Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 436 days

As you will no doubt be aware from my Blog last week, Cunard was proud to host James Taylor on the Transatlantic Crossing from New York arriving in Southampton last Thursday. Thanks to Brian O’Connor and Eric Allen, a two-part exclusive James Taylor video diary was recorded starting with embarkation in New York on 19 June that captures interviews with James and his family and the afternoon sail away.

Here is part one.

Coming soon, part two, which will include my fellow Entertainment Director Ray Rouse interviewing James Taylor in front of a live audience in the Royal Court Theatre, a guest autograph and photo session, video clips from his Cunard Command Performances and guest reaction to this exclusive event aboard Queen Mary 2.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 440 days

I know many of you will have been on board when we have been raising money for leading charities to support their incredible work. Since December 2007 Cunard has had a proud association with The Prince’s Trust so I thought you may be interested to find out more about how this works. Firstly though, as usual, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week, 26^th June to the 2^nd July:

June 26 1970

QE2 offers medical assistance to a sick seaman transferred in the mid-Atlantic from the “Zosmarr”

June 27 1919

The Mauretania returns to Cunard’s North Atlantic service for the first time after the first world war

June 28 2009

Queen Victoria makes maiden call inside the Arctic Circle and Norway’s North Cape

Anyone who has been on board over the last 18 months will have been aware of the “Navigational Chart Auction”, where the ship’s nautical chart for that voyage, goes under the hammer, and proceeds go to The Prince’s Trust. Not only does it make a unique souvenir, but the money raised, can help change young lives. This is an example of a transatlantic chart from a recent crossing on Queen Mary 2.

My job along with my fellow Entertainment Directors is to auction the chart at the end of every voyage and the amount raised can be over $10,000, though the average is normally between $300 & $600. It certainly is a special memento which details the ships position throughout the voyage and is signed by all the Bridge team including the ship’s Master. Here is yours truly recently on Queen Mary 2.

In addition to the auctions there have also been other events held on board as well as guest donations and we have been pleased to be able to display a letter by the Purser’s desk, from HRH The Prince of Wales, expressing his gratitude for the continued support from Cunard guests and crew.

I thought it would be interesting to find out Cunard’s association with The Prince’s Trust, and Amie Hoyland, Head of Corporate Partnerships, was kind enough to answer some of my questions.

Could you tell us a bit about the amazing work The Prince’s Trust does?

Since The Prince’s Trust began, it has had one sole aim: to help change young lives. This is an ambitious goal. Too many young people in the UK have fallen through the net, through underachievement at school, or through experience of the criminal justice system, an unstable home life, or long-term unemployment. These are the young people who feel they have no future.

We address this by giving practical and financial support to the young people who need it most. We help develop key skills, confidence and motivation, enabling young people to move into work, education or training.

Are there any particularly special projects you are involved in at the moment?

Yes, at The Prince’s Trust we are very proud of the achievements our young people have made and recently held our annual Oscar-style event called Celebrate Success, where we recognised the exceptional progress and transformations made by those we supported. Louise Firinne won the Capgemini Enterprise Award for her successful business that she set up with the support of The Prince’s Trust. Louise was born in Australia and suffered abuse growing up, which led to her fleeing to the UK. However life for Louise was still incredibly tough, she was homeless and had mental and physical ill health. Click here to see a video of how she overcame this and turned her life around.

It was an honour to meet his Royal Highness when the Duchess of Cornwall named Queen Victoria in December 2007. We are aware of how passionately he feels about the work his Trust does, could you tell us a little more about his personal involvement and his wishes for the future in the Trust?

HRH The Prince of Wales is still very involved with the work of his Prince’s Trust, as he has been since he first set it up in 1976.  This involvement takes many forms – from attending many events each year on behalf of The Prince’s Trust (from visits to Trust programmes being run on council estates to gala dinners and awards ceremonies) – to day-to-day contact with the Chief Executive about the running of The Trust.  His Royal Highness particularly enjoys meeting the young people helped by his Trust, and often receives letters from the young people telling him how their lives have been changed thanks to The Prince’s Trust.  The Prince of Wales always replies personally to such letters.

Turning to the future, His Royal Highness has said in various speeches that he is still humbled and inspired in equal measure by the type of exceptional achievements that many young people who have been helped by The Trust have managed to fulfill, especially given the extremely difficult backgrounds which many of the young people have had.  HRH The Prince of Wales has also mentioned in his speeches that many people have said to him how the mission of The Trust is more pertinent than ever in the current economic climate.  Last year alone, The Trust helped to change more than 40,000 young lives.  More than three in four of those young people moved into work, education and training following their time with The Prince’s Trust; achievements which are vital in the face of the economic downturn.

Please could you tell us about how the Trust’s association with Cunard started?

As you will have read above, Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, attended the naming ceremony for the Queen Victoria in December 2007. Cunard generously approached The Prince’s Trust to benefit from fundraising linked to the launch of this new ship and the partnership started from there. We have not looked back since as Cunard, its guests and crew have raised over an incredible £360,000! Paul Brown, Director of Marketing at The Prince’s Trust says: “I am absolutely thrilled that Cunard is helping huge numbers of young people to believe in themselves and get into employment or training”.

Do you know how much has been raised by guests on board Cunard ships for The Prince’s Trust, and could you give us some idea of what that will mean to The Trust, and the work this fundraising will enable it to do?

