Portugal will have tight security measures in place when the Queen Mary 2, seen here 12 January 2004, makes its first stop on Madeira island as part of its maiden transatlantic voyage(AFP/File/Carl de Souza)
A red flag. The last time I remember a red flag waving prominently in the news was on August 23, 2001, when it was being waved by the SOL. I don't remember seeing birds, though. Well, there was a helicopter. And a swinging Frenchman.
This is the maiden inaugural i.e. the virgin Queen Mary 2 voyage. The ship is named after the queen's grandmother. Reading some of the FR threads about the immoral, disfunctional, inbred royals, one could come to the conclusion that Queen Mary was a mother of harlots and abominations. :-/
Its operator Cunard Line, part of American cruise group Carnival Corp, said the maiden voyage sold out months ago. It hopes the ship will revive the mystique of ocean liners from the age before jets made travel across the Atlantic routine.
World's largest cruise ship sets sail
These cruise operators have a really strange hope for the QM2. Looks more like a curse.