Say goodbye to the QE2

Do you cherish the memories and photographs of your cruise on the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2? Is your dream to don a ball gown and dine in style on a luxurious ocean liner? If so, your spirits may sink just a bit when you learn that [% 9732 | | Cunard %] has sold the QE2.

In a $100 million deal, the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai bought the cruise ship from its owner of 40 years. Cunard will deliver the QE2 in November 2008, so you still have time for one last voyage. After that, the vessel will become a floating hotel, shopping area, and entertainment district at the Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island in the shape of a palm tree. The ship will be refurbished to bring back its original look and furnishing style.

If you’re wealthy enough to afford first-class lodgings on the ocean liner, you’ll still be able to visit the QE2 in her new Middle Eastern home. For the rest of us, we may still be left with our dreams of grandeur on the open ocean—or at a man-made port.