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

It’s always a pleasure to feature Cunard’s Stars of the Month, which as regular readers will know is the title awarded to just one crew member per ship each month. The award is a result of guest and crew feedback, and then consideration by our on board White Star Committees. To date we have alternated between Cunard’s three Queens, to feature their latest star. However we felt that it’s such an important programme to all of us on board that we really wanted to feature each ship’s star every month.

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

QUEEN MARY 2

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

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

QUEEN VICTORIA

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

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

QUEEN ELIZABETH

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to another week of Blogging and again thanks so much for all the comments, it’s turning out to be a record breaking month.

Many of you are commenting about Queen Elizabeth’s Web Cam, and again we are sorry there have been some issues with it. At the moment there are some teething problems and this is because it has a new higher quality picture, at the moment it doesn’t allow us to add the current location. The team are working hard to have this resolved in a few weeks and we will let you know when this is live, so thanks for bearing with us.

I’m glad you liked the picture of Queen Elizabeth’s inaugural crew on the back deck of the ship, but some of you were concerned about who was driving the ship if we were all having our photo taken. Well don’t worry the watch keepers remained on the Bridge and Engine room while the picture was taken, and then by a bit of photography magic by Petar,  they were added in later; well we couldn’t leave anyone out could we!

Now on to news from Queen Victoria and firstly a guest Blog from Anand Ramakrishnan, who is the White Star Trainer:

Guest Blog
Anand Ramakrishnan
White Star Trainer
Queen Victoria

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On 25 September in the port of Civitavecchia fifty crew and officers were transferred from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth. There were mixed feelings by the terminal, with the emotion of leaving friends but also the excitement of joining the new Queen, and of course the prospect of seeing her Majesty The Queen. Our Hotel Manager, David Hamilton and Personnel Manager, Aubrey Lee wished them luck before they left the pier to the airport where they boarded a chartered flight to Trieste.

The day after, we docked in Naples on the same day as our flagship, Queen Mary 2. Aubrey came up with a bright idea to get a combined crew tour organised to Pompeii. 48 crewmembers between the two ships went on tour together and the atmosphere was just like going out for a picnic with a big happy family. Friends, who had worked together in the past met up, took tons of photos and of course caught up with the news. The two Queens looked wonderful together.

As we were just a short walk across the pier from Queen Mary 2, I thought it would be a great opportunity for the White Star Academy Trainees on Queen Victoria, to see the company’s flagship from inside. Carola is the Personnel and Training Manager on Queen Mary 2 and she very kindly organised things for us.

As we stepped on board I heard the Oooh’s, Aahhh’s and Wow’s from the trainees. I took them on a tour of the ship and yes, the trainees were very impressed and excited, saying it was a dream come true to be on board the most famous ocean liner in the world. Here we all are by Queen Mary 2’s iconic red funnel and by the artwork featuring our founder, Sir Samuel Cunard:

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I am pleased to say the entire group successfully completed their White Star Academy training and are now working on board Queen Victoria. I was very proud to join them in their full uniform at their graduation ceremony with Captain Christopher Rynd and Hotel Manager, David Hamilton.

Thank you Anand for that great story, it’s always great to meet up when ships are together. Speaking of which on 8 November Queen Mary 2 will meet her new sister Queen Elizabeth for the first time in Southampton, so there’s a date for your diaries. Then Queen Elizabeth will meet Queen Victoria on 1 December in Southampton, but the big date for all three to be together for the very first time, is on 13 January 2011 in New York, so you can imagine how exciting that day will be.

Meanwhile on Queen Victoria it was great to hear about the White Star Service Programme and the latest Star of the Month. As regular readers will know is this is the title awarded to just one crew member per ship each month. The award is a result of guest and crew feedback, and then consideration by our on board White Star Committees. Each month we alternate ships, for which “Star” we feature on this Blog, and this month it’s the turn of Queen Victoria.

Sancho Sabolo is presently a Mechanic in the Technical Department, and as with every “Star” his photo is displayed prominently in the ship’s Grand Lobby:

Sancho joined QE2 in 1994 as a utility hand, working in Hotel stores and the galleys. After a few months he had an opportunity to join the Technical Department as an Engine Cleaner working on the Main Engines. He then worked in various positions, Wiper, Plumber, Motorman, Safety Control Room watch keeper, Mechanic, and was finally promoted to Waste Disposal Supervisor on QE2. He joined Queen Victoria in Jan 2009 as a Mechanic and steps up to Chief Mechanic when needed. He is now very experienced and very much involved with engine and auxiliary machinery maintenance, reporting to the Chief Mechanic and 1st Engineer.

Sancho comes from Bantayan, Cebu in the Phillippines. He met his wife Sheena, a Bedroom Steward, while he was working on QE2 and they now live in her home town of Zamboanga City. They have two children John aged 12 and six year old Therese.

