I recently tried to re-create a historic and literary moment. I went to Port Everglades. The Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Queen Mary 2 were in town, about to set off on their respective world cruises. It was not the first time they had been here together, though, I was told, it was the first time they had berths that allowed their bows to practically touch.The 17th Street Causeway was up -- I was on my way to board a charter boat at Pier 66 -- and a few people had gotten out of their cars to take in the vision: two black hulls, in a normally whited-out space, capped by red-and-black funnels.The QE2 (we've had more time to become familiar) faced east, parallel to the bridge, in a long, low-slung, classic liner silhouette.
Though I'm partial. In 1975 she carried me to France -- where I spent a crucial year -- and gave me an everlasting love of ships. Among the countless charms of ships (as opposed to planes) is the fact that 30 years later you can visit the one that changed your life.The Queen Mary 2 (we're still on more formal terms of address) faced south, sitting higher than Elizabeth and looking, from this perspective, quite a bit tubbier. Predictably, they brought to mind one of the most glorious passages in travel literature.On Sept. 25, 1967, the poet and biographer John Malcolm Brinnin stood on the deck of the Queen Elizabeth, "largest ship in the world, twenty-seven years old" as she headed west in the North Atlantic. At a little after midnight she passed, for the last time, the Queen Mary, "the next-largest ship in the world, thirty-one years old," headed east."Cutting the water deeply, pushing it aside in great crested arrowheads, they veer toward one another almost as if to embrace, and all the lights blaze out, scattering the dark. The huge funnels glow in their Cunard red, the basso-profundo horns belt out a sound that has the quality less of a salute than of one long mortal cry. Standing at attention on the starboard wing of his flying bridge, the Elizabeth's captain doffs his hat; on the starboard wing of the Mary, her captain does the same."
Then, slowly, "ten or twelve of the faithful ... like people dispersing downhill after a burial ... find their way to their cabins and close their doors."The Queen Mary was turned into a hotel, and sits today in Long Beach, Calif. The Queen Elizabeth underwent the same transformation and was put in Port Everglades -- the United States of America bookended by two of history's great liners -- but the venture failed. In 1972, after serving for a time as a floating university, she was torched by an arsonist in Hong Kong harbor.I stood on the stern of the Anticipation V and gazed across the water at their two descendants.
At a little past 4, the SeaEscape entered the harbor, looking slightly underdressed. It seemed to hurry to its berth, as if mumbling, "Nobody told me THOSE TWO were gonna be here." Off port side a few minutes later, in a modest homage to Brinnin, the Carrie B passed the Jungle Queen.We pushed away from the dock. Departure was scheduled for 5 p.m., but word had come that the QE2 would be seriously delayed, and the Queen Mary 2 would leave at 5:30. We motored to a spot about 50 yards from each. Strobe lights danced from an upper deck; music from the party reached us across the water.
The sky darkened. The tugs shot arcs of colored water. Lights came on along the elongated stacks of decks. The Queen Mary 2 sign blazed overhead. But no lines were loosened. At 6:15 we headed back to the dock.I wasn't surprised. I had stood on Point of the Americas' beach, waiting for the departure of the Queen Mary 2 before. She had always managed to prolong the suspense.And I wasn't all that disappointed.
There was still the rapturous sight of them together, all aglow, like two sisters dressed up for a night on the town and neither one wanting to leave the house.Thomas Swick can be reached at tswick@sun-sentinel.com
January 29, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO Majesty of ocean liner Queen Mary 2 will be on display at Pier 27
The Queen Mary 2, the largest and arguably the most famous ship ever to pass through the Golden Gate, will arrive in San Francisco a week from today. The Queen Mary 2 displaces 151,000 tons, more than three times the size of a World War II battleship, and is 1,131.9 feet long -- 279 feet longer than San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid is high.
The Queen Mary 2 is so big it will not fit through the Panama Canal: It is sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to San Francisco around Cape Horn, the tip of South America.
The ship will come under the Golden Gate Bridge about 3 p.m., and its arrival will be a big deal, says Peter Dailey, maritime director for the Port of San Francisco.
The Queen Mary 2's arrival in San Francisco "is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for anyone who likes ships," said Dailey. When the Queen Mary 2 called at Long Beach a year ago, 100,000 people were on hand to see the ship arrive, Dailey said. Long Beach was the ship's only California call on that voyage; it has never been in San Francisco before. The ship is so big it had to be backed down a channel when it departed from the Long Beach port, and the maneuver was so tricky because of currents that it had to be done at 5 a.m. Still, Dailey said, 5,000 people showed up just to watch.
The arrival in San Francisco "will be an event like the Blue Angels,'' said Capt. Tom Miller, the bar pilot who will bring the ship into port. The Navy Blue Angels flying team typically attracts thousands of spectators to the San Francisco waterfront during Fleet Week in October.
The only difference is that the ship is arriving in winter, when the weather can be tricky, and on Super Bowl Sunday.
Nonetheless, the Queen will be met in the bay by fireboats spewing fountains of water, tour boats and hundreds of small craft.
Even the venerable Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien, one of the oldest operating steamships in the world, will be on hand with about 800 passengers. The tickets, at $50 a pop, were snapped up weeks ago.
Part of the reason for the interest in the ship is its size -- the QM2 was the largest passenger ship in the world when it went into service in 2004. It has since been surpassed by the Freedom of the Seas, which is 1,725 feet long and displaces 158,000 tons. Other super ships are said to be on the drawing board.
There are other ships that carry more passengers than the 3,090 passengers and 1,254 crew that the QM2 can accommodate. But the Queen has something else: tradition.
The Cunard Line modestly calls the ship "the most magnificent ocean liner ever built,'' part of a kind of high-toned hype designed to attract customers to a ship that cost $800 million and three years to design and build.
So far the ship has lived up the billing. The Berlitz Guide to Cruising calls it "a ship of superlatives" and gives it a five-star rating. Even The Chronicle's travel section called the ship "the new reigning monarch of elegance and grandeur.''
"There are larger ships afloat,'' said Capt. Patrick Moloney, executive director of the San Francisco-based State Pilot Commission, "but they look like wedding cakes on a barge. This one has class.''
Class, however, is expensive. A ticket for the top-of-the-line suite on the ship's current around-the world-in-81-days voyage costs $185,905 per person. The least-expensive cabin for the trip is $21,185.
Portions of the voyage are cheaper -- the 14-day trip from San Francisco, sailing Feb. 5, is $36,559 at the high end and $4,199 for an inside cabin.
The Queen Mary 2 was thought to be an expensive gamble for Cunard and Carnival Cruises, its corporate parent. Carnival runs ships attuned to younger passengers: cruise ships with show rooms, spas, discos and a kind of 21st century ambience.
Cunard, on the other hand, has a British, stiff-upper-lip tradition: dressing for dinner, and formal staff that offers what Cunard calls "the royal treatment.''
So the Queen Mary 2 is a bit of a compromise: it makes regular Atlantic crossings from New York to Southampton, but it also does cruises. Cunard likes to call the ship an ocean liner, not a cruise ship.
"It is a great living link to that glorious era of romantic ship travel,'' said William Miller, who has written 67 books on ocean travel. "The decor is such that you expect to meet Fred and Ginger."
Miller didn't identify Astaire and Rogers further. The implication was clear: If you don't know who Fred and Ginger are, you don't belong on a Cunard ship.
The Queen Mary 2 is named, of course, for the original Queen Mary, the 1936 liner that is now retired as a hotel in Long Beach.
The original Queen Mary is much smaller than the new queen -- displacing 83,000 tons to 155,000. But the new Queen has kept a bit of the old, including one of the Queen Mary's three whistles -- a device that weighs a ton and emits a basso profundo in a perfect key of A.
The Queen Mary 2 is the only big ship that carries a kennel, so that passengers' dogs can travel in style. Cats are also accommodated, as are pet birds, Miller says.
The ship also has formal nights ("one of the most distinctive parts of the Cunard experience," the company says); no one in jeans and flip-flops need show up for dinner.
There is also something else: "Of course, single travelers are welcomed at all events, and Gentlemen Hosts are onboard to dance with single ladies,'' Cunard's brochure says.
The Queen Mary 2 should not be confused with its much older sister, the Queen Elizabeth 2, which called at San Francisco last week. The QE2, famous in its own right, has been a bit of a hard-luck ship, with occasional engine trouble and other problems. Last week, it arrived in San Francisco after a troubled voyage that started in New York. There was an outbreak of norovirus, a particularly contagious disease with flulike symptoms. More than 300 passengers were affected. Only four still had the symptoms when the ship arrived in San Francisco, but Cunard got a lot of bad press.
There are other concerns: Russell Long, vice president of the Bluewater Network, a San Francisco-based environmental group, is concerned that cruise ships cause pollution of the ocean through discharge of wastewater, and pollute the air because they run their engines in port, emitting smoke with a high sulfur content.
