This will be quite a quick blog this week amongst all the seasonal celebrations, which I hope you are enjoying wherever you are during this festive time of year.

I could be accused, quite justifiably, of using the word historic rather a lot. Today, Cunard has one of the youngest fleets in the industry, with Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria and soon to come the new Queen Elizabeth, but we are still very proud of our history and the traditions that our modern liners inherit today. I say this because this particular week is one of some major cornerstones, as we look at Cunard’s history for the week 26^th December to the 1^st of January:

December 26 2003

Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton for the first time

December 27 1930

John Brown Yard Manager, Donald Skifflington, ceremoniously hammered home the first rivet on the new Queen Mary

December 28 1989

QE2 makes her maiden Call at the port of Yokohama for Tokyo, Japan

December 30 1964

The contract to build QE2 was signed. The deal between Cunard and John Brown Shipyard was to build a ship known at that time as Q4

January 1 1934

Cunard merges with rival White Star.

The merger on the first of January 1934, with our then rival White Star, was carefully negotiated following a repayable loan from the British government of £4.5million to help build Queen Mary. It also included a promise of a further £5million loan, to help build her sister, Queen Elizabeth. In addition to the Cunard ships, it also meant that three White Star ships would join the new enlarged fleet with the Olympic as the first to transfer. The second was The Majestic II, which had quite a history, as it was originally the Hamburg Amerika Lines Bismarck, launched in 1914 and was given to White Star as compensation for the loss of the Britannic in 1916. The Georgic was the third of the three ships inherited by Cunard and although the ships are long gone the name of White Star has continued to this day with Cunard’s famed “White Star Service”.

2003 saw Queen Mary 2 arrive in Southampton, and none of us will ever forget the images of her coming to her home port for the first time. She is a truly incredible ship and there is something magical about her that captivates crowds wherever she goes. I will always remember the first time I saw the masses of people lining the Elbe as she came in to Hamburg, and they still do five years later. Apart from being maintained to an exceptional high standard she has changed very little in her relatively short life, a testament to the work of her designers. Having said that many of you have been asking about the recent refit in Germany and although most of the work was behind the scenes there were some upgrades with the furnishings including the Chart Room which I have a couple of pictures of.

I’d also like to thank Freda Singleton for sending in a couple of festive photos from Queen Mary 2’s celebrations. Firstly not wishing to be out done by the Christmas display I shared with you on last week’s blog from Queen Victoria, here is a picture of their Ginger Bread House created by their talented team of chefs.

And here’s a picture of some of the Entertainment Team on board for the festive voyage with hopefully a few familiar faces. You may be wondering why there are so many pale pink and pale blue polo shirts, well they are the expanded Youth team looking after the increased numbers of youngsters on for the voyage.

Queen Victoria has completed her first year in service and it’s wonderful to see how popular she is already. It has been particularly enjoyable to meet quite a few guests on board, who have already sailed on her over three times – it would be interesting to learn who has completed the most voyages on her so far! Now we are all very pleased to welcome many of our fellow crew members from QE2 including of course Captain McNaught. I know the current voyage is welcoming many guests from QE2 for the first time and I look forward to meeting many more on the World Cruise.

Speaking of QE2, of course we were all sad to see her leave the fleet, but it was great to witness the incredible celebration of her career, as literally thousands of people paid tribute to her as she visited regular ports of call for the last time. The comments from Carmel’s poem, I think, says it all and shows the sheer affection for the ship and those who served on her. Although she is now preparing for the next stage of her life in Dubai, I will do my best to keep you fully informed of her transformation and I have a feeling that guests on future World Cruises will be making pilgrimages when they visit for many years to come.

As we look forward to 2009 all eyes will be focusing towards Italy and the construction of the next Cunard Queen; Queen Elizabeth. I expect some news fairly soon and will be getting regular reports from Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard on her progress with lots of photos – so watch this space!

In the meantime after 18 weeks of blogging, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all so much for logging on and being involved in the “We Are Cunard” blog. I’d also like to thank Shelley who does so much work with the blog, as well as those who have helped me with interviews and guidance. I look forward to hearing from you even more in 2009, and of course your ideas and questions are always welcome. I enjoy reading them and I know they often discuss subjects other bloggers are interested in as well.

I’ll be back next week as usual to celebrate the New Year with a special interview with a member of the ships company that guests always ask about. I’ll be interviewing Queen Victoria’s Principal Medical Officer, Peter Hawthorne which promises to be quite enlightening.

Meanwhile I’ll be re-joining Queen Victoria on 12^th January so if you are on the world cruise and read this blog – please do come and introduce yourself – I may even buy you a drink!

Firstly, I would like to wish you all very best wishes for the Season. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukah or other festivities, I hope it’s a happy time for everyone. Before we get in to how the ships enjoy this special time of year, here is this week in Cunard’s history for the 19th to the 25^th December.

December 21 1918

The Carmania becomes one of the first ships to be released by the government after World War 1 and make her first peace time sailing

December 21 1971

QE2 makes her maiden Call Port Everglades, USA

December 22 2003

Queen Mary 2 is handed over to Cunard in a ceremony at the Chantiers De L’Atlantique ship yard in St. Nazaire, France

December 23 1923

Ascania II is launched at the Armstrong Whitworth yard in Newcastle

December 23 1968

QE2 completes her sea trials in the Irish sea following preliminary trials which started a month earlier

Despite much of the world taking a lot of time off at this time of year, it’s always a busy time for those of us at sea, although personally, I will be at home this year, the first for many years so I must admit I’m very much looking forward to it. Of course this time last year we were busy with Queen Victoria on her second voyage on a “Seasonal Getaway” to the Canaries. This year both Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 will be celebrating in the Caribbean. Here’s a great picture of Queen Mary 2 in Bonaire where she’ll be on Christmas Eve.

