Hello All

Thursday was quite a day – for a number of reasons. I am not sure if – as a travel professional – I should own up to the first part of the day. Having flown out to the US on business last Sunday I was clearly not concentrating when I parked my car at Heathrow and flew out to Los Angeles to visit our US Sales and Marketing Team. Because as I boarded my Virgin Atlantic flight home on Wednesday evening from Las Vegas – having been there for 24 hours to present to 1,800 travel agents at the annual Luxury Travel Show – I heard the Captain say ‘Welcome aboard our flight to Gatwick’. So I arrived at Gatwick only to have to grab a taxi to go and rescue my car from Heathrow and then head on down to Southampton to see Queen Mary 2. So there you have it – sometimes we get our travel plans wrong – but worry not as my one ambition was to see Queen Mary 2 prior to the embarkation of her first voyage after her refit – and I made it.

As I arrived just after midday, the ship’s company was still hard at work putting the final touches to the ship. She was ready for embarkation. Now, before I get to what you have been waiting for, please let me say a few words about Queen Mary 2 ship’s company. To those of you, and it must be nearly all of you, who have not been through a ship refit – it is quite remarkable how much work can be done in such a short space of time. Of course we had several hundred contractors and our colleagues from the office worked very hard indeed. But to me the real heroes of the piece are every member of the ship’s company. They worked so very hard, achieved all they had to achieve and I am so very, very proud of them – well done to each and every one of them.

So – to what you have been waiting for – the 2^nd part of the refit video. Enjoy……..

Marvelous – I hope that gave you a taste of what we have been up to over the last two weeks. The shots of the bulbous bow are just awesome. I will never forget the moment, at the Chantieres ship yard in France in 2003, when we parked a red double decker London bus under the bow of Queen Mary 2.

So she is back in service and looking beautiful. There was plenty of excited chatter on the ship as guests embarked and looked around. The new look Commodore Club is a triumph, the Golden Lion Pub so much warmer and the Queens Grill Suites are just gorgeous – more so than ever. Given the scale of what we achieved, notably refurbishing 1,310 staterooms in just 12 days, we had always planned for some of the activity to be completed over the coming weeks. I have had quite a few questions and comments about the new stateroom designs. One point raised was over some of the sofas and the fact that they do not quite match the new designs. Well please don’t worry – they are all planned to be changed over coming weeks. Personally, I think our designers have done a terrific job and we have ourselves a refreshed and beautiful ocean liner.

So to all of our guests who have booked to sail with us in the year ahead on Queen Mary 2– thank you, congratulations and we look forward to welcoming you back. To those who have yet to decide on their 2012 travel and holiday plans – then there has never been a better time to book to sail on Cunard. We have over 170 years of heritage and tradition and we have the youngest and most beautiful fleet in the world. Well I would say that wouldn’t I – but it’s true…

Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.

Best Regards

Peter

Social Hostess

Queen Elizabeth

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It would be hard to imagine a more Royalist and inexorably devoted to Cunard individual than the legendary Thomas Quinones, so it will come as no surprise to anyone who knows him to hear how excited he was to be combing a wonderful Royal Wedding with a day on Cunard’s newest addition to the fleet, Queen Elizabeth. Talking to him the day before, he said he was as nervous as if he was getting married himself and had not been able to sleep in the anticipation. So, he took himself off to rest in the early evening of 28 April and set his alarm for just after midnight to get started on his big mission – to create Cunard’s own Royal Mile along deck 2 of Queen Elizabeth.

And what a magnificent job he did of it too, with flags adorning the walkway all through from stern to stem, from the Britannia restaurant, past Café Carinthia, through the Queens Room and past the Golden Lion, leading guests on to the Royal Court Theatre.  There were Union Jack flags, hats and bunting everywhere:

 Not least, of course surrounding Her Majesty herself!

Early on the morning of 29^th, all that remained was to await the crowds’ arrival at both Westminster Abbey and deck 2…….

