Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 235 days

 

Following on from the appointment of Captain Christopher Wells as Master of the new Queen Elizabeth, I am pleased to let readers of this blog know, that this morning Cunard Line issued a press release which gave details of four Senior Officers, who have been appointed to join Queen Elizabeth when she enters service on 12 October this year, which is less than 34 weeks away.

 

These are the details of the newly appointed Officers, as given in yesterday’s press release:

 

Robert Howie, Hotel Manager

 

 

Fife-born Robert Howie brings almost 25 years of experience – on land and at sea – to his new post as Hotel Manager aboard Queen Elizabeth. He held the position of Food and Beverage Manager aboard Queen Mary 2 in the ocean liner’s inaugural year and was then promoted to the prestigious position of Hotel Manager on Cunard’s flagship in 2005. Robbie was also the first Hotel Manager on board Queen Victoria when she entered service in December 2007. As Hotel Manager, Robert is in charge of all on board operations including housekeeping, food and beverage, entertainment and human resources. Prior to joining Cunard, Howie had served in senior managerial food and beverage positions for Princess Cruises, both shoreside and on board, since 1990.

 

Hamish Sunter, Staff Captain

 

 

Despite his Scottish forename, Hamish Sunter is proud to be a Yorkshireman. Halifax-born Captain Sunter joined Cunard in 1990 as an officer on Cunard Princess where he remained for three years. He also obtained his Master’s Certificate at this time. In 1993 he was transferred to QE2 as Junior First Officer and left that ship as Chief Officer in 1998. After two years Hamish was keen to go back to sea, which he did in 2000 with P&O Cruises and sailed as First Officer on several of their ships. He returned to Cunard as Chief Officer on Queen Mary 2 in October 2005. He rejoined QE2 as Staff Captain in December 2006 and has also served in that capacity on board Queen Victoria.

 

Colin Black, Chief Engineer

 

 

Colin Black, from East Lothian, joined P&O/Princess Cruises in 1990 as a CPO Mechanic on board Royal Princess. He subsequently moved up the ranks to First Engineer prior to being given the responsibility for the new build of Princess Cruises’ Dawn Princess, followed by Ocean Princess. In 2001 he was seconded to the Southampton Office working within the new build department. In 2002 he moved across to P&O Cruises serving on board Oriana, Aurora and then the new Arcadia. Colin’s first appointment as Chief Engineer was on board Tahitian Princess in 2006 and her sister ship Pacific Princess. In 2007 he was assigned as Technical Fleet Services Project Manager for Queen Victoria thereafter taking over as Chief Engineer.

 

Alastair Greener, Entertainment Director

 

 

Alastair Greener from near Marlborough – about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK – has a love of both the sea and stage, characteristics that will serve him well as he prepares to join Queen Elizabeth as Entertainment Director. Alastair has also served as Cruise Director on both Queen Mary 2 and QE2 and was the first Entertainment Director on board Queen Victoria.

 

Currently he is the face of the ‘We Are Cunard’ Blog, which is the site to visit for all the latest news on this new Cunarder. He was also asked to represent CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) as a media tour spokesperson. Alastair is a member of the British Actors’ Union and has appeared in a wide range of film, theatre and television productions. Prior to Cunard, Greener had joined Princess Cruises in 1997 and served on eight ships within the fleet. 

 

On confirming the appointments, Peter Shanks, Cunard President and Managing Director, said:

 “Our guests will be delighted to find so many ‘old friends’ aboard Cunard’s newest ship. One of our distinguishing characteristics is the number and frequency of our repeat guests and they will truly appreciate ‘coming home’ to these familiar faces.”

 

For me, it’s a real honour to be selected to head up the Entertainment department on Queen Elizabeth, and I look forward to the challenges the position will bring as well as being part of Cunard history. It does mean I’ll be very busy with the job in hand as well as continuing to host this Blog but I’m very excited about this year and of course bringing you all the news as it happens.

 

I’m also looking forward to working with a great team and over the coming weeks, I’ll be interviewing my colleagues, Robert Howie, Hamish Sunter and Colin Black so you can get to know the senior officers who will be heading up Queen Elizabeth’s ship’s company. I’ll start next week with an exclusive interview with Captain Chris Wells who is travelling on Queen Victoria at the moment. I’ll be back on Thursday with an amazing but true story from Queen Mary 2. Cheers Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 274 days

 

As I prepare to fly to New York to meet Queen Victoria on her 2010 World Voyage, I am delighted to say that the first Video Blog from Queen Elizabeth’s Float Out ceremony is now ready.  As I mentioned in my last post, this is the first part of four from the day. The ceremony began on the new Games Deck, where following tradition, our Madrina, Dennie Farmer was invited to weld the three coins to the bulk head, after which our President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks added his welding skills to complete that part of the day’s celebrations.

 

 

 

And here, having completed their tasks, Peter and Dennie are photographed in front of the newly welded coins which Queen Elizabeth’s guests will be able to see whenever they visit the Games Deck.

 

 

 

Fincantieri Ship Yard Director, Paolo Capobianco then signed Dennie’s apron to commemorate the occasion.

