Tuesday, November 7, 2000 Carnival signs to build QM2   By Ian Hanigan, Staff writer MIAMI Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise company, said Monday it has inked a $780 million contract with a French shipyard to build the Queen Mary 2, the longest and widest ocean liner ever built. Named after the famed passenger liner now moored as a tourist attraction in Long Beach, the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2 will stretch nearly four football fields in length and reach a height equal to a 23-story building, the Miami-based company said. The lavish vessel Carnival called it "the most luxurious liner afloat" will be built by the Alstom Chantiers de L'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is expected to enter service for Carnival's Cunard Line in late 2003. "Queen Mary 2 will be the heir to all that has gone before,and she will be a showcase of the art of shipbuilding in its most refined and masterful form," said Larry Pimentel, Cunard Line president and CEO. "Queen Mary will carry the grace and elegance of a bygone era into the future." The 1,132-foot long ship will feature five swimming pools, a planetarium, a seven-classroom enrichment center, a health and fitness center, multiple dining venues and 1,310 staterooms. There will also be five 1,650-square-foot "duplex apartments," each with its own private gymnasium. While the Queen Mary 2 may never dock next to its namesake, the deal means some good news for Long Beach. In exchange for permission to use the Queen Mary name, Carnival reached agreement in January to build a $35 million cruise ship terminal next to the original Queen Mary. The terminal, which is expected to open some time next year, is projected to draw half a million visitors a year to downtown Long Beach.