Queen Mary 2 makes a mammoth stop in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — The mammoth Queen Mary 2 ocean liner passed under the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday, clearing the bottom of the span by 27 feet before the vessel began a nail-bitingly tight tour of San Francisco Bay.

 
The ship was surrounded by scores of sailboats and other water craft as it slid slowly into the bay.

 
The visit is one of the riskiest passages in modern maritime history — and a chance for 2,638 passengers to glimpse the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's also a pit stop for the 1,250-person crew to pick up 150 tons of food.

 
The hulking QM2 is the largest vessel ever to enter San Francisco Bay, said Cindy Adams, a spokeswoman for Cunard Line. It has traveled 14,145 miles from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., around South America's Cape Horn. It will continue today to Honolulu, then to the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Egypt and Europe before returning to Florida on April 2.

 
The vessel is 134.5 feet wide and 1,131 feet long — as long as some skyscrapers are tall.

The Queen
Mary 2 has been praised as a marvel of traditional cruising melded with
the most modern technology available since it went into service in
2004. It has the largest ballroom at sea, and the only planetarium at
sea.

 
The cheapest price for the complete 80-day around the world
journey is about $21,200 -- but that's for the smallest cabin, with no
windows, near the bottom of the ship. The best suite on the ship, the
Balmoral Suite at 2,250 square feet, for the entire trek runs nearly
$184,400.