Guest Blog

Richard Curtis & Cristina Munoz

Cunard Marketing

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At Cunard we are proud of our relationship with our guests and partners. We work in partnership with many well known and respected brands such as Fortnum & Mason, Twinings, The Prince’s Trust and, most recently The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society). Which brings us to the largest flower show in the world at Hampton Court Palace this week.

The 2011 Hampton Court Palace Flower Show opened on 4 July with a glittering preview evening and we are delighted to be present throughout the week with The Palace Tea Rooms in association with Cunard. The magnificent Hampton Court Palace, the Long Water, the beautiful gardens and a host of quintessential British traditions are providing us with the perfect setting for visitors to enjoy a relaxing break and afternoon tea. 

Gardening has long been a favourite past time for our Cunard guests and the world’s largest flower show was the ideal event to showcase our new partnership with The RHS. We are grateful to the organisers for coordinating the fireworks display around The Palace Tea Rooms!

During the day the judging of the gardens took place, in time for the show opening in the evening. Here are some of the deserving winners and some interesting displays:

The first 2 days of the show are dedicated to RHS members and we were glad to see so many Cunard guests amongst them. We spoke to many of you at our stand, where visitors can enter the competition to win a voyage on board Queen Elizabeth. No wonder our stand has been so popular….

Many of you may wonder why we are associated with The Palace Tea Rooms instead of a garden. The Tea Rooms offers one of our signature traditions -  afternoon tea, served with sandwiches, scones, cakes and even champagne for the Sparkling Afternoon Treat! It proved very popular, with some previous guests commenting that they almost felt like they were at sea, with the stunning location alongside the Long Water.
Along with the beautiful gardens, there is so much more to see, including the edible garden, food stalls, shopping and some rather photogenic ducks…

If you are coming to the show this week, we’d love to see you, and you may even win a voyage on Queen Elizabeth!

Richard & Cristina

While Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth were enjoying their rendezvous in Sydney our other sister, Queen Victoria was having a rendezvous of her own. Last week she met up with the first Queen Mary in Long Beach California and fortunately Richard Curtis, Cunard’s Head of Marketing, was there to tell us the story in this special guest Blog;

Guest Blog

 Richard Curtis

 Head Of Marketing

 Cunard Line

A couple of times a year I take the opportunity to spend a few days with my Cunard colleagues in North America based in Santa Clarita in Southern California. Last week I was lucky enough for my visit to coincide with the first ever rendezvous of Queen Victoria and her older sister Queen Mary at her home in Long Beach.

This is the 2^nd Royal Rendezvous I have attended this year, the first being that remarkable occasion on 13 January when our three Cunard Queens met for the first time in New York. Every Royal Rendezvous is a special occasion enjoyed by the guests on board and by the many onlookers who turn out in their thousands and each is special in their own way. For me, the meeting of Queen Victoria and Queen Mary would arouse my emotions in an especially personal way as my relationship with Cunard began just over 44 years ago when I sailed on her as a 3 year old. I was the youngest passenger on board Queen Mary’s final Christmas Voyage in 1966. 

I have since returned to visit this remarkable ship twice, in 1989 and 2002 although this would be my first time since joining Cunard some 4 years ago. Unusually for Southern California the day started grey and slightly damp with little likelihood of brightening up. I thought; well, at least if it stays dry people will enjoy the event without getting wet, fingers crossed.

Before driving down to Long Beach to visit Queen Mary, I was lucky enough to join a special delegation of Cunard’s friends from the Tournament of the Roses in Pasadena for lunch on board Queen Victoria. You may remember that this year Cunard entered a float into the Rose Parade which takes place every New Year’s Day in Pasadena. It’s a spectacular event witnessed by over a million spectators on the route and tens of millions of TV viewers in North American and beyond. Queen Victoria has been sailing out of Los Angeles this year on a series of roundtrip voyages including voyages to the Hawaiian Islands. As it was her last turnaround in Los Angeles before heading back to Southampton via Mexico, the Panama Canal and Fort Lauderdale, it was the perfect opportunity to show her off and to thank the volunteers and designers we had worked with on constructing our Rose Parade float.

