Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 63 days

Welcome to another busy week of blogging as we continue our series of Blogs and Video Blogs from our recent visit to see Queen Elizabeth in Monfalcone, Italy, where she’ll be for just nine more weeks in preparation for her maiden voyage on 12 October.

Before we get to the next in the series of Blogs from that visit, thank you for all your comments from our first post last week; it’s great to hear from you as the excitement builds. As so many of you mentioned, the progress is indeed breathtakingly impressive, and yes, it’s great to get a real insight of how our new Queen will look when she is finished in just over two month’s time.

We spent a couple of days filming, and at the end of the first day, we met a small group of press who had come to enjoy a preview of our new Queen the following day. In today’s blog we follow them on their tour around Queen Elizabeth. We have two more Video Blogs (or as Steve Braithwaite says Vlogs – great name!) from the visit coming soon. Before I share some photographs from the visit – let’s view the video:

As you saw, the press arrived at the gangway to be greeted with a White Star Welcome from Cunard’s Bellboys, who were on hand throughout the tour to offer refreshment, cooling towels and guidance. Despite the huge amount of work going on, they still looked fantastic in the Grand Lobby greeting everyone.

Being very much a construction site, everyone was issued a hard hat and then guided on a carefully planned route. It was quite noisy, so the first opportunity to stop off and talk about our new Queen was in the Card Room on deck 2. Here Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, introduced Queen Elizabeth’s Hotel Manager, Robert Howie (Right) and Chief Engineer Colin Black (Left).

The tour highlighted some of the special features that our guests will enjoy in the various venues and areas of Queen Elizabeth. The Midships Bar on deck three of the Grand Lobby will have special cabinets featuring Cunard memorabilia and we were given a preview of what one of them will look like.

The tour then proceeded aft to the Britannia Club and Britannia Restaurant and we’ll bring you pictures and video of the restaurants next week as well as the entertainment venues. An unexpected deviation gave everyone a glimpse of the largest galley on Queen Elizabeth, with much of the equipment already in place just awaiting a thorough cleaning!

Proceeding aft past the Queens Room we reached the Royal Arcade where we left this part of the tour. We’ll return with the second half of the visit tomorrow and it will feature more pictures, another video as well as some more fascinating interviews.

On Thursday there’s more news from Queen Mary 2 and then two Blogs from Queen Elizabeth next week. In the meantime please do keep your comments and questions coming and I’ll do my best to answer them. 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 – 124 days

I know I said I would be posting a Blog about Queen Victoria’s latest Star Of The Month, but that’ll now be later in the week because I have a special President’s Blog featuring our President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, which speaks for itself, so I’ll hand over to Peter.

President’s Blog

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director, Cunard Line

Sounds terribly grand – but once a year we have a ‘Presidential Voyage’ – I travel on the voyage and take the opportunity to spend as much time as I can with our guests and the ship’s company. It’s an opportunity for our valued guests to let me know how things are going and just as importantly an opportunity for me to meet with as many of our people as I can. It was a remarkable voyage in many ways and I thought I would share it with you as a blog. It was a seven day voyage – but don’t worry, you will get through this in less than seven minutes.

New York, New York – never ceases to amaze me with its hustle and bustle. Having flown in the day before the voyage, I had a few hours in Manhattan. Of course I stayed at The Waldorf – well why not, it is the perfect warm up act to Cunard with oodles of heritage and grandeur. I went for a brief walk around the city. As I was standing waiting to cross Madison Avenue (en-route to the finest shop in the world – Brooks Brothers – for my regular supply of blue button-down shirts) I observed New York at its best. A chap in a suit hailed a cab; the cab driver saw him and slowed. Then, another chap in an even sharper suit hailed the same cab. The driver stayed loyal to his first hailer and he climbed in to the cab. The second chap shouted ‘Are you serious’, walked up and opened the door. ‘I was first already’ he yelled. There followed a fantastic argument and then the cab drove off. It was a cross between the film ‘Taxi Driver’ and John McEnroe screaming at an umpire at Wimbledon. So – that was New York at its best – and I retired looking forward to boarding Queen Mary 2 the next morning.

Sailing out of New York – is simply awesome. I often talk of the value for money of a transatlantic crossing – well I also think that whatever you pay you get your value in the sail away from this famous city. It is simply the only way to see New York. The Manhattan Skyline seen from deck 14 of Queen Mary 2 just can’t be bettered.

Ellis Island – where many millions stepped ashore from Cunard Liners in the past to start their new life in America. The sun glinting off the Statue of Liberty and then we headed towards the Verrazano Bridge.  I was hosting a group of some of our travel agent partners in the Commodore Club and I politely said that I had to leave them to go up and make sure we got under the bridge – most of them came up with me. It is an awesome experience – you stand with your back to the bridge and watch the funnel. As we go under the bridge you hear screams of ‘we are not going to make it’ – and then right at the last second the perspective changes and the funnel glides silently under the bridge – to cheers and laughter.

We have left New York; ahead of us is seven days at sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is a unique feeling, with the ocean ahead of us for seven days, how are we going to spend our days, what lies ahead of us, what are we going to do. There was a sense of intrigue and excitement around the ship – we were on a crossing and we were in for something very special indeed.

