when does the hms queen elizabeth leave portsmouth
HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) Once the initial stage 1 and 2 sea trials were complete, the ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 7 December 2017.[51] Following the ship's commissioning, it underwent a period of defect correction in Portsmouth; one widely reported instance was a minor leak through a seal in one of the propeller shafts, which the Royal Navy stated was not serious enough to keep the ship from her planned programme.[52][53] In January 2018, Queen Elizabeth will sail to undergo her initial Operational Sea Training, before being taken into the North Atlantic for the first time for heavy weather trials and helicopter certification operations. On return, further work will prepare the ship for operation of fixed-wing aircraft. In the latter half of 2018, Queen Elizabeth will sail for the United States where flying trials of the F-35B will begin.[54][33] A "full operational capability" will be declared in 2020.[55]
MS Independence of the Seas MS Independence of the Seas is a Freedom-class cruise ship operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line that entered service in April 2008. The 15-deck ship can accommodate 4,370 passengers and is served by 1,360 crew. She was built in the Aker Finnyards Turku Shipyard, Finland, builder of Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, her sister ships of the Freedom class. At 154,407 GT,[4] she joined Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ships and passenger vessels yet built. She is 1,112 feet (339 m) long, and typically cruises at 21.6 knots (40.0 km/h; 24.9 mph). The vessel operates from Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the Fall and Winter months and Southampton, England during the Spring and Summer months.