Is Queen Elizabeth a Cruise Ship or Ocean Liner?

By Alice Nichols

The question of whether Queen Elizabeth is a cruise ship or an ocean liner is one that has been asked many times throughout the years. Queen Elizabeth is technically a cruise ship, but it carries some of the features of an ocean liner.

The Queen Elizabeth was built in 1938 by Cunard Line and launched on September 27th of that year. She was designed to be an ocean liner, and she was over 900 feet long and weighed in at over 80,000 tons.

During World War II, she was used as a troopship, transporting thousands of troops from Britain to North Africa and back. After the war ended, she returned to service as a passenger liner for transatlantic crossings.

In 1967, the Queen Elizabeth underwent an extensive refit and emerged as a modern cruise ship with many amenities such as air conditioning and elevators. She could now accommodate up to 1,800 passengers in her 956 cabins. In addition to the usual cruise activities like swimming pools and spas, the Queen Elizabeth also had some features reminiscent of an ocean liner such as ballrooms, libraries, movie theatres and shops.

Today the Queen Elizabeth continues its service as a cruise ship offering voyages around the world with stops in some amazing ports such as Sydney or Rio de Janeiro. However, its history as an ocean liner has left it with some unique features that allow it to provide guests with a more traditional experience than other modern cruise ships.

In conclusion, although technically classified as a cruise ship due to its modern amenities, Queen Elizabeth still retains some of its original characteristics from when it was an ocean liner which gives it more character than other contemporary vessels.