White Star Academy – my first task on day one was to spend the morning with 40 new recruits to Cunard. As we prepare for Queen Elizabeth we are recruiting new staff. Onboard Queen Mary 2 we have our White Star Training Academy and the new recruits had a full week of induction to White Star Service before joining their colleagues upstairs and looking after our guests. So I spent the morning with them on induction. Commodore Warner and other senior officers came down to the academy to introduce themselves to the new recruits and I was able to say a few words as well. They were certainly made to feel special, to feel welcome and already there was a sense of being part of the team; more later in the blog when I describe their graduation.

There was one amusing moment – for me at least – as we went through a typical ship’s daily programme a hand shot up and asked ‘Could you explain what does ‘Friends of Dorothy’ and ‘Friends of Bill W’ mean – I left it to one of my colleagues to explain……………….

Hosting our valued Guests – Ahead of me lay 6 nights of hosting our valued guests on the Captain’s Table. It was a bit of a daunting thought – but do you know it was a real pleasure. It was a privilege to meet so many interesting and delightful people. Many of them have special memories of having travelled with Cunard Line in the past and I always find it so interesting that we attract such lovely people from different corners of the globe. I have to say they were all great company and most nights we were so busy in conversation we were last to leave the restaurant. Many gave me some tips as to where we can improve further; many spoke highly of the staff that were looking after them. On the last but one night – a Cunard tradition – we bring all the Chefs out into the dining room to parade in front of our guests. There is something very special in seeing 165 Chefs on the glorious staircase in the Britannia Restaurant with rousing applause from our guests. As the Head Chef was introduced, Ray Rouse (Our Entertainment Director and the James Bond of Cruising) finished off the parade by saying ‘and that is because……’ and all 165 Chefs shouted ‘We are Cunard’. It was rather a special moment for me as ‘We are Cunard’ is the glue that holds us all together and our guests reacted with a very warm round of applause. Marvelous.

So how about some Exercise – well on a Crossing you can relax as hard as you like. But it was interesting to see just how many people were active. Early each morning I walked right around our promenade deck – Deck 7. Now Queen Mary 2 is a rather large ship – and it’s three times round the deck to 1.1 miles. It is an excellent start to the day – and very popular. On this crossing we were blessed with good weather and the ship was as steady as a rock. After about three miles I must have said ‘Good Morning’ to at least a hundred people and importantly had burned off many of the calories from the night before. Our Canyon Ranch Spa is really very special. I did not have time for treatments or for the salon – but 30 minutes in the spa pool, sauna, steam room and power showers before dinner just has to be done. It is a fabulous experience. As you step out of the shower, one of the staff has already taken your trunks, rinsed and spun them and placed them in a bag for you. As you approach your locker, one of the staff places a mat on the floor for you. Canyon Ranch – trust me it does not come any better – anywhere.

Is there enough to do on a crossing?  Blimey. It is non-stop for our guests. The 8,000 book Library was very popular. The Bridge Club up in the Atlantic Room was suitably competitive. I was really pleasantly surprised by RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), they were doing a matinee of ‘Taming of the Shrew’ on a few afternoons and there were over 700 guests at each session. Computer Classes were busy as was the ConneXions Internet Centre (Well sending your friends and family an email from the middle of the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2 is one of those things you just have to do). There was plenty more as well including – Feature Movies – Planetarium (Yes a full size one in our Illuminations Theatre showing four different galactic presentations – my favourite is the one narrated by Tom Hanks) – Lectures on really fascinating subjects – Watercolour Painting Lessons – Line Dancing – Whisky Tasting (Gave that one a miss as I was working) – Chef Demonstrations – Trivia Tournaments – Paddle Tennis – Golf Simulators – Book Club Discussions – Needlework Lessons – Fitness Lectures – Casino Lessons and Tournaments – Shopping – Cooking Demonstrations and a whole lot more. I must admit, as I left New York I thought that seven days was a long time. But something quite remarkable happens and the next thing you know its Southampton already.

He is 101 years old – We have a Cunard World Club Cocktail Party in the Queens Room. Imagine the scene. The finest ballroom at sea, a full jazz band in full flow, 1,000 guests resplendent in Black Tie and beautiful dresses. The Atlantic Ocean rushing past the windows at 23 knots, but not an inch of movement of the ship. Commodore greets the guests and introduces the senior officers. (He also tells his joke – it’s a very good one and works every time). We then recognize and thank our valued and most loyal guests. This evening’s honour was a lovely couple who have been travelling with us for many years – it was touching to recognize them. But not as touching as what came next. Ray had discovered that we had a gentleman travelling with us who was in his 101^st year. George Lewis has travelled on many Cunard Liners including Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2, and today is as fit as a fiddle and a marvel to behold – we all wanted to know what his secret was. We asked him up to the stage and presented him with a book on Cunard and OK – maybe when I said ‘We hope you will sail with us for many years to come’ I was pushing it a bit far. But you know, I bet he will.

