Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 8 days

With just a week to go before her maiden voyage, it’s now official; Cunard Line has taken delivery of Queen Elizabeth; the second largest Cunarder ever built and the third new liner the company has built in six years.

The Handover Ceremony took place last Thursday on board the new 92,400-ton vessel at the Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard. The event included a speech by Cunard President and Managing Director Peter Shanks.

The signing of the final documents between the Monfalcone Fincantieri Shipyard Director, Mr Cesare De Marco, and the CEO of Carnival UK (Cunard’s parent company), David Dingle, was witnessed by Peter Shanks and the first master of Queen Elizabeth, Captain Chris Wells. 

The four Gentlemen then turned their eyes to the ship’s main mast for the official flag changing ceremony:

The Italian flag was ceremonially lowered and the Red Ensign, (the flag of the British Merchant Navy), was raised by Third officer Matthew Wilson, from Troon in Scotland.

What a great sight it is, to see the Cunard House Flag and the Red Ensign flying ship’s mast with the Italian flag flying from the starboard yardarm, as the ship was in and Italian port.

Peter Shanks, proudly holding a Queen Elizabeth key ring, commented after the ceremony:

“This ceremony to mark the completion of the ship, and our acceptance of delivery, is just the first of a number of significant events over the next few weeks – including the ship’s official naming by Her Majesty The Queen in Southampton on Monday 11 October. I’m certain the British will take this truly magnificent ship to their hearts, as they have all the Cunard Queens”.

 Following the ceremony Captain Wells went to the bridge to announce to the ship’s company that Queen Elizabeth now belonged to Cunard.

It was quite a moment for all the crew, and you could hear a huge cheer of excitement throughout the ship when the announcement was made. This was also the first time that Cunard’s Engineers and Deck Officers took control of Queen Elizabeth. Preparations were then made by all departments to prepare the ship for departure and here Captain Wells leads the navigation brief with the Deck Officers and Monfalcone Pilot.

As the departure time approached, Captain Wells invited the crew to gather on the open decks to witness the historic moment when the last of the lines were let go for the sail away. Then at just after 3.30pm the Captain manoeuvred Cunard’s new Queen out of her berth, towards the open seas. 

I was fortunate enough to be on the bridge for departure as the crew gave a huge cheer for the Fincantieri Shipyard workers gathered on the dock side, followed by the familiar, “We Are Cunard”. We played some great music on the open decks as the crew took a little time out from their busy schedules to be part of the celebration. It was soon time to return to work, and I managed to get some photos of the ship so I could post them today. This is the view from the forward mast looking aft towards the Garden Lounge.

Heading forward the outfitters had just finished laying the Astroturf on the Games Deck and this is the view of the first Bowls Green at sea underneath the canopy.

Heading inside the ship, all areas are very close to completion with just small detailing to be finished, such as linen, plants and stocking the bars etc. The Grand Lobby, with the Linley Artwork as its centrepiece, is looking truly magnificent:

Our Queen Elizabeth Theatre Company, Musicians and Stage Crew have been incredibly busy preparing the shows. At the moment the Royal Court Theatre is being used 24 hours a day, balancing the jobs of staging, lighting and rehearsing the brand new shows. This is how it now looks; how about this for a Theatre:

Now that the protective covering has been removed, you are able to really appreciate all the craftwork and fine detailing all over the ship, such as this stunning entrance to the Grills Lounge on deck 11.

During our eight days over to Southampton our teams will be busy setting up all the dining venues, and we will be fortunate enough to try them out, to ensure everything is ready for our first guests who will be embarking in just a week’s time. One of those venues is the Lido:

All areas of the ship are looking stunning and it’s particularly interesting to see some of the newly created spaces receiving their final touches, such as the elegant Garden Lounge.

A popular venue on both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria is the Commodore Club and the one on Cunard’s latest Queen is also looking wonderful. The decor is warm and inviting with some beautiful artwork of the Cunard Queens.

