Continuing on her maiden New England & Canadian Adventure voyage, Cunard Line’s newest ship, Queen Elizabeth, made her first visit to Boston, Massachusetts yesterday. As part of the traditional maiden call plaque ceremony, local dignitaries and ships personnel presented plaques to each other to commemorate the special day.
Welcoming Queen Elizabeth to the historic port were David Mackey, Interim CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), along with local dignitaries, and port and local tourism officials.
“The Port of Boston is honored to welcome Queen Elizabeth. The cruising industry continues to generate significant economic impact for our region, with more than 7,000 jobs and $429 million in income for Massachusetts in 2010,” said David Mackey. “Cunard Line’s historic ties with the Port of Boston have certainly contributed to these activities, and we look forward to welcoming Queen Elizabeth again on her future voyages.”
The city of Boston is significant for Cunard Line, being the first U.S. city that the company’s first passenger ship, Britannia, called on at the conclusion of her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England in 1840.
“We are pleased to celebrate our relationship and strong longtime Boston ties with valued port officials, the Coast Guard, the British Consulate and Shreve, Crump & Low, as well as other Bostonians here today. We appreciate their passion about our history and also our future as the youngest fleet at sea,” said Captain Christopher Wells, Master of Queen Elizabeth.
Joining the celebration to welcome Cunard’s newest ocean liner was Nancy Haas of Shreve, Crump & Low, America’s oldest and finest jeweller, who presented an exclusive Boston Harbor Bowl to Captain Wells in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s maiden visit. The jeweller’s historic ties with Cunard date back to 1840 when Shreve, Crump & Low created a 2.5 foot silver cup that was to be presented to Sir Samuel Cunard. The “Boston Cup” went missing and was found in 1967 in an antique store in Maryland. Cunard purchased the cup and later displayed it on board Queen Elizabeth 2, and it now resides on board the line’s flagship Queen Mary 2.
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