[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 260]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN RECOGNITION OF THE ``QUEEN MARY II''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. E. CLAY SHAW, JR.

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 21, 2004

  Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, January 26, 2004, the world's 
newest and grandest passenger cruise ship, the Queen Mary II, makes its 
first international port of call to one of the world's premier cruise 
ports, Port Everglades located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 
The Queen Mary II embarked on its two-week maiden voyage on Monday, 
January 12 following an extraordinary send-off amid fireworks and 
hundreds of well wishers from its home port of Southampton, England.
  Named after her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mary II 
is a state-of-the-art, luxury passenger vessel. In fact, the Queen Mary 
II is 1,132 feet in length, 236 feet in height, top speed of 
approximately 30 knots, and includes a crew of 1,253 and maximum 
capacity of 2,620 passengers. An impressive list of vital statistics.
  It is a great privilege to have the Queen Mary II and her crew visit 
Fort Lauderdale. Port Everglades remains one of the nation's busiest 
ports in both commercial and passenger traffic. Port Everglades has 
become a major embarkation point along the east coast. In 2003, Port 
Everglades experienced 3,072,343 passengers through its cruise ship 
terminal generating more than $89 million in total annual operating 
revenue. The continued success of Port Everglades is a testament to the 
financial commitment of the Broward County Board of County 
Commissioners and the stewardship of Port Director Ken Krauter.
  Port Everglades is the port of call for more than 5,400 ships. Port 
Everglades is home to a number of seasonal or year-round ships 
representing a wide array of cruise lines; including Carnival, 
Celebrity, Costa, Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, Imperial Majesty, 
Mediterranean Shipping, Orient, Princess, Radisson Seven Seas, Regal, 
Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn and Silversea.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Broward County, Port Everglades, and the 
residents of South Florida, I welcome the Queen Mary II, Captain Ron 
Warwick, and crew to Fort Lauderdale on the occasion of entering their 
first port of call, and wish her and her crew many years of calm and 
safe seas on the many journeys across the Atlantic.

                          ____________________