Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 12 days

What an exciting week it’s been here in Italy, with both Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 on Mediterranean voyages and Queen Elizabeth spending her last few days in Monfalcone. In fact as I write this Blog on Wednesday night, a special presentation is taking place in the Royal Court Theatre, and I’ll tell you more about that in a special Blog tomorrow as Cunard officially takes delivery of Queen Elizabeth.

Today as promised I have more pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s interior and more news about what we have all been doing, but that’s after this week in Cunard’s history for the week from the 24^th to the 30^th of September:

September	25	1974	In the Mediterranean, QE2 rescues 6 survivors from the sinking yacht ‘Stephanie’
September	25	2003	Queen Mary 2 undertakes her first sea trials
September	26	1934	The 80,744-ton Queen Mary launched at Clydebank and becomes the first merchant vessel to be launched by a member of the Royal family (Her Majesty Queen Mary).
September	27	1938	The Queen Elizabeth, at 83, 673 gross registered tons, becomes the largest liner ever built. She is launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
September	27	1967	Queen Mary sails in to New York for the last time completing her final transatlantic crossing, with 1,400 passengers on board including the designer John Brown incognito. Shortly afterwards she set sail for Long Beach, California
September	28	2009	Queen Victoria makes her maiden call at Boston

I know I always say how astounded I am by the progress the Fincantieri ship yard team make, but this last 10 days has been truly staggering. The Grand Lobby is looking fantastic with just some final adjustments being made to the lighting.

 

Meanwhile to give you an idea of the speed of progress these two pictures of the Royal Court Theatre auditorium were taken just three days apart during which time the covers came off the seating area and the lighting bars were completed and raised in to place:

 

In the Queens Room, you can see the wonderful chandeliers with the other lighting fixtures going in just a couple of days after this picture was taken, which shows the famous Cunard dance floor is receiving it’s polish:

 

The art deco influences are beginning to become more and more prominent, such as these beautiful lighting fixtures in the Royal Arcade. Between the steps there’ll be a stunning Dent clock which I saw being place today so I’ll send you a picture of that soon.

If you have ever wanted to know how they attach some of the paintings on the ships panels, well you’re about to find out. I just happened to be passing through the Grand Lobby the other day as this piece was being placed in its new home behind the Purser’s Desk.

 

This next photo will seem quite familiar to many readers as the Golden Lion Pub, although it has slightly different decor and furniture to the one on her sister Queen Victoria.

Moving on to some of the dining venues, I know the anticipation is building towards the opening of the Verandah Restaurant. The name comes from the first Queen Elizabeth, and the paintings you can see were inspired by those in the original restaurant.

Another new venue for Queen Elizabeth is the Britannia Club restaurant and what a stunning venue this will be. There were just 3 days in between these photos being taken, again showing the tremendous progress being made:

And talk about a dramatic transformation, this is the Britannia Restaurant a few days ago just before the lighting and other decor was completed:

The restaurant teams have been as busy as everyone on board, preparing for the Maiden Voyage. Here are some of them forming one of the many human chains I’ve seen around the ship this last week, bringing in the brand new china to be cleaned and then stored ready for our first guests.

 

And here they were a day later, under the direction of the Britannia Restaurant Maitre D’ Patu Kerai, all dressed and ready for a function for some special guests from the shipyard and from our new build team based here in Monfalcone.

 

Another venue that has progressed enormously is the Yacht Club, and again these photos were only taken four days apart.

 

Meanwhile around the ship, there are so many people finishing off a variety of projects such as the careful marking out of the Deck Quoits and Shuffleboard courts by a team of specialised craftsmen.

 

A big job that can only take place over the last two weeks of the outfitting process is the planting of literally hundreds of plants around the ship, so we were recently joined by Debbie Gilmore and her team to begin that huge task.

With the entire inaugural crew now on board, everyone is very busy preparing their respective areas such as the shop staff loading all their stores, preparing window displays and stocking up the shelves.

 

The whole ship is receiving that last bit of special attention with every area looking pristine ready for her hand over to Cunard, and that includes the iconic red funnel.

 

How lovely it is to see the name Queen Elizabeth on the astern of the ship, and even that area receiving special attention, so that she looks immaculate when she arrives in her home port for the first time on the 8^th of October.

 

I’ll have more pictures tomorrow which will show her on her delivery day, and I have to say our new Queen looks stunning.  Next week I’ll have a special Vlog for you as well as news from our crew event and the handover ceremony, but now we have to prepare to leave Monfalcone for the last time.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 15 days

Thank you again, for all the tremendous feedback from all the recent Blogs, but in particular regarding our 2^nd anniversary and the coverage of Queen Elizabeth. With only two short weeks before her Maiden Voyage, it’s great to feel the growing anticipation of our new Queen joining the fleet, from both readers and the crew here in Italy, many of whom have been following her progress on the Blog during their leave.

I’ll be sharing some more great pictures with you over the next few days, but today it’s time to turn to our flagship and the recent retirement of Captain Nick Bates. To tell you more, I’ll hand over to Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks.

                                                                  

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director

Cunard Line

 

A few months back, I asked Captain Nick Bates what he would like us to do on the occasion of his retirement after 45 years with Cunard Line. ‘Please don’t make a fuss’ was the response in his soft Northern Ireland accent, ‘I would just like to go down the gangway quietly – no fuss at all’.