 

 

 

So now, here’s the video which I hope you agree really captures the excitement of the first part of the day.

 

 

 

 

As I mention in the video, the ceremony then moved to the dock side, and the Video Blog which sees this bottle of Italian Prosecco break on Queen Elizabeth’s Hull, will be posted later this week.

 

 

 

We will then get to see the lock gates release water in to the massive dry dock, and Queen Elizabeth’s hull touches water for time. I also have some great interviews from the day on the way as well.

 

I’ll be back on Thursday with the weekly Blog when I’ll let you know how the World Voyages on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria are going, and of course more pictures and videos from Queen Elizabeth’s float out ceremony. Cheers, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 292 days

 

As Queen Victoria spends her Christmas in the Canaries and Queen Mary 2 celebrates in the Caribbean, we’ve already had snow falls here in Britain. Who knows whether it will stay or not for Christmas, but it has certainly made things very festive as we think of our colleagues in warmer climes. Thank you again for all your comments and to answer the big question regarding Queen Elizabeth and when she will float out; well read on as Peter Shanks mentions it in his message. Before we get to that here’s this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 25 to 31 December:

 

25 December 1981 QE2 makes her maiden call at Kralendijk, Bonaire

26 December 1949 Caronia makes her maiden call to Ciudad Trujillo (Santo Domingo)

26 December 2003 Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton for the first time

27 December 1930 John Brown Yard Manager, Donald Skifflington, hammers first rivet on Queen Mary

28 December 2007 Queen Victoria makes her maiden call at Madeira

30 December 1964 Contract to build QE2 is signed between Cunard and John Brown Shipyard.

 

As we reflect on this remarkable year for Cunard, it’s a great pleasure to hand over to Peter Shanks for his thoughts on this last year and a look at the one ahead.

 

 

Guest Blog – Peter Shanks – President and Managing Director Cunard Line

 

Happy Christmas

 

As we look forward to Christmas and the dawn of a new year, it’s good to reflect a little on the past year and what we have to look ahead to in 2010.  The past year has certainly been a tough one for all of us, whether in business or in our personal lives, given the very challenging economic conditions we have seen around the world. First and foremost, all of us at Cunard Line would like to thank our valued guests for travelling with us over the past year. We are fortunate to have a wonderful sense of loyalty amongst our guests. We have also seen a growing number of guests sailing with Cunard Line for the first time in 2009. Almost every sailing has been full during the year and we really appreciate that support.

 

As you know, we very carefully measure our guest satisfaction on each and every voyage. Through the year our guests have scored their satisfaction at record levels on both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. Over 98% said they would recommend Cunard to a friend and over 97% said they would return to sail with Cunard again in the future. That is terrific and the credit for that must go to the ship’s company. We pride ourselves on our White Star Service – it’s the most special thing we have.  In a Christmas message to all of our staff who work so hard on board our ships I was able to thank each and every one of them for the marvelous “White Star Service” they deliver to our guests, so rest assured their efforts in looking after all of our guests have been, and will continue to be, well recognised.

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading our Blog during 2009, it’s really starting to take on a life of its own. From my perspective there have been a number of highlights during the year, many of which have been shared on the blog, but in particular I will remember the year for:

 

·         Queen Mary 2 Around the British Isles Voyage – this was a wonderful way to celebrate the 5^th birthday of Queen Mary 2 – without doubt the most famous ship in the world. The welcome we received in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cobh and Cherbourg was amazing. It reminded all of us of the proud tradition of Cunard Line.  To be on Queen Mary 2, on the Mersey River, alongside the historic Cunard building, in the Royal Court Theatre, with the 73 piece Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performing “You’ll never walk alone” was very Cunard. Queen Victoria will go round Britain in July 2010 on her inaugural lap of honour and I certainly won’t miss that one!

 

·         My lapel pin – I never thought a lapel pin could mean so much. All of us at Cunard Line wear the White Star Service lapel pin. It is a small piece of metal, but it represents something which is incredibly special both to all of us at Cunard Line and I trust to our guests as well.  Each time I go on the ship, it acts as a point of reference – all of our staff have their pin and wear it proudly, they also recognise the fact that I have my pin on as well. So even to those staff who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, there is instant recognition that we are all part of something special.

 

·         So many awards – it’s fine for all of us at Cunard to be proud of the service we deliver to our guests.  However to receive third party recognition is much more powerful as it salutes the holiday experience and service we offer to our guests.  2009 has been a great year for awards including:

 

-       “Cruise Line of the Year” – British Travel Awards

-       “Best Cruise Line in four out of five categories” – the first ever Zagat awards in North America

-       “Top two ships in the world” – Berlitz Cruise Guide

-       “Top Cruise Line” – Cruise.co.uk guest reviews

-       “Conde Naste Readers’ Travel Award”

 

Those are only a few but it was terrific in each case to be able to send a very positive message to our ships’ company for what they have achieved.

 

 

·         Meeting our Guests – in my first six months as President and Managing Director of Cunard Line I have really enjoyed meeting so many of our guests whilst on board our ships.  That has been a real highlight for me personally as it is always useful to hear just how our guests feel about their experience as well as ideas for future itineraries and areas where we could further innovate and improve in everything that we do.  So thank you for taking the time to share those ideas and I look forward to meeting many more of our guests during 2010, including when I join Queen Mary 2 in New York in June eastbound Transatlantic Crossing.