Planning for this time of year begins with creating an itinerary for the special voyages which will usually mean that the ships are at sea on Christmas Day, to make the most of the festivities. Storing of course continues as always, but with so many businesses closing during the period, our logistics team has to ensure that everything arrives at various destinations around the world in plenty of time. Specialist decorating companies are briefed to create a wonderful atmosphere in the public areas on board. Here’s a great picture of the Grand Lobby on Queen Mary 2 this year.

Once the voyage begins there’ll be a great atmosphere on board with festive music and of course the traditional religious services including a carol service and midnight masses conducted by clergy brought on for the voyage. Hanukah is often celebrated at the same time as Christmas, but the exact dates do vary from year to year. There’ll be a Rabbi on board to light a candle each day on the Menora which is normally by the Pursers desk.

Just before Christmas itself, the food and beverage department will create amazing displays around the ship to compliment the decorations, and I am always amazed by their talents. As you can imagine this takes a lot of time but it looks fantastic and it’s lovely to see the pride they have in their work. I have been sent the pictures from Queen Victoria this year and I’m sure you’ll agree they have done an incredible job.

One of the great traditions on board is the carol singing on Christmas Eve where guests are invited to join the ship’s officers, staff and crew for a good rousing festive sing along with specially prepared carol sheets. It’s always fun and great to see everyone together and fortunately we have the professional singers from our shows to help keep us in tune! Here’s a picture from last year’s singing in the Grand Lobby of Queen Victoria.

This time of year is very special for children and the youth teams on board are very busy looking after our younger guests with extra seasonal activities, the most eagerly awaited though of course is the visit to the ship by Santa Clause himself. He chooses various ways of visiting the ship although the traditional route of the funnel is a bit of a tight squeeze. He has often been spotted coming alongside the ship in a specially lowered lifeboat and there have been rumours of him being parachuted in but I think that’s someone’s imagination getting the better of them! You’ll have to watch the ships’ bridge cams to see how he arrives this year! However he gets there, he normally arrives around lunch time on Christmas day to deliver gifts to the children. On Queen Mary 2 this takes place in the Queen’s Room and on Queen Victoria in the Grand Lobby. While the children collect their presents and have their photo taken with Santa, officers and crew gather to sing more carols and Christmas songs making it a wonderful occasion. I’m sure this is helped by the seasonal eggnog and other refreshments!

Another important part of the day for our British guests is to watch the Queen’s annual Christmas Day speech to the Commonwealth. Once we have established the time difference (it’ll be late morning in the Caribbean), the speech is broadcast on the big screen in Illuminations on Queen Mary 2 and in the Queen’s Room on Queen Victoria.

This year Queen Victoria will be performing a special Christmas Show matinee featuring most of the ship’s Entertainment department and Amanda Reid, (Entertainment Director), has told me the team has been working hard on this special show and it promises to be a fantastic performance.  Queen Mary 2 will be having a festive matinee concert which also sounds like a relaxing way to spend Christmas afternoon.

The evening is very special with our guests enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner in the various restaurants around the ship. Yes we do keep the British traditional Christmas crackers and I’m afraid the jokes are not much better than the one’s you’ll be reading around your tables at home but I don’t think it would be Christmas if they were any good! Meanwhile the crew are also being looked after with special meals as well in their mess rooms. The Personnel and Training Managers will also have worked on events and activities for the crew, so that despite being away from their families, which is never easy at this time of year, they do get to enjoy some seasonal cheer.

Well that’s it from me for this year and apart from wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2009 I would like to thank you for reading this blog these last weeks. It’s been great to receive your comments and I look forward to keeping you updated with everything that happens in the Cunard World in the new year. In addition to everything that’s happening on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria (both beginning their second World Cruises in January), there’ll be lots of exciting news about the new Queen Elizabeth as she prepares to enter service in just 21 months time.

Today I watched an old episode of “Keeping Up Appearances”, that great BBC comedy featuring Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced “Bouquet” as she keeps reminding us!), where she sails on QE2 and to her horror discovers her sister and the dreadful husband Onslow, are also on board. The episode called “Sea Fever”, had hilarious consequences as always and yet again reminds us what a stunning ship QE2 is and all of our memories of her.  It’s funny how life is full of coincidences, because as I was watching the television, I opened an E Mail from Carmel who sailed on the farewell voyage on QE2 as the on board Librarian. The library is an essential part of the Cunard tradition with the first library on a ship being created on the “Bothnia” in 1874. It’s a tradition that has continued to Queen Victoria’s two deck library and the largest library at sea on Queen Mary 2, containing over 8,000 books. Carmel is part of a very knowledgeable team who do a great job in looking after our guests and she has written a wonderful poem sharing her thoughts of the last voyage. Knowing how fond everyone is of the legendary QE2 I thought our bloggers would enjoy hearing about her final voyage from another view point.

Meanwhile, I’ll be back on Wednesday with a festive blog with pictures of the celebrations on both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria – both enjoying the season in the Caribbean.

