RMS Queen Mary 2

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The Queen Mary 2 is a Cunard Line passenger ship named after the earlier Cunard liner Queen Mary, which was in turn named after Mary of Teck. At the time of her construction in 2003, the Queen Mary 2 was in every dimension the largest passenger ship ever built. However, she will lose this title to Royal Caribbean International's Freedom of the Seas in May 2006. Her luxuries include 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, and a planetarium.

Related Topics:
Cunard Line - Passenger ship - ''Queen Mary'' - Mary of Teck - 2003 - Royal Caribbean International - Freedom of the Seas - Casino - Planetarium

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The Queen Mary 2 (QM2) is the current Cunard flagship and makes regular transatlantic crossings. The ship was constructed to replace the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), which was the Cunard flagship from 1969 to 2004. The first RMS Queen Mary sailed the Atlantic from 1936 to 1967.

Related Topics:
Transatlantic - RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' - 1969 - 2004 - Atlantic - 1936 - 1967

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The ship prefix "RMS" is affixed to the QM2, which used to stand for "Royal Mail Steamer," but which now stands for "Royal Mail Ship." The QM2 is not a steamship like her predecessors, but is powered by gas turbines and diesel generators which produce the power to drive her four electric motors. In addition, as with her predecessors, she is a transatlantic ocean liner, as opposed to a cruise ship.

Related Topics:
Royal Mail Steamer - Royal Mail Ship - Steamship - Gas turbine - Diesel - Ocean liner - Cruise ship

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While the QM2 is the largest passenger ship, there are larger ships. Many supertankers, carrying crude oil in bulk, are of larger displacement when fully loaded (with the largest, built in the 1970's displacing 400 to 500,000 tons, far larger than any other ships). Their structural steel frames, however, are a much lower component of their total laden mass than in other ships and they are of relatively simple construction.

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