As Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria head towards the Hawaiian Islands, Queen Mary 2 is on her way across the South Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa.

It’s always a pleasure to feature Cunard’s Stars 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. To date we have alternated between Cunard’s three Queens, to feature their latest star. However we felt that it’s such an important programme to all of us on board that we really wanted to feature each ship’s star every month.

So in the first of a monthly feature Blog we are doing just that, and have asked each ship to tell us about their star.

QUEEN MARY 2

The latest star on Cunard’s flagship is Marco Alexis Payen, who is a Junior Waiter from the beautiful island of Mauritius:

Although Marco has experience at sea he is fairly new to Cunard, having joined Queen Mary 2 in August last year. During that time he has received numerous commendations for his hard work and dedication in looking after our guests. Recently when the French Hostess had to leave unexpectedly, Marco stepped in and assisted with the French Daily Programme and other duties normally carried out by the French Hostess. Everyone was so impressed with Marco’s true White Star spirit that he received many nominations to become Star of the Month. Here he is receiving his award from Captain Paul Wright with Hotel Manager, John Duffy and Senior Maitre D’Hotel, Osman Pinaolglu

QUEEN VICTORIA

The January Star of the Month on Queen Victoria is Senior Security Patrolman Am Chongbang Limbu. Hailing from Nepal, Am is married with two children and joined his first Cunard ship, Queen Mary 2 in 2006

Am spent 16 years in the Indian Army, of which two were spent as a private security guard in Baghdad. Queen Victoria’s Security Officer Glenn Cairns, told me that that although Am is a very quiet member of the security team, he doesn’t just go the extra mile, but more like an extra ten, to ensure the safety of the ship and all on board. After numerous compliments from guests and fellow crew, he was chosen as Queen Victoria’s latest Star. Here he is collecting his well deserved award from Captain Inger Olsen with Hotel Manager , David Hamilton, Deputy Captain, Andrew Hall and Security Officer, Glenn Cairns

QUEEN ELIZABETH

Our latest Cunarder’s third star is Benigno Pedroso, the ship’s Chief Carpenter. Known as Bennie, he is married to Cynthia and has three children, Vaughn, Harold & Kate.

Bennie and his family live in Baguio City, Philippines and his father is also a carpenter. Bennie followed in his footsteps first at home, then on a couple of ships before joining Queen Victoria in November 2007 as an Assistant Carpenter. He was then promoted to the position of Chief Carpenter and told me he was honoured to be selected as the Chief Carpenter for the inaugural season of Queen Elizabeth. Being involved from the very start of a new ship was a challenge, but one Bennie met with a wonderful spirit.

He has had numerous positive comments from guests and well as his colleagues who felt he should be recognised for his tremendous commitment to White Star Service. Here is Bennie receiving his award from Captain Julian Burgess, with Hotel Manager, Jacqui Hodgson and Ship’s Services Engineer Michael Robertshaw.

I’ll bring you next month’s stars in a few weeks time, following the various awards ceremonies coming up soon.

Meanwhile as Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 continue their World Voyages and Queen Victoria begins her season in American waters, I’ll have news from all three ships very soon starting on Thursday with another report from Queen Elizabeth. We’ll also return to the Panama Canal with some unique pictures taken by our on board professional photographers along with a very special video as well. Thank you again for logging on and all your great comments. Cheers for now, Alastair

Well it’s certainly been another busy week Blogging, but when there’s so much going on, it’s great to be able to share the stories and pictures with you, especially on a Maiden World Voyage.

Last Saturday was another exciting first for Cunard’s latest Queen as she transited the Panama Canal for the first time. Every transit offers something special, but it certainly feels like being a part of history when it’s the first time for a ship to go through. This is the third transit I have written about on the We Are Cunard Blog so if you didn’t manage to catch the other two on Queen Victoria in 2009 and 2010 you can click on these links: -

http://wearecunard.com/2010/01/queen-victoria-sails-from-the-caribbean-sea-to-the-pacific-ocean-in-a-day/

http://wearecunard.com/2009/01/transiting-the-panama-canal-%e2%80%93-from-east-to-west-or-west-to-east/

Queen Elizabeth’s transit started early in the morning as the Pilot came on board along with officials and the Panama Canal Lecturer:

Queen Elizabeth was to be part of Convoy No. South S 12 Z, and the Transit would take the whole day, but what a stunning day it was as we approached the first of the Gatun Locks. This picture really illustrates the magnificence of engineering the locks are, with a local bus crossing the road bridge as we made preparations to enter the first chamber.

With just inches to spare Queen Elizabeth entered the first chamber and all the guest and crew decks were packed as the lock gates closed behind us.

 Then as Queen Elizabeth was raised in the lock by the enormous power of the water from the Gatun Lake, our photographers gave everyone a great smile as they saw the Cunard House Flag straight ahead of them. They had joined the Pilot boat as the officials joined the ship, and they took lots of pictures of our first transit from the locks, and I’ll post those pictures along with a remarkable video next week.

Meanwhile everyone enjoyed a wonderful commentary from the bridge by Ed Paulk, the Panama Canal Commentator, who also gave a detailed lecture later in the Royal Court Theatre.