Carmel Rogers – QE2 Librarian

QE2’s Last Voyage to Dubai – 28^th November 2008

When I was young I saw the QE2, she was often in the news.

I wondered, in passing, what it must be like, to be in a sailor’s shoes.

Little did I know that I would walk her decks and sail around the world.

How many times I would see her ensign snap and in the wind unfurl.

Seven times around the world in my short 8 year career.

Now the day we have to leave her is drawing awfully near.

The strains of music and the sound of laughter will slowly fade away.

The tinkle of tableware and crystal glasses will be memories of another day.

The ever present heart beat of the great engines will be still at last.

As to her final resting place her ropes will hold her fast.

The world’s oceans will seem empty without their greatest queen.

Her magnificent shape on the horizon will never again be seen.

But we must do her justice and celebrate her reign of so many nautical miles.

All the anniversaries, birthday parties, friendships forged and years of

laughter and of smiles.

Yes many happy memories and lots of anecdotes to tell.

Of the Golden Age of Cruising and how we knew it well.

She will take her place of honour, as the Jewel in the Crown of The Palm.

A resting place fit for our favourite Queen, where she will be kept from harm.

So now we must wait impatiently as three long years go by.

Until she has had her refit and been scrubbed up in Dubai.

I hope she will still resemble the Great Lady we all knew.

In these days that we all made History – guests and crew.

As we sail in with fanfares and fireworks to our very final port.

Sound that whistle one more time. Delivered safe by Ian McNaught!!

This Final Voyage seemed so far away and it proves how much time flew.

She will always sail within our hearts. Long live QE2.

Firstly to answer a question regarding Warren Smith, who was most recently the Entertainment Director on board QE2, he has actually just joined Queen Mary 2. Meanwhile Chris I haven’t forgotten your question regarding the Staff Captain on the Cunard Princess – I am still working on it. Before we get to our next blog, here is this week in Cunard’s history for the 12th to the 19^th December.

December 12 1946

The Media is launched at John Brown Shipyard at Clydebank and will become the first new passenger ship on the Atlantic after the war. Although originally designed as a freighter she was converted to be part cargo part passenger.

December 13 1995

QE2 makes her maiden call at Amsterdam, Holland

December 14 1954

Ivernia II is launched and goes in to service on the Canadian emigrant run a year later

December 14 1955

Carinthia III is launched at John Brown Yard at Clydebank, and along with the Sylvania II they are the last liners to be built purely for the North Atlantic market. She becomes the last Canadian emigrant ship

December 18 2007

Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Hamburg

Queen Victoria has just crossed the Atlantic for just the second time to join her bigger sister in the Caribbean for the festive season. On next week’s blog I’ll be sharing some pictures from both ships in their seasonal décor and tell you a little bit of what happens on board for the guests and crew at Christmas time.

Meanwhile I heard that one of our favourite Cunard lecturers, Bill Miller had written an article about QE2’s farewell from New York for Ocean & Cruise News which is published monthly by the World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society. They and Bill were kind enough to let us reproduce the article for our blog. By the way you can find out more about them through these links.  www.wocls.org and www.oceancruisenews.com

I first met Bill when he joined Queen Mary 2 as she met Queen Mary in Long Beach for the first time in an emotional rendezvous. Bill is considered an international authority on the subject of the great ocean liners.  He has written some 65 books on ocean liners and cruise ships. Among his many other titles, he is the adjunct curator of the Ocean Liner Council at New York’s South Street Seaport Museum, the assistant editor of Ocean & Cruise News and created the ship database for the Ellis Island Museum. He received the National Maritime History Award in 1994 and the Silver Riband Award in 2005. I am also pleased to be welcoming Bill back on board Queen Victoria for the New York to Los Angeles leg of the 2009 World Cruise. I’ll be back next week with a festive blog but in the meantime here is Bill Miller’s article.

Dramatic Farewell:  The QE2

By Bill Miller

The elements played their part to absolute perfection. It was the great exit scene, the stirring piece in the glorious maritime operetta. Late on an autumn afternoon, battleship gray clouds were looming as otherwise rather milky sunlight cast a soft glow on the skyline of Manhattan. Other thickening clouds soon formed, the winds kicked up a bit and then there was mist and some drops of October rain. Soon, above the harbor were “Wizard of Oz” skies! Aboard a specially chartered harbor ferry several hundred of us had eyes and cameras mostly fixed, however, on the north berth of Pier 90. The iconic Queen Elizabeth 2 was in her final hour in port, soon to be undocked by two Moran tugs and then sent on her way.

It was, of course hardly all ordinary departure. The 70,000 ton Cunarder was leaving New York, after 710 visits for the last time. Unquestionably the most beloved, famous and possibly popular passenger ship afloat, sentiments ran deep and often high ‑ saddened smiles, great hand waves of goodbye, some tears of course. Many onlookers had happy memories of the 963 ‑ foot long ship, from aboard her countless voyages (Altogether the 32 knot ship has the greatest records of any big ocean liner in history: 1,428 voyages clocking 5.9 million miles, carrying 2 million guests and making 25, 90 ‑ 100 day world cruises.)

