This on the scotsman.com about the value that visits by ships like QE2 really bring to ports they stop at...
"Traders sunk by luxury liners
HAZEL MOLLISON (hmollison@edinburghnews.com)
THEIR arrival is supposed to signal rich pickings for the tourist trade on the shores of the Forth.
Instead, cruise liners are being accused of costing businesses a fortune as coachloads of disembarking passengers hog parking spaces and bring traffic to a standstill.
Shopkeepers in South Queensferry say they are being left out of pocket when luxury ships such as the QE2 tie up offshore because nearly all the passengers immediately leave on trips to Edinburgh and St Andrews without spending any money in their town.
Now the community's leaders fear cruise passengers may disrupt the annual Ferry Fair, as two liners are scheduled to arrive during the week-long festivities.
Tom Martin, chairman of Queensferry community council, said passengers from the liners were ferried ashore at Hawes Pier. Coaches line up in the main car park nearby, which is closed to other users.
Although the coaches depart in the morning and return in the afternoon, spaces are usually reserved for them during the day.
He said: "This has always been a problem, but the liners are coming more frequently now. They have large fleets of coaches lining up to take the passengers. Local businesses are feeling the effect."
Moira Cunningham, who runs a bed and breakfast at Hawthorn House, on West Terrace, said: "There are liners coming in with about 30 coaches. The traffic comes to a standstill.
"Parking is a major problem in South Queensferry anyway. We've got so many nice places to visit here, but this is going to keep people away.
"I understand why they want liners to come in, but they need to address the problem."
Hamish Gilchrist, who runs a sculpture gallery on Newhalls Road, said coachloads of tourists bypassed the town, rather than stopping at shops and cafes.
He said: "What they do is line the coaches up, and then they go into Edinburgh. We don't gain any benefits from these passengers. They don't spend any time in the town. We need another car park. We've lost a number of parking spaces with the new development on the promenade."
Community councillor David Steel, who also helps run the fair, said: "When they first started coming, people in Queensferry felt there might be some benefits with all these extra visitors.
"Unfortunately, it really hasn't proved to be the boost to trade that many people had hoped.
"The majority of people on these ships go off on coach trips into Edinburgh or St Andrews.
"We've found that there's very little spin-off for Queensferry. They do cause quite a lot of disruption in terms of traffic."
He said around eight cruise liners are scheduled to arrive this summer. Two are due between August 6 and 10, the week of the annual Ferry Fair.
The cruise liners have already booked the car park, although it is normally used by the fairground at this time.
He said they were trying to negotiate with the council, who run Hawes Pier, to find alternative parking for the coaches.
He said: "The fairground has been occupying the car park for many, many years. It's just unfortunate that there's liners visiting that coincide."
Andrew Holmes, the council's director of city development, said the authority tried to balance the needs of residents and cruise passengers. He said: "We only allow liners to use this car park a handful of times each year when their passengers are going on day trips. This is for safety reasons, as there is nowhere else for the coaches to safely park next to the pier.
"Only part of the car park is used by these coaches, and if shoppers cannot find a space during these times, on-street parking bays are available."
May 31, 2007
May 28, 2007
Cunard QM2: catering to the youngest travelers
In an article about how various cruise lines look after babies and toddlers on dallasnews.com, here is what they say about the Queen Mary 2:
"www.cunard.com; 1-800-728-6273
MINIMUM AGE TO SAIL
Varies by itinerary, 6 months old for some sailings, 1 year old for trans-Atlantic and many exotic itineraries.
WHY THEY'RE GREAT
On the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2, nannies take care of children ages 1 and up in onboard nurseries stocked with Fisher-Price Little People, toys by Lamaze and more. Diaper changing and naps in the nursery's full-size cribs are included (children's program complimentary for all ages). Preschoolers can attend pajama parties, go on treasure hunts and have their faces painted. Queen Mary 2 has a 3- to 4-foot-deep pool for families, plus a 6- to 12-inch-deep splash pool for smaller sailors. Be sure to escort your little one to the Children's Tea, served in King's Court every evening with balloons, artwork place mats, crayons and treats. Queen Mary 2 has the largest library at sea. Its more than 8,000 books include a well-stocked children's section.
BUNKING WITH BABY
Queen Mary 2's Britannia staterooms range in size from 155 to 248 square feet and include small refrigerators. Princess Grill Suites include daily bottled water and fruit baskets, both gratis. Bed configurations vary for third and fourth passengers within a stateroom. Some have double sofa beds, others include single sofa beds with a pull-down bed above.
TINY TOT ESSENTIALS
King's Court restaurant will blend food for babies on request. Playpen-like cribs are complimentary for in-cabin use. Bring plenty of diapers, wipes and other baby necessities because the ship's store does not sell these items.
CAVEAT EMPTOR
While Cunard has an excellent program for young children, this is not a line where you'll find a ship's deck worth of activities and facilities for kids. Private, in-cabin baby-sitting is not available
"www.cunard.com; 1-800-728-6273
MINIMUM AGE TO SAIL
Varies by itinerary, 6 months old for some sailings, 1 year old for trans-Atlantic and many exotic itineraries.
WHY THEY'RE GREAT
On the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2, nannies take care of children ages 1 and up in onboard nurseries stocked with Fisher-Price Little People, toys by Lamaze and more. Diaper changing and naps in the nursery's full-size cribs are included (children's program complimentary for all ages). Preschoolers can attend pajama parties, go on treasure hunts and have their faces painted. Queen Mary 2 has a 3- to 4-foot-deep pool for families, plus a 6- to 12-inch-deep splash pool for smaller sailors. Be sure to escort your little one to the Children's Tea, served in King's Court every evening with balloons, artwork place mats, crayons and treats. Queen Mary 2 has the largest library at sea. Its more than 8,000 books include a well-stocked children's section.
BUNKING WITH BABY
Queen Mary 2's Britannia staterooms range in size from 155 to 248 square feet and include small refrigerators. Princess Grill Suites include daily bottled water and fruit baskets, both gratis. Bed configurations vary for third and fourth passengers within a stateroom. Some have double sofa beds, others include single sofa beds with a pull-down bed above.
TINY TOT ESSENTIALS
King's Court restaurant will blend food for babies on request. Playpen-like cribs are complimentary for in-cabin use. Bring plenty of diapers, wipes and other baby necessities because the ship's store does not sell these items.
CAVEAT EMPTOR
While Cunard has an excellent program for young children, this is not a line where you'll find a ship's deck worth of activities and facilities for kids. Private, in-cabin baby-sitting is not available
May 26, 2007
To Sell Brooklyn, Borough Leader Took Free Trip on QM2
the nytimes.com reports...
"
When the Queen Mary 2 made Brooklyn its New York home port, Marty Markowitz, the borough’s president and most tireless booster, fairly burst with pride.
“Brooklyn’s ship has come in,” a press release quoted him as saying last year when the ship made its maiden docking at Pier 12 in Red Hook. “All aboard.”
On Thursday, Mr. Markowitz’s own ship came in. He arrived in Brooklyn on the Queen Mary 2 after a free six-day cruise from Southampton, England. Mr. Markowitz was quick to point out that he sailed not just as a passenger, but also as the borough’s official ambassador. Between breakfasts of petit filet mignon and dinners of lobster flambé with cognac and truffles, harp recitals and black-tie soirees, the mostly European passengers were treated to an hourlong talk from Mr. Markowitz on the wonders of Brooklyn. More than 450 people attended it, he said.
“I know it sounds crazy to us,” Mr. Markowitz said yesterday, “but there are many people who don’t know Brooklyn and are curious to know about us.”
Though ethics watchdogs said it was hard to accept a free cruise from a company that does business with the city without creating the appearance of a conflict of interest, Mr. Markowitz’s voyage was approved by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.
The board ruled that the gift was legitimate, given that “attracting regional, domestic and international tourism to Brooklyn is a major priority in your administration and that this trip will advance this priority.” Mr. Markowitz’s passage was reported yesterday in The New York Post.
Mr. Markowitz said that he certainly felt he earned his berth in an ocean-facing room on an upper deck, worth somewhere north of $1,500.
“Had they invited me to lounge around in my shorts and to play no role at all, that’s one story,” Mr. Markowitz said. “But I was invited for a specific purpose.”
The Queen Mary 2 typically sails with a dozen or so guest lecturers, on topics ranging from politics to psychology to art history. “There’s really nothing out of the ordinary about it,” Chris Hodek, public relations coordinator for Carnival’s Cunard Line, which owns the ship, said of Mr. Markowitz’s trip.
Nor were Mr. Markowitz’s shipboard duties limited to the lecture. He also took part in two question-and-answer sessions, he said, and fielded inquiries from passengers curious or confused about their destination.
“One man — definitely from England — when he heard that we were landing in Brooklyn, he screamed out: ‘Brooklyn. I want to go to New York,’ ” the borough president recalled. “I had to explain to him that Brooklyn is part of New York.”
Mr. Markowitz has long advocated Brooklyn as a logical home for the overflow traffic from Manhattan’s cruise docks, and he lobbied the mayor’s office long and hard to build a cruise terminal in Red Hook. His office also kicked in $1.5 million toward the terminal’s more than $50 million cost. (In return for renovations the city made to its terminals, the Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines agreed to pay the city at least $200 million in port charges through 2017.)
Gene Russianoff, a lawyer for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said that when it came to accepting a free ride on a luxury liner, “inevitably there’s an appearance issue even if you dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s.” But he said Mr. Markowitz had done everything that could have been asked of him to steer clear of choppy ethical waters.
Mr. Markowitz said that other than the cost of the cruise itself, he paid for everything on the trip, including the flight to London for him and his wife, and her boat fare.
Still, that Mr. Markowitz went on the free trip at all was enough to draw reproach from some quarters.
“It’s not something I would have done, even if the Conflicts of Interest Board says it’s O.K.,” said Chris Owens, a former Congressional candidate who is considering a run for borough president in 2009. (Mr. Markowitz is barred by term limits from re-election.)
Mr. Markowitz might have picked a more opportune time to leave town for a week. While he was away, one of the bigger controversies of his administration arose, concerning his decision to remove nine members from a community board that criticized the $4 billion Atlantic Yards development project, which Mr. Markowitz has championed. A reporter seeking comment on the move on Tuesday was told only that Mr. Markowitz was “on a ship.”
Still, Mr. Markowitz, who a few years ago told Newsday that an ocean cruise was “the ultimate vacation, a smorgasbord on water,” said one of his regrets was having broken his diet at the buffet table.
"
When the Queen Mary 2 made Brooklyn its New York home port, Marty Markowitz, the borough’s president and most tireless booster, fairly burst with pride.
“Brooklyn’s ship has come in,” a press release quoted him as saying last year when the ship made its maiden docking at Pier 12 in Red Hook. “All aboard.”
On Thursday, Mr. Markowitz’s own ship came in. He arrived in Brooklyn on the Queen Mary 2 after a free six-day cruise from Southampton, England. Mr. Markowitz was quick to point out that he sailed not just as a passenger, but also as the borough’s official ambassador. Between breakfasts of petit filet mignon and dinners of lobster flambé with cognac and truffles, harp recitals and black-tie soirees, the mostly European passengers were treated to an hourlong talk from Mr. Markowitz on the wonders of Brooklyn. More than 450 people attended it, he said.
“I know it sounds crazy to us,” Mr. Markowitz said yesterday, “but there are many people who don’t know Brooklyn and are curious to know about us.”
Though ethics watchdogs said it was hard to accept a free cruise from a company that does business with the city without creating the appearance of a conflict of interest, Mr. Markowitz’s voyage was approved by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board.
The board ruled that the gift was legitimate, given that “attracting regional, domestic and international tourism to Brooklyn is a major priority in your administration and that this trip will advance this priority.” Mr. Markowitz’s passage was reported yesterday in The New York Post.
Mr. Markowitz said that he certainly felt he earned his berth in an ocean-facing room on an upper deck, worth somewhere north of $1,500.
“Had they invited me to lounge around in my shorts and to play no role at all, that’s one story,” Mr. Markowitz said. “But I was invited for a specific purpose.”
The Queen Mary 2 typically sails with a dozen or so guest lecturers, on topics ranging from politics to psychology to art history. “There’s really nothing out of the ordinary about it,” Chris Hodek, public relations coordinator for Carnival’s Cunard Line, which owns the ship, said of Mr. Markowitz’s trip.
Nor were Mr. Markowitz’s shipboard duties limited to the lecture. He also took part in two question-and-answer sessions, he said, and fielded inquiries from passengers curious or confused about their destination.
“One man — definitely from England — when he heard that we were landing in Brooklyn, he screamed out: ‘Brooklyn. I want to go to New York,’ ” the borough president recalled. “I had to explain to him that Brooklyn is part of New York.”
Mr. Markowitz has long advocated Brooklyn as a logical home for the overflow traffic from Manhattan’s cruise docks, and he lobbied the mayor’s office long and hard to build a cruise terminal in Red Hook. His office also kicked in $1.5 million toward the terminal’s more than $50 million cost. (In return for renovations the city made to its terminals, the Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines agreed to pay the city at least $200 million in port charges through 2017.)