Queen Elizabeth is the largest Cunarder to transit the Canal, but Queen Mary 2 may be able to when the new wider locks open in 2014. Meanwhile Captain Julian Burgess and Deputy Captain Aseem Hashmi, were on the starboard bridge wing watching carefully as Queen Elizabeth moved in to the next chamber.

Chief Officer Patrick Maguire was on the port bridge wing with the Canal Pilot, again watching carefully as Queen Elizabeth gently moved forward. The whole process is aided by the glass floor panels on both bridge wings enabling the Officers to see the walls of the canal locks which you can see in this picture.

It really is a tight squeeze coming through the locks and to minimize the scratches to the ship’s hull, special rotating rubber wheels help guide the ship out of the locks in to the Gatun Lake.

The scenery through the Gatun Lake, the Gaillard Cut and on to the Pedro Miguel Locks is stunning and so much variety as well. There is constant work going on the entire length of the Canal, and you’ll get a better idea of that in next week’s blog with views looking towards the ship. There was a very special moment as we went through the final set of lock chambers in the Miraflores Locks, which mark the gateway to the Pacific.

There are viewing buildings on the side of the locks at Gatun and Miraflores, where tourists watch the ships go through the Canal. The reception at Miraflores was particularly impressive with huge cheers coming from the building. They were clearly impressed by Queen Elizabeth, but I realised the other reason when I looked down and saw the Panama flag being held over the ship’s side by some guests.

 The Panama Flag belonged to Doug and Kay Sansom from Pensacola in Florida. I met up with them the following day and they told me the story of how they had a Panama Flag with them on this voyage. Doug told me they were on the final transit of the Panama Canal on QE2 and they bought the flag at the Charity Auction and had it signed by Captain Perkins, the Master at the time. They were thrilled to be able to proudly show it off on Queen Elizabeth’s maiden transit; what a great Cunard story.

Back to the day, and by late afternoon we were already approaching the final lock chamber before being lowered down to sea level once more. I managed this shot by hanging my camera over the ship’s side by the forward crew deck where crewmembers were waving at the onlookers on the shore side.

The final stage of the transit is really when the ship reaches the magnificent Bridge of the Americas and here Queen Elizabeth gets ready to sail under it and in to the Pacific Ocean. Insert

As the ship passed underneath, Panama City felt remarkably close on the port side with a myriad of interesting structures forming the dramatic skyline.

Queen Elizabeth is now on her way to Los Angeles having called at the Mexican ports of Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas. We’ll return to the Panama Canal next week with some unique pictures taken by our on board professional photographers along with a very special video. I’ll also have more news from around the fleet next week, but in the meantime thank you again for logging on and for all your comments. Cheers for now, Alastair

Welcome to another busy week of Blogging. It’s always an exciting time of year for Cunard and now with three Queens travelling the world I know the Bridge Cams are particularly popular. From our Royal Rendezvous we will soon be very far apart from each other, but of course Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will meet again in another great event in Sydney on 22 February.

For this Blog we are rejoining Queen Elizabeth who makes a return to the Caribbean but that’s after this week in Cunard’s history for the week of 27 January to 2 February.

Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage is now well under way and it has been wonderful to be back in the warmth of the Caribbean. As Queen Elizabeth left Fort Lauderdale there was just one more day for her to be alongside her sister Queen Victoria, so it was a perfect opportunity to take a couple more photos.

As the sun set there was one final shot as Queen Victoria would be heading to Bonaire while we were on our way to the nearby island of Curacao.

Curacao is one of the most picturesque islands with a rich Dutch heritage, which is evident in the buildings on the waterfront by the main harbour, which you can see in this photo taken from the upper decks of Queen Elizabeth.

One of the really interesting features is the Floating Bridge which connected the two sides of the harbour well before the dramatic modern bridge was constructed behind it. Being a major port for tourism and the fuel refinery, the bridge has to move to allow ships in and out, so I managed to catch this shot of the bridge swinging out to let a ship through, with the majestic Queen Elizabeth in the background.

You realise just how grand our new Queen is when you see her tower over the town in this photo from one of the stunning nearby beaches.

As we headed to our next port, we had a day at sea when it was great to catch up with two fans of the We Are Cunard Blog. Chris and Margaret Rose, from Walsall in the West Midlands, have been avid followers of the Blog for some time and have left lots of great comments. It’s always a real pleasure to meet Bloggers and hear their feedback. Chris told me that his father was a big fan of the liners; a passion he clearly passed to his son. I was delighted to receive on behalf of the ship, two fascinating books about the first Queen Elizabeth. Chris said that his father would have been delighted to know that two of his valuable collection would be kept in the new Queen Elizabeth’s library for future Cunarders to read and enjoy. Being Cunard we had to have a formal presentation with our librarian Monica Hoosova.

Thank you again Chris and Margaret, it was a lovely and very thoughtful, gesture and of course it was great to meet the faces behind so many lovely comments.

The next day Queen Elizabeth made another maiden call, this time to the port of Limon on the east coast of the beautiful country of Costa Rica. Yet again our new Queen dominated the skyline as you can see from this photo taken from a nearby beach.

Costa Rica though is one of those countries where you have to get in to the interior and see some of the beautiful countryside, rich rainforests, dramatic rivers and the abundant wildlife. Wherever you go there are ample opportunities to see a wide range of animals such as these monkeys in the roadside trees.