The ship will arrive at the Golden Gate in the afternoon, but will not dock at Pier 27 at the foot of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco until about 8 p.m. because of tidal conditions.
The Queen Mary 2 sails for Honolulu at 5 p.m. Feb. 5.
Queen Mary 2 comparison
Queen Mary 2: 1,132 ft.
Queen Elizabeth 2: 963 ft.
Nimitz class aircraft carrier: 1,092 ft.
Jeremiah O’Brien: 441 ft.
Golden Gate Bridge tower: 746 ft.
Transamerica Pyramid: 853 ft.
Sources: Cunard, Chronicle research
E-mail Carl Nolte at cnolte@sfchronicle.com.
The Queen Mary 2 is so big it will not fit through the Panama Canal: It is sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to San Francisco around Cape Horn, the tip of South America.
The ship will come under the Golden Gate Bridge about 3 p.m., and its arrival will be a big deal, says Peter Dailey, maritime director for the Port of San Francisco.
The Queen Mary 2's arrival in San Francisco "is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for anyone who likes ships," said Dailey. When the Queen Mary 2 called at Long Beach a year ago, 100,000 people were on hand to see the ship arrive, Dailey said. Long Beach was the ship's only California call on that voyage; it has never been in San Francisco before. The ship is so big it had to be backed down a channel when it departed from the Long Beach port, and the maneuver was so tricky because of currents that it had to be done at 5 a.m. Still, Dailey said, 5,000 people showed up just to watch.
The arrival in San Francisco "will be an event like the Blue Angels,'' said Capt. Tom Miller, the bar pilot who will bring the ship into port. The Navy Blue Angels flying team typically attracts thousands of spectators to the San Francisco waterfront during Fleet Week in October.
The only difference is that the ship is arriving in winter, when the weather can be tricky, and on Super Bowl Sunday.
Nonetheless, the Queen will be met in the bay by fireboats spewing fountains of water, tour boats and hundreds of small craft.
Even the venerable Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien, one of the oldest operating steamships in the world, will be on hand with about 800 passengers. The tickets, at $50 a pop, were snapped up weeks ago.
Part of the reason for the interest in the ship is its size -- the QM2 was the largest passenger ship in the world when it went into service in 2004. It has since been surpassed by the Freedom of the Seas, which is 1,725 feet long and displaces 158,000 tons. Other super ships are said to be on the drawing board.
There are other ships that carry more passengers than the 3,090 passengers and 1,254 crew that the QM2 can accommodate. But the Queen has something else: tradition.
The Cunard Line modestly calls the ship "the most magnificent ocean liner ever built,'' part of a kind of high-toned hype designed to attract customers to a ship that cost $800 million and three years to design and build.
So far the ship has lived up the billing. The Berlitz Guide to Cruising calls it "a ship of superlatives" and gives it a five-star rating. Even The Chronicle's travel section called the ship "the new reigning monarch of elegance and grandeur.''
"There are larger ships afloat,'' said Capt. Patrick Moloney, executive director of the San Francisco-based State Pilot Commission, "but they look like wedding cakes on a barge. This one has class.''
Class, however, is expensive. A ticket for the top-of-the-line suite on the ship's current around-the world-in-81-days voyage costs $185,905 per person. The least-expensive cabin for the trip is $21,185.
Portions of the voyage are cheaper -- the 14-day trip from San Francisco, sailing Feb. 5, is $36,559 at the high end and $4,199 for an inside cabin.
The Queen Mary 2 was thought to be an expensive gamble for Cunard and Carnival Cruises, its corporate parent. Carnival runs ships attuned to younger passengers: cruise ships with show rooms, spas, discos and a kind of 21st century ambience.
Cunard, on the other hand, has a British, stiff-upper-lip tradition: dressing for dinner, and formal staff that offers what Cunard calls "the royal treatment.''
So the Queen Mary 2 is a bit of a compromise: it makes regular Atlantic crossings from New York to Southampton, but it also does cruises. Cunard likes to call the ship an ocean liner, not a cruise ship.
"It is a great living link to that glorious era of romantic ship travel,'' said William Miller, who has written 67 books on ocean travel. "The decor is such that you expect to meet Fred and Ginger."
Miller didn't identify Astaire and Rogers further. The implication was clear: If you don't know who Fred and Ginger are, you don't belong on a Cunard ship.
The Queen Mary 2 is named, of course, for the original Queen Mary, the 1936 liner that is now retired as a hotel in Long Beach.
The original Queen Mary is much smaller than the new queen -- displacing 83,000 tons to 155,000. But the new Queen has kept a bit of the old, including one of the Queen Mary's three whistles -- a device that weighs a ton and emits a basso profundo in a perfect key of A.
The Queen Mary 2 is the only big ship that carries a kennel, so that passengers' dogs can travel in style. Cats are also accommodated, as are pet birds, Miller says.
The ship also has formal nights ("one of the most distinctive parts of the Cunard experience," the company says); no one in jeans and flip-flops need show up for dinner.
There is also something else: "Of course, single travelers are welcomed at all events, and Gentlemen Hosts are onboard to dance with single ladies,'' Cunard's brochure says.
The Queen Mary 2 should not be confused with its much older sister, the Queen Elizabeth 2, which called at San Francisco last week. The QE2, famous in its own right, has been a bit of a hard-luck ship, with occasional engine trouble and other problems. Last week, it arrived in San Francisco after a troubled voyage that started in New York. There was an outbreak of norovirus, a particularly contagious disease with flulike symptoms. More than 300 passengers were affected. Only four still had the symptoms when the ship arrived in San Francisco, but Cunard got a lot of bad press.
There are other concerns: Russell Long, vice president of the Bluewater Network, a San Francisco-based environmental group, is concerned that cruise ships cause pollution of the ocean through discharge of wastewater, and pollute the air because they run their engines in port, emitting smoke with a high sulfur content.
The ship will arrive at the Golden Gate in the afternoon, but will not dock at Pier 27 at the foot of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco until about 8 p.m. because of tidal conditions.
The Queen Mary 2 sails for Honolulu at 5 p.m. Feb. 5.
Queen Mary 2 comparison
Queen Mary 2: 1,132 ft.
Queen Elizabeth 2: 963 ft.
Nimitz class aircraft carrier: 1,092 ft.
Jeremiah O’Brien: 441 ft.
Golden Gate Bridge tower: 746 ft.
Transamerica Pyramid: 853 ft.
Sources: Cunard, Chronicle research
E-mail Carl Nolte at cnolte@sfchronicle.com.
January 28, 2007
Gay cruises sail into the travel mainstream
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/DN-gaycruises_0128tra.ART.State.Edition1.2952b30.html#
On Memorial Day weekend, Cunard's behemoth Queen Mary 2 will depart for a routine six-day Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton, England, with the usual white-glove service, decadent cuisine and formal evening wear. The difference this time: Practically all the guests on the 2,592-passenger cruise will be gay.
It's a first for Cunard. The line signed a deal with RSVP Vacations, a gay and lesbian travel company that has chartered the ship. The agreement is one sign among many of gay cruises' progression into the mainstream of travel.
Most gay-cruise operators run charter businesses, paying cruise lines to use their ships and crews. In the early days of gay cruises, about 20 years ago, that often meant working with little-known lines or securing second-tier ships. Itineraries often included a handful of gay-friendly destinations. But as the overall rate in the growth of passengers and spending has slowed in recent years, the industry has become keenly aware of the gay travel market, estimated at $55 billion and growing.
Gay and lesbian travelers tend to take trips more often, stay longer and spend more than other travelers, according to a survey by Community Marketing Inc., a research firm specializing in the gay travel market. Gay travelers took a median of five overnight trips during the 12 months ending in August 2006, compared with four trips for Americans in general, and spent a median of $6,273 on travel, compared with roughly $3,000 for all travelers.
To get a piece of that lucrative market, cruise companies that "really hadn't thought much about the gay and lesbian market" are "recruiting and soliciting our business," said Jeff Soukup, chief executive of RSVP Vacations.
It's common for gay cruises to sail to the same ports popular with most cruisers. For the coming season, RSVP (which was acquired in 2006 by PlanetOut Inc., a media and entertainment company that caters to gay audiences) has chartered major cruise companies' flagship vessels, including the Amsterdam of the Holland America Line and the Caribbean Princess of Princess Cruises, as well as the Queen Mary 2.
Atlantis Events, which operates tours for gay travelers, chartered Royal Caribbean's newest vessel, Freedom of the Seas, for a weeklong Caribbean sailing this month. And Olivia, a lesbian travel company, is offering cruise itineraries to a range of destinations, both common and exotic, including the Galapagos, Antarctica, Tahiti, Alaska and Amsterdam.
All of this means more options for travelers.
Pat Funk, 53, a real-estate broker from Cannon Beach, Ore., has been going on Olivia cruises since she met her partner, Dale Shafer, on one 10 years ago. Back then, she said, the ships were older and there weren't as many offerings, but each year since, "they do more exotic or upscale trips."