And finally in this Blog, the nautically themed Yacht Club, named after the popular venue on QE2. This space has come together incredibly fast over the last few days and is now looking fantastic.

That’s it for the moment, but I’ll have more pictures of the other areas of the ship in a few days time along with some guest blogs from Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2.  It’s as busy as ever on board with the whole ship’s company working extremely hard to make sure our new Queen is not only looking beautiful when she arrives in Southampton, but that we are all ready to deliver White Star Service to our guests on the Maiden Voyage. I’ll give you more details of our arrival next week and of course you can monitor our progress by watching the Bridge Cam. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 97 days

How perfect, as we celebrate our 170^th anniversary of Britannia’s maiden voyage, that we now look forward to our new Queen, joining the fleet in just over 3 month’s time.

Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks visited the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy last week, and I’m delighted to say that he has written a special President’s Blog featuring the latest pictures of our new Queen. Peter takes up the story.

  President’s Blog

  Peter Shanks

  President and Managing Director

  Cunard Line

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I spent one day last week in the  ship yard and walked what felt like every inch of our new liner – it’s very exciting as her dramatic interiors begin to take shape.  As I toured our new Queen I had a sense of excitement and a sense of pride. She is going to be absolutely beautiful. What follows are some pictures I took myself on the Blackberry and of course at this stage it is very much work in progress.  They are not the most professional pictures – but I thought I would share each area as I saw it and give a sense of what is to come.

Remember – it’s a shipyard construction site – as we approached the ship you can see that all the balconies are finished but protected, you can see our famous name on the side of the ship, and up top you can see the covering for our new Games Deck.

And here we are at the Games Deck. Right in front of me you can see the space for the ‘English Garden Bowls Court’. It’s a first for us and a first at sea. It’s a really popular sport these days and very English! We hope to track down the current world champion to come and be amongst the first to try it out. Around the front of the area you can see the glass panels – it’s going to be a wonderful vista and on sea days enough breeze to make this a very relaxing area. Up above you can see the structure being prepared for the canvas canopy. The whole area will be reminiscent of how sport was played in the early years of the 20^th century – garden bowls, croquet, paddle tennis, fencing, cups of tea, fresh lemonade and surrounded by beautiful art deco pieces from that area. How British – How special – What fun.

Some months back we shared a lovely picture of the name ‘Elizabeth’ being welded to the stern. Well, here is the first picture of her famous name atop the ship. As I took the picture I thought ‘How unique. What’s in a name? Well this is a very special name and one that is very close to our hearts and to our history at Cunard Line. I can’t wait to see it lit up as we sail into the Manhattan Skyline on 13 January next year as all three of our liners meet up for the very first time.

Here we are in the Garden Lounge. It’s very different to Queen Victoria, with a marvelous glass roof, reminiscent of Kew Gardens in London. You can see the workman adding the wood lattice. You can also see the beautiful art deco balustrade. It is here we plan to introduce our new Champagne Tea Service in the afternoons and in the evening to hold intimate supper parties with dancing under the stars.

Yes we did take some understandable criticism for not having enough drawers on Queen Victoria when she first came out – and yes some said she was ‘The Queen without drawers’. Well just to reassure everybody, Queen Elizabeth has plenty of drawers. In addition to the drawers in the bedside cabinets, the desk and within the wardrobes – we have also added some extra under-bed drawers for those longer voyages. So having also added many thousands of drawers to her sister Queen Victoria we need not worry any more.

All the scaffolding is down in the Queens Room. Here you can see the volume and height of this iconic room. Now the work is beginning to add the magic and create the most beautiful Ballroom at sea. Bottom left you can see the space where the ornate wood will be added to create one of the largest Ballroom dance floors at sea. Top left you can see the space where our beautiful and classic art deco chandelier will be installed. On the far walls you can see the space for our detailed glass panels that will add charm and warmth to the room. Fun to think that in less than four months, this room will be filled with guests enjoying one of our famous Ascot Balls, or full of guests enjoying our famous afternoon tea service.

