Hello All
The future belongs to the youngsters of today. Today I want to share a very special blog with you written by one of our guests – 16 year old Matt Venner. Matt recently travelled across the Atlantic Ocean on Queen Mary 2 and he asked if he could share his experiences on our blog – to which the answer was ‘of course, we would love you to’. So – through the eyes of a bright 16 year old – here we go……
Guest Blog
Matt Venner
Guest on board Queen Mary 2
Nothing can prepare you for the sheer size of Queen Mary 2. Her giant white superstructure towers above the new ocean terminal in Southampton and you never quite remember how massive she is. When we arrived, my eyes just kept going up. I had totally forgotten how tall she is, always dominating the skyline, not that it bothers me at all, because isn’t she a beautiful thing?
The terminal itself is fantastic. The boarding system that Cunard have adopted is brilliant, and we thought they should do the same at airline check in! The lettered cards are a great idea. Not only do they split up hoards of people into manageable sized groups, but they also build excitement as everyone eagerly awaits the call of their letter.
Once you get on the ship itself, there really is nothing quite like it; it’s hard to take it all in. Smiling faces at the door are ready to greet you and show you to anywhere you need, the massive expanse of the Grand Lobby stretches all around you, and the wide hallways reach to each end of the ship and the most important public areas. It’s one of the most fantastic public spaces I have ever experienced; the lobby is just as you would imagine a classic liner’s to be, including a double staircase, white and black wood and red carpets.
Almost everyone has asked me what my favourite part of the trip was, and to be honest I can’t say one thing over the others, it was all perfect and I really could not fault anything. If I had to choose though, I would say the wonderful Cunard service. For me it isn’t just the White Star Standard, it’s all the personal touches from everyone. Nothing is too much hassle, and everything is served with a massive smile and impeccable manners – I could definitely get used to being called Sir at 16 years old on a day to day basis. One member of staff that comes straight to mind is one of the head waiters in the Britannia Restaurant. Every time we saw him he chatted away, and always cheered us up when we were tired in the morning. Another great part of cruising is the people you meet. We were lucky enough to meet some wonderful people, from our brilliantly chatty fellow diners, to the people we bumped into round the decks and in the pools and Jacuzzis.
Possibly the best highlight of the voyage, was Monday 25th July. The whole day was stunning. The sun shone all day and the decks were packed with people enjoying cloudless blue skies, but perhaps some of the best moments I can recall from my entire childhood came in the early afternoon. We spotted a small group of dolphins off the port side; everyone rushed over and gazed at the ocean waiting for any small glimpse of the prize.
After our appetites were wetted by this short encounter, the wildlife obliged. Pods of dolphins and whales came past the boat all afternoon. No sooner was one group out of sight, swimming past the boat, than we caught a glimpse of the next group coming just ahead of the bow. They were heading the opposite direction to us, and literally came in their hundreds. We learnt later in the day that it had been one of the best days the Queen Mary 2 had ever had, and an estimated 500 dolphins and whales passed the boat throughout the day. We were in heaven. On our own private balcony, overlooking perfectly clear aqua seas, completely flat and reminiscent of shimmering silk, with nothing but the ripples from the bow wave, and pods of dolphins swimming right by our window, perhaps only about 50 metres away at their closest, coming from underneath the ship and jumping right before our eyes.
Another transatlantic wonder is the sunsets, and sunrises. The sunset on our penultimate night was absolutely stunning, and the panorama I took doesn’t really show it in all its glory – it was breathtaking.
At the end of our voyage was the fantastic entrance to New York harbour. Here the sunrise was stunning. Never have I seen such pink skies in the morning. If anyone hasn’t yet tried it, it really should be on your list of “things to do before you die”, standing on the top deck of the tallest ocean liner in the world, as people are talking in hushed whispers that grow into small yelps as the funnel approaches the Verrazano bridge. They say 4 metres clearance but it doesn’t even look like 4 feet! The atmosphere on deck is unlike anything I’ve felt. Everyone is staring at one specific point waiting to see if it will fit, and right up until the last moment, no one believes it will (even those who have experienced it before!) It is beyond exciting.
As we slipped into New York, through the metaphoric gates of the Verrazano Bridge supports, to quote one of the fantastic lecturers we had on board, Bill Miller:
“We became another sparkling jewel on the magic bracelet that is New York City.”
As for my final word; the Queen Mary 2 is a fantastic liner. I can’t find words that do it justice but I would sail again on her tomorrow if I could. I had a magical experience.