Queen Mary Reunion – A very special 60 minutes – On each crossing we hold a reunion for those who travelled on the original Queen Mary. So I thought I should go along and listen.

Now if it was not for the fact that I played rugby for many years – I would admit that I was close to tears when listening to this remarkable event. Seated in our Board Room were 15 people – including George. I wrote down some of what I heard as each person told their story. Here we go, it was very moving;

‘I travelled on Queen Mary in 1946 when I was two years old. My mother was a war bride and we were travelling to Halifax where my father met me for the first time’

 ‘I first worked on Queen Mary as a telephonist in 1955. Whist I was on the ship I met and fell in love with the Chief Electrical Engineer. We were married, sadly my husband recently passed away. I am 88 years old now, but I have with me here today our daughter and we have been looking forward to this very special trip with so many memories’

 ‘I travelled on Queen Mary in 1936 when I was aged five. I have always wanted to come back and today I have. I remember running off during supper one evening an getting totally lost – a member of staff found me and reunited me with my parents .I remember being told off by mother, she had made me a lovely floral dress to where on formal nights and she caught me sliding down the wooden slide in the children’s den before supper’

An evening on the ocean – there is such a wide range of ways to enjoy the ship and the experience. People tend to find their own space, their own favourite spot. One option would be a pre-dinner drink in the Chart Room to the music of our Jazz Trio followed by dinner in the Britannia Restaurant and then on to a show in the Royal Court Theatre or dancing at Royal Ascot Ball in the Queens Room. Or – a more informal evening starting with a couple of drinks in the Golden Lion Pub, followed by an Asian meal at The Lotus up in Kings Court followed by a fling in the Casino. It is fascinating to stroll the ship during the evening and see so many activities and experiences – it’s like being in the coolest parts of a happening City – with many Bars, Restaurants and Shows to choose from.

Juilliard Jazz Masterclass – now that was something special. We have just started our relationship with Juilliard School in New York – one of the top music schools in the world. On this voyage we had Rodney Jones performing. He plays jazz guitar and in his time has played with Peggy Lee, Petula Clark, Stevie Wonder, James Brown. He was described by George Benson as ‘a legend among musicians, especially guitarists’.

He played to a packed theatre for an hour and it was spellbinding and just the sort of unique experience our guests expect. More than that – before his final piece – he held a Q+A session for the audience which was fascinating. When a guest asked; ‘Who do you think is the best rock guitarist? – he paused. I thought to myself – well there is only one person for that honour and that is Eric Clapton. After a few seconds he said – ‘Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix’ – well I was half right. Off to bed with a real sense of our guests having had a special experience. There was also Jazz Trombonist, James Burton III, and here he is in his master class with the Chart Room Jazz Trio, Bass, Steve Riddle, Piano, Simon Galfe and on Drums, Andrew Hugget

A special thank you – One morning I was having breakfast when an American guest came up to speak to me. He said he had always wanted to meet somebody senior from Cunard to thank them. He explained that his father had travelled to the 2^nd World War in Europe on Queen Mary in 1941. More importantly, after the war, Queen Elizabeth took him safely home back across the Atlantic. He was on this voyage for that reason and to experience the crossing on Queen Mary 2 as his father had on Queen Mary. It is very humbling to hear such stories but at the same time very uplifting. At Cunard we often talk about our heritage and how special it is – well now I was really starting to understand just how special a crossing really is.

Graduation Time – On the last afternoon, along with Commodore and his Senior Officers we attended the graduation ceremony for the 40 new joiners who had been at the White Star Academy all week. They were each handed their certificate. It is very important that our Senior Officers do this, and I was really pleased to be able to wish them well in their careers with Cunard. Also shaking their hand was our Hotel Manager John Duffy. John has been with Cunard for over 40 years – it was indeed apt that he should be welcoming our new White Star Members into the fold – and no better example for them than what John has achieved.

Last night of the Cunard Proms – We had Conductor Anthony Inglis and his 26 strong National Symphony on this voyage. Earlier in the voyage they played an American Evening – the highlight of which was Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. But on the last night it was the good old British Proms. He had pulled together a 60 strong choir from the guests. 

I joined the choir – we had three rehearsals and were ready to go (Well- sort of).

Commodore Warner also took the baton to conduct under the guidance of course of Anthony Inglis who had also exchanged jackets!.

The Royal Court Theatre was packed for the two shows. The Orchestra played some wonderful pieces including ‘The Dambuster March’ and Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’. As a choir we sang quite a tricky Handel piece and just about got away with it. Then for the fun – Rule Britannia, Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory. The audience loved it – flags everywhere – and three encores.

This was very special – this was a crossing – this was Cunard. (Not sure if I have forgiven the Conductor for asking Commodore and I to have a go at conducting the orchestra – but it was jolly good fun.)

And so it was to be Southampton the following morning – time had flown by and it had been a truly interesting and enjoyable crossing for all. As I left the stage after the concert, one of my fellow singers approached me to say ‘A magnificent concert to end a perfect day and a perfect week – thank you so much’. Works for me – and as I left the ship the next morning I was so proud of each and every one of the 1,250 strong ship’s company and hopeful that our guests had enjoyed their crossing experience as much as I had.