They didn’t seem in the least bit bothered by tourists stopping and taking photographs, in fact they looked very relaxed, enjoying the sunshine.

There are so many great tours available in this port of call, but it was great to hear about a new “Green World Tour” and Guest Blogger, Amy Mcbay takes up the story:

Guest Blog

Amy Mcbay

Queen Elizabeth

Tour Assistant

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On 22 January Queen Elizabeth made her maiden call into Limon, Costa Rica and it was there that the tour office ran their first ‘Green World’ tour, Nurture and Nature. 47 guests participated in the tour and were left truly touched after their experience. The first call was to the ‘SOS Children’s Village’ where the Centre’s Principal greeted us with the children.

Once we were all seated the children performed a couple of dance routines which they had all been clearly rehearsing for some time. It was so moving to see so many happy faces and to learn exactly what it is this organisation does; I don’t think there was a dry eye anywhere in the audience.

SOS Children’s Villages are an independent, non-governmental social development organisation that works to meet the needs and protect the rights of children without parental care, providing a family-based care system that continues until adulthood.

Families are built for children in need, so every child can belong to a family, where they can grow up loved and sheltered. The work they carry out really is an amazing achievement and the children seemed so happy and settled.

The tour then continued on to ‘The Wildlife Rescue Centre’ where you can see rare, two and three toed sloths, as well as other animals native to the rainforest, such as monkeys, toucans and turtles amongst many others.

All these animals have been rescued from poachers and delivered to the centre by the government agency MINAET, coastguard and police. We were lucky enough to be present when one of the oldest residents was set free into the wild.

The staff at the Wildlife Rescue Centre were inspiring people, with many being volunteers who have travelled great distances to be part of this amazing programme. Unfortunately with the way in which some of the animals arrived at the rescue centre, they may never be set free back into their original habitat, but the centre is dedicated in pursuing the dream. The centre also visits local schools educating the children of the importance of looking after their surroundings and protecting their wildlife. This was an extremely successful visit and a day enjoyed by all with many guests feeling inspired and lifted by both of these incredible organisations. We are now thoroughly looking forward to our next ‘Green World’ tour.

Thank you Amy for a superb and moving Guest Blog; we look forward to your next! I’ll be back tomorrow with the first pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden transit of the Panama Canal and next week I’ll be celebrating all three Queen’s Stars of the month for January. Cheers for now, Alastair

As Queen Mary 2 heads to Uruguay, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria have both transitted the Panama Canal and are currently enjoying the Mexican sun. I’ll have a Blog about Queen Elizabeth’s time in the Caribbean as well as her maiden transit of the Panama Canal in the next few days but today I wanted to feature someone special who recently lectured on Queen Elizabeth.

As regular readers know we like to feature some amazing people on this Blog from the field of Politics, Literature and the Arts who appear on board our ships as part of the Cunard Insights lecture programme. Recently it was a delight to meet and introduce Artist, Illustrator and Satirical Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. He presented two lectures as well as a Question and Answer session with me to packed audiences in Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Court Theatre although this is a picture of him at work in his studio in London.

During his first talk Gerald spoke candidly about being born in London and his upbringing as a severely asthmatic child. He told us that he spent many of his early years bed-ridden where drawing became a means of entertainment as well as a creative outlet.

After a short period at the Royal College of Art in London and after briefly working in advertising, Gerald Scarfe established himself as a satirical cartoonist with early caricatures of public figures published in Punch and the satirical magazine Private Eye throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known by many, as the political cartoonist for the Sunday Times for the last 44 years. He showed our audiences many of those amazing pictures showing public figures from all walks of life shown in the distinctive Scarfe style.  When I asked what his subjects thought of their caricatures he told me that despite them being rarely flattering, they were actually quite happy. Certainly politicians seemed to bear the brunt of his wit.

Gerald Scarfe has also worked for The New Yorker magazine for 14 years, and his work regularly appears in many periodicals. Gerald received a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2008.

One of my favourite parts was when he talked about his involvement with the hit BBC TV series Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister where he provided caricatures of Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds, (as their respective characters), for the opening and closing sequences. The show was very popular amongst the politicians of the time with many famously saying it was sometimes rather too close to the truth! He showed us how the animations for the title sequences were done by hand with numerous pictures showing the progress of each part:

Gerald Scarfe has had such a varied career having exhibited worldwide, and designed the sets and costumes for plays, operas and musicals in the UK, USA and New Zealand. His film work includes designing and directing the animation for Pink Floyd’s, The Wall in 1982. He has written, directed and appeared in many live action and documentary films for BBC and Channel 4 and has published many books of his work. His latest book, The Making of Pink Floyd’s The Wall was published in October 2010 and here he is signing a copy for one of our guests:

He told the audience how he was approached to work with Pink Floyd after Roger Waters and Nick Mason who both saw his animated BBC film A Long Drawn Out Trip. Pink Floyd’s 1974 programme for their tour in the UK and US, in the form of a comic, included a centre-spread caricature of the band. He also drew the cover illustration for their 1979 album The Wall and in 1982 worked on the film version of The Wall. As well as the artwork, Gerald contributed 15 minutes worth of elaborate animation to the film with the scene of the Marching Hammers being one of the most memorable.