Yes, so far a phenomenal £173,000 has been raised on board, for which The Trust would like to thank Cunard’s guests for their generosity. A large proportion of these funds have been raised from the ships’ navigational map auction that takes place on each voyage. These funds will enable The Trust to help more young people on their journey towards a more successful future. Young people like Ben Armstrong, who was helped by The Trust through our in school programme and recently won our educational achiever of the year award – click here to watch a video of his moving story.

Have you had an opportunity to sail on one of our ships yet?

Not yet! But Prince’s Trust staff have been lucky enough to have lunch on board. In October 2008, Cunard held a farewell lunch on board QE2 which raised over £20,000 for the charity. It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to go on board such an historic ship for the last time.  Amongst the guests were Nicholas Witchell, BBC’s Royal Correspondent, and Tor Stimpson, one of The Trust’s valued young ambassadors whose life has been changed thanks to the support of organisations like Cunard. Here she is with Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Carol Marlow, Captain Ian McNaught and The Prince’s Trust’s Director of Marketing Paul Brown.

“I have confidence in myself and my future looks bright for the first time, thanks to the support I received from The Prince’s Trust,” said Tor. “Cunard’s fantastic fundraising efforts will help even more young people change their lives for the better.”

Finally, do you have a message for our readers and guests?

On behalf of the young people The Prince’s Trust helps, thank you to all of Cunard’s guests and staff for your tremendous support. One day, we hope that all young people will have the chance to succeed. Sadly this won’t happen overnight as there are more than one million young people in the UK who are not in employment, education or training. However thanks to your support we can keep making a positive difference.

Thank you very much Amie for a great interview. It’s always inspiring to hear how much great work the Prince’s Trust does and if you would like more information you can visit www.princes-trust.org.uk. She has kindly invited me to a special event at the end of July which will celebrate the completion of a 3 month “Team Programme” for 15 youngsters so I’ll post some pictures of the event at the end of next month.

Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with a special Blog reviewing Queen Mary 2’s Transatlantic Crossing with James Taylor; cheers for now. Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 441 days

I have just found out that the 2011 World Voyages for Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 have been announced. Queen Elizabeth’s maiden World Voyage will begin on the 5^th of January 2011 (13^th January in New York) for 103 days visiting 38 ports including three overnight stays. Queen Mary 2 will begin her 96 day voyage in New York on the 13^th of January calling at 32 ports including Cape Town and Durban. There will be some key dates for your diaries as Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth set off from Southampton together on the 5^th of January arriving in New York on the 13^th to join their flag ship Queen Mary 2 for what promises to be an amazing occasion as the three sisters will all be together for the first time. There will also be a meeting of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 on the 22 February when both ships will spend the night in Sydney. Visit Cunard’s website to view these voyages in more detail.

Cheers – Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 442 days

As many of you will be aware the legendary singer song writer James Taylor is currently sailing on Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton and will be entertaining guests while he is on board. I’m going to pass over to Brian O’Connor who is sailing with him for an update on the crossing so far:

James Taylor departed New York on Queen Mary 2’s 19 June Transatlantic Crossing. Along with his band, joining him enroute to England to kick off their summer tour, are his wife Kim, twin sons Rufus and Henry and his mother Trudy Taylor.

This Cunard voyage fulfils a lifelong dream of Taylor’s who shared in a new book entitled “My Favorite Place on Earth” in which a chapter is written about him…in it he reveals that his favourite place is in the middle of the North Atlantic. During the voyage, Taylor and the band are rehearsing for a 10 week tour that will visit nine countries and perform 22 concerts.

During the Crossing, Ray Rouse, Queen Mary 2’s Entertainment Director interviewed James Taylor in the Royal Court Theatre in front of a live audience. Following the interview James graciously greeted, signed autographs and took photos with more than 200 adoring fans. He stayed one hour longer than scheduled because he wanted to meet each person who had waited in line for nearly two hours.

James and his band will present two Cunard Command Performances, a late and early concert for the two dinner seatings on the final two nights of the voyage. Tickets have been distributed and, as one would expect, both shows are FULL.

Brian will be posting a special Blog next week with a full report on the crossing and of course James Taylor’s performances, hopefully with some video footage.

I’ll be back on Thursday with a special Blog about Cunard’s involvement with the Prince’s Trust charity which does amazing work with underprivileged youngsters. In fact there are lots of fascinating Blogs coming up including a special guest Blogger to mark the 169^th anniversary of Britannia’s maiden crossing. Then of course I’ll be in Italy for Queen Elizabeth’s keel laying ceremony, so lots to share with you. Thank you again for all the comments, please do keep them coming.

Cheers – Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 447 days

Many of you will remember the Heritage Trail on QE2 and its host Thomas Quinones, well as he comes to the end of his first contract on Queen Victoria we thought it would be a good idea to catch up with him on the newest Queen. I also have some answers to your questions and comments coming up, but firstly, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 19th to the 25th June:

June 19 2008

Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Olden

June 20 1914

The Bismarck is launched at Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg. She becomes the Majestic after the war. When Cunard and White Star merge she flies the Cunard flag, but becomes the cadet training ship HMS Caledonia in 1936

June 20 1975

QE2 offers medical assistance to a sick seaman from the Russian fishing trawler “Luga”.

Before I get to Thomas I would like to answer some of your questions and comments. Firstly Jim and Margaret Egan were asking after David Pepper who is currently working for one of our sister companies, P&O Australia and although missing Cunard is apparently enjoying it. Sorry I missed you Paul (Weyhill), but hope you enjoyed your crossing on Queen Mary 2. The feature “This week in Cunard’s History” appears each Thursday and then sometimes I post an extra blog on a Monday.