 

 

Looking forward to 2010, it’s going to be a very special year indeed. The highlight of course will be the introduction of Queen Elizabeth in October. There is a real sense of anticipation and excitement building now and we have much to do and much to announce as we go through 2010. Our Blog has become a really useful way of us communicating how the ship is developing and Alastair has been terrific in terms of the photos and video blogs he has been posting.  We will continue with that starting with the Float Out ceremony on 5 January in Trieste. Rest assured we will share all of our exciting news as we go through each month of 2010.  The one for everyone to watch out for will be the launch of the Queen Elizabeth inaugural Summer Season for 2011 which will go on sale in April. We are currently working on her itineraries to ensure they are the best we have ever had, with a range to suit everybody in all of our international markets. 

 

In the year ahead Queen Victoria also has some exciting new itineraries as she settles down to fly/cruising in the second half of the summer in the Mediterranean and of course her exciting new programme for Winter 10/11 which includes the Caribbean, Panama Canal, West Coast of USA and Hawaii. And with Queen Mary 2 and her historic Transatlantic crossings we really have an awful lot more to offer our guests than ever before.

 

So thank you for being one of our “bloggers”. We will be launching a new website in the first part of 2010 and we will continue to make sure that our “We are Cunard” blog plays a prominent part.

 

It gives Alastair, myself and many other colleagues the ability to tell the many exciting and varied stories that come to us on a daily basis at Cunard Line. It is really very special to have a brand with 170 years of heritage and the youngest fleet in the world.

 

So a very happy Christmas to each and every one of our bloggers and guests and thank you so much for your interest and support of Cunard Line during 2009.

 

Best wishes too for the year ahead in everything that you do. We hope that one of the highlights of your own year ahead will be a voyage, or two, with Cunard Line – we would love to welcome you back.

 

Best regards,

Peter Shanks

 

Thank you Peter, and when you look back, it’s certainly been an amazing year. It just leaves me to add my personal best wishes to everyone for a wonderful Christmas season wherever you are in the world. I’ll be back next Thursday with the 125^th and final post of 2009. Cheers Alastair

 

 This will be another busy week blogging as we will have Peter Shanks’ post on the last stage of Queen Mary 2’s fantastic Around The British Isles Voyage as well as some other special articles including meeting Queen Mary 2’s latest “Star of the Month”.

 

It still amazes me that although Cunard has a history stretching over 170 years, we now have one of the youngest fleets in the industry. But our ships aren’t all that’s new at the moment, with Cunard having recently moved in to shiny new headquarters in Southampton (more of that in a special Blog coming soon),  and both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria beginning to dock at the new Ocean Terminal in Southampton. Located conveniently at dock gate 4 (the same gate that is used for the QE2 terminal), this is the view you see as you approach the new terminal.

 

 

 

Guests and visitors are enjoying the covered canopy where there is plenty of room for taxis, buses and cars dropping off guests. As always there are plenty of porters to help with baggage as well as new trolleys that haven’t developed a will of their own yet! Inside, the two levels of the terminal feel very spacious and airy with a warm welcome from friendly staff. 

 

 

 

Guests are then guided to very roomy lifts or escalators to take them to the upper level where the check in desks are. Being purpose built for today’s ships, there is plenty of room and embarkation is very smooth, as guests then make their way along the modern jet way to board the ship

 

 

 

Many of you will know Bill Miller (see the 18 December 2008 post), as one of Cunard’s favourite maritime historians who has an incredible passion for our industry. His lectures about the Cunarders of yesteryear, as well as the golden era of ocean liner travel, are always packed, as he tells wonderful stories with his inimitable contagious enthusiasm. Known as “Mr. Ocean Liner”, he has written over 70 books about passenger ships, both past and present and has traveled on over 350 voyages aboard some 250 different ships in the past 35 years. I caught up with Bill again recently on our Canada and New England voyage and having just arrived at the terminal, he offered to write an article about our new Ocean Terminal which has an historic name:

 

Guest Blog – Bill Miller – Maritime Historian

On an overcast morning last September, the mighty 151,000 ton Queen Mary 2, inbound from New York, berthed at Southampton’s newest cruise facility. The 1,132 ft long Cunard flagship docked bow-first and among her, nearly 2,600 guests. I was one of the first off, being in the “self help” group so as to make an early train up to Shropshire. The reception, baggage handling and taxi access could not have been more efficient.  “Landing was as smooth as soft sand,” commented a fellow guest, heading off to make an early flight from Heathrow. It was my first experience at the fourth of the three cruise facilities at Southampton.

Officially opened last May 29th, the $35 million terminal, created in a joint venture between the Port of Southampton and Carnival UK (Cunard’s parent company), is a response to Southampton’s (and Britain’s) booming cruise business. In 2008, the port handled 289 cruise calls, representing a processing of some 900,000 passengers. That figure represents a doubling of the amount of passengers just four years earlier, and could hit the million mark by 2010. Named the Ocean Terminal, it is a supplement to the three existing cruise facilities at the port: Berth 101, Berth 106 and the Queen Elizabeth 2 Terminal. The new facility is accurately Berth 46 in the Ocean Dock.

