Amongst all the challenges around the world – at last we all have some good news to celebrate – and at Cunard we plan to celebrate it in style. When Diana married Prince Charles in 1981 I was sharing a flat with friends in Palace St, London – just round the corner from Buckingham Palace. It seemed as though the whole country had come to London to celebrate. As the happy couple drove back down The Mall in their open top horse drawn carriage we all stood on the pavement and watched them pass close up. We also saw the famous kiss from the balcony. There is something unique and special about our Royal Family – I will always remember that day and I am sure that this wedding will be just as magnificent. It’s good news, something for us all to be proud of and something to celebrate. This time I plan to watch it from home over a BBQ – but I expect we will all feel the emotion as we see William kiss his Princess just as his mother kissed her Prince all those years ago.

And that is exactly what we plan to do – celebrate it in style with 6,600 of our guests across the fleet. We are fortunate to have close links to our Royal Family and that should create an extra special atmosphere. Have a look at this video – we filmed the preparation onboard Queen Mary 2 in New York earlier this week.

We will have blog reports and photos from each of our ships for you to read after the weekend – and I hope that you enjoy the moment wherever you are around the world.

Best regards

Peter

I hope everybody enjoyed the holiday period over the Easter Break. It was certainly more than warm enough here in the UK – felt like summer had arrived. Thank you so much for the many comments we have had following the first posting of Peter’s Blog. We have had quite a few volunteers already to be guest bloggers which is great and we will be in touch with you to follow up.

We have another video blog for you today. I mentioned that Commodore Warner retired last week. Well we filmed the event. It will take you inside Cunard and share with you the passion and emotion of those who have spent many years at sea with us. Please take a few minutes to watch the video and I hope it gives you a flavour of the tradition of Cunard Line and how one goes about retiring a Commodore in style.

Busy but short week this week as we seem to be surrounded by holidays – what with Easter, Royal Weddings and UK Bank Holidays. We are all set on the three ships to celebrate the Royal Wedding on Friday in fine style and we will of course share the experiences with you. I am also spending time in our Cunard German office this week in Hamburg. It is a busy time in Hamburg as the famous ‘Harbour Celebration’ is approaching in the first week of May where up to one million people will be in the Harbour with Queen Mary 2 in prime position in the river for the fireworks. It is a sight to behold – Hamburg has a remarkable maritime history and the people there love their Ocean Liners. We have three voyages based out of Hamburg this summer on Queen Mary 2 and one on Queen Elizabeth. More and more of our North American guests are looking to join those voyage to head North as they start and finish in the beautiful city of Hamburg. We will let you know how the Hamburg Harbour Party goes.

We’ll be back on Thursday with an update from the fleet as they prepare for the Royal Wedding celebrations on Friday.

Kind Regards

Peter

Welcome to the first of Peter’s blogs.  First up I have to pay tribute to Alastair who has so superbly developed our “We are Cunard” blog over the last couple of years.  Whilst I have often written on the blog for Alastair, it is he who has brought the passion and interest that has led to so many people taking an interest in our blog.

I share Alastair’s passion both for Cunard and for the new world of communication in which we live where blogs can bring things to life that other forms of communication simply can’t touch.

So we intend to continue to develop the We are Cunard blog and through it bring a whole range of Cunard experiences to life.  Our blog is read by many thousands of people – many of whom are very loyal and valued Cunarders and others who are new to Cunard and through the blog can continue to understand the personality of Cunard and share in our experiences. Everyone who reads our blog is always welcome and we want to really encourage feedback and comments wherever necessary.

In writing Peter’s blog I will also be helped by Lisa and others in our Marketing departments in Southampton and also in our International offices and of course much of the real excitement and interest will come from our three ships.

So to start things off on our first blog we have put together a little film to explain the plans we have ahead for Peter’s blog and also within that a tribute and thank you to Alastair.

 Alastair will be missed by his fellow crew on board Queen Elizabeth; who presented him with a collage of some of his memorable moments, including the ‘Sand Dance’, which you may remember he performed on board Queen Victoria last year!

Alastair is such a lovely chap and I am sure we will be seeing more of him in the future – either as a successful broadcaster or perhaps coming back to help Cunard again in the future.

Meanwhile, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth have now returned from their World Voyages and along with Queen Victoria and now settling into their busy summer schedules.  Earlier this week we had a very moving day with the retirement of our Commodore, Bernie Warner.  Bernie had been at sea for 46 years and spent the last six years as Commodore of the Cunard Fleet and Master of Queen Mary 2.  A real gentleman, a family man and the most admirable leader.  We filmed the events of the day and will post that as a video blog in the next few days.

I hope all of our bloggers have a happy Easter and a well deserved time with their families.  It looks as though here in England it’s going to be like summer – in fact as I write this, it is 79 degrees in Southampton – warmer perhaps than most other places where you are reading this.

Have a happy Easter and a well deserved break.

Best Regards,

Peter

So why the title of this blog? Well as many of you will know, I am going on leave today as Queen Elizabeth returns to Southampton, marking the end of her Maiden World Voyage. But as guests and crew on board are aware, I am actually moving on and beginning a new chapter in my career, so today also marks the end of my time with Cunard and at sea. It has not been an easy decision, but after a career of sixteen years, I felt it was time to do something different. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on ships and it is without doubt a great life. But in my years at sea, the last five years with Cunard have definitely been the most special, and I will always consider it a privilege to have served on all four Cunard Queens.

As I write this, Queen Elizabeth is crossing a remarkably smooth Bay of Biscay, and I’m feeling quite emotional leaving behind what has been a wonderful life at sea, as well as some incredible friendships with both guests and colleagues. I’ve worked with so many talented and truly professional people, and looking back over the years you start to appreciate what a fantastic industry we are in and yes -  you bet I’ll miss it.

