Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 214 days

 

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

 

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

 

12 March 1950	Caronia makes her maiden call to Naples, Italy
15 March 2007	Cunard announces Queen Victoria’s first summer voyages
16 March 2007	Queen Mary 2 makes her maiden transit of the Suez Canal
17 March 2009	A press release from Cunard reveals the first information about the new Queen Elizabeth due to be launched 18 months later
18 March 1839	Samuel Cunard agrees to a tentative contract with the British Admiralty to “Convey mail from a point in England to Halifax and back twice a month”
18 March 2008	Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Singapore

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 221 days

 

Crossing the equator again tomorrow, Queen Victoria is now heading north towards Malaysia, while her big sister is heading south to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland today. Meanwhile back in Monfalcone, Italy work is progressing well on our new sister, Queen Elizabeth and she has just been moved to another outfitting dock at the Fincantieri shipyard, and we have the latest pictures for you.

 

Before we get to those pictures it’s time for our regular feature of this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 5 to 11 March:

 

6 March 2009	Queen Mary 2 makes maiden call at Yokohama for Tokyo
7 March 1980	QE2 makes her first transit of the Suez Canal
9 March 2000	Cunard signs letter of intent with Chantiers de l’Atlantique (France) for Queen Mary 2.
9 March 2006	Cunard Line announced that Commodore Ronald W. Warwick O.B.E., Master Queen Mary 2, will be retiring 31 July 2006 after 36 years of company service
9 March 2008	Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Hong Kong
11 March 1921	Antonia is launched and is the first of 6 to begin with the letter A because they were A Class liners.
12 March 1950	Caronia makes her maiden call to Naples, Italy

 

Newly appointed to Queen Elizabeth is Chief Engineer, Colin Black, and he is already in the shipyard overseeing the technical aspects of new build process, and he was kind enough to send me some new pictures. So here she is with just over seven months to go before she enters service.

 

 

You can just see above the Commodore Club, the beginnings of what will be the spectacular Games Deck with the framework already in place for its protective canvas canopy. Many of the balcony doors have already been installed and the large crane to the right of the photo is being used to bring in the remaining staterooms. Moving a little further aft, and now on deck 10, we get a superb view of the stunning vaulted roof of the Garden Lounge.

 

 

 

As readers of this blog will know, it will be a similar space to the Winter Garden on Queen Victoria but with a new dramatic roof. Just behind that is the Grills area, which has come on a lot since we were last there, and then the iconic Cunard red funnel behind that. In the foreground on the left hand side of the photo will be the Pavilion Pool and work is currently taking place on the pool itself under the temporary protective shelter. It was then time to move our new Queen to a new outfitting dock within the yard, and this is a great picture showing her profile.

 

 

 

Doesn’t she look great and when you see her like this, she doesn’t look that far from completion. She has her own distinctive lines but continuing with the traditional livery that distinguishes her as a Cunarder.

 

Meanwhile inside there is also a lot of work going on around the ship, but at this stage it is mainly welding and installing the thousands of miles of cabling and pipe work. This is a great view of the ship’s navigational bridge ready for the installation of the deck head panels you can see stacked on the right hand side of the photo.

 

 

 

On the deck itself you can see the beginnings of the false floor and you can see the cable trays that will carry the wiring for the navigational equipment. It’s amazing to think that in less than seven months time Captain Wells will be standing on this bridge, with his team, ready to leave the ship yard and head to Southampton.

 

I’ve been promised some more photos soon, so I’ll post them as they arrive. I’ll be back next week with more news from Queen Victoria’s 2010 World Voyage including pictures from the World Voyage dinner, held in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. Cheers Alastair

 

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 224 days

 

Firstly thank you so much for all the messages of congratulations on my appointment to Queen Elizabeth. I really appreciate your kind words and I have to say I am very excited at the prospect of being part of something so special and to work with what I know will be a fabulous team. It’ll also be fantastic to meet so many of you during her maiden season; what amazing voyages they’re going to be.

