Just before I introduce this special President’s Blog, I would like to thank you for all your lovely comments about the Blogs and Vlogs during the year and for logging on as often as you do. It’s been an amazing year with over 134 posts and I would like to take the opportunity to thank our guest Bloggers and those who have been the subjects of some of the fascinating Blogs, for all your help in making it such a great year. Finally big thanks go to my colleagues on board, as well as the hard working team in Southampton, Richard, Matt, Shelley and Lisa for all their support.

Now it’s over to Peter Shanks as he looks back at Cunard in 2010

                           President’s Blog                           

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director

Cunard Line

Well that was certainly an eventful year for Cunard Line. It’s always worth a slight pause at this time of year to reflect on the past 12 months and – in no particular order – I thought I would share my reflections with our bloggers.

Lots to do – that was top of mind as I drove down to Southampton for the first day back in the office after New Year last January. A new ship to complete and launch , a trip down under, our largest ever program to confirm and put on sale for 2011 and a sluggish economy that had not really shown us any green shoots.

A Float-Out – It was freezing when we arrived in Monfalcone for the float-out ceremony for Queen Elizabeth in early January. Would the ship float – that was the obvious question. Of course it did and as our Madrina smashed a bottle on the side of the ship and we saw the name ‘Queen Elizabeth’ for the first time I shivered. Not with cold as my wife had rightly persuaded me to buy a black presidential overcoat in the January Sales – no I shivered with emotion as it dawned upon me just how special Queen Elizabeth was going to be, no ordinary name, no ordinary ship.

Australian Welcome – February saw my first ever trip to Sydney to see both Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2. To support the National Breast Cancer Foundation we turned Queen Victoria pink in Sydney Harbour, I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge (you have to do it its fabulous) and both ships were so warmly welcomed by our Australian friends. There is something quite magical about one of our Queens in Sydney, surrounded by thousands of small boats – I can’t wait till our Two Queens event this coming February.

Archbishop Tutu – It was an honour for all of us to meet him as he spent three days with us sailing into Durban and Cape Town. He asked if he and his wife could stay an extra day to attend our World Voyage Dinner at a beautiful vineyard setting just below Table Mountain. He said grace for us at the dinner and I shall never forget the look on the faces of the local South African students who were looking after us at the dinner. We were in the presence of somebody very special. I shall never forget his delightful cheeky laugh and although he has since announced his retirement from public life, he and his family are welcome back on any of our ships whenever they would like.

The only way to cross – Who would have thought that during the Ash Cloud Crisis in Europe we returned to the glory days of old when an Ocean Liner was the only way to cross to New York. During the time the skies were shut we had a planned Queen Mary 2 sailing to New York – well we had a waitlist of 1,800 people. It was a reminder to us all of how special the crossing on Queen Mary 2 is – every cruiser has to do it – hopefully for many 2011 will be their year to cross.

A Presidential Crossing – In late May I travelled on Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton. It was a terrific experience. We me a wonderful chap onboard who was 101 years old, I listened to our guest guitarist from the famous Juilliard School of music – he told us that he actually taught George Benson to play the guitar. I lapped the ship each morning – three times round for a mile. I sang with a choir made up of our guests along with our conductor friend Anthony Inglis and his Orchestra. And – a highlight for me – I conducted the orchestra, in the Royal Court Theatre in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. 

I was so impressed by many of the guests I met and it was wonderful to hear how many of them had a link through their family to crossings on our previous Queens. I spent a very motivating day with a group of new staff as they went through the White Star Academy and it was a real pleasure to be at their graduation later in the voyage.

Building Queen Elizabeth was not plain sailing – As we went through the year we had some challenges, some questions as to whether the ambitious build timescales could be achieved, some setbacks, some interesting meetings at the ship yard – but we were all determined to make it. We had certainly prepared the world for her arrival and we knew we had to deliver to the very high expectations of our guests.

And then came 11 October – The naming of Queen Elizabeth by Her Majesty The Queen was a very special day for us all. The sun shone, Her Majesty put everybody at ease, our Ceremony made most present cry and the word I heard most during the day was ‘pride’. Pride in Britain, Pride in Her Majesty and for me, Pride in every member of the ship’s company who had worked so hard to prepare the ship. There are some moving videos on YouTube for anybody who has not yet seen the moment – yes the moment that Her Majesty sat up and giggled with Pride as we reminded her that she was the only person to be present at the naming of our three Elizabeths in 1938, 1967 and 2010.

The proudest moment of my own year was being able to present my wife to Her Majesty as she toured the ship. It was also very important that so many of the ship’s company were able to see Her Majesty as we walked through the ship – especially to see Her Majesty smile so beautifully.

A step change for Cunard Line – From 11 October we had the youngest fleet in the world of cruising and we now have the widest range of holiday options we have ever been able to offer our guests. The world noticed our launch and we went through a sustained period for the rest of 2010 where our sales were twice that of the previous year and that gives us tremendous confidence as we look ahead to 2011.