Queen Victoria was looking as wonderful as ever and needless to say we were treated to a delicious lunch in her elegant Britannia Restaurant. Over lunch I got to know famous interior designer Raul Rodriguez who has designed many landmark hotels and restaurants around the world but also designed Cunard’s award winning float. Remarkably Raul has been designing Rose Parade floats since he was 14 years old.

The problem with having lunch on any of our ships whilst in port, is the necessity to disembark rather than stay on board for the voyage ahead, but we had to leave and head on to Long Beach.

Seeing Queen Mary’s unmistakable and beautiful three funnel profile is like seeing an old familiar friend again and never fails to impress. Stepping on board after my earlier visit that day to Queen Victoria was like going through a time warp but also confirmed just how much of the traditions of ocean liner style and elegance are reflected in our Cunard Queens today.

This year Queen Mary celebrates the 75^th anniversary of her maiden voyage and I was delighted to discover during an excellent tour that she is looking considerably better than on my last visit 9 years ago.  Major investment in restoring her grand public rooms and the 350 First Cass Staterooms, which comprise the Queen Mary Hotel, has paid off and I can thoroughly recommend a stay on board should you ever be in Los Angeles, perhaps just before joining one of our Americas voyages! You can find out more about staying on board here: http://www.queenmary.com

I can only remember fleeting glimpses of my time on board as a three year old. My grandfather spent his entire career with Cunard; with his last days at sea being as head Chef in the Verandah Grill, before becoming land based as Catering Superintendent. It’s good to know I have a little of Queen Mary’s soul in my blood.

Here you can see her Bridge, note the wonderful old style wheels for manoeuvring the ship’s rudders, amazing how technology has changed things over the years!

Here you can see the art deco splendour of her First Class Lounge

And here is her famous Observation Bar (which an insider tells me is by far the best bar in Long Beach!). Fancy a Martini anyone?

And finally what is perhaps her most spectacular venue, the glorious first class swimming pool.  Wow! 

Thank you Paul Haught, Director of Events for The Queen Mary for the personal tour, and good luck with the 75^th Anniversary!

And now back to our Rendezvous. By 5.30pm when Queen Victoria was shortly due to make her appearance around the headland and into Long Beach Harbor, several hundred people had taken advantage of free entry for the day to Queen Mary and had gathered on her aft decks; people of all ages and all suitably furnished with Union Jacks. In true Californian style the weather had improved throughout the day and we were now blessed with a clear and bright twilight and a rapidly gathering nightfall. Here Queen Victoria is just coming into view.

As she came closer she gave a stirring long blast on her whistle to announce herself to her older sister, who promptly responded with a throaty baritone greeting of her own.

Queen Victoria looked absolutely stunning, very different to her older sister but every bit a traditional Cunarder with her own style and grace. I couldn’t help over hearing remarks made by my fellow admirers, many of whom had not witnessed one of our current Queens. Needless to say they were suitably impressed. I’m sure that the view of Queen Mary from the decks of Queen Victoria was quite a sight, and judging by the countless camera flashes we made an excellent picture!  There were several more blasts of the whistle by each ship before a spectacular firework display in the true Cunard tradition.

What a wonderful day to remember!

Thank you Richard for that great Guest Blog; it certainly sounds like a very special occasion and another great Cunard Celebration. 

I’ll be back on Thursday with a special Blog featuring Cunard’s Star of the Year and on Friday another report from Queen Victoria from her America’s season of voyages. Cheers for now, Alastair

Countdown to Queen Elizabeth – 315 days

If you are back in Britain, America or Canada experiencing dreadful weather that comes with the beginning of December, you probably don’t want to hear how lovely it is in the Caribbean where Queen Mary 2 has just completed her first voyage of the season. Likewise the fact that it is warm and sunny in the Canary Islands where Queen Victoria has been for the last week, might seem like we are rubbing it in a bit; so I’ll get straight on with this special Blog.