I was delighted to read that Anthony Gaiani Jr is interested in a career at sea and is after Commodore Warner’s job! Ned Tutton is a newly qualified third Officer, (he posted a guest blog as Queen Victoria transited the Suez Canal), will be doing a special Blog in a few weeks time about the cadet programme on Cunard ships – so watch out for that, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting.

Shaun was asking about how the ships pick up pilots and indeed that is a great question which often comes up, so I’ll get a special blog together about that in a few weeks time.

I know many of you will know Thomas Quinones, who has become one of those great Cunard personalities, but just in case you haven’t here’s more about him.

Thomas was born in Mannheim, Germany where spent his childhood, before moving to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fluent in three languages and having gained a degree in Business Administration his career in the travel industry began not at sea, but in the air working as a flight attendant for German Airline, Lufthansa. It was whilst he was working there that he was offered a short term contract as a Spanish translator aboard Cunard Countess in the mid 80’s. He has remained with Cunard ever since and for more than 25 years has fulfilled a variety of social and public relations roles on various vessels in the fleet including Cunard Countess & Princess, Sagafjord, Vistafjord and Queen Elizabeth 2. This has enabled him to meet and engage with a number of the world’s leading and influential figures. Keenly interested in the history of the Cunard Line, he is probably best known for his passion in sharing the past with guests on QE2’s “Heritage Trail”. Home is now Birmingham, the big heart of England where he enjoys classical music, opera and spending time in the wonderful English countryside.

I first met Thomas when I joined QE2 in 2006 and his passion for Cunard is certainly contagious. He taught me a lot about Cunard’s incredible history and it was fascinating to hear first hand, how QE2 evolved over the years. Thomas is one of those great Cunard characters; no one will ever forget his Heritage Trail or for that matter his role in the annual Christmas Pantomime! Here’s a picture I found of us in Spitzbergen (The Norwegian Island in the Arctic Circle), watching out for Polar Bears!

I was delighted when he joined Queen Victoria in February this year. It was great to catch up and he told me that when he was working for Lufthansa he had no idea what it would be like to work on a ship. Joining Cunard Countess made him realise he had been missing something in his life. He said he was hungry for a big change in his career and has never looked back since deciding to leave the airline and commit his time to working for Cunard.

I asked Thomas what “We are Cunard” means to him. “It means a lot” he said, “looking back; it’s incredible that from just two weeks, I have now covered a quarter of a century. You go through different stages in life and being on a ship is the same. The secret is you have to find the heart and soul of it; that helps you to understand the product and what the company is looking for. It also helps you to understand the needs of our guests and what they are looking for to have a holiday of their life. It may be a short break or even a World Cruise, either way, you are Cunard for them and they have high expectation from you.”

QE2 has a very special place in Thomas’s heart. “My life on QE2 was my home away from home, meeting so many wonderful people over the years like President Mandela of South Africa, who I met on a World Cruise in 1998. When QE2 was involved in a rescue of a Spanish Fisherman in the mid Atlantic I was the translator. Meeting Her Majesty the Queen on her last visit on June 2^nd 2008 and also the Duke of Edinburgh, saying farewell to her from Southampton were real highlights. For me, QE2 was not only the last ocean liner of the 20^th century she was one of the great hotels on the high Sea.”

“The Heritage Trail was something that I conducted for a long time, showing guests the past, present and future of Cunard from 1840 up to 2008. It started as a 45 minute event, but soon became a real production when occasionally I dressed in period costumes, lasting up to 2 hrs!” If any of you have ever attended one of his incredibly popular Heritage Trails you’ll know what a unique and unforgettable event it was.

As for the future Thomas says “Yes I want to continue the tradition of the Cunard History; this time on Queen Victoria because I feel we have to let our guests know how important Cunard is for future generations.”

It was an emotional day for many when we arrived in Dubai and saw Queen Elizabeth 2 docked in front of us. This is the closest Thomas was able to get to a ship that held so many memories.

As we sailed that evening we chatted about fond memories; “The farewell voyage and leaving QE2 forever was something you cannot explain at the time, but now that time has passed and you realise that her new home in Dubai and it’s time to let her go. I started my new experience on Queen Victoria in February 2009 and she is my new home from now on. It was great to be a part of QE2’s history, but now my future is on the new Cunarders, and I would love to be part of the New Queen Elizabeth, with friends and family that I have met all these years. To all my friends we are Cunard for you.”

I couldn’t have put it better so thank you Thomas for this special Blog. As for a Heritage Trail on Queen Victoria – we’re working on it! Thank you all for logging on again. Until next week; cheers for now. Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 479 days

Before I go in to more detail of Queen Mary 2’s “Voyage of the Vikings”, here’s the breaking news I promised last week. Yes here is the long awaited update on Queen Elizabeth. Well I’m pleased to tell you that the first stage of her construction is coming along well. That’s where the steel that will make up her superstructure is cut and made in to sections. The next milestone is when the keel is laid. This is when the very first section, (or block as it is known), of the superstructure is placed in the dry dock, marking the beginning of the actual construction. I can confirm that the date for this ceremony is going to be the 2nd of July and I’m excited to say I have been invited to this very important event. I’ll be reporting with lots of pictures and hopefully some video as well, so look out for my special posting on Monday July 6th.

Meanwhile it’s all change here on Queen Mary 2. I left the ship in Southampton on Saturday and Ray Rouse returned to take the Entertainment hot seat. Meanwhile John Duffy returned as Hotel Manager while David Stephenson is away for a couple of weeks. Commodore Bernard Warner has also gone on leave while Captain Nick Bates takes the helm.