 

With exactly thirty two weeks to her maiden voyage, Queen Elizabeth is making remarkable progress at the ship yard in Monfalcone, Italy, and I’ll have some new pictures of her later this week. In the meantime the huge task of manning our new Queen has begun, and now that the senior officers are in place, many other officers will soon be appointed.  Over the next few weeks I’ll be interviewing many of those officers, so you can get to know more about the team who’ll be leading Queen Elizabeth’s inaugural crew.

 

This week on board Queen Victoria, as she makes her way along the southern coast of Australia, we were able to welcome a very special guest, the master designate of Queen Elizabeth, Captain Chris Wells. I had never met him before, so it was a real pleasure to talk to him for a while about his appointment to his new ship. If you would like to read about Captain Wells’ career, you can click on this link to the Blog that first announced his appointment last September.

 

http://wearecunard.com/2009/09/breaking-news-the-master-is-appointed-for-queen-elizabeth/

 

 

I’ve done many interviews on this Blog, and although you may expect me to say it, this one with Captain Wells was not only easy and fun to do, but also gave me a great insight to why he’s such a popular Captain amongst our guests and crew.

 

Special Interview – Master Of Queen Elizabeth – Captain Chris Wells

 

 

Firstly, congratulations on being appointed Queen Elizabeth’s first Master. How did you feel when you were told?

I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised; I certainly wasn’t expecting it. Once the news sunk in I realised what an honour it was to be asked to be the first Master, and of course I was delighted as well as being proud.

 

Looking back at your career, could you ever have imagined you’d be the first master on a brand new Cunarder?

I never thought I would be on passenger ships, let alone being a Captain of such prestigious ships as the Cunard Queens. When I am on board and host a table for dinner, the most frequent question I’m asked is how I became Captain. The truth is I ran away to sea so I didn’t have to go to university! I always had wanderlust so a career at sea seemed perfect, but I always thought the height of my career would be a Captain of an oil tanker; it never crossed my mind I’d be the first Captain on a Cunard Liner.

 

What do you think will be the most exciting part about bringing Queen Elizabeth in to service?

That’s easy; it’ll be bringing her to Southampton for the first time and then to see her being named before welcoming her very first guests. With the maiden voyage being sold in just 29 minutes it’ll be great to see so many of our most loyal guests on board. Then of course it will be up to all of us to ensure we deliver the very best of White Star Service, so our guests have the most memorable voyage.

 

What do you think will be the most challenging aspect of being involved with a new ship?

Although most of the ship’s company will be coming from either Queen Victoria or Queen Mary 2, we will have some crew who will be new to Cunard, and our job will be to establish a sense of community. We won’t have that much time, but it’s very important to me that we get a great team spirit amongst the ship’s company as quickly as possible.

 

Do you know when you’ll be going out to join Queen Elizabeth in the ship yard?

It hasn’t been confirmed yet but I think it’ll be some time in August, although I may make a couple of visits in the meantime to see how she’s progressing.

 

Where would you like to go in the world where you haven’t been yet?

As far as being on a ship is concerned, I would like to go to the west coast of South America, the Chilean fjords are really appealing to me. I’m a real outdoor type so I would love to walk on top of the world, literally, by hiking in the Himalayas; a bit like Michael Palin but without the camera crew!

 

Please could you tell us something about your job that would surprise us?

I think many people, who don’t work on ships, don’t realise what a double life we lead. When I am on board I am the Captain of the ship for that time period, but then when I go on leave another Captain will come on while I’m away. I’ll then follow my other life of husband, daddy and gardener, though not necessarily in that order! I love my life at sea, but I am also a real family man. I love spending time with my wife Hedda and kids, Henry (10), Emily (8 this month) and William (6).

 

 

Doing the normal things at home is great and we are lucky to live in a lovely house just ten minutes from the beach and ten minutes from the Sussex downs. We are all great walkers and this time together is very precious, whether it’s at home, taking walks or just playing on the beach.

 

 

What does “We Are Cunard” mean to you?