Cunard is very proud of its association with The Prince’s Trust charity, founded by The Prince Of Wales, and it’s a pleasure to be involved with any activity or event that helps them continue their tremendous work. Regular readers may remember I interviewed Amie Hoyland, Head of Corporate Partnerships, in a Blog posted on the 25^th of June where she told us more of their important work.

http://wearecunard.com/2009/06/a-charitable-royal-partnership/

More recently in Southampton, Cunard hosted a special event where over eighty guests were invited to a fund raising lunch on board Queen Victoria. The guests were Cunard Platinum and Diamond World Club Members and supporters of the Trust, and thanks to their generosity, the event raised over £8,350, which means Cunard has now raised an amazing £423,000 for The Prince’s Trust.

The guests were joined by some of Queen Victoria’s senior officers including Captain Ian McNaught, Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador Chris Elkeke and Moira Stuart (BBC Newsreader and Broadcaster), who works as an Ambassador for the Trust. Richard Curtis, Cunard’s Head of Marketing, takes up the story:

Guest Blog – Richard Curtis – Head of Marketing for Cunard Line

Our beautiful Cunarder looked especially impressive basking in the autumn sun at Southampton’s Ocean terminal, but equally impressive when I arrived in the Queens Room for our Champagne reception was the stunning ice carving spelling out ‘The Prince’s Trust’ (complete with an ice apostrophe!). The attention to detail of our onboard teams and their ability to exceed expectations never ceases to impress me!

Moira Stuart spoke about the importance of the work achieved by the Prince’s Trust and the extra demands faced during today’s difficult times. Here she is pictured with Captain Ian McNaught.

Even more moving however was the eloquent story told by Chris Ekeleme, and how his involvement with east London gangs and a life of crime had been reformed after being introduced to The Trust. Chris has managed to turn his back on gang life and now works hard as a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador and at a school in South London. Here is a picture of Chris with Moira Stuart, Paul Brown and Rhiannan Sarah Spugeon from the Trust, and myself.

Lunch on Queen Victoria is always a special occasion but the lunch on this wonderful day was particularly memorable as the menu had been designed and prepared by celebrity chef Todd English and our very own Global Culinary Ambassador Jean Marie Zimmerman. Todd had flown over especially from Las Vegas for the occasion and it gave our guests the opportunity to experience his delicious cuisine which can also be found in the Todd English Restaurants on both Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2.

The only problem with events such is that they go too fast and soon come to an end. I can guarantee that nobody attending the lunch wanted to leave Queen Victoria and wave good-bye that day, least of all myself.  As we watched lucky guests embarking the ship ready for a sixteen night Mediterranean voyage in the sun, it made leaving even harder!

Thank you Richard, and I certainly agree that it was a fantastic day which was not only really enjoyable, but we were able to play our part in helping raising money to help underprivileged youngsters. The Prince’s Trust does such an amazing job and if you would like more information you can visit www.princes-trust.org.uk.

I’ll be back soon with more news from the fleet as well as the regular updates. Cheers Alastair

It’s been a great week for Cunard, as the company has received more accolades, which is always a boost for those of us on board as well as those who support the ships from the shore side. Before I pass over to Richard Curtis (Cunard’s Head of Marketing) for his guest Blog, here’s what’s happening on board. Queen Victoria is currently enjoying the Mediterranean sunshine, with the highlight of this voyage, for many, being the return to Venice, the second of just two visits this year. (We will be arriving at about 0730 GMT, if you would like to watch the arrival on the Bridge Cam). Queen Mary 2 is also heading for the sun and once she arrives in New York on the 17th, after the final westbound crossing of the year, she’ll be heading down to the Caribbean for the next couple of months before beginning her 2010 World Voyage in January. Thank you again for all your comments especially on last week’s post which celebrated the careers of two great Cunarders. I have some more nostalgic stories on the way, as well as what is happening on board at the moment. Meanwhile here’s this week in Cunard’s history, for the week 13^th to the 19^th November

14 November 1949 Caronia arrives in Liverpool for her first annual overhaul which takes 3 weeks

15 November 1997 QE2 makes her maiden call at Miami, USA

15 November 2008 Queen Victoria makes maiden call at Dikili, Turkey

16 November 1950 Caronia arrives in Liverpool for her annual “Overhaul”

19 November 1968 QE2 moves to the dry-dock in Greenock, before beginning sea trials. HRH Prince Charles becomes the   first civilian to board the ship.