This week was the first Norwegian voyage of the season for Queen Mary 2, and what a fantastic week it was. It is such a beautiful part of the world, so I thought I would share some pictures with you thanks to the help of some of my colleagues on board. It’s a perfect time of year to go, with the long summer days, although you have to go further north to enjoy what is known as “The Land Of The Midnight Sun”, when the sun never even sets. Having said that it stays light until very late; in fact this stunning picture was taken at 2.30am by our resident DJ, Graham Cracker (well, who else would be up at that time of night!)

Flåm is known as “The little place between the mountains” and is a tiny village with a huge character and incredible fjord views you could gaze upon for hours. Because of the depth of the fjord Queen Mary 2 was able to dock literally in the centre of town but as you can see from another of Graham’s pictures, that’s not exactly difficult.

This destination is a paradise for walkers as you can enjoy a gentle stroll around the village and along the river, or for the more adventurous a long walk is rewarded by so many stunning views you can’t help but keep taking pictures. The first one I took was of Queen Mary 2 dwarfing this little village; no excuses for getting lost here!

I bumped in to our Personnel Manager Brian Lynch and Executive Chef Karl Winkler and set out for what was going to be a short brisk walk. An hour later we were still walking, enjoying the scenery when Brian mentioned he vaguely remembered a track that headed to the top of an amazing plateau which would be well worth the walk. As we headed, more off the beaten track we came to a bridge which looked rather wobbly but we thought what the hec; it looks OK.

It was only at the other end when we saw a sign that red: “Do Not Cross”! Yes only on one end by which time it was too late. The trek was one of those “It’s just over the next hill” types as we climbed higher and higher, with less and less of a track to follow, as previous walkers seemd to have had the sense to turn around. Joking apart it was a fantastic trek, and all credit to Brian we were rewarded with one of the most amazing views from the top.

Meanwhile another and slightly more relaxing way to enjoy this town, is to take a 14 mile journey on one of the world’s steepest railways. It spirals its way through twisting mountain tunnels to Myrdal which is 865 metres above sea level. Flåmsbana (Flaam Railway), was built in order to provide a line of communication between Sognefjorden and the main railway and the views are simply spectacular! Although construction on the line started in 1923, it didn’t officialy open until 1980. You can either take the train both ways, or one way and walk the other or even take your bike and ride up or back. This is a popular crew activity and a few members of the Entertainment Department took the train to the top and cycled back. Their pictures were stunning and for Mel (one of our dance couple) from South Africa, it was paticularly special as it was the first time she had ever touched snow! Here she is in red in a beautiful picture taken with fellow day trippers, all ready for the dramatic descent.

I wish I had the space to post more pictures as Peter Bielek (Sommelier – in the centre of the picture) took some stunning shots. Alas space is running out, but I had to include this one of an amazing old building with yes grass on its roof. I know I live in a Thatched cottage but this is something completely different!

The day was beautiful and after we enjoyed our final view of the village; the biggest building left (that would be us!). However every day on this voyage there have been numerous photo opportunties, as Queen Mary 2 sailed through the many fjords. Here’s another shot courtesy of Graham Cracker later that evening.

Our next port was the city of Stavanger, located on a peninsula on the southwest coast of Norway and the centre of the third largest metropolitan area in the country (after Oslo and Bergen). The city is steeped in history and there is a huge amout to do here from walking to exploring the city’s many museums. There are lots’s of shops and quaint side streets.

Despite it being a big city by Norwegian standards, Queen Mary 2 still dominated the skyline. It’s always lovely to see the amount of interest she generates as well with many locals and other holiday makers coming down to see her.

I was going to tell you about Bergen and Geiranger, but that’ll have to wait for another time I’m afraid as we have run out of space again. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Thursday with a regular weekly update and a special guest Blog from Queen Victoria. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 483 days

One of the great ideas to come out of our Bloggers meetings on board was “A Day in the Life” of our crew members so I’m pleased to present the first; our ship’s Tailor Remedios Esmalde. I’ll come to that in a minute. Meanwhile both ships have been in northern waters this week with Queen Victoria completing her first Baltic voyage of the season, and here on Queen Mary 2 we have been enjoying stunning ports in Norway. I’ll post a blog on that next week. Firstly as usual, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 12th to the 18th June:

June 14 1995

QE2 Leaves New York for Southampton on her 1,000th voyage.

June 14 2002

Lady Thatcher lunches on board QE2 to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the Falklands War.

June 15 2008

Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Honningsvag.

June 16 1927

The Laurentic is launched at Harland & Wolf in Belfast and becomes part of the Cunard Fleet in January 1934.

Let me introduce you to Remedios Esmalde, otherwise known as Remy. She is the ship’s Tailor and is the “Star of the Month” on board Queen Mary 2 for May. This monthly award is given in recognition of a crewmember’s commitment to our “White Star” service programme and it’s something of an honour aboard all Cunard ships.

Remy was born in centre of Manilla and now lives in Luzon, which is on the outskirts of Manilla in the Philippines. She lives with with her son, Jervis, 17 years old (currently at college learning computer science, although he is a budding artist) and daughter Samira Fae who is 13 years old. Samira Fae loves dancing and wants to be a star one day, but Remy would like her to think about a regular job and a university education as well – sound familiar? While Remy is away her children are looked after by her sister in law who conveniently lives next door.