Gerald was approached to work on the 1997 Disney film Hercules, as a conceptual character artist, designing almost all of the characters and then supervising the 900 Disney artists charged with adapting his designs for the film.

I asked him about how he became involved in such a wide variety of projects and he told me that many of them seemed to just happen by chance, such as being asked to design sets for a number of operatic productions, following a chance meeting with Sir Peter Hall. He told Gerald “I’ve always wanted to work with you; I’ll give you a call”. Gerald never expected anything to come out of the chance conversation, but he was soon working with Sir Peter on his version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which drew critical acclaim.

Gerald was travelling with his wife Jane Asher who was enjoying a well earned break from her busy acting and business schedule.

Jane’s elder brother is record producer Peter Asher and if that name seems familiar it probably because he was formerly one half of the duo Peter & Gordon, with hits including the number one hit A World Without Love. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing him on Queen Mary 2 last year, as you can see from this Blog, which was posted shortly after he was on board for a Mediterranean Voyage.

http://wearecunard.com/2009/05/nostalgia-on-queen-mary-2%e2%80%99s-mediterranean-voyage/

Jane and Gerald met in 1971; married ten years later and now have three grown up children. Jane’s first appearance was as a child actress as Nina in the 1952 film Mandy and went on to appear in numerous films including the 1966 Alfie opposite Michael Caine. She has also appeared in numerous TV programmes including Doctor Who, A Voyage Around My Father opposite Laurence Olivier, and three series of Wish Me Luck in the late 80’s. She told me about when she and Gerald sailed on QE2 filming Brideshead Revisited, though she told me most of the interior shots were done later in a studio.

In addition to her acting career, Jane is also well known as an author, having written three best-selling novels. As well as running a company making party cakes and sugar crafts for special occasions, she still finds time to act on television and in the theatre. She told me of the time when she was spotted by a lady who said, “You know, you look just like Jane Asher. I know you are not but could I call you Jane anyway?” Well there’s not much you can say to that!

It was a great pleasure seeing them both on board Queen Elizabeth and I know our guests enjoyed Gerald’s talks.

After the voyage Gerald kindly sent me a note:

Jane and I had a fantastic time on the beautiful Queen Elizabeth: we’ve become great fans of cruising, but both agreed that this – our first time on Cunard – was especially luxurious. It’s a very different experience giving a talk on board, but the enthusiasm and friendliness of our fellow guests made me feel extremely welcome. The fact that my drawings were greeted with so much laughter and appreciation made the whole trip a joy.

Thank you again Gerald and Jane for taking time to chat to me and for being a great part of the Cunard Insights Programme. We certainly hope we can welcome you back on board one of our Queens very soon. In the meantime, I’ll be back tomorrow with some news and pictures from Queen Elizabeth in the Caribbean and then on Friday the first pictures from her Maiden transit of the Panama Canal. Cheers for now, Alastair

Thursday 13 January saw the youngest fleet at sea together for the first time in New York Harbour. This was the second time in Cunard’s history that three regal Queens called for a Royal Rendezvous in the same port since the first meeting of the Queens in 2008, and what a spectacular day it was!

Take a look at this video of highlights from the day, including their wonderful sailaway:

Thank you again for all your wonderful comments, they are always appreciated. It’s great to hear how many readers were able to watch the excitement of New York from various vantage points around the harbour.

Before we get to the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth making her first call to Florida, I’d like to share some more exciting news worth celebrating.

I have just found out that Cunard has been voted best cruise line for 2011 by cruise passengers, according to a survey released this week. The Cruise Passenger Ratings Survey includes 8,500 new passenger reviews since January 2010, with details on what passengers think about their cruising experience. Cruise passengers were asked to rate operators and their ships in eight different categories, including best cruise line, best ship, best food and best entertainment. It is the third year running that Cunard has topped the list as best cruise line, with Queen Victoria voted as best ship.  Queen Victoria was also recognised as having the best food, and best shore excursion.
Maiden calls to ports are always fun and exciting, and of course every port on Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World will be the first. Last Sunday she made her maiden visit to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was joined by her sister ship, Queen Victoria, who has been sailing alongside our new Queen ever since they left Southampton together on  5 January. This however was the last time they would be together until next summer so it was a special day. This was the lovely view over the harbour from Queen Elizabeth’s upper decks:

As usual there is a traditional Plaque Exchange ceremony, where the local authorities and guests officially welcome the ship to their port. Welcoming Queen Elizabeth to the port that serves Fort Lauderdale was the honourable Mayor John P. “Jack” Seiler, along with travel agents, media and dignitaries. Mayor Seiler said:

“The City of Fort Lauderdale is honored to welcome Queen Elizabeth to Port Everglades. We recognise that the cruise industry is one of greater Fort Lauderdale’s leading economic engines, generating more than $1.3 billion in annual economic activity for our region. Being part of Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage is an historic milestone for our city and reaffirms Port Everglades’ position as the world’s top cruise port. We wish her well as she continues her journey, and look forward to welcoming this majestic vessel back to our city on future voyages.”

As the traditional plaques were exchanged, Captain Julian Burgess, Master of Queen Elizabeth, responded by saying:

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“We are delighted by the warm welcome we received today by the popular cruise port  of Fort Lauderdale, and look forward to the further grand celebrations as our newest Queen continues her inaugural calls on her Maiden World Voyage,”

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After a great day in this wonderful port, and welcoming two hundred embarking guests, we all gathered on deck to see a very special Sailaway. Fortunately we had a photographer in a helicopter to capture the moment and certainly the Port Authorities did us proud with fire tugs guiding Queen Elizabeth out from her berth which was located right next to her sister.

