50^th Blog and a Marathon

 

Believe it or not we are marking the 50^th Blog already, and the Marathon I am referring to is neither the journey to get to this posting or the chocolate bar now known as Snickers. It’s about one of Cunard’s Officers who ran the London Marathon last Sunday. Before we get to that I would like to thank everyone who has logged on over the last eight months and of course all the support I get from Guest Bloggers and Interviewees not forgetting Shelley, Matt and Richard for all their support back in Southampton. I am hoping that we will continue to develop new ideas as the Blog evolves.

 

After all the excitement of the World Cruises, Queen Mary 2 is settling in to her Transatlantic season and I hope to get another guest Blog from someone on her soon. Meanwhile on Queen Victoria we are coming to the end of a very successful first voyage of the summer season. Before this week’s guest Blog here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 1^st to the 7^th May:

 

May 1 2004

 

QE2 and Queen Mary 2 arrive in Southampton – the first time two Cunard Queens have been in the company’s home port since 1967. QE2 relinquishes the title of flagship to RMS Queen Mary 2. QE2 is the longest serving Cunard flagship.

 

May 2 1969

 

QE2 Maiden Voyage. Southampton to New York – 4 days, 16 Hours & 35 Minutes – she had become the only ship left offering a scheduled transatlantic service.

 

May 2 2005

 

Queen Elizabeth 2 marked 36 years of service on Monday, May 2 when she arrived back in Southampton. A special birthday party was held on board to honor the ship, with pecial guests including nine former and current Captains as well as 80 year old John Whitworth OBE, who was the Managing Director of Cunard Line at the time of QE2’s introduction and who was instrumental in the ship’s construction.

 

May 3 1982

 

Queen Elizabeth 2 is requisitioned by the British Government for the Falkland Islands campaign. Cunard Countess is also chartered for use in the conflict.

 

Sally Spiers is a Personnel and Training Manager who has worked on Queen Victoria and most recently on Queen Mary 2.  Guests often find it interesting to hear what we get up to when we’re on leave; well how about this? I first heard about Sally’s intention to run the 26 mile London Marathon on the 26^th of April, a month ago when she was busy training on board Queen Mary 2 during the World Cruise. Here she is being encouraged by Captain Nick Bates, David Stephenson (Hotel Manager) and Brian Wattling (Chief Engineer).

 

 

It’s a great story so here’s Sally tell you all about it: –

 

Special Guest Blog – Sally Spiers Personnel and Training Manager – Queen Mary 2

The words ‘World Cruise’ always conjure up so many thoughts and images, and the diversity that individuals gain from the experience is immense. For me the 2009 World cruise will be an epoch in my life, and something that I will never forget. Firstly, it’s been my very first world cruise and the fact that it’s on Queen Mary 2 makes it unforgettable. Secondly, I made the mammoth commitment to run the London Marathon and raise funds for the British Red Cross.

 

With me disembarking on the 20^th of April and the Marathon taking place just six days later, all my training had to take place on board. The most common question I was asked, (and often by guests) was; “How do you train and how can you possibly prepare your body for such a great challenge whilst the majority of your time is spent sailing across oceans?” Well it’s simple, everything you do from the second you wake up turns into part of your training plan, whether it be walking up the 14 flights of stairs or pacing laps around the deck at lunch time (3 laps is the equivalent of just over a mile, making a staggering 78 laps to match the Marathon itself). Not being a regular runner I followed all of the advice offered, and got myself a training plan. However, I quickly concluded these were designed for people who work 5 days a week and have evenings free (not really conducive to ship life). It was only at the latter stages of my training that I realised how training on the ship helped me more than I could possibly have imagined.

 

A lot of my deck training at sea was generally against a strong breeze and a great resistance workout (really helping you to control your breathing). Training in the heat and immense humidity of the Caribbean, India, and Egypt made me focus on digging deep in terms of body strength and breathing. When the deck was busy, I relied on the treadmill and learned to hill run. Please don’t think that training on board has been easy, quite the contrary, it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Everyone knows that working on a ship consists of long working hours, and trying to find an extra two or three hours in your day is a challenge in itself (let alone getting yourself motivated). I think the hardest part was the commitment and the discipline (especially with so many amazing ports to visit). While my friends were off enjoying the amazing local cuisine and tourist sites, I explored the ports in a different way; Forest Gump style! Mind you, I do believe the best way to explore any port is to run around it. You see some truly amazing things including Copacabana beach, the bright lights of Hong Kong and Sydney Opera house. All these memories helped me through my 26 miles. Here I am taking a few moments away from training.

 

 

As you would expect with life at sea, my fellow crew members have been incredibly supportive. I’ve been touched by the extreme efforts of my colleagues, from magazine articles on running to collections of sponsorship. The health and fitness team were consistently on hand with TLC and advice. The Mess team ensured I was “carbed up”; it was like having lots of mums on board. It was a fantastic training; after all, how many people can say that they’ve ran around the world to train for the London Marathon. That’s what the Queen Mary 2 does; it makes your dreams become reality! Even the team on Queen Victoria sent many goodwill messages, which just goes to show how much of a family we are.

 

The day itself was the most amazing and surreal thing that I’ve ever done; it was fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone!