Gay and lesbian travelers are interested in the same destinations as any others, said Amy Errett, the chief executive of Olivia, but they want to see those places "in sort of a safe environment."
Olivia briefs crews on what to expect of a ship full of women (they tend to use lots of towels, for instance) and often takes aboard entertainers who appeal to lesbian audiences.
There are still destinations that gay cruises avoid. One is Jamaica, where two gay-rights activists have been murdered in recent years. But other destinations are becoming more welcoming. In 2004, Sandals Resorts rescinded its ban on gay couples at its all-inclusive properties. And while a gay cruise charted by Atlantis Events was turned away from the Cayman Islands in 1997, passengers on a similar cruise by the same company were greeted in the Caymans in 2006 with rainbow-patterned welcome signs in some shop windows.
A larger, more open presence of gay passengers also is showing itself on cruises not specifically pitched to gay travelers. And conventional cruise lines have begun to offer welcome parties for gay travelers, dubbed Friends of Dorothy – a slang term used among some gays to describe themselves.
Gay cruises have become so popular that a reverse phenomenon is starting to emerge. "We're finding a lot of gay travelers have straight friends who want to be a part of this," said Tom de Rose, owner of Friends of Dorothy Travel in San Francisco. Because of this, he said, gay cruises are increasingly becoming "straight-friendly."
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On Memorial Day weekend, Cunard's behemoth Queen Mary 2 will depart for a routine six-day Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton, England, with the usual white-glove service, decadent cuisine and formal evening wear. The difference this time: Practically all the guests on the 2,592-passenger cruise will be gay.
It's a first for Cunard. The line signed a deal with RSVP Vacations, a gay and lesbian travel company that has chartered the ship. The agreement is one sign among many of gay cruises' progression into the mainstream of travel.
Most gay-cruise operators run charter businesses, paying cruise lines to use their ships and crews. In the early days of gay cruises, about 20 years ago, that often meant working with little-known lines or securing second-tier ships. Itineraries often included a handful of gay-friendly destinations. But as the overall rate in the growth of passengers and spending has slowed in recent years, the industry has become keenly aware of the gay travel market, estimated at $55 billion and growing.
Gay and lesbian travelers tend to take trips more often, stay longer and spend more than other travelers, according to a survey by Community Marketing Inc., a research firm specializing in the gay travel market. Gay travelers took a median of five overnight trips during the 12 months ending in August 2006, compared with four trips for Americans in general, and spent a median of $6,273 on travel, compared with roughly $3,000 for all travelers.
To get a piece of that lucrative market, cruise companies that "really hadn't thought much about the gay and lesbian market" are "recruiting and soliciting our business," said Jeff Soukup, chief executive of RSVP Vacations.
It's common for gay cruises to sail to the same ports popular with most cruisers. For the coming season, RSVP (which was acquired in 2006 by PlanetOut Inc., a media and entertainment company that caters to gay audiences) has chartered major cruise companies' flagship vessels, including the Amsterdam of the Holland America Line and the Caribbean Princess of Princess Cruises, as well as the Queen Mary 2.
Atlantis Events, which operates tours for gay travelers, chartered Royal Caribbean's newest vessel, Freedom of the Seas, for a weeklong Caribbean sailing this month. And Olivia, a lesbian travel company, is offering cruise itineraries to a range of destinations, both common and exotic, including the Galapagos, Antarctica, Tahiti, Alaska and Amsterdam.
All of this means more options for travelers.
Pat Funk, 53, a real-estate broker from Cannon Beach, Ore., has been going on Olivia cruises since she met her partner, Dale Shafer, on one 10 years ago. Back then, she said, the ships were older and there weren't as many offerings, but each year since, "they do more exotic or upscale trips."
Gay and lesbian travelers are interested in the same destinations as any others, said Amy Errett, the chief executive of Olivia, but they want to see those places "in sort of a safe environment."
Olivia briefs crews on what to expect of a ship full of women (they tend to use lots of towels, for instance) and often takes aboard entertainers who appeal to lesbian audiences.
There are still destinations that gay cruises avoid. One is Jamaica, where two gay-rights activists have been murdered in recent years. But other destinations are becoming more welcoming. In 2004, Sandals Resorts rescinded its ban on gay couples at its all-inclusive properties. And while a gay cruise charted by Atlantis Events was turned away from the Cayman Islands in 1997, passengers on a similar cruise by the same company were greeted in the Caymans in 2006 with rainbow-patterned welcome signs in some shop windows.
A larger, more open presence of gay passengers also is showing itself on cruises not specifically pitched to gay travelers. And conventional cruise lines have begun to offer welcome parties for gay travelers, dubbed Friends of Dorothy – a slang term used among some gays to describe themselves.
Gay cruises have become so popular that a reverse phenomenon is starting to emerge. "We're finding a lot of gay travelers have straight friends who want to be a part of this," said Tom de Rose, owner of Friends of Dorothy Travel in San Francisco. Because of this, he said, gay cruises are increasingly becoming "straight-friendly."
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Sir Jim fixes Scarboro' QE2 visit
http://www.scarboroughtoday.co.uk
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SCARBOROUGH celebrity Sir Jimmy Savile says he has 'fixed it' for the Queen Elizabeth 2 to sail into the South Bay in September.
Sir Jimmy has been holding talks with the owners Cunard which has confirmed the vessel will make a detour from the normal shipping route so that locals and holidaymakers will be able to get a close up of the Queen Elizabeth 2 on September 16.
Sir Jimmy, who has a home in South Cliff, said: "The visit should attract tens of thousands of extra visitors to the East Coast.
"The ship will be passing on a Sunday which is a bonus because it will mean a lot of people will decide to make a weekend of it in Scarborough."
He added: "The visit of the Queen Elizabeth 2 will be great for the local economy because there will be so many more people spending money in Scarborough."
Huge crowds turned out in July 2004 to see the Queen Mary 2 visit Scarborough.
Sir Jimmy, who is a regular Cunard customer, said: "It ended up less than a mile from the beach.
"I have been told that Queen Elizabeth 2 will try to do the same, weather permitting."
Large vessels are usually about three or four miles away from land when they pass Scarborough because they have set a course to miss Flamborough Head.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 was the Cunard flagship from 1969 until she handed over the role to the Queen Mary 2 in May 2004.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 will be visiting Scarborough as part of a voyage round Britain to commemorate her launch 40 years ago.
The ship will set sail from Southampton and head for the east coast before sailing by Bridlington, Filey, Scarborough and Whitby.
Before arriving in Scarborough, the ship will have been on numerous cruises to exotic destinations all over the world. The anniversary cruise with 1,778 passengers is already sold out. Prices range from £1,059 for an inside cabin to £8,109 for a guest suite per person.
This time next year the vessel will be on a 90-day cruise visiting South America, the Pacific and the Far East. Prices start from around £6,600.
The QE2 has the largest cinema at sea, with a capacity of 531, and is the fastest merchant ship in operation, capable of speeds of up to 34 knots.
Its nine engines are each the size of a double decker bus.
Sir Jimmy, who has a home in South Cliff, said: "The visit should attract tens of thousands of extra visitors to the East Coast.
"The ship will be passing on a Sunday which is a bonus because it will mean a lot of people will decide to make a weekend of it in Scarborough."
He added: "The visit of the Queen Elizabeth 2 will be great for the local economy because there will be so many more people spending money in Scarborough."
Huge crowds turned out in July 2004 to see the Queen Mary 2 visit Scarborough.
Sir Jimmy, who is a regular Cunard customer, said: "It ended up less than a mile from the beach.
"I have been told that Queen Elizabeth 2 will try to do the same, weather permitting."
Large vessels are usually about three or four miles away from land when they pass Scarborough because they have set a course to miss Flamborough Head.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 was the Cunard flagship from 1969 until she handed over the role to the Queen Mary 2 in May 2004.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 will be visiting Scarborough as part of a voyage round Britain to commemorate her launch 40 years ago.
The ship will set sail from Southampton and head for the east coast before sailing by Bridlington, Filey, Scarborough and Whitby.
Before arriving in Scarborough, the ship will have been on numerous cruises to exotic destinations all over the world. The anniversary cruise with 1,778 passengers is already sold out. Prices range from £1,059 for an inside cabin to £8,109 for a guest suite per person.
This time next year the vessel will be on a 90-day cruise visiting South America, the Pacific and the Far East. Prices start from around £6,600.
The QE2 has the largest cinema at sea, with a capacity of 531, and is the fastest merchant ship in operation, capable of speeds of up to 34 knots.
Its nine engines are each the size of a double decker bus.
26 January 2007
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Highly Contagious Stomach Flu Sickens Hundreds Aboard Queen Elizabeth 2
SAN FRANCISCO — A highly contagious form of stomach flu sickened hundreds of passengers during a worldwide voyage on the famed Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship in what health officials called an unusually large outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 276 passengers and 28 crew members had come down with norovirus by the time the ship docked Wednesday in San Francisco for a regularly scheduled stop, though only four passengers remained sick.
