Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 210 days

As the World Voyages for 2010 continue, Queen Victoria is now heading for Vietnam and Queen Mary 2 is crossing the Indian Ocean for her maiden call to Mauritius. In addition to the many extra events and activities we do that mark the special nature of a World Voyage, we also maintain the very important elements of our White Star Service programme like celebrating our Star of the Month.

As many of you will know, the title is awarded to just one crew member per ship each month, as a result of guest and crew feedback, and then consideration by our on board White Star Committees. On this Blog we alternate ships, for which “Star of the Month” we feature, and this month it’s the turn of Queen Victoria. Each star has their photo displayed prominently in the Grand Lobby for guests to see, so here’s the one currently on Queen Victoria; Laundry Master Tito Rosales.

As Laundry Master, Tito oversees the whole laundry operation on board Queen Victoria. He has the huge responsibility of maintaining the highest possible standard in an essential part of the ship’s operation. Reporting to the Executive Housekeeper, he manages nineteen members of staff and liaises with the ships engineers to ensure all the machines that wash, dry and iron clothes and linen, are able to keep working around the clock.  It’s quite a job when you look at the statistics. On linen change day Tito and his team wash, dry and iron over 2,800 sheets. Also on a daily basis the laundry washes and dries a staggering:

·         2,200 bath towels

·         700 bath mats

·         2,800 hand towels

·         5,000 face cloths

Here’s the main laundry on Queen Victoria with linen coming in and out throughout the day.

Tito and his team look after guests’ personal laundry as well as being responsible for the cleaning and tailoring of the uniforms for all 1,000 of Queen Victoria’s crew. For example to keep our chefs looking immaculate they clean over 360 pieces of uniform a day, and over 600 articles for the Bar and Restaurant Staff. Here you can see uniforms ready for our crew to put on fresh each day:

Tito was born in Cebu, Philippines, which he describes as a lovely island, surrounded with white sandy beaches, located in the northern part of Malapascua Island. Because of its natural beauty, it is one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations. He met his wife, Rose in Manila and then he built their house in Caloocan City.

They now have three children Mariz 19, Louie 15, and Mae 10.

Tito started working as Laundry Man in Teves Dry cleaning and Steam laundry in Makati City in the Philippines in 1986, and then worked in Saudi Arabia for three different laundry establishments for almost five years during which time he gained his first supervisory position. But then the sea beckoned, as he decided to apply to an agency in the Philippines to work as Laundry Man on board passenger ships.

In 1998 Tito began his career at sea on one our sister company’s ships; P&O’s Oriana. He stayed there for ten years during which time he was promoted to Assistant Linen Keeper and consequently, Linen Keeper. In 2008, he joined Cunard as Laundry Man and after just one year was promoted to Laundry Master.

Tito starts work at 7:30am and begins his day by checking all areas of his responsibility such as the machines and linen stocks as well as looking over the area to ensure everything is in order. After mustering his day staff, he assesses the work load and organises the day’s work, which is always very busy.

During his time off he enjoys relaxing in his cabin either watching TV or a movie and likes to call his family at home regularly. During port days, he likes to go ashore whenever possible to go sightseeing or to the beach or even better a good Chinese restaurant, when he can find one.

I asked him what “We are Cunard” meant to him and he told me; “It means that we are all part of legendary service in our industry with the White Star Service principles applied in every aspect of the job we perform on board whether we are directly or indirectly looking after our guests. As we work behind the scenes I think it’s important to support our colleagues who do look after our guests”.

Our White Star winners never know they have won until they arrive at a very special presentation, where the nominees are read out by the on board White Star Committee Chairman, Hotel Manager, Jacqui Hodgson. When Tito heard the runners up and he finally realised he must be the winner as he was the only person left to be announced. Here’s Tito receiving his award, with (from left to right), Captain Paul Wright, Tito, Hotel Manager, Jacqui Hodgson, and Executive Housekeeper, Thelma Rojas.

He also won a cash prize, and Tito told me he will be saving some of his winnings, but will also spend a small amount on something special that will become a valuable memory to him so that in the future he can be reminded of his achievement.