To tell you about the great news this week, it’s a pleasure to introduce Richard Curtis for this special celebratory guest Blog: –

Through the decades Cunard has always been proud to receive good feedback from our travelling guests and we are fortunate in the amount we receive. The fact that so many regular guests continue to return year after year, and that so many recommend us to others is always very encouraging. In fact the number of guests saying they would like to travel with us again and that they would recommend us to a friend is consistently over 95%. In addition to the feedback we receive directly from our guests, feedback and recognition also comes through the various awards we win and this year has been a vintage year in that respect.

Already this year we have been recognised as being the very best by the readers of both The Daily Telegraph and Conde Nast Traveller in the U.K. and have been recognised by Travel Weekly and Travel & Leisure in the U.S.

To add to the collection, last week Cunard was awarded Best Cruise Line 2009 at the annual British Travel Awards in London. These prestigious awards recognise the very best in the UK travel industry and are voted for by both consumers and travel agents.

Below is a picture of a very proud Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director of Cunard, collecting the award.

Peter commented; “It’s the big one! The best thing is that I can go and tell all my staff on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria the news that they have been recognised by guests as the best cruise line. It’s a great achievement!”

I could not agree more, our teams on board do a fantastic job in delivering that quintessential and very special Cunard experience. In addition to our wonderful people we are also fortunate in boasting the youngest fleet on the oceans, even before the arrival of Queen Elizabeth next year.

The day following the British Travel Awards I was lucky enough to attend the annual Hotel Catey Awards in London, which reward the very best people in the hotel business. As someone who has spent many years working for international hotel groups prior to joining Cunard, I know just how prestigious the Catey Awards really are; they are acknowledged in the U.K. as the ultimate accolade anyone can receive during their career, and this year two Cunard team members were recognised and shortlisted as amongst the very top 3 or 4 people in the hospitality business.

Stefan Engl, Food and Beverage Manager on board Queen Mary 2, was shortlisted as Food and Beverage Manager of the Year. Stefan was born in Innsbruck Austria, but now lives in Thailand. He joined Cunard in 2003 and has sailed on Caronia, Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Victoria, and Queen Mary 2. The second person to be recognised was Mandy Meth, from the Canyon Ranch Spa on Queen Mary 2, who was shortlisted as the Spa Professional of the Year. Mandy is South African and currently lives in Durban. She first joined Queen Mary 2 in December 2003, has remained on board since then. Here is a picture of Stefan and Mandy at the awards ceremony.

Many of you will have met Stefan and Mandy and I am sure you will agree that their recognition is very well deserved. They are just two examples of the many wonderful crew who work on board and whom make me feel so proud whenever I am lucky enough to sail on one of our beautiful liners. We are nearly at the end of this year’s award season and I look forward to another vintage year in 2010!    

Thank you very much Richard, great news indeed. Well I’ll be back tomorrow – yes that soon – with a Breaking News story with some new pictures of Queen Elizabeth in Italy. On Monday I’ll be posting a special interview with Ronnie Kier, Chief Engineer on Queen Victoria. Cheers for now, Alastair

We started our final lap of the British Isles with QE2 full to capacity and a feeling of sadness and excitement all at the same time… Captain Ian McNaught at the helm and everyone poised for a Legendary, Elegant and Memorable Voyage… Our first stop Cherbourg, France…

This was not to be, the weather was against us and the Captain made the decision to press on to Cobh, Ireland for an overnight… an overnight to be enjoyed by both guests and crew alike…As usual there was plenty happening onboard during the first couple of days such as seminars in the Yacht Club and dance classes in the Queens Room. Maritime Historian William Miller’s Lecture captivated a packed house in the theatre and as always Carol Marlow’s talk on ‘Queen Victoria and a Year in the Life of Our Cunard Queens’ was fascinating.