What will I be doing? Well I’m certainly not in a position to retire quite yet! I came to sea from a background of acting and presenting and after a rest for a while; I am hoping to work in broadcasting.

Although I won’t be here, the blog will continue and on Thursday Cunard will post a new look blog, but to find out more you’ll have to wait until Thursday. It’s been an honour to host the blog for the last two and a half years and a pleasure to work with the team in Southampton. It’s been thrilling to see the following grow and now 300 blogs later it’s great to look back at all those stories and recount the wonderful people I’ve met along the way.

But before I leave, I have a final blog for you, celebrating some of the latest news from Queen Elizabeth’s World Voyage. Last week we held Queen Elizabeth’s first Country Fayre continuing the Cunard tradition. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, it is somewhat similar to an English Village Fete – but without the rain!

The Queens Room is converted in to a decorated room with stalls and people dress for the occasion; we even had our very own Pearly King and Queen. Harry Caldwell from the Isle of Man and Katie Ferro from Brisbane looked great as they helped us raise money for our World Voyage charities.

In fact it was Harry’s wife Irene who made the wonderful outfits, as well as the costumes for our Morris men, Geoff Care from Brentwood, Essex, Frank Hagland from North Mymms in Hertfordshire, and Brian Townsend from Weston Super Mare

The ship’s navigational simulator was also brought down and guests had the opportunity to be taught by First Officer Karl Shepherd and Third Officer Alastair Stamp, how to drive the ship, with varying degrees of success. Here they are teaching Queen Elizabeth’s Madrina, Dennie Farmer who told me later how she enjoyed being at the controls of the ship!

Amongst the attractions were the Human Fruit Machine, Chop the Carrot, Bottle Stall, Tombola, Guess the Weight of the Cake and many more including our very own Gypsy Rose, otherwise known as Helen Durkin!

What a great day it was and thanks to all the contributors, helpers and staff, lead by Freda Singleton and Thomas Quinones, the event raised nearly $5,000. It was one of the many events over the World Voyage and I’m pleased to announce that between all the charity events over the World Voyage our guests and crew raised nearly $40,000 which is fantastic. Yet again our thanks go to all those who have contributed money and time for some great causes.

Meanwhile there has been another World Voyage tradition that has been continued on Queen Elizabeth, and I’m delighted to introduce one of our Guests, who is on the World Voyage, to be a Guest Blogger:

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Guest Blog

Will Lee

Guest

Queen Elizabeth

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For just over 10 years many World Voyage guests have become Ducklings.  It all started on board QE2 in 2001 when Terry Waite and a few of his travelling companions decided that they should form an exclusive group that promotes having a good time, and from that day on many guests have been invited to become Ducklings.

Darwin, Australia was where it began when Terry was by himself ashore and met a fellow female passenger and enquired if she had seen any life in that part of the world, it turned out that she was an Australian and from that time on the Ducklings were born and became social friends. This social friendship has endured to this day as many of the first Ducklings have returned to be on the Maiden World Voyage on Queen Elizabeth today in 2011.

The name of the Ducklings came about by Terry and Valerie’s friends who had increased by that time were following Terry like little ducks, and a lady called Pam from Washington DC stated; “they are following Terry like little ducklings” when they were going ashore for another outing. The name stuck and since then the format of becoming a Ducklings has changed. Now the Ducklings have regular parties on World Voyages, some in staterooms on QE2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and now mosty in public rooms such as on Queen Elizabeth’s Yacht Club and Hemispheres on Queen Victoria.  The party groups sometime exceed 200 and each one has had entertainment that is sourced from guests with some added extras from the Ship’s staff.

Assisting others has been the priority of all Ducklings, whether it was in a time of need or just to have a good time off the ship a simple Quack Quack is the call of friendship.

Terry now called the Commander in Chief is assisted by Wing Commanders including James, Brian and myself, Will. On the present Queen Elizabeth World Voyage, many more have passed the initiation, culminating with Captain Christopher Wells becoming the 1000^th Duckling in March 2011.

Captain Wells joins many other Captains including Captains Burgess, Wright, Bates, Wren, McNaught, and an Honourable Ducklings membership was recently bestowed to Commodore Warner on Queen Mary 2.  Others to mention are Carol Marlow former CEO, and Peter Shanks the current CEO as well as many Deputy Captains, Chief Engineers, Hotel Managers, Entertainment Directors and other members of the three ship’s Senior Staff.

At the most recent Duckling party Captain Wells, Entertainment Director, Alastair Greener, Chief Engineer Colin Black and Deputy Captain Hamish Sunter gave all a rousing rendition of We’ll Meet Again.

What a finale to end the last Duckling party of the 2011 world cruise on Queen Elizabeth.

Thank you so much Will, for such a great blog and it was another great evening on the World Voyage showing the tremendous atmosphere on board. I hope you’ve started a trend and this will be the first of many blogs from our guests.

Now as promised some pictures from another Royal Rendezvous; this time when Queen Elizabeth met Queen Mary 2 in Civitavecchia, Italy and on this third meeting she got as close as she could, to her big sister;

What a lovely sight, but then I went as high as I could to get some views of our flagship from her new sister;

It’s funny but 103 days does fly by when you are enjoying yourself, and for our 780 guests who have completed the entire circumnavigation, it certainly has been a voyage of a lifetime. Memories are precious and I know we will all remember the experience for the rest of our lives; especially when it is a Maiden World Voyage. We gathered our Full World Voyage guests together for a special photo.

