Home » BREVARD HISTORY: SS Queen Elizabeth II Made Her Inaugural Visit to Port Canaveral 39 Years Ago

BREVARD HISTORY: SS Queen Elizabeth II Made Her Inaugural Visit to Port Canaveral 39 Years Ago

By  //  July 14, 2019

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inaugural visit to Port was December 8, 1980

The SS Queen Elizabeth 2 made her inaugural visit to the Port on December 8, 1980, docking at what is now the North Cargo Berth 2. The SS Queen Elizabeth 2 made her inaugural visit to the Port on December 8, 1980, docking at what is now the North Cargo Berth 2. (Port Canaveral image)

BREVARD COUNTY • PORT CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – It seems that December was a month for Port Canaveral to host royalty, historically speaking.

The SS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) made her inaugural visit to the Port on December 8, 1980, docking at what is now the North Cargo Berth 2.

A year later on December 12, 1981, the luxury liner returned for her second call.

She would make three more visits to Port Canaveral over the years, the last being in January 2001 before her retirement.

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QE2 was designed for the transatlantic service from her home port of Southampton, UK to New York, and she was named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth.

She served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. QE2 was designed in Cunard’s offices in Liverpool and Southampton and built in Clydebank, Scotland.

She was considered the last of the great transatlantic ocean liners until Queen Mary 2 entered service.

Queen Elizabeth 2  now operates as a floating hotel in Dubai.

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Queen Elizabeth II made her first visit to Port Canaveral in December 1980. At the top of the photo, the USNS Hayes is berthed at North Cargo Pier 3. (Port Canaveral image)

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