South Africa Says "No" to QE2

Dubai World's QE2 won't end up in Cape Town, South Africa after all. That's the word this morning from an article in Maktoob Business, a Middle East news service.

Originally, the former Cunard "queen" was to have been berthed in Dubai where it would be retrofitted into a top-tier luxury hotel. When the bottom dropped out of Dubai's economy, Dubai World looked for other ways to monetize the ship. They considered sailing the ocean liner (without passengers) to Cape Town where she would welcome guests during this summer's 2010 World Cup.

South African authorities nixed the idea however when it was discovered that Dubai World actually wanted to leave the ship in country long after the end of the World Cup.

It will be interesting to see where QE2 ends up now. Stay tuned.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photo courtesy of Nakheel