Finally, the throaty whistles sounded, the Queen was undocked and then sent southward along the Hudson where she joined her successor of sorts, the far bigger and taller Queen Mary 2, which had departed from Cunard’s Brooklyn Terminal and which was wailing off the Battery. Then with roaring whistle exchanges the two great liners departed together ‑ QE2 in the lead, of course, and as both ships glowed much like diamonds against the deep purple skies of twilight. New York Harbor was at its most romantic, the two ships stunning and almost ethereal, the mood exciting, almost exhilarating and yet poetically sentimental, even quite sad. Earlier, I was a guest speaker aboard the Elizabeth’s Farewell Voyages – 10 days around the British Isles (touching in at some class liner – linked ports: Cobh, Liverpool, Belfast, Greenock, Edinburgh and Newcastle) and then connecting on a final 6 night westbound crossing to New York. All the ports gave rousing receptions and farewells – fireworks, spraying fireboats, escorts of tugs and small boats. The 39 year old Queen gleamed in her well deserved celebrity. Clearly no ship is more beloved. In November, after a final two week voyage from Southampton by way of the Mediterranean and Suez, she reaches her new home, out in Dubai, where she will become a permanently moored hotel, museum and entertainment center. Sold for $100 million, the 1,700 berth liner will undergo extensive rebuilding before opening on newly created Palm Island

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Captain Ian McNaught, her master and who has served aboard the ship for the past 23 years, will sign her over to Dubai officials. “It has been very, very touching to see everyone waiting around to wave us off on these final, farewell voyages. We always had a large flotilla of vessels to accompany us out of port. There have been some great sights. It is fitting in that on her last roundtrip crossing from Southampton to New York and back that we are sailing in tandem with our big sister Queen Mary 2. But it will be very, very sad, an almost tearful day when I say the final goodbye in Dubai. It is actually quite bittersweet. There are many mixed emotions for me. After we disembark for last time in Dubai, the 900 crew members will be spread around the other vessels in the Cunard fleet. The Queen Victoria will be my next command. She might not be QE2, but I am looking forward to it. I’ve been with QE2 since September 1987, but I am a “New Boy” compared to some of the other crew. We will have 4 people who have been with her since day one, through all of her working life. QE2 will always be special to all of us I suppose she stands for something great that we don’t have any more. Like Concorde, she is a symbol of the 60’s. But we don’t have to remember things that do move on.”

Eighty nine year old Bea Muller has been “living” aboard the 1969 built ship for the past nine years. I’m heartsick. I will miss her so.,” said over 4 o’clock tea in the liner’s fabled Queens Room. “After all, she’s been my “home” off and on for the past 14 years and for 9 years permanently. I’d visit up to as many as 48 ports a year on QE2. We will never see a ship like her again. I’m going to cry a lot, but now I must find it new “home”. Mostly I will miss the wonderful QE2 personnel. First, I’m going to Queen Victoria and try to live at 21 knots, and then to Queen Mary 2 for her World Cruise”

Others were equally as sentimental, “It is the passing of an era, a very great era.’” commented Thomas Quinones the ship’s social host for some 15 years. She is a ship of history, a great reminder of the golden age of travel and a ship of countless memories, distinctions, records and occasions.”

London based passenger Martin Grant added. The normal clichés apply ‑ it is indeed the end of an era! But it is a very personal loss too, I had my very first cruise on QE2 in 2002 and she is the ship I most traveled on. She is the Queen that introduced me to the joys and comforts of cruising. I simply fell in love with her!”

Carol Marlow, the president of Cunard, was sentimental but quite practical and in fact positive about the ship’s transition. “QE2 is a wonderful ship and will continue to be,” she said, “She will remain essentially a Cunarder in her new career in Dubai. She is after all, an icon, a maritime icon.’”

Captain McNaught offered some form of closure as the great ship neared New York for the very last time. “We now have but 24 hours until the final arrival into New York harbor. It is the end of many happy and successful crossings for the ship. It is also very sad that she is leaving active service, but she will be like the original Queen Mary is out in Los Angeles. QE2 will have a new life and a new career out in Dubai.”

Welcome to this week’s blog and thank you again for continuing to read and comment. I’ll do my best to answer all your questions and if I don’t know I’ll try and ask someone who may. One of the advantages of Cunard family is that there are so many on sea and land that have worked with the company for a considerable amount of time and seem to remember everything! So with that in mind thanks Chris for your question about the Staff Captain on the Cunard Princess – I am trying to find out for you and will let you know if I can! In the meantime here is this week in Cunard’s history for the 4th to the 11^th December.

December 4 1975

QE2 completes the first million miles of steaming.

December 10 1999

The Caronia is renamed at a ceremony in Liverpool.

December 10 2007

Her Royal Highness The Duchess Of Cornwall Names Queen Victoria as she enters service as Cunard’s 147th ship to sail under the Cunard Flag.

December 11 1931

Work was called off on the building of Hull number 534 due to the great depression. The partially built ship was left for 30 months before work resumed.

December 11 2007

Queen Victoria begins her Maiden 10 day voyage to the Germany and Norway Christmas Markets.

Quite a week in history and for all of us involved with Queen Victoria beginning her Cunard career, a very memorable week. Was it just a year ago that we came to Southampton for the first time? What an amazing year it’s been, as there are not many who at their first birthday, can say that in their short life they have already been around the world (literally) having visited 6 continents and over 40 countries and so the list goes on. She has travelled 111,828 miles, made 222 port of calls and looked after 54,827 guests. This year, like last year (though both Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 are gearing up for the festive season) Queen Victoria is coming back to Southampton for the first time since July, and as soon as she docks a whole team of decorators will transform the ship for her 22 day Caribbean Celebration voyage. We’ll get you some pictures of the decorated ships in the next blog.