 

Ocean Terminal is a rather iconic name to the Port of Southampton. The previous facility was a grand, late Art Deco creation that, because of the Second World War, was actually not completed until 1950. Finished in blonde, burl woods on the inside and painted white on the outside, it had sweeping waiting rooms, baggage areas, a flower shop, newspaper stand, spectator galleries and, most conveniently, a ground level link to trains to and from London. Passengers could be at Waterloo Station, London in less than 2 hours. Business boomed back in the 1950s & ‘60s, for example, when legendary liners such as the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, the United States and the France called regularly on their trans-Atlantic crossings. Passengers, including small armies of celebrities, then traveled with trunks, servants, pets and even big American cars. Myself, I recall using the Ocean Terminal during an eastbound crossing on the France in July 1973 and then, for the last time, returning there from a cruise on the Canberra in October 1980. 

 

Sadly, in 1983, that original Ocean Terminal fell to the wreckers’ ball. It should have been saved and today would have been ideal for reuse for contemporary cruise liners, including the likes of the mighty Queen Mary 2.   After demolition, the idea was to rebuild the site as a cargo terminal, but that never came to pass.

 

Southampton has future expansion plans as well. Rumours are that the 1968-built Queen Elizabeth 2 terminal might give way to a newer, more efficient facility and that some other port areas might be further developed to include a moored, floating hotel, possibly using the 24,000-ton Saga Rose (the former Sagafjord), which is being retired this fall after 44 years of service. Meanwhile, Cunard’s new Queen Elizabeth, a 92,000-tonner, will start her regular departures next October. Indeed, cruising is booming at the port of Southampton.

Thank you so much Bill for your great insight to the significance of the Ocean Terminal and you can catch up with bill on his blog and websites www.mroceanliner.com and www.billmilleratsea.com.

 

That’s it for the moment but I’ll be back soon with more news including the final post from Queen Mary 2’s round Britain voyage. Cheers for now – Alastair

 

Yes at last we have the Video Blog of my interview with Sir Terry Wogan, but I’ll come to that in a moment. As Queen Victoria returns from a wonderful voyage to the Canary Islands, Queen Mary 2 has been making history on her Around The British Isles Voyage with her first visit to  Glasgow, and of course the home of Cunard for so many years; Liverpool. As you know from the last posting on Tuesday, Peter Shanks (President and Managing Director of Cunard Line) is on board and hopes to post more news soon along with some pictures and maybe even video.

 

On Queen Victoria we are nearing the end of a great voyage to the Canaries and our guests were delighted to find the warmth of the islands. After a short voyage to Cherbourg, Zeebrugge and Rotterdam we’ll be heading back to the Mediterranean. Now before the interview here’s this week in Cunard’s history for the week 23^rd to the 30^th October.

 

October 27 1986

QE2 arrives in Bremerhaven for a six-month £110 million re-engining and refurbishment programme, the largest such refit in the history of the merchant marine, undertaken and successfully completed in 1987. Steam turbines replaced by diesel electric power plant and the funnel is widened to accommodate the new engine. HRH the Princess of Wales boards on the ship’s return to Southampton.

 

October 29 1970

QE2 offers medical assistance to the ‘Cerinthus’ in the Atlantic

 

October 30 1947

Cunard’s first cruise ship, the Caronia II, is launched at John Brown Shipyard, Clydebank. She becomes known as the ‘Green Goddess’ because of the colour of her hull.

 

 

Hopefully most readers of this Blog will be familiar with Sir Terry Wogan and his TOGs, but in case you don’t, he currently has the most popular breakfast radio show in the UK with over eight million listeners every morning. He has also become quite a British institution in his own right over the years, hosting numerous TV shows and of course the remarkable annual BBC “Children In Need” event. Although he announced his retirement from the breakfast show recently he will still be heard on the Radio 2 airwaves at weekends and yes, he will still be joining guests and TOGs on board Queen Victoria for the voyage departing on 14 May 2010.

 

Following the great success of the TOGs voyage last year, (you can read all about it in the Blogs posted between the 20^th November and 11^th December 2008), we decided to do it all again! Next May we’ll be visiting exciting cities such as Barcelona and Cannes as well as the port of Livorno where guests can visit Pisa and Florence. With Rome and Gibraltar also on the itinerary it’ll be a fantastic voyage.

 

We are looking forward to welcoming back the TOGmeister himself, Sir Terry Wogan, along with his intrepid team who’ll be getting involved with all sorts of fun and games including the Deadly Quiz and Loose Cannon Karaoke as well as a brand new Janet and John.