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Just next door to the Queens Room is the Royal Arcade. This picture won’t impress David Bailey – but again you can get a sense of the wonderful height of the spaces. At the top of the picture you can see the space for one of our chandeliers, and around the space you can see the spaces being prepared that will form our shops. This was taken from the top of the sweeping stairs and just behind where we will have a fantastic Dent Clock as the centre piece of the Royal Arcade.

So here I am in The Royal Court Theatre. I can’t tell you how special this room is going to be. On the left you can see the stage area. It’s not often something you will see – but look at just how much space there is on the stage and behind the stage. We will be announcing something very special about our Entertainment plans this week. Above me on the right you can see some of the theatre boxes taking shape. They are going to be a wow. Have dinner , be met at your table after dessert , be escorted up to a private room at the top of the theatre for coffee and chocolates and then – just before the show starts – be taken down to your private box to be welcomed by a chilled bottle of Veuve Cliquot. The best bit is as you arrive in your box – 800 guests look up to see just how special and famous you are. A night at the theatre, a wonderful show – and you get to feel like royalty as well – bloody marvelous.

I feel the need to say a few words about the craftsmen who are working so diligently to create the magic of Queen Elizabeth. Here are two shots I took of them working their magic. On the left, the marble entrance to the Britannia Restaurant is being laid. It has to be exact in every way and here is excellence at work. On the right – some finishing touches being made to the ceiling of the Queens Room. If you look carefully at the pillars behind this chap (don’t know what the Italian for ‘chap’ is), you can see that the pillars are now wrapped in protective cladding and tape. As every piece, every area is completed it is immediately covered up to protect it. That is part of the miracle of modern ship-building – you don’t see the finished ship until the very last moment, when everything that has been covered to protect it, is revealed. The last few weeks and days of delivering a ship are therefore very inspiring as all the hard work, dedication and skill of chaps like these two is revealed. They take great pride in what they are creating. The day I was on the ship – there were almost 2,000 workers on board – 2,000 creators of what will be one of the most beautiful and certainly one of the most famous ocean liners in the world.

Here we are in the Grand Lobby. They have finished much of this area – you can see that the railings on the stairs are finished – but covered – so you will have to wait to see just how beautiful they are. In the centre at the top of the stairs you can see the space for the David Linley centre piece. That is currently being crafted by Linley’s woodworking team in England – I can’t wait to see it as it will be one of the most awesome sights ever seen on a Cunard liner.

That’s all for now. We will keep everybody update on progress. I hope my brief blog has helped to share some of the excitement and anticipation of building a modern ocean liner.

Best Regards, Peter Shanks

Thank you so much for that Peter; it really helps us see what tremendous progress is being made in these final three months before her delivery. I’m also delighted to announce that I will be returning to Monfalcone at the end of the month with our film crew so we can capture the latest developments in a series of new Video Blogs. Peter mentioned that we have some breaking news about the Entertainment Programme on Queen Elizabeth and I’m excited to say this will be posted soon. It’s an area very close to my heart, for obvious reasons, so I can’t wait to share it with you. Cheers for now, Alastair.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 158 days    

Welcome to the second part of the special Blog showing the latest pictures of Queen Elizabeth in the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. This time we are looking at the interior of our new Queen which is changing every day with completion just over five months away. Before I show you those pictures – here’s our regular feature of this week in Cunard’s History from 7 to 13 May 

In the last Blog we showed you the latest pictures from Italy which featured the outside areas of Queen Elizabeth. Now it’s time to look inside, and one of my favourite venues on Queen Victoria is Café Carinthia, which will be expanded to become a larger space on Queen Elizabeth. As you can see from this first picture a tremendous amount of work is taking place in the deck head area with cabling.      

