Cunard Celebrates The Diamond Jubilee and The Beatles

This week the focus is on celebrations.

            In early June, Cunard Line participated in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking the 60^th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II accession to the throne.  There were celebrations throughout the UK for this anniversary ranging from local street parties to a concert with a series of mega-stars outside of Buckingham Palace.

            Considering the long connection between Cunard and the Royal Family, and this monarch in particular, Cunard decided that it had to do something more than just send a card to mark the occasion.    Therefore, it planned a spectacular event where all three of its Queen ships would meet together in Southampton.

            Because of the legendary reputation of the Cunard Queens, their rare gatherings have been recognized not only by ship lovers but by the general public as special occasions.  The first gathering of three Queens occurred in New York in 2008 when Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria were all in port together.  A few months later, the same three ships met in Southampton but because QE2 was there for a re-fit rather than to begin a voyage, the meeting was considered unofficial even though it generated significant attention.  Then, shortly after the new Queen Elizabeth entered service, she met with Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria in New York with all three ships exiting the harbor in a grand procession.

            For this year’s celebration, Cunard planned to have all three ships enter and exit Southampton harbor together.  In addition, there would be a display by Britain’s precision flying team The Red Arrows and a fireworks display as the ships left Southampton.  There would also be a day-long radio broadcast from the roof of the Carnival UK building which overlooks the harbor.   Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.  It caused the cancellation of The Red Arrows performance and interfered with the fireworks.

            Still, it was a spectacular event.  The stars of the show in their black and white liveries and Cunard red funnels were majestic.  For those onboard the three ships, the proximity of the ships to each other was indeed an awesome sight.

            Beyondships’ photo essay of the celebrations (including a slide show) is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cunard-royal-jubilee-celebrations-part-one.html

            A much different type of celebration was the performances by The Beatles Celebration onboard Queen Mary 2 during one of her recent transatlantic crossings.  The Beatles Celebration is not just another Beatles tribute band but a show in which the performers place the audience in an imaginary Beatles performance.

            This show was particularly appropriate for Queen Mary 2.  While not mentioned as much as Cunard’s connections to royalty and its connection to the celebrities and movie stars of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Cunard has a substantial connection to The Beatles and to the so-called British Invasion music of the 1960s.  In addition, a performance of this caliber fits nicely with the ship’s overall quality level.

            Beyondships’ review of The Beatles Celebration, including an interview with the cast, is at http://www.beyondships2.com/cunard-qm2-beatles-celebration.html          

Talking with Cunard Commodore Rynd and Oasis of the Seas Photos

We have two new items this week.




First, we speak with Commodore Christopher Rynd of Cunard Line. The commodore of a passenger ship line is the senior seagoing officer in the line’s fleet. Traditionally, he has been the master of the line’s flagship and unlike a commodore in the military, his role has been pretty much limited to that ship.



Commodore Rynd, who was appointed commodore in April 2011, aims to break with tradition. While his two immediate predecessors as commodore were necessarily focused on bringing the line’s flagship, Queen Mary 2, into service and establishing her as a viable competitor in the modern cruise industry, Commodore Rynd sees his role as extending fleet-wide - - the goal being to further facilitate a unified Cunard product across the line’s three ships.



I sat down with Commodore Rynd during a transatlantic voyage on Queen Mary 2 and asked him about his vision for his new role. As in past interviews, his answers were well-thought out and well-articulated. Our conversation is at http://www.beyondships.com/QM2-Rynd-3.html



The second item this week is a new photo essay on Oasis of the Seas. On November 23, 2011, Oasis paid a call at the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Although there were five other first-class cruise ships in port with her, Oasis was the center of attention. As the photographs of her during the course of the day and into the evening show, she attracts attention not just because of the enormity of her size but also because of the sense of excitement that she generates. The photo essay is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/RCI-OOS-StMaarten.html

Queen Mary 2 - Captain Paul Wright Interview; QM2 Profile and Photo Tour

Last week, when Queen Mary 2 reached Sydney, Australia on her current World Voyage, Captain Paul Wright turned over command of the ship to Commodore Bernard Warner. Such changes in command happen periodically. However, what was significant about this one was that it marked the end of Captain Wright’s last contract with Cunard. He is retiring after more than 30 years with the company.

During his time with Cunard, Captain Wright’s commands have included the Queen Elizabeth 2, the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria. In fact, he was the first person in Cunard’s long history to have commanded three Cunard Queens. Moreover, he oversaw the construction of Queen Mary 2 and was Queen Victoria’s first master. These are only some of his accomplishments.

Captain Wright, however, seldom talks about his accomplishments. He describes himself with a smile as “just a simple sailor.”