It’s certainly turning out to be a crisp and cold winter here in England so it’s nice to turn our thoughts to sunnier climbs. Queen Mary 2 has started her season in the Caribbean so it’s a pleasure to hear from Freda Singleton, who is the Social Hostess on board Queen Mary 2. Social Hostesses are one of the many traditional roles we maintain on Cunard ships and they do an amazing job. They have a high profile with our guests, from introducing the Captain at the cocktail parties to hosting singles events and lots more, including the traditional activities such as scarf tying and hosting culinary demonstrations, all of which remain as popular as ever So I’ll pass over to Freda and see you again next week….

FREDA SINGLETON, SOCIAL HOSTESS ON QUEEN MARY 2:

Queen Mary 2 is fresh out of her latest re-fit and looking magnificent!  Freshly painted with a super, new, go-faster finish, all in the interests of improving fuel economy, she is impressing guests and locals alike in the beautiful Caribbean islands.

Having repositioned from Hamburg and now operating out of Fort Lauderdale for December and early January, prior to the start of her second World Cruise in 2009, Queen Mary 2 is basking in her newly refurbished glory in the islands of Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts, Grenada, Bonaire, Cristobal, St Thomas, Tortola and Dominica.  You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from the hard working transatlantic crew as they slowly start to lose their un-sunned pallor and begin to find time for an hour or so of sun, sea and fun!

All aboard are sad to see Captain Chris Wells come to the end of his contract and to leave the ship for the time being, but are very much looking forward to welcoming Captain Nick Bates for his first time at the helm, until Commodore Bernard Warner returns from his break.  They are also delighted to have many old friends from the now splendidly retired QE2 come to join the happy family.  As always the crew have worked hard but know how to enjoy themselves and in addition to the many crew activities planned by our Personnel & Training Manager, there have also been several red-hot fun runs in Caribbean sunshine, promoted and energetically supported by the ever enthusiastic and fitness-mad Entertainment Director, David Pepper.  Dancing Dave (as some affectionately call him), now takes his hard earned break from the ship as Ray Rouse returns to head up the Entertainment team.

On the upper decks, love is truly in the air with a very romantic and public marriage proposal at the height of the Royal Ascot Ball in the elegant Queens Room.  To the delight of all the guests in the audience, his lovely intended managed a stunned acceptance before bursting into tears.  With several other proposals, engagements and wedding vow renewals, the ship is in danger of becoming the new ‘Love Boat’!

As the Christmas season fast approaches and the ship’s beauty is enhanced by elegant festive decorations, everyone is totally focused on the forthcoming celebrations whilst keeping a keen eye on planning for the next epic 85-day World Cruise, re-visiting some of the glorious ports from the ship’s maiden world cruise and making maiden stops at Yokohama, Japan; Laem Chabang, Thailand and Salalah, Oman. Exciting times on Queen Mary 2!

Thank you for your comments as usual and it’s great to hear all your thoughts and sentiments as QE2 arrived in Dubai. I will do my best to keep you informed with her progress as she is transformed in to her new life.

Meanwhile welcome to the final part of the TOGS voyage story. Although the voyage ended a week ago it has left all those who took part with some amazing memories, and hopefully, has set the tone for an annual event.

Straight after Sir Terry’s first broadcast of BBC Radio 2’s “Wake Up To Wogan”, with stunning views of the Straits of Messina, from the Commodore Club on board Queen Victoria, he spent some time chatting to TOGS before he had an opportunity to discover Messina for himself, including what I heard was an extremely good lunch!

That evening he hosted the Captain’s table with Captain Christopher Rynd, the Captain’s wife Julie Rynd, Alan, “Barrowlands” Boyd, Janet and John “Boggy” Marsh, as well as four winners of the “Children In Need Auction” from the previous night. It’s a great tradition on formal nights and was made extra special by Sir Terry’s attendance.

The following morning started with Sir Terry entering the Commodore Club to a huge cheer from the TOGS, clad in dressing gowns (and thankfully clothes underneath!) As he prepared for his second broadcast he was fortified by the proud presentation of a curry, (freshly made buy the on board chefs who we met later), by Edina Cloud.

For those of you unfamiliar with the “Wake up to Wogan Show”, this was continuing the tradition of sending food in to the show on a daily basis. And yes he did eat it and seemed to genuinely enjoy curry at 8am! During the broadcast he interviewed the Executive Chef Nicholas Ollroyd, and his twin brother Executive Sous Chef, Mark Ollroyd. He had met them at the traditional Chef’s Parade in the Britannia Restaurant the night before, and loved the idea of twin brothers from Yorkshire working on the same ship. He had a lot of fun interviewing them but wasn’t sure if he was seeing double or not.

Since I have been home one of the questions I have been asked most about the voyage apart from; “What was Sir Terry really like” and to that I answer – exactly as he seems; he is very much his charming self. The other question was; “Were the chefs really twins and are they identical?” Well I’ll let you judge that for yourselves:-

Sir Terry’s programme always ends with a “Pause for Thought” and as we overlooked the bay of Naples, Canon Roger Royle used the historic city of Pompeii as his inspiration. It was great to see the team working together and the real fun they seem to have as well as genuine friendship. Somehow having seen the broadcast live, you listen to them at home with a stronger understanding of what is involved, and of course a greater respect for the craft, which they all make look so easy.