As I come to sign off on my final blog I am looking for the right words to express my feelings as I write my last paragraph. It’s a combination of sadness at leaving one life behind, and the fear, as well as the excitement of a new one around the corner. It’s difficult to describe our lives at sea because it is such a different lifestyle to anything else, but there is a unique camaraderie that I will definitely miss. I am often asked; “Which is your favourite ship?”, and that’s quite a question when you have worked on fifteen different ships. Although the Cunard Queens have definitely been the most special, I always tell people exactly what I feel; it’s the people on board that make a ship. This means the guests we have looked after over the years and the crew members who I now consider friends.

What makes Cunard so special is something you often hear people talking about on board, and that is the wonderful close knit family that exists between us and I know I have made many new lifelong friends. It’s impossible to mention everyone who has meant so much to me during my time with Cunard, but I would like to say thank you to the many who have inspired and supported me. One of those great friends is Amanda Reid and I wish her the very best as she takes over from me today.

I know that I will always be a Cunarder and maybe someday I’ll be back, but in the meantime thank you all for your kind comments and support since we started the blog. I am so grateful for all the wonderful support from Richard, Matt, Shelley, Lisa and Laura back in Southampton. They are now getting ready for a new look blog which is being launched on Thursday so make sure you log on then – I know I will!  For now all I can say is, I will always be proud to say We Are Cunard. Cheers, Alastair

In this special blog we have news from all three Queens starting with some more signature World Voyage events on Queen Elizabeth. The Annual Tug of War competition is always an exciting day and for Queen Elizabeth’s first, it was a fantastic contest. Traditionally the teams dress up in all sorts of costumes and the Kitchen Cannibals won the best dressed team award:

Sport Director Marc Wilkinson invited guests to draw at random which teams would go against each other, and it ended up with both teams from the Entertainment Department competing against each other. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company, complete with cheerleaders, narrowly beat the Production Staff to secure their place in the next round;

Of course it’s harder than it looks and it takes tremendous strength as the Purser’s Staff mixed team, the Front Line, found out. They were out matched by the Chateau Pull de Rope team of the Sommeliers who went on to win the mixed team contest;

The men’s final was between the Maitre D’s team and their staff from the Lido called the Lido Giants. In the end the winners of the overall competition were the Lido Giants, and here they are being congratulated by Captain Chris Wells;

That night it was time for another special event when we invited all our guests on the full World Voyage to a special cocktail party. This takes place each leg of the voyage and being the final one, our Executive Chef James Abhilash and his team had excelled themselves with a stunning display.

While we were enjoying our last few days of Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage I received a great Guest Blog about a special reunion from Ed Moffat, who is currently the Assistant Entertainment Director on Queen Mary 2;

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Guest Blog

Ed Moffatt

Assistant Entertainment Director

Queen Mary 2

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Recently we held a very successful gathering of guests who were either former guests or crew of the original Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. Each of the attendees in the photo had very special memories of their time on board.

Dr John Carlyle, travelling with his wife Grace, spent their honeymoon on Queen Mary in November 1966 and in this photo they are being introduced to the Master, Captain Bil Warwick.

Mrs. Mabyn Nichols from Cornwall had travelled on Queen Mary In 1953 and still had some of the menus, Daily Bulletins and guest lists from her trip.

In October 1961, Derek Lamplough sailed on Queen Mary on an eastbound Transatlantic Crossing in Tourist Class as an exchange student. He especially remembers trying to get into the First Class areas, to take a look around. Simon Claxton also sailed Tourist Class in 1961 on Queen Elizabeth, and he told me he was interested in seeing “the pretty girls” in First Class. He recalls being escorted back to Tourist Class by an officer after several attempts. Another Student Exchange, Erik Pfister from Switzerland sailed on Queen Mary in October 1961 from New York to Le Havre and he had a similar idea to Mr. Caxton, but realised that if he dressed up in his best suit he would never get caught. His plan must have worked as he never did.

Mr. Godwin travelled First Class on board Queen Mary on a Transatlantic Crossing during 1962 and Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly sailed on Queen Elizabeth from Southampton to New York. Her British visa had just run out and she was emigrating to the United States. She recalls paying £75 for her fare which paid for her to share a bunk with a stranger in Tourist Class.  Mrs. Kelly recalls paying 30 bob (£15) for her train fare from Waterloo Station to the waterside (direct to the ship) in Southampton.

During the Second World War Geoff Collier served in the Fleet Air Arm based at HMS Daedlus in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire. What makes his story interesting is that he sailed twice on board Queen Elizabeth as a serviceman during the ‘Battle for the Atlantic’ in 1942, and remembers three torpedoes from enemy U-boats launched towards the liner.

Anne Chapman sailed on Queen Elizabeth approximately one year before the ship was retired, travelling around the Mediterranean. There were also some former Cunard Line crew members at the gathering, including Stanley Fitzgerald who worked as waiter on board Queen Mary from 1959 to 1961. He also worked on Saxonia, Franconia and Mauretania, serving 10 years in all with Cunard. John Wilkinson joined Cunard Line as a fireman greaser, working his way up through the ranks to Assistant Engineer Writer until the seaman’s strike. He served on Queen Mary for four tours of duty during 1966 as well as the final refit of Queen Elizabeth.