Queen Elizabeth then started to make her way past the condominiums at the entrance of the harbour and she certainly looked regal as everyone cheered and waved to the local residents on their balconies.

There is a fantastic Fort Lauderdale tradition where the departing ships are acknowledged by horns, cheers and waving flags from the enthusiastic residents. As our guests also started waving flags, it was great to see British and Cunard flags on many of the balconies giving us a fitting send off.

Then we all looked back, as the sun began to set, to see Queen Victoria start to move away from her berth and then follow us towards the open seas with many well wishers in small crafts to see her off.

As Queen Elizabeth headed to Curacao and Queen Victoria set a course for Bonaire, there was one last opportunity to photograph the sisters together – well for the moment anyway.

What a fantastic picture as both ships continued their voyages and enjoy a few days in the Caribbean before heading through the Panama Canal and then up towards Mexico and America’s west coast.

I’ll be back next week with more news from Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage as well as a celebration of all three Queen’s Stars of the month for January. On Monday I also have a special Blog about a fascinating lecturer who was recently part of the Cunard Insights Programme on Queen Elizabeth. Cheers for now, Alastair

Thank you again for such an incredible response to the Blogs Peter Shanks and I posted about the Royal Rendezvous in New York. It’s wonderful to hear from readers all over the world, and exciting to read how much you enjoyed the event as well. It was a truly magnificent occasion and a day none of us will forget in a hurry.

We had another special event two days later in Fort Lauderdale when Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria were again berthed next to each other, and enjoyed a wonderful send off. I’ll post details of that terrific day on Friday. Before we go back to New Year’s Day in Passadena, here’s this week in Cunard’s History for the week of 20 to 26 January:

Just when you thought we had forgotten about it, I am pleased to confirm our Vlog and pictures from the 122^nd Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade presented by Honda, are now ready to post. In case you didn’t see the previous posts on the preparations that went in to this great day, you can click on the links below.

http://wearecunard.com/2010/11/29/

http://wearecunard.com/2010/12/30/

As regular readers know Cunard made its inaugural debut on the streets of Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day, and won the prestigious, and most appropriately named, Queen’s Trophy for best use of roses. 

Cunard’s float themed, A Grand Celebration at Sea, depicted the Cunard fleet of three Queens, flagship Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and the latest addition to the fleet, Queen Elizabeth.

The float illustrated the ultimate sense of occasion experienced on a luxury voyage aboard Cunard, including Veuve Clicquot champagne toasts, the Royal Court Theatre, ballroom dancing and big band music.

Peter Shanks, Cunard’s President and Managing Director told me:

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“The floral detail of our float truly depicted the elegance and grandeur of Cunard Line. We celebrate the honour of the Queen’s Trophy with our designer Raul Rodriquez, builder Fiesta Parade Floats and floral designer Jim Hynd, our employees shore side and at sea, and the hundreds of volunteers who helped decorate our float.”

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This year’s Rose Parade theme was Building Dreams, Friendships and Memories and perfectly connected to the legacy and heritage of Cunard liners. For almost two centuries since the company’s first paddle-wheeled steamer, Britannia, crossed the Atlantic in 1840, the Cunard name has been synonymous with fulfilling dreams and creating lifetime friendships and memories. 

Special float riders included Cunard Commodore travel agent June Longpre from New Wave Travel in Toronto, Canada, and Mim Strickler from Around the Globe Travel in Orange County, California, as well as World Club members Jo and David Murray from Long Beach, California.  Today, Jo continued a family Rose Parade tradition, as her mother rode on a Rose Parade float when she was a child.

From bow to stern, A Grand Celebration at Sea florally portrayed signature hallmarks found on a Cunard liner, including the Grand Lobby staircase where an oversized floralgraph of Cunard’s three Queens took centre stage, a reference to the youngest fleet at sea and the Cunard Royal Rendezvous that took place last Thursday in New York.

In floral and architectural celebration of Cunard’s rich tradition of elegance and grandeur, the float stood at 24 feet high, 18 feet wide and 55 feet long as it made its way down the parade route. A big band orchestra and ballroom dancers animated the line’s famed Royal Nights Themed Balls. Representing Cunard’s hallmark brand of service, eight White Star Bellmen walked alongside the floral liner. A whistle sound from the new Queen Elizabeth completed the Cunard float.

Black Magic roses, purple phalaenopsis orchid sprays, green cymbidium orchids and hypericum, and white Casablanca lilies bordered the float, while more than 45,000 red Opium roses carpeted the steps and floors. Layers of black onion seed and crisp white sweet rice accented the distinctive shape of Cunard’s elongated bow, while shimmering deep brown flax seed replicated the rich texture of hand-polished mahogany woods throughout the architectural features. White roses, dendrobium orchids and phalaenopsis orchids swept over oceans of light and dark blue iris, delphinium and hydrangea blossoms to create the water waves of the high seas.