      

Another area that’s starting to take shape is the outside of the Golden Lion Pub and this is becoming quite recognisable now with the windows looking into the Pub from the Casino area of the Royal Arcade.    

Up on deck three in the Grand Lobby is the entrance to the Card Room, with the Alcove on the right hand side. This shows how much cladding work takes place around the ship, where decorative panels and moulds are added; often covering structural supports.        

Staying in the Grand Lobby but moving to deck 1, is what is often called the hub of the ship; the Purser’s Desk, which, at the moment takes a lot of imagination to see what it will look like in a few months time.        

Another favourite venue on both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria is the Commodore Club on deck 10. The raised area around the bar to the left has been completed and there’s a lot of work taking place on the decorative elements of the deck head.        

Just below the Commodore Club is the Royal Cunard Spa featuring the huge gym with amazing views out of the panoramic windows. This view shows the main part of the venue where all the exercise machines will be located.         

Finally, towards the middle of the ship up on deck 11 is the Grills Area which is also coming on well. Some of the decorative deck heads are being worked on by the various craftsmen and this picture shows the Queens Grill with the entrance to the courtyard on the left hand side.          

Well that’s it for another Blog, but with less than 24 weeks to go I hope to have a lot more coverage from our new Queen over the coming months, with hopefully some more announcements about some of the unique features you’ll find on Queen Elizabeth. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with a post featuring Joanne Brown, who recently won a draw to become an Entertainment Staff Member for a day. I’ll also have more news from Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria as they settle in to their summer seasons. In the meantime please do keep your comments and questions coming in as it’s always great to hear from you. Cheers for now Alastair.

 Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 160 days

Although I’m at home enjoying some leave I’ll still be keeping you up to date with what’s going on both at sea and ashore. Thanks for all your great feedback, especially about our new look Blog, please keep it coming.

Just before I left Queen Victoria, I received some photos of Queen Elizabeth in the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone Italy. While Queen Mary 2 heads back across the Atlantic to her homeport of Southampton and Queen Victoria heads south to the Canaries for her first voyage there of the summer season, Queen Elizabeth is only just over five months from her Maiden Voyage. In this Blog I’ll show you some of the newest exterior pictures and then on Thursday we’ll have the interior updates.

Currently in her outfitting dock you can see some of the external progress of our new Queen with the balcony doors in place and many of the glass panels on the balconies themselves.

Her hull is receiving another coat of the traditional Cunard Federal Gray paint, and the big white metal supports on deck 4 will be for the life boats which have just arrived with one already being lifted in to place.

If you look carefully you’ll also be able to see one of the ship’s tenders which are used in ports where Queen Elizabeth won’t be able to dock. Moving on to the top decks on the ship this view is looking up from the deck ten Quoits Court, to the Sports Deck.

As you can see from the same view on the right on Queen Victoria, the big difference between the Queens will be the canvas canopy over the court which will cover the whole area on deck eleven forward. The canvas will be fitted later, but the support structure looks like it’s nearly complete. From the forward part of deck eleven looking aft you can see the main mast.

The scaffolding is in place so the various pieces of navigation and satellite equipment can be installed, and then it will end up looking like the one on her sister that you can see through the Paddle Tennis Court net.

Moving aft and down to deck ten is an external view of the Yacht Club with the windows still covered with protective plastic.

The right hand picture of the same space on Queen Victoria shows the work left to be done such as the railings and lighting and woodwork finishes. The next two photos show a very different view on the two ships, with the Pavilion and the Garden Lounge on the new Queen Elizabeth.

The stunning vaulted roof is nearly complete and the supports behind it are ready for the satellite domes to be installed for television and communications. Inside the Garden Lounge the venue is taking shape with the glass panels in place with the lighting fixtures yet to be installed.