Gene Russianoff, a lawyer for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said that when it came to accepting a free ride on a luxury liner, “inevitably there’s an appearance issue even if you dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s.” But he said Mr. Markowitz had done everything that could have been asked of him to steer clear of choppy ethical waters.
Mr. Markowitz said that other than the cost of the cruise itself, he paid for everything on the trip, including the flight to London for him and his wife, and her boat fare.
Still, that Mr. Markowitz went on the free trip at all was enough to draw reproach from some quarters.
“It’s not something I would have done, even if the Conflicts of Interest Board says it’s O.K.,” said Chris Owens, a former Congressional candidate who is considering a run for borough president in 2009. (Mr. Markowitz is barred by term limits from re-election.)
Mr. Markowitz might have picked a more opportune time to leave town for a week. While he was away, one of the bigger controversies of his administration arose, concerning his decision to remove nine members from a community board that criticized the $4 billion Atlantic Yards development project, which Mr. Markowitz has championed. A reporter seeking comment on the move on Tuesday was told only that Mr. Markowitz was “on a ship.”
Still, Mr. Markowitz, who a few years ago told Newsday that an ocean cruise was “the ultimate vacation, a smorgasbord on water,” said one of his regrets was having broken his diet at the buffet table.
LuPone Sings as Queen Mary 2 Gala Raises $540,000 for NYC Arts
This was on bloomberg.com
"May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Cunard Line showed off its extravagant Queen Mary 2 last night as host of a benefit aboard the cruise liner that raised $540,000 for New York City Opera and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
With the ship docked in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, guests drank cocktails on the deck with expansive views of Manhattan. Patti LuPone sang torch songs in the ship's theater, couples danced in the ballroom to the Peter Duchin Orchestra and 750 people ate dinner in the massive Britannia Restaurant.
Cunard, owned by Carnival Corp., was promoting the 1,132- foot liner's new home at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, its new U.S. base for regular transatlantic crossings.
``This is a big deal for us,'' Cunard President Carol Marlow said in an interview. ``We rarely have events like this.''
Marlow said the Queen Mary 2 can be rented as a private charter. The price depends on the ship's destination, she said, declining to give specific numbers.
CIT, a New York-based commercial and consumer finance company, sponsored the gala. CIT also sponsors City Opera's ``Opera-for-All,'' which offers discounted tickets for $25.
Security was tight, with guests required to show identification and pass through metal detectors and two other security checkpoints as they made their way through the terminal to the ship. As each guest entered the Queen Mary 2, a long line of uniformed servers on either side said ``good evening'' in unison.
LuPone Sings
On the boat, guests were joined by celebrities such as the actress Cynthia Nixon from ``Sex and the City'' and Jill Hennessy, star of the television drama ``Crossing Jordan.''
LuPone sang songs from her album ``The Lady With the Torch'' for a front-row audience that included Jane M. Gullong, executive director of City Opera, BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
``We're coming together on an exceptional ship to support two cultural institutions,'' Joseph V. Melillo, executive producer at BAM, said during the cocktail hour. ``We're blessed here in Brooklyn.''
The Queen Mary 2 departs Brooklyn today for a four-day cruise to the Bahamas.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Romano in New York at Mromano6@bloomberg.net
"May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Cunard Line showed off its extravagant Queen Mary 2 last night as host of a benefit aboard the cruise liner that raised $540,000 for New York City Opera and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
With the ship docked in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, guests drank cocktails on the deck with expansive views of Manhattan. Patti LuPone sang torch songs in the ship's theater, couples danced in the ballroom to the Peter Duchin Orchestra and 750 people ate dinner in the massive Britannia Restaurant.
Cunard, owned by Carnival Corp., was promoting the 1,132- foot liner's new home at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, its new U.S. base for regular transatlantic crossings.
``This is a big deal for us,'' Cunard President Carol Marlow said in an interview. ``We rarely have events like this.''
Marlow said the Queen Mary 2 can be rented as a private charter. The price depends on the ship's destination, she said, declining to give specific numbers.
CIT, a New York-based commercial and consumer finance company, sponsored the gala. CIT also sponsors City Opera's ``Opera-for-All,'' which offers discounted tickets for $25.
Security was tight, with guests required to show identification and pass through metal detectors and two other security checkpoints as they made their way through the terminal to the ship. As each guest entered the Queen Mary 2, a long line of uniformed servers on either side said ``good evening'' in unison.
LuPone Sings
On the boat, guests were joined by celebrities such as the actress Cynthia Nixon from ``Sex and the City'' and Jill Hennessy, star of the television drama ``Crossing Jordan.''
LuPone sang songs from her album ``The Lady With the Torch'' for a front-row audience that included Jane M. Gullong, executive director of City Opera, BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
``We're coming together on an exceptional ship to support two cultural institutions,'' Joseph V. Melillo, executive producer at BAM, said during the cocktail hour. ``We're blessed here in Brooklyn.''
The Queen Mary 2 departs Brooklyn today for a four-day cruise to the Bahamas.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Romano in New York at Mromano6@bloomberg.net
Good Morning Brooklyn: Thoughts of a travel writer after 2 months on the QM2
This appears on concierge.com by a writer having spent 2 months (lucky him!) on the QM2:
"Here is my first thought after stepping off the Queen Mary 2 and reuniting, after two long and lonely months, with my family: It is amazing how much weight the human female can gain in a mere 60 days. Especially so if the female in your arms was 5 months old the last time your saw her, and has since aged to the ripe old mark of seven months. Back in Hong Kong, when I bid Greta and her mummy a tearful goodbye, she weighed 14 pounds; she now tips the scales at 18. In the interim, she has mastered several impressive new skills: She can sit on the floor without toppling randomly over; she can stick her tongue out, and at three a.m. she is able to make a compelling and rhetorically sound argument--without uttering a single intelligible phoneme--that a crib is a cruel and unusual place for a baby and that where she truly belongs is in bed between mummy and daddy.
Two days earlier, in the early evening of May 22nd, somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland, the weather suddenly cleared. The grey ceiling of British dismalness that had been dogging me since Normandy was gone. The next morning, the captain announced we were approaching the Georges Bank, an oval-shaped, undersea plateau that's kind of like the last hurrah of the Grand Banks. Expect more marine life, the captain said, so Erik and I planted ourselves on the promenade on Deck 7, eyes glued to the green ocean water, looking for life. Staring at an endless succession of waves is enough to make you seasick--it's a wonder that bats aren't constantly vomiting. Every now and then, however, the play of green and silver would be interrupted by a clump of seaweed. Something was going on down there. I imagined a sperm whale in a wrestling match with a giant squid, their grappling and body slams dislodging bits of underwater greenery.
Not long after, signs of life appeared. Garbage. A green milk crate floated by, on its way to France. Next, a cardboard boxtop, inches below the surface, an essay in sogginess. Finally, a Gatorade bottle. (Lemonade flavor.)
The ship was due to arrive in Red Hook at seven a.m. on May 24th so Erik and I rose out of bed at four a.m., hoping to witness every moment of our slow but magnificent arrival. By the time we got on deck, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge had already floated by overhead, a mere 40 feet above the Queen Mary 2's vertiginous main funnel. Ahead of us, New York Harbor, which is very New York indeed: barges and ferries zooming up and down and across, police helicopters hovering over bits of shore, the skyline rising higher with each yard.
A few hundred yards off Governor's Island, just in front of its berth in Red Hook, the Queen Mary 2 displayed one of the more impressive feats of navigation you're likely to see. Firing its side thrusters, the ship turned around and then backed in. It was impossible to experience without imagining the yelling taking place on the bridge. "You're going too fast! Left! Left! You've got 200 hundred feat, easy. Ease her in. Left! Turn the wheel! Turn the wheel! Right! Right!. Okay, you're good."
The funny thing about slow travel is that it happens at such a measured pace that you end up having perhaps too much time to take in all the significance. By England, I had for several days been misty-eyed at the world-wrapping magnitude of my circumnavigation. By the mid-Atlantic, it had begun to recede into memory, and by the time I set foot on the parking lot in Red Hook--a parking lot I had visited 80 days earlier--it all seemed like a dream. Greta was thrust in my arms. She reached out and grabbed my nose, a standard move, something she has been doing since the age of two months. (It's her gentle but direct way of telling me my nose is too big. What she hasn't realized yet is that she may end up with this very nose and the final irony is that I will have to pay for the corrective surgery.)
This, of course, is the part where you're expecting a grand and climactic summing-up of it all, replete with feelings of warmth and fuzziness. Not going to happen. I'm saving it all for the main feature, which will be appearing in the 20th anniversary issue of Conde Nast Traveler. It comes out in September and I haven't the slightest idea what I'm going to write. Suggestions welcome.
Instead, I will take this time to thank everyone who has made this amazing experience possible. First off, thank you, readers. As much as I love the sound of my own voice, I wouldn't have written this blog if it wasn't for the fact that so many of you tuned in so regularly. I appreciate your supportive comments, your restraint in the face of innumerable errors and inconsistencies, and your Jesus-like forgiveness over my prejudice against Eurotrash. (The first step is acknowledging you have a problem. I've made it that far.)
Thank you to my benefactor, Klara Glowczewska, the editor of Conde Nast Traveler. It's a stretch to say I have the greatest job on Earth, but for the past three months, I did have the greatest job around the Earth, and it's all because of you. Thank you to my editor, Ted Moncreiff, who not only thought this whole thing up, but suggested that I actually get paid to do it. (And no, he's not getting any kickbacks. I do owe him a dinner, though.)
Thank you to my online editor, Tom Loftus, the man responsible for all the funny headlines and captions. Tom hails from San Francisco, and only a West Coaster can send the identical email more than forty times--"Mark, you forgot to send GPS coordinates"--without betraying even a hint of anger. Thank you also to Hyla Bauer and the fashion department at Conde Nast Travler. With your help, I was never too hot, never too cold and--far more importantly--I looked good enough in Italy that the locals did not laugh at me.
Nandita Khanna is Ted's assistant and she's busy at the slowest of times. For the past three months, while not only tackling her regular outsized workload, Nandita had to deal with sheaves of unmarked receipts printed in foreign languages, boxes of cashmere or salami held up at customs, and innumerable random, unreasonable emails saying things like, "Nandita, getting massage so time precious. Regarding hotel suggestions in Moscow: the last time at Swisshotel had bad dream. Does Four Seasons have availability? Check into turn-down service--request extra mints on pillow." Nandita, that you do your job so well is a credit to your ability. That you manage to stay smiling is a testament to your personality.
Finally, a word to my wife. I don't know what that word should be, because "thank you" isn't nearly up to the task. For the past 80 days, you have kept house, managed the finances and paid the mortgage. You not only did my laundry, you did my taxes. All the while, you raised a little girl who shows some promise of turning out to be as beautiful and wonderful as her mother. Meanwhile, your husband had the gall to travel in a meandering and non-direct path around this world, and all he could do was talk about the food. So to you, Laura, I say this: I may have drunk wine in Burgundy, eaten pasta in Italy, walked the Great Wall of China, traveled the breadth of Siberia, talked politics with the world's last feudal lord and snorkeled with tropical fish in Hawaii, but there is only one place on this planet that I truly long to be, and that is by your side. The world may be big, but it's meaningless without you."
"Here is my first thought after stepping off the Queen Mary 2 and reuniting, after two long and lonely months, with my family: It is amazing how much weight the human female can gain in a mere 60 days. Especially so if the female in your arms was 5 months old the last time your saw her, and has since aged to the ripe old mark of seven months. Back in Hong Kong, when I bid Greta and her mummy a tearful goodbye, she weighed 14 pounds; she now tips the scales at 18. In the interim, she has mastered several impressive new skills: She can sit on the floor without toppling randomly over; she can stick her tongue out, and at three a.m. she is able to make a compelling and rhetorically sound argument--without uttering a single intelligible phoneme--that a crib is a cruel and unusual place for a baby and that where she truly belongs is in bed between mummy and daddy.
Two days earlier, in the early evening of May 22nd, somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland, the weather suddenly cleared. The grey ceiling of British dismalness that had been dogging me since Normandy was gone. The next morning, the captain announced we were approaching the Georges Bank, an oval-shaped, undersea plateau that's kind of like the last hurrah of the Grand Banks. Expect more marine life, the captain said, so Erik and I planted ourselves on the promenade on Deck 7, eyes glued to the green ocean water, looking for life. Staring at an endless succession of waves is enough to make you seasick--it's a wonder that bats aren't constantly vomiting. Every now and then, however, the play of green and silver would be interrupted by a clump of seaweed. Something was going on down there. I imagined a sperm whale in a wrestling match with a giant squid, their grappling and body slams dislodging bits of underwater greenery.
Not long after, signs of life appeared. Garbage. A green milk crate floated by, on its way to France. Next, a cardboard boxtop, inches below the surface, an essay in sogginess. Finally, a Gatorade bottle. (Lemonade flavor.)