Remy learned how to be a seamstress from the age of sixteen in her brother’s dress making shop. She wanted to travel, so decided to move to Dubai where she worked as a waitress before a life at sea beckoned. Remy’s career at sea started as a Bedroom Stewardess in 2001, before joining Queen Mary 2 as a Tailor in May 2004. The job was a dream for Remy as she has always had a passion for seamstressing and now on a daily basis she’s able to enjoy utilising her skills in helping others.

As the ship’s Tailor she reports to the Executive Housekeeper, but works very closely with the Linen Keeper and Laundry Master. I caught up with her at work one day and here she is with Joey the Assistant Linen Keeper.

It’s an early start for Remy as she sets her alarm for 5.00am. This gives her enough time to get ready and have a cup of coffee in the crew mess before starting work at six. In addition to being the Tailor she also helps out in the laundry. Dionisio Elizalde, the Laundry Master oversees a 24 hour operation involving 22 laundry staff, ensuring all the ship’s laundry is processed. Remy’s first job in the morning is helping to prepare the bed linen and towels for guest staterooms. This involves checking and counting everything from bedsheets to putting bundles of fifty face cloths in to trolleys, ready to go the guest areas. This is a job done by a team of 6 Piccalos who take them to the Bedroom Stewards (about 14 per deck) while 10 Assistant Butlers to take them to the suites.

Remy has a quick breakfast normally around 8.00am as the mornings are a very busy place in the laundry. Depending on the day she normally begins her tailoring work around 10am. She works very closely with the Assistant Linen Keeper, Joey whose main job is looking after the laundering of 1,200 crew member’s uniforms; there are crew launderettes for their personal clothes. If any item needs repair or alteration they are passed to Remy. She will also receive items from the Linen Keeper, James who in addition to maintaining stocks of guest and crew linen on board, issues uniform for new crew or those changing positions. He also orders new uniforms for the officers and again any alterations required are taken care of by Remy. When a crew member leaves at the end of their contract, the uniform is handed back to James, and once it is laundered, it is checked for any possible repairs that may be required, as it’s essential that uniforms are immaculate at all times.

Here’s Remy in action, sewing new “Stripes” on to a recently promoted officer’s uniform.

At about Noon Remy goes for lunch and then a break till 3pm. During this time she tends to relax and have a nap if it’s a sea day or go ashore on port days when she loves to go for a meal. She tries to find a Fillipino restaurant if at all possible and many of the larger ports such as Brooklyn and Southampton have them fairly close to where the ship docks. Although she prefers Fillipino food she also likes Chinese and Thai cuisine.

When she returns to work she focuses on guests’ tailoring which could mean anything from replacing zips, to repairing tears to hemming trousers and dresses. Often time is very tight, especially on formal nights when guests prepare for the evening and discover they need Remy’s assistance. There are numerous occasions when her talents have saved the day and nothing is too much trouble for her which is one of the reasons she was nominated for “Star of the Month”.

She has dinner around 7.00pm after which she returns to work briefly before finishing for the day at around 8.00pm. In the evenings she enjoys socialising with friends in the various crew recreation areas, or relaxing in her cabin watching TV before getting to sleep around 10.00pm. All crew have access to the guest TV channels as well as some crew channels, such as Cunard training and information programmes and movies. As there is a large Fillipino community on board there is also a dedicated Fillipino TV channel.

Becoming “Star of the Month” meant a tremendous amount to Remy and she told me on the morning TV show, “Being awarded with this prize gives me a great sense of pride that people have recognised my work”. Here she is being interviewed on the show with our White Star Trainer, Rishi.

Remy’s picture is proudly displayed in the Grand Lobby of Queen Mary 2 and in addition to being recognised by the company, guests and fellow crew members, Remy also won prize money so she decided to buy a lap top computer. She has had hours of fun setting it up and playing the various games that came with it.

At home she loves cooking traditional Fillipino food and looking after the house which she enjoys. Sometimes she meets up with fellow crew members for lunch in Manilla but her main focus is on precious family time.

Although she is far away from her children, after 5 years of working on Queen Mary 2 she is very happy because there is a great atmosphere on board amongst the crew and she can provide for her family at home. She told me that thanks to Cunard teamwork and applying what she has learned in the White Star Academy in the Phillipines as well as on board, she can look after our guests in the best possible White Star way.

My thanks again to Remy for spending her valuable time with me, sharing her story. We’ll bring you another one soon – next time from Queen Victoria. I’ll be back on Monday with some great pictures from Norway. Also some breaking news about Queen Elizabeth and her “Keel Laying Ceremony” in a few weeks time, so watch this space. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 486 days

You always meet fascinating people every voyage, and this Transatlantic Crossing from New York to Southampton was no different. I would like to share the stories of just some of the many guests that I had the pleasure of meeting last voyage.

Firstly I met Martha Hufford at the Bloggers meeting and to say she is a QE2 fan is an understatement. She was our third most travelled guest this voyage having sailed over 850 days – quite an achievement, especially as most of them were on QE2. She has now come across to Queen Mary 2 and although she is really enjoying the experience she misses the “Grand Old Lady”. During her many voyages she kept a diary which she now chronicles on her own blog www.linerlady.com

Meanwhile talking of well travelled guests it was great to see Mary Mastony this crossing as she marked 1,654 days on Cunard ships and was recognised as the most travelled guest of the crossing at the Cunard World Club Party. She also continued her tradition of entertaining fellow guests at the guest Talent Show on the last day.