So having consulted Nick, I set about making as much fuss as possible; after all it is not often we get to recognize and celebrate such wonderful loyalty to Cunard Line. To have served Cunard Line ‘man and boy’ and to have been Captain of our famous QE2 and Queen Mary 2, is a marvellous achievement for any sea-going person, and I was determined to make sure we planned his retirement in a traditional way. Actually, having known Nick myself for some 8 years, I recognized that he did not want ‘fuss’ but I was sure he would not mind the sort of dignified and traditional send-off we had in mind.

Nick’s last voyage was to bring Queen Mary 2 across from New York to Southampton followed by a Northern Fjords Voyage, taking in Hamburg, before leaving the ship in Southampton.

I asked our team in Southampton what would be appropriate after 45 years. Firstly we sourced a beautiful sliver and crystal decanter, and had it inscribed ‘On the occasion of your retirement from Cunard Line after 45 years’. That was the traditional gift, but I was also after something a bit more personal. One of our famous Maritime Artists, Gordon Bauwens, had sent me a set of his wonderful paintings. I chose one that showed both QE2 and Queen Mary 2, to depict the last two liners on which Captain Bates was Master, and I had that inscribed in my local framing shop with ‘From your many friends at Cunard Line’.

So now I had the raw ingredients, the only thing to do is to go and join the ship. I flew up to join Queen Mary 2 in Allesund and what a beautiful place that is. As we flew right over the ship, I could not help whipping out my Blackberry and taking a picture of the ship down below us; but I got me a jolly good telling off from the SAS Stewardess for not having all my technology turned off!

 We had a wonderful sail away as I joined the Captain on the bridge; the scenery up in that part of the world is gorgeous. I am not sure if it was for the ship or for Captain Bates, but a fire tug escorted us out of the harbour:

 

I did mention to Nick that I had not just come to see how the ship and our guests were doing but that I was also planning on saying just a few words that evening, at the Cunard World Club party.

So let me set the scene; we are in the Queens Room with around 1,000 guests, all looking splendid in Black Tie. I always enjoying saying a few words to our guests, and as usual I encouraged a warm round of applause for all of our staff for their attentive White Star Service. The cocktail party passed as you would expect as we recognized our most travelled guests, and Captain Bates thought he had got away with it. That was until I said ‘Ladies and Gentlemen; the real reason I have joined you here this evening is to recognize and applaud 45 years service from Captain Nick Bates, and I would like all of the Senior Officers to join me here on the stage’

We then presented the engraved decanter.

 

I then put up on the screen behind the stage a large shot of the picture of QE2 and Queen Mary 2.

 

I mentioned that this particular gift was a personal one from me, and I recounted the story as to when I first saw Captain Bates eight years ago. I had just joined Cunard Line and I went down to visit him on Caronia in Southampton. Well I was new to shipping protocols, so I just boarded the ship, made my own way up to the Captain’s cabin, knocked and entered. Well how was I to know that Nick had just joined the ship, although the fact that he was standing in his cabin is his underwear was a clue. This chap is quite a character I thought, and he certainly is. Standing in front of many of our guests, and with our Senior Officers behind Captain Bates received a warm round of applause.

We passed him the microphone, but nothing came out. For the very first time in 45 years we had managed to render him speechless.

Many of our own staff and many of our guests will miss Nick. Many have read his wonderful and amusing book and many will miss his quite Irish tone. If you managed to see the Blog we ran a few weeks ago, when Queen Mary 2 met up with the Artemis Atlantic Rowers, well that video says it all. If you didn’t see it you can click on this link:

http://wearecunard.com/2010/07/29/

After arranging the meet, and allowing all of our guests to cheer on the four lonely rowers, Nick signed off the radio from the rowers by wishing them ‘God Speed’. Well Nick, ‘God Speed’ to you; we will all miss you.

After I had left the ship in Hamburg and during Nick’s last day at Sea with Cunard Line, the ship’s company honoured Nick in the Crew Mess.

This was a very touching occasion, mostly for our ship’s company who had grown very fond of Nick, but also respected his professionalism and his strong leadership. Forgive me for the picture below, but there is nothing wrong with a grown man crying, especially when that man is bursting with pride and proud of his achievements.

When the ship arrived in Southampton, Captain Bates was pipped down the gangway by Commodore Warner and the ship’s company. At the bottom of the gangway we had beautiful silver Mercedes to whisk him off to a long, happy and healthy retirement. Nick only recently married, for the first time so I was delighted that his beautiful wife Kefah was with him on that last voyage. I am so pleased she was able to see how fondly he was regarded by all of his friends at Cunard Line. And Nick; as you drove off to Edinburgh along with your wife, I hope you had a sense of pride, a sense of achievement and felt safe in the knowledge that all of your friends at Cunard Line wish you and Kefah ‘God Speed’. 

Peter Shanks

Thank you Peter for a great Blog. I know from speaking to many of the Queen Elizabeth’s ship’s company that he will be missed, but at the same time wish him and his wife a happy retirement.