The ship was due to arrive in Red Hook at seven a.m. on May 24th so Erik and I rose out of bed at four a.m., hoping to witness every moment of our slow but magnificent arrival. By the time we got on deck, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge had already floated by overhead, a mere 40 feet above the Queen Mary 2's vertiginous main funnel. Ahead of us, New York Harbor, which is very New York indeed: barges and ferries zooming up and down and across, police helicopters hovering over bits of shore, the skyline rising higher with each yard.
A few hundred yards off Governor's Island, just in front of its berth in Red Hook, the Queen Mary 2 displayed one of the more impressive feats of navigation you're likely to see. Firing its side thrusters, the ship turned around and then backed in. It was impossible to experience without imagining the yelling taking place on the bridge. "You're going too fast! Left! Left! You've got 200 hundred feat, easy. Ease her in. Left! Turn the wheel! Turn the wheel! Right! Right!. Okay, you're good."
The funny thing about slow travel is that it happens at such a measured pace that you end up having perhaps too much time to take in all the significance. By England, I had for several days been misty-eyed at the world-wrapping magnitude of my circumnavigation. By the mid-Atlantic, it had begun to recede into memory, and by the time I set foot on the parking lot in Red Hook--a parking lot I had visited 80 days earlier--it all seemed like a dream. Greta was thrust in my arms. She reached out and grabbed my nose, a standard move, something she has been doing since the age of two months. (It's her gentle but direct way of telling me my nose is too big. What she hasn't realized yet is that she may end up with this very nose and the final irony is that I will have to pay for the corrective surgery.)
This, of course, is the part where you're expecting a grand and climactic summing-up of it all, replete with feelings of warmth and fuzziness. Not going to happen. I'm saving it all for the main feature, which will be appearing in the 20th anniversary issue of Conde Nast Traveler. It comes out in September and I haven't the slightest idea what I'm going to write. Suggestions welcome.
Instead, I will take this time to thank everyone who has made this amazing experience possible. First off, thank you, readers. As much as I love the sound of my own voice, I wouldn't have written this blog if it wasn't for the fact that so many of you tuned in so regularly. I appreciate your supportive comments, your restraint in the face of innumerable errors and inconsistencies, and your Jesus-like forgiveness over my prejudice against Eurotrash. (The first step is acknowledging you have a problem. I've made it that far.)
Thank you to my benefactor, Klara Glowczewska, the editor of Conde Nast Traveler. It's a stretch to say I have the greatest job on Earth, but for the past three months, I did have the greatest job around the Earth, and it's all because of you. Thank you to my editor, Ted Moncreiff, who not only thought this whole thing up, but suggested that I actually get paid to do it. (And no, he's not getting any kickbacks. I do owe him a dinner, though.)
Thank you to my online editor, Tom Loftus, the man responsible for all the funny headlines and captions. Tom hails from San Francisco, and only a West Coaster can send the identical email more than forty times--"Mark, you forgot to send GPS coordinates"--without betraying even a hint of anger. Thank you also to Hyla Bauer and the fashion department at Conde Nast Travler. With your help, I was never too hot, never too cold and--far more importantly--I looked good enough in Italy that the locals did not laugh at me.
Nandita Khanna is Ted's assistant and she's busy at the slowest of times. For the past three months, while not only tackling her regular outsized workload, Nandita had to deal with sheaves of unmarked receipts printed in foreign languages, boxes of cashmere or salami held up at customs, and innumerable random, unreasonable emails saying things like, "Nandita, getting massage so time precious. Regarding hotel suggestions in Moscow: the last time at Swisshotel had bad dream. Does Four Seasons have availability? Check into turn-down service--request extra mints on pillow." Nandita, that you do your job so well is a credit to your ability. That you manage to stay smiling is a testament to your personality.
Finally, a word to my wife. I don't know what that word should be, because "thank you" isn't nearly up to the task. For the past 80 days, you have kept house, managed the finances and paid the mortgage. You not only did my laundry, you did my taxes. All the while, you raised a little girl who shows some promise of turning out to be as beautiful and wonderful as her mother. Meanwhile, your husband had the gall to travel in a meandering and non-direct path around this world, and all he could do was talk about the food. So to you, Laura, I say this: I may have drunk wine in Burgundy, eaten pasta in Italy, walked the Great Wall of China, traveled the breadth of Siberia, talked politics with the world's last feudal lord and snorkeled with tropical fish in Hawaii, but there is only one place on this planet that I truly long to be, and that is by your side. The world may be big, but it's meaningless without you."
May 25, 2007
Pic of the day: Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Tapestry in Britannia Dining Room
to see more pictures of the QM2 click on the picture or the link
May 24, 2007
PlanetOut faces deepening financial crisis (Company chartering the QM2)
Another story about how the charter of the QM2 (Queen Mary 2) for a gay crossing was a bad idea for this company costing them at least $700 000..this from the southernvoice.com
"There will be no shortage of partying aboard the Queen Mary 2 next week when it leaves New York.
Passengers aboard the trans-Atlantic gay cruise can sip Champagne at the Royal Ascot Ball, mingle with leather-clad men on the aft deck and see Margaret Cho perform in the ship’s Royal Court Theatre.
But when the revelry hosted by RSVP Productions ends, company officials must face a sobering reality.
PlanetOut, the parent company of RSVP and many other gay businesses, lost $6.9 million in the fiscal quarter that ended March 31.
A federal filing released earlier this month showed falling revenues and rising costs have destabilized the corporation that also owns Gay.com, plus the Advocate and Out magazines.
Compared to the first quarter last year, total revenue at PlanetOut fell 5 percent to $16.8 million, while operating costs rose 32 percent to $23.2 million.
“Those are all signs of a company that is having serious issues, to put it mildly,” said James Angel, a Georgetown University finance professor.
Stockholders who once recorded the company’s value at more than $10 a share saw PlanetOut stock close Monday for the first time at less than $1.
“It’s a penny stock now,” said George Kresslein, a certified public accountant who is gay and works in Annandale, Va. “They’re in really bad shape.”
In a May 9 conference call, Karen Magee, PlanetOut’s chief executive officer, said she’s working to turn things around, but “it will take at least 12 to 24 months” to complete the task.
Business experts said company officials must move faster, though, to overcome mounting pressures.
“They don’t have that kind of time,” Kresslein said. “If they don’t turn it around in the next few months, there’s not going to be a PlanetOut.”
Among the three segments that PlanetOut operates, two were profitable during the first quarter.
The online and publishing segments, which include Gay.com and Out among other ventures, respectively added $970,000 and $435,000 to the company’s bottom line.
But those contributions could not counter the losses incurred by the company’s travel and events segment. The arm that includes RSVP, which the company bills as its traveling and events marketing brand, posted a $1.7 million loss, including $700,000 in expenses associated with the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship. Other company losses stemmed from general operational expenses.
The quarterly results have some business experts questioning whether RSVP is a liability for PlanetOut.
“It forces you to ask the question: Are they a media company? Are they a travel company?” said Wesley Combs, a marketing specialist and president of Witeck-Combs Communications in Washington.
“I think that is the question that management appears to be trying to figure out. And one of the options that have to be considered is: Does RSVP make sense to be one of those assets?”
PlanetOut acquired RSVP in March 2006 for $6.5 million. The move, touted as complimentary to the company’s Out Traveler magazine, is one that Combs said failed to work as planned.
“There was some thought that there was some synergy between the ability to leverage the gay travel business with the advertising channels in a way that they could cross promote one through the other,” he said. “I guess that doesn’t seem to have proven to be as successful or as productive as they’ve hoped.”
Daniel Miller, PlanetOut’s chief financial officer, acknowledges that the company’s travel segment has weighed down the quarterly results, but he would not specify how those losses, or those stemming from the general operational expenses, might be reduced to help make the company profitable.
“At the moment,” he said, “we’re doing all we can to turn around the financial performance.
"There will be no shortage of partying aboard the Queen Mary 2 next week when it leaves New York.
Passengers aboard the trans-Atlantic gay cruise can sip Champagne at the Royal Ascot Ball, mingle with leather-clad men on the aft deck and see Margaret Cho perform in the ship’s Royal Court Theatre.
But when the revelry hosted by RSVP Productions ends, company officials must face a sobering reality.
PlanetOut, the parent company of RSVP and many other gay businesses, lost $6.9 million in the fiscal quarter that ended March 31.
A federal filing released earlier this month showed falling revenues and rising costs have destabilized the corporation that also owns Gay.com, plus the Advocate and Out magazines.
Compared to the first quarter last year, total revenue at PlanetOut fell 5 percent to $16.8 million, while operating costs rose 32 percent to $23.2 million.
“Those are all signs of a company that is having serious issues, to put it mildly,” said James Angel, a Georgetown University finance professor.
Stockholders who once recorded the company’s value at more than $10 a share saw PlanetOut stock close Monday for the first time at less than $1.
“It’s a penny stock now,” said George Kresslein, a certified public accountant who is gay and works in Annandale, Va. “They’re in really bad shape.”
In a May 9 conference call, Karen Magee, PlanetOut’s chief executive officer, said she’s working to turn things around, but “it will take at least 12 to 24 months” to complete the task.
Business experts said company officials must move faster, though, to overcome mounting pressures.
“They don’t have that kind of time,” Kresslein said. “If they don’t turn it around in the next few months, there’s not going to be a PlanetOut.”
Among the three segments that PlanetOut operates, two were profitable during the first quarter.
The online and publishing segments, which include Gay.com and Out among other ventures, respectively added $970,000 and $435,000 to the company’s bottom line.
But those contributions could not counter the losses incurred by the company’s travel and events segment. The arm that includes RSVP, which the company bills as its traveling and events marketing brand, posted a $1.7 million loss, including $700,000 in expenses associated with the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship. Other company losses stemmed from general operational expenses.
The quarterly results have some business experts questioning whether RSVP is a liability for PlanetOut.
“It forces you to ask the question: Are they a media company? Are they a travel company?” said Wesley Combs, a marketing specialist and president of Witeck-Combs Communications in Washington.
“I think that is the question that management appears to be trying to figure out. And one of the options that have to be considered is: Does RSVP make sense to be one of those assets?”
PlanetOut acquired RSVP in March 2006 for $6.5 million. The move, touted as complimentary to the company’s Out Traveler magazine, is one that Combs said failed to work as planned.
“There was some thought that there was some synergy between the ability to leverage the gay travel business with the advertising channels in a way that they could cross promote one through the other,” he said. “I guess that doesn’t seem to have proven to be as successful or as productive as they’ve hoped.”
Daniel Miller, PlanetOut’s chief financial officer, acknowledges that the company’s travel segment has weighed down the quarterly results, but he would not specify how those losses, or those stemming from the general operational expenses, might be reduced to help make the company profitable.
“At the moment,” he said, “we’re doing all we can to turn around the financial performance.
Around America: Sailing Into The Past (Great story about QM Long Beach)
This is a great and very interesting article about the Quueen Mary telling the history and what it is like staying on her these days as a hotel. It appeared on observernews.com
"Around America: Sailing Into The Past
By Mitch Traphagen mitch@observernews.net
May 24, 2007, 23:10
The Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, Calif. After 1,001 Atlantic crossings, the legendary ship was permanently docked here in 1967. Although she is still afloat, her engines and most of the propellers have been removed. Mitch Traphagen Photo
LOS ANGELES – Looking down over America out my window on a westbound flight to Los Angeles, I began to realize that we are all interconnected somehow. Below, the terrain changed dramatically, but what of the people? Americans may quibble and argue, but, for the most part, are generally looking in the same direction. And as a country, we all share in a common past.
When I was young, I would look up to see an airplane’s gleam in the sky and wonder what it would be like to be up there: Where were they going? What were the people like? As I gazed down from 37,000 feet, I wondered if somewhere a 10-year-old boy or girl was looking up with that same curiosity. With concentration, I attempted to transmit my thoughts to them: “I’m here and I hear you.”
I have enough child left in me to be amazed at air travel. That’s not to say I enjoy it much these days, but I’m still amazed. The stress on complex components seems immense, and the physics of it is astonishing. If you were to run an office desk down a runway at 200 mph I guarantee it wouldn’t fly. An airplane weighs a lot more than a desk. To me, flying is a miracle.
And it was a miracle that I was glad to see end at Los Angeles International Airport. LAX is not one of the world’s quietest places, but navigating it was easy enough – within minutes I had my luggage and was on a shuttle, bound for my hotel in Long Beach.
Around America Part 1: Location: Los Angeles
Hotel, however, is not really an appropriate term for where I stayed, although it is a part of the name. My lodging was aboard the RMS Queen Mary – thus beginning my travels around America by sailing into the past.
The Queen Mary can be many different things, depending on one’s point of view. It was considered the ultimate in luxury travel in her time and then served diligently during World War II, transporting nearly 800,000 troops. As such, it was both a target and an aggravation for Adolf Hitler. After the war, it reunited new families by transporting thousands of young brides and their children from Europe to the U.S. and Canada to be with their now ex-GI husbands. It then resumed carrying passengers back and forth across the Atlantic.
