Yesterday, Cunard kicked off the company’s 175th Anniversary celebrations in the US by paying homage to the Queen Mary when Queen Elizabeth docked in the port of Long Beach, California for the first time.

Well-wishers turned out for the festivities which featured an emotional speech read by the Queen Mary’s Commodore Everette Hoard to the gathered crowd about the history of the Queen Mary, currently celebrating her  80th year in public life. 

Whistle salutes between the two ships followed, and a dazzling fireworks display finished the day as the ship pulled away from her berth.

Earlier in the day, the Queen Mary debuted their new Ship Model Gallery, featuring Cunard models of Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and QE2, along with the original Bassett-Lowke shipbuilder’s model of the Queen Mary – a spectacular and historically significant ship model measuring over 20 feet in length.

In attendance for the celebratory ribbon-cutting was (L-R):  President of Cunard, North America, Richard Meadows, Bernadette Greene, Deputy British Consul-General of Los Angeles; Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia; John Jenkins, General Manager of the Queen Mary, and Everette Hoard, Commodore of the Queen Mary. Master of Queen Elizabeth Captain Alistair Clark was also in attendance.