On Thursday I’ll post the latest pictures of how the inside of our new Queen is progressing, again with comparisons to her sister. I’ve also got some great posts to come including a feature with Joanne Brown who became an Entertainment Staff Member for a day, an interview with Daniel Bowden who recently celebrated his 100^th Birthday on board Queen Victoria, as well as a profile of the Queen Victoria Chef who was recently named Barcardi Chef of the year. Cheers for now Alastair.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 186 days

With just over six months before her maiden voyage, I have received some new pictures from the Fincantieri shipyard where Queen Elizabeth is currently under construction. This stage of the new build process is a very interesting one, but not the most visual as it involves a lot of metal work, cabling and ducting. However the outside of our Queen has changed, with her familiar Federal Grey hull, white superstructure and iconic red funnel showing she really is a Cunarder.

Inside the ship, things have moved along a lot. The initial stages of the outfitting involve more metal work such as constructing the inner non supporting bulkheads, which often cover main support pillars such as the ones in this view of Cafe Carinthia looking forward.

As you can see from the above pictures, I am also including virtually the same view from Queen Victoria to give you an idea of what the end view will look like. Having said that, as regular followers of this Blog will know, that although architecturally she will be very similar, the decor will be unique to Queen Elizabeth. This next shot is of the Golden Lion Pub where you can see the beginnings of the dividing walls and the windows into the Royal Arcade on the left hand side.

The next picture is somewhat more difficult to decipher. This is the Royal Court Theatre on Deck 2 from the back, showing the balcony above and the stage at the far end. As with a lot of the ship there is a huge amount of scaffolding in place at the moment as the various craftsmen work on the deck heads.

In all venues there is a tremendous amount of wiring for the lights, power, telephones, digital sound system, alarms etc. It always amazes me how they manage to get all that incredibly complex cabling right. For the next shot we are moving to the Lido on deck 9 and the pizzeria section.

Then staying in the Lido you can see the specialised stainless steel work that is taking place for the main buffet area, which is at the aft section of the Lido.

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Moving up to deck 10 forward is the signature Commodore Club which began on Queen Mary 2, and has been such a great success as a larger venue on Queen Victoria.

On the same deck is the venue that will pay homage to its namesake on QE2; The Yacht Club. Although it will occupy the same space as Hemispheres on Queen Victoria, the nautical decor will give it a very different feel.

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Moving outside to the Pavilion Pool area on deck 9 midships, the metal work that will be covered in teak is nearly complete as you can see from this view of the steps and the two whirlpools.

The area is covered at the moment by a temporary shelter while the special paint treatment is applied. The view looking aft from this point will actually be different as well, because of the vaulted roof of the Garden Room, which as you can see from this picture has now been glazed.

I hope to be back soon with more pictures but again my thanks to Simona Capraro in the Monfalcone ship yard for all her help in getting me these fantastic pictures.  Also thanks to Marius and the on board photo team who recommended a really good new digital camera, so I could get these great interior shots of Queen Victoria.

I’ll be back next week with more news from the World Voyages on both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria and I’ll keep you posted on any further announcements or developments with Queen Elizabeth. Cheers for now Alastair.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 214 days

Welcome to another Blog which marks yet more Cunard milestones. Firstly, this is our 80^th week of Blogging, and this is the 152^nd post, so thank you to everyone back in Southampton for all their help, but more importantly thank you for reading them, and for all your questions and comments. It’s been a busy week as both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria continue their World Voyages and we’ll of course keep you posted on their progress. Today Queen Mary 2 is on her way to Adelaide in South Australia and Queen Victoria will leave Hong Kong this afternoon after her overnight stay; I’ll post some pictures from there soon.

For this Blog, I’m pleased to post some new pictures of Queen Elizabeth in the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy where she is currently under construction in her outfitting dock. But before I share them with you, here’s this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 12 to 18 March:

Tomorrow (12 March), will be exactly seven months before Queen Elizabeth begins her maiden voyage, so it’s perfect timing to show you some new pictures.  I asked Simona Capraro if she would take some pictures for us and she kindly sent these earlier this week. Firstly, this is how she looks at the moment in her outfitting dock. 