At one time, she was the fastest and one of the largest passenger ships afloat, considerably larger than the Titanic. A long list of celebrities and world leaders have been aboard – prior to the war, it was considered the only civilized way to cross the Atlantic. It still holds a record for the greatest number of souls aboard a private vessel – approximately 16,000 servicemen and crew made a single Atlantic crossing.
Aboard, there were two swimming pools – a luxury for the time – including a second-class pool, unheard of at the time. Regardless of the class of passage, travelers were literally immersed in luxury.
But despite her dedicated service during WWII, advances in technology made during the war proved to be the ship’s undoing. By the 1950s, air travel began to replace ships as the means of choice for crossing the Atlantic. Also, newer ships provided features not found on the Queen Mary. It seemed her time had come and gone.
In 1967, she crossed the Atlantic for the 1,001st time and docked permanently in Long Beach, Calif. The city had purchased her to serve as a maritime museum - at the time they had no intention of preserving her as an ocean liner. But had it not been for Long Beach, her last voyage would have been to the scrap yard. Today, she is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More than 70 years after the ship had been cheered by tens of thousands of people upon departing on her maiden voyage, I stepped aboard in awe to find the past has come alive on the Queen Mary. Much has changed, however, since it arrived in Long Beach; it no longer has a means of propulsion, the lower decks had largely been cleared to make way for the museum, and other modifications were made during the conversion into a hotel.
The long hallways of gleaming burled wood can appear to conjure up ghostly visitors from beyond. Many guests claim to have seen or heard unexplainable things aboard the ship. Mitch Traphagen Photo
During initial renovations, no one gave much thought to the idea that the Queen Mary was a museum in her own right. No one thought the accommodations and features that were removed would someday be missed.
But somehow, through the changes, her spirit has remained intact. The beautiful burled wood walls still gleam and the decks seem poised to tell the stories of the famous, powerful and forgotten people who have been aboard.
During the day the Queen Mary is a beehive of activity, with tourists visiting the restaurant and shops. At night, I felt as though I had the ship to myself. Walking outside on the Promenade Deck in the dark, I tried to imagine what it was like to be on this ship while it was at sea. What were the hopes and dreams of the passengers? Were they excited about the adventure? Were they thrilled beyond words by the luxury and accommodations they found aboard? Or, were they frightened by things unseen in the cold, dark waters of the North Atlantic?
Sitting in my room – formerly a first-class stateroom – I wondered about those who were here before me. I found myself wishing the walls could talk.
And perhaps they can. Several ghosts are said to haunt the Queen Mary. In fact, the haunting reports are so frequent, not only does the hotel offer several ghost tours of the ship, but a stateroom has been closed, reportedly due to frequent otherworldly encounters.
All of that, of course, causes many maritime historians a fair amount of chagrin. It seems that reports of ghosts didn’t begin until the Queen Mary arrived in California. But maybe there is a reason for that – perhaps she is haunted by memories.
I wandered the decks at night and walked along back staircases. I peered down hallways that, in a Hollywood movie at least, would certainly be haunted. But in the end, I saw no ghosts. I did, however, feel … an indistinct, forlorn sadness. Perhaps somewhere in the no-longer-functioning mechanicals of this grand ship, her heart is still beating. The soul of the Queen Mary may still wish to be at sea.
But, like all of us, this ship is dying. The wood is slowly beginning to rot; the heavy metal is rusting away. Not even the most meticulous care will stop that from happening. The Queen Mary will never sail again. Meanwhile, the hotel staff works to maintain her dignity. Signs on the decks remind visitors they are indeed on a ship, and four times each day the horns sound. She is still afloat, but there is no longer a path to the sea – a breakwater of boulders blocks the way. All she has left is the past.
How many people have stood on this deck of the Queen Mary and marvelled at the sights around them. In the early morning hours, it felt like a privilege to have the place to myself. Mitch Traphagen Photo
Just yards off her stern, cruise ships come and go while the Queen Mary remains in port. That is how it will be until the day comes when her heart finally does stop beating.
I am a sailor. Despite common sense and higher education, I still believe that ships have souls. That includes, of course, the Queen Mary. Perhaps what people feel when they see and hear things supernatural is the strength of will possessed by this great ship. Or maybe there is something more.
Late one night, I visited the area near the first-class swimming pool – what some call the haunting epicenter of the ship. I took dozens of photographs and returned to my cabin to look for anything out of the ordinary. If I saw something of interest, I walked back to check it out in person. But I saw nothing but the beautifully varnished woodwork and chrome trim.
I also shot pictures near the closed stateroom. It was kind of eerie – they had even removed the cabin number, but you could see where it had once been. I neither saw nor heard anything out of the ordinary in the vicinity.
My own cabin, however, was a different story.
My cabin door shared a narrow hallway with another cabin off the main hallway. There were no guests staying in the other cabin. Yet each time I entered the narrow hallway near my door, I could smell a very distinct perfume, like nothing I had ever smelled before. It was pleasant and refreshing – and it gave me the impression of being very Old World. Where it came from, I don’t know. It seemed as though a woman wearing it had been waiting near my door within the past few seconds – but there was no one. It happened not once or twice, but every time I entered my cabin, yet only rarely when I left it.
For that, I have no rational explanation. But I have a feeling she was beautiful.
Late at night, few people could be seen roaming the decks, and it was amazing to walk out and feel as though I were alone on the ship- it almost felt like a privilege. The same solitude could be found during the early morning hours, before the non-hotel tourists arrived for the day. In the daylight, a visit to the foredeck reveals the details of the stately bridge – you can’t help but admire the ship and the men and women who built her. Surely they would be proud to know that nearly 80 years after construction began, their ship still generates respect and admiration. The builders likely couldn’t conceive of the 21st century, but on this ship, we have a connection to them.
Much of the wooden decking is still original on the Queen Mary. Pictured above is the Promenade Deck. Kings, queens, celebrities, the powerful and the meek have all walked here.
The shops aboard are relatively few, some parts of the ship are a little tired and there is virtually nothing in the way of evening entertainment in the immediate area (although the city of Long Beach does provide free shuttle service to downtown). But despite all that, my strong recommendation is to go. Go and stay aboard the Queen Mary. Don’t look for the latest in mindless entertainment, but rather go, wander the historic decks and immerse yourself in the history and a luxury from a different age. Go now while her heart is still beating and perhaps you, too, will feel the spirit of this legendary ship.
And if you encounter an unusual, beautiful woman wearing a refreshing, Old World perfume, please give her my regards."
"Around America: Sailing Into The Past
By Mitch Traphagen mitch@observernews.net
May 24, 2007, 23:10
The Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, Calif. After 1,001 Atlantic crossings, the legendary ship was permanently docked here in 1967. Although she is still afloat, her engines and most of the propellers have been removed. Mitch Traphagen Photo
LOS ANGELES – Looking down over America out my window on a westbound flight to Los Angeles, I began to realize that we are all interconnected somehow. Below, the terrain changed dramatically, but what of the people? Americans may quibble and argue, but, for the most part, are generally looking in the same direction. And as a country, we all share in a common past.
When I was young, I would look up to see an airplane’s gleam in the sky and wonder what it would be like to be up there: Where were they going? What were the people like? As I gazed down from 37,000 feet, I wondered if somewhere a 10-year-old boy or girl was looking up with that same curiosity. With concentration, I attempted to transmit my thoughts to them: “I’m here and I hear you.”
I have enough child left in me to be amazed at air travel. That’s not to say I enjoy it much these days, but I’m still amazed. The stress on complex components seems immense, and the physics of it is astonishing. If you were to run an office desk down a runway at 200 mph I guarantee it wouldn’t fly. An airplane weighs a lot more than a desk. To me, flying is a miracle.
And it was a miracle that I was glad to see end at Los Angeles International Airport. LAX is not one of the world’s quietest places, but navigating it was easy enough – within minutes I had my luggage and was on a shuttle, bound for my hotel in Long Beach.
Around America Part 1: Location: Los Angeles
Hotel, however, is not really an appropriate term for where I stayed, although it is a part of the name. My lodging was aboard the RMS Queen Mary – thus beginning my travels around America by sailing into the past.
The Queen Mary can be many different things, depending on one’s point of view. It was considered the ultimate in luxury travel in her time and then served diligently during World War II, transporting nearly 800,000 troops. As such, it was both a target and an aggravation for Adolf Hitler. After the war, it reunited new families by transporting thousands of young brides and their children from Europe to the U.S. and Canada to be with their now ex-GI husbands. It then resumed carrying passengers back and forth across the Atlantic.
At one time, she was the fastest and one of the largest passenger ships afloat, considerably larger than the Titanic. A long list of celebrities and world leaders have been aboard – prior to the war, it was considered the only civilized way to cross the Atlantic. It still holds a record for the greatest number of souls aboard a private vessel – approximately 16,000 servicemen and crew made a single Atlantic crossing.
Aboard, there were two swimming pools – a luxury for the time – including a second-class pool, unheard of at the time. Regardless of the class of passage, travelers were literally immersed in luxury.
But despite her dedicated service during WWII, advances in technology made during the war proved to be the ship’s undoing. By the 1950s, air travel began to replace ships as the means of choice for crossing the Atlantic. Also, newer ships provided features not found on the Queen Mary. It seemed her time had come and gone.
In 1967, she crossed the Atlantic for the 1,001st time and docked permanently in Long Beach, Calif. The city had purchased her to serve as a maritime museum - at the time they had no intention of preserving her as an ocean liner. But had it not been for Long Beach, her last voyage would have been to the scrap yard. Today, she is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More than 70 years after the ship had been cheered by tens of thousands of people upon departing on her maiden voyage, I stepped aboard in awe to find the past has come alive on the Queen Mary. Much has changed, however, since it arrived in Long Beach; it no longer has a means of propulsion, the lower decks had largely been cleared to make way for the museum, and other modifications were made during the conversion into a hotel.
The long hallways of gleaming burled wood can appear to conjure up ghostly visitors from beyond. Many guests claim to have seen or heard unexplainable things aboard the ship. Mitch Traphagen Photo
During initial renovations, no one gave much thought to the idea that the Queen Mary was a museum in her own right. No one thought the accommodations and features that were removed would someday be missed.
But somehow, through the changes, her spirit has remained intact. The beautiful burled wood walls still gleam and the decks seem poised to tell the stories of the famous, powerful and forgotten people who have been aboard.
During the day the Queen Mary is a beehive of activity, with tourists visiting the restaurant and shops. At night, I felt as though I had the ship to myself. Walking outside on the Promenade Deck in the dark, I tried to imagine what it was like to be on this ship while it was at sea. What were the hopes and dreams of the passengers? Were they excited about the adventure? Were they thrilled beyond words by the luxury and accommodations they found aboard? Or, were they frightened by things unseen in the cold, dark waters of the North Atlantic?
Sitting in my room – formerly a first-class stateroom – I wondered about those who were here before me. I found myself wishing the walls could talk.
And perhaps they can. Several ghosts are said to haunt the Queen Mary. In fact, the haunting reports are so frequent, not only does the hotel offer several ghost tours of the ship, but a stateroom has been closed, reportedly due to frequent otherworldly encounters.
All of that, of course, causes many maritime historians a fair amount of chagrin. It seems that reports of ghosts didn’t begin until the Queen Mary arrived in California. But maybe there is a reason for that – perhaps she is haunted by memories.
I wandered the decks at night and walked along back staircases. I peered down hallways that, in a Hollywood movie at least, would certainly be haunted. But in the end, I saw no ghosts. I did, however, feel … an indistinct, forlorn sadness. Perhaps somewhere in the no-longer-functioning mechanicals of this grand ship, her heart is still beating. The soul of the Queen Mary may still wish to be at sea.
But, like all of us, this ship is dying. The wood is slowly beginning to rot; the heavy metal is rusting away. Not even the most meticulous care will stop that from happening. The Queen Mary will never sail again. Meanwhile, the hotel staff works to maintain her dignity. Signs on the decks remind visitors they are indeed on a ship, and four times each day the horns sound. She is still afloat, but there is no longer a path to the sea – a breakwater of boulders blocks the way. All she has left is the past.
How many people have stood on this deck of the Queen Mary and marvelled at the sights around them. In the early morning hours, it felt like a privilege to have the place to myself. Mitch Traphagen Photo
Just yards off her stern, cruise ships come and go while the Queen Mary remains in port. That is how it will be until the day comes when her heart finally does stop beating.
I am a sailor. Despite common sense and higher education, I still believe that ships have souls. That includes, of course, the Queen Mary. Perhaps what people feel when they see and hear things supernatural is the strength of will possessed by this great ship. Or maybe there is something more.
Late one night, I visited the area near the first-class swimming pool – what some call the haunting epicenter of the ship. I took dozens of photographs and returned to my cabin to look for anything out of the ordinary. If I saw something of interest, I walked back to check it out in person. But I saw nothing but the beautifully varnished woodwork and chrome trim.
