Royal cruise liners dock in Sydney
Two of the world's biggest cruise ships have sailed into Sydney Harbour as thousands of people line the foreshore to see the majestic cruise liners during their Sydney stopover.
The Queen Mary 2 and The Queen Elizabeth sailed through the heads at around 5.30 this morning, flanked by water police and dozens of pleasure craft.
The Queen Elizabeth met up with her sister ship in the early hours of the morning before the two made their way through heads and sounded their horns at Fort Denison.
Today’s visit is the first by Cunards newest liner, Queen Elizabeth, which will travel around Australia on her maiden voyage after spending tonight docked in Sydney Harbour.
Speaking to Sunrise this morning, Cunard boss Peter Shanks said the royal rendezvous was a special moment for the organization.
"It’s a very proud day for all of us, for our new liner Queen Elizabeth to be here in Sydney is fabulous", he said, "But what better way than for her to be escorted in by our flagship, Queen Mary 2."
Cunard's newest cruise liner is almost 300 metres long, has two anchors, four pools, six engines and 700 rooms for over 2000 guests.
Not to be outdone, her older sister weighs over 90,000 tonnes, and has the world's only floating planetarium, global internet coverage and the world’s biggest floating library with over 8000 books.
6000 passengers and crew from the two ships are expected to inject more than thee million dollars into the local economy.
The visit marks the beginning of a busy week for the Sydney, with another seven liners stopping in the Harbour city this week.
For those wishing to catch a glimpse of the liners, Queen Mary 2 is docked at Garden Island while Queen Elizabeth will spend the night at Cicular Quay.