We do more than 20  crossings a year – come and join us on one – you will be most welcome and we would love you to experience all that is special about Cunard and Queen Mary 2 – the most famous liner in the world…………………

Best Regards

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director

Thanks Peter for a great Guest Blog; it sounds like yet another wonderful Crossing on our flagship. I’ll be back on Thursday with some fantastic new pictures of Queen Elizabeth in Italy. Cheers, Alastair.

 Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 126 days

In a press release today, it has been revealed today that Queen Elizabeth, will offer a selection of the most popular dining opportunities from her sisters, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, but will also introduce several new concepts.

Peter Shanks, Cunard’s President and Managing Director, said: “In planning the dining options that will be offered on Queen Elizabeth, we looked for inspiration in venues Cunard has created during its 170-year history and took the best from those. With Queen Elizabeth, Cunard will become one of the oldest names in ocean travel sailing the industry’s youngest fleet, so it is natural for us to recognise our past while always catering for the needs of today’s discerning traveller.”

Cunard’s renowned Global Culinary Ambassador Jean-Marie Zimmermann, who is responsible for all things culinary on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, will continue in this role on Queen Elizabeth. Readers may remember we featured Jean-Marie in a Blog last year which you can see by clicking on this link.

http://wearecunard.com/2009/12/31/

In their day the Verandah Grills on board the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were perhaps the most exclusive restaurants at sea, on a par with exclusive private clubs in London, New York and Paris. These Grills were available to first-class passengers who wanted a truly exclusive experience and the rooms would be frequented by royalty, film stars, the rich and the famous. In keeping with this tradition, The Verandah on Queen Elizabeth will offer an experience of exquisite cuisine, contemporary design and impeccable service with menus created by Chef Zimmermann, who has paid homage to his homeland and created a menu of fine French cuisine. There’ll be artwork inspired by the playful and whimsical murals on the first two Queens, while the vintage menus will tell the story of the dining experience on board the original Queen Elizabeth.

The dishes will evoke the personality and flavour of regions such as Périgord, Pyrenees, Alsace, Bresse and Burgundy and will include Monkfish and Rascas Fish Bouillabaisse, Magret Duck, Baked Brie de Meaux Brioche, and Hot Vanilla Soufflé infused with Edmond Briottet Peach Liqueur. The Verandah will be open for lunch and dinner for a small surcharge.

The Queens and Princess Grills will be very similar to those on Queen Victoria, but will be decorated distinctly in an Art Deco fashion to create an individual feel in each restaurant.

Each restaurant will offer a single seating and A la carte menus featuring classic dishes as well as some new specialties. French-style doors will open from each Grills Restaurant onto the Courtyard where al fresco dining will be offered.

Like Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth also will offer the Britannia Club, where guests travelling in AA category staterooms will enjoy single-seating dining at a time of their choosing.

As many of you know already, Queen Elizabeth’s two-tiered Britannia Restaurant will have a dramatic sweeping staircase as well as Art Deco decorative features. Breakfast and lunch will be served by open seating and guests have the option of either early or late sitting for dinner.

 As on Queen Victoria The Lido will be open 24 hours a day and in the evening several new dining options will be offered such as Asado which features South American cuisine and the traditional style of cooking meats on a grill. Guests may choose from a selection of dishes from the Rotisserie and Grill, such as Roasted Chimmichuri Chicken and Argentinean Lamb Chops with Pistachio.

Aztec will offer authentic regional Mexican cuisine, exploring the variety of spices and ingredients which are native to the country. Guests can look forward to appetizing dishes such as Chile Relleno de Espinaca and Banana-Wrapped Snapper Veracruzana. Finally Jasmine offers Pan-Asian cuisine, drawing on influences from Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and China. Tantalizing dishes are inspired by the many flavours of the region, producing dishes that range from Aromatic Crispy Duck to Char Siew Pau.

The three night-time dinner options are available to all guests for a small surcharge and for those seeking a more informal dining option for dinner; a buffet station will also remain open.

Many of you have seen the pictures of the beautiful new Garden Lounge with its magnificent vaulted glass ceiling. On select sea days, a Champagne afternoon tea service featuring Veuve Clicquot Champagne will be offered for a small charge.

Occasional evening ‘Supper Clubs’ will combine dining with dancing under the stars, where small plates of savouries and sweets will be accompanied by live music.

Also on Queen Elizabeth, just like her sisters, guests will be able to enjoy pub food in the Golden Lion Pub and traditional afternoon tea in the Queens Room.