Well that’s it for now but I’ll be back on tomorrow with some more photos from Queen Elizabeth as she nears completion. And then on Thursday as she is handed over to Cunard by the Fincantieri shipyard I’ll have a Vlog featuring a very special crew event and the official handover. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 19 days

Not only does today mark exactly one week before Queen Elizabeth is handed over to Cunard, this week it’s also the second anniversary of this Blog. After over 220 posts, over 1,800 photos and over 20 Vlogs, we are now entering our third year of blogging with over 250,000 visits to this site!  Thank you so much for your comments from all over the world over the last two years and mostly for logging on giving us record viewing figures. Also big thanks to Richard, Matthew, Shelley and Lisa who do such a great job in supporting this Blog back in Southampton.

Last weekend was another milestone in the delivery of our new Queen, when the crew moved on board for the first time. This was a huge logistical operation which I’ll tell you about after this week in Cunard’s history from 17 to 23 September:

September	19	2008	The “We are Cunard Blog” goes on line for the first time.
September	20	1904	Lusitania’s keel is laid.
September	20	1906	Mauretania is launched by the Duchess of Roxburgh at the Swan Hunter yard. She is named after a Roman Province and passengers called her the Maury.
September	20	1967	Job number 736 – Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched and named at Clydebank by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
September	21	2008	Queen Mary 2 makes her 100th Transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York.  During this time she had logged nearly three-quarters of a million miles, and had carried more than 229,000 guests across the North Atlantic, who had consumed 97,000 pounds of lobster, 2,700 pounds of caviar, 206,200 bottles of Champagne and enough tea to fill nearly five Olympic-sized swimming pools! Queen Mary 2 had also carried more than 450 pets across the North Atlantic as well!

Friday 17 October was an even busier day than normal at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, starting at 6am with the first crew members arriving by bus at the dockside, with their luggage ready to move on board their new home.

 

The crew had been in hotels and apartments around the town of Monfalcone for the past few weeks although in some cases this was months. Crew were picked up from seven different locations and brought to the ship in a carefully timed operation, with all 390 crew on board by 9am.

Meanwhile we have had crew arriving at the airport every day, with 40 arriving last Friday alone. They were met by our White Star Training Team as well as our Personnel and Training Manager, Brian Lynch. Here Queen Elizabeth’s White star Trainer, Rishi Chada, waits to welcome newly arriving crew at Trieste airport:

 

Amongst the familiar faces walking up the gangway were crew from Queen Victoria, Queen Mary 2 and of course many who had served on QE2 and Caronia. Here is a face I’m sure many of you will recognise:

 

Yes of course that’s Thomas Quinones of the Entertainment Staff. Cunard staff and contractors have been allocated their own gangway with the shipyard workers using two others. All our crew were welcomed by our wonderful Security Team at the top of the gangway.

 

Although the ship still belongs to the Fincantieri shipyard, many of the areas have already been accepted by Cunard such as crew cabins, galleys and mess rooms which has enabled us to move on board thanks to the hard work by the yard to get the areas ready in time. The Food and Beverage team headed up by Food and Beverage Manager, Glenn Milway (on the right of the below picture), had been very busy ensuring the galley was ready to serve the crew their first meal on board.

 

Here’s Executive Chef Nicholas Oldroyd pinning up the menu for the first ever meal to be served on board.

 

All the various departments are now busy preparing their areas, such as the Purser’s Staff behind their new desk, which is now just waiting for the artwork. Pictured here from left to right are Moses, Jennifer, Vicky, Tania (Purser Guest Services) and Judith.

 

Meanwhile as I mentioned in my last post, the storing of the ship is a massive operation for both the Hotel and Technical Stores Managers. In the main hotel warehouse all the stores arrive by truck on a daily basis:

 

Here Rex, Queen Elizabeth’s Hotel Stores Manager, oversees every pallet that arrives and is then sent to the ship according to a carefully timed schedule:

 

Every day stores leave the warehouse on trailers pulled by fork lift trucks ready for loading by crane from the dockyard on to various points of the ship:

 

Everything is being loaded from food to linen to furniture; even the pianos!

 

Here one of the pianos has come on board, and is being set up by a team of specialists, with the help of the Queens Room Production Manager, Jesse McKensie:  

 

Meanwhile the sets, props and technical equipment are arriving in the Royal Court Theatre through a special Scenery Dock Door:

 

In addition to our regular team of stage crew and technicians we have teams of specialists helping to prepare the entertainment venues, ready for our first guests in just three weeks time. This includes commissioning the sound, lights and also building the sets for our brand new shows that will be performed by the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company:

 

Every department is very busy receiving their stores, unpacking and checking them before putting them in place or in on-board stores. Here Queen Elizabeth’s Principal Medical Officer, Sue Dring, is unpacking some medical equipment:

 

The crew lifts are the only ones being used to transport stores up and down the ship as well as all the ship’s company and yard workers, so sometimes a human chain has to be formed such as the team here from the Accommodation Department loading duvets and bed linen:

 

Final touches are also being added to the huge amount of artwork around the ship. It’s an enormous task overseen by Cunard’s Art Consultant, Amy Lucena, who is busy here placing Cunard memorabilia in one of the cabinets by the entrance to the Queens Room:

 

There are so many paintings all over the ship with a dedicated team carefully placing and mounting the artwork, like these paintings outside the Britannia Club Restaurant:

 

We now have over eight hundred, of our thousand crew, onboard our new Queen. There have been up to two hundred crewmembers joining on a daily basis from every department, such these members of the Bars and Accommodation Teams:

 

With the first performances by the Royal Court Theatre Company just over two weeks away, our cast have arrived and will be going on stage for the first time tomorrow to continue their rigorous rehearsal schedule. Having said that the Musicians have already been practicing in the Queens Room, managing to concentrate with all the work going on around them!

