Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, January 27
    Trending
    • This Day in History on January 27th
    • History Short: Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on January 26th
    • History Short: Who is the Octomom?
    • This Day in History on January 25th
    • History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh
    • Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»January»January 12»January 12, 2004: The RMS Queen Mary 2, the Largest Passenger Ocean Liner, Sails
    January 12

    January 12, 2004: The RMS Queen Mary 2, the Largest Passenger Ocean Liner, Sails

    Major DanBy Major DanJanuary 12, 2015Updated:January 5, 20211 Comment3 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Queen Mary 2

    A Brief History

    On January 12, 2004, the RMS Queen Mary 2, flagship of the Cunard Line, left port on its maiden voyage after having been christened 4 days earlier by Queen Elizabeth II.  Built at a cost of $900 million (£460 million) to eventually replace the aging RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, that price equated to approximately $300,000 for every one of the 2,620 passenger berths.  The luxury liner also carries over 1,200 crew members. 

    Digging Deeper

    The second ocean liner to be named after the wife of King George V, the QM2 is massive at 1,132 feet long by about 147 feet wide.  She displaces over 75,000 tons (148,000 gross tons) and can motor along at 30 knots.  Although a British project, she was built in France.

    At the time of her construction, she was the largest passenger ship afloat, until 2 years later in 2006, when an even bigger ship, Royal Caribbean’s MS Freedom of the Seas, was built.  Although the younger ship can hold up to 3,634 passengers and 1,300 crew, she is 20 feet shorter and 5 feet narrower than the QM2.  The Freedom of the Seas, however, is a cruise ship and not an ocean liner like the RMS Queen Mary 2.   

    H&H Notes: Ocean liners such as the RMS Queen Mary 2 are built with the rougher waters of the open ocean in mind.  They have more storage room for food, water and fuel than cruise ships such as the MS Freedom of the Seas.  As an ocean liner, the Queen is also made of thicker and sturdier steel than the Freedom which is not built to cover long distances of travel quickly but instead is meant to dock at ports regularly, and chugs along at 10 knots slower than the Queen.

    The MS Freedom of the Seas did not carry the distinction of being the largest passenger ship for long.  In 2009 and 2010, Royal Caribbean introduced its two Oasis-class ships, the MS Oasis of the Seas and the MS Allure of the Seas.  These two cruise vessels can carry over 6,000 passengers and approximately 2,400 crew members.  At approximately 1,187 feet long and up to 198 feet wide, they are also larger in size than even the RMS Queen Mary 2.

    Question for students (and subscribers): What is the biggest ship you have ever been on?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Payne, Stephen.  RMS Queen Mary 2 Manual: An insight into the design, construction and operation of the world’s largest ocean liner.  Haynes Publishing UK, 2013.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph by Markus Würfel of RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

    You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleThe Designated Hitter Rule, Good or Bad?
    Next Article January 13, 1942: First Ejection Seat Used in Jet Fighter
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh

    January 25, 2023

    History Short: Ukrainian Canadian Woman Becomes the First Neurologist in Space

    January 22, 2023

    History Short: What the Heck is the “Antarctic pole of inaccessibility?”

    January 19, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on January 27th

    January 27, 2023

    History Short: Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?

    January 27, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 26th

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: Who is the Octomom?

    January 26, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.