Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 222 days

Thank you again for all your feedback, it’s always great to hear from you. I know from reading your comments you have been enjoying watching Queen Victoria going around the world, well I’m delighted to introduce a guest Blogger to share Queen Mary 2’s World Voyage with you; and what a great Blog it is, so over to Freda who takes up the story.

Guest Blog – Freda Singleton – Queen Mary 2 - Social Hostess

Queen Mary 2’s 2010 World Voyage is well under way with some fabulous new ports of call as well as some much loved familiar places, a whirl of parties, celebrations, themed balls, charity events, superb speakers and very variable weather!

Our first stop in beautiful Lisbon marked a very wet start.  Grey clouds and torrential rain deterred many from venturing ashore, so it was with some relief to move quite quickly from Civitavecchia (for Rome) through the Suez Canal and on to the desert lands. No pause by the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings would be complete without an Egyptian Ball. The Queens Room was inspirationally decorated to remind us of the magnificence and history of the land we had just visited and guests were delighted by the surprise appearance of Freddie Fahrouk, Achamanda and Hot Chick Soup performing the hilarious Sand Dance, much to the amazement of the guest who earlier in the evening had commented that no-one would remember that far back! And here they are supported by Antony and Cleopatra.

With a proudly Scottish Chief Engineer on board, celebrating Burns night in style was not negotiable!  Thanks to Ronnie Keir’s enthusiastic dissection of the haggis and Carol Summers’ (Royal Cunard Dance Captain) stunning sword dance, the famous Baird was toasted in style with a packed dance floor of energetic Gay Gordons, Dashing White Sergeants and an officers’ display of Strip the Willow! Here’s Carol dancing above the carefully crafted swords, the handiwork of Ronnie’s team of engineers, as he watches on.

As we moved on to India, the Queens Room hosted the Night of the Raj Ball, with guests displaying their newly honed skills of sari tying with their newly purchased jewel coloured saris. They then enjoyed watching the Royal Cunard Dancers perform their sensual, exotic interpretation of the dance of the Gods, depicting the God of destruction and the God of creation.

Bringing us to the end of the 3^rd leg of our World Voyage, all the sensations of the east were brought together at the Oriental Ball with the Sun and the Moon duet sung by our fabulous singers Kris Harding and Hannah Bloch and dramatically illustrated by the beautiful Vasilica Lungu as the love nymph in ‘The Sun and the Moon’.

Despite some very chilly weather as we approached Shanghai, the temperature rose in the Queens Room. Cupid paid us a timely visit as we celebrated Valentine’s Day with love, romance and some steamy passion with the jaw-dropping tango, seen here with Carol and Nazarly.

Amongst the fifteen or so maiden ports of call for Queen Mary 2 in this year’s World Voyage, one that will certainly stay in guests’ minds for a very long time is Nagasaki. As is customary, the ship exchanged plaques with the local officials, but this time the ceremony was extra special. The Mayor of Nagasaki came with his prefecture governors and made individual presentations to Captain Nick Bates, Staff Captain, Robert Camby, Chief Engineer, Ronnie Keir , Hotel Manager, David Stephenson and Entertainment Director, Paul O’Loughlin. The officers, dignitaries and audience were entirely humbled by the tear-jerking graciousness of the exquisite Japanese children who seared their place into everyone’s hearts. The 3 to 6 year olds of Oura Nursery School presented such enormous bouquets of flowers that they could hardly see or be seen; Captain Bates had to brush a tear from his eye. We heard later that they had rehearsed for over a month for their word perfect performance in English of ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’, followed by 2 traditional Japanese dances. No-one could think of more deserving recipients of our Cunard fluffy lions.

Of course, Cunard and Queen Mary 2 have excelled with an array of Insight speakers.  Amongst the celebrity speakers so far, we have been educated by John Humphries who hosted a special Queen Mary 2 version of ‘Masterbrain’, as well as a very thought provoking ‘Time for Questions’ with our panel of resident experts comprising Commodore Warner, Hotel Manager, David Stephenson and pianist, Campbell Simpson.  We were enlightened by Michael Nicholson and enthralled by Dr George McGavin.

Throughout all of the partying and celebrations the crew have been busy raising money for the four nominated World Voyage Charities: The Royal National Lifeboat Institute, The Haiti Emergency relief Fund, The Prostheses Foundation in Thailand and the Seaman’s Church Institute of New York.