As for the future Tito told me; “I dream that one day all my three children will be able to finish their college degrees. That is one of my greatest wishes for them, and the reason why I have chosen to work so hard. Once I have fulfilled these dreams I will feel relieved and relaxed.”

When I was chatting to Tito he asked me to help him pass on his thanks: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who believed in my knowledge and ability to perform my duty: Jaime Masing, Rosa Christiner, Andrea Keiser, Thelma Rojas, Mornay the Shop Manager, my Laundry Staff, Linen Keeper and of course the White Star Committee headed by the Captain and Hotel Manager. My sincere thanks to everyone; after all, “WE ARE CUNARD”.

Thank you Tito for a great interview. What a great way to end the Blog for today. In fact Tito has just gone home on a well deserved leave, so he’ll be able to read this at home and celebrate with his family who I am sure will be very proud of his achievement. I’ll be back on Wednesday with some great pictures of Queen Mary 2 as well as news of a special visitor to our flagship recently in Sydney. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 215 days

One of the highlights of every Cunard World Voyage is the celebration that is held in honour of those guests enjoying the whole World Voyage. The event is usually months in the making and involves our on board management as well as the shore side team. This year a spectacular venue was found in Melbourne that was perfect for the night; the National Gallery of Victoria.

Since 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria on St. Kilda Road in Melbourne has been displaying art works for the enjoyment of the community and today’s building has recently undergone extensive refurbishment. During the day the gallery is dedicated to showing magnificent international artwork, and this proved to be an ideal backdrop to our international guest list on the night.

We have over 500 full World Voyage guests this year on Queen Victoria, and they began the evening with a wonderful cocktail party on board before they were whisked off on a short luxury coach ride to the venue which was specially lit for the evening.

At the entrance guests were greeted by a traditional welcome performance, by Australia’s Aboriginal dancers, enhanced by the sounds of the didgeridoo. Guests then walked up a specially laid red carpet, to be welcomed by Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, Captain Paul Wright and Hotel Manager Jacqui Hodgson.

Then as guests entered the magnificent Great Hall, members of the Australian Boys Choir lined the route adding to the sense of occasion. The venue, with its beautiful glazed ceiling, really did look stunning and quite a transformation from what we had seen earlier in the day.

Guests were guided to their seats and were, as is tradition, joined my numerous members of Queen Victoria’s Senior Officers. Every detail in the venues décor had been thoughtfully coordinated and the floral arrangements in particular looked wonderful We are often asked what happens to them after the event and I am happy to tell you that in keeping with tradition, all the flowers from all such events are donated and delivered to cancer units in the region wherever the event is being held. Amongst the arrangements for this year’s World Voyage Dinner, were over 4,000 roses and it was great to receive this message a couple of days later:

On behalf of the clients and staff of the Palliative Care Unit, Broadmeadows Health Service, Northern Health, I would like to thank you for the beautiful floral arrangements delivered to the unit. They have been a much admired and cherished addition to the unit, bringing colour and joy into the lives of our clients and their families. Regards, John Doran, Acting Unit Manager, Palliative Care Unit.

After welcome speeches from Captain Wright and Peter Shanks, I was delighted to introduce the Australian Boys Choir who performed familiar songs from Australia and around the world, from a balcony at the head of the Hall which was then projected on to big screens for everyone to enjoy.

The choir, which formed in 1939, is a performing and training choir, open to all boys with unchanged voices. Entry to the training groups is by selective audition, held three times each year. The Choir, based in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, presents an annual subscription series of formal concerts, as well as other engagements (television, radio and film) and frequent overseas tours. They have also sung before standing U.S Presidents, The Vatican, and Queen Elizabeth during her stay in Australia

As a really lovely touch, after Captain Wright said Grace, the choir boys mingled with very appreciative guests as they started to enjoy an excellent dinner.

Here is the menu for the night which was accompanied by some superb Australian wines chosen specifically to compliment the meal.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

After dinner we all enjoyed dancing to a wonderful orchestra and many of the ships company showed off their dancing talents with our guests late into the night!

Then all too soon it was time to head back to Queen Victoria, but there was another surprise as a special White Star Service welcome home had been prepared for our returning guests. Then many headed up to the top decks and continue the party to the sounds of our international band Changez, as Queen Victoria set sail for her next port, Adelaide.