 

Well that’s it for now but I’ll be back on Monday with a tribute Blog to Captain Nick Bates, and some more news from Queen Elizabeth on Thursday as she is handed over to Cunard before heading off to Southampton. We are also hoping to post another Vlog from Monfalcone as well.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth’s maiden voyage – 21 days

Welcome to another Blog from sunny Monfalcone in Italy. As the world awaits our new Queen, I can tell you that our latest Cunarder is looking stunning with just three weeks to go before her maiden voyage. Over this last weekend, the crew moved on board their new home for the first time and I’ll have pictures and news about that on Thursday. There are more and more crew arriving everyday, with over three quarters of the ships company already here, and in my next post I’ll let you know how everyone is settling in.

Today I am excited to tell you about a special unveiling that took place last night at a private event at the National Portrait Gallery in London. I wasn’t able to get back from Italy to present the latest Vlog, so who better to tell you more about the evening, than Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks.

<br>

 

As you saw in the Vlog, in line with the Cunard tradition of commissioning appropriate sculpture or portraits for display on board each ship named by a member of the Royal Family, the company commissioned this official portrait of The Queen for Queen Elizabeth, which will be named by Her Majesty next month. Here are some photographs from the function last night where the portrait was revealed.

 

 

 

 

The Queen granted three sittings for the portrait which is a three-quarter length painting showing her dressed in blue and wearing Queen Victoria’s collet necklace and earrings, which she also wore for her Coronation in 1953.

 

The new official portrait unveiled by the artist last night shows The Queen in the Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, and as you saw in the Vlog, it was painted by 31-year-old Lancashire-born Isobel Peachey.

 

Although an accomplished award-winning portrait artist, she had never before been commissioned to paint a royal portrait. Talking about how she was chosen, Isobel said:

“At my interview with Cunard, I answered many questions about how I would approach an important commission, but it was only at the end of the interview that the subject was revealed as The Queen. This was both a shock and a marvellous surprise”.

Commenting on how the artist was chosen, Peter Shanks, told me:

<br>
 “Apart from being impressed by the quality of Isobel’s work, which we originally saw on display in          the National Portrait Gallery, we were keen to offer the commission to a young artist who had never      before had such an opportunity. Isobel is, in fact, the youngest female artist ever to paint the monarch, and the quality of the finished work is such that our confidence has been greatly rewarded. It is a truly wonderful picture of Her Majesty. It is even more remarkable when you consider that, lacking a private studio, she executed this magnificent painting in her mum’s attic!”

 

Her Majesty will see the finished portrait for the first time on 11 October, when she visits Southampton to name Queen Elizabeth. The portrait will hang in a prominent position in the ship’s Grand Lobby on deck 2, near the B Stairway and Cafe Carinthia,

 

In fact this photo gives you an idea of how Queen Elizabeth is progressing inside. I took this picture just yesterday and it shows how close our new Queen is to completion. The furniture is now coming on board, but the artwork, carpets and furnishings are all under protective coverings until the ship is handed over to Cunard at the end of the month.

Speaking of artwork you’ll be delighted to hear that the magnificent Linley artwork has now been carefully placed in its new home in the Grand Lobby and as you can see in this photo, it really looks wonderful.

 

As I mentioned I’ll have more news from Queen Elizabeth on Thursday with the latest photos of the ship and the crew who are now preparing the latest Cunarder for service. Then on Monday I’ll have a special President’s Blog paying tribute to Captain Nick Bates.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 25 days

Thank you again for all your comments and questions, it’s always great to hear from you. As soon as I have any announcements to pass on I’ll let you know, especially regarding the time Queen Elizabeth will be in Southampton at the beginning of October. I know so many of you will want to come and watch her arriving, her stay in her homeport as well as her departure on the 12^th of October on her maiden voyage. I’ll try and get as much information as I can and keep you posted.

It’s great to be back in Italy with just a few weeks before the latest Cunarder leaves Monfalcone and heads to Southampton. I’ve visited Queen Elizabeth five times since her keel was laid last year, but this time I was coming to stay, so I was very excited to see how she was progressing. I have always been amazed by the speed of progress at the Fincantieri shipyard, but this time the change has been truly dramatic.

In this post I’ll show you the latest pictures outside and then we’ll look inside in more detail next week. Before we get to this Blog’s pictures though, here’s our regular feature; this week in Cunard’s History for the week of the 10^th to the 16^th of September:

September	10	1870	The Parthia is launched and was to be Cunard’s finest ship to date. She was the first Cunarder to have baths – one on the port side and one on the starboard side!
September	10	1901	Carpathia’s keel is laid at Swan & Hunter’s Wallsend shipyard.
September	10	2007	Cunard announces that the Duchess of Cornwall will name Queen Victoria three months later on December 10th.
September	11	1995	QE2 sails undamaged through a freak 95-foot wave in the North Atlantic, caused by Hurricane Luis, on her way to New York.
September	15	2007	QE2 began her 40th Anniversary voyage around Britain, including Liverpool and Clydebank where she was launched 40 years before.