His name came up one time when I was speaking to an officer on one of the Princess Cruises ships. Shortly after Princess came into the Carnival Corporation family, there had been an exchange of some of the senior officers between Cunard and Princess. The idea was that the officers from Cunard could learn from Princess and vice versa. Captain Wright was one of the officers who participated in this exchange. The Princess officer that I was speaking to said that he knew Captain Wright and thought highly of him. However, he said that he had no idea that Wright had been with Cunard or that he had commanded QE2 and QM2. As I said, Wright does not like to talk about his accomplishments.

Although he is very much a private person, he is also outgoing and friendly. He enjoys hearing what others have to say, especially if they have a sense of humor.

His personable and relaxed style also extends to the bridge. “I can’t stand shouting on the bridge.” However, with an incredible breadth of experience to draw upon, Wright is firmly in control of the situation.

As a result, Captain Wright has earned the respect and admiration of both the guests and his co-workers. My interview with him is at http://beyondships.com/QM2-art-Wright.html

Captain Wright also provided me with copies of a bar list and a daily programme from the first passenger ship that he served on - - Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Canada. This ship was later to achieve fame as the Mardi Gras, the first ship of Carnival Cruise Lines. The bar list and the daily program are of historical interest because they show just how much cruising has changed since the late-1960s/early 1970s. These items are posted at http://beyondships.com/Cruise-historic-EmpressCanada.html
Finally, I have also updated and expanded Beyondships’ profile and photo tour of Queen Mary 2. There are new menus, daily programs and perhaps a hundred new photos of the ship, which required adding two new pages to what was already an eight page tour. The profile page is at http://beyondships.com/QM2.html and the photo tour begins at http://beyondships.com/QM2tour1.html

Interview with Captain Ian McNuaght and Other Cruise News.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Captain Ian McNaught of Cunard Line. This was indeed an enjoyable experience as I have known Captain McNaught since he was a young officer on Queen Elizabeth 2 in the 1990s. Captain McNaught is perhaps best known for being the last Cunard captain of the QE2 and his vibrant personality has made him a great favorite of regular Cunard passengers.

Our conversation touched upon a number of topics but the primary focus was on Captain McNaught’s latest command Cunard’s Queen Victoria. The ship is the second largest Cunarder ever built and was designed to bring the Cunard transatlantic crossing style to cruising. Cunard has had cruise ships in the past but their style was always different than its transatlantic liners. Some were mass market, some were luxury, and some reflected the Norwegian style of their previous owners.

Captain McNaught sees the Queen Victoria as carrying through the Cunard experience of QE2 and more recently Queen Mary 2. There are differences but then each ship is different. He attributes much of Cunard’s success in carrying over the Cunard style to his crew and their Cunard training. He is also very impressed by the technology on Queen Victoria, which he feels enhances the product.

My conversation with Captain McNaught is posted at: http://beyondships.com/QV-McNaught-1.html

Turning to the week’s other news:

Princess Cruises has announced that in 2011, it will transfer the Royal Princess to sister company P&O Cruises. Royal Princess is one of Princess’ small ships (see our profile and photo tour at http://beyondships.com/Princess-RP-Profile.html ) She will be following in the footsteps of the previous Royal Princess, which became P&O’s Artemis (http://www.beyondships.com/PO-Artemis-Profile.html). Artemis will be leaving the P&O fleet and thus the addition of Royal Princess to P&O will allow that line to maintain its presence in small ship cruising. The ship is to be renamed Adonia.

Meanwhile, life is changing for some of Royal Princess’ sisters. Royal Princess is one of eight nearly identical ships that were built for Renaissance Cruises. Following the demise of Renaissance, three of these ships went to Princess, three to Oceania Cruises and two to Azamara Cruises.

This week Azamara announced that it was changing its name to Azamara Club Cruises. Its new president, Larry Pimintel, explained that the new name was more in keeping with the club-like atmosphere onboard its up-market ships. The line is also changing its approach to become more destination focused with longer stays in port including more overnights. I’ll be writing more about Azamara’s plans in the near future.

I recently heard from two of the officers who have been interviewed on Beyondships. Trevor Lane, who had been Staff Captain on Queen Mary 2, has been promoted to captain and is the master of the Pacific Sun of P&O Cruises Australia. Meanwhile, Captain Francesco La Fauci, who I interviewed on Carnival Triumph, is now in command of Carnival Conquest.

Queen Victoria Hotel Manager Interview

Last month, I wrote about Queen Victoria and my interview with Captain Chris Rynd. I am returning again to that ship as the subject of this week’s blog and am posting an interview that I did with her Hotel Manager Jacqueline (Jackie) Hodgson. My reason for focusing again on Queen Victoria is that she is such a pivotal ship in Cunard’s history.

