Business | Tourism
Opinions mixed on makeover of maritime icon
People had mixed reactions to the news that one of the legendary ships will come to Dubai to be turned into a floating hotel.
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:37 June 18, 2007
Dubai: People had mixed reactions to the news that one of the legendary ships will come to Dubai to be turned into a floating hotel.
Omna Menon, a Dubai-based social worker, said the QE2 should remain a cruise ship. "It's like a monument and should continue to be a ship, unless it's falling apart. More than 20 years ago my husband and I went on a cruise but I get terribly seasick so we cancelled twice before we finally went. For this monument to be moored at the Palm and be a hotel is going away from the culture of the ship," she said.
But she said Dubai would be "the best place for it to be a floating hotel because it wouldn't get as much adulation in the UK."
Sara-Lise Haith, a Dubai-based scuba diving instructor, has a dislike for cruise ships as their "anchors destroy coral reefs and their effluent leaks into the sea."
"I was in Hawaii recently and the ocean line is spoiled by cruise ships. I think the QE2 should be in a port where people can go and view it, not parked off the Palm Island. Do residents there really want a massive floating structure to block their view? To save the cruise ship is great but what does it have to do historically with the UAE? Not much."
Sunil Bhatia, a businessman, considers it a good idea. "It's good for Dubai. The more attractions the better. There is a room shortage here so new ideas are needed. As a tourist destination, it's good that the ship will be here. I think I would book friends into the hotel and I would go and visit it," Bhatia said.
Rasha Bu-zan, 32, a realtor in Abu Dhabi, said she would also visit the ship when it arrives here.
"I would definitely travel to Dubai to see it. If they have the ship because it is retiring as a cruise ship then I think it's definitely better to have it in the UAE rather than getting rid of it. Here there are more nationalities that would come and see it."
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