Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 39 days

Following yesterday’s exciting news that Her Majesty will be naming Queen Elizabeth on 11 October, our new Queen is getting closer to completion. She is now making her way back to Monfalcone, whilst undergoing her second set of sea trials, and on this Blog I have some exclusive pictures from the dry dock in Trieste which I received just a couple of days ago. Firstly though as usual, it’s time for this week in Cunard’s history for the week of 27 August to 2 September.

Thanks as usual for all your comments; it’s great to hear that you are as excited as we are that Her Majesty will be naming the third Cunarder to bear the name Queen Elizabeth, and how wonderful it is to see her name glistening after her new paintwork in dry dock:

Following her sea trials Queen Elizabeth has been in dry dock in Trieste, Italy receiving her final coat of paint before going in to service in less than six weeks time. This is a view of her bulbous bow and bow thrusters with a unique view of her bow as the water came back in to the dry dock, before she left for her second set of sea trials.

Meanwhile at her stern, her Azipods were also prepared for her sea going career; and what a difference, as they touched the water coming in to the dry dock:

This is the view of Queen Elizabeth’s starboard side stabiliser, again ready for sea.

What a great shot this is of the water entering the dry dock touching our new Queen’s newly painted and treated hull, ready for her second set of sea trials and entering in to service.

Although a huge amount of work has been taking place on the ship’s hull, progress is as fast as ever on board, with many areas being transformed in just a couple of weeks since our last set of photos. Here for example is the Games Deck, where final preparations are being made in the area where our guests will be playing Bowls, Croquet and Paddle Tennis:

Meanwhile at the other end of our new Queen, the expansive Lido pool area has the lighting in place, and the pool is certainly looking very welcoming in the beautiful Italian sunshine.

And in Queen Elizabeth’s stunning Garden Lounge, the mural above the bandstand is looking fantastic and makes a great centrepiece to this venue.

Then Cunard’s latest Queen was on her way for her next set of sea trials, looking superb with her newly painted livery. She is now heading back to Monfalcone for the last stage of outfitting and preparation for service, with Captain Chris Wells observing the latest trials.

Big thanks to Chris Knowles, Queen Elizabeth’s Senior Production Manager, for taking these amazing pictures and for sending them to me to post.

By the time Queen Elizabeth reaches Monfalcone, more and more of the ship’s company will be arriving in the shipyard, but the majority won’t be arriving for another couple of weeks or so, when they’ll be able to move straight on board.

I’ll be flying out in just 10 days time and will certainly look forward to seeing our new Queen, and rest assured I’ll keep you fully updated with all the news as it happens.

Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday, with news of Queen Mary 2 latest star of the month as well as other news from around the Cunard world. Cheers for now, Alastair