Knowing this was certainly the next best thing to being at Buckingham Palace for the occasion, Thomas was determined to uphold Cunard’s standards and dressed to befit the event.  This is how Queen Elizabeth’s guests were welcomed into the Royal Court Theatre boxes…… 

Eagerly anticipating the arrival of first the handsome princes and then the beautiful, elegant bride and her sister, the burning issue was the world’s best kept secret – ‘The Dress’:  Who had designed it?  What would it be like?  A collective gasp of delight could be heard around the ship as the beaming Kate Middleton emerged and the jaw-droppingly gorgeous dress was revealed, the audience was rapt, the atmosphere punctuated only by cheers and applause as first Prince William said ‘I will’ and then Kate. It was as if no-one dared to move for fear of missing the magic of the moment, or the much anticipated kiss – it was almost a relief to stand for the National Anthem!

The bonhomie continued through the rest of the day adding a touch of poignancy to the end of the voyage for the guests who were almost all disembarking in Southampton on 30^th, but who nevertheless managed to find time to fit in their last afternoon tea with the extra special touches for this very extra special day.

 After tea followed the last frenzied packing and putting out suitcases for collection, all valuable activities to ensure an appetite for the celebration Royal Wedding dinner, with congratulations sealed by Captain Chris Wells inviting all guests to toast the happy couple and take home the traditional piece of the spectacular wedding cake.  

Executive Pastry Chef, Romualdo Rebello poses here by his masterpiece which was displayed complete with a complementary bridal train!

And finally for those who still had some energy left, an elegant Royal Dance in the Queens Room with none other than the fabulous Thomas leading the way with the Gay Gordons (we could well imagine the Royal Family partying to Scottish music).  For the band break – what else could be more appropriate than the Catherine Waltz and Balmoral Blues!

In Thomas’ own words; “A truly legendary, elegant and magnificently memorable day!”

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Paul O’Loughlin

Entertainment Director

Queen Mary 2

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Preparations for the big day began in back in New York when bunting was delivered ready for decoration, provisions arrived ready to make a celebratory meal fit for royalty, and cases of champagne were stored in the ship’s hold ready to be put on ice for a toast to the happy couple.

In the early hours on the day itself, the Entertainment Staff were up at the crack of dawn to prepare the ship’s public areas for the day’s festivities. Festive bunting was hung around the Queens Room, and at the entrances to the Royal Court Theatre, Illuminations and Golden Lion Pub where guests could watch a live feed of the events taking place in London, around 1,500 nautical miles away. Queen Mary 2 was on her Eastbound Transatlantic crossing and two hours behind London time. Time and distance differences aside, the atmosphere on board was transformed and by the time Afternoon Tea was served talk was on little other than the dress, the carriage and of course the kiss.

The order of the day soon switched from observation to celebration, after eating their beautifully prepared Royal Wedding Dinner,  Guests in the Golden Lion pub tested their knowledge of all things Royal with a themed trivia, followed by a traditional British sing along that raised the rafters. The focus of the evening was in the Queens Room, where a Royal Wedding Reception was held. Resident International Band Vibz provided the party music

Social Hostess Gun provided the party spirit, culminating in a special red white and blue balloon drop over a packed dance floor.

Celebrations lasted into the night, but as a final touch, and in British wedding tradition, guests returning to their staterooms discovered that a piece of wedding cake had been delivered by Cunard Royal Mail in a commemorative box. A luxurious end to a lengthy day.

One Guest commented to me ” It was amazing, just as if we were at the Royal Wedding itself!”

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Keith Maynard

Entertainment Director

Queen Victoria

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Proud to be British! 29 April at 1pm Ships time saw 1400 of our guests all gathered in the Royal Court Theatre, Queens Room and Golden Lion Pub to watch the Royal Couple tie the knot. Many more chose to enjoy Room Service and relax in their Staterooms.

The champagne was flowing and the atmosphere a mixture of pride, excitement and anticipation!

As prince Harry cast a cheeky look down the aisle at Kate and reassured his big brother a ripple of laughter and applause erupted from the Theatre followed only moments later by the dabbing of many eyes as vow’s were exchanged and promises made. Several hymns later you could almost feel Queen Victoria roll slightly as 1400 people stood in unison for the National Anthem proud to share in this special moment with the 2 billion people worldwide.

Our guests enjoyed a celebratory menu in the evening, complete with wedding cake baked on board by our wonderful chefs:

In the evening our signature show Victoriana had the packed auditorium calling for more as hundreds of Union Jacks swayed back and forth to Land of Hope and Glory!

In the Queens Room Jamie our Social Host added a touch of fairy tale magic into the Victoriana Ball with a special Cinderella Waltz and traditional Bridal Bouquet toss!