As we discover the Orient on the next stage of our 2010 World Voyage, Queen Mary 2 will soon be heading across the Indian Ocean for maiden calls to Mauritius and South Africa. She’ll be hosting her World Voyage Dinner in Cape Town so I’ll try and get some pictures from that event and post them for you.

I’ll be back for my regular post tomorrow which will feature some new pictures from Queen Elizabeth with a special Video Blog highlighting the Grills. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 251 days

As Queen Mary 2 continues her 2010 World Voyage with visits to Dubai and Singapore, Queen Victoria has just crossed the Equator and the International Dateline – yes this year we didn’t have an 8 February! These were two important occasions which, as usual, Queen Victoria celebrated in style. If you would like to find out more about how we mark such events, you can look at the Blog posted on this subject last year, by clicking on this link:

http://wearecunard.com/2009/02/12/

In this Blog we are going to take you back to Queen Victoria’s maiden call to San Francisco on 27 January, with some great pictures and video of that wonderful day. There are some arrivals you just have to be up for, however early, and coming in to San Francisco, under the Golden Gate Bridge is one of those arrivals, especially when it’s the ship’s first call.

You can see it all on video courtesy of our cameramen who were on board to capture the moment:

As we had over 1,000 guests disembarking and embarking that day, we had to arrive early, so we picked up the pilot at about 6am and 30 minutes later Queen Victoria passed under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. It was a cold and dark morning but it was still a wonderful sight to see the bridge ahead of us, although there are not that many lights on it. The deck of the bridge is approximately 245 feet (75 m) above the water which gave Queen Victoria a clearance of about 32 feet or 9.8m. As we went under, Captain Wright sounded the ship’s whistles and the salute was returned by the Golden Gate Bridge as you’ll hear in the video.

The Golden Gate Bridge spans the Golden Gate which is the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. It was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937, and has become an internationally recognised symbol of San Francisco and California, despite the fact that since its completion, the span length has been surpassed by eight other bridges.

As we sailed into the bay, with the haunting island of Alcatraz on our port side and the familiar sight of Fisherman’s Wharf on the starboard side, dawn started to break over the city.

San Francisco is a city that never fails to impress, and it has quite a history dating back to 1776 when the Spanish established a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi on the site. The California Gold Rush in 1848 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, increasing the population in one year from 1,000 to 25,000, transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time. Despite much of the city being destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt. Today the city is a popular international tourist destination, renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture and its famous landmarks, including the cable cars (America’s only moving national monuments), and Chinatown. This scene typifies the streets of San Francisco with Alcatraz in the background:

By the time the sun came out, the familiar San Francisco mist had lifted and our guests enjoyed a fantastic day in the city exploring the sights. Suzie, one of our on board photographic team was able to take some great pictures, like this one showing her approach to Alcatraz Island.

1.5 miles offshore and often referred to as The Rock, the small island has served as a lighthouse, a military fortification and a military prison, before becoming a federal prison from 1934 until its closure in 1963. Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service and is open to tours, which guide visitors through all areas of the prison including the cell once occupied by the notorious Al Capone.

The Golden Gate Bridge must be one of the most photographed bridges in the world, and when you see pictures like this you can understand why.

While our guests were ashore, a special reception was held on board Queen Victoria where the honourable Mayor Gavin Newsom, officially welcomed Queen Victoria, her guests, officers and crew to the city. Among the guests were travel agents, media and local dignitaries – including the British Consul-General of San Francisco, Julian Evans. At the event, by official order of proclamation, Mayor Newsom declared the day as “Cunard Queen Victoria Day” in San Francisco.

It was a great day and on behalf of all of us on Queen Victoria we’d like to thank San Francisco for a great welcome as well as Eric and Kiefer for capturing it all on video. I’ll be back as usual on Thursday with more news from our World Voyages and more news of Queen Elizabeth coming soon. Cheers for now, Alastair

Also welcoming Queen Victoria to the City by the Bay was the CEO and President of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, Joe D’Alessandro; President of the San Francisco Port Commission, Rodney Fong; and the President and CEO of Nautilus International Holding Corporate (parent company of Metro Cruise Services), James Callahan.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 298 days

As many of you will know, each month we feature a “Star of the Month” from either Queen Mary 2 or Queen Victoria. The title is awarded to just one crew member per ship each month as a result of guest and crew feedback and then consideration by our on board White Star Committee. The “Star of the Month”, also has their photo displayed prominently in the Grand Lobby for guests to see, so it’s now a great pleasure to talk to Queen Victoria’s latest star; Emiliano Sajol Jr. who is the Deck Storekeeper.

