'QUEEN MARY 2'S' HISTORIC JOURNEY

Sailing by the Statue of Liberty (Credit: Cunard)

As  the Queen Mary 2 makes her historic 200th crossing, Cunard is providing updates on her trip. Here is the latest:

"Cunard Line’s flagship Queen Mary 2 is making her historic 200th Transatlantic Crossing, having sailed from New York on Saturday en route to her home port of Southampton, England, arriving July 13.

"To mark the beginning of the historic voyage from New York, Queen Mary 2 performed a sail-by of the world’s most iconic statue atop Liberty Island. On board are keynote speakers presenting talks about the ship’s design, as well as special Big Band performances, and a celebratory Gala Dinner to be held on July 11.

"In the course of Queen Mary 2’s 200 Transatlantic Crossings, Cunard Line estimates that a half-million passengers have consumed 8.4 million cups of tea; 980,000 scones; 481,000 bottles of champagne; 644,000 eggs; and 253,605 gallons of milk. In total, 22.4 million meals have been served over 600,000 nautical miles, excluding the ship’s annual World Cruise and sailings to the Canaries, Fjords, Iceland, the Low Countries, around Britain, up to Montreal and Québec in Canada, and among the Caribbean islands.


"Also noteworthy, over the course of Queen Mary’s 200 Transatlantic Crossings, more than 1,000 dogs have been pampered in the only kennel facilities aboard a passenger ship.

"To commemorate the 200th Crossing and as part of the line’s award-winning Cunard Insights on board enrichment program, Stephen Payne OBE, who was largely responsible for the overall design of Queen Mary 2, is presenting a fascinating insight into the ship’s construction. He will also be guest of honor at the formal Gala evening dinner on July 11.

" 'Queen Mary 2 embodies the attributes of a true liner, including reserves of stability and deep draught. Combined with her great size, these attributes ensure that the ship can achieve a level of Atlantic sea-keeping superior to any other liner in history,' said Payne. 'No other passenger ship is as much at home on the North Atlantic as Queen Mary 2.' "