So what lies ahead in 2011 – Well when I drive down to Southampton next week to start a new year I am very excited at the year that lies ahead. Three Queens in New York, Two Queens in Sydney and the opportunity to work with and lead a fantastic group of people within Cunard. It is the people in our company – especially the ship’s company on each of our Queens that make Cunard very special. We have many new people in the company now that we have three ships. Our challenge in the year ahead is to make sure we give our valued guests the experience they are expecting.  I will be working my socks off to make sure we keep Cunard every bit as special as our guests expect.

I had a lovely email from a guest this morning. They had just returned from a voyage on Queen Mary 2. It was quite a tough voyage as many had missed flights due to poor weather at UK and US airports, but this couple had taken the time to write to me. In their email they said something remarkable – and something that will remind me and all of us who work for Cunard Line what really matters. They said;

‘ For 50 weeks of the year we are a very ordinary couple living uneventful lives, for 2 weeks Cunard made us feel very special. Thank you Cunard and we are already looking forward to our next cruise’

So as we head towards 2011 our task is simple – to make our guests feel special. I hope that you have had a restful holiday period and on behalf of all of us at Cunard Line may I wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2011.

We hope to see you on board soon!

Best Regards

Peter

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director

Thank you Peter, and yes what an incredible year it has been. I’ll post pictures from Queen Elizabeth’s first Christmas Day on Tuesday and then as promised there’ll be Deputy Captain Andrew Hall’s final instalment of Queen Victoria’s recent refit in Hamburg.

All it leaves me to say is from all of us at We Are Cunard, we wish you a very Happy New Year. Alastair

As we come to the end of an amazing and very busy year at Cunard, the plans are all set for New Year’s Eve on our Queens. Queen Mary 2 is in St Thomas today and will be celebrating New Year’s Eve heading north to New York, while Queen Elizabeth will be at sea on her way to the Azores as the New Year begins. Queen Victoria will be in the wonderful port of Madeira where there’ll be a stunning firework display as she sets sail shortly after midnight.

Then on New Year’s Day while everyone recovers after all the parties on board and ashore, another celebration in California will begin. More of that after This week in Cunard’s History for the week from 29 December to 5 January:

 In this special Blog I wanted to update you on the Cunard Float, A Grand Celebration at Sea, that will take pride of place on Saturday’s New Year’s Day Rose Parade. You may remember we posted a Blog about it on 29 November:

http://wearecunard.com/2010/11/breaking-news-%e2%80%93-a-grand-celebration-at-sea/

 Now with just two days to go we are very excited about the debut of Cunard’s inaugural float, A Grand Celebration at Sea, in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade presented by Honda. In a longstanding American tradition, the Rose Parade is in its 122^nd year and has been called “America’s New Year’s Celebration.” Featuring world-class florally magnificent floats, equestrian units and marching bands from throughout the United States, the parade is broadcast to more than 50 million viewers in 220 countries and more than 20 languages worldwide, so hopefully you’ll be able to find coverage of the event wherever you are.  

This year’s Rose Parade theme is “Building Dreams, Friendships and Memories,” and it perfectly connects to Cunard’s 170-year history and the notion that friendships and memories are created by our guests from around the world through the experience of sailing with Cunard.

Preparations for this grand celebration are well underway as float designer Raul Rodriguez and the crew at Fiesta Parade Floats bring to life the spectacular Cunard float. Recently, she went for her second and last test run before debuting on the streets of Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day.

You’ll be excited to hear that there is a follow up Vlog on the float’s progress, and in it Brian O’ Connor, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Cunard North America, gives us a preview of our first Rose Parade float.

Terry, a journalist and photographer for The Pasadena Independent newspaper in California, also shares his passion for Cunard, which truly celebrates this year’s Rose Parade theme and our Cunard heritage.  As a young boy, Terry emigrated to the United States from Britain with his family aboard the original Queen Mary. He remembers his journey fondly and shares his story and some memorable photos with fellow Cunarders:

I’ll be bringing you pictures from Queen Elizabeth’s first Christmas Day next week and, as promised I’ll post Deputy Captain Andrew Hall’s final instalment of Queen Victoria’s recent refit in Hamburg. Cheers for now, Alastair

Firstly, from all of us at We Are Cunard, we hope you have had a wonderful Christmas wherever you spent it, and no doubt you are now excited about the New Year’s celebrations to welcome in 2011. Thank you again for your comments and questions as well as your lovely Christmas greetings.

Because of all the Christmas celebrations, we didn’t feature This week in Cunard’s History last week, so here it is for the extended week from the 17^th to the 28^th of December:

It’s always an exciting and busy time for all of us working on board over the festive season with plans being made many months in advance.

One big job is decorating our Queens ready for the Christmas voyages, and the lady responsible for our beautiful decorations is Debbie Gilmore. You may remember reading about Debbie in the set up of Queen Elizabeth as the lady who coordinated the installation of all the plants on board. The decorations are installed by a professional team in the first week of December, and it’s a huge task involving numerous decorations and on Queen Elizabeth, over 300 Poinsettias!

Before I get to Queen Elizabeth, I was delighted to receive some photos of Queen Victoria in her beautiful Christmas decor from Queen Victoria’s Assistant Entertainment Director, Keith Maynard. The first shows the ships stunning Grand Lobby:

There are so many beautifully decorated Christmas trees all over the ship, each with its own colour scheme like this one by the stage in the Winter Garden.

