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

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth - 299 days

It’s all in a day’s work for the Deck Department keeping Queen Mary 2 pristine, but if you have ever wondered how they paint those hard to reach areas of Cunard’s flagship read on for a guest Blog from Peter Shanks. In the meantime I was hoping to have posted more than one Blog this week but upon returning home, my computer decided to give up on me, so while it is being nursed back to life I am grateful to my neighbour Roger, who has kindly lent me his laptop to post this one!

It’s an exciting time on board as both ships prepare for the festive period with Queen Mary 2 celebrating in the Caribbean and Queen Victoria heading back to the Canaries. I’ll be posting some pictures of their festivities over the next couple of weeks.  Also with the countdown to Queen Elizabeth under 300 days I am pleased to tell you we have just received some amazing pictures from the ship yard in Italy, and I’ll be posting them on Tuesday. 

Thank you again for all the comments especially from St Agatha’s School, it was great to hear how much everyone at the school and on board enjoyed the day and the follow up Blog.

Here’s this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 18 to 24 December:

18 December 1948 Caronia is commissioned and leaves Glasgow for her run to Southampton

18 December 2007 Queen Victoria makes her maiden call at Hamburg

21 December 1918 Carmania becomes one of the first ships to be released by the government and makes her peace time sailing

21 December 1971 QE2 makes her maiden call at Port Everglades, USA

22 December 2003 Queen Mary 2 is handed over to Cunard

23 December 1923 Ascania II is launched at the Armstrong Whitworth yard in Newcastle

23 December 1968 QE2 completes her sea trials in the Irish Sea

Just before I get to the title of this Blog, I couldn’t let tomorrow go by without mentioning something here. Many of you in the UK will be aware that tomorrow (Friday 18 December) will be Sir Terry Wogan’s last broadcast of what has become the most popular breakfast radio show in Britain with over eight million listeners every morning. To read more about Sir Terry you can follow this link to an interview I did in the summer before he announced he was retiring from the show. Sir Terry Wogan’s interview.

He will be returning to the airwaves in February in his new Sunday show, and he will still be joining guests and TOGs on board Queen Victoria on 14 May 2010. I had the privilege of meeting him on the TOGs Voyage last November and on behalf of us all at Cunard, would like to wish him a well earned rest from the early mornings and of course look forward to seeing him in May.

Under the leadership of the Staff Captain and Marine Supervisor, the Deck Department have the huge task of keeping the outside of our ships in an immaculate condition. This may not seem too complicated until you think about all the areas that includes, from the waterline to the highest point of the funnel and masts. The highest point of Queen Mary 2 is the top of the funnel and at nearly 204 feet above the waterline, painting it is quite a logistical operation.

Here’s Peters Blog:

Guest Blog – Peter Shanks (President and Managing Director of Cunard Line).

Keeping The Most Famous Funnel In The World Clean

After a very busy transatlantic season and some challenging Autumn weather, Queen Mary 2 is now in the Caribbean. I asked our Captain how the weather had impacted our ability to keep the ship looking at her best. He told me not to worry as he had a plan in place with the deck team and he would keep me up to date.

Yesterday he sent me these pictures of our team working hard to clean the most famous funnel in the world.

I thought I would share the fabulous pictures with our bloggers. We often talk of our White Star Service and everything our ship’s company do to look after our guests. Often it is the hotel team who are seen to be delivering the service. However, as these pictures show, it’s every member of the ship’s company that makes the difference. Of course it also means that we will have a beautiful clean Chimney just in time for Father Christmas!

Thank you Peter for your Guest Blog and to Queen Mary 2’s Deck team for these fantastic pictures. If you are wondering how the crew get there, well they actually climb up ladders located on the inside of the funnel itself. They then lower themselves on ropes secured to special points on the inside of the funnel. The ladders to the ships horns are a permanent fixture so that engineers can service them. As many of you will know one of the horns (or Typhons as they are officially known), is on permanent loan from the original Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. It was put aboard QE2 on a Transatlantic crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton where it was taken to St. Nazaire in France to join its new twin. To give you an idea of how big they are; each one is 7 feet long, 3 feet high and weigh in at 1,400 pounds. However you don’t want to be too close to them when they are sounded as they generate a shattering basso profundo blast keyed to low bass A, two octaves below middle C!

