QE2 - Pride of the Clyde

Tourist Navigation - QE2 Style

2012-01-27T23:04:00.000-05:00

"Tourist Navigation," a phrase used to explain what the Captain of the ill fated Costa Concordia was attempting to do the night of the tragedy was a phrase I had never heard before until I heard the translation of the initial interview with Captain Francesco Schettino after he had fled the scene. People are quick to point fingers at Costa, since they apparently authorized a similar stunt back in August of 2011, concluding then that Costa must share blame in the incident or even worse, that Costas directed him to perform this stunt. In the end, it really doesn't matter. After all, it was their Captain on their ship. Costa is paying the price for this, period. I do find it bordering on insanity, though, that some actually believe Costa would have approved that exact course and that speed that this captain took. Ultimately, it is the Captain's responsibility to plot a safe course and it appears that there was a severe lapse in judgement that led to this accident. Plain and simple human error. Not failures of equipment, or stupid orders from management, but in failure of judgement by the Captain.

It was dark. Passengers were either at the show or eating dinner. No one knew of the "tourist navigation" except a select few crew and those people onshore who were alerted of the event. No one should buy tthe Captain's flimsy attempt to justify this maneuver after the fact. This was one foolish stunt done by a captain who will pay for the consequences for the remainder of his life. I frankly don't care if Costa knew the captain was going to deviate from course and do this. It really is irrelevant. It was his course and speed that was reckless and irresponsible. He's in command of the ship, whether on bridge or not, and not from Costa management back on land.

Contemplate this; turn ten seconds late and the ship would have ended up on the rocks. Turn ten seconds sooner and Concordia arguably probably would have escaped this move unscathed and we wouldn't be writing and dwelling on this tragedy. Approaching the island at 15 knots in a ship of that size should never have been contemplated. This course and speed left no room for error and was done for absolutely no reason other than to show off. The ship could easily have stayed a safe distance offshore and still performed this "bow."

Now, the picture above illustrates "tourist navigation" done the right way by Captain Ian McNaught on QE2.

While on board QE2's final lap of honor around the UK back in 2008, a trip which in retrospect, essentially was totally "tourist navigation," Captain McNaught announced the night of October 2nd that the ship would be making an early morning close pass of the port of Douglas on the Isle of Man. This would be a special treat for those on board and onshore; QE2 had never made a port call to the Isle of Man. This would be her first and only, even if it was only a flyby.

QE2 and Cunard have one strong connection. The Isle of Man is famous for their commemorative stamp issues, many of which feature Cunard ships. There would be a commemorative issue for this occurrence, of which I purchased one on board, signed by the Captain himself. Clearly, while this event wasn't officially listed on the voyage itinerary, it was a completely planned event.

I managed to make it up on deck for the arrival in the early morning. Daybreak was imminent and while the ship had slowed, the wind was bone chilling.

With the decks freshly washed down, the ship still lit up, and the sun on the horizon, the lighting could not have been better.

As we approached Douglas Harbor, the ship slowed to a crawl, but not the wind, which was blowing offshore. This is as close as we were going to get. In this photo, the wide angle lens makes it appear a bit farther, but still, we were a very safe distance offshore.

Off to our starboard, several smaller vessels arrived to take a closer look at us (lights off on the horizon).

The rugged shoreline of the Isle of Man reminded me of the coastline of Scotland. Someday, I must return to the home of Thomas the Tank Engine!

I really wasn't the only crazy up here. Those passengers who got up and made it up to forward observation deck were all on the other side. Damn it was cold!

You could actually make out cars lined up along the service road lining the cliffs. I highly doubt Captain McNaught had alerted the island via Facebook we were arriving!

At absolutely no point did anyone view this as a dangerous, showboating maneuver. Captain McNaught, had developed a bit of a reputation over the years for not putting QE2 in harms way, playing it safe to not head into port if the weather conditions were precarious, thus earning the nickname "no ports McNaught" from many. QE2 is old school, without the maneuverability of the current crop of cruise ships, and required tugs in most ports. Good captains know the limitations and handling characteristics of their ship and McNaught respected this.

McNaught actually lived up to his nickname on this trip as well! Our first port of call was to be Cherbourg, France on this trip, but this was changed due to high winds. QE2 would never call on that port again. As McNaught would say, his ultimate responsibility is the safety of the ship and passengers. No arguments with me there. Not a shred of doubt ever entered my mind that this was not his highest priority. With the Concordia disaster, that unwavering faith is still very much present in my mind in regards to Cunard and their captains, but shaken some with Costa, a line we have cruised on three times in the past.

With our speed still at a crawl, Douglas Harbor was now at our stern.

The ship began to speed up and make a turn to starboard.

As seen here, as the ship is turning, the stern naturally swings wide, similar to what Concordia would have done with a last minute course correction, which ultimately resulted in the large gash and remaining boulder in her hull as her hull swung around and hit the reef.

Early morning sun on the horizon, a photographers delight for early morning light.

QE2's iconic open bridge wings in the early morning sun.

This was one of the few times I was able to be on the forward observation deck to enjoy the morning sun over the bow. It was still cold, but worth it all.

With the Isle of Man to our stern, we were then off to Liverpool for QE2's final call which would include a memorable concert in the Liverpool Cathedral, and then glorious fireworks display at sailaway.

Now that is how "tourist navigation" is done! Captain McNaught, and all Cunard Captains past and present, thank you all for a safe passage and the peace of mind we were aboard the safest ships in the world commanded by expert captains.