Thank you so much Matt and we are all so pleased that you offered to share your experiences with us. At Cunard Line we don’t often talk about how many families and youngsters we have sailing with us. However at this time of year we can have as many as 300 youngsters on board for a crossing. We have good facilities for them and the scale of the ships means that guests are never really aware of just how many youngsters we have on board. I really enjoy seeing young children – and teenagers – dressed for dinner on a formal night. I am sure there must be many conversations prior to dniner along the lines of ‘Dad – I am not wearing that jacket and that funny bow-tie thing’. But wear them they do – and memories they create for the whole family. It reminds me of one of my own Queen Mary 2 family memories.
Back in 2004 there was much excitement in the Shanks Family household when I announced we would all be going on the first Queen Mary 2 ’shakedown’ voyage for two nights – we would be amongst the first to sail on the most famous ship in the world. As my wife and two daughters (14 and 12 at the time) travelled down the M3 to join the ship I called them to say that we would all be staying in a four-bed inside stateroom. I stressed that it would be rather embarrassing for them to be seen to be complaining about this and they had to be on their best behaviour. On arrival at the QE2 Terminal, they were met by a Butler and taken up to The Balmoral Duplex Suite where I was waiting to meet them. I shall always remember the look on my daughters faces – they were not after all in a four-bed inside stateroom, they were about to ’shakedown’ the largest suite at sea. Reading Matt’s blog reminds me of just how exciting and special Queen Mary 2 is. As a family we still treasure all the photos from that ’shakedown’ – and every cabin we have stayed in since has been somewhat of a disappointment by comparison. I hope that Matt treasures his memories and I hope he has thanked his mother for giving him that opportunity – I am sure he has. We look forward to Matt – and many youngsters like him – travelling with us in the future and ensuring the continued success of Cunard Line for many, many years to come.
Have a good weekend wherever you are.
Best Regards
Peter
Today we have a guest blog from Michelle Marchant, Voyage Sales Specialist on board Queen Victoria. Some of you may recognise Michelle from the Voyage Sales Office or the Cunard World Club Cocktail Parties. She has traveled the world with Cunard and offers an insight into a life at sea. Before that we thought you would like to see these photos taken by Kenneth MacLeod in New York over the 4 July Weekend. Doesn’t she look marvellous?
Voyage Sales Specialist
Queen Victoria
<br>
As I write this we are sailing down to Barcelona, one of my favourite cities of Europe, where we can look forward to the Ramblas and Tapas in the local cafes. This is when I take a moment to reflect my journey so far with Cunard, from starting in the company over 10 years ago in reservations to looking after the crew in fleet personnel and I think to myself ‘look where I am now’.
I can confidently say I have one of the most sought after jobs at sea, every time I put my white star pin on my uniform I am proud of working for such a famous, well established and refined company as Cunard. I was born in Southampton, the capital of the shipping industry, as far back as I can remember I have always yearned to work at sea, from standing on the foreshore of Netley watching QE2 gracefully sailing out of Southampton waters and knowing that one day ‘I would work for Cunard’. I have had a long journey since dreaming of that day as I’ve sacrificed my family & friends to fulfil my dreams of working for one of the world’s most famous ocean liners, Queen Victoria and ‘I stand proud’. I must say that I feel very passionate and most of all I enjoy meeting all of our guests, I feel we learn every day talking to the guests, we share our knowledge of the ships as sometimes our most well travelled guests seem to know more than we do.
When someone asks me where the best place is that I have visited, I can’t really say which place stands out the most.
So from Santorini to the Pyramids, or from Russia to Mexico, one place always sticks in my mind – the day I visited Queen Mary in California. From looking up at her vast red & black funnels to running my hand along her wooden beams and walking up her vast open decks with a tear glistening in my eye from the over whelming feeling of being on board, that day was very emotional for me being transported back in time with all the tradition that Cunard represents from that day in history to this day in time it remains the same on board and I had to buy myself a souvenir of my day spent on her.
I can take my memories away with me and tell my grandchildren one day that their Grandmother Michelle Marchant worked as Voyage Sales Specialist for the Most Famous Liners in the World, that I made history on board Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 doing the full World Voyage.
Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 90 days
As Queen Mary 2 heads back to her homeport of Southampton after an Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing and Queen Victoria enjoys her second Baltic Voyage of the season, I am delighted to bring you more news about Queen Elizabeth, with less than three months before she enters service. Yes I’m excited to share the latest details of our new Queen’s original concept in theatrical entertainment at sea, with the newly formed Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company.