Meanwhile inside our new Queen, one of the last sections of the ship’s infrastructure to be added was the Grills section, on deck 11 in the middle of our new liner. This is what I would describe as an enclave for guests who have booked the suites on board. As you may know there are two restaurants in this area; the Princess and Queen’s Grills. Although there is not much there at the moment here’s a picture of the Princess Grill, looking aft.

This, of course, is what the restaurant will look like when it is complete.

When I was at the float out ceremony in January, we filmed the Grills area, and to complete this Video Blog we have added an exclusive interview with Teresa Anderson, Cunard’s Vice President Interior Design, who has been responsible for the stunning Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth interior design.

Meanwhile around the rest of the ship, more areas are starting to become recognisable; well just. Here’s what the bar that will dispense delicious coffees throughout the day, looks like now, and a reminder of what it will look like in October; Café Carinthia.

Another recent addition to Queen Elizabeth was the elegant spiral staircase that will be the centre piece of her 6,000 book Art Deco styled library.

A favourite venue on board is Cunard’s signature bar, the Golden Lion Pub, which plays host to everything from Quizzes to Karaoke, Sing-along’s to Darts and much more including wonderful Pub Lunches! In these pictures you can see the progress the space is making along with what it will end up looking like.

That’s it for another week, but I’ll be back on Monday with a Blog featuring Queen Victoria’s latest “Star of the Month”, as well as a lot more posts to come. Please do keep those questions and comments coming, it’s always great to hear from readers. Cheers for now, Alastair

 Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 267 days

As Queen Mary 2 prepares to make her maiden southbound transit of the Suez Canal, Queen Victoria has also found the warmth of the Caribbean having made her maiden call to Grand Cayman yesterday. We anchored just off Georgetown, very close to a new pier:

We were lucky to be the only ship in, so we had the island to ourselves, where we could enjoy the delights of snorkeling, seven mile beach, Tortuga Rum Cake and an opportunity to go to Hell. No I am not being rude, there really is a place called Hell and it’s a group of short, black, limestone formations in the northwest of the island roughly the size of a football pitch. There are numerous explanations of how Hell received its name, but they are generally variations on what locals perceive Hell would look like. Whatever the origins of the name, many of our guests and crew go there, just so they have this claim to fame and post their cards from this spot with a special stamp.

Thank you again for all the comments about the previous Queen Elizabeth “Float Out Ceremony” Blogs. We will of course keep you updated with all the news as it happens. In this Blog and third video, we have a special interview with Queen Elizabeth’s Madrina, Dennie Farmer and also the ship yard director Paolo Capobianco.

Once the ceremony had been completed by the dry dock, which was now filling with water, we were treated to a wonderful reception and lunch in the Fincantieri offices at the Monfalcone ship yard. We were first given a very special souvenir programme of the day:

Inside the programme was a fitting tribute to our new Queen and Cunard’s proud and rich history, which included this great picture comparing Cunard’s latest liner with the very first ship, Britannia, which began Samuel Cunard’s company in 1840

There was some fantastic memorabilia around the room from the private collection of Maurizio Eliseo and Paolo Piccione, which celebrated many of the Cunard Liners of the past, including the previous ships bearing the name Elizabeth:

In this next Video Blog you’ll see that while we were at the reception I managed to have a chat with both Dennie Farmer and Paolo Capobianco, before heading back to Queen Elizabeth to have a look at the progress of the inside of the ship.

You’ll be able to see the next Video Blog in the series on Thursday, when I’ll be guiding you through the interior of Queen Elizabeth and there’ll also be an exclusive interview with Cunard’s President and Managing Director Peter Shanks. Thank you to both Dennie Farmer and Paolo Capobianco for their time and again to our cameraman Andrew, as well as everyone else at the Fincantieri ship yard for all their help on that day.