Like all our Queens every guest venue is decorated with wonderful detail such as the fireplace in the Golden Lion Pub adorned with garlands and Poinsettias

Christmas is a very busy time of year for the Galley teams, not just in preparing all the extra menus, but also in the numerous displays around the ship. This one is by the entrance of Queen Victoria’s Britannia Restaurant;

And this is the stunning display by the Lido Buffet;

Thanks very much Keith for those really great pictures. Meanwhile the Galley Team on Queen Elizabeth have also been incredibly busy creating some amazing displays all over the ship, and each day in the run up to Christmas the team added more and more, creating a really festive atmosphere around our new Queen. This Christmas Village was just one of the displays in the Lido Restaurant which was created under the guidance of Queen Elizabeth’s Executive Chef, Nicholas Oldroyd, with the collaboration of the carpentry team;

The Carpenters first cut out the ply board templates and assemble the houses and then, the Executive Pastry Chef, Sigfredo Satin and his team in the Pastry Galley decorated the frames with gingerbread and other assorted treats. Each house took up to eight hours to build and decorate. Adding to the display is the incredible talent of Chef de Partie, Catalino Paje, pictured next to the village, who crafted individual St. Nicholas themed scenes out of Styrofoam. These very detailed pieces take up to twelve hours each. Here are some more his characters adorning the Lido;

Just like her sister Queen Elizabeth’s lounges, restaurants and bars look stunning with the festive decorations such as the Britannia Restaurant

Again every venue has decorations to suit the style of the room as you can see here in the Yacht Club with the beautiful picture of QE2 in the background:

Two days before Christmas Queen Elizabeth arrived in the picturesque Caribbean port of St. Johns on the Island of Antigua, where she towered over the main shopping street.

It was great to be in the Caribbean, away from all the freezing temperatures in Europe and Queen Elizabeth has received a wonderful welcome at each port with Steel Bands, greeting guests as they headed to the beaches and island beauty spots. Here she is again in Antigua, providing a stunning backdrop for guests and locals in the nearby shops, bars and restaurants.

On Christmas Eve in St Lucia Queen Elizabeth could see her sister Queen Mary 2 anchored just outside the harbour and it was a great opportunity to meet up with friends and colleagues. Then it was soon time to continue the festivities on board as we continued the Cunard tradition of the carol singing in the Grand Lobby. It’s a very special part of the evening when members of the ships company from all departments, including Captain Julian Burgess, (standing next to me in the front), join guests in singing carols;

Later that evening we held the traditional Christmas Eve church services and then of course it was the big day, and I’ll be back on Friday with photos of our Christmas day on Queen Elizabeth. Tomorrow I’ll have a Vlog and news about Cunard Float, A Grand Celebration at Sea, which will feature in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.

Next week I’ll have more news from around the fleet including Deputy Captain Andrew Hall’s final instalment of Queen Victoria’s recent refit in Hamburg. Cheers for now, Alastair

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 xxxxxPeter Shanks

 xxxxxPresident & Managing Director

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I write this a couple of days before Christmas from a very cold Southampton, England – where it seems that Santa’s Sleigh is the only the way to get around. Our little Island has been brought to a standstill by a cold snap and a rather embarrassing inability for Heathrow Airport to clear a few inches of snow.

Our three ships are full to the gunnels  and off on their Christmas Voyages with Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth in the Caribbean and Queen Victoria in The Canaries. So on board we are preparing to give over 6,000 of our valued guests a wonderful Cunard Christmas.

This morning I sent a message to every member of our Ship’s Company and I thought our bloggers may find that interesting so I have inserted it below:

I really mean it when I say that the success of Cunard Line is down to those wonderful people who work so hard on our ships. But of course I must give equal recognition to our loyal guests. The last year has been the most successful in our long history with the introduction of Queen Elizabeth. All of us at Cunard have enjoyed seeing so many of our loyal guests on board but have also enjoyed many thousands of guests to Cunard Line for the first time.

So as we head towards Christmas – very warm season’s greetings from all of us at Cunard both to our valued guests and to the readers of our award winning blog.  It has been a vintage year with lot’s of exciting happenings across the fleet and I will share my highlights with you in our New Year blog next week.

For now – wrap up warm wherever you are and enjoy a well deserved rest with your friends and family over the festive period. I shall be at home with my wife, daughters and trusty black Labrador Pepper.

Best Regards

Peter

Welcome to another week’s Blogging, and as you know I am now back on Queen Elizabeth for her Christmas Voyage and will stay here until the end of the World Voyage in April, while Amanda Reid has returned to Queen Victoria until March. It’s been great to see friends again amongst guests and crew as well as so many BIoggers on this voyage. Thanks as always for all your great feedback and comments, it’s always good to hear from you. A popular topic recently has been the Webcams and I’m delighted so many of you have noticed the new page, showing the ship’s positions and more information about the voyages they are doing.

Also in answer to Tom Morgan’s question; you may recall the wonderful story about Candace Mohamed who was on board Queen Victoria with the Prince’s Trust. If you didn’t read the story you can catch up by clicking on this link:

http://wearecunard.com/2010/09/cunard-celebrates-becoming-a-gold-patron-of-the-prince%e2%80%99s-trust/

Although Candace is not yet on board one of our ships, I understand she will hopefully be joining sometime in the New Year so we’ll keep you posted about her progress.