Stepping back on a Cunard ship, having been away on our sister brands ships for a while, it was wonderful to feel like I was literally coming home. Already in the few days I have been on Queen Victoria I have met literally hundreds of familiar and friendly guests and crew. That’s what it means to me; the tight knit community and family spirit which are unique to Cunard.

 

Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?

Not really. My career has already surpassed my expectations. Mind you I love music and enjoy playing the piano when I get a chance. We are a very musical family, with most Saturday mornings at home dedicated to music. Perhaps one dream would be to play the piano better, but that might have to wait until I retire. Another dream is to own an Aston Martin one day, but I’ll cope with the people carrier for now. Mind you, I’d also have to arrange for the humps to be taken out of the road as well, so I could get it in our driveway!

 

When you get home after a contract what’s the first thing you do?

The first and most important thing is to catch up with Hedda and the kids.

 

 

After the first weekend of relaxing, I’m then presented with a long list of DIY jobs to do. But that’s OK, I actually like doing all those jobs like painting and a bit of wood work; in fact I’ve just finished decorating our lounge. I’m quite a perfectionist so the jobs do take me a bit longer.

 

When you are on leave; what is a perfect evening?

We would have some friends round for dinner. Hedda is a great cook and she loves to entertain while preparing a fantastic meal, making it a lovely event.

 

 

We love social dinners and we’ve just built an extension with a large kitchen dining room, so we can all enjoy each other’s company, in great surroundings.

 

Thank you so much for your time Captain Wells; we look forward to seeing back on Queen Victoria at the end of April and then later in the year in Monfalcone. I’ll be back later in the week with pictures from the Fincantieri ship yard, as well as news from Queen Victoria’s 2010 World voyage dinner and lots more to come. Cheers 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:

 

23 January 1951	Caronia makes her maiden call to Honolulu, Hawaii
26 January 1856	The Persia begins her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York, as Cunard’s last but one paddle steamer.
26 January 1986	QE2 makes her maiden call at Callao, Peru
26 January 2008	Queen Victoria makes her maiden call at Acapulco

 

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

 Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 267 days

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 271 days

 

It was lovely to see Queen Victoria in New York’s Manhattan, as I arrived to join the ship on a very cold but sunny Tuesday Morning. In fact it was so cold; there was ice in the harbour!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was great to meet many readers of this Blog, as well as so many familiar faces amongst our guests who were either joining Queen Victoria on that day, or had joined in Southampton. After a brief hand-over with Amanda Reid, she left that evening on a flight to Lisbon to join Queen Mary 2.

 

Thank you for the amazing feedback from the first Queen Elizabeth Float Out video. I am pleased you enjoyed it and am delighted to enclose the video from the second part of the day, along with some great photos, but first here’s Cunard’s history, for the week 15 to 21 January:

 

15 January 1972

QE2 makes her maiden call at Norfolk, Virginia, USA

 

15 January 2007

Queen Victoria floats out of her dry dock

 

16 January 2002

The first steel is cut to mark the formal start of construction of Queen Mary 2

 

20 January 1950

Caronia crosses the equator for the first time travelling south to Brazil

 

21 January 2008

Queen Victoria makes her maiden transit of the Panama Canal

 

 

Looking at our history, it’s incredible to think that less than three years after Queen Victoria was floated out of her dry dock for the first time, we were celebrating her sister, Queen Elizabeth, also floating out.

