Queen elizabeth 2 cruise ship abandoned

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The QE2 on her way to Dubai

Every year nearly 20 tons of lobster and a ton of caviar were eaten on board, washed down with 70,000 bottles of the fi nest champagne.

For those with still more money to spend, the ship’s shopping arcade had 11 designer label boutiques and a branch of Harrods.

Today, however, 50 years after she was launched, the once magnificent QE2 is a discarded shell taking on rainwater and slowly gathering rust alongside a spartan dockside in Dubai’s commercial harbour, Port Rashid.

At a distance – and that’s how the security guards like to keep inquisitive tourists – the former Cunard flagship looks as if she is ready to cast off at any moment, full steam ahead on what would be her 1,375th voyage.

But close up the reality is tragically different.

Gone are the glorious days of pre-dinner cocktails in the Chart Room bar, formal meals at the captain’s table or late nights over liqueurs in the Yacht Club.

No longer