 

As you may know I went to meet Sir Terry again, when I was last at home (see Blog from 6 August 2009), and our friends Helen and Norman (at http://togscalendar.org/) filmed the interview in London at BBC Radio 2’s studio. And if you are still wondering what a ‘TOG’ is, don’t worry Sir Terry explains it all. So here’s the interview:

 

 

We hope you’ll join us and remember it’s all about fun and raising money for Children in Need. You don’t need to be a TOG to join in the fun so to find out how you can be a part of this exciting voyage and how you can support BBC’s “Children in Need” click http://www.cunard.co.uk/togs/

 

In the meantime we wish everyone taking part in this year’s events, all the best with their fundraising activities. Of course the crescendo of the occasion will be the night of Friday 20 November on BBC 1 hosted by a galaxy of stars including Sir Terry himself.

 

Thanks for logging on again, we’ll have more news from the fleet soon including more posts from Queen Mary 2’s Around The British Isles Voyage. Cheers for now – Alastair

 

 

Thank you again for all the comments about my last post featuring the video from the Fincantieri yard in Monefalcone, and here as promised is part 2. I know you have many questions which I will answer when I can, but at the moment I’m afraid I have no more news for you about the various announcements you are waiting for such as,  the ships senior officers, the alternative restaurant or the exact date when Queen Elizabeth will leave the dry dock. However I’ll let you know on this Blog as soon as I do. In the meantime I am hoping we will return with the cameraman again in the next few months so keep logging on.

 

As you read this, Queen Victoria has been having a wonderful Atlantic crossing. She is now just a day away from her 3^rd visit to New York, as the first port of call on her Autumn Colours Voyage. Meanwhile Queen Mary 2 returns to Southampton after her fantastic Mediterranean Voyage, before heading for New York.

 

Before we take you back to see more pictures and video of Queen Elizabeth, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History”, for the week, 25^th of September to the 1^st Of October, which celebrates the anniversary of the first Queen Elizabeth being launched.

 

September 25 2003

 

Queen Mary 2 undertakes her first sea trials.

 

September 26 1934

 

The 80,744-ton Queen Mary launched at Clydebank and becomes the first merchant vessel to be launched by a member of the Royal family (Her Majesty Queen Mary).

 

September 27 1938

 

Queen Mary sails in to New York for the last time completing her final Transatlantic Crossing, with 1,400 passengers on board including the designer John Brown incognito. Shortly afterwards she set sail for Long Beach, California.

 

October 1 1979

 

QE2 makes her maiden call to Boston, Massachusetts.

 

So yes they did manage to get me up one of those incredible cranes which tower 200 feet above the ship yard, but at least we didn’t have to walk up. Believe it or not there was a lift inside the crane’s leg, making the task somewhat easier. And just in case you think I sent someone else up there to take the pictures for me this first photo gives you some idea of how high up we were!

 

 

 

 

From the top we were greeted by an incredible view which immediately made you realize what an impressive operation a shipyard is. Everywhere you looked you could see parts of our new ship. Each carefully numbered block will eventually become part of this massive jigsaw, but in the meantime it waits its turn to either become part of a larger block or be lifted on to the emerging superstructure. Here you can get an idea of the enormity of the project with ship blocks everywhere, and the town of Monefalcone in the distance.

 

 

While Andrew, our cameraman, was filming I was able to take in the views and begin to try and work out which block was which. As I somewhat hesitantly walked across the gantry I got an amazing view directly above the ship in the dry dock.

 

 

 

Looking directly down in the middle I could see on to ‘B’ deck. This area which is just above the waterline is mainly crew accommodation and machinery spaces. As I mentioned in the film on the previous Blog, the large boxes covered in white plastic are crew cabins and bathrooms which arrive as units ready to slot in to their final places. Then moving forward (or up the picture), you can see the ‘B’ staircase which will be right in the middle of the completed ship. Directly forward of that area are the crew lifts and staircase. The very top is the decking of deck 6 with the crew staircase and ventilation shaft in the middle. It may seem like I am sure about all this but have to admit it did take a while to work this all out!

 

In a shed on the other side of the yard, I could just about make out what I think is going to be the aft mooring deck of Queen Elizabeth, and believe it or not these sheds move on tram tracks so the cranes can lift the blocks in and out.

 

 

 

The next block I saw took a bit of working out, and then I realized this is the midships section with the left of the picture being towards the aft.

 

 

 

 

You can make out deck 3 deck of the grand lobby with the guest lifts to the right and the void ready for the elegant library staircase in the top right of the block. It’s incredible to think that this massive section will be lifted on to the main ship in just a couple of weeks. I think this will be the section that will fit on top of the ‘B’ Deck section of the earlier picture.

 

And now, for some more video and this time some very impressive footage from the top of that crane!