 

The first 7 miles flew by and I was making really good time (apart from the 15 minutes that it took for me to queue for the loo during the 4^th mile….nerves I think). In honesty the first ten miles were fairly easy and comfortable. The crowds were amazing and everyone was so supportive, that you couldn’t help but love every second.

 

By about 12 miles I didn’t feel so good; not tired or leg pains but with a terrible stitch. I had to slow down for a while, but still kept going. By the time I got to the 18^th mile it was becoming a real struggle but despite not feeling good, I never for a second thought of giving up.  

 

The last five miles were fantastic. Passing Katie Price and Peter Andre was clearly a highlight! As you can imagine, you have to do a little sprint to the finish line and it felt amazing. It was great to have so many friends and family waiting. I managed it in 6 hours 27 minutes which although was a little longer than I hoped. I am just so happy I did it.

 

 

 

Since then I must admit I have been incredibly stiff and today I found a leaflet they gave me; “The Chicago Marathon – 11^th October! Tempting but I’ll think about that after some rest.

 

I’d like to thank everyone for all the amazing messages, and I’m not being cheesy when I say that it was those messages and good thoughts that got me through the tough miles. I’m proud to say I’ve reached well over my $2000 target and money is still coming in – so thanks again!

 

Thank you Sally so much for sharing your inspiring story and of course our congratulations for your incredible achievement. You can still donate something if you wish by going to the following website: –

 

www.justgiving.com/run4redx

 

That’s it for another week but I’ll be back soon with more news so thank you again for logging on to this 50^th Blog and please keep those comments and questions coming in. Cheers Alastair

Welcome to the Blog celebrating Queen Victoria’s last installment of her 2009 World Cruise review as she returns home for the summer season. This summer all of Queen Victoria’s voyages will start and end in her home port of Southampton, before she heads off on her next World Cruise in January 2010. Also just in case you didn’t know the itineraries for Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth are now available up to January 2011 and you can find out more on the Cunard Website.

Meanwhile thank you for all the messages about our circumnavigation, and as I write this last chapter of Queen Victoria’s World Cruise. It’s quite a strange feeling when you come to the end of such a long voyage, and what an incredible voyage it was.

After completing over 37,000 nautical miles, there were still many events for guests to enjoy in our last week. One of those is the annual “Tug Of War” competition held between the different departments of the ships company. Departmental pride comes to the fore, and this year the Musicians were defending their title. Alas this year, they didn’t make it past the first round – never mind better luck next year. The final was between the Engineers and Deck Officers. It was a hard fought final, but in the end the Engineers (who called their team “Piston Broke”), took the crown and here they are being congratulated by Captain Ian McNaught.

Any of you who have been on a World Cruise will know the annual “Country Fair” is a true Cunard tradition. It’s a great day where the Queens Room takes on the atmosphere of an English village fete – all except the rain that is! Preparations start weeks in advance with guests and members of the Entertainment Department deciding which events will feature in this year’s fair. The fair also gives guests an opportunity donate some of their unwanted clothes and souvenirs they had amassed during their time on board. Unfortunately some of those hoping this would be a chance to reduce their excess baggage were disappointed, as they soon discovered there were bargains to be had, and those suitcases would soon be filled with new souvenirs! Well that’s all part of the fun.

This year was another great success and featured new ideas as well as the traditional activities such as the human fruit machine and the “Carrot Chop”! Here Captain McNaught tries his hand at chopping the carrot as it appears at the bottom of a pipe – not as easy as it looks!

The afternoon included a charity auction which features all kinds of valuable memorabilia including the ship’s first Piston Ring (mounted on a wooden block with a commemorative plaque), courtesy of Willy Robinson (Chief Engineer) and his team. We also had some special gifts from guests from First Day Covers marking Queen Elizabeth’s and Queen Mary’s last visit to Southampton (thanks to Mr. Stewart Wilson), to a souvenir lapel pin from QE2’s Millennium. The last item was the ships navigational chart covering the entire World Cruise, featuring the track Queen Victoria followed and the signatures of both Captains and all the Bridge Officers. Then it was time to announce the winners of the various raffles and we were delighted that the giant teddy bear, (kindly donated every year by Mr. Richardson), was won by Dr. Carrim, and she couldn’t have been happier.

Apart from being a lot of fun, the aim is to raise as much money as possible for our World Cruise charities and I’m pleased to tell everyone that this year’s Fair and Auction raised over $9,000. When this money was added to the amount raised already, from all the other activities on the World Cruise, I’m proud to announce that $19,619.57 will be forwarded to very worthy charities. All I can add to that is a massive thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s events, and who were so kind with their generous donations of time and money. Special thanks also go to Marie and her helpers who ran a charity stall throughout the World Cruise. They did an incredible job and raised a phenomenal amount so thank you all so much.

Reaching Southampton after 109 days, it’s impossible to sum up the whole World Cruise as everyone has their own special memories. Whether it’s entering Sydney Harbour as the sun rose over the dramatic skyline, or meeting new friends with whom we’ll be able to share stories for years to come, the experience is quite personal. However I think we all agree that every World Cruise is different and there’s no one better to sum up this year than Dr. Harry and Mrs. Lillian Glassman. They took their first full World Cruise in 1980 on QE2 and have been every year since. From St Louis, Missouri in the United States, here they are pictured with Captain Paul Wright and Wendi Hardy & Rebecca de Reuss (On board Cunard World Club representatives), receiving their award as Cunard’s most travelled guests having sailed a staggering 3706 days with Cunard.

