Beyondships presents two inside interviews this week. One continues Beyondships in-depth coverage of Queen Mary 2 while the other adds to last week’s profile of Celebrity Summit.
My first memory of Nick Bates was of him being lowered down the side of the Queen Elizabeth 2 in the middle of the night. QE2 had just struck two submerged rocks off the coast of Massachusetts and Nick was being sent down to inspect the hull. It was a great relief to the passengers that he decided to come back to the ship rather than sail away. There was significant damage but as Nick correctly determined, it did not threaten the integrity of the hull.
At that time, Nick was Chief Officer of QE2. Not long after that, he became Staff Captain and in those positions had responsibility for maintaining the ship and seeing her through some of the major changes that ship underwent in the 1990s.
Nick was not the typical Cunard officer. He was not at all reserved. Rather, his Irish wit and love of a good laugh enlivened the tables he hosted at dinner and the various passenger receptions. At the same time, he was clearly proud of being a part of Cunard and had a justifiable pride in the legendary ship.
As time went on, Nick was given his own commands, first with the other Cunard ships, then Qe2, then a time with Princess Cruises. Most recently, Nick has been alternating with Commodore Bernard Warner as the master of Cunard’s flagship Queen Mary 2.
Captain Bates still combines the qualities he displayed when I first met him. He is still very serious when it comes to his command. However, he is also able to weave his lighthearted approach to life into relations with passengers. Indeed, he has compiled the stories that he tells during his noonday announcements into a popular book, the profits of which he donates to charity.
My conversation with Captain Bates about his 35-year career and about his current command appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/QM2-art-Bates.html
The second interview that I have posted this week is with Julian Brackenbury, Hotel Director of the Celebrity Summit. Julian has also had an interesting career in the cruise ship industry but in this interview, I asked him to tell us about Summit. The goal was to round out the Beyondships’ profile of Summit with an insider’s perspective about the vacation experience that one can expect on Summit. The interview appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Summit-art-brackenbury.html
Turning to the news . . .
As I mentioned last week, Royal Caribbean has continued to have its ships call at the line’s private resort in Labadee, Haiti. In addition to helping maintain the local economy, the ships have brought supplies for the earthquake victims in Haiti. To my surprise, Royal has been criticized for this move on the grounds that people should not be vacationing and enjoying themselves on one part of the island when there is so much misery elsewhere in Haiti. This strikes me as an unfair criticism. The issue for Royal is whether to have the ships call in Haiti or go somewhere else. If the ships went somewhere else, people would still be vacationing and enjoying themselves despite the misery in Haiti. If the ships continue to call in Haiti, at least there will be some benefit to the people of Haiti in the form of jobs and supplies. Thus, in my opinion, Royal is doing the right thing.
Princess Cruises received a thank you from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the weather observations made on Princess ships These observations help NOAA track weather patterns. The ships measure air temperature, humidity, wind direction and strength, sea waves and swells. They then send information at a minimum of every six hours when at sea to a database which is forwarded to NOAA. The Princess ships sent more observations to NOAA in 2009 than any other cruise line.
My first memory of Nick Bates was of him being lowered down the side of the Queen Elizabeth 2 in the middle of the night. QE2 had just struck two submerged rocks off the coast of Massachusetts and Nick was being sent down to inspect the hull. It was a great relief to the passengers that he decided to come back to the ship rather than sail away. There was significant damage but as Nick correctly determined, it did not threaten the integrity of the hull.
At that time, Nick was Chief Officer of QE2. Not long after that, he became Staff Captain and in those positions had responsibility for maintaining the ship and seeing her through some of the major changes that ship underwent in the 1990s.
Nick was not the typical Cunard officer. He was not at all reserved. Rather, his Irish wit and love of a good laugh enlivened the tables he hosted at dinner and the various passenger receptions. At the same time, he was clearly proud of being a part of Cunard and had a justifiable pride in the legendary ship.
As time went on, Nick was given his own commands, first with the other Cunard ships, then Qe2, then a time with Princess Cruises. Most recently, Nick has been alternating with Commodore Bernard Warner as the master of Cunard’s flagship Queen Mary 2.
Captain Bates still combines the qualities he displayed when I first met him. He is still very serious when it comes to his command. However, he is also able to weave his lighthearted approach to life into relations with passengers. Indeed, he has compiled the stories that he tells during his noonday announcements into a popular book, the profits of which he donates to charity.
My conversation with Captain Bates about his 35-year career and about his current command appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/QM2-art-Bates.html
The second interview that I have posted this week is with Julian Brackenbury, Hotel Director of the Celebrity Summit. Julian has also had an interesting career in the cruise ship industry but in this interview, I asked him to tell us about Summit. The goal was to round out the Beyondships’ profile of Summit with an insider’s perspective about the vacation experience that one can expect on Summit. The interview appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Summit-art-brackenbury.html
Turning to the news . . .
As I mentioned last week, Royal Caribbean has continued to have its ships call at the line’s private resort in Labadee, Haiti. In addition to helping maintain the local economy, the ships have brought supplies for the earthquake victims in Haiti. To my surprise, Royal has been criticized for this move on the grounds that people should not be vacationing and enjoying themselves on one part of the island when there is so much misery elsewhere in Haiti. This strikes me as an unfair criticism. The issue for Royal is whether to have the ships call in Haiti or go somewhere else. If the ships went somewhere else, people would still be vacationing and enjoying themselves despite the misery in Haiti. If the ships continue to call in Haiti, at least there will be some benefit to the people of Haiti in the form of jobs and supplies. Thus, in my opinion, Royal is doing the right thing.
Princess Cruises received a thank you from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the weather observations made on Princess ships These observations help NOAA track weather patterns. The ships measure air temperature, humidity, wind direction and strength, sea waves and swells. They then send information at a minimum of every six hours when at sea to a database which is forwarded to NOAA. The Princess ships sent more observations to NOAA in 2009 than any other cruise line.
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