There were many lovely comments as guests headed back to their staterooms with their commemorative menu tucked under arms and the phrase uttered by almost all was that today was a day they were proud to be British and what better way than to spend it on board a Cunard Queen, launched by member of our Royal Family.

Today Queen Elizabeth is visiting the Jordanian Port of Aqaba where many of our guests will be going to enjoy the incredible lost city of Petra. You can read more about this amazing destination in a blog I posted two years ago, when Queen Victoria made her maiden call there:

Icons Of The Ancient And Modern World

Queen Mary 2 is very nearby in the Red Sea, calling at Safaga, Egypt tomorrow, and from there her guests will visit Luxor and the incredible Valley of the Kings. Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will meet again in the Italian Port of Civitavecchia next Wednesday, so it will be a good day to look at the Bridge Cams. There’ll also be an interesting challenge as the crew football teams of both ships play against each other for the first time. We’ll certainly bring you some pictures from that reunion of the Queens and the meeting of the football teams later next week.

In today’s blog we are going to all three Queens to get some of their news and that’s after this week in Cunard’s History from 7 to 13 April

There’s been a lot of fun happening on the Cunard Queens and while Queen Elizabeth was in Dubai, guests were interested to read in last Friday’s Daily Programme about some new environmental initiatives that Cunard was introducing:

I interviewed our Environmental officer Mike Lee that morning on the TV show who explained how it was all going to work. Guests were fascinated by the initiatives, although that evening when I was introducing the shows in the Royal Court Theatre I had to remind the guests what the date was.

Yes it was 1 April and it was another Cunard April Fool’s day joke. Did we get anyone I hear you say? Oh yes, we certainly did, according to the Bar Staff working at the Lido bar that day, they had numerous guests (and some crew), asking about the project.

I have to say a big thank you to Melanie Jones for her great artwork on the Daily Programme and Mike Lee for making it sound so plausible. I loved the bit when he explained how the turbines would fold down over the deck if we had to have a helicopter come to the ship. He even managed to keep a straight face when he explained about the exercise bicycles being linked to generators!

Even today (nearly a week later), I heard that a gentleman wants to see Colin Black, our Chief Engineer, to find out more about the initiatives!

Meanwhile on Queen Mary 2 a subtle advert was delicately placed in Queen Mary 2’s Daily programme on that same day;

The question everyone was waiting to know was how many guests would take the bait?  According to Queen Mary 2’s Entertainment Director, Paul O’Loughlin, over 80 guests were waiting to meet the prize Jersey cows and all the rest of the animals on Deck minus four.  Paul then made an announcement over the Public Address System wishing everyone a Happy April Fool’s Day, especially those guests who were in the Golden Lion Pub on the Farm Tour.  Paul tells me that laughter rang out throughout the ship and as always our guests took the joke wonderfully!  He added that he’s working on next year’s already so watch out!

On Queen Victoria, Entertainment Director Keith Maynard, interviewed Chris Thomas, the Youth Director on the morning TV show as the ‘Onboard Gardener’ called Colin.

Colin talked about the latest and little known addition to Queen Victoria, the wonderful and vibrant garden on deck 12 forward which drew inspiration from the hanging gardens of Babylon! Keith told me that there were a lot of guests who went up looking throughout the day and even a week later Keith had to let one lady know that it was actually an April fool.

There’s also some exciting news from Queen Victoria that’s not an April Fool’s Day joke!

Each year Cunard enters the Bacardi Cruise Competition and this year out of literally hundreds of entries Michal Miller, a Bartender on Queen Victoria, was successful in winning a semi-finalist position.

Michal’s creation won the Bombay Sapphire category with his ‘English Breakfast Spiced Tea’ cocktail and this has now been added to the Commodore Club bar menu underneath the ‘Cunard Award Winners’ section.

In congratulating Michal I asked him about his award winning cocktail. He told me: -

“It was wonderful news to be announced as a semi-finalist for the Bacardi Competition. I’m very excited that my cocktail – ‘English Breakfast Spiced Tea’ will now feature on all of our Cunard cocktail lists! The cocktail itself is a very British feeling cocktail that really showcases the great British traditions of Cunard!”