Dr. Glassman said they had always dreamed of going to countries they had seen in the National Geographic, and when he saw an advert in a New York Newspaper, the opportunity to see so many new places without having to fly seemed a perfect way to fulfill their dreams. At the age of 84, they both still relish every moment of their voyage and enjoy sharing their experiences with their family including their Great Grandson. Mrs. Glassman summed up their 2^nd World Cruise on Queen Victoria;

“We have enjoyed this World Cruise so much, and have to say that although we really enjoyed last year on board, the continual crew training and White Star approach from the most junior crew to the Hotel Manager and Captain has really paid off. The ship has such a settled atmosphere already and it has been wonderful to be reunited with so many friends amoungst the crew and guests, from our days on QE2”.

Thank you again for following our adventures and I’ll be back on Thursday my regular weekly Blog. My colleague, Ray Rouse is back on Queen Mary 2, and I’ll be on Queen Victoria until 6 May, when I hand over to Amanda Reid. Even though I won’t be on board, I’ll keep blogging until my return in July with help from my friends on board with Guest Blogs and interviews as well as updates on Queen Elizabeth, and. Cheers for now – Alastair

Welcome to this week’s special Blog as Queen Victoria completed her 2^nd World Cruise and met up with her big sister, Queen Mary 2 in Southampton, on 20 April. Thank you for all the messages regarding the circumnavigation coverage of both ships, it’s been great to hear how many of you have been following our journey. I’ll be posting the last chapter of this amazing World Cruise on Monday.

In the meantime for this week’s Blog it’s a great pleasure to introduce you to one of our Cunard Insight’s Lecturers. Walter Cunningham belongs to a unique club of only about 400 members and membership isn’t just a matter of paying your subscription and signing on the dotted line. Yes, this club is exclusively for those who have travelled in to space so it does feel very special to meet one of these rare individuals. This week he has been kind enough to write our Guest Blog, but before that here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 24^th to the 30^th of April.

April 25 2004

Historic Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing of QE2 in tandem with Queen Mary 2. This marks QE2’s last westbound Transatlantic Crossing as Cunard’s flagship. Both RMS Queen Mary 2 and QE2 meet in new York – the first time that two Cunard Queens have been berthed in the port since March 1940.

April 28 1969

QE2 makes her maiden call at Lisbon, Portugal

April 29 1987

Diana, Princess of Wales, makes her first visit to QE2

Now to this week’s Guest Blog. How do you begin a conversation with a man who has been into space and which question would you ask first? . It’s always fascinating to meet lecturers with such different backgrounds and a wide variety of subjects to talk about, but an Astronaut – well that takes some beating. .

Walter Cunningham is best known as America’s second civ­ilian Astro­naut. In 1967, he was a member of the backup crew for Apollo 1 when the prime crew was killed in a fire on the pad. After serving on the fire investigation board, Cunningham was assigned to the first manned flight of the Apollo Pro­gram to land a man on the Moon. In 1968, he orbited the earth 163 times as the pilot of Apollo 7. Following the Apollo 7 mission, he became Chief of the Skylab Astro­nauts, where he was responsible for the design, development and integration of sys­tems for the lar­gest spacecraft, manned or unmanned, ever placed in orbit. He is a retired Marine Corps fighter pilot with the rank of Colo­nel and 4,500 hours pilot time. He has graduate degrees from UCLA in physics and the Harvard Graduate School of Business. If this isn’t enough Walter Cunningham is also a successful businessman, entre­preneur, venture capitalist, lectur­er, author of The All-Ameri­can Boys, and host of a radio talk show.

In his lectures Walter Cunningham takes his audience on a unique tour of our planet from an astronaut’s unique perspective, covering the Earth’s natural features, man-made wonders, icebergs, glaciers, environmental scars, and weather phenomena. He also discusses his personal view of what he calls “Man’s Greatest Adventure”, as well as the space race between the Russians and the Americans. Here is his Blog: –

Guest Blog – Astronaut – Walter Cunningham

What ocean going traveller isn’t familiar with the name Cunard? When you have the opportunity to travel on Queen Mary 2 or Queen Victoria, Cunard becomes more than just a great name in the industry. It becomes a personal experience, and what an experience it is. Dot and I have just returned from our third trip with Cunard in the last three years. This time it was the Sydney to Nagasaki segment of Queen Victoria’s 2009 World Cruise, with some interesting stops in New Guinea and The Marianas Islands.

Even on a great and beautiful ship, the experience is tied to the people you meet and the places you see. As a speaker, you are always looking for a great audience and that was the case on the Queen Victoria. It was nice to share my career in space with such an enthusiastic audience.

Queen Victoria’s Royal Court Theatre is one of the most beautiful Theatres I have had the good fortune to speak in. It is big and beautiful, yet close and intimate. Not too many places ashore share these characteristics.

I was flattered when Caroline Mathieson and Julia Young first contacted me about doing the world cruise on Queen Victoria. And Alastair, thank you for making my lectures so convenient. This blog is an opportunity to thank my fellow guests for what they contributed to our enjoyment.

