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Queen Mary 2 sails into Dubai as part of global world cruise

DUBAI — Queen Mary 2, the world’s largest ocean liner, arrived in Dubai for the first time yesterday as part of its maiden global world cruise.

By A Staff Reporter

Published: Mon 12 Mar 2007, 8:47 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 3:56 AM

As it docked at the state-of-the-art Dubai Cruise Terminal (DCT) in the Port Rashid complex, the 1,132-feet-long and 72-metre tall vessel made history by becoming the largest ship ever to enter Dubai, the region’s pioneering cruise hub.

A host of government officials and dignitaries led by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) Director-General Khalid A bin Sulayem, and DCT Acting Manager Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi joined the fanfare to welcome 4,200 passengers, including 1,600 crew members.

The cruise liner has arrived from the Indian port city of Kochi and is scheduled to sail to Egypt. Passengers included tourists from Australia, United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Aside from being part of a passenger exchange programme, the Queen Mary 2 passengers were provided glimpses into the emirate’s rich culture and heritage by UAE tourist guides.

Operated by Cunard Line, the world’s grandest ocean liner started its around-the-world-in-80-days journey on January 11 from Fort Lauderdale in the US and after circumnavigating the globe and covering 38,000 nautical miles, it will return to the port on April 2.

The ship has 19 decks which equals the height of a 23-storey building. The ship is only 118 feet shorter than the Empire State Building. The Queen Mary 2 has the largest ballroom and the only planetarium at sea. Queen Mary 2 entered service in January 2004 and is the largest, longest, widest, tallest and most expensive passenger ship in history. It is the first passenger liner purpose-built for trans-Atlantic service in 35 years.