The CDC boarded the QE2 on Friday in Acapulco, Mexico, to investigate the outbreak.
Investigators determined the emergency sanitation measures put in place by the ship's crew, from disinfecting casino chips to halting self-service at the ship's buffet, were containing the outbreak.
"This one was a good example where they had a lot of cases but they did gain control over the spread of infection," Ames said.
The infections affected nearly 17 percent of the ship's 1,652 passengers, a particularly high percentage, said Jaret Ames, acting chief of the CDC's vessel sanitation program. By comparison, a norovirus outbreak last month aboard the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, infected 338 passengers out of 3,823, or less than 9 percent.
In rare cases, the elderly and young children can die from dehydration caused by norovirus symptoms. The infection, which ranks second only to the common cold in reported cases, usually clears up in two or three days with no lasting effects.
No passengers have canceled their tickets as a result of the outbreak, said Brian O'Connor, a spokesman for Cunard Line, the company that operates the QE2.
The ship departed Jan. 8 from New York on the first leg of its 106-day cruise around the world. It was to leave San Francisco for Honolulu on Wednesday night.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 276 passengers and 28 crew members had come down with norovirus by the time the ship docked Wednesday in San Francisco for a regularly scheduled stop, though only four passengers remained sick.
The CDC boarded the QE2 on Friday in Acapulco, Mexico, to investigate the outbreak.
Investigators determined the emergency sanitation measures put in place by the ship's crew, from disinfecting casino chips to halting self-service at the ship's buffet, were containing the outbreak.
"This one was a good example where they had a lot of cases but they did gain control over the spread of infection," Ames said.
The infections affected nearly 17 percent of the ship's 1,652 passengers, a particularly high percentage, said Jaret Ames, acting chief of the CDC's vessel sanitation program. By comparison, a norovirus outbreak last month aboard the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, infected 338 passengers out of 3,823, or less than 9 percent.
In rare cases, the elderly and young children can die from dehydration caused by norovirus symptoms. The infection, which ranks second only to the common cold in reported cases, usually clears up in two or three days with no lasting effects.
No passengers have canceled their tickets as a result of the outbreak, said Brian O'Connor, a spokesman for Cunard Line, the company that operates the QE2.
The ship departed Jan. 8 from New York on the first leg of its 106-day cruise around the world. It was to leave San Francisco for Honolulu on Wednesday night.
January 26, 2007
Virus forces QE2 to confine hundreds to cabins
Hundreds of holidaymakers on the Queen Elizabeth 2 have been struck down by another outbreak of the norovirus stomach bug.
More than 270 passengers and 28 crew on the world's most famous cruise ship fell victim to winter vomiting sickness as it arrived in Acapulco, Mexico, on the transatlantic leg of its world tour.
Health officials called on to the ship in Acapulco this week found that almost 17 per cent of its 1,652 passengers had fallen ill in an "unusually large outbreak". Typical infection rates on ships are only about three per cent.
The QE2, which is carrying about 450 British passengers, had to carry out a major sanitation programme when the virus escalated on Jan 19. It included confining victims to their cabins; cancelling all captain's cocktail parties; recalling all condiments; and banning self-serve items on the buffet.
All but six passengers have now recovered from the virus, which is thought to have come aboard in New York on Jan 8.
A spokesman for Cunard, the ship's owner, said: "Everything has calmed down now and the number of people still ill has fallen to the low single figures. We carried out a sanitation programme and it worked very well."
The cost of a 108-day world tour on the QE2 starts from £10,449 a person. A luxury suite costs anything from £6,000 a person for seven nights to £132,999 for the full trip.
The outbreak left many passengers disappointed that their holidays had been disrupted. On the website Cruisecritic.com, where passengers communicate with relatives via internet message boards, one person wrote: "My dad just called and is leaving the ship. He had planned on doing the 108 days [but] is leaving the ship today in Los Angeles. [It is his] first time on Cunard and he was not very happy with the way the crew has handled things." A passenger called Bobby wrote: "I am on the QE2 … There have been many adjustments … no salt and pepper service, ordering the entire meal at once so as not to exchange menus, no self serve anything (eg yoghurt) and spraying and wiping down everywhere."
Owen Benson, a 77-year-old retired engineer from Auckland, New Zealand, fell ill on his second day after boarding in New York.
He said yesterday: "I felt really weak, it was like I was dying of starvation. The whole thing was over fairly quickly but it really took the shine off my journey. I knew norovirus was a risk on cruise ships but I didn't expect to get ill on the second day."
A spokesman for the US centre for disease control and prevention, which sent a team to combat the outbreak at Acapulco, said: "All the passengers disembarked on Jan 22 so the ship could be thoroughly disinfected. The situation is now under control."
The QE2 outbreak is the latest in a series of stomach flu problems on cruise liners, which are susceptible to the bug because so many people are in a confined space.
Last December almost 400 passengers and crew caught a virus aboard the Freedom of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, in Florida.
And in November more than 680 passengers and crew fell ill on the Carnival Liberty as it cruised the Caribbean.
The QE2 is now sailing for Hawaii en route to New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China.
More than 270 passengers and 28 crew on the world's most famous cruise ship fell victim to winter vomiting sickness as it arrived in Acapulco, Mexico, on the transatlantic leg of its world tour.
Health officials called on to the ship in Acapulco this week found that almost 17 per cent of its 1,652 passengers had fallen ill in an "unusually large outbreak". Typical infection rates on ships are only about three per cent.
The QE2, which is carrying about 450 British passengers, had to carry out a major sanitation programme when the virus escalated on Jan 19. It included confining victims to their cabins; cancelling all captain's cocktail parties; recalling all condiments; and banning self-serve items on the buffet.
All but six passengers have now recovered from the virus, which is thought to have come aboard in New York on Jan 8.
A spokesman for Cunard, the ship's owner, said: "Everything has calmed down now and the number of people still ill has fallen to the low single figures. We carried out a sanitation programme and it worked very well."
The cost of a 108-day world tour on the QE2 starts from £10,449 a person. A luxury suite costs anything from £6,000 a person for seven nights to £132,999 for the full trip.
The outbreak left many passengers disappointed that their holidays had been disrupted. On the website Cruisecritic.com, where passengers communicate with relatives via internet message boards, one person wrote: "My dad just called and is leaving the ship. He had planned on doing the 108 days [but] is leaving the ship today in Los Angeles. [It is his] first time on Cunard and he was not very happy with the way the crew has handled things." A passenger called Bobby wrote: "I am on the QE2 … There have been many adjustments … no salt and pepper service, ordering the entire meal at once so as not to exchange menus, no self serve anything (eg yoghurt) and spraying and wiping down everywhere."
Owen Benson, a 77-year-old retired engineer from Auckland, New Zealand, fell ill on his second day after boarding in New York.
He said yesterday: "I felt really weak, it was like I was dying of starvation. The whole thing was over fairly quickly but it really took the shine off my journey. I knew norovirus was a risk on cruise ships but I didn't expect to get ill on the second day."
A spokesman for the US centre for disease control and prevention, which sent a team to combat the outbreak at Acapulco, said: "All the passengers disembarked on Jan 22 so the ship could be thoroughly disinfected. The situation is now under control."
The QE2 outbreak is the latest in a series of stomach flu problems on cruise liners, which are susceptible to the bug because so many people are in a confined space.
Last December almost 400 passengers and crew caught a virus aboard the Freedom of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, in Florida.
And in November more than 680 passengers and crew fell ill on the Carnival Liberty as it cruised the Caribbean.
The QE2 is now sailing for Hawaii en route to New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China.
January 25, 2007
Vomiting virus sweeps through QE2
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6297443.stm
More than 300 people are thought to have caught a highly infectious virus on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship.
The Norovirus, a vomiting and diarrhoea bug, is common in cruise ships, hospitals and prisons.
More than 300 people are thought to have caught a highly infectious virus on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship.
The Norovirus, a vomiting and diarrhoea bug, is common in cruise ships, hospitals and prisons.
After the Southampton-based ship docked in San Francisco, US officials said 276 passengers and 28 crew were hit, although just six were still sick.
A Cunard spokesman said the virus had been largely eradicated after first flaring up on 8 January.
All those who caught the gastrointestinal virus will have suffered symptoms for a few days before recovering. There is usually no lasting damage.
Health officials said this was an unusually large outbreak, with 17% of those on the luxury ship affected.
Confined to cabin
The Cunard spokesman said: "The whole cleansing regime has been upgraded. People have been advised on measures they should take.
"We have encouraged handwashing. Where people display symptoms they are kept confined in their cabin until the symptoms subside."
The ship sailed from Southampton on 2 January, before changing most of its passengers in New York on 8 January and sailing down the US's east coast.
It is thought a passenger brought the disease on in New York, the spokesman said.
Officials from the US Centers for Disease Control boarded the ship in Acapulco, Mexico.
The ship is now on its way to Hawaii.