Queen Elizabeth has returned to her outfitting dock in Monfalcone following her second set of successful sea trials. I arrived in the evening so had to wait until the following day to see our latest Cunarder, but at the hotel I met a few of the crew who were already here, and there was a real sense of excitement.

I arrived at the Fincantieri shipyard early on Tuesday morning and despite all the work going on, the latest addition to the Cunard fleet was looking fantastic with her new paintwork.

 

I then walked around to the other side of the yard to get a picture of her starboard side which shows how close to completion she is.

 

On board though there was a huge amount of work going on, all over the ship. In addition to the 360 Cunard crewmembers there are about 1,800 other people working on board. This is the view from the outdoor chessboard on top of the Yacht Club, looking towards the Pavilion Pool and the Garden Lounge.

 

 The inside of the Garden Lounge is looking magnificent, and I just know this will be an incredibly popular venue, with its beautiful vaulted ceiling.

 

Standing on deck in front of the Grills Lounge, you get a great view of the other side of the Pavilion Pool and the Yacht Club.

 

 You may have spotted the stunning piece of artwork in front of the Hydrotherapy pool; here it is close up.

 

Speaking of artwork, I have a special Blog and Vlog that will be posted on Tuesday, which will tell you more about a special unveiling taking place on Monday evening.

Moving further forward and up to the Games Deck, there was a huge team working on preparing the Bowls Green, the Croquet Lawn (below left) and the Paddle Tennis court (below right).

Everywhere you look there are craftsmen working and putting the final touches to our new Queen such as treating the teak:

And then there is a huge team of cleaners to ensure the ship is sparkling before she is handed over to Cunard at the end of the month.

Meanwhile the Cunard crew are busy starting to load the various stores, from furniture to duvets to china. The sets for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company production shows have already arrived, so Richard Parker and Chris Knowles, who are heading up the Entertainment Production Team, have been busy organising the loading of literally hundreds of set pieces, lights, props and costumes.

The shipyard have been very busy ensuring the crew accommodation and facilities are finished, because we will all be moving on board over the next few days. Our Crew Housekeeper, Thelma Rojas was one of the first to be linked to the computer system, so the crew cabins could be prepared with linen and keys distributed.

 

Yesterday we had two guests from one of Britain’s most popular newspapers, the Daily Mail. I had the pleasure of showing Christopher Wilson and photographer Murray Sanders, around and we even managed to get out on a small boat to get some great shots, which you’ll be able to see in The Daily Mail in the next few days. Until you see the professional ones, here’s one of mine to be going on with!

 

 And this picture of Christopher been photographed by Murray.

 

I’ll be back on Tuesday with a special blog and Vlog featuring a special unveiling for Queen Elizabeth and soon we’ll have more news from Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 28 days

This is my last Blog before heading out to Italy, and it’s always a busy time preparing to go back to work so imagine my surprise, when as I was shopping in my local garden centre over the weekend, I heard a voice saying “32 days to go”. It took me a while to register that the voice came from a regular Blogger and a guest who has sailed with me before, Avril Denmead. It was slightly surreal to be discussing her last voyage on Queen Victoria as I was looking at compost, but it was great to chat to her! Avril is from Portsmouth, but was visiting her daughter in a village very near me, and it was exciting to hear that she and her husband David will be joining us for Queen Elizabeth’s whole Maiden World Voyage; so Avril we’ll see you in January.

And now I’m on my way to Italy to join Queen Elizabeth at the shipyard in Monfalcone. But this isn’t just a visit; I’ll be joining the many crew members who are already there, for the final few weeks of preparation before the ship’s arrival in Southampton on 8 October.

I’ll have the very latest pictures from Queen Elizabeth on Thursday but today I have a great story, which celebrates Cunard becoming a Gold Patron of the Prince’s Trust.

Becoming one of The Trust’s most dedicated supporters means that Cunard continues its commitment to help young lives in the UK. Since the start of this special relationship Cunard’s guests, crew and employees have raised over half a million pounds and have helped change lives of nearly 600 young people. Now Cunard is a Gold Patron, the company have committed to raise £500,000 by 2013.

Recently on Queen Victoria, the ship’s company had the opportunity to get to know one of these young people a lot more, when twenty-year-old Candace Mohamed became a White Star Trainee. Queen Victoria’s White Star Trainer, Dominque Damerell, takes up the story.

                                                

 

     Guest Blog

     Dominique Damerell

     White Star Trainer, Queen Victoria

 

It was such a pleasure to meet Candace who I learned is a Celebrate Success Young Achiever of the Year finalist. When I met her she told me she had always aspired to become a chef on a cruise ship but thought she would never have the chance to fulfil her dreams. Thanks to The Prince’s Trust and Cunard Line, she has just completed a 12-night work experience on board Queen Victoria.

 

When Candace was growing up, she struggled at school due to dyslexia and would often be disruptive to cover up her problems. She left school at 15 before completing her GCSEs and it was at this time that her relationship with her mother broke down. She left home and stayed with friends or spent her nights at the railway station or in the park. 

Candace then started selling drugs to give her enough money to get by. She moved into a hostel, but became involved with some dangerous people and was arrested for drug dealing. Being sentenced was a wake-up call for Candace. She wanted to make a fresh start, but didn’t know where to turn and ended up suffering from depression.