Roger Jones, from Fareham in Hampshire, served on Queen Mary from 1963 to 1967 joining as an Assistant Engineer Junior 7^th working his way up to Engineer Senior 5^th. He was also on Queen Mary for her final journey to her current home in Long Beach. Here’s Mr. Jones on the forward deck of Queen Mary;

Here he is again by the funnel of Queen Mary with Cape Horn in the background

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I also received a wonderful Blog from Queen Victoria’s Deputy Captain, Simon Love who told me all about a special visitor they recently had on board Queen Victoria as she was sailing from Bermuda to Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

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Guest Blog

Simon Love

Deputy Captain

Queen Victoria

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Albert was first sighted on Queen Victoria by guests on deck 8 around 8pm on the second evening after leaving Bermuda and it’s believed that two adult Ospreys where seen earlier that evening circling the ship.

Albert was found at about 6.00 am the next morning, tucked under a life-raft for shelter from the wind. The ship’s Bosun, Auxi Abanador, and Marine Supervisor Shaun Buist, then prepared to catch the bird in a net. As they approached him, Albert walked out from its shelter and settled at their feet and allowed himself to be picked up.

If Albert hadn’t been picked up he would probably have perished at sea, as he would have had to fly back over 1400 nautical miles to Florida or 500 nautical miles from Bermuda. We carried him for the remainder of our voyage a distance of 1470 nautical miles

Albert was taken to our forward mooring area, a sheltered area in the bows of the ship, where he was initially placed on one of our spare mooring ropes, which he could dig into with his very large talons. He was tired and possibly in shock, as he didn’t move much until four hours later when he took off and did a circuit of the forward mooring deck which he did several times afterwards.

The deck seamen fed Albert raw white fish from the galley. He was offered tuna but he didn’t seem too keen on that. In fact, Albert devoured large amounts of fish along with fresh water. The sailors worked quietly on one side of the mooring deck whilst the Albert watched on. Our seamen were proud of their “bird” as they called him, and conscientiously kept guard on the mooring deck, keeping away any unofficial visitors.

Albert appeared as an interest item on the ship’s morning television programme “Catch up with Keith”, in which our Entertainment Director Keith Maynard interviewed me, and we showed video clips of Albert in action. The idea of a naming came up at this show and a competition to select a name was launched. I banned Oscar from the start and the name ‘Albert’ won for its connection with our vessel’s name Queen Victoria.

I am pleased to say that having talked with our agent in Ponta Delgada, who checked with the relevant authorities, he confirmed that they were happy for the bird to be released on the island. He also mentioned that there would be other Ospreys on the island, so Albert wouldn’t be lonely.

When our Ponta Delgada agent saw the bird he told us that he thought we had what they call the “Milhafre”. He told us an interesting fact that when the Portuguese discovered the Azores, they found lots of these birds and wrongly called this Archipelago the Azores because they thought these birds were northern Goshawks, (Azores) when they were, in fact “Milhafre’s”!

When we arrived at Ponta Delgada pilot station the deck crew prepared the ship for mooring whilst Albert watched on with interest. When the main doors were opened he flew towards the entrance, initially flying into the steel wall. He landed on the deck near the door. Shaun, the Marine Supervisor, offered him the brush end of a deck broom. He jumped onto the broom which was then taken to the open door; he spread his wings and took off, flying silently along the starboard side of Queen Victoria before sweeping up and away.

Thank you, Simon for telling that lovely story and it’s great to hear that it all ended well. I’ll be back tomorrow with the pictures I promises of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth in Civitavecchia and some news from the last few days of Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage. Cheers for now, Alastair

Eric Flounders is back with his final installment from Queen Elizabeth’s maiden transit of the Suez Canal. In today’s blog he talks about Petra, Pyramids and the Picadilly Line…

Guest Blog

Eric Flounders

Cunard Line

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On Wednesday we decided to abandon caution and splash out on dinner at the Verandah. The females in our party had learned that the Verandah Grill on the first Queen Elizabeth had been the favourite restaurant of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and they immediately developed Wallis Simpson delusions.

But what is the point, many might say, of abandoning our  lovely Britannia  restaurant with its excellent food, a wide choice and exemplary service – and which is included in the fare paid – just to pay more to eat in a different part of the ship?

Well, even Dukes and Duchesses fancy a change from their customary palatial surroundings from time to time; everyone relishes a night out.

And, when all’s said and done, The Verandah is hardly expensive.

But it is priceless.

It is superlative in every way. The room is tasteful, restful and hushed; the service, surprisingly on a ship where service already approaches perfection, is even more personal, attentive and dignified than elsewhere; the food is superb.

However, we couldn’t linger longer as the next morning was to be an early start and the beginning of a long day – the much anticipated tour to Petra.

We left the pier the next morning in an impressive convoy of 35 identical coaches; we must have looked like an invading army as we sped through the wide streets of Aqaba and up into the mountains – ragged, jagged peaks, arid and devoid of vegetation. A hot and inhospitable landscape which we wondered at in comfort.

But the road was good and the distance to Petra covered in just two hours – a distance that the old Caravans would have taken two weeks to negotiate. Along the way our guide kept up a non-stop rattle of quick-fire commentary that was almost impossible to follow. He had the added misfortune of not being able to tell his right from his left, with the result that as we all dutifully craned to look  right as instructed we found ourselves ogling ancient Bedouins’ goats, instead of  an unmissable temple of Aphrodite (of which there seems to be an infinite number) which hurtled by entirely missed to the left.

No matter how much you may have read about Petra, it still takes you by surprise. There we were stumbling down a rocky path into a fairly insignificant valley heading for an equally insignificant ridge. Then suddenly the path disappeared into a cleft in the ridge and we were plunged into a narrow gorge, cliffs towering above us and in places almost meeting. No wonder the place was lost for centuries. On and on, down and down, twisting and turning. Those who had swotted up in advance kept telling their comrades at each bend that the famous Treasury would burst into view. But it didn’t.