Norovirus Hits QE2 Ship On World Cruise
http://www.nbc4.com/health/10837590/detail.html
SAN FRANCISCO -- Over 300 people came down with a highly contagious form of stomach flu during a worldwide cruise of the Queen Elizabeth 2.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the proportion of passengers sickened was unusually high -- almost 17 percent. Only four are still said to be ill.
The ship, which left New York on Jan. 8, is now docked in San Francisco. The CDC boarded it last Friday in Acapulco, Mexico, to investigate.
A CDC official said the emergency sanitation measures the QE-2 adopted when the virus broke out helped contain the outbreak. The measures included disinfecting casino chips and eliminating self-service at the ship's buffet.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Over 300 people came down with a highly contagious form of stomach flu during a worldwide cruise of the Queen Elizabeth 2.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the proportion of passengers sickened was unusually high -- almost 17 percent. Only four are still said to be ill.
The ship, which left New York on Jan. 8, is now docked in San Francisco. The CDC boarded it last Friday in Acapulco, Mexico, to investigate.
A CDC official said the emergency sanitation measures the QE-2 adopted when the virus broke out helped contain the outbreak. The measures included disinfecting casino chips and eliminating self-service at the ship's buffet.
Troubled voyage for the QE2
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/24/BAG7PNNPR710.DTL
(01-24) 21:24 PST -- More than 300 passengers and crew aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 came down with the norovirus before the ocean liner made a rare visit Wednesday to the Bay Area.
The 38-year-old grande dame is making a 108-day, round-the-world trip, begun Jan. 8 in New York. After the ship left Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 10, more than 300 passengers and crew members came down with norovirus, a contagious flulike disease. The outbreak affected 276 of the 1,652 passengers, or 16.7 percent. The other 28 affected were crew members.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came aboard the ship in Acapulco, Mexico, and the crew performed what Cunard Line spokesman Brian O'Connor called "enhanced sanitation'' operations. The virus, which induces nausea and vomiting, is spread by contact with unsanitary conditions.
According to the CDC, most people in otherwise good health recover after one to two days. By the time the ship arrived Wednesday in San Francisco, only four people -- all passengers -- still had the norovirus symptoms.
Noroviruses are believed to be responsible for roughly half of all food-borne illnesses in the United States, although they're far less serious than their bacterial cousins, such as E. coli and salmonella. Most people who fall ill with a norovirus will feel nauseated and miserable for 24 to 48 hours, then quickly recover. They might have a mild fever and suffer some aches and chills, but generally, it's the vomiting and diarrhea that stand out.
There have been several norovirus outbreaks in the Bay Area in the past year. At least 18 Bay Area nursing homes reported norovirus outbreaks in the fall, when the bug starts hitting its seasonal peak. In December, San Mateo County health officials quarantined 164 residents at a Belmont assisted-living center after 85 people fell ill with the virus.
In Sonoma County, three deaths were linked to the virus, all elderly people who were suffering a variety of other medical conditions. Health officials there reported more than 300 cases at eight facilities.
E-mail Carl Nolte at cnolte@sfchronicle.com.
(01-24) 21:24 PST -- More than 300 passengers and crew aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 came down with the norovirus before the ocean liner made a rare visit Wednesday to the Bay Area.
The 38-year-old grande dame is making a 108-day, round-the-world trip, begun Jan. 8 in New York. After the ship left Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Jan. 10, more than 300 passengers and crew members came down with norovirus, a contagious flulike disease. The outbreak affected 276 of the 1,652 passengers, or 16.7 percent. The other 28 affected were crew members.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came aboard the ship in Acapulco, Mexico, and the crew performed what Cunard Line spokesman Brian O'Connor called "enhanced sanitation'' operations. The virus, which induces nausea and vomiting, is spread by contact with unsanitary conditions.
According to the CDC, most people in otherwise good health recover after one to two days. By the time the ship arrived Wednesday in San Francisco, only four people -- all passengers -- still had the norovirus symptoms.
Noroviruses are believed to be responsible for roughly half of all food-borne illnesses in the United States, although they're far less serious than their bacterial cousins, such as E. coli and salmonella. Most people who fall ill with a norovirus will feel nauseated and miserable for 24 to 48 hours, then quickly recover. They might have a mild fever and suffer some aches and chills, but generally, it's the vomiting and diarrhea that stand out.
There have been several norovirus outbreaks in the Bay Area in the past year. At least 18 Bay Area nursing homes reported norovirus outbreaks in the fall, when the bug starts hitting its seasonal peak. In December, San Mateo County health officials quarantined 164 residents at a Belmont assisted-living center after 85 people fell ill with the virus.
In Sonoma County, three deaths were linked to the virus, all elderly people who were suffering a variety of other medical conditions. Health officials there reported more than 300 cases at eight facilities.
E-mail Carl Nolte at cnolte@sfchronicle.com.
January 14, 2007
Flagship Queen
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/travel/story.html?id=0101bec4-0699-4256-98ce-ae96d8b1d080
Flagship Queen
The luxurious ship was designed 'to create a new Golden Age of sea travel for those who missed the first'
Anne Vipond and William Kelly
Special to The Sun
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Anachronisms have become fertile ground for today's trends. Affluent baby boomers are buying Craftsman-style homes, teens are flocking to Bob Dylan concerts, and the hippest way to cross the Atlantic these days is not by jet plane but by ocean liner.
The English novelist Charles Dickens described his Cunard cabin as a "profoundly preposterous box" and likened it to a "hearse with windows" when he embarked on a transatlantic crossing in 1842. He was travelling on one of Cunard's earliest ships, which were built principally for delivering mail between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. Passengers were an afterthought, and a standard cabin consisted of a cubicle with a straw mattress and chair. By the end of the century, however, the Golden Era of ocean travel was in full swing and a fleet of luxury liners offered spacious suites with marble baths. Public spaces featured grand staircases, crystal chandeliers and white-gloved service in the dining room.
Jet airplanes nearly brought an end to transatlantic ship travel, and 1958 was the last year in which more passengers crossed the North Atlantic by sea than by air. Yet, a small segment of travellers continued the seagoing tradition aboard Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2, launched in 1967 and still in service. When Carnival Corporation purchased Cunard from Norway's Kvaerner Group in 1998, the company announced it would be launching a new ocean liner -- the first to be built since QE2. "Our goal," stated Carnival chairman and CEO Micky Arison, "is to create a new Golden Age of sea travel for those who missed the first."
If bookings on Queen Mary 2 are any indication, there are plenty of travellers wanting to experience grandeur and refinement -- but with a modern twist.
Yes, the QM2 has a broad teak promenade lined with steamer chairs, but there is also a Canyon Ranch Health Spa with a gymnasium, weight room, therapy pool, steam room and sauna. High tea is served on Wedgwood china in the Queens Room but the swimming pools and basketball courts are where some passengers prefer to exercise more than their pinky finger.
Queen Mary 2's itineraries take her to the Caribbean in winter and Europe in summer, but she is first and foremost an ocean liner designed for regular transatlantic crossings between Southampton and New York. These six-day trips are not like a port-hopping cruise. Time and space seem to expand in the leisurely routine of sea days as the ship steams its way across the Atlantic and everyday cares and concerns evaporate into the horizon.
Self improvement and personal enrichment are an important aspect of Cunard's transatlantic experience. Educational programs offered include lectures by Oxford university professors and workshops held by graduates of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Special guest lecturers are featured on select sailings, and famous actors, musicians, mountaineers and explorers have shared their insights with fellow passengers on transatlantic crossings, including the British comedian John Cleese.
Passengers dine at one of three main dining rooms -- the Queens Grill, Princess Grill or Britannia Restaurant -- depending on which category of cabin they have purchased. Casual fare can be enjoyed in the buffet-style Kings Court, the Boardwalk Grill and the Golden Lion Pub where fish and chips and other pub grub is served.
Children are welcome on QM2. The ship's nursery is staffed by British nannies, and children can enjoy organized activities in the Play Zone (3 to 6 years) and the Zone (7 to 10+ years).
Dogs can also book passage on QM2, and they are offered two classes of kennel accommodation -- a standard bed or a large bed. All canine passengers receive a fleece blanket, a selection of premium foods, a complimentary photo, and nightly turndown service with a freshly baked biscuit.
Christened by Queen Elizabeth in January 2004, the QM2 makes news wherever she goes, be it Cannes for the Film Festival or Athens for the Olympic Games. When Cunard's new flagship arrived at Los Angeles in February 2006 for a historic rendezvous with the first Queen Mary (which is permanently docked at Long Beach as a hotel and tourist attraction), Queen Mary 2 was welcomed by a flotilla of yachts and fire boats while thousands of spectators lined the shore and helicopters hovered overhead.
This will be an historic year for Cunard with a number of milestones and firsts for 2007. Demonstrating the line's longstanding ties to the port of New York, Queen Mary 2 will offer an expanded season of transatlantic travel, and introduce a selection of round-trip Caribbean cruises originating from New York and cruising as far south as Barbados -- highlighting the ship's fast (up to 30 knots) seagoing abilities.