Then she came across The Prince’s Trust Team programme, which gives disadvantaged young people the skills and confidence to find a job. When The Prince’s Trust approached us to offer Candace a work placement, we felt that we had to do everything in our power to get her a step closer to her goal.

While aboard Queen Victoria, Candace completed Cunard Line’s White Star Academy training course, which gave her the skills and qualifications to work on one of the ships full-time.

The White Star Training Academy is a two-part training course that all new crew joining a Cunard vessel must undertake and successfully pass to qualify. The first half of the training, 6 days in this instance, is spent in the classroom, learning about the history of Cunard, the ethos of the brand and the workings of the ship as well as the roles of the Officers and staff on board. The training is made specific to the area where the new crew will be working – in Candace’s case, the galley, so part of her training also included Basic Food Hygiene. While Candace was on board it was fortunate that Cunard’s Culinary Ambassador, Jean Marie Zimmerman was also travelling so she was able to get some special training from Cunard’s most senior Chef.

 

During her training, Candace was also a superb ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and was interviewed twice by Entertainment Director, Amanda Reid, on her morning TV programme. After successfully passing three intense exams Candace was able to start the second part of her training and rolled up her chef’s jacket sleeves, and here she is with Executive Chef, Klaus Kremmer, Executive Sous Chef, Eric Yeung and myself.

 

Candace told me what she thought about her experience on board:

“I’m overjoyed to have had this opportunity. Cooking on board Queen Victoria was amazing. I was cooking for guests who had paid thousands to be there, so I’m really happy that I did myself proud despite being the youngest chef on the ship. My highlight was cooking a garlic shrimp dish for the Head Chef and some guests on my last day. It was amazing to get such positive feedback!”

Before the end of the voyage, the White Star Training Academy hosted a graduation ceremony where the new crew are presented with their certificates. They are then able to continue with their contracts and careers on board and here Candace is receiving her award from Captain Paul Wright and Hotel Manager Jacqui Hodgson:

 

For Candace this meant the end of her time on board and having to say goodbye to her newly found friends and to the job she felt was her dream to do. She told me:

“The White Star Academy training was fantastic. I learnt loads of new things about food safety, preparation and putting menus together, so I can’t wait to put my new skills into practice. I feel like I’m much closer to my dream of working on a cruise ship now!”

Before she left though there was time for one more photo with Captain Paul Wright:

 

I feel that Candace truly is a remarkable young lady and I do believe that The Prince’s Trust has shown her that it is never too late to start again and that at any point you can change your life for the better. I think that it is incredible that a young person can turn a bad start around and make something out of a new life. Candace epitomises this entirely and I am relieved that an organisation like The Prince’s Trust exists. It is wonderful that Cunard has The Prince’s Trust as one of our principal charities and that we were given an opportunity to demonstrate what the charity can mean for a misplaced individual.

I asked Alison Curnow, Candace’s Prince’s Trust mentor, how she felt the work placement has helped Candace and she told me:

‘The fact that she loved her time on board shows to me just how far she has come in the last two years.  I really hope that she achieves her dreams and I am proud that The Trust has helped her to come so far’

Candace has decided to apply for a job in November with Cunard Line and we know there will be many people on board who will be very happy to welcome her back, including me.

Thank you Dominique for another fantastic guest Blog, and congratulations to Candace for all her remarkable achievements; we all wish you every success in the future. You can read more about the Prince’s Trust from two previous Blogs by clicking on these links:

http://wearecunard.com/2009/06/25/ 

http://wearecunard.com/2009/12/01/ 

And to learn more about Cunard’s relationship with The Prince’s Trust, you can click on this link.

http://www.cunard.co.uk/About-Cunard/Cunard-Partners/

Well that’s it for this post but as promised at the beginning of this post, I’ll be back on Thursday with the latest pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s interior as the World awaits our new Queen.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 33 days

Welcome to another week of Blogging which sees Queen Mary 2 completing her Canada and New England voyage in New York this weekend, before coming across to the Mediterranean. Queen Victoria is already in the Mediterranean where she will stay for the autumn, ending her current voyage in Venice this weekend. I’m sure you’ll get some great views from her Bridgecam. Meanwhile just up the coast in Monfalcone, Queen Elizabeth has just returned from her successful second set of sea trials and in just over a month’s time will be arriving in her homeport of Southampton.

Thank you again for all your comments and questions, its been great to be so inundated and as usual I’ll try and cover as much as I can in this Blog about Queen Elizabeth’s second set of sea trials after this week in Cunard’s history for the week of the 3^rd to the 9^th of September

September	4	1995	QE2 makes maiden Call at Invergordon, Scotland
September	4	2005	QE2 becomes longest serving Cunarder surpassing Scythia 36 Years 4 months 2 days – (1921 – 1957)
September	8	1907	At Noon a crowd of 20,000 come to see the Lusitania leave liverpool on her maiden voyage under the command of Captain J.B. Watt. She had 192 furnaces and burned 1,000 tons of coal a day, achieving a speed of 26 knots. Passengers unfamiliar with the name – after a Roman Province called her the Lucy. At 33,000 tons she was the first liner to cross the Atlantic in under five days, making the crossing in four days, 19hours and 52 minutes. This meant she was able to claim the Blue Ribband from the Deutschland.
September	9	1840	Cunard’s third Ship, Caledonia begins her maiden voyage