I enjoy sharing man’s greatest adventure with others, and the audiences on Cunard are especially receptive. The Q and A sessions are lively and they usually continue after leaving the theatre, especially after I have been talking about life elsewhere in the universe. They must have enjoyed what they heard, because they sold out my book, The All-American Boys.

One of the places where we discussed my lectures was, surprisingly, at the workout area in the morning. The spa area was a good place to catch on any questions that had not been answered, although it did slow down my regular workout routine. I did enjoy going to these fascinating ports and here is a picture of me with the volcano in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea in the background.

Anyone wanting more information on yours truly, can obtain it at my website: www.waltercunningham.com .

Thank you very much Walter, It was great as always to have you on board and I hope we’ll see you again soon. Well that’s it for now but I’ll be back on Monday with my final report from Queen Victoria’s World Cruise. Cheers – Alastair

Queen Victoria is now back in the Mediterranean and since my last Blog we have celebrated Easter on board as well as Passover for our Jewish Guests. This week is a bit of a mixed bag and includes a message from Captain McNaught. We also have some great pictures for you including a stunning sunset over Istanbul as our guests enjoyed a Deck BBQ.

Before we get to this week’s guest Blog, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 17^th to the 23^rd of April.

April 17 1921

The Albania II is launched as the first new build for Cunard after the first world war though her keel was laid in 1914

April 18 1969

Cunard formally accepts delivery of QE2

April 21 1921

Laconia II is launched and enters service the next year

April 22 1969

QE2 Mini Maiden voyage to Las Palmas

On board Queen Victoria, we are well and truly in the Mediterranean now and the weather has been great and quite warm. This is a very special time of year, and the 8^th of April, 92 of our Jewish guests enjoyed a wonderful Passover Seder conducted by Rabbi Bloom. This traditional event, of specially prepared food combined with prayers and songs and was enjoyed by everyone. Yet again congratulations go to the Food and Beverage department for doing such a great job. In fact talking of our Chefs, they had a busy week, as we also celebrated Easter last week which meant lots of chocolate – and I mean lots! On Good Friday we were treated to traditional Hot Cross Buns for breakfast which were delicious. That morning, guests were also greeted by a wonderful display in the Grand Lobby, which the team had created overnight.

Although guests weren’t invited to tuck in, the chocolate was real and on Easter Sunday itself a separate table offering special biscuits and chocolate eggs was available for those who had room after all the Hot Cross Buns!

It was lovely to be back in Istanbul; such a great city and fortunately just the right temperature. The day was stunning and we celebrated in the evening with another World Cruise tradition of the deck BBQ party, where yet again our talented Chefs, under the guidance of Benny Stumphel and Nick Oldroyd, did a fantastic job with great food and decorating the lido deck with palms and special carvings.

The Sailaway from Istanbul is always beautiful as you leave this bustling harbour, but this time it was particularly stunning and I joined many guests out on deck to take some photos of a beautiful sunset over the old city. Alas there isn’t space for all the pictures I took, but I do love this one of the sun setting behind the iconic Hagia Sofia, which has been a Church, Mosque and since 1935 a museum.

This last leg of the world cruise has again played host to more great lecturers taking part in the Cunard Insights Programme. It’s always a pleasure to welcome back Carol Thatcher (daughter of Baroness Margaret Thatcher and the late Sir Dennis), who delivered two very entertaining lectures to a packed Royal Court theatre, on her amazing life before, during and after her mother’s residency of number ten Downing Street as British Prime Minister.

Carol has also kindly agreed to be a guest Blogger so look out for that in the coming weeks. Amoungst our other lecturers this leg we have enjoyed subjects including maritime design, Roman, Greek and Turkish history, life as a Military Social Aide in the White house and Astronomy. Speaking of Astronomy it was great to see Francisco Diego, from the Royal Astronomical Society, back on board. He has an amazing passion of his subject which he delivers with contagious enthusiasm. In addition to his lectures we were able to arrange for some late night star gazing where guests were invited to the upper decks of the ship to hear about the stars and look through a special telescope. Again we’ll try and get an article about Francisco and the Royal Astronomical Society soon, but in the meantime we thought you may be interested in this photo of the moon taken by Francisco using a regular camera pressed up against the eyepiece of the telescope – incredible!

Meanwhile I would like to thank Christian Reay, who was asking after Captain Ian McNaught. As readers will be aware Captain McNaught took over command of Queen Victoria when Captain Paul Wright went on leave in March. Of course it was quite a transition from the Farewell Voyage of QE2 to join Queen Victoria so Christian was asking how Captain McNaught was settling in. I will be interviewing Captain McNaught in a few weeks, but for the moment, he was kind enough to write a quick paragraph for the Blog:-

Quick Guest Blog – Captain McNaught

Well, here we are coming quickly towards the end of Queen Victoria’s 2009 World Cruise, and I have been here as Captain from Singapore, and coming here from the oldest ship in the fleet, QE2, which will always have a special place in my heart, to the newest, has been an exciting time and a big learning curve for me. What has really struck me since I arrived here though is how settled and happy this ship is, and after only one year of service that is a real credit to the ship’s company who have been here since the beginning. All of this makes me feel very much at home, I am surrounded by familiar faces from QE2 and Queen Mary 2, both amongst the ship’s company and within our guests, and of course, with the recent announcement of Queen Elizabeth, we have lots to look forward to within the Cunard family and I am just pleased and proud to play my small part in the ongoing Cunard story. After all ‘We Are Cunard!’

