The album contained both original Oldfield compositions as well as two cover versions of pieces recorded by other bands ("Arrival" by ABBA and "Wonderful Land" by The Shadows).

The European Adventure Tour 1981, which ran from March to August of that year, was in promotion of the album.

The album and its title track were named after the then 11-year-old Cunard Line ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2.

The album cover design appears to be a close-up of the side of the ship, complete with Plimsoll Line in the lower left corner.

The inside of the original foldout LP sleeve featured a schematic of one of the Queen Elizabeth 2's decks as well as a stylised picture of her engine; these have not been reprinted in later reissues, except for the 2012 reissue by Mercury Records on CD and LP, which reinstates all the elements of the original artwork with the exception of the cut-out porthole.