 Conversely, and "Queen Elizabeth" were becoming increasingly expensive to operate, and both internally and externally were relics of the pre-war years and needed to be retired by the mid-1960s.Despite falling passenger revenues, Cunard did not want to give up its traditional role as a provider of a North Atlantic passenger service, and so decided to replace the existing ageing "Queens" with a new ocean liner designated "Q3", as it would be the third Cunard Queen.The Q3 was projected to measure 75,000 gross register tons, have berths for 2,270 passengers, and cost an estimated £30 million.