Cunard's Royal Rendezvous Photos and Norwegian Epic Interview

The most spectacular event this week in the cruise industry was the Cunard Royal Rendezvous in New York. All three of Cunard’s Queens - - Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth - - were in port for the day and Cunard orchestrated numerous events including ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, bathing the Empire State Building in lights that matched the traditional Cunard funnel colours and culminating in a giant fireworks display as the three ships left the harbour.

The arrival of three ships from one cruise line in New York Harbour is not all that unusual and certainly not enough to turn the heads of most New Yorkers. Furthermore, while the three Cunarders are big ships, they are not the biggest ships afloat. Why then was the Royal Rendezvous something to note?

The reason is two-fold. First, Cunard has a relationship with New York that goes back over a century. Shortly after the line was founded in 1840, New York became the western terminus for Cunard’s transatlantic crossings. Over the years, the City grew and Cunard grew. Indeed, walking around the City one can still see the Cunard name on buildings and on piers, which testifies to the fact that the line has played a not insignificant role in the story of the City.

Second, New Yorkers admire those who are the best at what they do and for many years, Cunard was the undeniable champion of the passenger ship industry. Even today, the names Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2 summon up images of grandeur and grace. This mystique has been inherited by today’s Cunarders.

This year’s Royal Rendezvous almost did not happen. A severe blizzard struck the City the day before the event. If it had been a day later, the event could not have happened. Moreover, had the lingering winds stayed above 25 knots, the authorities would not have let the events go forward. As it turned out, the day was beautifully clear although bitterly cold.

I managed to skate across the snow and ice that remained on New York’s sidewalks and streets to photograph all three of the ships at their various berths in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In addition, I attended the press conference held by Cunard at Pier 88 where the line was showcasing the new Queen Elizabeth, which entered service last October. Also seen around the pier were such Cunard celebrities as Commodore Bernard Warner, Commodore Ronald Warwick (ret.), Captain Ray Heath (ret.), Captain Inger Olsen, Captain Julian Burgess and Carnival Corporation CEO Micky Arison.

As darkness fell, I took my Nikon to the 14th floor of the Ritz Carlton Hotel overlooking Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan island. There on the open balcony amongst the television crews and the people directing the fireworks display, I was treated to the sight of the giant ships proceeding in stately procession through the harbor as fireworks illuminated the Statue of Liberty. It was an unforgettable sight that made standing in the icy wind worthwhile.

My photo essay of the 2011 Royal Rendezvous begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Cunard-Royal-Rendezvous.html and the remarks of Cunard President and Managing Director Peter Shanks at the press conference are reported at http://www.beyondships.com/Cunard-Royal-Rendezvous-Shanks.htm.

Changing topics. I have also added a brief interview with Hotel Director Denis Prguda and Entertainment Director Julie Valeriote of Norwegian Epic. I first met Denis and Julie on Norwegian Pearl and know them to be true professionals. Consequently, I was very much impressed by the sincere enthusiasm with which they speak about Epic. The interview is at http://www.beyondships.com/NCLEpic-HD.html

Photo Tour of Bermuda; Cunard President Part II; and cruising with Charles Darwin

This time, we have three new items.

First, there is Part II of my interview with Peter Shanks, President and Managing Director of Cunard Line. We began this part of the conversation by talking about the new Cunard ship Queen Elizabeth, which is now in the last phases of construction in Italy. Mr. Shanks talked about the design of the ship, its interior décor and features as well as answered the question whether the ship is actually an ocean liner. The topic then moved to what type of ships Cunard might build after the Queen Elizabeth. Finally, Mr. Shanks talked about Cunard Line’s position in the Carnival Corporation family of companies.

Part II of the interview with Mr. Shanks is posted at: http://www.beyondships.com/Cunard-Shanks-2.html

Second, I had lunch recently with Jorge Rodriguez, the North American representative of Cruceros Australis, which is an expedition cruise line operating at the extreme southern tip of South America. With him was author John Worman, who has written a number of books about Charles Darwin. The topic of the luncheon was two cruises that Cruceros Australis will be offering this fall, which will explore some of the places in Patagonia and Tierra Del Fuego that were visited by Darwin. According to Mr. Worman, Darwin largely formulated his ideas about the origin of species will visiting this still largely pristine area. My article about these cruises is at: http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-CA-Darwin.html

Third, once again going beyond the ships and onto the shore, I have posted a photo essay on Bermuda from a cruise passenger’s perspective. This little chain of islands in the Atlantic is a frequent cruise destination from a number of North American ports. It was once a tourist destination just for the rich and famous and while there still are quite a few mansions and yachts to be seen around the islands, now the pink sand beaches are enjoyed by the general public. Still the islands have not been ruined by commercialization and maintain a charming lifestyle. The multi-page photo essay begins at: http://www.beyondships.com/Ports-Bermuda-1.html

Talking with the President of Cunard and Reviewing the Steakhouse on Carnival Glory

Cunard Line is perhaps the most famous name in the history of the passenger ship business. Not only has it been carrying passengers across the Atlantic on a regular basis since 1840, but its fleet has included an array of ships that were not only famous in their day but which are still recognized as being great ships - - Mauretania, Lusitania, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2).