 

After the coins were welded to the ship’s bulkhead, our Madrina, VIP’s, officials and guests moved to the dock side for the next stage of the ceremony. After speeches from the Shipyard Director, Paolo Capobianco, and Cunard’s President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks, the Fincantieri Chaplain, Padre Gildo, was invited to bless the ship for the next stage of her construction.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Our Madrina, Dennie Farmer, was then given a special small axe to cut the wire, releasing the bottle of Prosecco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottle then smashed against Queen Elizabeth’s hull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the signal for one of the shipyard’s staff to open the valves on the massive dry dock gates to let the water in, so that Queen Elizabeth could float for the very first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was quite moving realising the significance of the event, when the water came rushing in to the dock towards Queen Elizabeth’s hull.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here is the video which captures the event perfectly:

 

 

 

 

 

The whole process takes some time, so we were grateful to receive these pictures of the latter stages of the filling of the dry dock with this first picture showing the aft section;

 

 

 

 

This is a fabulous shot of the bulbous bow in an almost full dock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’ll notice there is still a lot of paintwork to be completed on Queen Elizabeth’s hull which will be taking place soon. She will also go in to a dry dock one more time, after her first set of sea trials which are expected to be in about 18 weeks time. During that dry dock Queen Elizabeth’s hull will be completely repainted and treated ready for delivery a few months later.

 

We still have more videos from the day including some special interviews and we’ll post them over the next week or two. In the meantime I’d like to thank our cameraman Andrew for this stunning footage, as well as Simona and everyone at the Fincantieri shipyard for all their help and patience during the filming.

 

Also coming up is some news of the World Voyages from Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. I’ll be back on Monday with the first of the interviews filmed at the Float Out Ceremony. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 274 days

 

As I prepare to fly to New York to meet Queen Victoria on her 2010 World Voyage, I am delighted to say that the first Video Blog from Queen Elizabeth’s Float Out ceremony is now ready.  As I mentioned in my last post, this is the first part of four from the day. The ceremony began on the new Games Deck, where following tradition, our Madrina, Dennie Farmer was invited to weld the three coins to the bulk head, after which our President and Managing Director, Peter Shanks added his welding skills to complete that part of the day’s celebrations.

 

 

 

And here, having completed their tasks, Peter and Dennie are photographed in front of the newly welded coins which Queen Elizabeth’s guests will be able to see whenever they visit the Games Deck.

 

 

 

Fincantieri Ship Yard Director, Paolo Capobianco then signed Dennie’s apron to commemorate the occasion.

 

 

 

So now, here’s the video which I hope you agree really captures the excitement of the first part of the day.

 

 

 

 

As I mention in the video, the ceremony then moved to the dock side, and the Video Blog which sees this bottle of Italian Prosecco break on Queen Elizabeth’s Hull, will be posted later this week.

 

 

 

We will then get to see the lock gates release water in to the massive dry dock, and Queen Elizabeth’s hull touches water for time. I also have some great interviews from the day on the way as well.

 

I’ll be back on Thursday with the weekly Blog when I’ll let you know how the World Voyages on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria are going, and of course more pictures and videos from Queen Elizabeth’s float out ceremony. Cheers, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 278 days

 

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

 

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

 

8 January 1971	QE2 joined in the rescue of some 500 passengers from the burning French Line ship, Antilles, off Mustique Island
8 January 2004	Queen Mary 2 is named by Her Majesty the Queen after 20,000 people had worked with 300,000 parts, 1,000 miles of welding in just 2 years of construction
8 January 2007	Cunard announces the new Commodore of the Cunard Fleet as Bernard Warner
9 January 1972	Several fires break out on Queen Elizabeth while she is in Hong Kong Harbour as a floating university. Arson was suspected but never proven. By the next morning she was on her side, where she stayed for 3 years before sinking.
11 January 1949	Caronia arrives in New York for the first time, via Cherbourg
13 January 2008	Queen Victoria makes her maiden call at New York for the first meeting of three Queens with Queen Mary 2 and QE2.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

Best Regards

 

Peter Shanks

President and Managing Director – Cunard Line

 

 

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

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 280 days

 

Monday 4 January is a special day, as both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria begin their 2010 World Voyages, but this year there is a difference. Queen Victoria heads west to New York while her sister will, for the first time, begin her World Voyage heading east from New York to Southampton. I’ll make sure we get pictures from both ships as they progress around the world.

 

Meanwhile our third Queen is nearing the next milestone in her construction; the float out ceremony. That will be happening tomorrow and over the last few weeks the final additions have been made to her superstructure ready for her big day on 5 January.