I also shot pictures near the closed stateroom. It was kind of eerie – they had even removed the cabin number, but you could see where it had once been. I neither saw nor heard anything out of the ordinary in the vicinity.
My own cabin, however, was a different story.
My cabin door shared a narrow hallway with another cabin off the main hallway. There were no guests staying in the other cabin. Yet each time I entered the narrow hallway near my door, I could smell a very distinct perfume, like nothing I had ever smelled before. It was pleasant and refreshing – and it gave me the impression of being very Old World. Where it came from, I don’t know. It seemed as though a woman wearing it had been waiting near my door within the past few seconds – but there was no one. It happened not once or twice, but every time I entered my cabin, yet only rarely when I left it.
For that, I have no rational explanation. But I have a feeling she was beautiful.
Late at night, few people could be seen roaming the decks, and it was amazing to walk out and feel as though I were alone on the ship- it almost felt like a privilege. The same solitude could be found during the early morning hours, before the non-hotel tourists arrived for the day. In the daylight, a visit to the foredeck reveals the details of the stately bridge – you can’t help but admire the ship and the men and women who built her. Surely they would be proud to know that nearly 80 years after construction began, their ship still generates respect and admiration. The builders likely couldn’t conceive of the 21st century, but on this ship, we have a connection to them.
Much of the wooden decking is still original on the Queen Mary. Pictured above is the Promenade Deck. Kings, queens, celebrities, the powerful and the meek have all walked here.
The shops aboard are relatively few, some parts of the ship are a little tired and there is virtually nothing in the way of evening entertainment in the immediate area (although the city of Long Beach does provide free shuttle service to downtown). But despite all that, my strong recommendation is to go. Go and stay aboard the Queen Mary. Don’t look for the latest in mindless entertainment, but rather go, wander the historic decks and immerse yourself in the history and a luxury from a different age. Go now while her heart is still beating and perhaps you, too, will feel the spirit of this legendary ship.
And if you encounter an unusual, beautiful woman wearing a refreshing, Old World perfume, please give her my regards."
May 22, 2007
The 2007 PlanetOut Travel Award for best cruise company goes to: Cunard!
This article appeared on gay.com:
"Gay men are known to be expert cruisers, but how about the rest of the queer spectrum? Well, when you're talking about adventures on the high seas, the LGBT community has some of the most enthusiastic "cruisers" around! But when choosing among the bewildering number of mainstream cruising possibilities and charted adventures, it's nice to know companies are offering more than just a pocket to fill with your pink dollars. The following companies continue to actively market to and create a welcoming environment for gay cruisers through sensitivity training, personalized gay-tertainment options and concessions for gay tour operators.
The 2007 PlanetOut Travel Award for best cruise company goes to: Cunard!
Cunard
Coupling with RSVP in 2007 for the first all-gay transatlantic cruise (leaving from New York on May 29), Cunard Lines gives a new definition to the phrase "Oh, Mary!" Steeped in tradition and old-world ambiance, the venerable fleet continues to offer top-notch service melded with upper-class amenities and itineraries aboard the Queen Mary 2, the grandest/largest cruise ship around, as well as on its smaller ships (although the QM2 is the most gay-friendly, with the Commodore Lounge even unofficially nicknamed "Commodorothy"). (www.cunard.com)"
"Gay men are known to be expert cruisers, but how about the rest of the queer spectrum? Well, when you're talking about adventures on the high seas, the LGBT community has some of the most enthusiastic "cruisers" around! But when choosing among the bewildering number of mainstream cruising possibilities and charted adventures, it's nice to know companies are offering more than just a pocket to fill with your pink dollars. The following companies continue to actively market to and create a welcoming environment for gay cruisers through sensitivity training, personalized gay-tertainment options and concessions for gay tour operators.
The 2007 PlanetOut Travel Award for best cruise company goes to: Cunard!
Cunard
Coupling with RSVP in 2007 for the first all-gay transatlantic cruise (leaving from New York on May 29), Cunard Lines gives a new definition to the phrase "Oh, Mary!" Steeped in tradition and old-world ambiance, the venerable fleet continues to offer top-notch service melded with upper-class amenities and itineraries aboard the Queen Mary 2, the grandest/largest cruise ship around, as well as on its smaller ships (although the QM2 is the most gay-friendly, with the Commodore Lounge even unofficially nicknamed "Commodorothy"). (www.cunard.com)"
Queen Mary 2 in Southampton (picture)
Picture of the QM2 in her home port of Southampton. For more of my QM2 pictures click on the image.
May 21, 2007
Cunard frustrated over Queen not committing to QE"'s 40th
The Dailmail.co.uk reports Cunard are getting frustrated with the Queen over QE"'s 40th:
"There is uncertainty in shipping circles about whether the Queen will take up her invitation to mark the 40th anniversary of the QE2, the ship she launched on the Clyde in 1967.
Cunard has asked her but, with the date of the anniversary approaching, Buckingham Palace has yet to make up its mind.
Royal reluctance may be due to the fact that the Queen named another cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, three years ago.
“She got slightly railroaded into that, which might explain her hesitation now,” I am told. “Cunard are tearing their hair out because there is so much to organise if she comes, and they don’t know if she will.” "
"There is uncertainty in shipping circles about whether the Queen will take up her invitation to mark the 40th anniversary of the QE2, the ship she launched on the Clyde in 1967.
Cunard has asked her but, with the date of the anniversary approaching, Buckingham Palace has yet to make up its mind.
Royal reluctance may be due to the fact that the Queen named another cruise ship, the Queen Mary 2, three years ago.
“She got slightly railroaded into that, which might explain her hesitation now,” I am told. “Cunard are tearing their hair out because there is so much to organise if she comes, and they don’t know if she will.” "
May 20, 2007
Queen Mary 2 QM2 in Hamburg
Queen Mary 2 QM2 in Hamburg (57)
Originally uploaded by garybembridge.
In July 2006 I went on a 4 night trip on the amazing Cunard Ship Queen Mary 2 QM2 from Southampton to Hamburg. This is about the 2nd time the ship had been there and it is a real experience. Around 1 million people lined the banks and there were so many small ships following the ship. There was even a special festival next to the ship and when we left it was amazing.
I have (finally) got round to posting the pics of ship in Hamburg and the crowds and boats following us in and out. Click on the photo to view the photos or go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tipsfortravellers/sets/72157600234272413/
May 18, 2007
QM2 gay crossing not a success? Hits organizers profits..
Here is an extract from an article from ebar.com tallks about how PlanetOut (the holding company of the group that chartered the QM2 for an all gay crossing on the QM2 this year) is not doing well in part to having to discount cabins, penalty charges ($700000 is the hit it is taking so far) as bookings are not that good. For me, not a surprise - it seemed a strange idea
"It warned shareholders that while revenue is expected to increase this year, operating losses will continue to accrue due to additional expenses for the development and expansion of its Web site properties; increased market research and marketing campaigns; and the discounting of cabin prices combined with occupancy-related penalty charges on its transatlantic cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2, set to sail from New York to London on May 29.
The cruise portion of its business continues to be a drain on the company's bottom line. It has already taken a $700,000 hit on the QM2 cruise in costs that executives have determined will exceed the anticipated revenue of the event.
It recorded more losses as a result of greater than expected cabin price discounting of a Caribbean cruise this winter, due primarily to the late initiation of marketing activity for the event, executives said.
"RSVP is responsible for the most significant variance of our profit," said Magee. "Our marketing efforts have been too little too late and we underestimated the challenge of booking a transatlantic ship."
The company has invested $7.2 million as down payments for its upcoming cruises, with deposits from customers at $6.6 million. It has brought on Rob Pritchard to be director of operations of RSVP Vacations. But Magee said if the cruise business does not show signs of improving by the fall the company would halt its 2008 cruises.
While Magee acknowledged that "we bit off too much too soon" in regards to the cruise business, she remained bullish on the purchase increasing PlanetOut's revenue stream.
"This should not be a hard business to manage well," she said. "I am confident RSVP can be a solid profit and cash generator for PlanetOut."
"It warned shareholders that while revenue is expected to increase this year, operating losses will continue to accrue due to additional expenses for the development and expansion of its Web site properties; increased market research and marketing campaigns; and the discounting of cabin prices combined with occupancy-related penalty charges on its transatlantic cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2, set to sail from New York to London on May 29.
The cruise portion of its business continues to be a drain on the company's bottom line. It has already taken a $700,000 hit on the QM2 cruise in costs that executives have determined will exceed the anticipated revenue of the event.
It recorded more losses as a result of greater than expected cabin price discounting of a Caribbean cruise this winter, due primarily to the late initiation of marketing activity for the event, executives said.
"RSVP is responsible for the most significant variance of our profit," said Magee. "Our marketing efforts have been too little too late and we underestimated the challenge of booking a transatlantic ship."
The company has invested $7.2 million as down payments for its upcoming cruises, with deposits from customers at $6.6 million. It has brought on Rob Pritchard to be director of operations of RSVP Vacations. But Magee said if the cruise business does not show signs of improving by the fall the company would halt its 2008 cruises.
While Magee acknowledged that "we bit off too much too soon" in regards to the cruise business, she remained bullish on the purchase increasing PlanetOut's revenue stream.
"This should not be a hard business to manage well," she said. "I am confident RSVP can be a solid profit and cash generator for PlanetOut."
May 16, 2007
Cunard ships score big in Australian Cruise Awards
The etravelblackboard.com reports how well Cunard is rated by Australian cruise lovers:
"Complete Cruise Solution's ships have blitzed the latest Australian Cruise Passenger magazine awards, topping five of the magazine's 13 ship categories.
Dawn Ship
Sun Ship
Ten ships representing four Complete Cruise Solution brands* made the list of finalists, with five of its liners filling all top five slots in the blue ribbon category of Best Large Ship, won by Cunard's famous QE2.
QE2's big sister and popular Sydney visitor, Queen Mary 2, was also one of Complete Cruise Solution's top performers in the awards, featuring in the top list of five of the categories - best luxury ship, best cabin, best gym, best spa and best large ship. Meanwhile, P&O Cruises’ Australian ship, Pacific Sun, was voted the best family ship.
The results of the 2006 Cruise Passenger Readers' Choice Awards appear in the autumn 2007 edition of the magazine following entries from thousands of Australian cruise fans.
Complete Cruise Solution achievements in the awards include:
Best Large Ship - won by the legendary QE2, with voters also including P&O Cruises' Pacific Sun, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Princess Cruises' Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess in the top five
Best Mid-Size Ship - readers ranked the popular Princess Cruises ship, Pacific Princess, in second spot
Best Small Ship - The luxurious Seabourn Spirit was ranked number three
Best Luxury Ship - Queen Mary 2 topped the category
Best Value family Ship - P&O Cruises' Australian ship, Pacific Sun, topped this category while sister ship, Pacific Star, and the line's former ship, Pacific Sky, also made the top five
Best Cabin - Pacific Princess was voted third followed by Queen Mary 2 and QE2
Best Cuisine - Seabourn Legend took out number two place, with QE2 making fifth spot
Best Pool - readers slotted Queen Mary 2, QE2 and Pacific Sun into the top five
Best Gym - Queen Mary 2, Pacific Sun and Pacific Princess all made the top five list of finalists
Best Spa - The deluxe Tahitian Princess was voted as having the number one spa, with QE2, Queen Mary 2 and Pacific Princess close behind
Best Australia/NZ ship - won by the premium ship, Pacific Princess, with Pacific Sun, Sapphire Princess and Pacific Star coming third, fourth and fifth respectively
Complete Cruise Solution Vice President Sales John Molinaro said the accolades highlighted the growing popularity of cruising and the range of ships available for all ages, tastes and budgets.
"Complete Cruise Solution represents a broad cross-section of major cruise products here in Australia and overseas," Mr Molinaro said. "These cruise awards show our brands are meeting increased expectations for quality, value-for money vacations at sea and provide something for everyone.
“Record numbers of Australians are discovering that cruising is a relaxing and enjoyable way to travel and it's our aim at Complete Cruise Solution to match them with the product that’s perfect for them."
* Complete Cruise Solution represents P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises World Voyages, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises and Seabourn.
"Complete Cruise Solution's ships have blitzed the latest Australian Cruise Passenger magazine awards, topping five of the magazine's 13 ship categories.
Dawn Ship
Sun Ship
Ten ships representing four Complete Cruise Solution brands* made the list of finalists, with five of its liners filling all top five slots in the blue ribbon category of Best Large Ship, won by Cunard's famous QE2.
QE2's big sister and popular Sydney visitor, Queen Mary 2, was also one of Complete Cruise Solution's top performers in the awards, featuring in the top list of five of the categories - best luxury ship, best cabin, best gym, best spa and best large ship. Meanwhile, P&O Cruises’ Australian ship, Pacific Sun, was voted the best family ship.
The results of the 2006 Cruise Passenger Readers' Choice Awards appear in the autumn 2007 edition of the magazine following entries from thousands of Australian cruise fans.