Sir Terry had to be whisked off straight after the show as he had a flight leaving less than 2 hours later, and his driver had to negotiate the Naples traffic. That in itself is no mean feat but as we saw the car drive away with both Sir Terry and Canon Roger Royle, we were slightly disturbed to see one of the windscreen wipers held together with cellotape! Anyway they reached the airport safely and in plenty of time despite the driver having to lean over to the passenger side to see through the windscreen. Being forever positive, it did at least provide more material for Sir Terry on his Monday morning show.

With the broadcast over and Sir Terry on his way back to London, we went to lunch in Naples and the home of the Margherita pizza; yes genuinely where this pizza was created for the then Queen of Italy, (this was June 1889 by the way), by Raffaele Esposito in a restaurant called “Brandi”. Although I had been there a couple of times before I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I could remember exactly where it was, but a combination of bluffing and good fortune,  we found it and had a fantastic lunch – I can thoroughly recommend it if you ever go there. On the way back Alan “Deadly – Voice of the Balls” Dedicoat, discovered the Italian Lottery – but I am not sure if “Droppa Those Bigga Money Balls” would translate too well to the residents of Naples!

We rushed back to open the TOGS hospitality desk for the last time, and were delighted to be selling more Bears, CD’s and pins, all in aid of “Children in Need”, to not only TOGS but also other guests who have the delights of “Janet and John” to look forward to when they get home – though I’m not sure what they’ll all make of it! That night was a real treat as we got to enjoy a special show featuring the stunning Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers, with a special performance by Clare Teal. Clare is well known to BBC Radio 2 listeners as a presenter of the Big Band Special series. She has released 6 albums and in 2006 she was awarded “BBC Jazz Vocalist of the year” and then “Jazz Vocalist of the Year 2007”, at the British Jazz Awards. She has a superb voice and I would recommend seeing her if you get the opportunity. 

The last night of any voyage is always one of mixed emotions and is usually spent with new found friends in a favourite bar on the ship. For many of the TOGS and the remaining members of the BBC Radio 2 team it  meant an evening with my good friend Barrington “Barty” Brown, in the Commodore Club, whose quintessentially English style is always tremendously popular. Amongst his extensive repertoire is the Hippopotamus song originally created by Flanders and Swan, but most recently revived by Sir Terry on the Bandaged album. Somehow it became a bit of a theme tune for the voyage. Not satisfied with having performed two shows, Clare Teal also joined Barty and a good night was definitely had by all!

After a smooth disembarkation the following day in Civitavecchia, we kept bumping in to TOGS and guests alike, at Rome airport and even back at Heathrow, with that knowing look of shared experiences!

So there it was, hopefully just the first of an annual tradition of the TOGS voyage, and I’m glad to report that it was a tremendous success, not only for raising so much money for “Children in Need”, but also for being a lot of fun for those who took part. It was great to welcome new guests to the joys of taking a Cunard Voyage and also to introduce the uninitiated to the world of Sir Terry Wogan – your lives will never be the same!

I’ll be back on Thursday with my regular blog hopefully introducing a new guest blogger, but in the meantime I would like to thank again all those who made the TOGS voyage such a huge success. Firstly to Sir Terry and the whole “Wake Up To Wogan” team without whom this wouldn’t have been the voyage it was. Also to Norm, Helen, Kel and all those who work so hard at raising money not forgetting Matt for all his hard work with logistics and so much behind the scenes, things which took up so much of his time. Thanks go to Captain Rynd and his officers staff and crew, (especially Gustavo, Jacqui, Colin, Jim and the Technical Team, and Amanda and her Entertainment Staff), for all they did to contribute to the smooth running of the voyage. Mostly thanks to all the guests on the voyage – TOGS or otherwise – for being there and being fun to be with. I’d better go now before this starts sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech – in my dreams! Cheers for Now – Alastair

What a week for Cunard. We said farewell to QE2, to see her begin a new life in Dubai, and we celebrate Queen Victoria’s first anniversary of sailing under the Cunard flag. Thank you to Peter Shanks for sharing a unique view of QE2’s arrival in Dubai. Thanks Jerry for the links and to answer Paul Bird’s question, although it would be a lovely idea to think that the timing of her farewell was the 40^th anniversary of her sea trials was chosen on purpose, I’m afraid it was just timely coincidence. It’s also good to hear about all your sentiments of QE2 and of course thanks for the feedback regarding the TOGS voyage blog. I liked Doug’s reference to Queen Victoria as a 21^st Century Queen – I couldn’t have put it better myself. But before I bring you up to date with the next part of the TOGS voyage, here is this week in Cunard’s history for the 27^th of November to the 3^rd December.

November 29 1968

QE2 Sails from fitting out berth under command of Captain Bill Warwick

November 30 2007

Cunard takes formal ownership of Queen Victoria as she leaves the Marghera Ship yard flying the Cunard flag for the first time.

December 2 1982

Visit of HM the Queen Mother to QE2 in Southampton the second time in a year

December 3 2004

Cunard signs the contract with Fincantieri’s Marghera ship yard, to build hull number 6127 Queen Victoria

In a week that marks Queen Victoria’s joining the Cunard family, it’s perfect timing to share part four of the TOGS voyage. For those still unsure of what the TOGS are all about – you’ll find out more on my earlier blogs – hopefully that may help! Meanwhile Malta greeted Queen Victoria with a stunning day as she arrived at about lunchtime and I have to say it’s a great port, packed with history and lovely to be just a short walk from the centre of Valletta. Thanks Matt for this great photo.