And now here’s the Vlog that captures the magic of that special day:

Congratulations again to everyone in involved in this huge success, and thank you Eric for the great Vlog. I’ll be back tomorrow with a special blog recapturing the excitement of Queen Elizabeth’s maiden call to Fort Lauderdale as she was joined by her sister Queen Victoria. Next week we’ll have more news from around the fleet including Cunard’s latest stars and the 2011 World Voyages. Cheers for now, Alastair

My first job in travel was in 1976 as a 17 year old, fresh out of school working in an airline reservation office in The Rockefeller Centre in New York City. As a young British chap in the rough tough business world of New York it made a lasting impression on me. So I love coming back to New York City.

Cunard’s first experience in New York was in 1845 when The Hibernia sailed into New York Harbor with 126 First Class passengers. New York clearly made a lasting impression on Cunard Line as since that day in 1845 we estimate that over 10 million people have sailed in to New York with Cunard. So Cunard love returning to New York.

The stage was set for our Three Queens Event. Boy was it cold when I arrived in the city – I flew out a day early as a major snow storm was due in the city. The storm duly arrived dumping 8 inches of snow overnight. Fair credit to the city though – the next morning most of the roads had been cleared and the city was open for business. Good job it was, we had Three Queens on the way.

Having arrived a day early, I decided to go and visit the original Cunard Line Building at 25 Broadway as I had not seen it before. I was amazed – it is an absolutely beautiful building, one of New York’s traditional buildings. ‘Cunard Line’ stands out proudly carved into the fascia of the building and in the polished brass doors.

Up early when the big day arrived. As we drove over Brooklyn Bridge I was greeted by the sight of Queen Mary 2 berthed in glorious sunshine. You know she is the most beautiful ship in the world – a true Ocean Liner and striking when seen across the New York City skyline. By 07:15 I was having a coffee with Captain Wright and Hotel Manager John Duffy. The ship had returned from the last voyage of her Caribbean season and there was a good feeling around the ship. Knowing how hard the ship’s company will have to work on the upcoming world voyage, whilst in the Caribbean the officers delivered a number of events and treats for our hard working ship’s company including some parties, Bridge Visits and massages given by the Canyon Ranch team. I hope this was well received – it was certainly well deserved.  We had arranged for later in the day to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange and I was collecting the small original Queen Elizabeth Bell from Queen Mary 2 for the event. Overnight the ship’s carpenter had created a beautiful stand from which we could hang the bell. It was a very impressive wooden stand – perfectly finished, varnished and good enough to grace any furniture shop. It reminded me as to what a talented set of people we have in our company.

After rushing across the city, welcoming an Investors Event on Queen Elizabeth and saying hello to the team on Queen Victoria, it was time for our press conference. Well – we had over 60 media people turn up which was terrific. As I was giving a brief presentation on the Three Queens Event, I noticed out of the corner of my eye the gleaming British Airways tail fin of Concorde. Concorde sits on a barge next to the Aircraft Carrier Nimitz Exhibition. I could not resist mentioning to our American Colleagues and friends ‘How cool is that – to my right a past icon of British innovation in travel – Concorde, and alongside us here to our right – an enduring  and modern icon of all that is best about British Travel, the third and latest Queen Elizabeth’.

I need to tell you about ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Firstly it is an honour for Cunard to be given such recognition. But they do it so well. After going through strict security (and explaining the Queen Elizabeth Bell and Wooden stand was a new quirk for them I am sure) we were warmly welcomed into the Stock Exchange Board Room. It is an enormous high ceiling room with a vast board table. We were in a very historic place and around the room were a number of video screens that they had set up with Cunard logos and a video of the Queen Elizabeth Naming Ceremony was playing. We were then taken down onto the trading floor and spent some time at one of the trading stations being shown how it works these days. Gone are the days of shouting, gesticulating and pieces of paper all over the floor – today it’s about technology. Up above us was the famous balcony from where every day the opening and closing bell is rung – with the Cunard Logo in fine evidence. Our group was then shown up to the balcony. And here is how it works;

First you decide who is going to play which role. Our Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison was with us along with his wife Madeleine. Micky asked if I would like to push the button to ring the closing bell, Commodore Bernie Warner would ring our Queen Elizabeth Bell and then Madeleine would complete the fun by crashing down the famous wooden hammer.

At exactly 15:59 and 20 seconds we all started to applaud.

At exactly 15:59 and 45 seconds I pushed the button and the closing bell rang

At the same moment Bernie started to ring his bell rather vigorously.

At exactly 16:00 Madeleine crashed the hammer down with some style and we were done.

Marvelous – and fun as well. We are so lucky to get to do these exciting things.

We were then presented with commemorative medals to mark the occasion and we presented the Stock Exchange with a model of Queen Elizabeth.

Now – before you watch the video of what happened on the link below – two rather amusing things. The first was our Chairman’s comment seconds before I pushed the button that he was not too impressed that the our share price had not gone up today and maybe we should keep the market open a bit longer. Secondly – if you watch the video closely you will see that Commodore was so excited in ringing the bell that the rope came off the bell. We shall dine out on that one.

http://www.nyse.com/events/1294830274032.html

So next it was off to watch the main event, the meeting of the Three Queens. As darkness fell, I caught a glimpse of the Empire State Building – the city had turned it Cunard red for the night in our honour. Imagine that – a small British Business honoured by the giant New York City. Today was turning out to be very special indeed.