It’s always a pleasure to feature the Star of the Month, which as regular readers will know is the title awarded to just one crew member per ship each month. The award is a result of guest and crew feedback, and then consideration by our on board White Star Committees. Each month we alternate ships, for which “Star” we feature, and this month it’s the turn of Queen Elizabeth. In fact we are going back a little bit, because I wanted to feature Queen Elizabeth’s very first Star of the Month. With so many deserving crew members who worked so incredibly hard during the set up period of Queen Elizabeth, the task of choosing just one person was a very tough choice. The winner in the end was Arnold Arquintillo, the ship’s Hotel Storekeeper, and as with every “Star” his photo was displayed prominently in the Grand Lobby:

Arnold is from the Capital City of Iloilo Province in the Philippines, which is known as the City of Love. His father was an engineer with a shipping company in the Philippines, so he felt it was natural for him to go to sea as well. He actually joined the same company as his father, but was delighted when his manning agency offered him the opportunity to work for Cunard.

Arnold’ first Cunard ship was the Caronia in April 2004, where he joined as a Galley Utility. His next contract was on Queen Mary 2, and when the position of Provision Utility became available, he applied for the job. His application was successful and he remained on Queen Mary 2 for two years, during which time he was awarded Star of the Month runner-up in October 2006.

Arnold was chosen to be part of the start up team for Queen Victoria; opening the new ship in the position of Assistant Storekeeper. He was soon promoted to Hotel Storekeeper and he told me he considered himself very lucky to be a part of the inaugural team for Queen Elizabeth.

He recently got married to his childhood sweetheart Lalice Joy, who comes from the same town as Arnold.

Anrnold and Lalice are expecting their first baby in May 2011, and to say that he is very happy and excited about it, is an understatement.

There are Technical and Hotel storage areas on board our Queens and it’s a huge operation ensuring the ship has whatever it needs where ever she is sailing. The amount of stores the ships carry is determined by the usage in between storing days. Within the hotel department it’s normal to carry about 15 days worth of consumable stores at any one time from fresh meat and fish to wine, beer and dry goods. Most stores arrive in our home port of Southampton but some fresh produce is picked up in ports the ship visits during a voyage. Each Southampton day the ship will take on about 200 tons of stores for the Hotel Department with 90% coming from Southampton suppliers. This is obviously different on a World Voyage where containers are sent to various loading points around the world

Within the Hotel Department there are 8 Storekeepers who with the Assistant and Provisions Master carefully monitor the stores, consumption and ordering. Looking after the general Hotel Stores means Arnold and his assistant Wilson are responsible for items such as stationery, glassware, galley equipment, housekeeping consumables, china and much more.

All Cunard ships have a highly sophisticated ordering system whereby individual departments will submit orders by a special computer programme. All orders are then checked and approved by the Food and Beverage Manager before Arnold and Wilson issue them. The system will then automatically alert the Provision Master to submit orders shore side, up to three months in advance, to maintain the ship’s store levels.

As you can imagine looking after the ship’s Hotel Stores is a very big job, so Arnold starts the day early at 8.00am. The first thing he does is to check the computer to see what orders have come in, and he then begins to prepare them for the various departments to collect later in the day. Space is limited so Arnold and Wilson work hard at keeping the stores clean and very well organised, with stores coming in when the ship arrives in Southampton and orders going out constantly throughout the day during the voyage. Here’s Arnold busy at work in his storeroom:

In his time off on board Arnold likes to rest, relax and watch TV and on port days he tries to get ashore and go for a walk with friends; as he says: “To sightsee and refresh our minds”. At home he values the precious time with his family and enjoys jogging every morning for about 30 minutes.

When I asked him what “We Are Cunard” meant to him, he told me; “To me it means family. We are one big happy family where we enjoy tradition, elegance and high standards through White Star Service. It is great to work here.”

Along with the honour of becoming Queen Elizabeth’s first Star of the Month Arnold received some prize money which he told me would be sent straight home to his wife to keep for their baby. Here he is accepting his award from Captain Chris Wells in a special presentation. Also in the picture from left to right are, Stefan Engl, Food and Beverage Manager, Rex Boco, Provision Master and Robert Howie, Hotel Manager

As for the future, Arnold says his dream is simple; to keep healthy and to see his children grow up gracefully, and he looks forward to seeing his children have children.

Thank you Arnold for sharing your story with us, and congratulations again for being Queen Elizabeth’s first Star. I’ll be back later in the week with a Special Christmas Blog showing our beautifully decorated ships celebrating the festive season.  Cheers for now, Alastair

As the Christmas song goes, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas aboard our Cunard Queens. Joining Queen Elizabeth for her first Christmas on Tuesday it was lovely to see the ship looking magnificent in her festive decor. I’ll have a special Blog Next week with all the ships decorations as well as keeping you up to date with the festivities on board. In this Blog we go back to Hamburg and the second part of the series of posts featuring Queen Victoria’s refit, that’s after a busy week in Cunard’s history for the 10^th to the 16^th of December: 

Now I’m excited to post the second Guest Blog by Queen Victoria’s Deputy Captain, Andrew Hall, looking at her refit in Hamburg.