Today, Cunard is no longer the biggest name in the passenger business. It fell on hard times during the second half of the 20th Century and really only survived because the QE2 was such a fabulous ship both technologically and in the atmosphere that was created onboard.

In 1997, the cavalry arrived in the form of Carnival Corporation, which has invested heavily in the venerable line; building the largest ocean liner ever built, the Queen Mary 2, and two large cruise ships that are designed to evoke the feel of the great ocean liners. It also re-focused the line. The succession of owners that Cunard had prior to Carnival were never able to decide what to do with Cunard and so the company tried to do mass market cruising, luxury yachts, Norwegian-style cruise ships and various other strategies. Carnival shifted the focus back to the ocean liner experience.

A year ago July, Peter Shanks became the President and Managing Director of Cunard Line. I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Shanks about Cunard at its headquarters when I was in Southampton. Because that conversation produced so much material that I would like to share, I am presenting it in two parts. The first part focuses on Mr. Shanks’ vision for Cunard and what he views as differentiating the onboard experience on the Cunard ships from Cunard’s competitor. It is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/Cunard-Shanks-1.html

In part II, we discussed the new Cunard ship, Queen Elizabeth, which will go into service in October, as well as some thoughts about ships that may follow the Elizabeth. In addition, we talked about Cunard’s position in the Carnival family of companies. Part II will be posted next time.

This week I’ve also posted a restaurant review. For the most part, I have tried to avoid explicitly stating opinions about the various ships on Beyondships. There are a lot of other sites that do feature reviews and which do that very well. Beyondships rather is designed to present information that you can use in making up your mind about the ships.

One area that has not received much attention on the web is the specialty restaurants that are now proliferating across the cruise ship fleets. These are dining venues that are an alternative to the ships’ main dining rooms. They often specialize in one style of food and are intended to be a premium experience over and above the main dining room. There is usually a cover charge for these dining venues.

When I cruise, I usually enjoy a visit to the specialty restaurants. Sometimes I am accompanied by one of the ship officers who I have interviewed who often have a uniquer perspective about the restaurant. Thus, I thought it might be helpful to post some on my experiences.

This time the review is of the Emerald Steakhouse on Carnival Glory. Carnival has a reputation for serving good food. However, it is not usually thought of as a premium cruise line. Thus, the question that comes to mind is can a Carnival ship have a good premium restaurant? Helping me explore this question was Jorge Solano, Cruise Director on the Glory. The review is posted at: http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-Review-Emerald.html

Talking about Single Cabins and Talking with the Senior Officers of Ventura

When I sat down with Captain Alistair Clark, Executive Purser David Sheperd and Cruise Director Leon de Ste. Croix, and asked them to talk about Ventura, the word that kept coming up was “choice.” Ventura is designed to offer guests choices so that the guests can shape the cruise experience so that it suits their needs and tastes. This “choice factor” cuts across entertainment, dining, accommodations and activities. The ship is not based upon the principle “one size fits all.”

One also sees this choice factor across the P&O fleet. While some of the major cruise lines seek to have each of their ships resemble each other as closely as possible so as to maintain brand continuity, P&O has a markedly different set of ships. It is not just that the fleet has large, small and medium sized ships, but there are adults-only and family-friendly ships, traditional/more formal ships and contemporary/more casual ships. Again, this allows the passenger to select the cruise experience that is most suited to him or her.

Unifying all of this is an overall P&O flavor and way of doing things. When you step aboard a P&O ship, you know it is a P&O ship.
Our discussion about Ventura is posted at http://www.beyondships.com/PO-Ventura-interview.html

Because Ventura does present an array of dining choices, I thought it would be helpful to write an article that gives an overview of the various dining venues on the ship. To help me on this, I asked Food and Beverage Manager Alasdair Ross to give a brief introduction to each of the venues. That article appears at http://www.beyondships.com/PO-Ventura-dining.html

Changing topics, this year’s crop of new ships includes two ships that have single-occupancy cabins. For the last decade or so, the prevailing attitude in the industry was that single-occupancy cabins were uneconomical and had no place on a modern cruise ship. Every cabin had to accommodate at least two people. As a result, solo travelers had to pay a single supplement that was sometimes twice the per person rate for a double-occupancy cabin.

Now, however, going against this common-wisdom both P&O’s Azura and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic have included some single-occupancy cabins in addition to the typical mix of suites and double-occupancy cabins. Neither line is charging a single supplement for these cabins.

Why did these lines do this and is this the start of something new? I asked several cruise line executives to comment including Carol Marlow, Managing Director of P&O, Dan Hanrahan, President and CEO of Celebrity Cruises and Peter Shanks, Managing Director of Cunard. The article is posted at: http://www.beyondships.com/Cruise-articles-singles.html