Later that afternoon Sir Terry Wogan, (also affectionately known as the Togmeister), arrived at the ship, to be greeted by Captain Christopher Rynd and Hotel Manager Jacqui Hodgeson. There were a few TOGS hanging over the ships rails (well not literally but you get the meaning), to greet him as his Butler escorted him to his suite. However, despite him having broadcast that morning back in London and the flight to Valletta, we had a rehearsal booked for him at 6.00pm. As I escorted him from the aft of the ship to the Royal Court Theatre (forward), he remarked that a Par 9 would have been a shorter distance! For someone who has appeared on stages all over the world, even Sir Terry was amazed as we entered the Frank Matcham inspired Royal Court Theatre mentioning it reminded him of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin where he had hosted the famed Eurovision Song Contest some years ago.  

For this special performance, we had sold the Theatre Boxes and front row in a silent auction raising even more for “Children In Need”. Entertainment Director Amanda Reid gave Sir Terry a great introduction and the show began with him regaling hilarious stories and tales from his TOGS before introducing Canon Roger Royle who auctioned off items including, “Dinner at the Captains Table hosted by Sir Terry and Captain Rynd”, “An invitation to London to watch the Wake Up To Wogan show followed by brunch”, “A limited edition print of Queen Victoria signed by the ships senior officers and the Wake Up to Wogan Team on board” and some exclusive TOGS items.  Although it was all aimed to raise as much money for “Children In Need” as possible, it proved to be hugely entertaining with the banter that they do so well on Radio 2 each morning. John “Boggy” Marsh and his wife Janet were then invited by Sir Terry to join him on stage for the latest “Janet and John” tale which was………….unprintable here ………but hilarious. I am not sure if it will ever be published, but don’t forget you can get copies of other “Janet and John” tales, which have been heard on the “Wake Up To Wogan Show” by clicking on this link.

http://www.charitygoods.com/

I would at this point like to acknowledge the incredible work done by Norman, Helen and the various Togs around the country who run this website and work so hard in getting the various merchandise sent out, as well as having the inspiration to come up with so many brilliant fund raising ideas. They do a fantastic job and raise over £1 million for children in need each year. Their current aim is to get Sir Terry’s duet with Aled Jones performing “Little Drummer Boy” from the “Bandaged” CD to be the Christmas number 1 – good luck to you all.

Meanwhile back on stage John Marsh invited Sir Terry to close the show with the Hippopotamus song (which is also on the “Bandaged” CD). Sir Terry wasn’t too sure about this surprise, but it was too late, as Canon Roger Royle appeared on stage with the words and Alan “Barrowlands” Boyd appeared majestically on a lift coming up from the orchestra pit. That sight alone was enough to start Sir Terry off in a fit of the giggles and it clearly made quite an impact on him as he still mentions it frequently on air! It was a great close to the show with the entire audience joining in the chorus of “Mud, mud, glorious mud……….” Have you noticed there are some tunes you just can’t get out of your head! It was already late and with the prospect of an early start, most of us got an early night (I’m not mentioning who didn’t…….) ready for the live broadcast the following morning.

I was in the Commodore Club by 7.15am but was beaten to it by Myles, Neil, Jim, Gary, Keith and the technical team who were busy establishing the satellite link up from the ship’s Commodore Club to the BBC’s Radio studios back in London. This is no mean feat on a moving ship coming into port, but they did an incredible job. Gustavo and his team had also set up breakfast for Sir Terry and his team, including the much loved “Snorkers” (or sausages to you and me!) I was also beaten to it by the TOGS who were already ensuring they had the best view, with the earliest being “Cocktail Clare” who apparently arrived at 6.20am – now that’s what I call keen! Before too long the Commodore filled up and Sir Terry arrived at 8.00am to a huge cheer from the gathered crowd.

The broadcast began at precisely 8.30am ship’s time (7.30am) back in Britain and Sir Terry began by gloating about the beautiful weather over the straits of Messina. To all of you at home – yes it really was that lovely I’m afraid. There were also claims of canned laughter from back in the studio but I can assure you the Commodore Club was packed with over a hundred very excited TOGS!

It was fascinating for everyone who hadn’t seen a live radio broadcast before, to see how it all happened and to see the professionalism of the operation, despite the banter and lightheartedness you hear on air. Alan “Barrowlands” Boyd even had access to emails coming in from listeners in the UK, with the help of his assistant Joe and the technical knowhow of Keith. During his broadcast Sir Terry was very complimentary about the ship and her crew and as part of the first morning’s broadcast, he interviewed the ship’s Master, Captain Christopher Rynd.

During the interview he did happen to mention why he, as a knight of the realm, hadn’t been piped aboard, so we all made a mental note to arrange something next time! And, while a song was being played back in London and not forgetting what this voyage was all about, he took the time to pose with Captain Rynd and Pudsey.

There is lots more to tell you about the voyage and the last two days but I have just realised how long this blog is getting so I’ll sign off here, and post you the last episode in a few days time – I bet you can’t wait! In the meantime I’d like to thank the “Wake Up To Wogan” team and the TOGS for being so much fun as well as the Captain, officers and crew on Queen Victoria for doing such a great job in looking after us all, and making the event so special – true White Star Service.

