PAULINE PRESCOTT OFFICIALLY RE-OPENS LANDMARK QUEEN ELIZABETH II CRUISE TERMINAL
Mrs Pauline Prescott, wife of the Rt Hon. John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister, will be the guest of honour of Associated British Ports (ABP) today (Friday 3, October) when she officially re-opens ABP’s newly modernised Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal at its Port of Southampton, where the cruise industry is breaking records.
The official re-opening of the terminal marks one of the highlights of ABP’s year-long investment programme in its cruise terminals at Southampton, worth over £10 million. It comes as the South Coast port prepares for the arrival of the world’s largest cruise liner Queen Mary 2 (QM2), which is scheduled to arrive in Southampton at the end of December this year.
The arrival of QM2 will be the climax of a record-breaking cruise season at Southampton, where the number of cruise calls has doubled in the last six years. The port has also recorded the greatest number of maiden cruise-ship callers in a single year.
At a ceremony and reception to be hosted by Bo Lerenius, Group Chief Executive, ABP Holdings PLC, and Andrew Kent, ABP Port Director, Southampton, Mrs Prescott will re-open the terminal which has recently undergone a £2 million extensive modernisation programme providing the extra 50 per cent passenger capacity required when QM2 starts her regular sailings from the port in 2004.
Mrs Prescott, whose husband worked for 10 years on various Cunard Liners, will meet representatives from the cruise industry and the port community as she visits the facility.
Bo Lerenius said:
“The international reputation of the Port of Southampton grew around transatlantic travel and legendary passenger liners, as symbolised by Cunard’s historic liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. When Southampton comes, yet again, under the world’s spotlight at the end of the year, I know that ABP’s QEII Terminal will be a worthy facility fit to welcome yet another ‘Cunard Queen’.”
ABP Southampton and Cunard Line have enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship, which has been borne out in the terminal’s history, as Andrew Kent reflects:
“The major redevelopment of the QEII Terminal echoes sentiments and events of the past because, just as we are preparing the terminal for the arrival of Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, so this event mirrors almost exactly the actions of my predecessors when they designed and built the terminal with Queen Elizabeth 2 in mind.”
As Senior Vice-President representing Cunard Line, Peter Shanks said:
“The QEII Terminal is an important part of our heritage. The refurbishment is timely as we look forward to the excitement of welcoming Queen Mary 2 to her home port of Southampton in December.”
This investment by ABP to modernise the QEII Terminal – Cunard’s traditional home berth – reaffirms Southampton as the home port for Cunard’s entire fleet until 2009. Key works have included a brand-new overhead gangway; enhanced baggage-hall facilities, improvements to the embarkation lounge, allowing for twice as many check-in desks, and the refurbishment of the waiting lounge.
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