 

 

 

 

Well that’s it for the moment but I hope to post some more pictures for you soon and of course another video from Monefalcone in November. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with Queen Victoria’s latest “Star of the Month” who is from our deck department. Coming up I also have an interview with Queen Mary 2’s new Entertainment Director as well as lots more on the way. Cheers for now – Alastair

Firstly, thanks to Caroline Mathieson for her report on the Tandem Transatlantic Crossing on board Queen Mary 2. It’s always interesting to be able to see the voyage through another’s eyes. Thanks as well for the questions comments and links to your videos. Firstly regarding the successful installation of drawers on Queen Victoria, I have been in touch with the ship and thanks to our Executive Housekeeper Rosemarie Christiner and her team I can confirm the remaining space under the bed is 110 cm x 85 cm x 25 cm. (In inches it’s 43 x 33.5 x 9.5). Don’t forget that’s per bed! Rosemarie has also suggested that guests bring suitcases that fit inside each under and then she reckons you may be able to bring as many as twelve cases! I can also confirm that the rumour about Queen Victoria and the wrap around deck is indeed just a rumour! Regarding the other questions – I’ll get back to you soon. In the meantime as the countdown continues to QE2’s farewell voyage you may be interested in hearing about her final emotional Sailaway from Southampton. More details are available on this link:

www.southampton.gov.uk/leisure/events/QE2-final-departure.asp?Month=11&Year=2008

 

 I’ll be there in Mayflower Park and will hopefully meet some of you at what will no doubt be a very emotional event but I’m sure it will be an amazing send off.  Before we get in to meeting Cunard’s Commodore, here is “This week in Cunard’s History” for the week of the 1^st to the 6^th November:

 

 

November 1 1921

Andania II is launched.

 

November 2 2003

Queen Mary 2 undertakes her second set of sea trials and achieves a speed of 30 knots.

 

November 3 1970

QE2 makes her maiden call at Luanda, Angola.

 

November 5 2004

QE2 becomes longest serving Cunard Express Liner surpassing RMS’s Aquitania’s 35 Years 6 months 1 day (1914 – 1949) by 2 days.

 

November 6 2000

Cunard signs the final contract for Queen Mary 2 and unveils key design details of the largest, longest, widest and tallest passenger ship in history that will enter service in 2004.

 

Now it’s a great pleasure to share an interview with Commodore Bernard Warner.

 

I first had the pleasure to work with Commodore Warner some 11 years ago and it was great to see him again as the master of Queen Mary 2 when I joined Cunard. He is currently in Hamburg on Queen Mary 2 during her dry dock refit, so I was grateful that he found the time to answer some questions.

 

Could you please give us an idea of your career so far?

A lifetime friendship with the sea was cultivated at Sandsend near Whitby on the north east coast of England, where I spent the summer holidays sailing and fishing with my father.

 

At sixteen I entered the Warsash School of Navigation at the University of Southampton.  Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth would frequently sail past the college as they made their way up Southampton Water into the port and it was these ships which gave me the inspiration to one day command a Cunard transatlantic liner.

 

In 1965 Cunard Line would only consider employing navigating officers who had attained a Master’s Certificate. I would be twenty five years old by the time this had been achieved. The alternative was to join P&O, which was the other great passenger shipping company of the day. I signed indentures and commenced a four year cadetship with them on 1^st January 1966. P&O had a large passenger fleet but an even larger fleet of cargo ships. My first voyage was from King George V dock in London to the Far East aboard “Somali”, a 7000 gross ton freighter.

 

Nearing the end of my cadetship in 1969, I joined my first passenger ship “Oriana,” and by the early seventies I was sailing as a Junior Deck Officer aboard the P&O ship “Iberia”. I was later to be appointed to the legendary P&O liner “Canberra,” where I also sailed as Deputy Captain in 1988.

 

P&O took over the British India Company (BI) in 1972 and I became one of the first P&O officers to serve on board “Uganda”. This ship specialised in educational cruising and carried up to one thousand school children suitably partitioned from four hundred first class passengers!

 

In 1974 P&O bought Princess Cruises and I sailed as First Officer aboard “Pacific Princess”. A lucrative contract was signed by the Company to film the television show “Love Boat” aboard their ship. This series was so successful in the United States of America that it proved to be the catalyst for cruising as we know it today, but it failed to inspire the same amount of enthusiasm in the United Kingdom!

 

By 1984 I had been promoted to Chief Officer on “Royal Princess,” the new revolutionary cruise ship being built by P&O. This was the first large cruise ship ever constructed with all outside staterooms. About seventy percent of the cabins were designed with balconies and a whole new cruising trend had begun. Her Royal Highness Princess Diana was invited to name the ship. Her infectious personality made her the perfect Godmother for the ship and she kept in touch with the crew for the remainder of her life.

 

In 1994, I was appointed to my first command – the 20000 gross ton ship “Island Princess” – and since that time have commanded seven other passenger ships. I was designated the first Master of both “Golden Princess” and “Diamond Princess”, which at a 116 000 gross tons, are slightly smaller than “Queen Mary 2 (148,500 gross tons”).

 

I was appointed to Queen Mary 2 in the summer of 2005, and became Commodore of the Cunard Fleet in January 2007.

 

The role of Master has often been described as the mayor of a small town. Please could you describe how you see your role on board?

One of the most exciting and challenging aspects of my job is that every day is different and I have to be prepared to work at any time, be it day or night.

 

My primary responsibility is for the safe navigation of Queen Mary 2 and the well being of all the guests and crew on board. I chair an Executive Committee with all the department heads reporting to me and ultimately I have the final responsibility. My brief includes overseeing the health, environment, safety and security of Queen Mary 2.

 

The ship is magnificent but she is only successful because of the outstanding crew we have operating the ship. It is therefore most important that the ship’s company are well looked after and enjoy their duties on board. Very little gives me more pleasure than visiting and chatting with our crew and I try to get to most areas behind the scenes every day.