Complete Cruise Solution achievements in the awards include:
Best Large Ship - won by the legendary QE2, with voters also including P&O Cruises' Pacific Sun, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Princess Cruises' Sapphire Princess and Diamond Princess in the top five
Best Mid-Size Ship - readers ranked the popular Princess Cruises ship, Pacific Princess, in second spot
Best Small Ship - The luxurious Seabourn Spirit was ranked number three
Best Luxury Ship - Queen Mary 2 topped the category
Best Value family Ship - P&O Cruises' Australian ship, Pacific Sun, topped this category while sister ship, Pacific Star, and the line's former ship, Pacific Sky, also made the top five
Best Cabin - Pacific Princess was voted third followed by Queen Mary 2 and QE2
Best Cuisine - Seabourn Legend took out number two place, with QE2 making fifth spot
Best Pool - readers slotted Queen Mary 2, QE2 and Pacific Sun into the top five
Best Gym - Queen Mary 2, Pacific Sun and Pacific Princess all made the top five list of finalists
Best Spa - The deluxe Tahitian Princess was voted as having the number one spa, with QE2, Queen Mary 2 and Pacific Princess close behind
Best Australia/NZ ship - won by the premium ship, Pacific Princess, with Pacific Sun, Sapphire Princess and Pacific Star coming third, fourth and fifth respectively
Complete Cruise Solution Vice President Sales John Molinaro said the accolades highlighted the growing popularity of cruising and the range of ships available for all ages, tastes and budgets.
"Complete Cruise Solution represents a broad cross-section of major cruise products here in Australia and overseas," Mr Molinaro said. "These cruise awards show our brands are meeting increased expectations for quality, value-for money vacations at sea and provide something for everyone.
“Record numbers of Australians are discovering that cruising is a relaxing and enjoyable way to travel and it's our aim at Complete Cruise Solution to match them with the product that’s perfect for them."
* Complete Cruise Solution represents P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises World Voyages, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Cruises and Seabourn.
May 13, 2007
A raw deal for singles? This week, Jane Archer asks how to avoid paying a premium when you cruise alone.
This appeared on telegraph.co.uk and talks about the QE2 which does offer single cabins:
"It didn’t take much to work out from comments following my first cruise column last month that one of the main grievances among keen cruisers is the single supplement. I am grateful to all who contributed to the debate.
Why pay for yourself, and a non-existent partner?
I know this issue has been a major cause for complaint for lone travellers, whether they are planning a cruise or land-based holiday.
I am also sure that most people who travel alone know the reasoning behind the single supplement.
Quite simply, one person in a cabin has to pay for themselves and a non-existent companion because accommodation is costed on the basis of two people sharing and paying a “per person” price.
So if the ship only gets revenue from one person, it is losing out. It’s the same for most hotel rooms.
I am sure most reasonable people understand the argument.
The problem surely is the huge variety in supplements that are slapped on single people. I have seen supplements of 150 per cent – that’s 50 per cent more than a couple would pay on a cruise holiday.
On average, though, singles have to pay 100 per cent of the price. Paying such a hefty supplement is desperately unfair and means that many single people are priced out of taking a cruise, which is such a good holiday if you are on your own.
A very few cruise-lines still offer single share schemes, pairing lone travellers with another (unknown) person also cruising on their own. The only thing they can be sure of is that they will be the same sex.
I appreciate that this might mean the difference between affording a cruise or having to stay at home for some people – and maybe it can lead to new friendships – but I think it is appalling to expect anyone to do that. Imagine being stuck with someone you did not like for seven nights or more?
A few cruise-lines, mostly those aimed at people aged 55-plus, have single cabins, priced at a premium but still less than the average single supplement. They include QE2 and Spirit of Adventure.
Viking River Cruises has two single cabins on each of the boats it operates in Russia and Ukraine, and Saga River Cruises has no single supplements on three of itineraries in Germany.
Fred Olsen has single cabins on all its ships. They tend to be small but sell out fast.
I like Hebridean International Cruises’ solution. It doesn’t have single cabins, but it does get a lot of people travelling on their own, so it designates some ordinary-sized cabins on each cruise as singles. If the cabins are not sold by a certain date, they are turned back to a twin share.
Of course, Hebridean ships are small so you have to be quick to get the single price, and they are expensive compared to Olsen, so it is by no means a panacea for single people.
The problem was summed up by one cruise-line executive. “We don’t want single people. It’s a financial thing. They should find themselves a partner.” It was said in jest, but only partly. Singles are a nuisance, wanting to pay less for their cabin and spending less than two people when on board. But demographics are changing. More people are choosing to live alone, which means more people are holidaying alone, or with friends, but that doesn’t mean they want to share.
Singles should be able to choose a cruise from a wide selection of lines, as couples and families can do, without being penalised for it.
Cruise-lines regularly tell me what a great holiday cruising is for people on their own, and I agree, having cruised alone many times. But it’s about time they put their money where their mouth is and gave those same singles a fair deal. "
"It didn’t take much to work out from comments following my first cruise column last month that one of the main grievances among keen cruisers is the single supplement. I am grateful to all who contributed to the debate.
Why pay for yourself, and a non-existent partner?
I know this issue has been a major cause for complaint for lone travellers, whether they are planning a cruise or land-based holiday.
I am also sure that most people who travel alone know the reasoning behind the single supplement.
Quite simply, one person in a cabin has to pay for themselves and a non-existent companion because accommodation is costed on the basis of two people sharing and paying a “per person” price.
So if the ship only gets revenue from one person, it is losing out. It’s the same for most hotel rooms.
I am sure most reasonable people understand the argument.
The problem surely is the huge variety in supplements that are slapped on single people. I have seen supplements of 150 per cent – that’s 50 per cent more than a couple would pay on a cruise holiday.
On average, though, singles have to pay 100 per cent of the price. Paying such a hefty supplement is desperately unfair and means that many single people are priced out of taking a cruise, which is such a good holiday if you are on your own.
A very few cruise-lines still offer single share schemes, pairing lone travellers with another (unknown) person also cruising on their own. The only thing they can be sure of is that they will be the same sex.
I appreciate that this might mean the difference between affording a cruise or having to stay at home for some people – and maybe it can lead to new friendships – but I think it is appalling to expect anyone to do that. Imagine being stuck with someone you did not like for seven nights or more?
A few cruise-lines, mostly those aimed at people aged 55-plus, have single cabins, priced at a premium but still less than the average single supplement. They include QE2 and Spirit of Adventure.
Viking River Cruises has two single cabins on each of the boats it operates in Russia and Ukraine, and Saga River Cruises has no single supplements on three of itineraries in Germany.
Fred Olsen has single cabins on all its ships. They tend to be small but sell out fast.
I like Hebridean International Cruises’ solution. It doesn’t have single cabins, but it does get a lot of people travelling on their own, so it designates some ordinary-sized cabins on each cruise as singles. If the cabins are not sold by a certain date, they are turned back to a twin share.
Of course, Hebridean ships are small so you have to be quick to get the single price, and they are expensive compared to Olsen, so it is by no means a panacea for single people.
The problem was summed up by one cruise-line executive. “We don’t want single people. It’s a financial thing. They should find themselves a partner.” It was said in jest, but only partly. Singles are a nuisance, wanting to pay less for their cabin and spending less than two people when on board. But demographics are changing. More people are choosing to live alone, which means more people are holidaying alone, or with friends, but that doesn’t mean they want to share.
Singles should be able to choose a cruise from a wide selection of lines, as couples and families can do, without being penalised for it.
Cruise-lines regularly tell me what a great holiday cruising is for people on their own, and I agree, having cruised alone many times. But it’s about time they put their money where their mouth is and gave those same singles a fair deal. "
SS United States to Sail Again ... for NCL?
This appeared on cruisecritic.com:
"The big rumor at the cruise water cooler this week is that the legendary SS United States might be making a comeback. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Colin Veitch has "not given up" on the mothballed 55-year-old ocean liner now owned by the line's NCL America subdivision.But despite the AP's optimistic headline -- "Owner says SS United States to sail again" -- the ship's future is far from certain.
Here's a little background:The SS United States was built in 1952 as the fastest ocean liner in the world, beating the speed record across the Atlantic then held by the original Queen Mary. The pride of the American Merchant Marine, and arguably the only "superliner" ever to fly the U.S. flag, still holds the record for the fastest passenger ship ever built. (Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is the fastest currently in service.)
But high operating costs and labor disputes yanked the American flagship out of service in 1969, and for the past 38 years it has been sitting in various ports on the East Coast -- first in Virginia, now in Philadelphia -- awaiting its future.The ship has passed through several owners, each with different plans to return the ship to service. None have been successful, though in the 1980's most of the interior furnishings were auctioned off in preparation for a refit that never happened, and in the 1990's the ship was sent to Turkey to have all the asbestos onboard removed before returning to the U.S. (there was a lot, as the ship was built entirely of non-combustible materials -- now a requirement but very unusual in the 1950's).
But when its most recent owner, Philadelphia businessman Edward Cantor, died in 2003, the ship was offered for scrap. It was then that NCL, just embarking on its U.S.-flagged venture, swooped in and bought the iconic ship.NCL America's original plans called for three ships, which became Pride of Aloha, Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii. The plan was that if NCLA were successful, United States would become its fourth ship.
NCL drew up plans to convert the aging, gutted ocean liner into a first-rate cruise vessel -- a conversion that would cost as much as building a new ship -- but always maintained that it would not be until the other NCLA ships were established and successful that an actual decision would be made on United States' fate. Unfortunately, the United States suffered another setback: The cruise line announced last month that in the face of increased competition from foreign-flagged ships, NCLA's largest ship Pride of Hawaii would temporarily return to NCL's international fleet as Norwegian Jade; only if NCLA becomes profitable enough to sustain not only the return of Pride of Hawaii but also a fourth ship will the United States get its new lease on life.
Nevertheless, as the AP reports, the company continues to pay substantial sums of money to keep the ship's condition from deteriorating further. And in a few years, if the time is right, NCL is prepared to return the ship to service for the first time in what will be more than four decades.In the meantime, United States' dedicated fans eagerly watch NCL America's performance, hoping that someday soon, conditions will be right for America's historic flagship to once again welcome passengers aboard.Feeling nostalgic for the SS United States?
Have something to say? E-mail us at feedback@cruisecritic.com; put SS United States in the subject line.--by Doug Newman, Cruise Critic Contributor
"The big rumor at the cruise water cooler this week is that the legendary SS United States might be making a comeback. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Colin Veitch has "not given up" on the mothballed 55-year-old ocean liner now owned by the line's NCL America subdivision.But despite the AP's optimistic headline -- "Owner says SS United States to sail again" -- the ship's future is far from certain.
Here's a little background:The SS United States was built in 1952 as the fastest ocean liner in the world, beating the speed record across the Atlantic then held by the original Queen Mary. The pride of the American Merchant Marine, and arguably the only "superliner" ever to fly the U.S. flag, still holds the record for the fastest passenger ship ever built. (Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is the fastest currently in service.)
But high operating costs and labor disputes yanked the American flagship out of service in 1969, and for the past 38 years it has been sitting in various ports on the East Coast -- first in Virginia, now in Philadelphia -- awaiting its future.The ship has passed through several owners, each with different plans to return the ship to service. None have been successful, though in the 1980's most of the interior furnishings were auctioned off in preparation for a refit that never happened, and in the 1990's the ship was sent to Turkey to have all the asbestos onboard removed before returning to the U.S. (there was a lot, as the ship was built entirely of non-combustible materials -- now a requirement but very unusual in the 1950's).
But when its most recent owner, Philadelphia businessman Edward Cantor, died in 2003, the ship was offered for scrap. It was then that NCL, just embarking on its U.S.-flagged venture, swooped in and bought the iconic ship.NCL America's original plans called for three ships, which became Pride of Aloha, Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii. The plan was that if NCLA were successful, United States would become its fourth ship.
NCL drew up plans to convert the aging, gutted ocean liner into a first-rate cruise vessel -- a conversion that would cost as much as building a new ship -- but always maintained that it would not be until the other NCLA ships were established and successful that an actual decision would be made on United States' fate. Unfortunately, the United States suffered another setback: The cruise line announced last month that in the face of increased competition from foreign-flagged ships, NCLA's largest ship Pride of Hawaii would temporarily return to NCL's international fleet as Norwegian Jade; only if NCLA becomes profitable enough to sustain not only the return of Pride of Hawaii but also a fourth ship will the United States get its new lease on life.
Nevertheless, as the AP reports, the company continues to pay substantial sums of money to keep the ship's condition from deteriorating further. And in a few years, if the time is right, NCL is prepared to return the ship to service for the first time in what will be more than four decades.In the meantime, United States' dedicated fans eagerly watch NCL America's performance, hoping that someday soon, conditions will be right for America's historic flagship to once again welcome passengers aboard.Feeling nostalgic for the SS United States?