At the Cunard World Club Party Commodore Warner always likes to find out which ships guests have travelled on in the past which is always interesting and often includes some surprises. We often hear from guests who have travelled on the Queens and have a get together each voyage for guests who have sailed on Queen Mary. Occasionally we meet guests who have sailed on Cunard Liners in the 30’s and 40’s but it was a treat to meet a gentleman who at the age of three sailed on Berengaria in 1929. I had the pleasure of meeting Proffessor Frank King over a coffee in Sir Samuel’s. It was so fascinating talking to him that I’ll have a Blog dedicated to his story next week – so look out for it then.

Meanwhile as you know Queen Mary 2 is the only liner offering a regular Transatlantic service and it’s always interesting to meet guests who come on board to enjoy a relaxed and elegant way to cross the Atlantic whether it’s for business, pleasure, relocating or as part of a round the world journey. That was the mission of one guest this week, to make his way round the world without flying. I met Tim Dennis while he celebrated the final leg of his circumnavigation with friends.

His story is also fascinating. At 34, Tim sold his home and bought a customized Toyota Landcruiser with a roof top tent. He partnered with “streetKids International” to drive around the world as an ambassador in a unique collaboration to help young people around the world. He started off from Dalbeattie, Scotland in May 2008 and has so far travelled across Europe, Russia, Asia, North America and Canada. He’ll says he still has a lot of travelling to do with his next project planned for later in the year when he aims to travel to the southern tip of South America. He is passionate about his cause; helping kids around the world, spreading the message of street youth and their needs.

Meanwhile, while he was enjoying the luxury of Queen Mary 2, he told me that he actually never intended to take a Transatlantic Crossing on Queen Mary 2; “I enquired about frieghters to take me across the Atlantic and was told that Cunard actually still offer the sheduled service. When I found out that it was better value to travel on Queen Mary 2 than a freighter it was a no brainer”. Here he is on his mission around the world.

Well Tim; it was a pleasure to have you on board and of course we all wish you the best of luck in the future. You can read more about Tim, his travels and the projects he is supporting at www.ramblingrat.com

I met Mr. Pearce at the Commodore’s cocktail party and he asked if I would wish him and his wife a happy Diamond wedding aniversary. Of course I said it would be a pleasure, but wanted to hear more about them and their celebrations. It also turned out that their son had been in contact with Buckingham Palace to arrange delivery of their congratulatory card from Her Majesty, the Queen, directly to Queen Mary 2. So being Cunard we decided to help them celebrate in style with a formal presentation from Commodore Warner on the Bridge. Here they are receiving their specail message:

They are both from Cardiff, Wales, and have known each other since childhood. At the age of 16 he attempted to kiss her in the library of their Chapel but this was not appreciated and she slapped him. She told me, “I thought he had an awful nerve just kissing me like that”. He came back after the war in 1947 and soon they were reunited. The proposal was certainly a little unothordox, when he proposed to her at the local bus stop on the 28th of February. It was a leap year and he said “well I am asking you today because tomorrow is the 29th and then you could propose to anyone else”. They spent their honeymoon in Newquay in Cornwall in the south of England and decided to do something special on their Diamond wedding anniversary. This is their very first voyage and they told me “We have loved every minute of being on Queen Mary 2 which is a very elegant ship; this is fantastic”. Mr Pearce is a past president of the Probus Club and is a retired Chartered Accountant. He has been awarded an MBE, but despite the honour he says; “I have to salute my son because he’s an OBE!” His son is a Wing Commander in the Royal Airforce and is currently the Air Attache in Jordan. Their son is one of five children, who between them have seven grandchildren, the youngest 6 and the oldest is 23.

People are always interested in any couple’s secret to a long marriage, so I had to ask the question. They said they had both agreed long ago that it was not a case of 50/50 but 75/75. What wise words for all of us to live by. To complete the celebration they were invited to blast the ships whistles to mark the time of noon.

Our congratulations again to Mr. and Mrs. Pearce and we hope to see them again sometime soon.

It was also a great pleasure to meet Roy Barraclough who was also travelling on board this voyage for the twelve day round trip. Still living in his native Manchester you may know him better as Alec Gilroy in Coronation Street, the long running British Soap, and for his long partnership with the legendary Les Dawson in the character roles of Cissy and Ada. We met over a drink in the Commodore Club one evening and he introduced me to a “Stablizer”. Yes I didn’t know that one either; it’s Port and Brandy and alledgedly very good for dealing with the motion of the ocean. It was actually a very smotth crossing but he said “it’s a tradition now so I have one every evening when I’m on board – regardless!” His first time ever on a ship was for the episode of Coronation Street when a storyline took the characters from the street on QE2 for a voyage. Playing the character of Entertainment Director, he said “I have to admit I was somewhat aprehensive about the experience but I ended up loving it and have been coming back ever since”. He has become a regular guest on QE2, Caronia and now Queen Mary 2 and has also presented lectures on board, but this visit was purely for a holiday.

As we chatted he told me his partnership with Les Dawson began by accident, when he was working for Yorkshire Television and stood in for an actor who dropped out at the last minute. Roy seized the opportunity and said “we had an instant rapport”. It was some time later, when Les and Roy were chatting in between takes, that the characters of Cissy and Ada, that were to become household names, were created. The rest as they say is history. He is still working hard and is looking forward to being back in Southampton later in the year when he stars in the Christmas Show.

I hope you enjoyed this very special blog and of course I’ll be back on Thursday I have lots coming up including a day in the life of Queen Mary 2’s latest “Star of the Month”. Remy is the ship’s tailor and she’ll be telling us her story as well as some breaking news on Queen Elizabeth. Until then please keep logging on and posting your comments. Cheers Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 490 days

It’s been a while since I have been on a Transatlantic crossing on Queen Mary 2, so it was great to share the experience with our guests last week. I’ll come to that in a while, and the reason why two crew members were very excited to reach New York, but firstly thank you again for all your feedback and to those guests who joined me at our bloggers meeting on Queen Mary 2 this week.