The first event was the Tug of War, with competing teams from the Medical, Deck and Technical departments, the Spa, the Purser’s Office, the Engineers and Entertainment. The medical department under the appropriate title of ‘The Walking Dead’ won the best dressed team:

However, the Entertainment department wiped the floor with the remaining awards winning the ladies, the men and the mixed competitions. No wonder Paul O’Loughlin and Amanda Reid, (Entertainment Director and Assistant Entertainment Director), have such big smiles on their faces! 

By way of a complete contrast, the second charity event moved away from raw crew strength to musical expertise and seven superb examples of hidden talent put on two magnificent shows of ‘Stars in the Crew’ to allow fellow crew members and guests alike to judge their skills. The show featured:

·   Renier - Purser’s Staff as Gareth Gates with ‘Spirit in the Sky’

·   Marion Woolley - Zone Manager as Charlotte Church with ‘To dream a dream’

·   Jeffrey Canono -  Bedroom Steward  as Michael Ball from Miss Saigon with ‘Why God’

·   Alex Laxton - Stage Crew as Frank Sinatra with ‘Come fly with me’

·   Napoleon Mana - Laundry Man as Bill Medley with ‘Unchained Melody’

·   Big Dave Griffiss - Bar Steward as Paul McCartney with ‘I saw her standing there’ (eat your heart out Karl Lornie of the Beatles Celebration, who were also performing with us at that time and were, of course, completely brilliant!)

·   Cela Wasserman - Sound Engineer as Linda Perry with ‘What’s up?’

The voting was very close with outstanding performances from all seven stars and many congratulations due to final winner, Jeffery Canono who won himself dinner for 2 in Todd English.

And finally, we say a special thank you to the Masons on board who have done a wonderful job of raising money for our charities through cocktail events and raffles, with a magnificent total of $1745.57.

How do we top all that in the second half??

Thank you so much Freda for such a great Blog, it has given us a wonderful overview of your World Voyage so far. It was also really good to see and hear about our colleagues over on our big sister as well. We look forward to hearing about your next segment.

Meanwhile I’ll be back on Thursday with the regular weekly Blog and some new pictures of Queen Elizabeth under construction in Italy.

Amongst all the excitement of looking forward to our new Queen joining the fleet in October, our two other Queens had a busy and exciting festive season, before preparing for their 2010 World Voyages. So in this Blog I’d like to take you back a few weeks as celebrating the festive season on a Cunard ship is always very special for guests and crew alike. While I was at home, I was very grateful to Queen Mary 2 for sending me a special Blog, capturing the festive atmosphere of the season.

Guest Blog, Freda Singleton – Queen Mary 2

20 December saw an interesting start to Queen Mary 2’s festive celebrations with Cunard’s flagship docking in New York shortly after 6.30am. Commodore Bernard Warner arrived shortly afterwards to take the helm and to his surprise, found the pride of Cunard’s fleet, the greatest ocean liner of our time, coated in white as her decks were covered in several inches of snow!  Had the newly installed snow-making machine gone into over-drive?!  No!  New York was fully into its Christmas cheer with a snow storm worthy of the North Pole! 

Some hours after the Commodore’s arrival, the snow was still piled up alongside the ship, so it was no surprise that our 2,400 guests were anxious to escape to the warmth of the Caribbean!  We were all very grateful to the Commodore as he headed south towards our first port of call, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, to thaw out.  Meanwhile, the glamour and elegance of Cunard travel began on the first formal evening of the voyage with our fabulous, traditional, Black and White Ball. The Ball opened with the extra sparkle of the Royal Cunard Dancers in all their brilliant white finery, setting the scene for a glittering voyage.

It wasn’t long before we could all enjoy the sunshine of the Caribbean. The islands of Tortola and St Maarten are known for their beauty, friendliness and typical Caribbean hospitality, not to mention the odd rum punch or two which had everyone in the mood to party.  Christmas Eve saw a transformation from the wonderful rhythm of the steel drums to the gentle and festive sounds of Christmas carols as guest, officers and crew gathered in Queen Mary 2’s elegant Grand Lobby for the traditional start of the festivities.

Children and adults alike went to sleep that night anticipating the fun that was to follow on Christmas Day.  We were awoken of course, to the sound of sleigh bells…….coming down the chimney?  Well, the funnel is certainly big enough - and there indeed was Santa himself making his way through the ship from the Grand Lobby to the Queens Room!