Although transatlantic crossings dominate QM2's summer schedule, the ship will also offer several round-trip itineraries from Southampton -- one in June to the fjords of Norway, and two 12-day cruises to the Mediterranean (in May and September).
Longest-serving Cunarder Queen Elizabeth 2 will celebrate her 40th anniversary with a special commemorative voyage around the British Isles. And the year wraps with the highly anticipated maiden voyages of the new Queen Victoria, marking the first time in Cunard's 167-year history that three Cunard Queens will be in service simultaneously.
WHO WAS SAMUEL CUNARD?
No name in cruising is more illustrious than Cunard. Yet the founder of this prestigious line was not British but Canadian. Born in Halifax in 1787, Samuel Cunard (kyoonard) was a pioneer of steam navigation and a leading Nova Scotia businessman when the British Government invited bids in 1838 for carrying mail to and from Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. Cunard was apparently the only contender who, instead of trying to convince the British Admiralty it should approach the situation differently, actually gave them what they wanted.
The plans he presented for a line of steamships were so carefully considered, he was awarded the contract. He soon had four ships operating as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and to this day Cunard Line has retained its Royal Mail Ship status by taking mail across the Atlantic once a year.
A Victorian pillar box stands outside the QM2's Golden Lion Pub, and an exclusive QM2 stamp is sold onboard. Stamp collectors value the unique cancellation mark that appears on mail they drop into the ship's Royal Mail postbox.
Last October, while QM2 was in port at Halifax, a 10-foot bronze statue of the "Steam Lion" (as Samuel Cunard was known) was unveiled on the waterfront.
AT THE HELM
Carol Marlow, the new president of Cunard, has risen quickly in the cruise industry and is one of the reasons Cunard is growing in popularity among Canadians. "Interest in ocean travel is at an all-time high," says Marlow, who has made a concerted effort to market Cunard to Canadian travel agents and their clients. "Cunard is the line of choice for travellers charmed by a singular blend of history and innovation."
Marlow's efforts are reaping results. Cunard Line and its flagship Queen Mary 2 were recently awarded top travel industry accolades on both sides of the Atlantic when the readers of Travel Weekly chose Queen Mary 2 as the Best Luxury Cruise Ship, and Cunard was named Best Luxury Cruise Line and Cruise Line of the Year at the British Travel Awards.
Anne Vipond is the author of several bestselling cruise travel guidebooks for destinations around the world. Her latest book, Hawaii By Cruise Ship, has just been released and is available at leading retail and online bookstores, and is distributed by Raincoast Book Express and Heritage House.
IF YOU GO ...
Accommodations on QM2 range from intimate to extravagant. Most lavish are the ship's spacious two-storey apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows and butler service.
Much more affordable are the standard oceanview staterooms, which are about 200 square feet in size and contain a queen-sized or two twin-sized beds as well as a small sitting area and a bathroom with shower. A six-day crossing between Southampton and New York can be enjoyed for under $1,500 per person, depending on the month of travel and the category of accommodation.
As with all cruise bookings, you are well advised to consult an experienced cruise agent for the best fares and potential upgrades. Harvey Strydhorst of Seacourses Cruises in Vancouver advises his Cunard clients to book an east-to-west crossing on QM2 to take advantage of the one-hour time gain per day. He says his clients have been impressed with the ship's excellent cuisine, the unique selection of onboard activities and the international mix of passengers who come from various European countries as well as the U.K., Canada and the United States.
OCEAN LINER VS CRUISE SHIP
Passenger ships used to compete for the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing. Today, the race is for the title of World's Largest Cruise Ship, a distinction that was held by Queen Mary 2 until Royal Caribbean International launched Freedom of the Seas in May of 2006. A ship's size is measured by tonnage -- a cubic measurement of internal space -- and Freedom of the Seas is 160,000 gross registered tons versus Queen Mary 2's 150,000 (both ships are too wide to transit the Panama Canal). However, as Cunard's president Carol Marlow is quick to assert, QM2 remains the world's largest ocean liner.
And indeed, the QM2 is a ship in a class of its own. It was built not only for the comfort of its 2,600 passengers (who enjoy a generous space ratio of 58 cubic feet per passenger versus 44 cubic feet per passenger on Freedom of the Seas), but for crossing the Atlantic in all types of weather conditions without having to reduce speed.
The ship's hull is long and lean, able to slice through a rough sea, and its steel is extra thick. The naval architects who designed QM2 had to merge the needs of a classic liner with those of a cruise ship.
Although 94 per cent of the outside staterooms have a balcony, those on the lower decks are recessed into the steel of the hull to provide protection from inclement weather.
The promenade deck is sheltered at the bow with a wall of solid steel, its large doors left open in fair weather to allow a full outdoor circuit, but closed if the weather turns harsh.
QM2's immense size and high passenger-space ratio have allowed for palatial public areas, such as the Queens Room ballroom, the Royal Court Theatre and the multi-deck Britannia dining room.
Expansive indoor promenades create an atmosphere of opulence, and the ship's collection of boutiques -- called the Mayfair Shops -- includes
Harrods. The ship's 8,000-volume library is the largest at sea and its planetarium is the first.
The 1,132-foot vessel has 17 decks and is equal to the height of a 23-storey building. The circumference of the promenade deck exceeds one-third of a mile.
Ran with fact boxes "If You Go " and "Ocean Liner vs CruiseShip", which have been appended to the end of the story.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Flagship Queen
The luxurious ship was designed 'to create a new Golden Age of sea travel for those who missed the first'
Anne Vipond and William Kelly
Special to The Sun
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Anachronisms have become fertile ground for today's trends. Affluent baby boomers are buying Craftsman-style homes, teens are flocking to Bob Dylan concerts, and the hippest way to cross the Atlantic these days is not by jet plane but by ocean liner.
The English novelist Charles Dickens described his Cunard cabin as a "profoundly preposterous box" and likened it to a "hearse with windows" when he embarked on a transatlantic crossing in 1842. He was travelling on one of Cunard's earliest ships, which were built principally for delivering mail between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. Passengers were an afterthought, and a standard cabin consisted of a cubicle with a straw mattress and chair. By the end of the century, however, the Golden Era of ocean travel was in full swing and a fleet of luxury liners offered spacious suites with marble baths. Public spaces featured grand staircases, crystal chandeliers and white-gloved service in the dining room.
Jet airplanes nearly brought an end to transatlantic ship travel, and 1958 was the last year in which more passengers crossed the North Atlantic by sea than by air. Yet, a small segment of travellers continued the seagoing tradition aboard Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2, launched in 1967 and still in service. When Carnival Corporation purchased Cunard from Norway's Kvaerner Group in 1998, the company announced it would be launching a new ocean liner -- the first to be built since QE2. "Our goal," stated Carnival chairman and CEO Micky Arison, "is to create a new Golden Age of sea travel for those who missed the first."
If bookings on Queen Mary 2 are any indication, there are plenty of travellers wanting to experience grandeur and refinement -- but with a modern twist.
Yes, the QM2 has a broad teak promenade lined with steamer chairs, but there is also a Canyon Ranch Health Spa with a gymnasium, weight room, therapy pool, steam room and sauna. High tea is served on Wedgwood china in the Queens Room but the swimming pools and basketball courts are where some passengers prefer to exercise more than their pinky finger.
Queen Mary 2's itineraries take her to the Caribbean in winter and Europe in summer, but she is first and foremost an ocean liner designed for regular transatlantic crossings between Southampton and New York. These six-day trips are not like a port-hopping cruise. Time and space seem to expand in the leisurely routine of sea days as the ship steams its way across the Atlantic and everyday cares and concerns evaporate into the horizon.
Self improvement and personal enrichment are an important aspect of Cunard's transatlantic experience. Educational programs offered include lectures by Oxford university professors and workshops held by graduates of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Special guest lecturers are featured on select sailings, and famous actors, musicians, mountaineers and explorers have shared their insights with fellow passengers on transatlantic crossings, including the British comedian John Cleese.
Passengers dine at one of three main dining rooms -- the Queens Grill, Princess Grill or Britannia Restaurant -- depending on which category of cabin they have purchased. Casual fare can be enjoyed in the buffet-style Kings Court, the Boardwalk Grill and the Golden Lion Pub where fish and chips and other pub grub is served.
Children are welcome on QM2. The ship's nursery is staffed by British nannies, and children can enjoy organized activities in the Play Zone (3 to 6 years) and the Zone (7 to 10+ years).
Dogs can also book passage on QM2, and they are offered two classes of kennel accommodation -- a standard bed or a large bed. All canine passengers receive a fleece blanket, a selection of premium foods, a complimentary photo, and nightly turndown service with a freshly baked biscuit.