As well as this Blog you can follow all the news about Queen Elizabeth on a new micro site;

 http://queenelizabeth.cunard.com/

I’ll hope to get you some more pictures from the shipyard in Italy soon but in the meantime Thursday’s Blog will feature news from our flagship, Queen Mary 2.  Cheers for now Alastair.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 144 days  

As Queen Victoria’s guests and TOGs enjoy the Mediterranean and Queen Mary 2 continues her transatlantic season, last night the focus was all on our new Queen. I was fortunate enough to be invited to an event, not where Queen Elizabeth is currently under construction, in Italy, but at David Linley’s Gallery in London’s West End. I attended the special event with Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, the Cunard Marketing and Public Relations Team, David Linley and his staff as well as about thirty members of the press. I’ll continue the story after this week in Cunard’s history from 2 to 27 May: 

There was an air of anticipation and excitement last night as the gathered guests wondered what announcement was about to be made at the exclusive cocktail party. With less than 21 weeks before entering service more and more details of our new Queen are being revealed as The World Awaits her naming and maiden voyage in October.  

As we soon found out, the evening was to celebrate a major piece of artwork which will be the centrepiece of Queen Elizabeth’s Grand Lobby. The challenge for designers was deciding how to treat the significant central space on the sweeping staircase of the ship, which is the first area to greet embarking guests. In a short speech just before the unveiling, Peter Shanks said:  

 “We needed to fill that space with something which would not just be dramatic, a ‘wow’ factor in an area already full of ‘wow’, but which would also reflect our emphasis on traditional and sumptuous materials. After much thought and exploratory work, it was decided to commission a 5.6-metre (18 ft 6 in) high marquetry panel depicting the original Queen Elizabeth, an Art Deco icon, using a variety of natural woods from around the world. Once we had decided on the theme and the medium, it didn’t take us long to conclude that no-one was better qualified for this detailed but monumental work than the company of the exceptional craftsman David Linley, whose creative ability and mastery of wood is renowned”.  

Then commenting on the challenges faced by the bespoke commission, Linley’s Chairman, David Linley, who founded the company in 1985, said: “Though we have made fittings for luxury yachts in the past, this is the first sea-going work we have done on this scale – but it was a commission I was delighted to accept. I recall my father saying the interior design on Cunard’s QE2 made one proud to be British, so I am hoping our achievement on the new Queen Elizabeth will make him – and others – equally proud”.  

Then ribbons on either side of a blue silk cloth were cut simultaneously by Peter Shanks and David Linley to reveal the beautiful artist’s impression of the artwork that will be the centrepiece for Queen Elizabeth.  

Then it was time for some photos and here are Peter Shanks and David Linley next to the newly revealed piece, which shows the port bow of the original Queen Elizabeth seen dramatically from sea level, intricately executed using the technique of marquetry inlay in nine different types of wood veneers. Spanning 2½ decks, the marquetry panel features Madrona, Indian ebony, American walnut, grey ripple sycamore, burr ash, bird’s eye maple, satin walnut , ash, burr walnut and Macassar ebony – all used to depict the evocative image of Queen Elizabeth.  

I then chatted to Peter who told me about Linley, a company specialising in the design and manufacture of fine furniture and marquetry, and how the company was commissioned to design and make this stunning piece of artwork. He told me work is currently under way, and the completed panel will be shipped during the summer to the Fincantieri shipyard at Monfalcone, Italy, where it will be installed over a period of four days to take pride of place just before the ship enters service in October. Here’s an artist’s impression of the full piece.  

As well as Peter Shanks I was also able to chat to David Linley and the head of design at Linley, Mark Blanchard, and fortunately our film crew were they to capture the whole event in an exclusive We Are Cunard video blog.  What a great evening and we are all excited to see the finished work taking its place in Queen Elizabeth’s Grand Lobby, and here is an artist’s impression of how the lobby will look in October.  

What a great evening and we are all excited to see the finished work taking its place in Queen Elizabeth’s Grand Lobby, and here is an artist’s impression of how the lobby will look in October. What a great evening and we are all excited to see the finished work taking its place in Queen Elizabeth’s Grand Lobby, and here is an artist’s impression of how the lobby will look in October.  

 That’s it for another Blog as The World Awaits Queen Elizabeth, and I understand there are lots of announcements coming up revealing more details of our new Queen and I assure you that as soon as I know anything it’ll be posted on this Blog. 

I’ll be back on Monday with more news from the TOGs voyage on Queen Victoria as the team welcome Sir Terry Wogan on board. There’s also more news coming up from Queen Elizabeth in Italy as well news of what’s happening on Queen Mary 2; in the meantime thank you again for logging on. Cheers Alastair.    

Guest Blogger – Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director

Back in March I shared my experiences of being on board Queen Mary 2 in Cape Town with Archbishop Tutu – it was indeed a special time. I was on board Queen Mary 2 over the weekend travelling to Hamburg and I noticed that the plaque we presented to Archbishop Tutu has taken pride of place in the Grand Lobby. It brought back memories of what a marvellous man he is,. Now we stand accused from time to time of telling our loyal and potential guests just how good the Cunard experience is. In fact just this lunchtime we were were awarded ‘Best Cruise Line’ at the Daily Telegraph Ultras in London (see picture below). But it means so much more if we leave it to our guests to do the talking. The attached short video clip does that – please take a few minutes to watch it – I promise it will bring a smile to your face ……………

Head of Cunard Marketing, Richard Curtis receiving Ultra Travel Award for 'Best Cruise Line'

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 206 days

After another busy week of Blogging, this post focuses on the progress of our new Queen. Regular readers may remember that last year there was a competition to decide on the sculpture that will be specially commissioned for Queen Elizabeth. More of that after the regular feature, this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 19^th to the 25^th of March:

Cunard has long had a reputation for commissioning dramatic pieces of art for its ocean liners, and last September in conjunction with the Daily Telegraph, Cunard announced a competition to design an art-deco style sculpture to feature on Queen Elizabeth.