Thank you very much Captain, and I look forward to a more in depth interview in a few weeks. Well that’s it for now but I’ll be back next week when Queen Victoria marks the end of her second World Cruise by returning to Southampton, which will be her homeport for the rest of the year. We’ll reflect on the World Cruise in a special Blog with comments from guests, officers and crew. Cheers for now – Alastair

Within two days, guests on board Queen Victoria were able to enjoy two marvels of design separated by over two thousand years, the Ancient City of Petra and the Suez Canal. Another contrast was leaving Dubai, one of the most modern cities in the world, to go to the ancient city of Petra just a week later. Queen Victoria docked at the port of Aqaba, the only major port in Jordan, and over 800 guests, and about 100 crew, crossed the dessert to reach this incredible city. On the way it was remarkable to see Bedouin camps looking the same as they probably have been for centuries.

The only thing I had seen of Petra before was on the “Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade” movie with Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. Needless to say there was no sign of them, but they had at least left something of their visit in their wake………..

Yes every major tourist attraction has to have the “Gift Shop”, with locals eager to help you spend your money on a variety of souvenirs that will probably eventually end up in the attic. To get to the city you have to walk (or take a horse if you like), for nearly a mile through a narrow ravine. But then, that initial view of the magnificent Treasury building is as breathtaking now as it was when first seen by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt back in 1812.

This is the iconic view, seen by thousands of visitors since Johann Burckhardt as the first Westerner, saw it. Since then UNESCO has described it as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage” and in 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site. Amoungst the attractions was an opportunity to ride a camel and I have to say despite their reputation they all seemed to be in a good mood on the day we saw them.

The Treasury was so named according to our guide, because the early western visitors believed treasure was hidden in the stone bowl at the top. However after firing several rounds of ammunition at it they discovered there wasn’t! We soon found out that this building is just the beginning of the ancient city, as a short walk later we saw much more carved in to the side of the beautiful sandstone rock.

Of course I had to climb up the many steps to be rewarded by a magnificent view of yet more of the city below, which you can see in the distance.

Our guide told us that they are continuing to excavate the area, and archeologists estimate that we only saw about 20% of what has yet to be uncovered. What an amazing day and despite the walking (about five miles or so), it was definitely worth it. Surprising enough it was rather quiet on the bus on the way back to the ship, but two hours later when we got back to Aqaba some of our bar staff (Carlos, Phil and Robin), decided to show off their latest purchases!

After a day at sea it was time to transit our second canal of the World Cruise. This is always a highlight of the circumnavigation as we transit the Suez Canal in to the Mediterranean. I thought it would be interesting for readers of the Blog to hear about the transit from the perspective of one of our Bridge Officers. The task was duly delegated to Ned Tutton, so here is his report.

Ned Tutton – Third Officer - Queen Victoria – Guest Blog

We anchored off Port Suez at about 0430 to await our pilot and for the northbound convoy to form. By 0640 all was in order for us to heave up the anchor and get underway in eighth position with a clutch of container ships ahead of us and a sailing yacht behind. We entered the canal at 0700 and set a speed of about eight and a half knots, but this fluctuated throughout the day depending on the pilots request and the ship ahead of us, as we maintained a distance of about one and a half nautical miles astern of her.

The first leg of the Suez Canal is relatively straight and narrow and allows for one direction of traffic only. The first widening in the canal is the Little Bitter Lake which we reached at 0845 and in turn the Great Bitter Lake. It was here that we passed the southbound convoy, which was anchored waiting for us to pass. By 1100 we had passed through the Great Lake and at 1200 we reached Lake Timsah and the City of Ismailia with its two imposing war memorials. Here we slowed down to exchange our pilots. Here’s a typical transfer we conduct during a transit.

There’s another boat aft as well, so at one stage we had the boats 3 deep with all sorts of agents, officials and pilots transferring! This photo is looking astern with one of our pilot boats behind us.

Beyond Ismailia we passed the El Ferdan Railway Bridge, which is apparently the longest swing bridge in the world. This was of course open to allow us safe passage and at 1345 we passed the more impressive El Qantara Bridge. This is a high cable stay bridge supported by four obelisk-like towers. Queen Victoria passed under this with a clearance of 14 metres, though it seems much less than that as you pass underneath!

When first sighted it looks as if this bridge connects two empty deserts, but on getting closer, the city of El Quatara itself lines the bank on the starboard (west) side. After this we followed the canal to its divide just before Port Said and followed the Bypass Channel as we were not stopping at Port Said on this occasion. We disembarked the pilot and at 1640 left the canal for the open waters of the Mediterranean Sea, nine hours and forty minutes, and eighty nine miles after leaving the Red Sea.