Have something to say? E-mail us at feedback@cruisecritic.com; put SS United States in the subject line.--by Doug Newman, Cruise Critic Contributor
May 11, 2007
Queen Noor heads all-star cast on QM2
This was reported on www.courierlife.net about a royal on board the QM2
"Two monarchs under one roof could constitute a tight ship for some royals.
Sea sovereign Queen Mary 2, however, played impeccable host to a fellow crowned head when it hosted Her Majesty Queen Noor during a bon voyage luncheon at her Brooklyn homeport – topped off with a performance by Grammy Hall of Famer Judy Collins in the largest ballroom on water. Queen Noor, an international humanitarian activist and widow of the late King Hussein of Jordan, was honored alongside Napa Valley vintner Mike Grgich by Roots for Peace for their “tireless advocacy” of landmine removal around the world. The pair was bestowed Global Citizen awards and a toast of Grgich Hills wines was made to honor the organization’s efforts “to turn Mines to Vines.”
The awards luncheon, held aboard Cunard’s flagship liner – docked at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal’s Pier 12, off Van Brunt and Browne streets – jumpstarted the luxury vessel’s trans-Atlantic crossing to raise money for de-mining projects in the West African nation of Angola. Accompanying dignitaries, embarking upon the six-day cruise, will include Ambassador Said Jawad, Afghan ambassador to the United States; Dr. Ken Rutherford, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network; and Sean Sutton of Mines Action Group."
"Two monarchs under one roof could constitute a tight ship for some royals.
Sea sovereign Queen Mary 2, however, played impeccable host to a fellow crowned head when it hosted Her Majesty Queen Noor during a bon voyage luncheon at her Brooklyn homeport – topped off with a performance by Grammy Hall of Famer Judy Collins in the largest ballroom on water. Queen Noor, an international humanitarian activist and widow of the late King Hussein of Jordan, was honored alongside Napa Valley vintner Mike Grgich by Roots for Peace for their “tireless advocacy” of landmine removal around the world. The pair was bestowed Global Citizen awards and a toast of Grgich Hills wines was made to honor the organization’s efforts “to turn Mines to Vines.”
The awards luncheon, held aboard Cunard’s flagship liner – docked at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal’s Pier 12, off Van Brunt and Browne streets – jumpstarted the luxury vessel’s trans-Atlantic crossing to raise money for de-mining projects in the West African nation of Angola. Accompanying dignitaries, embarking upon the six-day cruise, will include Ambassador Said Jawad, Afghan ambassador to the United States; Dr. Ken Rutherford, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network; and Sean Sutton of Mines Action Group."
May 10, 2007
Falklands Reunion On Board QE2
This press release appeared on ccnmatthews.com:
"Survivors of Ardent, Antelope and Coventry reunited 25 years on
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(CCNMatthews - May 10, 2007) - The world's most famous and best loved ship, Queen Elizabeth 2, will host 194 survivors of HM Ships Ardent, Antelope and Coventry at a special lunch to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands Campaign on Sunday 13 May in Southampton. The veterans will be returning to the ship which brought them home from the war in 1982.
Ardent, Antelope and Coventry were just three of the naval ships lost during a four-day period during the conflict. Ardent was sunk on 21 May 1982, Antelope on 24 May and Coventry the next day.
QE2's war record speaks for itself. She was almost unrecognisable following the nine-day conversion to troopship when the public lounges were turned into dormitories, fuel pipes were taken through the ship down to the engine room so she could be refueled at sea; helipads were constructed fore and aft, and the carpets were covered with 2,000 sheets of hardboard. Over 650 crewmembers volunteered for the voyage to look after the 3,000 members of the eth Infantry Brigade which the ship transported to South Georgia. During the voyage south, in order to avoid detection the ship was blacked out and the radar switched off and Captain Jackson and his fellow officers on the bridge were plunged into a navigational nightmare as they steamed on without modern aids, through an icefield in the dark.
Her tumultuous welcome home with the warship survivors on 11 June 1982 was a national event and HM The Queen Mother welcomed QE2 home from the decks of the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Captain Jackson received the following message from the Queen Mother:
"I am pleased to welcome you back as QE2 returns to home waters after your tour of duty in the South Atlantic. The exploits of your own ship's company and the deeds of valour of those who served in Antelope, Coventry, and Ardent have been acclaimed throughout the land and I am proud to add my personal tribute".
To which Captain Jackson replied:
"Please convey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, our thanks for her kind message. Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is proud to have been of service to Her Majesty's Forces".
Her return to Southampton was followed by a nine-week period of refitting and restoring the world's foremost passenger liner.
This, of course, was not the first time Cunard ships have served Britain in times of war. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, according to Sir Winston Churchill, reduced the length of World War II by a year as a result of ferrying 15,000 American GIs - six times more than their maximum passenger carry - on each of their 50 30-knot dashes across the Atlantic.
And, as far back as the Crimea, Cunard was helping out when, among other things, the company transported all the horses that charged with the Light Brigade.
QE2 was not the only Cunard ship to go to the Falklands. The company's Cunard Countess, Saxonia, England and Atlantic Causeway were also utilised and its Atlantic Conveyor was sunk with the loss of six Cunard officers and crew including its Captain, Ian North."
"Survivors of Ardent, Antelope and Coventry reunited 25 years on
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(CCNMatthews - May 10, 2007) - The world's most famous and best loved ship, Queen Elizabeth 2, will host 194 survivors of HM Ships Ardent, Antelope and Coventry at a special lunch to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands Campaign on Sunday 13 May in Southampton. The veterans will be returning to the ship which brought them home from the war in 1982.
Ardent, Antelope and Coventry were just three of the naval ships lost during a four-day period during the conflict. Ardent was sunk on 21 May 1982, Antelope on 24 May and Coventry the next day.
QE2's war record speaks for itself. She was almost unrecognisable following the nine-day conversion to troopship when the public lounges were turned into dormitories, fuel pipes were taken through the ship down to the engine room so she could be refueled at sea; helipads were constructed fore and aft, and the carpets were covered with 2,000 sheets of hardboard. Over 650 crewmembers volunteered for the voyage to look after the 3,000 members of the eth Infantry Brigade which the ship transported to South Georgia. During the voyage south, in order to avoid detection the ship was blacked out and the radar switched off and Captain Jackson and his fellow officers on the bridge were plunged into a navigational nightmare as they steamed on without modern aids, through an icefield in the dark.
Her tumultuous welcome home with the warship survivors on 11 June 1982 was a national event and HM The Queen Mother welcomed QE2 home from the decks of the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Captain Jackson received the following message from the Queen Mother:
"I am pleased to welcome you back as QE2 returns to home waters after your tour of duty in the South Atlantic. The exploits of your own ship's company and the deeds of valour of those who served in Antelope, Coventry, and Ardent have been acclaimed throughout the land and I am proud to add my personal tribute".
To which Captain Jackson replied:
"Please convey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, our thanks for her kind message. Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is proud to have been of service to Her Majesty's Forces".
Her return to Southampton was followed by a nine-week period of refitting and restoring the world's foremost passenger liner.
This, of course, was not the first time Cunard ships have served Britain in times of war. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, according to Sir Winston Churchill, reduced the length of World War II by a year as a result of ferrying 15,000 American GIs - six times more than their maximum passenger carry - on each of their 50 30-knot dashes across the Atlantic.
And, as far back as the Crimea, Cunard was helping out when, among other things, the company transported all the horses that charged with the Light Brigade.
QE2 was not the only Cunard ship to go to the Falklands. The company's Cunard Countess, Saxonia, England and Atlantic Causeway were also utilised and its Atlantic Conveyor was sunk with the loss of six Cunard officers and crew including its Captain, Ian North."
May 9, 2007
'Queen Elizabeth 2' brings hundreds to Antigua
This news from the antiguasun.com about a long awaited return visit from the QE2 to Antigua:
"The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) made a long awaited journey to Antigua’s shores on Sunday, some 12 years after its initial visit.
The ship, which made its maiden voyage in 1969, is a 963 ft long vessel and carried over 70,000 gross tonnages with a top speed of 32.5 knots which makes her still one of the fastest cruise liners in the world.
Due to the ships depth of 32 ft, it could not dock alongside the Heritage or Nevis Street docks, and passenger therefore had to be tendered via shuttle boats into the boardwalk between the two piers.
Even though the ship has a capacity of 2,800, the President of the Antigua & Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association (ABCTA), Nathan Dundas, told the Antigua Sun that ship brought 1,700 visitors, many of whom went on tours to various historic sites around the island.
Dundas is hopeful that another trip to the country will not be as far between as previous ones; however, the QE2 is currently on one of its usual world cruises which last approximately 80 days per year.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 was the flagship of the Cunard Line for over 30 years."
"The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) made a long awaited journey to Antigua’s shores on Sunday, some 12 years after its initial visit.
The ship, which made its maiden voyage in 1969, is a 963 ft long vessel and carried over 70,000 gross tonnages with a top speed of 32.5 knots which makes her still one of the fastest cruise liners in the world.
Due to the ships depth of 32 ft, it could not dock alongside the Heritage or Nevis Street docks, and passenger therefore had to be tendered via shuttle boats into the boardwalk between the two piers.
Even though the ship has a capacity of 2,800, the President of the Antigua & Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association (ABCTA), Nathan Dundas, told the Antigua Sun that ship brought 1,700 visitors, many of whom went on tours to various historic sites around the island.
Dundas is hopeful that another trip to the country will not be as far between as previous ones; however, the QE2 is currently on one of its usual world cruises which last approximately 80 days per year.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 was the flagship of the Cunard Line for over 30 years."
May 8, 2007
“Stars For A Cause,” sponsored by Cunard’s Queen Mary 2
This appeared about a new charity drive that Cunard QM2 that appeared on stylescenes.latimes.com:
"
Cannes is turning into Charity Central. Word is that George Clooney plans an “Ocean’s Thirteen” benefit for Darfur during the French film fest. And there’s also the usual star-studded AmfAR AIDS fundraiser dinner/charity auction, routinely attended by Sharon Stone, Prince Albert, Elizabeth Taylor, Iman, Harvey Weinstein, you get the picture. Weinstein Co., M.A.C. cosmetics, HP, Chopard, Warner Home Video are co-sponsoring the bash at Moulin de Mougins, just outside of Cannes. Sharon and Harvey will be back onstage for the always raunchy auctioneering.
But here comes a newcomer: “Stars For A Cause,” sponsored by Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. International artist Nicolosi (www.popartgalleries.com) has created portraits of stars that will be on display at the Century Canne on Vegaluna Beach. Entertainment Tonight will film major celebs popping in to sign their portraits at the party spot, conveniently located in front of the Carlton Hotel. Expected are some real A-listers like George Clooney, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg. Other portrait subjects include Kiefer Sutherland, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Beyonce, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Ed Norton, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, etc, etc.
Following the Cannes Film Festival, the portraits head to London for a worldwide auction in June. Auction proceeds will benefit amfAR, Prince’s Trust (U.K.) and The Hollywood Museum. “Stars for a Cause” was also on the scene at the 64th Annual Golden Globes and the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Why is ET onboard? “We are always eager to support the charitable as well as professional endeavors of celebrities, so we readily embraced the opportunity to get involved with ‘Stars For A Cause,’” said Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Insider." “Nicolosi is one of America’s most acclaimed pop artists and he's the ideal choice to create paintings benefiting charities endorsed by the entertainment industry.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. The most important thing is that the Century Cannes is going be packed with major stars. You want Clooney, Pitt or Damon? How about Angelina? This is your best bet. But stake out your sandy spot early! Trust me, those French film fans are very territorial.
"
Cannes is turning into Charity Central. Word is that George Clooney plans an “Ocean’s Thirteen” benefit for Darfur during the French film fest. And there’s also the usual star-studded AmfAR AIDS fundraiser dinner/charity auction, routinely attended by Sharon Stone, Prince Albert, Elizabeth Taylor, Iman, Harvey Weinstein, you get the picture. Weinstein Co., M.A.C. cosmetics, HP, Chopard, Warner Home Video are co-sponsoring the bash at Moulin de Mougins, just outside of Cannes. Sharon and Harvey will be back onstage for the always raunchy auctioneering.
But here comes a newcomer: “Stars For A Cause,” sponsored by Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. International artist Nicolosi (www.popartgalleries.com) has created portraits of stars that will be on display at the Century Canne on Vegaluna Beach. Entertainment Tonight will film major celebs popping in to sign their portraits at the party spot, conveniently located in front of the Carlton Hotel. Expected are some real A-listers like George Clooney, Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Mark Wahlberg. Other portrait subjects include Kiefer Sutherland, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Beyonce, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Ed Norton, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, etc, etc.
Following the Cannes Film Festival, the portraits head to London for a worldwide auction in June. Auction proceeds will benefit amfAR, Prince’s Trust (U.K.) and The Hollywood Museum. “Stars for a Cause” was also on the scene at the 64th Annual Golden Globes and the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Why is ET onboard? “We are always eager to support the charitable as well as professional endeavors of celebrities, so we readily embraced the opportunity to get involved with ‘Stars For A Cause,’” said Linda Bell Blue, executive producer of “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Insider." “Nicolosi is one of America’s most acclaimed pop artists and he's the ideal choice to create paintings benefiting charities endorsed by the entertainment industry.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. The most important thing is that the Century Cannes is going be packed with major stars. You want Clooney, Pitt or Damon? How about Angelina? This is your best bet. But stake out your sandy spot early! Trust me, those French film fans are very territorial.