You’ll have seen some of the latest pictures of the stunning Royal Court Theatre on Queen Elizabeth, so it’s now time to announce the brand new repertoire of shows that will be premiered there, by the Company’s 29 singers, dancers, actors and musicians.
The new lineup will include the hit, A Slice of Saturday Night, which is a popular nostalgic pastiche of 1960s music, which has been staged in London and toured extensively throughout the UK and US.
<br>
Adapted especially for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company by its original writers, the Heather Brothers, A Slice of Saturday Night will feature all the Theatre Company members, in what will be the largest production show Cunard has ever staged.
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company will also present a variety of musical productions and abridged versions of popular plays such as a Neil Simon triple bill and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The Neil Simon show will feature three scenes; one each from some of the playwright’s best-loved shows; Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Plaza Suite and The Odd Couple. Each will be linked by their setting: an apartment or hotel suite.
At the conclusion of each show, the audience will be given the opportunity for an informal question and answer session with the actors.
The Piccadilly Line, will feature the talents of the entire Theatre Company, exploring the spoken word, song and prose as characters get on and off a train journey on the world’s oldest underground rail system. The action will be set in the shell of a London tube train carriage.
Hotel Royale will be a musical production featuring 16 singers and dancers, who whimsically bring to life the story of a hotel which is past its prime. Once the playground of the rich and famous, it is now home to some quirky staff and unusual guests.
Sing will be a lively production based on the popularity of Singers in Concert, performed on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. It will feature 21 musicians and four singers on stage, creating a dynamic, audience-pleasing atmosphere in the Royal Court Theatre from the very first note. The show’s influences are drawn from contemporary musical theatre, pop and classic songs which will be very familiar to the audience.
La Danza will be a cutting edge dance production show casing the virtuoso talents of our dance ensemble. Following in the footsteps of two hugely successful shows currently running on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, Apassionata and Dance Passion, La Danza will delight guests who enjoy cutting edge choreography performed by our exceptionally talented performers.
Queen Elizabeth’s guests will also be able to take part in a specially written panel quiz show which will offer an afternoon of friendly banter. Satire quiz shows such as Have I Got News for You? and QI are very popular and the Theatre Company will have its own take on topical news and entertainment stories.
Peter Shanks, Cunard’s President and Managing Director, said: “The entertainment on Queen Elizabeth is the most extensive ever seen on a Cunard liner, mixing tradition with satire. The Royal Court Theatre is as good as any London West End or Broadway Theatre, and we have created our own Theatre Company to really bring it to life. From the best of Broadway to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, we offer something for everybody”.
I had a chance to catch up with him recently on Queen Victoria in the first of two Video Blogs.
<br>
Belinda King who heads Belinda King Creative Productions, adds: “We are thrilled and honoured to be able to continue our successful partnership with Cunard in providing the production shows for this stunning new ship. With the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company we look forward to delighting Cunarders old and new with a wonderfully entertaining selection of shows, now including original theatre productions as well as established stage favourites. Once more Cunard is raising the standard in on board entertainment and we are proud to be working alongside them!”
Queen Elizabeth continues the tradition of presenting Cunard’s Royal Nights, but with the debut of some very special evenings.
New evenings will include The Cunard Ball, The Starlight Ball and the Elizabethan Ball. There’ll also be London Swings which will featured on the same evening as Slice of Saturday Night, with its inspirations taken from flower power and popular British 60s’ icons such as Twiggy, Mary Quant, and Carnaby Street.
In addition, Queen Elizabeth will offer Cunard’s award-winning Insights enrichment programme which introduces guests to stimulating experts and accomplished academics. Through a series of lectures, Q&As, social gatherings and workshops, guests will be able to connect with personalities who have achieved distinction in areas including history, world affairs, science, arts and literature.
New for Queen Elizabeth will be the introduction of Professional Insights, a series of expert workshops on diverse subjects including antiques and auctions, sculpture, movie reviews, performance poetry, and even weather forecasting.
I chatted to Cunard’s Director of Entertainment, Martin Lilly about the exciting new concepts on Queen Elizabeth in the second of our Video Blogs:
<br>
I hope you’re as excited to see all this new entertainment as I am to be a part of it; it’s certainly going to ground breaking and dynamic. I’m going to try and get to the rehearsal studios in Northampton while I am at home, but in the meantime, I’ll be back on Thursday with a special Blog featuring Cunard’s White Star Academy busy at work with new crew members who are joining our expanding fleet. Cheers for now, Alastair.
Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 271 days
It was lovely to see Queen Victoria in New York’s Manhattan, as I arrived to join the ship on a very cold but sunny Tuesday Morning. In fact it was so cold; there was ice in the harbour!
It was great to meet many readers of this Blog, as well as so many familiar faces amongst our guests who were either joining Queen Victoria on that day, or had joined in Southampton. After a brief hand-over with Amanda Reid, she left that evening on a flight to Lisbon to join Queen Mary 2.
Thank you for the amazing feedback from the first Queen Elizabeth Float Out video. I am pleased you enjoyed it and am delighted to enclose the video from the second part of the day, along with some great photos, but first here’s Cunard’s history, for the week 15 to 21 January:
15 January 1972
QE2 makes her maiden call at Norfolk, Virginia, USA
15 January 2007
Queen Victoria floats out of her dry dock
16 January 2002
The first steel is cut to mark the formal start of construction of Queen Mary 2
20 January 1950
Caronia crosses the equator for the first time travelling south to Brazil
21 January 2008
Queen Victoria makes her maiden transit of the Panama Canal
Looking at our history, it’s incredible to think that less than three years after Queen Victoria was floated out of her dry dock for the first time, we were celebrating her sister, Queen Elizabeth, also floating out.
After the coins were welded to the ship’s bulkhead, our Madrina, VIP’s, officials and guests moved to the dock side for the next stage of the ceremony. After speeches from the Shipyard Director, Paolo Capobianco, and Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, the Fincantieri Chaplain, Padre Gildo, was invited to bless the ship for the next stage of her construction.
Our Madrina, Dennie Farmer, was then given a special small axe to cut the wire, releasing the bottle of Prosecco.
The bottle then smashed against Queen Elizabeth’s hull.
This was the signal for one of the shipyard’s staff to open the valves on the massive dry dock gates to let the water in, so that Queen Elizabeth could float for the very first time.
It was quite moving realising the significance of the event, when the water came rushing in to the dock towards Queen Elizabeth’s hull.
So here is the video which captures the event perfectly:
The whole process takes some time, so we were grateful to receive these pictures of the latter stages of the filling of the dry dock with this first picture showing the aft section;
This is a fabulous shot of the bulbous bow in an almost full dock:
You’ll notice there is still a lot of paintwork to be completed on Queen Elizabeth’s hull which will be taking place soon. She will also go in to a dry dock one more time, after her first set of sea trials which are expected to be in about 18 weeks time. During that dry dock Queen Elizabeth’s hull will be completely repainted and treated ready for delivery a few months later.
We still have more videos from the day including some special interviews and we’ll post them over the next week or two. In the meantime I’d like to thank our cameraman Andrew for this stunning footage, as well as Simona and everyone at the Fincantieri shipyard for all their help and patience during the filming.
Also coming up is some news of the World Voyages from Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. I’ll be back on Monday with the first of the interviews filmed at the Float Out Ceremony. Cheers for now, Alastair
Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 323 days
As Queen Mary 2 arrives in the Caribbean for her winter season, and Queen Victoria returns from her Mediterranean Voyage before heading off to the Canaries, Queen Elizabeth is literally growing by the day. In this Blog I’ve got the latest video, shot just last week in the Monfalcone shipyard.
During my trip to see Queen Elizabeth we managed to cover a lot in one day. We have filmed three clips especially for this Blog. Here’s a picture Martin Lilly (Cunard’s Director of Entertainment) took of me being filmed by our cameraman, Andrew.
You’ll probably notice the rather interesting footwear I am wearing. They are actually safety shoes which everyone has to wear, as they have steel toe caps to give protection whilst walking around the yard. Mind you, you can always rely on the Italians to make safety shoes that look relatively stylish – even if they don’t match the suit!
Behind me you can make out one of the last few blocks, that has yet to be added to the ship and the yellow machinery behind me is an incredible piece of equipment capable of lifting 120 ton blocks.
So here at last is the first of those three video clips:
I’ll be back tomorrow with a special guest Blog from Maureen Ryan, after her fascinating reunion a few weeks ago. On Thursday I’ll have another regular weekly Blog with the first interior pictures of our new Queen along with the second video. As I mentioned before I am very grateful to Simona and Antonio in the yard for all their assistance on that day, as well as Andrew and Martin, for their great pictures and video. Cheers, Alastair