Finally, after a good twenty minutes of anticipation and disappointment we glimpsed ahead, set against a blue patch of sky between the cliffs, just the tiniest corner of the topmost pediment. And a minute later we burst out into the sunlight of a great natural amphitheatre, where ahead of us towered the breathtakingly impressive Treasury. Breathtaking not just because of its size, not just because of its dramatic site, not just because it is a spectacular confection of classical styles and not just because it is 2000 years old. All these things individually make it breathtaking, but most of all the knowledge that it was not built but was carved out of the rock face with chisels. And it is so perfect it could have been done last week. There are other magnificent structures in Petra – all the pre-Roman ones carved and not built. And while others may be as awe-inspiring and fantastical as the Treasury, nothing compares with the overwhelming surprise of that first view.

Petra just has to be seen by anyone who can. Never mind that it is an architectural car crash made up of a clash of styles  and -  as our knowlegeable Insights lecturer remarked – must have been fashioned by people with more money than taste: it is simply up there with the Sphinx and Machu Picchu.

The climb back was long – over an hour – and hot. But no-one complained. And in true Cunard style the company had managed to find a five star hotel nearby for a much needed lunch.

Not surprisingly the ship was ghost like that night. Everyone, including me, was early abed and as dead to the world as the occupants of Petra’s tombs.

But I didn’t go before the departure from Aqaba. As we stood at the stern watching the lights fade we were able to see with one glance four countries – Egypt to starboard, Israel to the left astern  with Jordan on the right, and Saudi Arabia to port.

Today we have glided up the Gulf of Suez in near perfect weather – just the weather in fact for croquet on the lawn. And that is what we did (and something we could not do on any other ship). But whereas the bowls on the adjacent green continued sedately, we soon discovered that croquet mallets make wonderful weapons when your opponents start making up the rules. I lost the match and so think it is a stupid game which should be replaced with polo; my companions think it is terrific and intend to go back tomorrow.

I shall be water-skiing behind the ship.

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As we advanced slowly towards Suez, at the Red Sea entrance of the Suez Canal, everyone was faced with a difficult choice: whether to take the full day tour to the Sphinx and the Pyramids, which involved disembarking in Suez and rejoining the ship in Port Said, at the Mediterranean end of the canal, some fourteen hours later. To do this meant missing the transit of the Canal; so what was it to be – an Ancient Wonder of the World, or a relatively modern one? It wasn’t possible to do both,

For most people the decision may have been made for them by the nocturnal departure time for the Pyramids tour – 3.30am. The option of just staying on board sipping whatever in the shade as we glided the length of an engineering miracle past the palms and minarets of Egypt seemed irresistible. And indeed that was the option most people chose.

Not that we missed an early start. Those who wanted to witness the entry into the Canal had to be on deck by 5.30am: and as the mist rose and light came, those who were, were greeted by a great gathering of ships forming the northbound convoy. Our convoy was made up of 33 vessels; we were number 11. Slowly they moved forward in turn, each attended by a fussing little tug. We seemed to be the only passenger ship while the rest ranged from huge tankers and container ships to little workaday trams. They came in every size and every condition, from the immaculate to the rust- streaked. Our lovely ship seemed like Masefield’s quinquireme of Nineveh surrounded by dirty British coasters with salt-caked smoke stacks – though if you cut out the poetic licence few were just coasters and even fewer, unlike us, were British.

As passing places in the 110 mile Canal are limited, the northbound and southbound convoys pass in the Great Bitter Lake – which we reached just over three hours after entering the Canal. The southbound convoy is timed to arrive first and anchor, while the northbound convoy sails through into the northern section. The southbound convoy, massed at anchor, was even bigger than ours. It was a ship anorak’s dream.

The northern section of the Canal was just as you would want it to be, with desert stretching off on each side of the dead straight liquid road with Africa to port and Sinai, on the Arabian peninsula, to starboard. It was a nineteenth century poster – waving date palms in the occasional oases, fishermen in tiny boats, boys playing along the banks and sand as far as you could see. We seemed to float across desert, and, call me an old fool if you like – many do – but we seemed to be enveloped in the romance of Empire and the myriad journeys made by our forebears to India and beyond.

It took some ten hours to reach Port Said at the Mediterranean end of the Canal. There we berthed briefly to await the return of the Pyramid watchers, and peered down on busy streets vibrant with hooting cars. As darkness fell we cast off and slowly edged past the long piers out into the Mediterranean.

Today we are at sea and bound for Athens. It is sunny but there is a stiff breeze and the ship is moving a little. That put paid to our thoughts of bowls as the green is situated as far forward as you can go and as high as you can go. Thus the movement is exaggerated, as on a seesaw, and the bowls are happily playing themselves. We should have done it as we steamed smoothly through Egypt.

No matter; it leaves more time for packing. We disembark tomorrow and head back to the mayhem of Heathrow and the chaos of the Piccadilly Line. Can’t wait!

Today is a big day as Queen Victoria is our first Queen to return to her homeport of Southampton after spending the last few months in United States waters.  Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 met up in Civitavecchia, Italy, yesterday and will meet up again in Southampton next Tuesday. It will mark the completion of Queen Elizabeth’s Maiden World Voyage, and where some of our American guests will join Queen Mary 2 to cross the Atlantic to complete her fourth World Voyage.

I always enjoy writing blogs about Cunard’s latest Stars of the Month. This is where every month on each of our three Queens, one crew member per ship is awarded the title. Nominations for the Star on each ship, is a result of guest and crew feedback, and then consideration by our on board White Star Committees. I’ll be introducing you to our latest stars after this week in Cunard’s History for the for 14 to 20 April

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Now it’s a great pleasure to introduce Cunard’s three new Stars, and this month they come from the Technical and Housekeeping departments.