 

Dependent upon the ship’s itinerary I often have to spend long periods on the Bridge particularly when we are in close proximity to the land, reduced visibility or heavy traffic. Handling the controls of Queen Mary 2 and taking the ship in and out of each port allows me to put into practice the ship handling aspects of my position, something which I enjoy and find very rewarding.

 

It is impossible to be Commodore without enjoying the many social functions. If they wish, every guest has the opportunity to meet me at the Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party. Whenever navigational duties allow, the Captain’s table is an enjoyable end to the day. Different guests are invited on formal evenings and many lasting friendships have been made.

 

Could you tell us how it felt taking command of Queen Mary 2 for the first time?

My appointment to Queen Mary 2 was very special for me because it brought to fruition all the goals I had set for myself from the moment I first came to sea in 1966.

 

 I am well aware of the tremendous responsibility placed upon me to be in command of such a fantastic ship. However, we have an exceptionally fine management team on board and a very dedicated Ships’ Company who are all proud to be working for Cunard Line and to be a part of this great ocean liner.

 

Happy guests at the beginning and end of each voyage ensure that we all remain proud to be aboard Queen Mary 2.

 

What is the most frequent question you get asked – and how do you answer it?

When walking around the ship or at a cocktail party I am often asked “If you’re here, whose driving?” I usually reply “I’ve no idea!”

 

Please could you tell us something about your job that would surprise us?

When giving the command to alter course this is done in much the same way as on a conventional ship, but the difference here is that there are no rudders to steer the ship!

 

Queen Mary 2 has four propellers at the stern of the ship, each one attached to a pod containing the electric propulsion motor. The forward two are fixed in the forward and aft direction but the after ones act as rudders to steer the ship while at sea and rotate through 360 degrees to assist in docking. The propellers pull rather than push, giving greater efficiency and less cavitation around the propellers. They enable the ship to be driven at very low speeds and with much greater efficiency at high speeds (29.5 knots when at full speed).

 

I succeeded Commodore Warwick on 8^th January 2007 and became the 31^st Commodore of the Cunard Line. The first was Charles Henry Evans Judkins who was appointed in 1872.

 

What do you think it is about Queen Mary 2 that makes her so special?

She is special because she offers so much more to her guests compared to an ordinary cruise ship. From a comfortable ride in all states of sea to providing so many activities for her guests to enjoy. Queen Mary 2 is an elegant Ocean Liner with fine lines, a very streamlined hull, a deep draft, and a long bow to handle every type of weather imaginable. Having said that, I always try to find the smoothest route across the ocean and avoid the major areas of rough sea! Even in bad weather she is amazingly stable and the roll is dampened by 90% using two pairs of Rolls Royce fin stabilisers.

 

Her interior features are like no other ship. Because it was decided she would not use the Panama Canal, she is a very wide and long ship which allows exciting spaces for our guests. Wide and high alleyways run along decks two and three. Most public spaces are 15 feet high instead of 12 and two deck public rooms are 36 feet high.

 

In Illuminations we boast the first planetarium at sea which can also double as a lecture theatre and cinema. A Transatlantic Crossing is more than just elegant transportation. We want our guests’ day to be such that they can choose between reading in our elegant 8000 book library or alternatively it can be packed with interesting choices of activities and experiences.

 

 The recently introduced Cunard Insights programme offers something for everyone. We tend to offer guests more than just lectures and they are able to interact with the experts, many of the famous, in fields such as show business, exploration, oceanography, finance, history and sport.

 

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art presents workshops, lectures and performances, enabling the guests not only to watch the stars of tomorrow in person, but actually study the skills of acting with them.

 

The Cunard ConneXions conference centre features abundant space for conducting business at sea with more meeting facilities than any other ship.

 

The West End Stage is bought to full effect in the two-tier Royal Court Theatre with dynamic musicals and celebrity entertainers.

 

The ship is filled with memorabilia depicting past great liners and the famous that have traveled with us. Our guests can follow the Maritime Quest which relates in audio the history of the Company from Samuel Cunard’s first transatlantic with Britannia in 1840, through to the present day.

 

One of the amazing features of our ship is the Queens Ballroom. It is the largest ballroom at sea and provides big band dancing throughout the voyage. It’s very popular and very different from the show lounges you would expect to see on cruise ships.

 

Over 70% of staterooms have balconies and range from the Grand Duplex of 2294 sq ft to a deluxe balcony stateroom of 284 sq ft

 

There is a feeling of space and luxury everywhere you walk!

 

 

Where is your favourite place on board Queen Mary 2?

As you can see, we have so many outstanding features for our guests to enjoy. The modern technology afforded by our Bridge means that my workplace is an enclosed and air conditioned environment, which is an essential feature to protect the state of the art navigational equipment. A viewing gallery allows our guests to see the bridge team in action while the ship is at sea.

 

I enjoy going outside to walk in the open air on the wide and long promenade on deck 7. The deck encircles the ship and three times around makes one mile.

 

If you could pick any shore excursion to go on what would it be?