In keeping with the art deco theme on board Queen Elizabeth, competition entrants were asked to come up with their own unique designs, they could take inspiration from traditional art deco figurative pieces, famous art deco buildings or create something unique. Although traditionally the most common mediums for art deco sculptures are stone and bronze, weight considerations mean that the piece will have to be made of a lighter material such as plaster or fibreglass, with a faux bronze or stone finish.

By the competition closing date in December last year, 143 entries from all over the world had been submitted. They then had to be whittled down to just 20, by the judges who included Royal Academy Director, Charles Saumarez Smith, Telegraph Arts Editor, Sarah Crompton and Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks.

In the Telegraph Review in January, readers were then asked to vote for their favourite. A winner was recently announced as 20 year Peter Simpson, who is in his second year of a sculpture course at Edinburgh College of Art. Here he is with a model of his winning sculpture:

Peter heard about the competition through his college and started designing the sculpture last September before submitting the final design at the beginning of December, and was amazed when he received the phone call saying he had won.

Peter comes from an artistic family. He lives with his parents in Edinburgh, and has been surrounded by art for as long as he can remember. His father is a retired Interior Designer who now carves wood and restores furniture, while his mother and elder sister create fashion jewellery from blown glass.

So far Peter has created a dozen very different sculptural pieces including the following:

Peter likes themes around speed and movement with the futurists, especially Umberto Boccioni, a major influence. “I like traditional techniques or subject matter, but with a modern edge,” he explained in an interview with the Telegraph; “I want to connect with people. There are ideas at the root of my sculptures but the pieces aren’t conceptual: you can get to them through the image.”  

The way Peter came to design his work for Cunard, apparently intrigued the judges. He became interested in the new lighthouse lenses, introduced by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in the early 19th century, after watching a BBC Television documentary. He told judges that; “They vastly reduced the material needed to amplify light, but are also beautiful objects in their own right.”

He said that at first he wanted to work with a shell shape, so he spent days sketching whelks. Then he said “I realised that it was too figurative, didn’t say much, and I was finding it hard to get something beautiful out of it. So I took what I liked, the curved shape, the interior space and adapted it to the lens.” These are his sketches of the finished work.

Peter Shanks was delighted by the result; “We were overwhelmed by the creativity of Telegraph readers,” he said “We are delighted to be part of this young artist’s future and to have him, in turn, be part of Cunard’s history.”

The final full sized sculpture won’t be made by Peter, although he will follow its progress with Cunard’s design team who’ll bring his ideas to life. Naturally he will be there to reveal the final work of art and will be part of the celebrations when Queen Elizabeth arrives in Southampton for the first time at the beginning of October this year.

Our congratulations to Peter, I’m sure you’ll agree this piece of art will look stunning and will add another unique feature to our new Queen’s interior.

I’ll bring you more news about Queen Elizabeth’s progress soon, including an interview next week with Robert Howie, the Hotel Manager appointed to our new Queen. I’ve also got some more news from Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 on their World Voyages coming next week, so please keep logging on and sending me your questions and comments. Cheers for now, Alastair.

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 215 days

One of the highlights of every Cunard World Voyage is the celebration that is held in honour of those guests enjoying the whole World Voyage. The event is usually months in the making and involves our on board management as well as the shore side team. This year a spectacular venue was found in Melbourne that was perfect for the night; the National Gallery of Victoria.

Since 1861, the National Gallery of Victoria on St. Kilda Road in Melbourne has been displaying art works for the enjoyment of the community and today’s building has recently undergone extensive refurbishment. During the day the gallery is dedicated to showing magnificent international artwork, and this proved to be an ideal backdrop to our international guest list on the night.

We have over 500 full World Voyage guests this year on Queen Victoria, and they began the evening with a wonderful cocktail party on board before they were whisked off on a short luxury coach ride to the venue which was specially lit for the evening.

At the entrance guests were greeted by a traditional welcome performance, by Australia’s Aboriginal dancers, enhanced by the sounds of the didgeridoo. Guests then walked up a specially laid red carpet, to be welcomed by Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, Captain Paul Wright and Hotel Manager Jacqui Hodgson.

Then as guests entered the magnificent Great Hall, members of the Australian Boys Choir lined the route adding to the sense of occasion. The venue, with its beautiful glazed ceiling, really did look stunning and quite a transformation from what we had seen earlier in the day.