Father Christmas was delighted to have caught up with Queen Mary 2 and to have been able to give so many presents to the fantastic young travellers on board. So much so, he even found time to reward the Commodore for being such a marvellous host, master of the ship, leader of such a tremendous team and fine example of White Star Service! Here he is being congratulated by Santa with Entertainment Director, Paul O’Loughlin.

Merriness continued throughout the day with sumptuous food and a specially written Christmas Show performed in the Royal Court Theatre that night and here’s a photo capturing Edwina Currie and her husband John Jones relating the story of ‘The Night Before Christmas’,

Of course the whole evening would not be complete without a spectacular Grand Lobby buffet prepared by our incredibly talented Chefs.

Enormous credit has to be given to the team who created this beautiful gingerbread display .

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The special voyage gave our guests to enjoy visits to the stunning islands of Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica and St Kitts before the countdown to 2010. After a tremendous amount of preparation from the ships staff the countdown for the big night was soon underway in all parts of the ship.  From Campbell Simpson at the Piano in the Commodore Club, to our resident DJ Freddie in the G32 nightclub, through the Grand Lobby with our international band Vibz, the Chart Room with the Mark Hodgson Jazz Trio and not forgetting the Golden Lion pub with Gun of the Entertainment Staff where a rousing refrain of the British National Anthem and the ever emotional Pomp and Circumstance had seen in the British New Year at 8pm, and so on to the Queens Room and the elegance of the Queens Room Orchestra.  Here there was a very Scottish flavour to the Hogmanay styled celebration with many guests in kilts enjoying the traditional dances such as the Gay Gordons. Meanwhile the clock was ticking on the big screen behind the orchestra.

The ballroom was packed, the excitement was tangible as Evgeny Gnezdilov, tenor sax player from the Royal Court Theatre Orchestra, crouched down to ring 8 bells to mark the passing of 2009, under the watchful eye of vocalist Michel Chartier, poised to begin his rendition of Auld Lang Syne. This was swiftly followed by Alex Laxton, Queen Mary 2’s youngest crew member at just 19 years old, ringing in 2010.

And the beautiful gold and silver balloons fell, hooters squealed, streamers filled the air, everyone cheered, hugged and kissed.

As always Queen Mary 2 celebrated in style that night, with all her fabulous guests joining the ship’s company to mark the beginning of a new decade!

I’d like to thank the Queen Mary 2 for their help in this Blog and to Freda Singleton for sending it to me as it really shows yet again that Cunard certainly knows how to put on an unforgettable party.

Also thank you again for logging on and for all your questions and comments. I’ll be back on Thursday with a Video Blog featuring some interior shots of Queen Elizabeth as well as an interview with Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks. Cheers for now, Alastair

Thank you for all your questions and comments, which have created some lively discussion this week. We are continually looking to develop this Blog and have some ideas (many of which have come from your comments on this Blog and at the on board Bloggers Get Togethers), that we’ll be looking to introduce when we can. As we approach our 100^th Blog we are now posting twice a week (every Thursday and usually every Monday as well), and we’ll see how this goes. Thank you to Chris Cruickshank for his comment, and I would like to clarify that as much as I like to encourage younger people to sail with us on Cunard ships, I wouldn’t want to change our current guest profile in any way. Interestingly, as I mentioned to a journalist who is travelling with us on Queen Victoria this voyage, I think a guest who chooses Cunard is defined by the experience that that they wish to have as well as the expectation of quality they are looking for, rather than by age.

Here as promised is the long awaited opportunity to meet Cunard’s new Entertainment Director Paul O’Loughlin, who joined Queen Mary 2 in July. We let him settle in and find his feet before asking him for an interview, but as you’ll see from his background, he brings a wealth of experience to the job. I know many of you have already met Paul during his time on Queen Mary 2 and maybe before. I have known Paul for many years but unfortunately I’ve never worked with him, although we have handed over to one another on a few occasions and it’s always been a pleasure. So now it’s time to meet Cunard’s newest addition to the Entertainment Director Team.

Paul was born in Dublin, Ireland and spent his childhood in Oxford, England, where his family settled.  He commenced his career at sea in 1980 after a fortunate evening that changed his life when the Director of Entertainment for a cruise line offered him a contract after seeing him perform. Later, Paul became an Entertainments Officer for the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company on board the legendary SS Canberra in 1981, and fell in love with life at sea. In 1982, he became an Assistant Cruise Director for Princess Cruises. He was swiftly promoted to Cruise Director in 1986 at the age of 24.

