atlantic in tandem for Sunday's event. They are scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday.

The Queen Mary 2, bottom, leads the way into up the Hudson River into New York Harbor with the Queen Victoria, center, and Queen Elizabeth 2 not far behind as the three Cunard line ships prepare to rendezvous for a fireworks display Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008, in New York. All three Queen ships are black and white, with Cunard's trademark red-and-black smokestack.

Fireworks explode in the skies over the Queen Mary 2, left, and the Queen Victoria as they sail out of New York Harbor, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. The two grand ships, plus the Queen Elizabeth 2, lined up in front of the Statue of Liberty, holding their positions for a few minutes after 8 p.m. as fireworks lit the sky. Then they slowly moved across New York Harbor, the Queen Mary leading the other two.

Fireworks explode behind the Statue of Liberty and above the Queen Mary 2 as it awaits the arrival of two other Cunard Line ships in New York Harbor, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. The QM2, the Queen Victoria, and the Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed together for the first and only time. This is the Queen Victoria's first trip around the world and the QE2's 26th and last.

Fireworks explode in the skies over three Cunard Queen ships, the flagship Queen Mary 2, left, the Queen Victoria, center, and the Queen Elizabeth 2 as they sail out of New York Harbor, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. The three grand ships lined up in front of the Statue of Liberty, holding their positions for a few minutes after 8 p.m. as fireworks lit the sky.