Peter will return soon with a special end of year message and speaking of the Deck Department, Queen Victoria recently named their latest Star of the Month as their Deck Storekeeper and you can read more about him tomorrow. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Tuesday with some stunning pictures of Queen Elizabeth’s progress in Italy and a special festive post for next Thursday – Christmas Eve. Cheers Alastair

Thank you again for all the comments about my last post featuring the video from the Fincantieri yard in Monefalcone, and here as promised is part 2. I know you have many questions which I will answer when I can, but at the moment I’m afraid I have no more news for you about the various announcements you are waiting for such as,  the ships senior officers, the alternative restaurant or the exact date when Queen Elizabeth will leave the dry dock. However I’ll let you know on this Blog as soon as I do. In the meantime I am hoping we will return with the cameraman again in the next few months so keep logging on.

As you read this, Queen Victoria has been having a wonderful Atlantic crossing. She is now just a day away from her 3^rd visit to New York, as the first port of call on her Autumn Colours Voyage. Meanwhile Queen Mary 2 returns to Southampton after her fantastic Mediterranean Voyage, before heading for New York.

Before we take you back to see more pictures and video of Queen Elizabeth, here’s “This week in Cunard’s History”, for the week, 25^th of September to the 1^st Of October, which celebrates the anniversary of the first Queen Elizabeth being launched.

September 25 2003

Queen Mary 2 undertakes her first sea trials.

September 26 1934

The 80,744-ton Queen Mary launched at Clydebank and becomes the first merchant vessel to be launched by a member of the Royal family (Her Majesty Queen Mary).

September 27 1938

Queen Mary sails in to New York for the last time completing her final Transatlantic Crossing, with 1,400 passengers on board including the designer John Brown incognito. Shortly afterwards she set sail for Long Beach, California.

October 1 1979

QE2 makes her maiden call to Boston, Massachusetts.

So yes they did manage to get me up one of those incredible cranes which tower 200 feet above the ship yard, but at least we didn’t have to walk up. Believe it or not there was a lift inside the crane’s leg, making the task somewhat easier. And just in case you think I sent someone else up there to take the pictures for me this first photo gives you some idea of how high up we were!

From the top we were greeted by an incredible view which immediately made you realize what an impressive operation a shipyard is. Everywhere you looked you could see parts of our new ship. Each carefully numbered block will eventually become part of this massive jigsaw, but in the meantime it waits its turn to either become part of a larger block or be lifted on to the emerging superstructure. Here you can get an idea of the enormity of the project with ship blocks everywhere, and the town of Monefalcone in the distance.

While Andrew, our cameraman, was filming I was able to take in the views and begin to try and work out which block was which. As I somewhat hesitantly walked across the gantry I got an amazing view directly above the ship in the dry dock.

Looking directly down in the middle I could see on to ‘B’ deck. This area which is just above the waterline is mainly crew accommodation and machinery spaces. As I mentioned in the film on the previous Blog, the large boxes covered in white plastic are crew cabins and bathrooms which arrive as units ready to slot in to their final places. Then moving forward (or up the picture), you can see the ‘B’ staircase which will be right in the middle of the completed ship. Directly forward of that area are the crew lifts and staircase. The very top is the decking of deck 6 with the crew staircase and ventilation shaft in the middle. It may seem like I am sure about all this but have to admit it did take a while to work this all out!

In a shed on the other side of the yard, I could just about make out what I think is going to be the aft mooring deck of Queen Elizabeth, and believe it or not these sheds move on tram tracks so the cranes can lift the blocks in and out.

The next block I saw took a bit of working out, and then I realized this is the midships section with the left of the picture being towards the aft.

You can make out deck 3 deck of the grand lobby with the guest lifts to the right and the void ready for the elegant library staircase in the top right of the block. It’s incredible to think that this massive section will be lifted on to the main ship in just a couple of weeks. I think this will be the section that will fit on top of the ‘B’ Deck section of the earlier picture.

And now, for some more video and this time some very impressive footage from the top of that crane!

Well that’s it for the moment but I hope to post some more pictures for you soon and of course another video from Monefalcone in November. Meanwhile I’ll be back on Monday with Queen Victoria’s latest “Star of the Month” who is from our deck department. Coming up I also have an interview with Queen Mary 2’s new Entertainment Director as well as lots more on the way. Cheers for now - Alastair