Firstly as usual, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History” for the busy week of the 5th to the 11th June:

June 5 1965

QE2 Keel is laid at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (John Brown), Clydebank. She is assigned job number 736 and is constructed on the same slip way as Queen Mary 30 years before.

June 6 1973

QE2 makes her maiden call at Messina, Italy

June 7 1998

Cunard announces ‘Project Queen Mary’ – a proposal to build the biggest ocean liner ever.

June 11 1982

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother welcomes QE2 home after the ship’s longest non – stop voyage, having sailed for 6,976 miles from South Georgia and the Falkland’s conflict

Cunard is understandably proud if its history of Transatlantic Crossings and today it’s still a unique experience. One guest told me she felt it was one of those “Must do things” in life and I have to say I agree. It’s a great way to travel and of course for many of our guests it can be a pilgramage; an opportunity to retrace their personal history, because for so many, a Cunard Transatlantic Crossing was the beginning of their new life in America. I still love watching the views as the ship comes in to New York and seeing the Statue of Liberty welcoming sea travellers to her city. I took this picture through my window – what a view to wake up to:

The sun was just rising as Queen Mary 2 entered the harbour and I was able to get this wonderful shot of the southern tip of Manhattan with Governors Island in the foreground.

As the ship swung round to come alongside her berth promptly at 6.00am I managed to get this picture of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge on what turned out to be a stunning summers morning.

We were taking over 300 American guests home after their 23 day voyage, (from New York to Southampton, around the Mediterranean, back to Southampton and then returning to New York), what a fantastic way to travel. But for so many guests it’s the experience of the Transatlantic Crossing they love and this week over 500 guests from the UK will stay with us for a round trip back to Southampton with a busy day of sightseeing and shopping in New York in the middle – again what a great way to do it.

But for two crew members this visit to New York was of particular significance because they were going to get married. Yes indeed romance has flourished, since Melony and Kurtay met last December on Queen Mary 2. As they both say it’s been a whirlwind romance.

Melony Carelse (now Kayaoglu!), works in the Purser’s Office as a receptionist and comes from Cape Town, South Africa. This is her third contract on Queen Mary 2 and she says she loves it.

Kurtay Kayaoglu is one of our on board photographers born in Germany to Turkish parents and now lives in Istanbul, Turkey. He joined Cunard originally in 2001 but left the sea for a while before joining Queen Mary 2 again last year.

I met with them both after their exciting day in New York and Melony told me how they met. “Kurtay was taking photos of guests as I passed and when I saw Kurtay, I just looked at him and smiled. I didn’t think anything would happen beyond friendship, although I did think he seemed a really nice guy and there was definitely something special about him. Neither one of us expected the relationship to develop, and deepen into something serious that could result in a possible permanent union. But the more time we spent together, the more we became closer. The final realisation came on Valentine’s Day when Kurtay gave me flowers with a very romantic note explaining why he loved me. One thing lead to the other and here we are today starting a new chapter in our lives!”

Kurtay added “I remember the day I first saw Melony and I immediately thought – wow – she’s lovely”. Just before Melony went on leave in March he proposed. Melony told me she wasn’t sure what was happening when he gently tied some string on her finger and then to his as a symbol of union. Then she realised and despite the shock said yes. She said “I’m 38 and you just get to a stage in your life when you just know its right”.

When they got together again at the end of April when she returned, fate lent a hand with their wedding arrangements. They wanted to get married but weren’t sure how they could achieve this while they were on board. But a few months earlier a gentleman called Reverend Lawrence was travelling on board and had a fall; Melony did a great job in assisting him to get medical help. When he came back in May he remembered Melony’s kindness and he offered his help. As luck would have it his wife was a lawyer and between them they arranged everything including the church and registry office and even drove down from Boston to take the service. Here he is with Kurtay offering some last minute words of advice.

New York turned out to be an incredibly busy day, because the ship had its six monthly, United States Coast Guard Inspection. This meant they weren’t able to go ashore until this had been successfully completed, but fortunately Reverend Lawrence was waiting to pick them up and whisk them away for the ceremony.

Being a hectic embarkation day, they were both busy back at work that night, but celebrated with their friends the night after in a special party. Despite the somewhat uncoventional courtship and wedding some traditions had to go ahead including the throwing of the bouquet………..

And the lucky catcher was……….

Leanne, our Assistant Purser. Good luck Leanne! Meanwhile they have decided they will set up home in South Africa, which for Kurtay wasn’t a difficult decision. “Although I have never even been there I cannot wait to meet Melony’s family and live in such a beautiful country”, he told me. They both say that their families are all delighted to hear their news and very excited about meeting each other.

Our congratulations to both Melony and Kurtay, and we of course wish them the very best for the future.

I had so much more to chat about this week but have run out of space already; mind you what a great story of ship life. I have lots coming up including a day in the life of Queen Mary 2’s latest “Star of the Month”. Remy is the ship’s tailor and she’ll be telling us her story next week. Until then please keep looging on and posting your comments. Cheers Alastair

We were fortunate enough to have one of Britain’s most successful creative partnerships on board last voyage on Queen Mary 2. In two lectures Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, gave the audience a fascinating insight in to their four decades of working together. As I mentioned last week this was a great opportunity to hear the stories behind the TV programmes I was brought up on and to meet the people whose names appear on the credits of so many programmes, and now films. In chatting to Dick Clement it soon became clear that this was almost a pilgramage for him having travelled on Queen Mary in her heyday as a youngster in the 1950’s. He was kind enough to offer to write a Guest Blog for me, but before we get to that here’s a look back at the career of an enduring partnership.

