QE2 in the Daily Mail 7 June 2009

What's happening to the QE2? No work carried out to transform the liner into a floating hotel eight months after leaving the UK
• By Katy Hastings
Article published by the Daily Mail on-line on 7 June 2009. Link kindly sent by Michael Sutcliffe
It's a sad end for the ship that was once the pride of Britain.
A birds-eye view shows the QE2 docked at in Dubai - but eight months after the iconic liner arrived in her final resting place no work appears to have been carried out to transform her into a luxury floating hotel.
The solitary ship stands alone against the backdrop of Dubai's dramatic skyline in a remote dockyard.
But the lack of work is fuelling speculation she could be sold off instead of becoming a hotel.
There is no sign of activity on the liner, which was bought for £50m by real estate developer Nakheel in the United Arab Emirates.
The only movement is the occasional wisp of smoke from the funnel where the engines are kept turning over to keep air circulating.
The owners have denied speculation that the cruise ship will be sold on instead of becoming a hotel.
The company has told the BBC the ship is not up for sale, even though work on the refurbishment has not begun.
Nakheel has said it will make the QE2 the centrepiece of the Palm Jumeirah development on the Dubai waterfront.
Last year, Nakheel said the QE2's giant red funnel would be sliced off and placed on the waterfront.
It said a glass penthouse - the most exclusive hotel room in Dubai - would be built in its place.
Every cabin was to be replaced with new, larger bedrooms and the engine space filled with a theatre, ahead of a scheduled opening next year.
The new-look vessel was also set to have a heritage museum displaying artefacts from the ship and from maritime history.
The cruise ship, which was Southampton-based during its life, reached Dubai on November 26.
Tens of thousands of people lined Southampton Water on 11 November to see the 70,000-tonne ship leave UK waters for the last time.
During her lifetime she acted as a troop ship in the Falklands Conflict in 1982, sailed more than five million nautical miles and completed 25 world cruises.
Her library, the largest still afloat, and grand ballroom have been transcended by new liners which boast everything from skating rinks to rock-climbing walls.