Guests were guided to their seats and were, as is tradition, joined my numerous members of Queen Victoria’s Senior Officers. Every detail in the venues décor had been thoughtfully coordinated and the floral arrangements in particular looked wonderful We are often asked what happens to them after the event and I am happy to tell you that in keeping with tradition, all the flowers from all such events are donated and delivered to cancer units in the region wherever the event is being held. Amongst the arrangements for this year’s World Voyage Dinner, were over 4,000 roses and it was great to receive this message a couple of days later:

On behalf of the clients and staff of the Palliative Care Unit, Broadmeadows Health Service, Northern Health, I would like to thank you for the beautiful floral arrangements delivered to the unit. They have been a much admired and cherished addition to the unit, bringing colour and joy into the lives of our clients and their families. Regards, John Doran, Acting Unit Manager, Palliative Care Unit.

After welcome speeches from Captain Wright and Peter Shanks, I was delighted to introduce the Australian Boys Choir who performed familiar songs from Australia and around the world, from a balcony at the head of the Hall which was then projected on to big screens for everyone to enjoy.

The choir, which formed in 1939, is a performing and training choir, open to all boys with unchanged voices. Entry to the training groups is by selective audition, held three times each year. The Choir, based in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, presents an annual subscription series of formal concerts, as well as other engagements (television, radio and film) and frequent overseas tours. They have also sung before standing U.S Presidents, The Vatican, and Queen Elizabeth during her stay in Australia

As a really lovely touch, after Captain Wright said Grace, the choir boys mingled with very appreciative guests as they started to enjoy an excellent dinner.

Here is the menu for the night which was accompanied by some superb Australian wines chosen specifically to compliment the meal.

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

After dinner we all enjoyed dancing to a wonderful orchestra and many of the ships company showed off their dancing talents with our guests late into the night!

Then all too soon it was time to head back to Queen Victoria, but there was another surprise as a special White Star Service welcome home had been prepared for our returning guests. Then many headed up to the top decks and continue the party to the sounds of our international band Changez, as Queen Victoria set sail for her next port, Adelaide.

As we discover the Orient on the next stage of our 2010 World Voyage, Queen Mary 2 will soon be heading across the Indian Ocean for maiden calls to Mauritius and South Africa. She’ll be hosting her World Voyage Dinner in Cape Town so I’ll try and get some pictures from that event and post them for you.

I’ll be back for my regular post tomorrow which will feature some new pictures from Queen Elizabeth with a special Video Blog highlighting the Grills. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 237 days

A highlight of every World Voyage, is visiting Sydney for two days, and this year on Queen Victoria was no exception. In fact, as you saw on Thursday’s Blog, it included a world first with Queen Victoria being the first ever liner being bathed in pink light. I’ll let our President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, take up the story in a special guest Blog.

Guest Blog – Peter Shanks – President and Managing Director of Cunard Line:

Tickled Pink Down Under in Sydney…………………… and then I climbed the bridge

It was with a real sense of excitement that I set off from Heathrow for Australia last week. I was on my way to Sydney to see our ship Queen Victoria. Excitement changed to a sense of being rather knackered – it really is a very long way and you lose all sense of which day it is and where you are. I flew on the new Qantas Airbus A380 – it’s a terrific aircraft but any aircraft loses its appeal after 22 hours. Nonetheless I arrived safe and sound with two objectives in mind for the visit – to catch up with my friends and colleagues on board Queen Victoria and to give a well deserved shot in the arm for our colleagues in Carnival Australia who are doing so much to grow Cunard’s awareness in the Australian market.

I thought I would share with you three remarkable things I got up to during my short visit.

Turning Queen Victoria Pink – We worked with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to host an event to launch their fund raising efforts for the year ahead. The champion of the foundation here in Australia is Sarah Murdoch, and what a delightful and famous Australian she is. Many of us find ourselves contributing to charities, but very few people are passionate enough to drive and champion a foundation as brilliant and well deserving as Breast Cancer – so hats off to Sarah and her colleagues. Our little bit to help was to offer Queen Victoria for a reception on the aft deck at sundown. It was an awesome setting; on the port side the Opera House and on the starboard side Sydney Harbour Bridge. But being a Cunard event we had to give a twist. So we thought; how about we turn the ship pink to support such a famous ‘Pink’ charity.

Well the pictures speak for themselves. Not only did we turn the ship pink; the resulting media pictures went right around the world.

That gives us so much pleasure – of course it helps to see a Cunard ship a part of such a fabulous event but to help the charity in a small way is jolly satisfying for all of us.

Climbing the Bridge -The next afternoon I had a few hours to spare prior to setting sail for Melbourne. I thought the only view to have of Queen Victoria would be from the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is something I have always wanted to do. Well, I can now recommend to everybody who visits Sydney to climb the bridge if they can. It is the most well organised I have ever seen. They are meticulous in preparation; medical checks, complete kit of overalls, harnesses, headgear, hats and radios. We were a group of 14 strangers from all over the world, but over the course of three hours became friends through the adventure. I tried not to remind myself that I don’t like heights. Once you get up the ladders onto the top structure – it’s a walk in the park and you climb up the beautiful curve of the bridge. It did not take long until we were right at the top, looking down on one of the most beautiful vistas in the world. But today that vista was even more special because below us was Queen Victoria.

