Queen Mary 2 v. Alcatraz Island

The other day, the Queen Mary 2 sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay for the first time. As we watched her cruise into the bay, the giant ship passed Alcatraz.

From the perspective of my home, which sits about 500 feet above sea level, the ship dwarfed the aircraft-carrier-sized rock that sits in the middle of the bay. I began to wonder how the perspective actually compared to reality.

QM2:

• Length: 345 meters / 1132 feet
• Beam: 40 meters / 135 feet
• Beam at Bridge Wings: 45 meters / 147.5 feet
• Height (Keel to Funnel): 72 meters / 236.2 feet

Alcatraz Island (Alcatraz)

• Length: 1750 feet
• Altitude above sea level: 25 meters
• Width: 525 feet across at the widest point
• Altitude above sea level: 25 meters

Alcatraz Island is longer, has less height, and is wider than the Queen Mary 2, but the ship builders keep trying:

” Royal Caribbean Cruises to build the world's largest cruise ship, which will be constructed at the Masa Yard in Finland for delivery in May 2006 with an option for a second ship for 2007. Dubbed the Ultra Voyager, plans have her at 1,112-feet long and 18 stories high, accommodating 3,600 passengers with a crew of 1,400. Royal Caribbean estimated that the total cost of the project would be about US$720 million.”