The Cunard Line's luxury cruise ship MS Queen Elizabeth stopped over in Palma on Sunday, the first of what will be a number of visits to Mallorca during the autumn. The ship's itinerary in the Mediterranean includes Barcelona, Ajaccio, Naples and Rome as well as Palma. A not unfamiliar sight in Palma, the ship docked in the port a year ago as the season in the Med got under way.
The ship was built at the Fincantieri Monfalcone Shipyard in Italy and was named by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in Southampton in October 2010. The maiden voyage was to the Canary Islands, leaving Southampton on October 12 that year.
The design was a tribute to the two previous Cunard Queen Elizabeth ships - the original RMS Queen Elizabeth that was launched in 1938 and named in honour of King George VI's wife, later the Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth 2 (the QE2).
There are many art deco features reminiscent of the 1930s. Passenger capacity is just over 2,000, which doesn't therefore place the Queen Elizabeth in the mega-cruise ship category.