Guest Blog

 Andrew Hall,  Deputy Captain

 Queen Victoria

Since my last Blog, there has been a lot happening here in Hamburg. The refit work continues to progress well and it is pleasing to see some work already nearing completion. We have had our challenges though with the weather. The temperature here has barely risen above freezing which has made it very hard to wash the ship down. The snow has caused additional difficulties, not least for the logistics team in getting much needed supplies to us.

Whilst it may be cold outside, inside the ship it is warm. With the weather forecast in the days leading up to arrival, we always knew that keeping everyone on board warm, and as a consequence happy, would be one of our greatest challenges. Despite the refit work requiring so many open entrances into the ship, the technical team have been doing a great job in the circumstances. We’ve even had hot and cold water – well for most of the time at least!

 With the dry dock empty the first major work to start in the bottom of the dock was to our main propulsion system. Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth are fitted with two Azimuthing Podded Drives more commonly known as Azipods or more simply as Pods. These pull the ship through the water rather than push, and of course provide excellent manoeuvrability when combined with the bow thrusters for docking.

The Pods do require an overhaul though at regular intervals, which includes changing the roller bearings for new ones, rather like having new tyres on your car! However unlike a tyre change a pod bearing change takes rather longer and a significant amount of labour as well as a lot of heavy machinery and equipment!

Whilst the pod overhaul continued, work finally started on the high-pressure water blasting of the underwater part of the hull. Water at 650 bar pressure was used to clean away over 3 years of weed, slime and the majority of the old paint.

Right up at the forward end of the dock both of the ship’s anchors and chain cables were ranged in the dock bottom. This is very much a routine job in dry dock. Queen Victoria has three anchors, each 11.2 tonnes in weight. Two are the ‘in service’ anchors on each side of the bow, and the third is a spare, which is carried on the forward crew deck. The anchor cables on each side of the bow consist of fourteen shackles port and thirteen shackles starboard (a shackle being a section of chain cable measuring 27.5 metres in length). Once ‘ranged’ in the dock, shackles one and two were disconnected from their anchors and moved to become shackles thirteen and fourteen respectively leaving shackles three and four to become one and two. Are you with me? Don’t worry if you are not! Essentially all this moving around of chain pieces is just to ensure it wears evenly over its lifetime.

We’ll come back to the dock bottom in my next Blog; meanwhile let’s take a look at some of what is going on on board.

As you step on board into the Grand Lobby you immediately see and hear what looks to be quite an upheaval! Work continues apace to rip out the old carpet and dig up the concrete screed from the deck below. Men with Kango hammers dig away at the deck in scenes you would normally associate with digging up the road outside your house in order to fix a water main. This work continues through the Grand Lobby and aft into the Chart Room.

Further aft though, in the Britannia Restaurant, work is nearing completion already with the new carpet having already been laid. There is still some tidying up to do and of course the furniture has to be returned to position, but it is great to see it taking shape and experience that special new carpet smell.

Meanwhile in the Queen’s Room, the wooden dance floor has received a makeover, having been sanded down and recoated. In the photograph work continues as the specialist craftsmen touch up the detail in the floor. At the same time a team of French Polishers give similar attention to the furniture.

Aside from the refit work there is another story to tell. We were approached by Blohm & Voss Mechanical Field Engineer, Anja van Eijsden, who asked us if we would consider supporting the shipyard’s sponsored charity by donating any unwanted items from the ship. We were, of course, happy to help! With the kind assistance of Environmental Officer John Newlyn and the team within the Hotel Department, we were able to find a good selection including linen, clothes and books. Amongst other miscellaneous items, we were able to donate an old computer desk, which although was no longer needed on board Queen Victoria, would definitely be appreciated by its new owner.

For our readers in Germany, you can find Anja’s website at www.der-hafen-hilft.de. That’s all for now but join me again next time for a further update on how things are progressing here in Hamburg.

Thank you so much Andrew for another great Blog and it’s great to see Queen Victoria being spruced up ready for her next few years of service. We look forward to the final instalment next week. I’ll be back on Monday with more news, from around the fleet as our Queens begin their Christmas Voyages.

Cheers for now, Alastair

Welcome back to another week of Blogging. When Inger Klein Olsen assumed command of Queen Victoria on the first of December, she made history by becoming the Cunard’s first female Captain. Her first task as Captain was to take the ship to dry dock in Hamburg for its planned refit. This Wednesday on the 15^th of December, she will be on the bridge as the ship sets sail with a full complement of guests.

Now living in Denmark, 43-year-old Captain Olsen was born and brought up in the Faroe Islands. She began her career at sea on a cargo ship, before applying to be a cadet with Scandinavian Seaways. After obtaining her Masters License Captain Olsen sailed for a couple of years on various ships before joining Cunard on the Vistafjord (which became Caronia), in 1997 as a First Officer. In 2001 she transferred to the Seabourn fleet, which was part of Cunard at the time. She sailed on Seabourn Sun and Seabourn Spirit before being promoted to rank of Staff Captain on Seabourn Pride in 2003. Captain Olsen then spent about a year in the Cunard office in Miami during the building of Queen Mary 2. She them spent some years with some of Cunard’s sister brands before finally joining Queen Victoria as deputy Captain in August 2010.