His life at sea has brought many unforgettable moments; he was Cruise Director on board the Pacific Princess for the July 7th 1987 celebration of the 150th anniversary of P&O at Greenwich, England.  Paul was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.  Paul was also honoured to sail with President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. He treasures another special moment when he was introduced to Her Royal Highness Diana, the Princess of Wales at the naming ceremony of the Royal Princess. 

He has hosted many celebrities and dignitaries as well as sharing a stage with Hollywood legends and Entertainers including Ginger Rogers, Tony Bennett, Vic Damone, Artie Shaw, Ben Vereen and Cleo Laine.  He has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes over the years. He co-starred as an Entertainer in an episode of the American TV show “Loveboat - The Next Wave”. His career has spanned nearly 30 years and he has sailed on 27 different ships, seven of them new builds. The Entertainment Director’s day consists of around 12 hours of duties commencing recording live TV shows, meeting with the Executive Officers of the ship, contact with corporate office in Southampton, meeting with his own managers and staff, socialising with guests, as host with the Commodore, at cocktail parties and generally supervising the overall entertainment programme. Paul considers one of the proudest moments of his career was his appointment to the magnificent Queen Mary 2 to become a part of the greatest and most famous shipping line in the world. 

Paul is married to Deborah, a former P&O/Princess Senior Nursing Officer. They live with their Shar Pei dog Harry in a delightful old fishing town called Whitby on the North East coast of England.  He has many interests which include theatre, sport, music, long walks over the North Yorkshire Moors and looking for his ball on numerous golf courses.

Here’s Paul on the fantastic Queen Mary 2 Royal Court Theatre Stage.

And now here’s the interview:

How are you finding the role of Entertainment Director on Queen Mary 2?

It took me a journey of 30 years and 27 ships to make it to Queen Mary 2 and now I am here it is an absolute joy. The atmosphere on the ship is great and the teamwork with all the departments on board is very special.  The Royal Court Theatre is a pleasure to work and heading up a team of 120 staff is a challenging and rewarding experience.  

Before joining the company what did you know about Cunard?

I love maritime history and the rich heritage of Cunard Line has always been an interest of mine. Lunch has been a great part of my learning about Cunard. Over the years I have enjoyed being invited to lunch in ports all over the world on Cunard ships including the Cunard Countess, Cunard Princess, Caronia, Sagafjord, QE2 and Queen Mary 2. It is great to finally have lunch on a Cunarder that is moving! 

What were your first impressions when you came on board and did anything surprise you?

Seeing so many old friends such as Commodore Warner, Hotel Manager David Stephenson, Senior Maitre D’ Beniamino Acler and many more. The elegance and grandeur of the Ship is the first impression you get when you step on board. 

What has been the highlight for you, since joining Queen Mary 2?

Hosting Anthony Inglis and the National Symphony Orchestra along with the Guest choir made for a memorable “Last night of the Cunard Proms”, interviewing Hollywood Actress Jane Russell, Director Baz Luhrmann, having a Martini with Barbara Streisand’s Manager of 40 years, Marty Erlichman. The magic of Queen Mary 2 is you never know who you are going to meet on a voyage or crossing. I even met one of my primary school teachers who amazingly recognised my name and enquired if I went to John Blandy Primary School. It was there as I child, I appeared in my first stage performance and got the show business bug. 

What is the most frequent question you get asked – and what’s the answer?

“Where is Ray?” has been the most asked question since I have been on board Queen Mary 2. The other main one is “What are those sculptures at the front of the ship on deck 7?  The answer is spare propeller blades but I tell the guests they’re the Commodore’s cufflinks!

What does “We Are Cunard” mean to you?

The spirit of the people of Cunard sums the expression up. The guests and everyone who works and is connected with the company have a pride and feeling of belonging to something very special.

What would be your favourite golden nugget of advice to guests coming on a voyage for the first time?

Embrace the rich history of Cunard Line and have some fun! 

What is your ideal way of relaxing when you are on leave?

My wife Deborah and I love to walk with our dog Harry along the Yorkshire coastline and the Esk Valley. I love watching all sport and my favourite is Rugby, London Irish being my club. We spend as much time as we can with family and friends in Yorkshire, Oxford and Abingdon where I grew up. Being away at sea for so long I do not stray too far from home once I get there. My wife says I am like the Olympic flame…..I never go out! 