Here Michal shows off his winning Cocktail with Jason Pascall, the Public Rooms Manager on Queen Victoria

Congratulations again Michal, I look forward to trying one! Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with a special interview with Entertainment Director Amanda Reid and I have to say it really is a great read (excuse the pun!) Cheers for now, Alastair

Queen Elizabeth has just begun her third voyage and is now heading back to the Mediterranean, and I’ll tell you more about what’s been happening on our latest Cunarder tomorrow. Meanwhile Queen Victoria is continuing her Autumn season in the eastern Mediterranean while Queen Mary 2 is back in Southampton today, after a quick trip across the channel to Cherbourg. This afternoon she will be heading west across the Atlantic for the last time this year as she begins a series of Caribbean Voyages before her fourth World Voyage in January.

This last eastbound crossing on Queen Mary 2 was followed closely by a guest blogger, Lisa Page. Lisa is from our marketing team in Southampton, and spent her time on board keeping our facebook followers up to date with life aboard a classic Ocean Liner on a Transatlantic Crossing. She has also written some Guest Blogs, with the first today looking at a Cunard classic feature; afternoon tea.

We also have a Guest Blog coming up from Queen Mary 2’s Entertainment Director Paul O’Loughlin, but first here’s Lisa:

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I was delighted to be invited to look at the impressive bakery on Queen Mary 2, as preparations were being made for Cunard’s legendary white glove service of afternoon tea. It’s a daily event and one for which Cunard is rightly famous. Chief Baker Chester talked me through the process of preparing an essential part of the classic tea, the traditional scone.

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Once the special dough is prepared and ready, Chester uses a cutter to get the right shape before putting the scones on a baking tray and then into one of the ship’s many huge ovens.

And it’s not long before there they are, hot fresh and ready to serve. This may seem straight forward until you hear about the numbers involved. They told me they make 880 scones every day, and are served with traditional strawberry preserve and cream. Here is Executive Chef Mark Oldroyd making sure they match the exacting Cunard Standards; which of course they do!

Of course the Scone is not the only part of the traditional Cunard Tea. Literally hundreds of cakes and pastries are made by the Chief Pastry Chef and his team, and here are two trays ready to go to the Queens Room for our guests to enjoy.

Thank you Lisa; I’m sure we are all feeling rather hungry after that report! Lisa will be back on Friday with the second of her Guest Blogs. Now here’s Paul O’Loughlin with news of another Star aboard Queen Mary 2:

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The Cunard Insights Programme welcomed Celebrity Lecturer, Actor, Comedian and Film Producer, John Cleese to Queen Mary 2 on a recent Transatlantic Crossing from New York to Southampton.  John presented three talks that filled the Royal Court Theatre. It was standing room only!

The first event was a Question and Answer session with me where we discussed his amazing career from the Cambridge Footlights, his start in the West End & Broadway, his early days with the BBC, At Last the 1948 Show with Marty Feldmen, and writing the Frost Report.

He recalled some hilarious stories and anecdotes that had the audience roaring with laughter, and we had not even reached the Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers era which raised the roof even more.  Python films, A Fish Called Wanda and his work on Harry Potter, the Shrek series and playing “Q” in the Bond franchise revealed some great behind the scenes moments that were very special. The creativity and writing process of the Python Team was a high point for the audience who loved the genius and madness of the Pythonesque world starring Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Palin and Jones for 45 episodes and 4 series. John was not a part of the final series.

The second presentation we concentrated on Fawlty Towers and we opened with a showing on the big screen of The Psychiatrist episode. This was voted as the audience favourite and closely beat the Rat episode which is actually John’s favourite. This was the first time we had witnessed Fawlty Towers presented as a movie theatre screening, and the laughs as a collective audience were massive.  A Question and Answer session with the audience followed, and as always our discerning guests came up with some great questions for John.

The final presentation was taken from John’s one man show that he is about to tour with in Norway and Sweden and the UK later in the Year.  The Alimony Tour as he quoted. This included how he writes creatively, some clips from his films and television work and where the ideas came from for his most loved sketches.

What a joy it was to have this Comedy Icon on board who was a pleasure to work with and his lecture series really encompassed the magic of the Cunard Insights Programme where our guests can enjoy the finest speakers in our beautiful theatres. 

Thank you Paul for a great Blog. What an amazing opportunity to meet such a legendary name in show business.

I’ll be back tomorrow with news from Queen Elizabeth and her second voyage, and her meeting with Queen Mary 2 for the first time in Southampton on Monday. We’ll then have more news from our flagship on Friday. Cheers for now, Alastair

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