Queen Mary 2

Ronald Pascual, Crew Housekeeper

Ronald Pascual is from the Philippines and is one of the Crew Housekeepers on Queen Mary 2.  Ronald is part of the team that ensures the crew areas of Queen Mary 2 are kept immaculate at all times. There is a lot to do and this keeps the team very busy, but Ronald still finds time to help his colleagues in other departments.

He was nominated by Provision Master Ryan Wardhaugh, because Ronald always volunteers to drive the big fork-lifts to move provisions on the big storing days. He does so all day, sacrificing his valuable time off and he was recognised by the Provisions Team for doing such a superb job.

Part of the White Star Credo that all of us at Cunard learn in the White Star Academy, is that we should always support and assist our colleagues, and it’s great to see Ronald being recognised for this.

Here is Ronald accepting his award from Commodore Bernard Warner, with Executive Housekeeper Colin Watson and Provision Master Ryan Wardhaugh.

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Queen Victoria

Dennes Sy, Housekeeping Utility

Dennes comes from Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Philippines and is the second oldest in his family. Although he has only been with Cunard since last year this is already the second time he has been nominated for Star of the Month, when he was the 2^nd runner up last August.

Dennes works in the Housekeeping Department as a General Utility which means he is part of a big team keeping the guest areas spotlessly clean on Queen Victoria.

He told us that he really enjoys his work as well as meeting and greeting guests when he is cleaning around the ship. He added that for him We Are Cunard means serving guests with pride, and he says he is very proud to be part of the Cunard family.

As for the future, Dennes hopes that he will be able to become a bar waiter or a waiter in the Britannia Restaurant. In this photo he is receiving his well deserved award from Captain Christopher Rynd, with Andrea Kaiser, Executive Housekeeper and Jacqueline Hodgson, Hotel Manager.

After the ceremony he said that he wanted to say thank you to the people who had faith in him, his colleagues in the Housekeeping Team and the Pursers Team for nominating him.

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Queen Elizabeth

Fermin Dela Luna Jr, Plumber

Fermin Dela Luna JR was part of the opening team of Queen Elizabeth, working as a night Plumber.  Fermin is from Rosario Cavite, Philippines and is married to Imelda R. Ela Luna. They have one daughter Franchesca Ira Dela Luna

He began his career at sea as a wiper, motorman, plumber with Cunard’s sister brand P&O, before joining Cunard in September last year. Fermin has recently moved to the day shift, and he was nominated for Star of the Month because he consistently goes above and beyond what is expected of him in his duties.

Being a plumber is a very busy job and often means he is called out at a moment’s notice to fix something. His supervisor told us that if Fermin has finished work or is just about to finish, he will still go and fix something however big or small the task. This sometimes means he works beyond his time and he does it with a smile and guests and colleagues have said how friendly and helpful he is.

His department felt his amazingly positive White Star attitude should be rewarded and they were delighted when he became Queen Elizabeth’s Star of the Month.

Fermin told me he was very grateful to be part of the Cunard Family, saying proudly We are Cunard! Here he is receiving his award from Captain Chris Wells with Colin Black, Chief Engineer. Robert Howie, Hotel Manager and Michael Robertshaw, Ships Services Engineer.

Congratulations to all the winners for last month and we look forward to revealing this month’s winners in a few weeks time. I’ll be back soon with a special Blog with the latest news from all three Cunard Queens, as well as some great pictures of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth in Civitavecchia yesterday. Cheers for now, Alastair

Yesterday we had a great guest blog from Eric Flounders during Queen Elizabeth’s maiden transit of the Suez Canal. Here he is with with part 2 and the mystery of the missing photo…

Guest Blog

Eric Flounders

Cunard Line

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As we progress at good speed northwards up the Red Sea towards Aqaba, I’m reminded – as a former geography teacher – how useful cruising is for basic geography. How else can you more easily come to realise that what looks like an insignificant ink blot on an atlas is in fact a substantial body of water which will take two full days to traverse?

On our starboard side we have had occasional glimpses of Yemen, which gave way to Saudi Arabia, and on our port side – but out of sight – Eritrea and Sudan, both well-known names but largely unvisited by comfort travellers like ourselves.

We have escaped unscathed from pirate alley and have left behind the plodding convoys of huge tankers and container ships, under naval protection, so evident during yesterday’s passage.

The Red Sea is giving us a stiff breeze and white horses on the waves – a breeze which lures the sunbathers into a false sense of security and they totter blinking indoors looking even pinker than usual. A breeze which I also thought would serve to dry my socks, but which blew them overboard to be found, no doubt, by an Eritrean herd of goats on the beach.

On our first formal night en route to meet the Captain at his cocktail party for Dubai arrivals, we dutifully queued to pose for a group photo in front of a canvas Queen Elizabeth. Trying to look suave and sophisticated in our formal garb, we succeeded only in grinning maniacally.

And so began the big mystery of the voyage so far; where has our photo gone? Everyone else had their carefully posed portraits on display in the gallery to be snapped up as a permanent memento. But not us. ours was nowhere to be seen.

Naturally we have assumed that we are such an outstandingly handsome group of sublime sexiness that some unknown hand has snaffled our portrait for their own pleasure.

Another theory, which we entirely reject, is that the ship’s photographer took the view that no-one – not even the subjects- would want to buy a portrait of such a grotesque collection of specimens and  that he has consigned it to the attic.

It did finally turn up and I noticed the photographer’s assistant wore sunglasses as she handed over our copies.

To recover her self esteem one of the group went off to the Spa for a massage with George, and came back floating six inches off the floor burbling incoherently about his French accent. But I assume his fingers did most of the talking – and they will be busy now as our colleague has been stopping strangers in the corridor to extol the virtues of George.