Firstly Paul, I’m afraid Queen Elizabeth has now left Trieste and won’t be returning as she was there in between sea trials to use the dry dock for her final painting. Her second set of sea trials presented the first opportunity for the Master Designate, Captain Chris Wells, to see his new command and I’m delighted that he has taken some time out of his very hectic schedule to tell us a bit about it:

 

Guest Blog

Captain Chris Wells

Master Designate – Queen Elizabeth

 

 

 

 

 

I was delighted to be welcomed aboard Cunard’s latest Queen, by the Deputy Director of Monfalcone shipyard, Giorgio Gomiero, as I was invited to be present and witness the ship being put through her paces.

Queen Elizabeth had been in dry dock in Trieste from 17th to 26th August, where her final hull coating, antifouling and boot topping were applied and I have to say she was already resplendent in her new paint.

 

 She departed the dry dock in the morning of 27th August for her second sea trials.

  

Sporting her shiny new paint, the opportunity was taken for a photo shoot just outside Trieste harbour, and off Castello Miramare, with two helicopters shadowing the ship as she maneuvered, and was swung for compass adjustment.

Over the following hours and days Queen Elizabeth was put through a series of tests, to confirm operation of propulsion, electrical, ventilation and other systems. She conducted manoeuvring trials, tests of joystick control, and speed trials.

With the final tests of her second sea trials completed successfully, it was time for Queen Elizabeth to head back to Monfalcone.

She returned alongside during the evening of 30th August, where outfitting will continue for the final few weeks before delivery.

My thanks again to Captain Wells for keeping us fully informed, and I look forward to seeing him and other colleagues who are already in Monfalcone, on Monday when I’ll arrive and join the set up team.

Following the successful completion of all the sea trials, Peter Shanks, Cunard’s President and Managing Director, told me:

“Queen Elizabeth performed extremely well during her recent sea trials and exceeded all the required tests comfortably. She is shaping up to be a magnificent ship and will be a very worthy sister to our flagship Queen Mary 2 and to Queen Victoria. Together they will comprise the youngest fleet on the oceans.”

Well that’s it for this post but I’ll be back as usual on Monday with news from the Cunard world and on Thursday I’ll post some new pictures from Queen Elizabeth’s interior as the World awaits our new Queen.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 35 days

Thank you for all your comments and questions along with your great feedback on the progress of Queen Elizabeth. I’ll try and give you as many answers as I can on this Blog, and of course update you with news as it comes my way.

Naturally there is a tremendous amount of excitement about the naming ceremony itself, and I have been told that although Cunard will not be streaming the ceremony live, they will be broadcasting a 10 minute video of the highlights shortly after. I’ll keep you posted with that.

The good news is we hope to have Queen Elizabeth’s BridgeCam ready for her departure from Monfalcone, so you can watch her sailing to Southampton. I’ll give you more details of the best viewing points in Southampton, closer to the time.

I will have another Blog about Queen Elizabeth on Thursday, when we will be looking at her second set of sea trials.

In the meantime, it’s always a pleasure to profile crewmembers that win the prestigious “Star of the Month Award”, which is part of Cunard’s White Star Programme. As many of you will know, the “Star of the Month” title is awarded to just one crew member per ship each month, as a result of guest and crew feedback and then consideration by our on board White Star Committee.

Queen Mary 2’s latest star is Genny Muega, who is an Assistant Buffet Stewardess, working in the Officer’s Mess, and here she is receiving her award from Captain Nick Bates.

 Also in the picture are Hotel Manager, David Stephenson, Food and Beverage Manager, Stefan Engl and Senior Maitre D’hôtel, Beniamino Acler.

As an Assistant Buffet Stewardess, Genny has a busy day beginning with setting up breakfast at 7am, but even earlier on embarkation days. Along with her colleagues she sets up the buffet lines and takes the Officer’s orders for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She says she enjoys her job because she gets to know the needs and wishes of many of the officers as well as gaining a lot of new friends.

She added that the best part of the job is that she can now easily identify the names of unusual food, which she hadn’t known or tasted before. She told me that, although her job was not an easy one, she has learned to be more patient and before she goes to work, she says she leaves her worries behind, and makes sure she comes to work with a big smile.

Genny, who celebrated her 28^th birthday on board last month, lives with her parents, two sisters and brother in a small city called Llloilo in the western part of the Philippines. Here she is with them at home:

 

After she graduated from college, she gained experience in the banking and hospitality industry before beginning work as an agent in a call centre at home in the Philippines. She said it was a memorable time and it taught her a lot of life lessons, which she feels have helped her in her current role on board.

She told me a bit about her upbringing, “I grew up in a Christian loving environment with a strong faith. Life at home was simple and short on material things, but big on love. My family used to call me a ‘black sheep’ as I didn’t really manage to be a model student, but later I promised myself to do things right and focussed on work, sports and art.”

In her time off, Genny likes to go ashore with friends and sometimes by herself to go shopping, and when the ship is at sea she tries to go to the gym. Part of the Star of the Month award involves a cash prize, which she said she would send home, as she feels her family would need it more than she does. Genny told me that being a ‘White Star of the Month’ is more than enough for her.