34 year old Emiliano is from Camp Phillips, Manolo, Fortich Bukidnon in the Philippines, where he was also educated. After school he headed to Nautical College for three years where he studied for his Associate in Marine Transportation. Emiliano has been married to Maryjane for four years and they live in his home town of Camp Philips. They don’t have any children yet, but they are hoping they may be able to start a family next year.

Emiliano’s career at sea began on QE2 in November 2004, when he joined the Housekeeping Department. However during his spare time he completed deck training and two years later changed department and became an O.S. (ordinary seaman). He worked as an O.S. for one and a half years before being promoted to the A.B. (able seaman) position. He told me that he always tries his best to learn everything about his job and is still enjoying learning today on Queen Victoria, his second ship with Cunard.

As Deck Storekeeper, he looks after the deck store inventory, doing weekly and monthly checks. He told me “If we need something I advise the Marine Supervisor and he orders it for us”. The external fabric of the ship is maintained by the Deck Department, so there is constant cleaning, painting and varnishing taking place around the ship to ensure she is not only protected from the elements, but also looks immaculate, as a Queen should. Part of Emiliano’s job is to issue the paint, cleaning chemicals and tools to the deck crew as well as the personal protective equipment they need for the job they are doing. An important aspect of his job is to make sure the Deck Department abides by all the very strict environmental regulations for using, storing and discarding of chemicals, paints and refuse that the department uses every day. Here he is at work:

Emiliano has an early start with his alarm going off at 4am. After his prayers, he showers and heads to work. His morning routine involves being part of the team that cleans, washes and dries all the open decks of the ship before our guests get up in the morning. The team then gets breakfast, and if the ship is at sea he will go to the deck stores and check everything is ready and prepared for the day. He will then get the materials the deck crew need for the jobs they are given that day by the Marine Supervisor.

During the day he will look after the stores and maintain inventories, keeping everything in order. Before his lunch he will take back the supplies from the morning’s work from the deck crew and then prepare everything for the afternoon tasks. In the afternoon he enjoys time to relax, he will often try and call his wife to catch up on things from home. Returning to the stores later in the afternoon he puts everything away again from the afternoon team’s work and gets the materials and supplies ready for the night crew.

The port days are very busy for Emiliano because whenever the ship arrives or leaves, Emiliano will go to the mooring deck and drive the winches for the mooring lines. If the ship is at anchor he will also be involved in that operation.

His dinner time will depend on the ships maneuvering schedules and his duties on the mooring deck, but after he has finished that, the evening gives him time to relax with friends or enjoy a movie in his cabin.

Although Emiliano says Queen Victoria is a great place to work, he does look forward to his holiday times at home where he is a keen sportsman, playing basketball every day and watching sports on television

I asked Emiliano how he felt about winning the “Star of the Month Award”; he said, “I would like to thank my Supervisor and everyone who was a part of my nomination and to Cunard for giving employees a chance to win such a prize.” Here he is accepting his award in the special presentation in Queen Victoria’s Hemisphere’s Lounge, with (from left to right) Captain Paul Wright, Emiliano Sajol Jr, Staff Captain Andrew Hall, Marine Supervisor Gerry Crant and Hotel Manager David Hamilton.

That evening he celebrated by buying his friends some drinks and is also looking for a special gift for his wife.

As for the future, Emiliano hopes to save up enough money so that he can invest in a business in the Philippines and spend more time at home with his wife.

Our Congratulations to Emiliano again for his well deserved award, and next month we’ll be learning about Queen Mary 2’s new star. I’ll be back on Tuesday with those stunning pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s progress in Italy that I have being promising you. There’ll also be a special festive post for next Thursday – Christmas Eve. Cheers Alastair