Last night we were unable to resist karaoke in the Golden Lion with Thomas. And I discovered a truth of great worth to those of us who can’t sing but who are dragooned by cries of ‘Spoilsport!’ into participating in Tom Jones’ ‘Delilah’. Within nanoseconds of the music starting everybody is clanking glasses and bellowing away at the tops of their voices. They don’t even notice you abandoning the microphone and slinking quietly back to your seat.

Tonight we are visiting the Verandah – a much anticipating a night out. But we will need to be in bed early as tomorrow is a big day – the visit to Petra. While the journey may be long and the start early, it will be worth it. And at least we go in the comfort of coaches and not on camels like earlier travellers. Except for those who have been to see George; they will just float there

As Queen Victoria heads to Southampton, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 are both making their way to Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, where they will meet tomorrow as part of their 2011 World Voyage.

We have a great guest blog from Eric Flounders, PR Manager for Cunard Line. Eric joined Queen Elizabeth in Dubai and transitted the Suez Canal in to the Mediterranean, here is his first installment:

Guest Blog

Eric Flounders

Cunard Line

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Having regularly sailed on Cunard ships for the past 25 years, the sight of QE2’s beautiful red funnel has been a familiar one to me – and a welcome one – looming above the docks of many a foreign port. But it was still a shock to drive through the gates of Port Rashid in Dubai to see the same welcoming sight, beautifully lit up and immaculately cared for – but duplicated, as immediately behind was the similar red funnel of her new namesake, Queen Elizabeth.

As we drove along the pier against which both ships were berthed in parallel, it was only when the taxi turned right instead of left the sense of deja vu faded and it sank in that I was about to travel on the new Queen Elizabeth for the first time and not on the old favourite which had been my home so often in the past.

But I need not have worried, if indeed I did. Queen Elizabeth is a very homely ship. Whereas from the outside she is clearly a new generation of ship, perhaps several generations on from QE2, inside she seems to be from an earlier one. None of the chrome and neon glitz of modern ships here, but rather the polished brass, marble and rich wooden veneers of a more sedate and elegant age. No matter how often you see Queen Elizabeth’s public spaces, they always surprise with their space and magnificence. And yet, at the same time, the ship exudes a cosiness and air of tasteful comfort so frequently lacking in modern hotels

We were interlopers, of course, we 800 who boarded in Dubai. Many on board had been sailing the world since Queen Elizabeth set off from Southampton in January, and were now on the home strait.  But it was obvious from the off that the ship had settled in to her new role with ease, and  everything about her – including the crew – has the practised air of many years in service. Even the full world Voyage passengers give the impression they have been here for ever, so smoothly do things run.

The first leg of our adventure, homeward bound for Southampton, was to the Omani port of Salalah – a journey we were reminded by Captain Wells would take us through the much publicised and now notorious haunt of Somali pirates. But there seems to be no real concern on board, not only because everyone is reassured by the measures taken, but because there is a light-hearted view that even if pirates did manage to scramble aboard so large a ship travelling so fast, they would be rapidly dismissed by 2,000 passengers – many wielding handbags – determined that dinner shouldn’t be delayed for one minute by such nonsense. An air of ‘let ‘em dare’ prevails.

In Port Salalah, a surprisingly busy port ten miles from the town itself, most of our longer-established fellow passengers opted for organised excursions; we soon found out why. Those of us opting to travel ashore independently were met at the dock gate by a scrum of taxi drivers haranguing us for business in scenes reminiscent of a Coalition cuts protest. And word soon came back that while they were happy to take you to Salalah for ten dollars, they wanted considerably more to bring you back. The wise birds who have been on the entire World Voyage were obviously savvy to this practice had had zoomed off in the comfort of their air-conditioned coaches (with lavatories) rather than risking the mayhem at the gate. We put discretion before valour and slunk back to the ship where, instead of spending our money in Salalah we sipped tea in the Queens Room and sunbathed in the comfort of our magnificent ship. The right decision had been made for us – and the economy of Salalah suffered as a result.

As I write we are still cruising without incident through pirate alley between Yemen and Somalia, and about to turn north into the Red Sea bound for Aqaba. Here almost everyone on board seems to be booked for a tour to Petra, the famous ‘rose red city’. Everyone seems to anticipate it greatly, whatever the rigours of the journey to get there and back, except for one passenger who confided that he had no intention of going all that way to see a pile of stones. I pointed out that they were prettily arranged stones, but he remained unconvinced.

Our little group of four seems always to be the last to leave the restaurant; whether it is because we eat too much, drink too much or talk too much I’m not sure. Maybe a mixture of all three. but last night we decided not to outstay our welcome in the Britannia Restaurant, but leave in a timely fashion to catch the second performance of a group of tenors called 4Ever. How glad I am we did as they were truly magnificent. In all the times I have travelled on ships, and in all the shows I have seen, the number of performers to get standing ovations is in single figures. 4Ever got one – an enthusiastic one – and they deserved it. They are on again tomorrow and I’ll bet everyone goes, even if it means missing the pud.

Many of you will know Amanda Reid very well from Queen Mary 2 as Social Hostess and Assistant Entertainment Director, and most recently as Entertainment Director on Queen Victoria. But how many of you knew her when she was a dancer on QE2 in the 1980’s?

In an exclusive interview I chatted to Amanda about her amazing Cunard career, and boy have things changed!

