Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 got a royal send-off recently as it left New York for its final trans-Atlantic voyage to Southampton, England, marking the end of more than 40 years as the world's most famous ocean liner.

It was on a series of farewell sailings before her final voyage this month to Dubai, where it is to become a floating resort.

"There will never be another QE2. We'll remember her for a very long time, and she has had a wonderful life," said Cunard President and Managing Director Carol Marlow.

On her 710th and final call in the Big Apple last month, the iconic passenger vessel sailed through New York Harbor for the last time, escorted by the Coast Guard and fireboats, and meeting her sister ship, Queen Mary 2, for their final "Royal Rendezvous" at the Statue of Liberty before departing in tandem for Southampton.

The QE2 has sailed more than 5.5 million nautical miles — or 6.3 million land miles — completed 24 world cruises and carried more than 2 million guests since it was launched in 1967. Guests have included the British royal family and many heads of state as well as celebrities including Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Nelson Mandela.

The ship is known as one of the world's greatest luxury ocean liners — a world cruise in one of the QE2's most expensive suites could cost upwards of $250,000 — but the QE2 also was requisitioned for military service by the British government in 1982, when it became the world's largest hospital ship, transporting troops injured during the Falklands War.

The ship was built in Clydebank, Scotland.

While the QE2's popularity never flagged, it was eventually overtaken by newer and more technologically advanced cruise ships, including her siblings, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. Cunard expects to take delivery of a new 92,000-ton liner to be named Queen Elizabeth in fall 2010. The ship is being built in Italy at an estimated cost of $993 million. Cunard sold the Queen Elizabeth 2 to Dubai World for $100 million; it will become a floating hotel, retail and entertainment center at The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai.

While many loyal passengers may find it sad that the ship will no longer be in service, Cunard's Marlow says the deal quite possibly saved the ship. "She may well have gone to the scrapyard and ended up as scrap metal, and that would have been a dreadful end to a wonderful ship," said Marlow. "So I'm delighted that future generations will be able to enjoy her."

The Queen Elizabeth 2 follows another famous Cunard liner into retirement as a floating hotel. The Queen Mary, which sailed the North Atlantic between 1936 and 1967, is permanently berthed in Long Beach, Calif., as a ship museum and hotel.