Christened by Queen Elizabeth in January 2004, the QM2 makes news wherever she goes, be it Cannes for the Film Festival or Athens for the Olympic Games. When Cunard's new flagship arrived at Los Angeles in February 2006 for a historic rendezvous with the first Queen Mary (which is permanently docked at Long Beach as a hotel and tourist attraction), Queen Mary 2 was welcomed by a flotilla of yachts and fire boats while thousands of spectators lined the shore and helicopters hovered overhead.
This will be an historic year for Cunard with a number of milestones and firsts for 2007. Demonstrating the line's longstanding ties to the port of New York, Queen Mary 2 will offer an expanded season of transatlantic travel, and introduce a selection of round-trip Caribbean cruises originating from New York and cruising as far south as Barbados -- highlighting the ship's fast (up to 30 knots) seagoing abilities.
Although transatlantic crossings dominate QM2's summer schedule, the ship will also offer several round-trip itineraries from Southampton -- one in June to the fjords of Norway, and two 12-day cruises to the Mediterranean (in May and September).
Longest-serving Cunarder Queen Elizabeth 2 will celebrate her 40th anniversary with a special commemorative voyage around the British Isles. And the year wraps with the highly anticipated maiden voyages of the new Queen Victoria, marking the first time in Cunard's 167-year history that three Cunard Queens will be in service simultaneously.
WHO WAS SAMUEL CUNARD?
No name in cruising is more illustrious than Cunard. Yet the founder of this prestigious line was not British but Canadian. Born in Halifax in 1787, Samuel Cunard (kyoonard) was a pioneer of steam navigation and a leading Nova Scotia businessman when the British Government invited bids in 1838 for carrying mail to and from Liverpool, Halifax and Boston. Cunard was apparently the only contender who, instead of trying to convince the British Admiralty it should approach the situation differently, actually gave them what they wanted.
The plans he presented for a line of steamships were so carefully considered, he was awarded the contract. He soon had four ships operating as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and to this day Cunard Line has retained its Royal Mail Ship status by taking mail across the Atlantic once a year.
A Victorian pillar box stands outside the QM2's Golden Lion Pub, and an exclusive QM2 stamp is sold onboard. Stamp collectors value the unique cancellation mark that appears on mail they drop into the ship's Royal Mail postbox.
Last October, while QM2 was in port at Halifax, a 10-foot bronze statue of the "Steam Lion" (as Samuel Cunard was known) was unveiled on the waterfront.
AT THE HELM
Carol Marlow, the new president of Cunard, has risen quickly in the cruise industry and is one of the reasons Cunard is growing in popularity among Canadians. "Interest in ocean travel is at an all-time high," says Marlow, who has made a concerted effort to market Cunard to Canadian travel agents and their clients. "Cunard is the line of choice for travellers charmed by a singular blend of history and innovation."
Marlow's efforts are reaping results. Cunard Line and its flagship Queen Mary 2 were recently awarded top travel industry accolades on both sides of the Atlantic when the readers of Travel Weekly chose Queen Mary 2 as the Best Luxury Cruise Ship, and Cunard was named Best Luxury Cruise Line and Cruise Line of the Year at the British Travel Awards.
Anne Vipond is the author of several bestselling cruise travel guidebooks for destinations around the world. Her latest book, Hawaii By Cruise Ship, has just been released and is available at leading retail and online bookstores, and is distributed by Raincoast Book Express and Heritage House.
IF YOU GO ...
Accommodations on QM2 range from intimate to extravagant. Most lavish are the ship's spacious two-storey apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows and butler service.
Much more affordable are the standard oceanview staterooms, which are about 200 square feet in size and contain a queen-sized or two twin-sized beds as well as a small sitting area and a bathroom with shower. A six-day crossing between Southampton and New York can be enjoyed for under $1,500 per person, depending on the month of travel and the category of accommodation.
As with all cruise bookings, you are well advised to consult an experienced cruise agent for the best fares and potential upgrades. Harvey Strydhorst of Seacourses Cruises in Vancouver advises his Cunard clients to book an east-to-west crossing on QM2 to take advantage of the one-hour time gain per day. He says his clients have been impressed with the ship's excellent cuisine, the unique selection of onboard activities and the international mix of passengers who come from various European countries as well as the U.K., Canada and the United States.
OCEAN LINER VS CRUISE SHIP
Passenger ships used to compete for the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing. Today, the race is for the title of World's Largest Cruise Ship, a distinction that was held by Queen Mary 2 until Royal Caribbean International launched Freedom of the Seas in May of 2006. A ship's size is measured by tonnage -- a cubic measurement of internal space -- and Freedom of the Seas is 160,000 gross registered tons versus Queen Mary 2's 150,000 (both ships are too wide to transit the Panama Canal). However, as Cunard's president Carol Marlow is quick to assert, QM2 remains the world's largest ocean liner.
And indeed, the QM2 is a ship in a class of its own. It was built not only for the comfort of its 2,600 passengers (who enjoy a generous space ratio of 58 cubic feet per passenger versus 44 cubic feet per passenger on Freedom of the Seas), but for crossing the Atlantic in all types of weather conditions without having to reduce speed.
The ship's hull is long and lean, able to slice through a rough sea, and its steel is extra thick. The naval architects who designed QM2 had to merge the needs of a classic liner with those of a cruise ship.
Although 94 per cent of the outside staterooms have a balcony, those on the lower decks are recessed into the steel of the hull to provide protection from inclement weather.
The promenade deck is sheltered at the bow with a wall of solid steel, its large doors left open in fair weather to allow a full outdoor circuit, but closed if the weather turns harsh.
QM2's immense size and high passenger-space ratio have allowed for palatial public areas, such as the Queens Room ballroom, the Royal Court Theatre and the multi-deck Britannia dining room.
Expansive indoor promenades create an atmosphere of opulence, and the ship's collection of boutiques -- called the Mayfair Shops -- includes
Harrods. The ship's 8,000-volume library is the largest at sea and its planetarium is the first.
The 1,132-foot vessel has 17 decks and is equal to the height of a 23-storey building. The circumference of the promenade deck exceeds one-third of a mile.
Ran with fact boxes "If You Go " and "Ocean Liner vs CruiseShip", which have been appended to the end of the story.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
Cunard and Princess Appoint New Commodores
http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1915
Cunard and Princess Appoint New Commodores
Cunard and Princess have appointed two veteran mariners to their fleets' most prestigious position -- that of the commodore. The Commodore of a fleet is the company's most senior captain and represents all the other captains in the fleet. Most other cruise lines these days don't have Commodores (one exception is Cunard's and Princess' sister company, P&O Cruises, who recently appointed Stephen Burgoine as Commodore).
At other cruise lines, the senior-most captain is usually promoted to a shoreside tradition. Cunard's new Commodore is Bernard Warner, master of Queen Mary 2. Warner originally joined P&O in 1965, later moving to Princess Cruises after that company was acquired by P&O. His first command was the original Island Princess in 1994; he then was appointed master of Queen Mary 2 in 2005 after Cunard became part of P&O Princess.
Commodore Warner originally wanted to join Cunard at the beginning of his career, but at the time, Cunard would only accept officers who already had their Master's Licenses. As this would require working for another line first for several years, Warner joined P&O instead and spent the first 40 years of his career at P&O and Princess before moving to now-related Cunard.Warner replaces Commodore Ronald Warwick, who retired in 2007.
Commodore Warwick, the first master of QM2 and one of the most beloved captains of the modern era, is the son of the late Commodore William Warwick, Queen Elizabeth 2's first master. As such, the two Commodores became the first father-and-son Commodores since Cunard's founding in 1840.The position of Commodore of Cunard was once so prestigious that Commodores were customarily knighted. Commodore Sir Arthur Rostron was famed as the master of the Cunarder Carpathia when it rescued survivors from the Titanic; a few years earlier, Commodore William Turner had been in command of Lusitania when it was torpedoed in World War I. Commodore Harry Grattidge retired in the 1950's after commanding the legendary Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.
He then wrote his memoirs, "Captain of the Queens," which include meeting royalty, heads of state and celebrities in the days when anyone who was anyone on either side of the Atlantic sailed on the Queens. (Perhaps their most famous regular passengers were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.)Meanwhile, Michael Fatchen has been appointed Commodore of the Princess Cruises fleet, replacing the recently retired Commodore Cesare Ditel. Like Commodore Warner, Commodore Fatchen has spent his entire career within the P&O family of companies. First appointed master of the original Sea Princess in 1993, he has since commanded many of the vessels in the P&O Cruises and Princess fleets, and is currently master of the globetrotting Pacific Princess. In April, Commodore Fatchen will take command of the "new" Royal Princess (currently Swan Hellenic's Minerva II), which along with sister Pacific Princess, will operate the most wide-ranging, exotic itineraries offered by Princess. --by Douglas Newman, a maritime writer in New York specializing in passenger ships and ferries.