Amanda was born in Kent in the UK where she still lives, but has recently moved to a new house just outside Ashord, Kent. Amanda first started classical ballet classes at the age of four and after completing her academic schooling, she studied professional ballet in London for three years. Having passed her Advanced Classical Ballet exam and her teacher’s qualification, Amanda set out on a career of dance, performing in London, Barcelona and Jersey in the Channel Islands, as well as working with an English ballet company.

Amanda’s career at sea began when she joined QE2, where she was Dance Captain for twelve years, during which time she also enjoyed occasionally assisting as Social Hostess. As well as QE2, Amanda also danced on Cunard Countess, Cunard Princess, Vistafjord and Sagafjord where she was the assistant and right hand to singer, dancer and choreographer, Peter Gordeno.

When Peter Gordeno was invited to join another cruise line in 1990, Amanda joined him as Dance Captain until she decided to hang up her dancing shoes to become Social Hostess two years later. It wasn’t long before Amanda felt the tug of her Cunard roots. She returned to the Cunard family by joining Queen Mary 2 in May 2004 as Social Hostess, and within two years she was promoted to the position of Assistant Entertainment Director.

She was delighted to be a part of the Queen Victoria inaugural team, joining the ship at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy.  Amanda was promoted to relief Entertainment Director in 2008, and last year, in April 2010, she became the permanent Entertainment Director on Queen Victoria.

I began my interview with Amanda by asking her how she feels after her first year in her role as permanent Entertainment Director:

It’s been a new chapter in my seafaring career with new challenges and responsibilities, and I’m really enjoying running the department, looking at ways of enhancing the Entertainment Programme for our guests.

When you were dancing could you have ever imagined where you would be now?

I was totally dedicated as a dancer and although I knew dancing was a short career, I didn’t really think about the future. I loved what I was doing and that’s where my focus was.

Tell us a bit about your days as a dancer and what it was like working on QE2 in 1980’s

In one sense the atmosphere was not that much different to now, with a tremendous team spirit amongst us working on board welcoming regular guests back time and time again. I worked with many different choreographers over the years so there was always a new challenge. Looking back it was so much fun and I still remember all those costumes, the hairstyles and even the routines!

I have fond memories of those days and I am still in touch with many of the girls, who have gone on to be wives, mothers and Maggie on the left hand side of this next picture, runs her own ballet school in Wales.

It’s great to look back and remember some of the routines that we did from the traditional, to this picture which shows a very modern space-age style:

In those days it was quite different being a dancer as we had so many other duties as well, which today are run by the Entertainment Staff, such as the Bingo, Horseracing and the Daily Tote, as well as socialising with the guests at cocktail parties. Here I am on my first contract with Staff Captain Alan Bennell, and fellow dancers Ruth and Carole.

Could you talk us through some of the changes in the on board Entertainment that you have seen during your career?

The Entertainment on board has become so much more sophisticated and elaborate. We worked in ballrooms without sets or scenery and the lighting was either on or off! I’m still in awe of the beautiful theatres we have on our new Queens. Behind the scenes on Queen Victoria we now have thirteen professional technicians, but back in the 80’s on QE2 it was one of the Cruise Staff who operated the rather basic sound and lights.

As a dancer we had to negotiate microphone cables and as you can see from this 1984 Daily Programme, we had to perform in both the Double Room for the Transatlantic Class passengers, and then later on the same night in the Queens Room for the First Class passengers;

There is so much more choice of activities today on our ships; who’d of thought back then that today we would be offering fencing classes and croquet! The actual theatres are where the main changes have taken place, with magnificent purpose built auditoriums with excellent views, amazing sound and lights and a stage that spans five decks……..we would never have thought that theatres like that could have been built on ships.

Some things haven’t changed such as being a mermaid at the traditional crossing the line ceremony! Here I am in 1989 in a great, but rather impractical, costume meaning I had to be carried in to position!

What have been some of the highlights during your career at sea?

I have been so lucky to meet quite a few members of the Royal Family, including, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Princess Diana and then more recently at Queen Victoria’s naming, HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. It’s also been fun meeting so many stars and celebrities from Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Pat Boone and Frankie Vaughan to George Burns, Mickey Rooney and Bob Monkhouse, to name but a few.

What does “We Are Cunard” mean to you?

I really enjoy the prestige of working on the most famous ocean liners in the world and being a part of the fantastic Cunard family.

What is your ideal way of relaxing when you are on leave?

Like many of us at sea, I like to do things that are probably considered by most to be mundane at home, such as driving, cooking and shopping. It’s also a great opportunity to catch up with family and friends as well as taking the time to go to the theatre. 

Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?

To be quite honest I am really happy where I am at the moment. I love the business I am in and at heart I’m still a performer. I’m reminded by the lyrics from a Bob Fosse routine which probably best sums up how I feel;

I want be a dancing man, while I can,

I want leave my footsteps on the sands of time

even if I never leave a dime.

I’ll never be a millionaire, but I don’t care.

I’ll be rich as old king midas might have been,

at least until the tide comes in.

let other men build mighty nations and stairways to the sky.

I’ll leave a few creations, to show that I was dancing by.

I want to be free as any bird can be, yes sir-ee.

I want to leave my footsteps on the sands of time.

even if I never leave a dime.

A dancing man with footsteps of rhythm and rhyme.

What is your favourite quote and who said it?

Something that goes hand in hand with the job is always struggling to be slimmer, so I like the anonymous quote; “I would be happy with my weight – if I was eleven feet tall”! Then there is always the fun element of life itself and Bob Monkhouse summed it up beautifully by saying; “Growing old is compulsory but growing up is optional”.

Thank you Amanda for such a fantastic interview, and your candid reflection of your life at sea. I’ll be back on soon with the latest three Cunard Stars and more news from all three of our Queens. Cheers for now, Alastair