She has travelled six million nautical miles, endured waves 29 metres (95ft) high, and ferried troops across the Atlantic to recapture the Falkland Islands, but after 40 years the Queen Elizabeth 2’s seagoing life is about to end.

The Cunard cruise ship, which has clocked up more miles than any other passenger ship, will retire in November next year to become a floating hotel off the coast of Dubai.

She was sold by Cunard – a subsidiary of the British-American shipping giant Carnival – for $100 million (£50 million) yesterday to Dubai World, a corporation owned by the Dubai royal family.

The QE2 will be docked permanently at a pier connected to Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island created by Dubai as a tourist destination, where she will be transformed into a luxury hotel and museum.

The refurbishment, which is expected to cost as much as the ship herself, will transform the QE2 into a 21st-century hotel, although her owners say that much of the ship’s original 1967 decor will be restored.

Her nine engines, each the size of a double-decker bus, are expected to be removed to provide more space for the hotel.

Dubai World has yet to find a hotel operator for the 70,000-tonnne vessel, but believes that it will be a viable commercial enterprise despite the disastrous example set by the Queen Mary, which bankrupted her owners in 2005.

Cunard had said that it would run the QE2 until she was no longer profitable, but the prospect of new health and safety regulations coming into force in 2010 is thought to have hastened her retirement.

Carol Marlow, Cunard’s president, said that the QE2’s final voyage to Dubai was a fitting end to the ship’s career. “In ocean-going ship terms she has had a long life,” she said. “We received a very strong offer that allowed us to preserve the ship for further generations.”

It is a relief for the company, which admitted privately in 2005 that the ship could end up driven on to a beach in Pakistan to be dismembered for scrap if she did not find a buyer.

The QE2, which was built in the John Brown Shipyard on Clydebank between 1964 and 1967, has survived a career fraught with danger.

In May 1972 the SAS scrambled its bomb disposal squad 1,000 miles to board the ship after a hoaxer threatened to blow her up if he did not receive a ransom. Ten years later she hosted soldiers again when she was requisitioned as a troop transport for the Falklands conflict. She set sail for South Georgia on May 12, 1982, with 3,000 troops aboard.

In 1992 she hit uncharted rocks in Vineyard Sound between Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. She was damaged again in September 1995 when she was hit by a 29m wave whipped up by Hurricane Luis.

The ship – which has five restaurants, two cafés, three swimming pools, a pub, night-club, casino and 480-seat cinema – typically crossed the Atlantic 30 times every year and enjoyed an annual world cruise.

Her twin 6.7m (22ft) propellers can give her a top speed in excess of 32 knots. Her usual cruising speed is 28.5 knots, which burns 380 tonnes of fuel a day – the equivalent of 50ft per gallon.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of Dubai World, described the liner as a wonder of the world. “ QE2 at the Palm Jumeirah will become one of the must-see experiences of the Middle East,” he said. “We are investing in creating a truly global tourism destination.”