Speaking to Sancho you can feel his sense of pride in his work, when he says that the best part of his job is engine overhauling.  He told me; “It’s amazing to hear the engine start after overhauling it. One minute you see the parts and then suddenly you hear the engine start and I say to myself ‘yes this is a success!!!”

He explained to me that there was a big difference between the nine QE2 engines, which were nine cylinder B and W “inline” type, and Queen Victoria’s six Wartsila V-type engines. Sancho had to be trained to work on the Wartsila engines and here he is training in the Philippines standing next to an engine liner which is smaller but very similar to the many he overhauls today.

Willy Robinson, Queen Victoria’s Chief Engineer, said Sancho has been very much a “leading light” in the recent complete overhaul of four of the ships Main Engines. The overhaul of each engine occurs every 12,000 hours, and takes between 24 to 26 days to complete. In this photo Sancho is assisting one of the Wartsila Engineers to remove a piston from the engine block.

Willy went on to tell me that Sancho has received glowing attributes and praise from the all travelling Wartsila Engineers, and when his colleagues voted for him as the Star of the Month, they mentioned how cheerful, friendly and hardworking he is. They also admired his strong leadership qualities, so when his name was put forward to the ship’s White Star Committee they also agreed, and here’s Sancho receiving his award.

From left to right are, Captain Christopher Rynd, Sancho, 1st Engineer Thomas Wilkinson, Chief Engineer Willy Robinson and Hotel Manager David Hamilton.

Sancho and his wife are now together on Queen Victoria while Sheena’s mother looks after the children at home, so time together with the family is very precious. 

Sancho’s day begins at about 7.00am, and after a cup of ginger tea, he has breakfast with his wife before heading to the engine room. When he gets time off on board, he tries to get off in the ports and maybe have a quick swim, but he and Sheena keep in regular contact with their children. Although he doesn’t claim to be a great player he enjoys practicing on his guitar as well as singing Karaoke and playing darts.

At home he likes riding his motorbike with his son, as well as playing basketball, billiards, going fishing and swimming. Sundays are always special and they begin first thing in the morning by going to Mass with his family.
I asked him what Cunard meant to him and he told me that; “To me it means one big happy family, full of happy memories.  I met my wife on QE2 and we have two wonderful children, so I am very grateful to Cunard”.

He told me he will be spending some of his winnings on a little get together for the Technical Team and buy a new karaoke player, while the rest will be saved. As for the future, his only dream is to provide for his children, so they can develop their own careers. His joy is seeing them grow up and having a happy life together.
 
Congratulations again Sancho; thanks for taking the time to share your story with us and all the best to you and your family for the future.

I’ll be back on Thursday with some great stories from Queen Elizabeth’s second voyage and then we’ll have a special series of Blogs from Queen Mary 2. More news on that later, so cheers for now, Alastair

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

Firstly, thanks again for all the viewings and more postings.  It’s also great to hear from those of you I have sailed with, on our different ships, in the past. Judging from your feedback, it seems this is just the beginning, so I look forward to hearing more from you and inviting my colleagues around the fleet to Blog as well. We now have a few ideas for upcoming weeks, and thanks to Kazzie for asking about a lecture I did on Queen Victoria, about the building of the ship, which I presented on the World Cruise. I have a few subjects to get to first but will work on that including some fascinating pictures of her construction. Also I will make sure you are the first to hear about the progress on Queen Elizabeth, so as the cliché goes – watch this space.

I know as Cunarders we all share a love of the history of the company, and enjoy taking a nostalgic look back in time. With that in mind I thought we could try a new feature called “This week in Cunard’s History” which I will include in the Blog. So here’s the first one for the week of the 26^th September to the 2^nd October:

September 26 1934 
The 80,744-ton Queen Mary is launched at Clydebank and becomes the first merchant vessel to be launched by a member of the Royal family (Her Majesty Queen Mary). Because of her French arch rival (The Normandie), she was launched with a bottle of Australian wine

September 27 1938
The Queen Elizabeth 83, 673 tons becomes the largest liner ever built. She is launched by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

September 27 1967
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 sails for Long Beach, California.

October 1 1971
QE2 makes her Maiden Call Boston, USA

October 1 1972
Completion of the Queens Grill Penthouses addition to QE2

October 1 1979
QE2 makes her maiden call to Boston, Massachusetts

Before I get to the David Hamilton interview, here’s what’s being going on around the fleet after last week’s milestones.

QE2 has bid farewell to Canada and New England (she returns to New York, just one more time on her final westbound transatlantic crossing beginning on the 10^th October), and on Tuesday started her “Farewell to the British Isles Voyage”. We are hoping to have QE2’s Entertainment Director, Warren Smith as a guest Blogger next week, to tell us all about the voyage.

As you know from last week’s Blog Queen Mary 2 completed her 100^th crossing marking another key date in her history and is now enjoying her “Autumn Sojourn” visiting New England as well as the birth place of Samuel Cunard – Halifax Nova Scotia.