 

These photos were taken just before Christmas and Queen Elizabeth entered in to the festive spirit with a special addition to her iconic funnel for the town of Monfalcone to admire.

 

 

 

Another very important addition was the forward main mast, which will carry many vital elements of the ship’s navigation equipment and is also where some of the ships flags are flown from.

 

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The final touches are also being added to the bow as the familiar livery of the white and federal grey paint are added.

 

 

 

One of the last jobs was to add the propellers to the Azipod motors at the stern of the vessel. It’s only when you see someone working on them that you realise how massive they are.

 

 

 

Work is progressing fast inside as well, and this is the first view of the magnificent staircase in the Royal Arcade.

 

 

I’m really looking forward to seeing her for myself again tomorrow as I return to Monfalcone for the float out ceremony. This will be a very exciting moment as Queen Elizabeth’s hull touches water for the first time and moves to her outfitting dock. I’ll post the first pictures of that ceremony on Thursday with some videos including an interview with President and Managing Director Peter Shanks. Cheers Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 292 days

 

As Queen Victoria spends her Christmas in the Canaries and Queen Mary 2 celebrates in the Caribbean, we’ve already had snow falls here in Britain. Who knows whether it will stay or not for Christmas, but it has certainly made things very festive as we think of our colleagues in warmer climes. Thank you again for all your comments and to answer the big question regarding Queen Elizabeth and when she will float out; well read on as Peter Shanks mentions it in his message. Before we get to that here’s this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 25 to 31 December:

 

25 December 1981 QE2 makes her maiden call at Kralendijk, Bonaire

26 December 1949 Caronia makes her maiden call to Ciudad Trujillo (Santo Domingo)

26 December 2003 Queen Mary 2 arrives in Southampton for the first time

27 December 1930 John Brown Yard Manager, Donald Skifflington, hammers first rivet on Queen Mary

28 December 2007 Queen Victoria makes her maiden call at Madeira

30 December 1964 Contract to build QE2 is signed between Cunard and John Brown Shipyard.

 

As we reflect on this remarkable year for Cunard, it’s a great pleasure to hand over to Peter Shanks for his thoughts on this last year and a look at the one ahead.

 

 

Guest Blog – Peter Shanks - President and Managing Director Cunard Line

 

Happy Christmas

 

As we look forward to Christmas and the dawn of a new year, it’s good to reflect a little on the past year and what we have to look ahead to in 2010.  The past year has certainly been a tough one for all of us, whether in business or in our personal lives, given the very challenging economic conditions we have seen around the world. First and foremost, all of us at Cunard Line would like to thank our valued guests for travelling with us over the past year. We are fortunate to have a wonderful sense of loyalty amongst our guests. We have also seen a growing number of guests sailing with Cunard Line for the first time in 2009. Almost every sailing has been full during the year and we really appreciate that support.

 

As you know, we very carefully measure our guest satisfaction on each and every voyage. Through the year our guests have scored their satisfaction at record levels on both Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. Over 98% said they would recommend Cunard to a friend and over 97% said they would return to sail with Cunard again in the future. That is terrific and the credit for that must go to the ship’s company. We pride ourselves on our White Star Service – it’s the most special thing we have.  In a Christmas message to all of our staff who work so hard on board our ships I was able to thank each and every one of them for the marvelous “White Star Service” they deliver to our guests, so rest assured their efforts in looking after all of our guests have been, and will continue to be, well recognised.

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading our Blog during 2009, it’s really starting to take on a life of its own. From my perspective there have been a number of highlights during the year, many of which have been shared on the blog, but in particular I will remember the year for:

 

·         Queen Mary 2 Around the British Isles Voyage – this was a wonderful way to celebrate the 5^th birthday of Queen Mary 2 – without doubt the most famous ship in the world. The welcome we received in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cobh and Cherbourg was amazing. It reminded all of us of the proud tradition of Cunard Line.  To be on Queen Mary 2, on the Mersey River, alongside the historic Cunard building, in the Royal Court Theatre, with the 73 piece Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performing “You’ll never walk alone” was very Cunard. Queen Victoria will go round Britain in July 2010 on her inaugural lap of honour and I certainly won’t miss that one!