I am now back in a rather damp and certainly cold Wiltshire,  and I have to say it feels a little weird to be home after just 12 days on Queen Victoria, rather than my normal three or four months that I usually spend at sea. I still have part four on the TOGS voyage which I’ll post later in the week and I think it’ll be a great one. In the meantime, when I got home, I received a great E Mail from Peter Shanks that I wanted to post today. Peter Shanks is Chief Commercial Officer for Carnival UK. I promised some feedback from QE2’s farewell voyage and arrival in Dubai so here is the first of what I hope will be a few different posts on the subject and of course we’ll also keep you up to date with her new life. Here is Peter’s message.

Alastair – a remarkable few days in Dubai and I wanted to share my own personal experience for your Cunard bloggers. It’s Friday and I am returning from Dubai having just handed over QE2 to our friends in Dubai.  At Cunard we are famed for making history – and over the last two days we have taught the city of Dubai what history is all about – we made some with them.

QE2 arrived into Dubai at the end of her final voyage on Wednesday. We had worked hard to make sure it was a spectacular arrival. Having met with the lawyers in the morning to make sure all was well with the transaction, I was invited to board the Royal Yacht MV Dubai with around 100 local dignitaries to sail out to welcome QE2 into Dubai. Quite some yacht I can tell you, the biggest private yacht in the world. We set sail out past the Palm of Jumeirah to find QE2. We had arranged for the British Navy to be in attendance to pay their respects and they sent HMS Lancaster. As we sat having lunch, I looked out of the window and there she was; there was a rustling amongst the guests on board as they set eyes on QE2 for the first time.

HMS Lancaster sailed alongside QE2 with every member of their crew in formal uniform standing to attention along the ship. This was the very first time that a British Navy ship had paid a full salute to a merchant ship – a very special moment for our Captain and crew. As the ships closed, the crew on HMS Lancaster gave the Captain of QE2 three cheers, and raised their hats. The 1800 guests on board QE2 gave three cheers back. Awesome, and not a dry eye on the ship.

So then we lined up – MV Dubai in front, followed closely by QE2 with HMS Lancaster following on behind. Next surprise was that we had arranged for a fly-past from the brand new Emirates A380. She came over the flotilla at just 1,000 feet – an unbelievable sight. 

Here was the most famous ship in the world, the most modern aircraft in the world, a flotilla of hundreds of boats and 1800 of our valued guests toasting the event with a glass of champagne as ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ played out over the ship’s tannoy. Now I met the Chief Pilot of Emirates a couple of weeks ago as we had a meeting to plan the event. He said that if all went well he would fly over the ship three times. Well he was at the controls, and talk about ‘Boys with new Toys’ – he flew over no less than 12 times from a range of different angles – fantastic.

So – on the MV Dubai we sped back to the port. QE2 took her time; pausing to attach two tugs to help her through the narrow port entrance (well we did nudge into Southampton only two weeks ago so best to be careful). On the dockside were thousands of people and a press pack to be proud of. She was due to dock – after 41 years – at 17:45 and she was on-time to the minute.

My next task was to welcome the local delegation and escort them onto the ship. As we stood waiting for the ship to be tied up, with all of our guests waving flags from the decks, a local band struck up with bagpipes for some true British welcome music. Our President, Carol Marlow stepped off the ship and together we took the delegation (or in my language the buyers) up to the bridge wing. Now for the fireworks. They had to shut down air traffic space for these and we only had a fifteen minute window. My job was to phone the event manager once we were ready to go on the bridge wing. That was pretty cool; I called, said ‘Hit it’ and seconds later fireworks lit up the sky.

Then we just let the ship deliver a wonderful last night for our guests. Walking round the bars and restaurants during the evening was a wonderful experience. Guests and our staff were as one, sharing stories, talking about the future and looking forward to seeing each other again on Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth. It was a sight to behold as was everybody dancing the night away for once last time the look-alike-Beatles. We had also arranged for Des O’Connor to fly out and he performed two shows for our guests.

After all of our guests had disembarked the next morning, we completed the formalities and a small group gathered on the Bridge Wing for the flag exchange. This was one of the most moving events I have been privileged to be part of. Carol Marlow spoke first brimming with emotion and asked the Captain to lower the Cunard Ensign. Down it came in silence, fluttering proudly for one last time. Then a few words from the ship’s new owners, who spoke of how proud they were and just how much care they would take of QE2 in future and up went the new flag. It was indeed a moment of history. They say life begins at forty – and I think we will all be able to experience a new QE2 in Dubai in the future. Having seen their plans in detail, I am confident that when the project is finished it will be prove to be the right home for QE2 in the future. Many of the famous features of the ship will be kept and refurbished to their original state and every piece of memorabilia on the ship will be displayed so that our history is kept intact.

But now – overnight – Cunard has the youngest and most modern fleet in the cruise industry and the future for the brand is brighter than ever. Later that day, Carol and I walked off the ship together. As we did so, we were helped by some of our smiling staff. My lasting memory of QE2 will not be about all of the famous events, all the excitement, the millions of miles she’s travelled; quite simply it will be about the Ship’s Company. They are true heroes and it is they who made QE2 what she was – They Are Cunard!

So Alastair – it was awesome and hopefully I have tried to share with your bloggers how much fun it is to be making history. But now it’s about the future – Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth – The Most Famous Ocean Liners in the World. And we hope to see many thousands of our valued past QE2 guests travelling with us in the future as we continue to make history.

All the Best

Peter Shanks

PS – I thought we were meeting up for a curry in London?