OK, so I stand accused of going to any length to gain positive coverage for the Cunard brand, but I have to admit that having a picture of myself and Queen Victoria from the top of Sydney Harbor Bridge is pretty cool. In fact why don’t I lay down a challenge to see if any of our competitor cruise lines can better that? I very much doubt it.

To the real reason for my visit to Queen Victoria – Many of you will know just how special White Star Service is to Cunard Line, our staff and our valued guests. As we sailed from Sydney to Melbourne we launched the new and revitalised White Star Training Program to the ship’s company. Over three presentations during the day, I was able to share our plans face to face with every member of the ship’s company. We are investing in new training programs, new personal development opportunities, as well as awards for ‘Star of the Month’ and ‘Staff Suggestions’. At the end of the presentations we also gave every member of the ship’s company a small gift, to thank them for their incredible efforts in looking after our guests on the World Voyage. Later that day there was another highlight, as we launched the new Cunard Long Service Awards. Along with senior officers, we presented 33 awards to staff who have been with Cunard for more than 20 years. This included stewards, able seamen, waiters and many others. They each received a special White Star Pin, a certificate and an award commensurate with their length of service.  The longest serving officer was awarded for over 38 years and 7 months of dedicated service to Cunard Line – how special is that?

So we arrive in Melbourne today which presented another chance to share Queen Victoria with travel agents and media guests. Tonight we have our famous World Voyage Dinner in the National Gallery in Melbourne to those guests travelling right round the world with us. Then it’s back to London for me, suitably knackered (technical term), but immensely proud of the team we have on board.

What was the highlight of my visit? No question, it was seeing the pride and delight on the faces of our staff when they received recognition for their dedicated service to Cunard – good for them.

We will be back in Australia next year with both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth in Sydney on the same day. And to make it special, it will be the 70^th anniversary of when Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth met in Sydney in 1941 – I can’t wait…………..

Best Regards

Peter Shanks

Thank you Peter for this guest Blog and I can say that it’s been a busy, but very exciting time on board Queen Victoria. As we said goodbye to Peter we are now heading, for the very first time, along the southern coast of Australia to Adelaide and then Perth. I’ll post some more pictures and news as we go along. Peter mentioned Queen Victoria’s current longest serving officer, and I’ll be interviewing him in a week or so. He is the Crew Housekeeper. His name is John Davies and he has a fascinating story.

I’ll also be back later in the week with a special announcement about Queen Elizabeth along with some new pictures from her under construction in Italy. It’s going to be another busy week of Blogging! Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 264 days

As I am writing this post, Queen Victoria has just made her third transit of the Panama Canal, and is now heading north to Acapulco. I’ll have a special Blog next week with some great pictures of this highlight of Queen Victoria’s World Voyage. Meanwhile Queen Mary 2 has just made her maiden call to Safaga in Egypt where her guests will have enjoyed tours to Luxor and the “Valley of The Kings”. 

Before we show you pictures and video of Queen Elizabeth’s interior, here’s Cunard’s history, for the week 22 to 28 January:

Queen Elizabeth’s Float Out ceremony was an amazing occasion, as it gave us the opportunity to witness a milestone in her construction process as well as being able to have a sneak look inside our new Queen, to see how she was progressing. Although it will be less than ten months before her maiden voyage, the interior of the ship at this stage is literally just metal.

To date the main focus of attention has been on the superstructure of the ship, but now that she has moved in to her first outfitting dock the attention turns to the inside. I took quite a few photographs, but frankly it would be hard to work out which area is which, so I took some pictures on board Queen Victoria this week, to give you an idea of what these areas may look like in 37 weeks time, although of course the décor will be different.

Most of the ship still looks very much like a shell and as you’ll see in this first photo of the upper level of the Britannia Restaurant, the outfitting process makes a dramatic difference.

Click image to enlarge

 

 

One thing we noticed in many areas of the ship, such as the Grand Lobby, Royal Arcade, Queens Room and Royal Court Theatre was the huge amount of scaffolding, which would enable work to take place on the very high bulkheads. You’ll see what I mean in this next shot, which is a view looking aft from the B Staircase towards the Grand lobby.

Click image to enlarge

 

 

You can see the lift shafts to the left, and the red panels are the fire screen doors which will eventually be concealed. One subject that I talked about on an earlier Video Blog was the outfitting of the bars, and how the tiling in those areas had already been started, and you can see this on the left hand side of this view of the Golden Lion Pub.

Click image to enlarge

 

 

This was our first opportunity to look at the upper areas of the ship towards the aft, which had only recently been added. This is the view of the Lido Buffet area looking aft, and you can see that the windows still haven’t been installed yet.

Click image to enlarge

 

 

While we looked at Queen Elizabeth’s interiors, I was grateful to Peter Shanks, Cunard’s President and Managing Director, for taking the time to chat to me about the day and the progress of Cunard’s latest Queen. So here is the next in the series of Video Blogs from that special day:-

I’d like to thank everyone again for all their assistance on that cold day, which enabled me bring you these pictures and Video. Please keep your comments and questions coming in, and I look forward to posting another Blog at the beginning of next week with pictures of Queen Victoria’s transit of the Panama Canal. Cheers for now, Alastair