 

·         My lapel pin – I never thought a lapel pin could mean so much. All of us at Cunard Line wear the White Star Service lapel pin. It is a small piece of metal, but it represents something which is incredibly special both to all of us at Cunard Line and I trust to our guests as well.  Each time I go on the ship, it acts as a point of reference – all of our staff have their pin and wear it proudly, they also recognise the fact that I have my pin on as well. So even to those staff who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, there is instant recognition that we are all part of something special.

 

·         So many awards – it’s fine for all of us at Cunard to be proud of the service we deliver to our guests.  However to receive third party recognition is much more powerful as it salutes the holiday experience and service we offer to our guests.  2009 has been a great year for awards including:

 

-       “Cruise Line of the Year” – British Travel Awards

-       “Best Cruise Line in four out of five categories” – the first ever Zagat awards in North America

-       “Top two ships in the world” – Berlitz Cruise Guide

-       “Top Cruise Line” – Cruise.co.uk guest reviews

-       “Conde Naste Readers’ Travel Award”

 

Those are only a few but it was terrific in each case to be able to send a very positive message to our ships’ company for what they have achieved.

 

 

·         Meeting our Guests – in my first six months as President and Managing Director of Cunard Line I have really enjoyed meeting so many of our guests whilst on board our ships.  That has been a real highlight for me personally as it is always useful to hear just how our guests feel about their experience as well as ideas for future itineraries and areas where we could further innovate and improve in everything that we do.  So thank you for taking the time to share those ideas and I look forward to meeting many more of our guests during 2010, including when I join Queen Mary 2 in New York in June eastbound Transatlantic Crossing.

 

 

Looking forward to 2010, it’s going to be a very special year indeed. The highlight of course will be the introduction of Queen Elizabeth in October. There is a real sense of anticipation and excitement building now and we have much to do and much to announce as we go through 2010. Our Blog has become a really useful way of us communicating how the ship is developing and Alastair has been terrific in terms of the photos and video blogs he has been posting.  We will continue with that starting with the Float Out ceremony on 5 January in Trieste. Rest assured we will share all of our exciting news as we go through each month of 2010.  The one for everyone to watch out for will be the launch of the Queen Elizabeth inaugural Summer Season for 2011 which will go on sale in April. We are currently working on her itineraries to ensure they are the best we have ever had, with a range to suit everybody in all of our international markets. 

 

In the year ahead Queen Victoria also has some exciting new itineraries as she settles down to fly/cruising in the second half of the summer in the Mediterranean and of course her exciting new programme for Winter 10/11 which includes the Caribbean, Panama Canal, West Coast of USA and Hawaii. And with Queen Mary 2 and her historic Transatlantic crossings we really have an awful lot more to offer our guests than ever before.

 

So thank you for being one of our “bloggers”. We will be launching a new website in the first part of 2010 and we will continue to make sure that our “We are Cunard” blog plays a prominent part.

 

It gives Alastair, myself and many other colleagues the ability to tell the many exciting and varied stories that come to us on a daily basis at Cunard Line. It is really very special to have a brand with 170 years of heritage and the youngest fleet in the world.

 

So a very happy Christmas to each and every one of our bloggers and guests and thank you so much for your interest and support of Cunard Line during 2009.

 

Best wishes too for the year ahead in everything that you do. We hope that one of the highlights of your own year ahead will be a voyage, or two, with Cunard Line – we would love to welcome you back.

 

Best regards,

Peter Shanks

 

Thank you Peter, and when you look back, it’s certainly been an amazing year. It just leaves me to add my personal best wishes to everyone for a wonderful Christmas season wherever you are in the world. I’ll be back next Thursday with the 125^th and final post of 2009. Cheers Alastair