During her leave at home she likes to draw and sketch, as well as watching movie marathons with her family and friends. Here she is with her brother and sisters.

 

She also enjoys trying new things such as Ziplining in Tagaytay, Philippines, with her brother.

 

I asked Genny what “We Are Cunard” means to her and she told me; “It means we are famous. We are extraordinary and provide a splendid service. That’s what Cunard means to me.”

As for the future Genny told me “I’m just a simple girl with a simple dream … I just want to be happy and want to have a family in the future”. She added; “I would like to say thank you to everyone who nominated me as Star of the Month. I truly appreciate it and I’m glad I made this step to join the ship. I intend to continue to provide excellent service wherever I work in the future. Big thanks to all of you…” 

Congratulations again to Genny, for her fantastic achievement and for taking the time to chat to me. I’ll be back on Monday, with news of Queen Elizabeth’s second set of sea trials with some amazing pictures.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 39 days

Following yesterday’s exciting news that Her Majesty will be naming Queen Elizabeth on 11 October, our new Queen is getting closer to completion. She is now making her way back to Monfalcone, whilst undergoing her second set of sea trials, and on this Blog I have some exclusive pictures from the dry dock in Trieste which I received just a couple of days ago. Firstly though as usual, it’s time for this week in Cunard’s history for the week of 27 August to 2 September.

August	28	1988	QE2 makes her maiden call at Torbay, England
August	29	2002	QE2 completes five million miles – a world record and a world first
September	2	2008	Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Izmir
September	2	2009	Chris Wells is formally appointed as the Master of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth

Thanks as usual for all your comments; it’s great to hear that you are as excited as we are that Her Majesty will be naming the third Cunarder to bear the name Queen Elizabeth, and how wonderful it is to see her name glistening after her new paintwork in dry dock:

 

Following her sea trials Queen Elizabeth has been in dry dock in Trieste, Italy receiving her final coat of paint before going in to service in less than six weeks time. This is a view of her bulbous bow and bow thrusters with a unique view of her bow as the water came back in to the dry dock, before she left for her second set of sea trials.

Meanwhile at her stern, her Azipods were also prepared for her sea going career; and what a difference, as they touched the water coming in to the dry dock:

   

This is the view of Queen Elizabeth’s starboard side stabiliser, again ready for sea.

 

What a great shot this is of the water entering the dry dock touching our new Queen’s newly painted and treated hull, ready for her second set of sea trials and entering in to service.

 

Although a huge amount of work has been taking place on the ship’s hull, progress is as fast as ever on board, with many areas being transformed in just a couple of weeks since our last set of photos. Here for example is the Games Deck, where final preparations are being made in the area where our guests will be playing Bowls, Croquet and Paddle Tennis:

 

Meanwhile at the other end of our new Queen, the expansive Lido pool area has the lighting in place, and the pool is certainly looking very welcoming in the beautiful Italian sunshine.

 

And in Queen Elizabeth’s stunning Garden Lounge, the mural above the bandstand is looking fantastic and makes a great centrepiece to this venue.

 

Then Cunard’s latest Queen was on her way for her next set of sea trials, looking superb with her newly painted livery. She is now heading back to Monfalcone for the last stage of outfitting and preparation for service, with Captain Chris Wells observing the latest trials.

 

Big thanks to Chris Knowles, Queen Elizabeth’s Senior Production Manager, for taking these amazing pictures and for sending them to me to post.

By the time Queen Elizabeth reaches Monfalcone, more and more of the ship’s company will be arriving in the shipyard, but the majority won’t be arriving for another couple of weeks or so, when they’ll be able to move straight on board.

I’ll be flying out in just 10 days time and will certainly look forward to seeing our new Queen, and rest assured I’ll keep you fully updated with all the news as it happens.

Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday, with news of Queen Mary 2 latest star of the month as well as other news from around the Cunard world. Cheers for now, Alastair

Cunard are both honoured and proud to announce that Her Majesty The Queen will name our new liner Queen Elizabeth in Southampton on the 11th October.

You know it is quite remarkable to think that at the young age of 12, The Queen was present as her mother named our original Queen Elizabeth in 1938. During her marvellous 58 year reign, The Queen has also honoured Cunard Line by naming both the QE2 and Queen Mary 2. We often talk of our history and heritage , but it is our special links to the Royal Family that set us apart from any other travel company or cruise line. I was asked recently how excited we were at the prospect of the Queen Elizabeth naming ceremony to which I answered ‘Well there are ship launches and there are Cunard ship launches’. We have invited over 1,600 people from around the world to be present at the event in Southampton on the 11th October and the scene is set for something very British and very special. The launch of a Cunard Queen is indeed a part of history and we are very aware of our part in ensuring that the tremendous sense of British Maritime History continues for many years to come. It is also remarkable to think that with the arrival of Queen Elizabeth we will have ‘The Youngest Fleet in the World’ and so as well as a sense of history and heritage we look forward to delighting our guests around the world for many, many years to come.

For now we carry on with all the hard work that is needed to bring a new Cunard Queen to life – with a real sense of excitement and anticipation right around the company that we, along with our valued guests, are about to be part of something very special indeed. Below is the first picture of the ship on her her sea trials – I know I am biased but I think she looks fantastic

 

Best Regards

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director

Cunard Line