What is your favourite quote and who said it?

No matter how successful or wealthy you become the success of your funeral will largely depend on the weather! (Author unknown). I take from that don’t worry too much and enjoy every minute of life!

Paul was kind enough to do this interview just before he left Queen Mary 2 last week so thank you so much Paul, and of course enjoy your leave. Paul will return to Queen Mary 2 in November, while Ray has a break before the World Voyage in January. Meanwhile I’ll be having a busy week of posting as I am looking forward to receiving reports from Peter Shanks (President and Managing Director of Cunard Line) who is on board Queen Mary 2 for her Around the British Isles Voyage. I’ll also have (at long last!) the video Blog interview with the TOGmeister himself, Terry Wogan on Thursday so please do keep logging on. Cheers Alastair

On a recent westbound Transatlantic Crossing the celebrated writer, director and producer Baz Luhrmann, travelled on board Queen Mary 2 with his wife Catherine Martin, herself a winner of two Academy Awards® and their two children, Lillian and William. They told Entertainment Director Paul O’Loughlin how much they loved Cunard’s White Star experience, the friendliness of the crew and everything about the ship.  They mixed with guests at the cocktail parties and were seen dancing the night away in many of the great venues on Queen Mary 2.

Baz Luhrmann’s notable films include “Australia” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. His three films, “Strictly Ballroom”, “Romeo and Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge” were dubbed the “Red Curtain Trilogy” as they fell under a particular style of film making. He was nominated for an Academy Award®, and received Directors Guild of America and Golden Globe nominations for Best Director - Motion Picture for his work on “Moulin Rouge.” He was also awarded the Australian Centenerary Medal in the 2001 Queens Honours List for his services to Australian society in film direction and production.

Baz Luhrmann kindly accepted the offer to introduce a special screening of his hit movie, “Moulin Rouge,” to Queen Mary 2 guests in Illuminations on the last afternoon of the crossing. The event began with a “Question and Answer” session with the Entertainment Director Paul O’Loughlin where they discussed his early years, his creative drive and his work to date. 

Luhrmann discussed his love of opera and music and how he was proud to have changed the genre of the musical with his flamboyant style of writing and direction.  Robert Wise, the director of “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story” who is considered the great grandfather of musical cinema, said “I have seen ‘Moulin Rouge’ and Baz Luhrmann has re-invented the musical”.

A keen sailor, he has sailed the Sydney to Hobart race and said his time aboard Queen Mary 2 brought back fond memories of line voyages in Austraila when he was a child.

Here is some of the interview that was recorded:

Baz, Catherine and their family signed the Queen Mary 2 official visitor’s book. They thanked the Commodore and all the ship’s company and said they will be back to sail with us again. After his voyage he was kind enough to send the following note:

“I’m currently working on several projects, one of which is set in New York in the mid-twenties, the period of the grand ocean crossings when the main characters would have crossed the Atlantic from England into New York. I was motivated somewhat by wanting to be on the deck of a grand ocean liner as it would have been in days gone by, and to pass the Statue of Liberty at five in the morning as the ship came into harbour.

This hope of course was fulfilled in the most majestic way, but what came as a surprise was that apart from the obvious glamour and romance of such a grand ship, how little time I spent in my cabin working, and how often my wife Catherine and I found ourselves drawn into the myriad of possibilities, adventures, entertainments, and the sheer pleasure of sitting on deck as we crossed the Atlantic.

Prior to setting out, I had planned to eat in my cabin, working diligently, but fell down mightily as we found ourselves swept up in the tremendous culinary delights and fine wine, with the very occasional experiment into the new and previously unexplored  territory of the martini. All was well, knowing that even if we wanted to see more of our children, there was no prying them from the safe and - to them - exciting haven of the kids club.

We certainly got from the journey what we were looking for, and more and it has been a tremendous way to arrive in New York without jetlag and into the first tentative steps of our new creative adventure.”

Baz Luhrmann 

What a great treat for guests on that crossing; it sounds fantastic and another iconic event for Cunard to celebrate. Thank you to Baz Lurhman and his family for sharing their experiences and time with us and of course to Paul and the Queen Mary 2 team for sharing the story. I’ll be back soon with more news from around the fleet. Cheers Alastair