Meanwhile I’ll be back tomorrow with a special Blog from Queen Mary 2. Although the festive celebrations of Christmas and New Year may see a long time ago, we thought you’d still like to see how our flagship celebrated the season with a Guest Blog from Freda Singleton, Queen Mary 2’s Social Hostess.

Thank you again for logging on and please keep those comments and questions coming in. Cheers for now, 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 – 278 days

I have just returned from Monfalcone, Italy, where the Queen Elizabeth “Float Out” Ceremony took place at the Fincantieri shipyard, and what a day it was. I also enjoyed the opportunity to see the ship, and the staggering progress that has been made, since our last visit in November. It’s now just 10 months to go, and judging from your comments, the excitement is definitely building, so we’ll keep the pictures and reports coming. Despite the cold weather and a bit of rain, we were able to capture this important milestone with some great photos and we also recorded some more video Blogs which we will bring you over the next couple of weeks.

Before we get to those first pictures here’s Cunard’s history, for the week 8 to 14 January:

The “Float Out” ceremony marked the moment that Queen Elizabeth’s hull touched water for the first time. For the event, Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, was joined by 79-year old Florence (Dennie) Farmer who was guest of honour at the event. Dennie’s husband, Willie Farmer joined Cunard in September 1938 and served as Chief Engineer on both Queen Elizabeth and QE2 until retirement in October 1979. Since her husband’s death Dennie has sailed with Cunard many times and her link to the two previous Queen Elizabeth ships is unparalleled. In recognition of this, Cunard bestowed on Dennie the honour, in Italian tradition, of being ‘Madrina’ to the third Queen Elizabeth.

We arrived quite early so we could have a look at the ship before the VIPs, dignitaries and press arrived; so what is our new Queen looking like:

Yes, what a transformation from the last pictures. Her bow is looking stunning, and how wonderful to see her name on the traditional Cunard livery.

You may notice one key difference to her sister, Queen Victoria, and that’s the new Games Deck. As you may already know, this area will have a special canvas covering, and you can see the support work already in place. This is what the area will look like in October.

In fact you get a great view of the area in this picture and yes they did manage persuade me to go up on another crane to get this photo!

You will see there is a temporary structure on this part of the deck and that was because the first part of the ceremony took place here. It involved the welding of significant coins beneath the mast of Queen Elizabeth for good luck. Three coins were chosen; a half crown dated 1938 (the year the first Queen Elizabeth was launched); a sovereign dated 1967 (the year QE2 was launched) and a sovereign dated 2010 to acknowledge the fact that the new Queen Elizabeth is being floated out in 2010.

After the coin ceremony, the focus moved to the dockside where the ship was blessed, and a bottle of Italian Prosecco was smashed against the hull by our Madrina. The valves of the dry dock were then opened so the ship could meet the water for the first time. I’ll have more pictures and video of the whole event in the next Blog on Monday.

Meanwhile looking around the ship I was able to see some other spaces becoming more recognisable. Here you can see the magnificent vaulted roof of the Garden Lounge and just behind the roof structure you can see the Grills area which has just recently been added.

It may not be easy to imagine this at the moment but this is what it will look like:

One of the other recent additions is the Yacht Club which is where Hemispheres is located on Queen Victoria.

And this is what this will look like in ten months time.

We managed to get back on the quayside just before the other guests arrived. I couldn’t get the whole ship in one photo but this is a great shot showing all the ship’s superstructure now in place.

The large yellow equipment on the side of the ship is used to transport staterooms to the various decks along with other equipment and outfitting materials. Just below the Cunard name was where the second part of the ceremony took place, and a really keen eye may be able to spot the black speck which is the bottle of Prosecco ready to be released. Just one job was left before the event could begin and that was the all important clearing of the dry dock of numerous pieces of equipment including this crane used by the ship yard workers to paint the ship’s hull.

