The Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed into and out of New York City Thursday for the very last time.
Cunard Line's 41-year-old vessel, which heads to retirement in Dubai in November, made its final visit to New York today, occupying its traditional slip at Manhattan's West Side cruise terminal, where it held a farewell luncheon for press and travel agents.
It left the city at about 5 p.m. before making a rendezvous with the Queen Mary 2, also in town, and which will set sail back to Southampton, England, alongside the QE2 for its last transatlantic crossing.
The QE2 will makes it final sailing for Cunard in November from Southampton to Dubai, where it will serve as a luxury floating hotel and entertainment destination at The Palm Jumeirah.
The Cunard fleet, which also includes the Queen Victoria, will be joined by a new Queen Elizabeth in 2010.