QE2 in Cobh

We arrived into Cobh at around 3pm with crowds of people welcoming us as we came alongside… The gangways were jam packed as guests proceeded ashore to enjoy the sights and sounds of Ireland… What a sail out! Everywhere you looked, people lined the shoreline and every vantage point to say a final farewell to QE2…

Departure from Cobh

The next day we arrived in Liverpool, England and everyone was anticipating a spectacular day there… and it was… the Celebratory QE2 Concert at Liverpool’s magnificent Anglican Cathedral was unbelievable. What a venue… the cathedral is one of the largest in the world and just an absolute splendour, and yes it takes your breath away…Nearly two thousand in attendance and there was not a dry eye in the house, the service was deeply touching, with performances by The Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra combined with the Liverpool Cathedral Choir, Natasha Marsh and Jon Christos who where absolutely impressive to say the least… Time to Say Goodbye left a lump in everyone’s throat… and what a sight when the Band of the Welsh Guards marched up the isle and Natasha broke into Jerusalem…

QE2 In Liverpool

A 39 foot ‘Paying Off’ Pennant, the largest in Cunard history, 1 foot for every year the QE2 has been in service was presented to the Lord Mayor of Liverpool…The tributes paid to QE2 included one by Dame Beryl Bainbridge in which she talked about the progress of time and how things we love change and move on. Amongst others, QE2’s former Captain Robin Woodall, Carol Marlow and Captain Ian McNaught each delivered wonderfully moving tributes to QE2 and a resounding rendition of Rule Britannia with plenty of passion and flag waving perfectly rounded off a truly unforgettable event…Take a look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7651948.stm  to see for yourself some clips from this wonderful occasion.

When QE2 started to untie from the berth for her sail-away there were spectacular fireworks which lit up the Liverpool sky and soon after the Beatles Tribute Band kicked off at the Funnel Bar… It was not so much a final farewell but, a celebration of what Liverpool means to Cunard and to QE2…As we moved away from the berth QE2 sounded her whistle to let everyone know who has the best baritone in the industry, prickling the hairs on your arms… What a finish to a very special day!

Belfast was yet another fabulous sail in with a flotilla of boats escorting us in, we came along side at around 2pm… Once again the locals where out to welcome QE2 despite the poor weather…On the crossing to Belfast HMS Ark Royal paid a surprise visit and came alongside to pay her respects and just before arriving the Red Arrows gave us an amazing display with their death defying stunts to an excited and captivated crowd from the QE2’s aft decks.

HMS Ark Royal

That morning Commodore Ronald Warwick’s lecture in the theatre ‘The QE2 Story’ was standing room only… He is a well loved Captain with crew and guests alike…In the evening the Local Show ‘Gaels Afloat’ dazzled the guests in the Grand Lounge with audience participation, Irish dance, music and lots of good ole’ Irish humour… The old favorite ‘Danny Boy’ was definitely a crowd pleaser…The Beatle’s Tribute Band performed after the Local Show, and oh my goodness I have never seen the Queens Room so alive with the rhythms and sounds of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Hello Goodbye…’ and all those Beatles favorites… very reminiscent of a bygone era…

Richard Curtis, Cunard’s Head of Marketing was on QE2 for her call into Greenock and was kind enough to give me a few words on the arrival:

As we made our way to Greenock on Saturday morning we were treated with one of those perfect (and very rare) autumn days – chilly and fresh but not a cloud in the sky! Sailing towards the approach of the Clyde we were first greeted by type 42 frigate HMS Manchester who made a graceful sweep around us and the followed closely behind, occasionally speeding up and drawing level.

HMS Manchester

Over the next hour she was joined by more and more boats, every one packed full with admirers of QE2’s beauty and grace and to cheer and wave their best wishes.

As we got closer to Greenock the flotilla swelled further to several hundreds and included craft of every shape and size including speed boats, pleasure cruisers, yachts, jet skis and several Scottish Isles ferries specially chartered for the day.

Greenock

On the banks of the Clyde every conceivable space was taken by rapturous admirers franticly waving and cheering. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7651286.stm for a video of her arriving in Greenock.

Finally at 12 noon as we approached her berth QE2 sounded her whistle and was answered by a cacophony of every conceivable pitch.

Such a special moment that sent many thousand shivers down the spines of all fortunate enough to be there, and which will always be remembered as one of those very special and unique Cunard moments.

After a resounding send off from Greenock with many thousands of QE2’s fans and admirers enjoying yet another spectacular firework we headed on our way towards Edinburgh and Newcastle which I will tell you more about in a few days time.  Also, thank you to Richard Curtis for supplying these pictures of QE2 on this wonderful voyage!

Warren