Machu Picchu – The Lost City of the Incas. This is a four day tour which will be operated overland from Valparaiso (Chile) to Lima (Peru) on Queen Mary 2’s 2009 World Cruise.

As I will be driving the ship between Valparaiso and Callao (Lima) I will have to find another opportunity to take this amazing tour!

 

What does “We Are Cunard” mean to you?

It means that the Ship’s Company work together to provide the finest possible experience for our guests, in every area of the ship, during every moment of their day.

 

Where would you like to go in the world where you haven’t been yet?

Petra, the ancient lost city carved in to the walls of a desert canyon in Jordan.

Queen Victoria calls at Aqaba on her 2009 World Cruise and tours will be run to Petra. An opportunity not to be missed…I wish I was there!

 

Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?

To give my children the best start in life and enjoy as much time with them and my wife, Tina, as I possibly can. I am fortunate that we have all been able to travel together on board if I’m at work during the school holidays. This has made a tremendous difference to our lives

 

When you are on leave; what is your perfect night?

I have spent 42 years at sea and a lot of time away from my family. The perfect night would be spent at home in Warwickshire with Tina and my two sons – Tom and Charlie. Not forgetting our two dogs Tilly and Rio, yellow and black Labradors respectively!

 

Could you tell us a little bit about the Queen Mary 2 dry dock in Hamburg – and how’s it going?

We have dry docked at the Bloem and Voss shipyard in Hamburg for routine maintenance to our podded propulsion system. We are also taking the opportunity to replace many carpets and curtains throughout the ship and retain that wonderfully sophisticated Art Deco appearance.

 

What is your favourite quote and who said it?

I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied, “Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way”.

 

This was written by M.L.Harkins and used by His Majesty King George V1 for his Christmas Day Broadcast in 1939 at the commencement of World War 11. He concluded “May that almighty Hand guide and uphold us all.”

 

 

 

Hello, I’m Alastair Greener and I would like to welcome you to the first “We Are Cunard” Blog. I’m currently the Entertainment Director on Queen Victoria, and I consider it a privilege to be the first host of this blog and I hope this marks a great beginning of a new extended Cunard community. After all “We Are Cunard” is a phrase that applies to us all whether we work on Cunard’s legendary liners, work in the offices shore side or of course travel with us as our guests. One of the first things I noticed about Cunard, when I first joined the company, was the sense of family that exists between our guests and crew. Perhaps this is because so many of our guests, who keep coming back, enjoy being welcomed by familiar faces of crew members, who have many years of White Star Service under their belts.

 

So how will this new community evolve? Well that’s up to you really. We hope to hear from you and look forward to your suggestions and ideas that will help us shape this exciting new project. Initially though, along with my colleagues, I’ll update this blog once a week with stories from all three of our liners, as well as from you, our readers, and our shore side operation that does such an amazing job in supporting us on board. There’ll be interviews with Officers and Crew offering an insight behind the scenes, and maybe we’ll persuade some of them to share their trade secrets! Perhaps you have some requests of who you would like to hear from, in which case I’d love to hear from you. There will also be an opportunity to meet some of the many personalities who sail with us from Lecturers, Entertainers and of course our guests, who’ll tell us more about themselves and describe life on board, from a different perspective.

 

We’ll keep you updated with the news of what’s happening right now on our ships as well as future plans – you may even get to hear about it first on this website! We know Cunarders love the tradition and heritage associated with our ships (one of the reasons “Cunardia” was created on Queen Victoria, featuring the world’s first museum at sea), so we’ll feature some of our rich history and give you a flavour of days gone by, perhaps a nostalgic trip down memory lane for our most travelled guests. If you have stories you’d like to share, we hope you’ll send them in, it would be great to post them as a regular feature.

 

It really is all about Cunard and Cunarders, and what an amazing year this has been so far, as Queen Victoria approaches her first birthday after an incredible year, having already circumnavigated the globe visiting 6 continents and over 38 countries. A year when our flag ship Queen Mary 2 began her fourth year of iconic Transatlantic Crossings. There were those occasions like the three Queens event in New York (where for the first time in Cunard’s history three Queens plied the oceans), as well as the historic meeting of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth 2 in Sydney. Those were two days amoungst many I’ll certainly never forget, but it would be great to hear your stories too. This year we are also celebrating the life of Queen Elizabeth 2 as she leaves sea going service, but of course it is a year of mixed emotions as we bid her farewell in November. We’ll make sure this blog is part of that very important period of Cunard’s history. Then we’ll keep you up to date with the exciting future of Cunard as we prepare for a new sister in 2010, Queen Elizabeth, so I’ll try and get reports from the ship yard to mark her progress with hopefully some photos.

 

Below is an internal company video produced by our White Star Service training team. It shows the officers and crew preparing Queen Victoria for launch, for those same team members to watch as part of their pre-launch White Star training session. It shows so well the dedication of the team that we’d like to share it with our friends on this blog!

 

I’ll be back next week, letting you know what’s going on around the Cunard world, but in the meantime, thank you for logging on and being a part of our first blog. Please do write in, as I’m really looking forward to your questions, news, views and ideas, after all this is our website and We Are Cunard!

 

Cheers – Alastair