$41M Bidder Eyes Queen's Seaport
This article apperaed on globest.com about the Queen Mary in Long Beach:
"LONG BEACH, CA-Santa Monica-based developer O&S Holdings has emerged as the first bidder for the 40-acre Queen Mary development with an offer of $41 million, according to the bankruptcy trustee for the property and the brokers marketing the site. O&S now becomes the stalking horse bidder in a bankruptcy court auction where the development site will be sold later this summer.
At stake in the auction will be the 54 years remaining on the 66-year lease of the Queen Mary and its surrounding 43 acres of mixed-use waterfront property, known as the Queen's Seaport Development. Partner Howard Ehrenberg of the Los Angeles-based law firm of SulmeyerKupetz is the bankruptcy trustee of the property, and a brokerage team from Coldwell Banker Commercial Almar is marketing the site.
The winning bidder will receive the potential for extension of the lease and rights to develop a site that is now occupied by parking lots, the Queen’s Marketplace retail center, containers, oil pumpers, a cruise terminal and a geodesic dome that once housed Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose airplane. Tom Olson of Coldwell Banker Commercial Almar says that the buyer will gain “a one-time opportunity” to develop a mixed-use waterfront development anticipated to include hospitality, retail, restaurant, marine, office and entertainment components.
According to Ehrenberg, any other prospective buyers who want to participate in the auction “would need to overbid O&S Holdings' current bid by at least $2.5 million.” Gary Safady, O&S Holdings' managing member, sees the Queen Mary and the ship's surrounding real estate as an unrivaled draw for Southern California tourism that no previous operator of the site has yet realized.
The Queen's Seaport site includes more than 43 acres of land and more than 32 acres of water rights, along with the 72-year-old Queen Mary ocean liner, a hotel and tourist attraction drawing 1.2 million visitors every year. Olson leads the The Coldwell Banker Commercial team marketing the site. Other team members are Alan Scott of CBC Almar Group, John McKeown of Coldwell Banker Commercial REAG and Dan Richards of Coldwell Banker Commercial Inland Empire.
Queen's Seaport Development Inc. filed for bankruptcy in March 2005, and Ehrenberg was appointed trustee in April of 2006. Since then, Ehrenberg has been overseeing the finances and operations of the company.
Olson says that with the bankruptcy court auction date still to be set, “this project is far from being off the market.” He notes that the property was appraised at more than $48 million in July.
Bidder O&S Holdings LLC was formed in 1992 by Gary Safady and his cousin Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's Copies. O&S Holdings and its affiliates own more than 80 properties in the US, including the 550,000-sf Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City, LA.
The bankruptcy court is expected to set a date for the auction within the next 60 days. The brokers say they expect that some of the prospective bidders who have shown interest in the property will participate in the auction."
"LONG BEACH, CA-Santa Monica-based developer O&S Holdings has emerged as the first bidder for the 40-acre Queen Mary development with an offer of $41 million, according to the bankruptcy trustee for the property and the brokers marketing the site. O&S now becomes the stalking horse bidder in a bankruptcy court auction where the development site will be sold later this summer.
At stake in the auction will be the 54 years remaining on the 66-year lease of the Queen Mary and its surrounding 43 acres of mixed-use waterfront property, known as the Queen's Seaport Development. Partner Howard Ehrenberg of the Los Angeles-based law firm of SulmeyerKupetz is the bankruptcy trustee of the property, and a brokerage team from Coldwell Banker Commercial Almar is marketing the site.
The winning bidder will receive the potential for extension of the lease and rights to develop a site that is now occupied by parking lots, the Queen’s Marketplace retail center, containers, oil pumpers, a cruise terminal and a geodesic dome that once housed Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose airplane. Tom Olson of Coldwell Banker Commercial Almar says that the buyer will gain “a one-time opportunity” to develop a mixed-use waterfront development anticipated to include hospitality, retail, restaurant, marine, office and entertainment components.
According to Ehrenberg, any other prospective buyers who want to participate in the auction “would need to overbid O&S Holdings' current bid by at least $2.5 million.” Gary Safady, O&S Holdings' managing member, sees the Queen Mary and the ship's surrounding real estate as an unrivaled draw for Southern California tourism that no previous operator of the site has yet realized.
The Queen's Seaport site includes more than 43 acres of land and more than 32 acres of water rights, along with the 72-year-old Queen Mary ocean liner, a hotel and tourist attraction drawing 1.2 million visitors every year. Olson leads the The Coldwell Banker Commercial team marketing the site. Other team members are Alan Scott of CBC Almar Group, John McKeown of Coldwell Banker Commercial REAG and Dan Richards of Coldwell Banker Commercial Inland Empire.
Queen's Seaport Development Inc. filed for bankruptcy in March 2005, and Ehrenberg was appointed trustee in April of 2006. Since then, Ehrenberg has been overseeing the finances and operations of the company.
Olson says that with the bankruptcy court auction date still to be set, “this project is far from being off the market.” He notes that the property was appraised at more than $48 million in July.
Bidder O&S Holdings LLC was formed in 1992 by Gary Safady and his cousin Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's Copies. O&S Holdings and its affiliates own more than 80 properties in the US, including the 550,000-sf Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City, LA.
The bankruptcy court is expected to set a date for the auction within the next 60 days. The brokers say they expect that some of the prospective bidders who have shown interest in the property will participate in the auction."
May 4, 2007
QM2 shows are 'out of this world'
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This article appearred in the Marco Island free community newspaper site
Cruise lines are renowned for providing over the top amenities for their guests, but now - believe it or not - one company will give you the stars and heavens above.
Cunard's Queen Mary 2, in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, has introduced two new space shows in its very own, 150-seat planetarium - the only one of its kind at sea.
Combining science and cutting edge technology, Queen Mary 2 will present four space shows per day in its 150-seat Illuminations theater, including Hayden's groundbreaking new productions, "Cosmic Collisions" and "Passport to the Universe.''
"Our theater was specifically designed to feature dynamic multi-media programs like the unparalleled caliber produced by the American Museum of Natural History," said Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Line. "These shows are an ideal complement to the range of educational opportunities within our onboard guest enrichment programs as they are both educational and entertaining."
Narrated by Robert Redford, "Cosmic Collisions" launches guests on a spine-tingling trip through space and time to explore the cosmic collisions and hypersonic impacts that drive the continuing evolution of the universe.
"Passport to the Universe," narrated by Tom Hanks, reveals the wonders of the universe in a way never seen before as guests take a flight through the universe and into the Orion Nebula, deep into intergalactic space.
Look also for Queen Mary 2 to host "The Search for Life: Are We Alone?'' narrated by Harrison Ford, a space show developed in collaboration with NASA.
It delves into the role of water as one of the necessities for life.
Cunard will even tap the sense of wonderment before guests step foot in the theater.
Just outside the entrance to Illuminations, look for newly installed plasma television screens to showcase the latest developments in the ever-changing field of astrophysics.
The high-resolution large-screen presentations feature the latest images from NASA satellites and other observatories. Look also for breaking news and in-depth feature stories about space weather, the possibility of life on Mars and the cosmic microwave background.
The partnership with The Hayden Planetarium is just one of many onboard entertainment and enrichment programs offered by Cunard.
Many onboard enrichment programs introduce guests to stimulating experts and accomplished visionaries who reflect the line's heritage of adventure and prestige.
Through a series of lectures, Q&As, debates, social gatherings, and workshops, guests will connect with personalities who have achieved notable distinction in the areas of history, world affairs, science, politics, arts and literature.
Cunard also has a partnership with London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art aboard Queen Mary 2.
Cruise lines are renowned for providing over the top amenities for their guests, but now - believe it or not - one company will give you the stars and heavens above.
Cunard's Queen Mary 2, in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, has introduced two new space shows in its very own, 150-seat planetarium - the only one of its kind at sea.
Combining science and cutting edge technology, Queen Mary 2 will present four space shows per day in its 150-seat Illuminations theater, including Hayden's groundbreaking new productions, "Cosmic Collisions" and "Passport to the Universe.''
"Our theater was specifically designed to feature dynamic multi-media programs like the unparalleled caliber produced by the American Museum of Natural History," said Carol Marlow, president of Cunard Line. "These shows are an ideal complement to the range of educational opportunities within our onboard guest enrichment programs as they are both educational and entertaining."
Narrated by Robert Redford, "Cosmic Collisions" launches guests on a spine-tingling trip through space and time to explore the cosmic collisions and hypersonic impacts that drive the continuing evolution of the universe.
"Passport to the Universe," narrated by Tom Hanks, reveals the wonders of the universe in a way never seen before as guests take a flight through the universe and into the Orion Nebula, deep into intergalactic space.
Look also for Queen Mary 2 to host "The Search for Life: Are We Alone?'' narrated by Harrison Ford, a space show developed in collaboration with NASA.
It delves into the role of water as one of the necessities for life.
Cunard will even tap the sense of wonderment before guests step foot in the theater.
Just outside the entrance to Illuminations, look for newly installed plasma television screens to showcase the latest developments in the ever-changing field of astrophysics.
The high-resolution large-screen presentations feature the latest images from NASA satellites and other observatories. Look also for breaking news and in-depth feature stories about space weather, the possibility of life on Mars and the cosmic microwave background.
The partnership with The Hayden Planetarium is just one of many onboard entertainment and enrichment programs offered by Cunard.
Many onboard enrichment programs introduce guests to stimulating experts and accomplished visionaries who reflect the line's heritage of adventure and prestige.
Through a series of lectures, Q&As, debates, social gatherings, and workshops, guests will connect with personalities who have achieved notable distinction in the areas of history, world affairs, science, politics, arts and literature.
Cunard also has a partnership with London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art aboard Queen Mary 2.
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May 1, 2007
A bid for the Queen Mary: Even the first offer would clear up a lot of problems, and there could be more.
This appeared on the presstelegram.com site:
"A bankruptcy trustee steps in temporarily to salvage a business that's either out of money or into a legal mess. In the case of the Queen Mary, it was both. But the job is nearly done.
Some of us thought the court-appointed trustee, Howard Ehrenberg, was overdoing the optimism when he first suggested a positive outcome for the company holding the ship's lease, Queen's Seaport Development Inc (QSDI). Now we wonder if he was overdoing the caution.
Some of us thought the court-appointed trustee, Howard Ehrenberg, was overdoing the optimism when he first suggested a positive outcome for the company holding the ship's lease, Queen's Seaport Development Inc (QSDI). Now we wonder if he was overdoing the caution.
The first bid out of the box was $41 million, and it looks like there will be others. For the money, a developer gets the right to spend much more developing the acreage surrounding the forever docked and aging ocean liner.
The bid came from Q&S Holdings of Santa Monica, a company that develops entertainment and retail centers and owns 80 properties. Paul Orfalea, one of the founders, who also started the Kinko chain, offered no details about what the company intends to do with the site other than to say it presents an unrivaled draw for tourism with value unrealized by previous operators.
Well, that's true. One of the operators, the Disney Co., picked up the Queen as part of a bigger acquisition and, other than talking about a grandiose theme park that never happened, quickly abandoned ship. The only operator who put some real energy into it was Joseph Prevratil, the retired head of QSDI who was ever underfinanced and ended up at sixes and sevens with his City Hall landlords over the definition of rent credits.
What might become of the Queen Mary?
Nobody's saying yet, but the ship needs more than refurbishing. It needs a vision as clear as the one that launched her: not as a transportation vehicle but with a suffusion of romance to entice potential passengers.
And the site needs more than a shopping center, which is what O&S has done before, although imaginatively. But the company, even in its brief statement, seems attracted by the challenge.
As for the financial part of the bankruptcy, $41 million tidies a lot of messes. If another bidder comes up with even more, then everyone will emerge happy, if not completely whole.
As for the financial part of the bankruptcy, $41 million tidies a lot of messes. If another bidder comes up with even more, then everyone will emerge happy, if not completely whole.
For a bankruptcy trustee, that's the ultimate.
Cunard appoints new head of marketing
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This has appeared in the Uk "Marketing Week" magazine:
"Cunard, the cruise liner operator, has appointed Richard Curtis as head of marketing. He replaces Stuart Perl, who left the company to become managing director of Peter Deilmann Cruises.
Curtis, who has already taken over the role, joins the company from Small Luxury Hotels of the World, where he was vice president for marketing. He will oversee a six-strong team and will report to managing director Carole Marlow.
Curtis joined Small Luxury Hotels in 2004 and was responsible for develop its global marketing strategy, as well as its gift certificate and "Spa Break" programmes. Prior, to that he was director of relationship marketing at Hilton, where he oversaw the Hilton HHonors guest reward programme across Europe and Africa."
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