In the late 1990s, Cunard consisted of a polyglot fleet with ships of various sizes, origins and ages. These ships appealed to different market segments - - some were ultra-luxury, some were premium ships, and some were mass market. This was not the result of a carefully designed plan to diversify but rather reflected changes in the various changes in the company’s direction over the last quarter century. Furthermore, not only did the company lack cohesion and direction but it was owned by a corporation that did not want to be in the passenger ship business. Cunard did not appear to have much of a long-term future.

Then, in 1998, Carnival Corporation stepped in and purchased Cunard. They recognized that the real value of Cunard lay in its ocean liner heritage. Accordingly, they stripped away all of the accretions that had grown up around that core and focused the company on developing around that heritage.

The first step was to build a new ocean liner for the 21st Century. Accordingly, they built the largest ocean liner ever built, the Queen Mary 2. While QM2 borrowed extensively from Cunard’s existing ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, QM2 has developed her own style and atmosphere that is much different than her famous predecessor.

The next question was how to expand the line and grow the business. As above, the value of the company lay in its ocean liner heritage. However, there did not appear to be enough of a market for transatlantic crossings to support building another true ocean liner. Indeed, even QE2 which is much more suited to transatlantic crossings than to cruising had to be relegated to a cruising itinerary.

The solution to this quandary was to take the style and atmosphere of a traditional ocean liner and put it into ships designed for cruising. Queen Victoria is the first ship based on this strategy. Thus, Queen Victoria is a pivotal ship for Cunard because she is central to Cunard’s strategy for growing the business.

Since the success of this strategy depends upon transplanting style and atmosphere so that the guests feel that they are on a traditional ocean liner, much depends upon how the hotel operation on the ship is handled. Therefore, while the hotel manager is a key player on any passenger ship, it is an absolutely critical position on Queen Victoria.

One of the people selected for this position was Jacqueline Hodgson. (Just as captains are rotated because a person cannot work on a ship all year long, hotel managers are also rotated). Jackie is well-qualified for this position, having spent 16 years on QE2 and having been Hotel Manager on QM2. She also knows about modern cruising, having spent 4 years on secondment to Princess Cruises.

During a recent voyage on Queen Victoria, I spoke with her about the ship’s hotel operation both in concept and in practice. My conversation with Ms. Hodgson is posted at http://beyondships.com/QV-Hodgson.html.

Cunard's Queen Victoria as seen by Captain Chris Rynd

I always feel that I have learned something after talking with Captain Christopher Rynd. His career has coincided with the development of the modern cruise industry and his commands have included the original Pacific Princess (i.e., the Love Boat), Princess’s small R-class ships, mega-cruise ships such as Sapphire Princess, the Queen Elizabeth 2, the Queen Mary 2 and most recently Cunard’s new Queen Victoria. With such a resume, Captain Rynd has a wide variety of experiences to talk about. Moreover, he had to have had great seamanship skills and ability to command in order to have obtained those positions.

Captain Rynd is one of the most hands-on captains I have seen. Standing alone at the bridge wing console of QM2 with his hands on the controls, he maneuvered the great ship away from the pier like a mater musician working the keyboards and stops of a pipe organ.

He does not lecture, however. Rather, an interview with him is a conversation. His officers tell me that that is the way he trains young officers. He sets a problem or task for them to complete and then converses with them in Socratic-style to let them work through the issue themselves.

When I interviewed him last year, we spoke about his career at Princess and then his experiences commanding QE2 and QM2. We spoke briefly about Queen Victoria. It had been announced that Captain Paul Wright and he would be commanding the new ship during her first year but at that point, she was still in the builder’s yard. Subsequently, Captain Rynd took command of Queen Victoria for a large portion of her first world cruise and later during part of her regular summer itinerary. Naturally, I wanted to get his views on the new ship.

Queen Victoria grew from the design of the Vista-class cruise ships used by Holland America Line, P&O Cruises and other lines. However, she is not just another cruise ship. Cunard made certain modifications to the design which, Captain Rynd explained, have affected her sea-going properties. Thus, while she is not an ocean greyhound like QE2 or QM2 designed for heavy seas, she does have unique abilities which set her apart.

What is of greater importance to most passengers is that Queen Victoria’s public spaces capture the feel of the great ocean liners of the past. As Captain Rynd pointed out, that was what her interior designer set out to do and through attention to detail and at considerable cost, Cunard succeeded. Thus, while Queen Victoria’s character is still forming, she already has an atmosphere that while different from QM2 and QE2 is one that past Cunard passengers recognize and approve.

My interview with Captain Rynd appears at http://beyondships.com/QV-Rynd-1.html. I have also added new photos, daily programs and menus to the Queen Victoria section of the Beyondships site. http://beyondships.com/QV.html