Meanwhile here on Queen Victoria we have being enjoying new ports of call with our maiden visit to Odessa and Yalta. To get to there the ship had to go through the Bosporus (or Bosphorus) Strait. It is the world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation and connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea). It is approximately 18 miles long so leaving Istanbul at lunchtime gave us some spectacular viewing and an opportunity to see Queen Victoria going under the two bridges that connect Europe (Rumelia) and Asia (Anatolia). It’s funny how we all instinctively hold our breaths, and may be even duck, as we go under but of course the Captain and Bridge team had planned everything in advance, to ensure there is enough of a gap to squeeze through, and in this case it was just 9 metres!

Going Under The Bosphorous Bridge

When we arrived at our berth in Odessa, we had a prime spot, where we could walk straight off the ship and within a short walk were in the centre of the City. This is a fascinating port and although quite a few ships do visit each year, you get the feeling that tourism hasn’t affected the city that much. You certainly felt a little bit more like a fly on the wall watching the locals going about their daily business and routines. Certainly fashion seems to be in a bit of a time warp, so if you want to see mullet haircuts and drain pipe jeans; Odessa is the place for you. It seems they also like their beer rather a lot as I can’t remember visiting a port where so many beers are on offer and in so many places including news agents! Clearly I had to try one or two for research purposes and yes they were very good. The city is undergoing a huge transformation with a lot of construction taking place and clearly they are investing a lot in their city, so I have a feeling it will be very different when we next visit. They have recently completed the magnificent Opera House and I was amazed to see you could go and see “La Traviata” for just £5 ($9), and for the very best seat in the house £20 – what incredible value.

Odessa Opera House

This is the view from the aft lido deck of the ship, of the 142 metre long Potemkin Stairs constructed between 1837 and 1841, which was made famous by the 1925 film “Battleship Potemkin” by Sergei Eistenstein. It’s a very impressive way to enter the city and you can of course walk up or take the small funicular along the side. 

Potemkin Stairs

The Sailaway was one of the most impressive I have seen since some of the ports on the World Cruise. It seemed the whole city was out to wave us off and as one guest told me as we watched the crowds “I suppose it would have been like this in the old days of the transatlantic crossings”. It was also lovely to see our 37 Ukranian crew being able to proudly show their families around their place of work and show off the ship (this was once we had resolved some rather interesting immigration issues – they do things very differently in this part of the world!). It was great to see families reunited and of course it was an emotional send off for them waving good bye to loved ones as we set sail.    

Odessa Sailaway

But what a send off, the atmosphere was amazing as a spontaneous exchange of gifts took place from guest balconies and those on the pier. I think our guests were donating their turn down chocolates in return for – well I don’t know what was thrown back but the thought was there and I am sure we will all remember that Sailaway for years to come.

Now it’s time to chat to Queen Victoria’s Hotel Manager, David Hamilton and before I get to the interview this is his story so far:-

David, Hamilton, Hotel Manager

Brought up in Salisbury, Wilts, where he still lives, David attended a prep school on the Somerset coast of the Bristol Channel, and later Allhallows School on the Devon Coast. His first seagoing employment was with Union Castle Line, for whom he had worked on shore for some four years before “taking the plunge” and joining Pendennis Castle as Assistant Purser in January 1974. In 1976 he transferred to the Windsor Castle and remained with that ship until 1977 when Union Castle ceased operating and David joined Cunard, being appointed to the Cunard Countess, where he spent many happy years sailing the Caribbean gaining experience and promotion. In 1990 he was appointed relief Purser of Cunard Countess/Cunard Princess, and spent the next three years sailing the Caribbean on the Countess and the Mediterranean on the Princess. In 1994 David was appointed Purser of QE2 although he sailed aboard Vistafjord, Sagafjord and Dynasty around this time, later progressing in 1997 to relief Hotel Manager of QE2. In 2002 he was promoted to Hotel Manager and assigned to the Caronia (formerly the Vistafjord). In 2004 he returned permanently to QE2 and remained with her until August of 2008 when he joined Queen Victoria. His hobbies include cycling, backgammon and looking for his golf balls in the more remote parts of golf courses. Although he still has an apartment in Salisbury, David spends much of his leave time with his partner Kelly who lives in Australia and whom he met aboard QE2.

Firstly please could you describe your role on board?
As Hotel Manager I have overall responsibility for the smooth running of hotel operation of the ship. With over 650 members the hotel department is the largest department and in simple terms, with the support of our colleagues in the marine and technical departments, delivers the guest service, entertainment and experience both on board and on land. Victualling, entertaining and providing the creature comforts for 2000 guests and 1000 ship’s company whilst moving them from port to port, safely and on time is no small achievement and I am proud to be a part of the team who accomplish this every day.