We gathered along with 120 of our travel agent partners, media guests and dignitaries at a reception on the 14^th floor of the Ritz Carlton. We had a panoramic view of where history was about to be made with the meeting of our Queens. Now we do like to set ourselves these challenges at Cunard. Those of you who may have read my blog of the Queen Elizabeth Naming Ceremony may remember me describing what it felt like to stand alongside Her Majesty in front of 2,000 people with the world’s media watching and all thinking the same thing – will the bottle break. Thankfully (actually it was never in doubt) it did – but now I had a familiar feeling but the question this time was – where are the Three Queens and will they all be in position at 18:45 for the fireworks?

It sounds pretty simple – just get the ships in position and off we go. Well in order to do that we had to;

• Make sure all three ships arrived at 06:30 that morning
• Safely Disembark 6,600 guests
• Make sure the ships were spotless and conduct US Coast Guard Inspections
• Conduct travel agent press visits around Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth
• Welcome around 300 rejoining crew across the three ships
• Embark provisions and stores for world voyages
• Load more luggage than you could possibly imagine
• Safely embark 6,600 guests
• Ensure all three ships let go their lines at 18:00 and move to position
• Co-ordinate the three ships line up in the River between Battery Park and Statue of Liberty
• Ensure guests on all three ships are kept informed of where to watch the show from
• Co-ordinate the music to start on the three ships and at our venue at the same time as they are timed to the famous Grucci Firework show.
• And start the fireworks at exactly 18:45
• Simple

Well clearly it would be a miracle if all that worked. It didn’t of course, we failed in one regard – it was not 18:45 it was 19:00. Well I hope everybody will forgive us 15 minutes even though it was cold. It is hard to describe my feelings and those of my friends and colleagues from our US sales Team as we huddled in the freezing cold on the balcony of the Ritz Carlton. In front of us were our Three Queens, the New York Skyline, surrounded by music in time to the sensational fireworks bursting above the Statue of Liberty. At that moment we could have said – ‘We are Cunard’. But tonight the thought that was going through my mind was ‘Only Cunard’.  I was thinking of the experience our guests on the three ships must be having at that moment, thinking of us as a small modest British Company being honoured throughout the day by the giant New York City – you just don’t get these special experiences anywhere else – you only experience them with Cunard – and today will go down as a very special experience indeed. We will be posting a video we are producing soon, but in the meantime – below is a fantastic video created by one of our blog readers, Karl Junkersfeld.

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Forgive the length of the blog but on writing up the day I guess I got a little carried away. I hope it helped share with you what was a unique and remarkable event for Cunard and New York City. If you have not experienced that special partnership – then please do take a Transatlantic Crossing on Queen Mary 2 this year – it’s simply the only way to arrive or leave New York City.

Best Regards

Peter

Peter Shanks

(A very Proud)President and Managing Director

Cunard Line

Welcome to a very special Blog featuring the first pictures from Thursday’s historic event, as Cunard’s three Queens met in New York. It was a truly magical day that I know all of us felt privileged to have witnessed. The day started very early as all three Queens arrived in New York in the early hours of the morning. Queen Mary 2 arrived at her berth in Brooklyn, while Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth docked at Pier 88 and Pier 90 respectively in Manhattan. 

On Queen Elizabeth we were lucky enough to have Maritime Historian Bill Miller on the bridge from 4.45am, giving a wonderful commentary from the bridge as we passed under the Verrazano Bridge and along the Hudson River to our Berth. Having grown in Hoboken, New Jersey, just opposite where all the great liners docked in the heyday of transatlantic travel, there was no one better to talk about the dramatic sail in.

All three Queens were docked by 6.30am, with dawn breaking over the Big Apple a little later; and what a beautiful day it turned out to be. Although it was very cold with remnants of snow still on the ground, there was glorious sunshine all day, so I couldn’t resist taking some photos of the early morning sun. Queen Elizabeth was docked next to the USS Intrepid, and what a wonderful view it was looking towards the New Jersey Shoreline.

Looking ahead of the ship the sun started to make its way through the fabulous Manhattan skyline;

Of course in the next berth to Queen Elizabeth was her sister Queen Victoria, and this was the closest the two sisters have ever been together.

It was an amazing day, as we greeted many new guests and visitors to Cunard’s latest Queen, but as sunset approached it was time to prepare for the evening’s excitement. The light was superb, so I couldn’t resist another great picture of Queen Victoria basking in the early evening sunset.

While Queen Mary 2 left her berth in Brooklyn, Queen Victoria was the first to back out of pier 88, to get ready for the historic rendezvous.

Queen Elizabeth followed, and I was lucky enough to be on the bridge where I had a stunning view of the Empire State Building which had been turned Cunard red in honour of this amazing day.

As we made our way towards our rendezvous point, Queen Victoria led the way with Queen Mary 2 just making her turn in the distance, ready for the line up and the grand fireworks display.

While we were enjoying the terrific view from the Queens, and New Yorkers gathered along the shoreline, Cunard had arranged for a helicopter to take some photographs from the air, and I have to say a massive thank you to Jonathan Atkin who took these beautiful photos.

As the Queens took up their places with Queen Mary 2 followed by Queen Victoria and then Queen Elizabeth, the fireworks began.