Thank you very much Ned for your Blog, it’s great to involve other people on the ship. In fact Ned has agreed to be a guest Blogger again in a few weeks when he’ll talk about his career so far. Ned joined Cunard as a cadet in 2005 and was made Third Officer in June 2009, and I’m sure many of you will be interested to hear about the training and career progression for seafarers today. That’s it for now but I’ll be back on Thursday with more news on Queen Victoria’s as she comes to the end of her second World Cruise. Cheers for now – Alastair

Welcome to this week’s Blog which features a special report from Queen Mary 2 as she arrives in Southampton on the 8^th April, marking the end of her second World Cruise. Actually that’s not entirely true as some of her American guests will be taking Queen Mary 2’s first transatlantic crossing of the season, to complete their World Cruise in New York. Meanwhile thank you for all the comments; it’s been great to read so many this week and lovely to hear from those of you who have sailed with me recently. Thank you David Cunard, for the question regarding Queen Elizabeth’s record breaking 29 minute maiden voyage sell out. As you can imagine these events are choreographed carefully so that both sides of the Atlantic go on sale at the same time, this way everyone has the same opportunity.

Before we get to this week’s guest Blog, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 10^th to the 16^th of April.

April 14 1999

On 14 April a lunch is held on board QE2 in Southampton to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of the ship’s maiden transatlantic crossing (2 – 7 May 1969).

April 15 2006

Queen Mary 2 docks at the Brooklyn Terminal in New York for the first time, marking the opening of the new terminal.

April 16 1982

QE2 makes her maiden call at Arrecife, Lanzarote

April 16 2004

Queen Mary 2 departs Southampton on her first Transatlantic Crossing to New York.

As Queen Mary 2 arrived in Southampton yesterday it seemed the perfect opportunity to look back at her second World Cruise. The Social Hostess on board Queen Mary 2, Jennifer Schaper, was kind enough to be a guest Blogger and she has done an amazing job in being able to condense the incredible circumnavigation in one Blog. Before we get to that here’s a bit about Jennifer who I am sure many of you will know: –

For Jennifer Schaper, going to sea has become somewhat of a family tradition. Her family often needed to cross the Atlantic and thanks to her aunt, who worked for Cunard for many years, they were able to do this on Queen Elizabeth 2 frequently.

Born in the historical city of Mainz, Germany, she moved to the USA with her family at the age of 5, living in New Jersey and Vermont. After three years the family moved back to Germany and both Jennifer and her older sister Kristina continued their education at German schools. With an American mother and a German father, both she and her sister were brought up bilingual, and went to both German and American schools. After acquiring her high school diploma, Jennifer went to the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production in July 2006.

Jennifer’s sister started working on Queen Elizabeth 2 and then Queen Mary 2 and even her mother has worked on both Queens. During Jennifer’s studies she occasionally worked on both ships as Librarian in her semester breaks, Jennifer followed in her sister’s footsteps as the Programme Coordinator and Entertainment Administrative Assistant onboard Queen Mary 2 in October 2006 and was promoted to her current position of Social Hostess in 2007. When on leave she travels a lot, visiting family and friends in Germany, Seattle and New York City.

So now you know Jennifer, here’s her Blog.

Jennifer Schaper – Queen Mary 2 Social Hostess – Guest Blog

Queen Mary 2 embarked on her second ever world cruise this year on January 13^th in Fort Lauderdale after a friendly reunion with Queen Victoria, and 300 of our guests came all the way around the world with us.

We may not fit through the Panama Canal (yet!), but in a way that actually benefits us because it forces us around the fascinating continent of South America. So after a brief visit to the Caribbean, we were able to marvel at the Corcovado, Sugar Loaf Mountain and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, stock up on plenty of leather handbags and coats in Montevideo, and watch in awe as we passed Cape Horn and follow along the Beagle Channel. On the western side of the continent we were able to enjoy Santiago, follow the Inca trail in Lima and relax on the beach in Acapulco. This was longest leg of our world cruise and we were sad to see so many of our guests leave in Los Angeles after nearly one month.

In Los Angeles we welcomed new guests for our second leg with a South Pacific flavour. Our first stop on the way to Sydney was Honolulu, a favourite for many. Understandably so, for who can resist the allure of beautiful Waikiki Beach, the historic Aloha Tower or even just the expansive shopping opportunities this great port has to offer. Three days later we found ourselves in a very different place – Pago Pago in American Samoa, a great port for relaxing on the beach or just strolling and admiring this lush green island while slurping on some coconut milk. The next day, well…never happened! We lost a whole day as we crossed the dateline and so only two days after Pago Pago we were in the exciting city of Auckland. Here, many went to see the film sets from “Lord of the Rings”, others went shopping or to the top of the sky tower. In the evening there was plenty of time for a meal at one of the many fantastic restaurants. During this leg of our world cruise, the terrible fires in Australia were ruining many lives, directly affecting some of our guests. To support the Australian Red Cross as they help those in need, on February 18^th, we auctioned off many exclusive items, including the Commodore’s epaulettes, bridge visits and much more. There were many fantastic donations from our guests and Carol Marlow, Managing Director and President of Cunard, offered the grand prize in a raffle from which she drew the winner personally on February 24^th – a stateroom on a transatlantic voyage of the winner’s choice! Altogether we raised USD $60,488! In Sydney we said good-bye to many guests that had become friends during our inspiring second leg.

For our world cruisers, Sydney was a very special port because this is where we had our world cruise dinner. And what a beautiful event it was in such a great city! We all enjoyed the beautifully decorated ballroom, the Aboriginal entertainment, the wonderful dinner and the dance music afterwards.

