![Crowds wave from the quayside as the new Cunard Liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sets out on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, 2nd May 1969. (Photo by Potter/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/W5AH3VJVLKGWFT6Y6QQ5O4HLM4.jpg?smart=true&auth=b1a6656d074d8347cf110a522059caef0b67f5c7f989c3b754809d57889eb228&width=400&height=225)
Crowds wave from the quayside as the QE2 sets out on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1969. Potter / Daily Express
Crowds wave from the quayside as the QE2 sets out on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1969. Potter / Daily Express
Abandoned ships: what happens to the great ocean liners once they've completed their final voyage?
For the QE2, a new lease of life as a 'royal experience' is on the horizon, but not all retired ships are so lucky