Cunard and Princess Appoint New Commodores
Cunard and Princess have appointed two veteran mariners to their fleets' most prestigious position -- that of the commodore. The Commodore of a fleet is the company's most senior captain and represents all the other captains in the fleet. Most other cruise lines these days don't have Commodores (one exception is Cunard's and Princess' sister company, P&O Cruises, who recently appointed Stephen Burgoine as Commodore).
At other cruise lines, the senior-most captain is usually promoted to a shoreside tradition. Cunard's new Commodore is Bernard Warner, master of Queen Mary 2. Warner originally joined P&O in 1965, later moving to Princess Cruises after that company was acquired by P&O. His first command was the original Island Princess in 1994; he then was appointed master of Queen Mary 2 in 2005 after Cunard became part of P&O Princess.
Commodore Warner originally wanted to join Cunard at the beginning of his career, but at the time, Cunard would only accept officers who already had their Master's Licenses. As this would require working for another line first for several years, Warner joined P&O instead and spent the first 40 years of his career at P&O and Princess before moving to now-related Cunard.Warner replaces Commodore Ronald Warwick, who retired in 2007.
Commodore Warwick, the first master of QM2 and one of the most beloved captains of the modern era, is the son of the late Commodore William Warwick, Queen Elizabeth 2's first master. As such, the two Commodores became the first father-and-son Commodores since Cunard's founding in 1840.The position of Commodore of Cunard was once so prestigious that Commodores were customarily knighted. Commodore Sir Arthur Rostron was famed as the master of the Cunarder Carpathia when it rescued survivors from the Titanic; a few years earlier, Commodore William Turner had been in command of Lusitania when it was torpedoed in World War I. Commodore Harry Grattidge retired in the 1950's after commanding the legendary Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.
He then wrote his memoirs, "Captain of the Queens," which include meeting royalty, heads of state and celebrities in the days when anyone who was anyone on either side of the Atlantic sailed on the Queens. (Perhaps their most famous regular passengers were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.)Meanwhile, Michael Fatchen has been appointed Commodore of the Princess Cruises fleet, replacing the recently retired Commodore Cesare Ditel. Like Commodore Warner, Commodore Fatchen has spent his entire career within the P&O family of companies. First appointed master of the original Sea Princess in 1993, he has since commanded many of the vessels in the P&O Cruises and Princess fleets, and is currently master of the globetrotting Pacific Princess. In April, Commodore Fatchen will take command of the "new" Royal Princess (currently Swan Hellenic's Minerva II), which along with sister Pacific Princess, will operate the most wide-ranging, exotic itineraries offered by Princess. --by Douglas Newman, a maritime writer in New York specializing in passenger ships and ferries.
January 8, 2007
A new but smaller Queen coming for Christmas `07
By Arline and Sam Bleecker
Special to the Tribune
Published January 7, 2007
Special to the Tribune
Published January 7, 2007
We've barely finished savoring this year's Christmas goodies and already Cunard has a gift in the works for next year's yuletide season. Just in time for the holidays in December 2007, the venerable 167-year-old line will christen its newest monarch, the Queen Victoria. Anticipation of its debut is so keen that the pre-Christmas maiden voyage, round-trip from Southampton, England, already is sold out.
Queen Victoria won't tip any scales, though. At 90,000 gross registered tons, it's practically a featherweight compared to Cunard's other royal, the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2--famously the world's largest vessel until Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas dethroned it earlier this year.
The $522 million Queen Victoria is expected to continue Cunard's tradition of British service and decorative restraint, including the vessel's distinctive black and red livery. To the line's hallmark features--which curiously still include what amounts to a two-class system on board--the 2,014-passenger Queen Victoria will add several innovations. Among them: private viewing boxes in the 800-seat Royal Court Theater; a floating museum display of Cunard memorabilia; and a two-story library with nearly 6,000 books, more than enough tomes for those trans-Atlantic crossings with nothing but time on your hands.
Beyond those amenities, the vessel will sport a three-story Grand Lobby featuring a dramatic staircase and exclusive artworks; the Winter Garden, a conservatory with a colonial ambience and retractable roof that opens to the sky; the Royal Shopping Arcade's 4,000 square feet of designer-name shops, spanning two decks and inspired by the Royal and Burlington arcades in London; Hemisphere's, a lounge with a 270-degree view--by day, the setting for classes and lectures or relaxing that, in the evening, transforms into a lively nightclub; and the Queens Room, a voluminous venue with a 1,000-square-foot dance floor that will offer 4 o'clock tea and dancing before dinner.
As on all Cunard ships, some areas on Queen Victoria will be reserved exclusively for those passengers who book upper-category suites. The so-called "Grill guests" enjoy such goodies as the Upper Grills Terrace, a secluded retreat for sunning and relaxing; and the Grill restaurants, which include an exclusive patio area called "The Courtyard" for alfresco dining.
Passengers not in the Grill category are no slouches either, however. They will dine in the classically inspired Britannia Restaurant, a double-deck-high dining room with sweeping staircases. The remainder of the ship's amenities are, of course, open to all. For alternative meals, for example, there will be a traditional London pub and a Todd English restaurant, serving innovative Mediterranean cuisine.
As for staterooms, 86 percent of the 1,007 cabins will have ocean views; 71 percent of those will feature a private balcony. Twenty cabins will conform to ADA standards.
Just in the St. Nick of time, Queen Victoria will make its maiden pre-Christmas voyage Dec. 11, 2007, and feature a shopaholic's dream: a Christmas markets tour of Northern Europe. The 10-night round-trip sailing, departing from Cunard's homeport of Southampton, will call in Amsterdam, Copenhagen (overnight), Oslo, Hamburg, Germany, and Brugge, Belgium.
Queen Victoria's first Christmas will be spent lolling in the sunshine of the Canary Islands and Morocco and ports along the Iberian Peninsula. The 16-night sailing, departing Dec. 21, will call at Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Malaga, Spain; Funchal, Las Palmas, Arrecife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Casablanca, Morocco, and Gibraltar. Christmas Day will be celebrated at sea.
----------
Fares start at $1,899 per person for the 10-night cruise. For information, call 800-728-6273 or visit cunard.com.
Queen Victoria won't tip any scales, though. At 90,000 gross registered tons, it's practically a featherweight compared to Cunard's other royal, the 150,000-ton Queen Mary 2--famously the world's largest vessel until Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas dethroned it earlier this year.
The $522 million Queen Victoria is expected to continue Cunard's tradition of British service and decorative restraint, including the vessel's distinctive black and red livery. To the line's hallmark features--which curiously still include what amounts to a two-class system on board--the 2,014-passenger Queen Victoria will add several innovations. Among them: private viewing boxes in the 800-seat Royal Court Theater; a floating museum display of Cunard memorabilia; and a two-story library with nearly 6,000 books, more than enough tomes for those trans-Atlantic crossings with nothing but time on your hands.
Beyond those amenities, the vessel will sport a three-story Grand Lobby featuring a dramatic staircase and exclusive artworks; the Winter Garden, a conservatory with a colonial ambience and retractable roof that opens to the sky; the Royal Shopping Arcade's 4,000 square feet of designer-name shops, spanning two decks and inspired by the Royal and Burlington arcades in London; Hemisphere's, a lounge with a 270-degree view--by day, the setting for classes and lectures or relaxing that, in the evening, transforms into a lively nightclub; and the Queens Room, a voluminous venue with a 1,000-square-foot dance floor that will offer 4 o'clock tea and dancing before dinner.
As on all Cunard ships, some areas on Queen Victoria will be reserved exclusively for those passengers who book upper-category suites. The so-called "Grill guests" enjoy such goodies as the Upper Grills Terrace, a secluded retreat for sunning and relaxing; and the Grill restaurants, which include an exclusive patio area called "The Courtyard" for alfresco dining.
Passengers not in the Grill category are no slouches either, however. They will dine in the classically inspired Britannia Restaurant, a double-deck-high dining room with sweeping staircases. The remainder of the ship's amenities are, of course, open to all. For alternative meals, for example, there will be a traditional London pub and a Todd English restaurant, serving innovative Mediterranean cuisine.
As for staterooms, 86 percent of the 1,007 cabins will have ocean views; 71 percent of those will feature a private balcony. Twenty cabins will conform to ADA standards.
Just in the St. Nick of time, Queen Victoria will make its maiden pre-Christmas voyage Dec. 11, 2007, and feature a shopaholic's dream: a Christmas markets tour of Northern Europe. The 10-night round-trip sailing, departing from Cunard's homeport of Southampton, will call in Amsterdam, Copenhagen (overnight), Oslo, Hamburg, Germany, and Brugge, Belgium.
Queen Victoria's first Christmas will be spent lolling in the sunshine of the Canary Islands and Morocco and ports along the Iberian Peninsula. The 16-night sailing, departing Dec. 21, will call at Vigo, Spain; Lisbon, Malaga, Spain; Funchal, Las Palmas, Arrecife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Casablanca, Morocco, and Gibraltar. Christmas Day will be celebrated at sea.
----------
Fares start at $1,899 per person for the 10-night cruise. For information, call 800-728-6273 or visit cunard.com.
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