On our third leg we visited exciting Asian ports on our way to Dubai, including Yokohama – our first call ever in Japan. This is where everybody realised that they had forgotten it was still winter in the northern hemisphere! This was a great chance to see Tokyo or have some real Japanese sushi. Next was Hong Kong – the shopping capital of the world, and that’s exactly what most people did! After two days at sea we reached Laem Chabang, the port for Bangkok, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, although many went to the beach in Pattaya. In Singapore there was plenty to see, do and buy in this modern city, followed by Cochin where we got a taste of India with many of us looking forward to returning to this fascinating country.

Dubai was our next embarkation port and one of the fastest growing cities in the world so this day our guests found out that this truly is a city of superlatives. Two days later, in Salalah, many of our guests went on the ‘Frankincense Trail’ or enjoyed a relaxing lunch in the sun and the afternoon on the beach. After leaving Oman, we headed towards the Suez Canal, but just before we entered it we stopped in Sukhna, Egypt. Only two hours from Cairo, this was our stop for the amazing Pyramids of Giza where 1600 guests went to see the last remaining of the seven wonders of the old world and came back with plenty of souvenirs, especially the popular gold cartouches. The next day we spent heading north through the Suez Canal which was a very interesting day for all. Our following two ports allowed us to directly compare the two capitals of the old world, Athens and Rome. These amazing cities are like living museums, where you learn so much just by strolling amongst the ruins. These great cities were followed by the ritzy city of Cannes and multi-faceted Barcelona after that.

The fourth leg of our world cruise saw some more successful charity events. The crew performed for our guests in a show we called “Stars in Your Eyes”. Six contestants performed as famous singers and the guests voted for their favourite. Congratulations to ‘The Zone’ Supervisor Marion, our very own Charlotte Church! And on the 4^th of April we had our traditional World Cruise Charity Fair – A fun event for guests and crew. Many of our guests volunteered and worked hard, making posters and using their creative minds to make this event a big success, raising a total of USD $8533.96. Our last port of call before Southampton was Cherbourg where we said good bye to some of our full world cruisers.

Finally, after 90 days, we reached Southampton, the end of our voyage around the world although we do have 121 guests who will stay with us until New York.

The last three months have certainly been fascinating, we have seen and learned a lot. Many of us were able to fulfill lifelong dreams of seeing world renowned sights we have heard so much about since childhood. This was my first time around the world and I’m now looking forward to the next World Cruise in 2010!

Thank you very much Jennifer for your Blog, it’s always great to hear from our big sister! That’s it for now but I’ll be back in a few days time with some news on Queen Victoria’s call to Jordan and her second Transit of the Suez Canal. Cheers for now – Alastair

Hopefully the title of this special Blog is a little intriguing!

Firstly I hosted the first Bloggers meeting on Queen Victoria this week, which gave me an opportunity to meet guests who have been reading the Blog and get some feedback from them. It was a modest but informative group of five, and they gave me great food for thought. When I’m on board these meetings will become a regular feature, so if you are joining us at some time in the future, please look out for them, and of course I look forward to meeting you.

Meanwhile at some stage of the day last Wednesday, you will probably have realised that it was April fool’s Day. The question is; were you caught out? It’s a long standing tradition on Cunard ships to enter the spirit of the occasion and this year we had a lot of fun as usual. In previous years there have been some wonderful spoofs, from icebergs being dragged to Dubai to help with their water shortage, to ask guests to keep clear of the Lido deck as the mail was being delivered to the ship by helicopter! On Queen Victoria last year we offered guests guided tours to a unique feature on Cunard’s latest liner – a glass panel on the ship’s hull. We weren’t sure how many would go for it but we gave out nearly 300 tickets (which informed guests they had been April fooled!)

This year we got a little carried away with a few ideas. We placed this notice in the Daily Programme: –

I’m not sure how many did go and check but we did receive a complaint from a guest asking why the work hadn’t started yet! I know you are going to say what a great idea it would be……. Well perhaps in the future – you never know. Meanwhile we also had another special offer on the front page of our Daily Programme:

It hopefully looks plausible and again a great idea. However we thought that the phrase “take the helm” may have rung alarm bells, but no, we had lots of takers. In fact we heard the night before, (when the Daily Programmes are delivered to Guest Staterooms, that one guest was planning to be there early so he could guarantee being the first in the queue. So that we didn’t keep people waiting too long, I arrived 45 minutes early at 8.45am with the Sports Director Chris Thomas, to set up our hospitality desk. We were greeted by 15 enthusiastic guests eager to be the first to sign up and here’s Chris handing taking signups and giving out confirmations slips, (which informed guests they had been April Fooled!).

Just over an hour later we had over 325 signatures! The atmosphere was very good spirited, and it was fun to watch guests who had been caught already enjoying the moment watching others realising they too had fallen for it.

Meanwhile I asked Amanda Reid (who has joined Queen Mary 2 for a few weeks to cover the Assistant Entertainment Director role), whether they did anything for April Fools Day on board. She told me that Captain Bates made an announcement early that morning as they arrived in Civitavecchia, (the port for Rome) that the local currency had changed as from midnight the night before from Euros to a new currency due to the financial crisis hitting Italy. An immediate queue formed at the Purser’s Desk with guests asking to change money. This was despite the fact that Captain Bates mentioned the new currency was called the Pizza and it took five of them to equal the value of one Euro!