It began in British television with a blue-collar comedy called The Likely Lads, which instantly struck a chord with the viewing public. They revisited the same characters some six years later with the award-winning series, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and quickly followed it with another perennial, Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker.

By now they had already written several feature films, such as The Jokers for Michael Winner, Villain, starring Richard Burton and Otley, starring Tom Courtenay, which Dick directed, as well as Not Only…But Also, starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Simultaneously, they enjoyed a smash hit at London’s Drury Lane Theatre, adapting Keith Waterhouse’s Billy Liar into the musical Billy with Michael Crawford.

Dick and Ian moved to California in the seventies and wrote The Prisoner of Zenda, with Peter Sellers playing twin roles and worked extensively on Never Say Never Again, in which Sean Connery returned to the role of James Bond. They racked up more frequent flying miles to Leningrad and Moscow with Elton John, making the ‘rockumentary’ To Russia with Elton. In the eighties they had another hit for British television with Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, about English bricklayers seeking employment in Germany, among them Jimmy Nail and Timothy Spaull. This was another series they revisited recently to great acclaim. Ian also created the long-running series Lovejoy, starring Ian McShane. Dick directed their screenplay of Water, with Michael Caine.

They won the Peter Sellers Award for Comedy for their screenplay for Alan Parker’s film, The Commitments. They returned to the rock world with their original screenplay Still Crazy, starring Bill Nighy and Billy Connolly, which won two Golden Globe nominations. They spent four years as writers and supervising producers with Tracy Ullman on HBO’s Emmy award winning series, Tracy Takes On and worked with Sean Connery again on The Rock, for producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who employed them several times as ‘script doctors’ on films such as Pearl Harbor and Coyote Ugly.

In the last few years they have been as busy as ever, adapting The Rotters’ Club and Archangel, starring Daniel Craig, for the BBC, and getting four films made in completely diverse genres: a sports film, Goal! The Dream Begins, an animated movie, Flushed Away, a thriller, The Bank Job, and a musical, Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor and nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Picture, Musical or Comedy.)

So here is Dick with his guest blog.

Guest Blog – Dick Clement – Guest Lecturer on Queen Mary 2

In my last year at school in England I made friends with a young American who was there on a scholarship from the English Speaking Union. He inspired me to find out if the scheme worked in reverse. When I found out that it did, I applied, went up to London for an interview, and much to the astonishment of my Headmaster I was successful. It meant spending an extra year at a school in Connecticut and my transportation was provided by Cunard.

I set sail on the Queen Mary with seventeen other scholarship winners, all wide-eyed at the idea of discovering America for ourselves. Remember, this was the Fifties, when travel was a great deal more limited than today. We were an object of some curiosity to the Americans on board who asked us two key questions repeatedly: why had we kicked Winston Churchill out of power after he had won the war for us and what was it like living with food rationing? They also tended to greet me with ‘Pip-pip, old bean!’ which mystified me as I had never read P.G.Wodehouse at the time.

There were three classes of travel in those days and naturally scruffy schoolboys were assigned modest cabins on a lower deck. But we soon found various companionways to go through, with words on them like ‘Absolutely No Access’, which led to forbidden parts of the ship. As long as we looked and acted as if we belonged we found that no one challenged us in either Cabin or First Class. Not that I did this all the time. It was September and we ran into heavy seas and I couldn’t get out of my cabin for a couple of days.

Happily, the storm petered out before we reached America. I have flown the Atlantic many times since but never again have I had such a sense of excitement as the one I felt on peering through the mist for my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, followed by the skyscrapers of Manhattan and ‘a host of golden taxicabs’.

My first day in America is an indelible memory. My school term was still a few days away, so I was billeted on the mother of one of the boys who had been to school in England the year before. She happened to be Margaret Hamilton, who is famous for playing the wicked witch in ‘The Wizard of Oz’. She was anything but wicked to me. She took me for dinner at Luchows, which sounds Chinese but actually serves German cuisine and is still there to this day. We then went to watch the Brooklyn Dodgers play baseball, a game I’d never seen before. I had very little idea of what was taking place but I cheered in all the right places and I remember they won. This was the year the Dodgers won the World Series. To this day I win bets with Americans who find it hard to believe that a Brit could even have heard of Ebbets Field.

That year in America changed my life and is probably the reason that I make California my home today – as do the Dodgers. I had a hundred dollars spending money to last me the entire year so there were days when I chose not to squander a nickel on a Coke. But the hospitality I received was fantastic and everyone assumed I was posh – which I’m not – when they heard a British accent.

When the year was finally over I returned to Southampton, this time a smoother crossing in July on Queen Elizabeth. Several decades went by before I sailed with Cunard again. Ian La Frenais and I were invited to give some talks about our work writing scripts on both sides of the Atlantic and we were delighted to accept. We crossed the Atlantic from Brooklyn to Southampton on Queen Mary 2 last June and fell in love, not only with the ship but the pleasure of traveling at a civilized stately pace with none of the cramped conditions of air travel. Just a few days ago we took another voyage around the Mediterranean. With any luck, we hope this is the start of a long-lived love affair.

What a great story and Blog – thanks so much Dick; we look forward to seeing you back soon to continue your love affair! Meanwhile I’ll be back on Thursday with more news from the Cunard World. Cheers Alastair