And now for a few words from our President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, about his experience of the event:

Wow. All of us at Cunard have a growing sense of anticipation and pride in Queen Elizabeth – but to stand today beneath her famous black hull and for the first time to see the words ‘Queen Elizabeth’ on the bow was a wonderful moment for us all. The traditional Italian ‘Float-Out’ Ceremony is a lovely tradition. We had invited a long standing friend of Cunard – Dennie Farmer – to be our ‘Madrina’ for the event. We had quite a day and I thought I would share with you some of my personal highlights.

Bad Weather – The weather everywhere at the moment is a problem. Yesterday it snowed heavily in Trieste, but this morning the weather held off which was a good omen for the day. However, I did invest over the Christmas period in a very grown-up full length coat. Alongside Dennie – me in my new black coat and her in a very apt red coat, hat and gloves were all set. As I write this while flying back to Gatwick this evening – I hear we are expecting a foot of snow at home tomorrow – we have been lucky with our timing.

A warm welcome – The pride that all the workers and management of Fincantieri have in building Queen Elizabeth is marvellous. We were a small group from the office along with some of our key journalist partners. From the minute we arrived at the yard we were made to feel very special. During the ceremony I was asked to give a short speech. I had help in translating a few paragraphs into Italian and I was able to tell the many hundreds of yard workers present that they were as of now ‘Honorary Cunarders’ and to thank them personally for the progress they have made to date. They got the biggest round of applause of the day and deservedly so. In the same way that I often mention that it is the staff on board our ships who deliver our White Star Service – it is the dedication, enthusiasm and pride of the yard workers who build the magic for us to deliver to our guests.

Never saw myself as a welder – Part of the tradition is to weld a coin below the mast of the ship. Well we chose three coins – why not, this ship is at least three times as exciting as any other ship that will launch this year. Dennie went first and was aided by two yard workers in welding the coins into place. I was next – you know it is incredible to play such a part in the history of Cunard Line. Over the next 20-30 years many hundreds of thousands of guests will stop, look and read about the coins – today Dennie and I welded them into place – and welded ourselves into the history of Cunard Line. (I should be honest here and say that I think Dennie made a better welder than I did).

Now that is what I call a bottle smash – I know I should not have worried – after all here we were in a ship yard. But I could not help wondering if the bottle would smash, as Dennie cut the string with a very smart little axe. Words like ‘obliteration’ and ‘smithereens’ come to mind – as one of the pictures show, these Fincantieri boys really know their stuff.

Very Special Atmosphere – Let’s be honest – we were in reality just standing in front of a huge amount of steel. We have all witnessed many of these events. But as the Padre blessed the ship, as the national anthems were played, as the bottle smashed, as the yard workers cheered it was very clear to all of us that this was no simple lump of steel. This was special – this was Cunard, this was Queen Elizabeth and we were all playing a part in a special moment in the life of Queen Elizabeth.

Thank you Dennie – The yard treated Dennie so well during the day. She received a lovely memento of the occasion, a dozen beautiful roses and as we left she was handed an album already full of the photos of the day. I really hope she enjoyed her special day. In fact I know that she did – full of thoughts as to how proud her late husband Willie would have been of her continuing their long association with Cunard Elizabeth’s.

Well I hope that gives you a flavour of the day. Back to work in the morning and back down to earth. We have an awful lot to do to prepare for the introduction of the ship – and her Maiden Voyage on 12 October, a very special day for all of us, not least because it happens to be Columbus day – how cool is that?

Best Regards

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director – Cunard Line

That’s it I’m afraid for this Blog, but we’ll post some great videos soon, and these will cover the ceremony itself along with interviews with Peter Shanks, our Madrina Dennie Farmer and the Fincantieri Yard Director, Paolo Capobianco along with more interior shots. The first video blog of this event will be posted at the beginning of next week along with more photos. In the meantime I have to start packing as I will be joining Queen Victoria on her 2010 World Voyage in New York on Tuesday. Cheers Alastair