A Royal Rendezvous

Cunard kicked off the company’s 175th Anniversary celebrations earlier this month by paying homage to the Queen Mary when the Queen Elizabeth docked in the port of Long Beach, California for the first time. The ship was greeted by enthusiastic well-wishers who were on hand for the festivities which included an emotional speech read by the Queen Mary’s Commodore Everette Hoard to the gathered crowd about the history of the Queen Mary, currently celebrating her 80th year in public life. Whistle salutes between the two ships followed, and a dazzling fireworks display finished the day as the ship pulled away from her berth.

This was the first time a Cunard ship had berthed in Long Beach since Queen Mary arrived at her retirement home in October 1967. In recent years the current Cunard fleet has saluted Queen Mary during brief visits to the harbour. Queen Mary will celebrate the 80th anniversary of her Maiden Voyage in May 2016.

Richard Meadows, president, Cunard, North America, said: “During our 175-year history, the Queen Mary has been one of our most beloved ships. This meeting of the Queens was especially memorable for our passengers, as this maiden call offered them the opportunity to disembark in Long Beach and experience the Queen Mary, an integral part of our history and tradition.”

Seen here at the ribbon cutting are Richard Meadows, president, Cunard, North America; Bernadette Greene, deputy British Consul-General of Los Angeles; Long Beach mayor, Robert Garcia; John Jenkins, general manager of the Queen Mary; and Everette Hoard, commodore of the Queen Mary.

Check out the video at http://youtu.be/uRvjO0xo4GA .

For more about the Queen Mary, go to http://www.queenmary.com and for more on Cunard, sail on over to http://www.cunard.com .