All good fun and I am pleased to say on both our ships a good sense of humour prevailed – so now we just have to think up something for next year, so if you are thinking of joining us – beware! Meanwhile I’ll be back on Thursday with the regular weekly Blog with more news as we come towards the end of our 2009 World Cruises.

Cheers for now – Alastair

I have just found out that it took just 29 minutes for Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden Voyage, to the Canary Islands on the 12^th October 2010, to sell out. This is a new record in Cunard’s 170-year history, beating the record set by last year’s final voyage of QE2, which sold out in 36 minutes when it went on sale in June 2007. I also hear that the other five voyages in her maiden season are also already over half sold which is a remarkable testament to the popularity of the new Queen.

 

Also I understand that there is some exciting news about the spring and summer 2010 itineraries for Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria which will open for booking on April 17. Although no detailed itineraries have been published, some of the highlights I picked out were a round Britain voyage for Queen Victoria as well as some special Hawaiian voyages in January 2011. Meanwhile Queen Mary two will continue her successful Transatlantic Crossings as well as Europe, Norway, Canada & New England as well as the Caribbean.

 

Anyway as soon as I have any more news on that or anything else, I’ll let you know. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with another Blog as well as Thursday with my regular weekly Blog. Cheers – Alastair

 

 

Welcome to this week’s Blog with details of Queen Victoria’s visit to the incredible city of Dubai including the reunion with QE2. Meanwhile it’s been great to read so many of your comments and to hear from old friends, guests and lecturers who have either sailed with me on one of the three Queens. We did have one question this week regarding single rooms on board Queen Victoria and the new Queen Elizabeth.

 

Not knowing the answer to that myself I thought I would go to the top and ask Carol Marlow. She said “It’s always a challenge to design a new ship with all the features and amenities our guests would like and the reason we decided not to include single rooms for the moment is to ensure we have the greater flexibility offered by having double staterooms throughout.” 

 

Before we get to this week’s Blog, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 3^rd to the 9^th of April.

 

April 4 1951

Caronia makes her maiden call to Pireaus (Athens)

 

April 7 1976

QE2 makes her maiden call at Alexandria, Egypt

 

April 9 2008

Queen Victoria makes her maiden transit of the Suez Canal

 

This week marked another special occasion on Queen Victoria’s second World Cruise, with a reunion with QE2 in Dubai last Sunday. Although no visitors were permitted on board we all got some great views of her and you could see that there were some people working there and as you can see she still looks stunning. This photo from the sports deck of Queen Victoria shows her in all her glory:

 

 

I thought you may like this one as well, that shows the differences in the size of the two ships, with Queen Victoria berthed right behind her older sister.

 

 

I spent the day in Dubai with Thomas Quinones who many of you will know as the Social Host on QE2 for many years. It was an emotional day for him and for many crewmembers and guests who have fond memories of QE2 but in chatting to him in his new home on Queen Victoria he is also excited about the future. Thomas has agreed to write a special Guest Blog which I will post in the next couple of weeks.

 

Dubai is changing and at incredible pace with construction cranes everywhere (although it was evident that things have slowed down recently due to the world economic climate). The Port Authorities are looking at a new terminal building to greet visiting ships as they decided to close the old one to create even more land – literally by importing rock and dredging sand! Seeing is believing, because you could literally spend days looking at the amazing buildings which is probably an architect’s heaven! Since we came here last year the Burj Dubai has officially become the tallest structure ever built.

 

 

Construction on the Burj Dubai is expected to be completed later this year and to give you an idea of its size, it is 1,000 feet taller than the previous titleholder; the Taipei 101 in Taiwan. The difference is about the size of the Eiffel Tower (which was the tallest structure in the world when it was built in 1889!). The Burj Dubai, has 160 stories and at a reported 2,600 feet, is taller than two Empire State Buildings stacked together and when completed, it will house 5 million square feet of office space, a 175-room hotel, 900 apartments, four swimming pools and the world’s highest observation deck. Construction began in began in September 2004 and so far more than 10,000 workers have logged more than 29 million hours constructing it. Apparently parts of it are now open to the public, but you do have to book in advance.

 

Another fascinating building that you’ll recognize as a Dubai Icon, is the world’s first seven star hotel; the Burj Al-Arab with its iconic shape representing the sail of a dhow

 

 

You have to book to go inside here as well and they charge just over £50 ($70), not mentioning how much it would cost to dine there. To avoid the entrance charge you could choose to stay here but you may want to check your credit card limit first as I understand rooms range from £2,125 ($3,000) to £20,000 ($28,000) a night, not to mention a special cocktail that can be made for a mere £5,000 ($7,000). Needless to say we carried on exploring and managed to get inside the Atlantis Hotel at the top of the Palm Jumeirah which you may remember opened with a spectacular celebrity party last November.

 

Again the sheer scale of the project is breathtaking when you imagine that before 2001 this was just ocean. It’s even more incredible when you think this is the first and smallest of three such projects; but there again, that sums up the vision of Dubai.

 

The day ended as it began with magnificent views of QE2 as we sailed away from this amazing port.

 

 

I am now off to host the first Bloggers get together on board Queen Victoria, so I’ll let you know how it goes next week. We’ll also let you know how April the first went on board. Traditionally we have always had a bit of fun with our guests and crew on April fool’s day – so log on next week to see who had the last laugh this year! Cheers for now – Alastair