Commenting on the new appointment, Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, told me:

“While we are far from being the first shipping company to have a female Captain, it is nonetheless noteworthy when such a long-established British institution as Cunard makes a break with its captaincy tradition. But as Mark Twain drily observed, ‘the folks at Cunard wouldn’t appoint Noah himself as Captain until he had worked his way up through the ranks’. Inger has certainly done that, and we are delighted to welcome her as our first woman driver.”

Captain Olsen was kind enough to let me interview her while she was busy in Hamburg while her first command was in Dry Dock.

 Special Interview With Captain Inger Olsen

How does it feel returning to Cunard and being their first female Captain?
I am delighted to be back with Cunard, as Cunard was my first Cruise Line fourteen years ago, and I am most honoured to become the first female Captain in Cunard.

What were your first impressions of Cunard Line and Queen Victoria; was it as you expected and what do you think makes it different?
My impression of Queen Victoria was, and is that she represents all the things that I connect with Cunard. She is a very friendly ship and I felt at home from the moment that I stepped onboard. She is elegant, stylish and a Queen.

The position of Master has often been described as the mayor of a small town; please could you describe how you see your role on board?
To set leadership behaviour onboard and make sure that there is a good atmosphere onboard, while focussing on the customer satisfaction and crew morale. It is important for me that both guests and crew feel that I am approachable, but of course I am responsible for the Safety and Security of the ship, and all that sail on her. In reality it is about setting a good example and operating a safe environment for all.

What is the most frequent question you get asked and how do you answer it?
I am often asked what made me choose this career. It was never intentional really, I just wanted to travel and see the world. I always thought that I would do it for a few years and then go and do something shore side. But I guess this is where time and circumstances took me really.

 Please could you tell us something about your job that would surprise us?
It is really difficult to say what would surprise you, but I think maybe it is all the other things that you do as Captain from renewal of vows to appraisals and chairing Health and Safety meetings etc. Most would think that I spend all my time on the bridge, which is not the case as in reality most of my working day is actually spent on wider onboard management activities and of course guest related activities.

What would be your favourite golden nugget of advice to Guests coming on a voyage for the first time?
Lean back, and embrace the excellence and adventure that Queen Victoria can offer you and get the most out of a fantastic voyage.

 Although you have just rejoined Cunard, what does “We Are Cunard” mean to you?
To me it is the cornerstone of working on a Cunard ship. White Star Service is a very important and great part of our success, and I think that the service and style that Cunard offers is unsurpassed which is why we are able to say  “We Are Cunard”. This is definitely where I like to be at this stage of my career.

Where would you like to go in the world where you haven’t been yet?
Maldives, Madagascar and Galapagos.

Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?
Many! I believe that everyone needs to have dreams; this is actually what drives you forward. If your dreams have come through, you simply need to find new ones. But you are not suppose to tell about the ones that are unfulfilled as otherwise they will not come through!

When you are on leave; what is your perfect night?
A perfect night is at home with my fiancé, a nice homemade meal, candles and nice relaxing music.

 What is your favourite quote and who said it?
“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give”. Winston Churchill.

 Thank you so much Captain Olsen for your great answers and of course congratulations again on your appointment. Meanwhile I’ll be back soon with Deputy Captain Andrew Hall and his second report from Queen Victoria’s dry Dock in Hamburg. Meanwhile I’ll be rejoining Queen Elizabeth tomorrow as we get ready to sail to the Caribbean for our three week festive get away, so I’ll have more news from her, and from across the fleet, soon as well.

Cheers for now, Alastair

As Queen Mary 2 continues her Caribbean season, Queen Elizabeth has returned to the Canaries; her first voyage there since the maiden Voyage in October. Meanwhile exactly six years after the contract to build her was signed, Queen Victoria is in the Blohm and Voss dry dock in Hamburg, undergoing her first refit. I’ll have more of that news from Queen Victoria’s Deputy Captain, Andrew Hall after this week in Cunard’s History from the 3^rd to the 9^th of December:

 Just over a week ago Cunard’s newest Queens, met for the first time in their home ports of Southampton and I’m delighted to say we have been sent a link to a Vlog made by Steve Read, which captures the moment perfectly.

 http://www.ilovecruises.co.uk/2010/12/01/video-horns-blast-as-cunards-newest-queens-meet-and-greet/

After that meeting Queen Victoria headed straight to Hamburg and I’m excited to be able to post the first Guest Blog by her Deputy Captain, Andrew Hall, in a series of Blogs looking at her refit.

Guest Blog

Andrew Hall

Deputy Captain

Queen Victoria

 It hardly seems possible that three years have passed by since Queen Victoria’s arrival into the fleet. In that time she has travelled over 343,500 nautical miles, including three full circumnavigations of the world, and has made 619 port calls. She hasn’t had a day out of service or a day without guests on board, so it’s now time for a well-earned rest and makeover, with the assistance of our friends at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, as well as a number of other companies contracted to maintain and upgrade guest areas on board.