What a spectacle it was as the truly impressive fireworks lit New York Harbour.

The Queens all looked majestic lined up in formation for the very first time, with the flagship, Queen Mary 2 leading the way.

Being Cunard, of course there was a lot of red in the display to pay tribute to the proud history between the company and the city of New York. Here are all three Queens being guided by the Harbour Police boats with their blue lights, enjoying the beautiful red glow with the Manhattan skyline providing the backdrop.

This last impressive picture sums up the day, with the Empire State Building to the left of the photo, the three Cunard Queens against the city of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty in the foreground.

It’s difficult to sum up a day like Thursday, but I can guarantee those who witnessed this piece of Cunard History will never forget it.

We’ll be back next week with a special President’s Blog from Cunard’s President and managing Director, Peter Shanks as he reflects on this incredible day. Cheers for now, Alastair

As you read this I’m sure many of you will have been watching the Webcams, seeing the three Cunard Queens make history, as they gather in New York for a very special celebration. As you know I am currently on Queen Elizabeth, and we have just enjoyed a fabulous commentary in to the Big Apple from Maritime Historian, Bill Miller. I’ve sailed in to New York numerous times but I defy anyone not to be moved as you pass landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Manhattan Island itself.

I’ll be posting a special Blog next week on our time in New York and this evening’s celebrations, as Cunard brings together her three new Queens with the New York skyline and a fabulous fireworks display as a dramatic backdrop.

For today’s Blog I’m going to bring you pictures from Queen Elizabeth’s maiden crossing between Southampton and New York, but that’s after our regular feature; this week in Cunard’s history for the week of 13 to 19 January:

It may have been a cold January evening as Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria prepared to begin their first Tandem Transatlantic Crossing, but the atmosphere around the ships was fantastic. Soon after Queen Elizabeth moved away from her berth at the Ocean Terminal towards her sister at the QE2 terminal, the night sky lit up with a stunning fireworks display, captured by our on board photographers.

What a great way to begin Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage. As she drew closer to her sister, there were cheers from both ships’ guests and crew wishing each other Bon Voyage.

Then we were on our way with seven days at sea before arriving in New York. Each day Captain Burgess on Queen Elizabeth and Captain Olsen on Queen Victoria changed sides, enabling guests to have a great view from both sides of their respective ships. It was wonderful to look out each day to see our sister only a few miles away. One day as I was walking along the promenade deck I managed to capture a great photo of Queen Victoria and a stunning rainbow.

Fortunately one of our guests, Mrs Claxton on Queen Victoria captured a somewhat more professional shot of Queen Elizabeth, and an equally stunning rainbow.

There were plenty of photographs being taken throughout the crossing and we were delighted to receive this beautiful picture of Cunard’s newest Queen:

Mind you our photographers also took some great shots of Queen Victoria as well.

As night time fell it was wonderful to see our sister all lit up and this picture of Queen Victoria was captured at dusk one evening, again by our on board photographers.

Of course like all artists the photographers manage to get just the right pictures, and I thought you would enjoy this beautiful picture of Queen Victoria silhouetted against the clouds with the evening sun producing some stunning light.

While we were crossing the Atlantic we managed to keep our guests busy with the usual array of activities including our Cunard Insights Programme. On Queen Elizabeth it was a delight to be able to welcome Terry Waite. Many of you will know Terry from when he was brought to the public’s attention in the early 1980s for successfully negotiating the release of several hostages from Iran.  In 1983 he negotiated with Colonel Gaddafi for the release of British hostages held in Libya and again was successful.  In January 1987 while negotiating for the release of Western hostages in Lebanon he himself was taken captive and remained in captivity for 1,763 days, the first four years of which were spent in total solitary confinement. Since his release he has been in constant demand as a lecturer, writer and broadcaster.

You could hear a pin drop in the packed Royal Court Theatre, as he talked about his days in solitude and how he was able to cope under such incredible duress. His talks were nothing short of incredible, and his frank yet poignant stories were an inspiration for us all. He has the amazing ability to see positivity and humour through immense adversity. Being a huge cricket fan of course the recent Ashes series in Australia was mentioned on occasion!

Terry again showed the audience his great sense of humour when he took part in our game show, The Liar’s Club, which is where a panel give different definitions to obscure words, with just one panellist telling the truth. Here he is in full flow with comedian Adrian Walsh enjoying the moment as a fellow panellist.

We will never forget his turkey stuffing definition which was apparently inspired by his culinary guide Chef Crudite! Terry is a truly remarkable man and it was such a pleasure to spend time with him during the crossing.

As regular readers know we like to hold get-togethers with guests who have travelled on all three Queen Elizabeth’s. It’s always a pleasure to hear their stories and memories as both guests and crew. This voyage we broke the record with eighteen guests at the meeting, which is the most so far. In fact three of them told us they had in fact travelled on all six queens.

For the more observant of you, the gentleman second from the left on the back row is indeed Commodore Ron Warwick, who is sailing with his wife Kim all the way to Los Angeles. He has kindly agreed to be interviewed so I’ll bring you that sometime in the next couple of weeks.

That’s it for this week, but of course I’ll be back soon, with lots of pictures from the three Queens event and other news from around the Cunard Fleet, as they all head towards warmer climes. Cheers for now, Alastair