We arrived in Southampton at the end of our last Mediterranean Voyage a little earlier than usual in order to make a flying start to the refit period. The operation to offload guests’ luggage was the usual swift operation and soon after our guests started to disembark. However the refit preparations were already underway in the crew areas with carpet and deck protection being laid and an army of contractors, of various disciplines, waiting in the terminal to embark.

Once the guests were all ashore the whole ship swung into refit mode. The team from Housekeeping, lead by Executive Housekeeper Roz Price-Evans, unrolled thousands of metres of plastic sheeting covering carpets (or at least those destined to remain), as well as putting protective covers on the furniture and artwork. Meanwhile, a team from the company Trimline were hard at work removing curtains and drapery, which were to be landed in Southampton for dry cleaning.

The pace on the dockside was frenetic with cranes swinging on tools and equipment. Meanwhile, through the ship’s side doors, tens of pallets of materials and spare parts, required for all the planned upgrade work and in depth maintenance, were loaded.

At 1.00pm, after only seven hours in port, mooring lines were let go and Queen Victoria sailed for Hamburg, with some 797 crew and 197 contractors. Sailing from Southampton we passed the Ocean Dock where our new sister Queen Elizabeth was about to embark upon her new voyage. This was the first meeting of the two ships and was, of course, celebrated by the usual sounding of the ship’s whistles as we passed. Sorry Southampton!

The following day was spent at sea, arriving at the mouth of the river Elbe at 6pm and commencing the long river transit into the centre of Hamburg. The timing was critical, as we had to arrive off the entrance of the dry dock at 12.45am in order for the height of tide and tidal stream to be suitable for docking.

Already, onboard, the pace of work had accelerated in the guest areas with large amounts of carpet having been removed through many areas. This was the scene in the Grand Lobby adjacent the Pursers Desk; it’s amazing how much mess you can make in such a short time!

As planned we arrived, in a somewhat wintery Hamburg, and right on time we were positioned off the dock as a fleet of tugs pulled the Caisson (dock gate) open. We then gently nudged the ship ahead, connecting the positioning wires as we did, until the whole ship was safely in the dock. Now the work was only really just starting!

With the Caisson back in position, work began to pump out the dock; the ship’s position being adjusted according to laser measurements taken to ensure that at the point of taking the blocks, the equipment on the ship’s bottom (such as the tank plugs and speed log transducers) were not obscured or damaged.

The Elbe 17 dock is one of the largest dry docks in Europe, with a capacity of 240,000 cubic metres of water, albeit some 45,000 were being displaced by Queen Victoria’s hull. The dock pumps are rated at 11,000 cubic metres per hour so pumping the dock dry was going to take some time. However, at 3am the keel touched the blocks and we were no longer afloat!

Soon after all the lifeboats and tenders were lowered into the remaining dock water and subsequently lifted out of the dock by crane to be positioned on the dockside for their own makeover in specially erected tents.

Pumping out the dock continued for the majority of the day, but as darkness came the last of the water disappeared into the huge gratings beneath the Caisson, as the shipyard team entered the dock to sluice down the silt from the river leaving the concrete floor in the dock clean to work in. Soon after the Captain and I, along with the Chief Engineer and company Technical Superintendants, made our own way into the dock bottom to conduct the initial assessment of the hull by torchlight! The initial assessment was good, just the usual build up of growth and slime, which was to be expected after three years of service. The thrusters, stabilisers, azipods, sea chests and so forth, all seemed to be in excellent condition.

We now have nine full days here in the dry dock. I’ll be back in a few days with an update on the progress. Join me next time!

Thank you so much Andrew for that fascinating insight to the Dry Dock process along with the great pictures; we look forward to part two next week. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with more news, including some special guests who sailed on Queen Elizabeth recently, and of course I’ll be back on board Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday as she begins her Christmas Voyage to the Caribbean.

Cheers for now, Alastair

 As Queen Mary 2 continues her Caribbean season, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria met yesterday morning for the first time in Southampton. It was a brief visit, as Queen Victoria left early afternoon for Hamburg, where she will stay for two weeks for her first dry dock. We’ll have more reports about that over the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile Queen Elizabeth will retrace her maiden voyage by returning to the Canaries, escaping the very cold weather in Britain at the moment.

This week’s Guest Blog goes back to that voyage and the first Comedian to appear on Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Court Theatre Stage. That’s all after this week in Cunard’s history from 26 November to 2 December:

Speaking with many guests, I always get lots of questions about our Guest Entertainers who join the ship at various stages of a voyage. All Entertainers are contracted by our head office in Southampton, and it’s then up to the Entertainment Directors on board to schedule their performances, along with all the other components of the Entertainment Programme. 

The life of an Entertainer is certainly different, so I asked John Evans if he would give readers of this Blog some idea of what life is like for Entertainers travelling between ships and being on board.

I’ve worked with John for many years now and not only has he become a good friend, he is one of Cunard’s most popular Comedians. His talent has seen him become a firm favourite not only on the Cunard Queens but also around the world on stage and television. He has performed for the British forces on many occasions and his stand up style gained national recognition on Granada TV’s The Comedians. He was subsequently featured in their DVD release and has enjoyed numerous television credits including the Des O’Connor Show and Granada Upfront.

In the corporate world John’s has an unrivalled list of clients and to celebrate Liverpool’s Capital Of Culture year in 2008 John took the role of Ron Jones in a comedy play called Falling Out With The Joneses. In February 2010 he trod the boards again at The Actors Studio Liverpool appearing in the black comedy; Closing Time when he played Johnny Fogarty.

Guest Blog

 John Evans 

Guest Entertainer

 Cunard Line

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When Alastair first asked me to write a Guest Blog, it was only then that I took stock of how busy my life as a stand up comedian has become.

I have been performing comedy for the last 24 years, with 17 of those being on board ships for various companies, but Cunard has always had a very special place in my heart. To be the first Comedian to perform on Queen Elizabeth was a particular moment that I will always treasure with pride.

In this blog I’ll attempt to give you an insight into my very exciting and hectic life, and thought probably the best way would be to tell you about a ten-day whirlwind trip last summer. This is quite typical of my schedule and included three engagements on two Cunard Queens that saw me join at different locations throughout Europe.

It all started in Southampton where Queen Mary 2 was about to begin a Norwegian voyage. When I first started to work on ships, Entertainers would join at the start of a voyage and stay onboard till the very end, but now it’s far more common for us to be onboard for just 5 or 6 days at a time.

Once on board I met the Entertainment Director, Paul O’Loughlin, to discover when I would be performing. Paul told me I was working the following night, which is always a big one as it’s the evening featuring the Captains Welcome Parties and the first formal night of the voyage. There was just enough time before we sailed to call home and say goodbye to my wife Jackie and our youngest daughter Georgia. Along with Georgia I have two other children, Sarah who is 21 and recently graduated from university with a degree in dance and performance studies, and 19-year-old Tom who is currently working as an Entertainment Host for one of Cunard’s sister companies in the States. 

At 5.30pm on the first day at sea, it’s time for my sound check in the Royal Court Theatre. Everyone who works behind the scenes is always so helpful and they stop at nothing to help to make my show run as smoothly as possible, which includes a lighting state I am happy with, and a chance for a quick run through with the band who will be playing my music.

At 8.25pm, five minutes before I step out for my first show, the nerves are pretty big, despite all the years of experience I have. I can only liken the feeling I get to waiting in a queue for a roller coaster ride; the nearer you get to your turn, the less you want to do it, but after the initial rise to the top of the first heart stopping drop it’s the thrill of a lifetime and you just cant wait to get back on again!

So with both shows thankfully well received, it was time to relax before packing for an early afternoon flight the next day from Bergen to Madrid, where I stayed overnight before transferring to Queen Victoria in Malaga.

Now I’m sure that you would think that after all of my travels worldwide I would be able to speak many languages. Sadly though I am like most British people abroad; why learn the language when it is far easier to speak louder and slower to make myself understood. This approach has always helped a little in the past but an incident on that trip has made me realise that I really must learn another language.

I had to catch a courtesy shuttle bus in order to get to my overnight hotel in Madrid. After several unsuccessful attempts at pigeon Spanish to various bus drivers at the airport, I remembered that the hotel details were on my phone in a text sent from my Manager. As the next bus approached I got the text on my mobile phone’s screen, which clearly showed the name of my hotel in Spanish. I climbed onto the bus and pointed at the phone and smiled at the driver, “ Si…Si” I said in my best Manuel accent. The driver smiled and nodded very enthusiastically, but made no move to drive the bus to the destination. I repeated “Si…. Si…YOU TAKE ME HERE?” Again the driver smiled and pointed at my phone. It was at this point that I realised my mobile’s screen saver had come on, and I was pointing at a picture of my dogs playing on the beach. Like I say, I must learn a language!

Finally I reached the hotel for a night’s rest before an early pick up and my flight to Malaga. At the airport, I was met by Cunard’s Port Agent, who drove me to where Queen Victoria was docked. I must say the Theatres on Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth are the most beautiful Theatres on any ship afloat. Even the entrances along deck one are reminiscent of the character you feel when walking into The Palladium or His Majesty’s in London.

Amanda Reid, Queen Victoria’s Entertainment Director lets me know my schedule and this time I had two days on board to get a feel for the voyage and the audience before that all too familiar feeling of nerves as my show time approaches. On that voyage I performed on two nights with two different performances for each. On the second night I worked with one of the other Guest Entertainers on board in what we call a split bill, so that meant 25 minutes of material each.

Just a few days after joining, we were back in Southampton and it was time to disembark. The ship where my trip started, Queen Mary 2, is also now back in Southampton so it’s a taxi ride across town to rejoin her for a feeling of déjà vu, and another trip up to Norway!

My life is nothing short of a million miles an hour and even given the stress of meeting flights and various deadlines for ships, I don’t think I would change any of it!

Thank you so much John for a fascinating insight to a Guest Entertainer’s life, and you can read more about John on his website: – www.johnevanscomedian.co.uk.

I’ll be back next week with more news, including Queen Elizabeth’s very first Star of the Month and the first pictures from Queen Victoria’s Dry Dock in Hamburg. Cheers for now, Alastair