Costa Concordia - Threading the Needle

2012-01-16T02:34:00.003-05:00

Full disclosure here: I am a fan of cruising on Costa Cruise Lines. We had three outstanding cruises over the years on board the Costa Victoria and Costa Magica. I have followed the series of events as they unfolded with the Costa Concordia with dispair and utter disbelief at what appeared to have transpired. My prayers go out to all affected by this tragedy. Credit must be given to the crew of the ship for safely evacuating as many as they did is such a short time and also for the inhabitants of Isola del Giglio who helped comfort the dazed 4200 passengers and crew that made it ashore.

While there has been alot of anger and peculation on how the evacuation was handled, I am sure that the procedure will be intensively studied to learn from this tragedy in the coming weeks. The following are a series of images I posted on my Facebook account since the tragic accident occurred.

Marine AIS tracking, missing some data, but showing the overall course of the ship.

As reported here, with AIS data, it appears the ship attempted to navigate this treacherous passage! There were conflicting reports from other AIS sites, including the one I use all the time Marine AIS (first screen capture above), but their data had a huge gap from the time the ship was making over 15 knots to the time it was essentially stopped off the shore where it settled. I was a bit sceptical of the first site since it was in Turkish and required translation, but somehow they had access to missing data. Or was it all fabricated.....conspiracy theorists rejoice! Maybe in was a massive electronics blackout/power failure due to those pesky capacitors that some were adamant was the cause, in as much so as I was so adamant that this had to be operator error. So I attempted to test out the the hypothesis that the ship did attempt to make this passage. Using the Marine AIS site satellite view, with uses Google Earth, I crudely roughed in the size of the ship. Unfortunately the screen capture software I used did not allow me to draw the ship on an angle, but you get the picture above of just how close and utterly stupid a move like this would be.

As further pictures became available, the enormity of the damage became apparent. This posting, clipping a news wire photograph, was my attempt to decipher how that boulder became lodged in the side of the ship. It was clear that the ship caught on the top of an outcropping, probably causing the sideways movement as mentioned by the captain himself in his unbelievable interview after the incident.

Numerous discussions were taking place via Facebook and Cruisecritic regarding why the list to starboard and not to port, given the the enormity of the gash that was now clearly visible. I postulated along with others that the ship might have been unstable and due to the free surface effect of the water in the ship, when the captain appeared to turn the ship into port, the starboard list was triggered that ultimately lead to the roll over. I then began to wonder if there was damage, possibly even more severe than what we can see on the port side, buried beneath the water on the starboard side of the ship. Surely, it would have been quite possible that the ship bumped the rocks on both sides while attempting passage. With the ship 112 feet wide and the passage maybe 200 feet, it left little room for error, hence the title of this post.

Next, underwater photos of the damage began to surface on the Internet. While it was hard to decipher what you are looking at, the railings can be seen and the damage looked much more significant than if the ship just rolled over and hit the shore/rocks at her final resting place, in my eyes anyway. This had to be unseen damage on the starboard side since the port side was out there in full view and obviously, the rails would not be underwater.

Later in the day, an interview with the captain found its way on to YouTube, with the captain unbelievably answering questions by himself, without a lawyer present. He looks completely in shock and very nervous. Here is another video with analysis of his body movements. This was done before the person making the analysis knew that the captain had been arrested, which is very interesting.

Throughout the day, the initial death claims thankfully kept dropping as Costa began to account for the ships passengers and crew that understandably had gone off in many directions once they made landfall, making generating an accurate missing passenger list difficult. The island was overwhelmed with approximately 4200 people quite unexpectedly in the dark of the night. Logistics for Costa to get their passengers back to the mainland and safely home must have been a nightmare. How do you plan for such an event? I have to give the crew credit for safely evacuating that many people in such a short order, probably two hours, off the doomed ship.

Sadly, there are reports that the Captain Franceso Schettino was derelict in his duties, perhaps leaving the ship early and not sending out a Mayday call. Costa, shockingly, released the statement above, confirming that the ship was too close to shore and that Costa safety protocols had not been followed. Clearly, Costa was throwing their captain under the bus...er..ship, with this statement. For the cruise line to come out so quickly and so forcefully against the captain, I speculated that they must have compelling evidence against him, or they are risking further defamation of character lawsuits.

So what's the Cunard connection here for me? Besides my previous affection for Costa, these events have dragged Queen Mary into the discussion. Comparisons have also been made of QE2's famous grounding off Martha's Vineyard. Reporters, eagerly capitalized on Queen Mary's recent capacitor failure incident and to try to link it to this accident as written here for example. Actually, the incident is over a year old, but only recently a fleet wide safety alert was issued alerting ship owners and operators of the issue.

Seeing the ship all lit up as it was close to shore, coupled with various reports of passengers explaining that the power only went out after the loud bangs and violent ship movement led me to conclude that there was no mechanical failure. Looking at the AIS telemetry, it was pretty damning that with either AIS track, the ship made a deliberate track towards the island and there was plenty of time to correct their course if it had been an inadvertent mistake in navigation. As the ship came dangerously close to shore, surely the officer on watch would have to have been aware of the ships position, possible lights from the island directly in front of them and perhaps, one would hope, there were numerous alarms going off. Perhaps this added to confusion on the bridge. All this will come out in the days ahead.

Late this evening, a poster on Cruisecritic posted yet another series of AIS tracking screen shots here, one of which is shown above, showing exactly what the Turkish site had initially posted. Pretty damn convincing evidence if this is actual data, but not if if only a simulator. Costa Concordia approached the passage at 8 knots!? Absolutely no margin for error and totally reckless and irresponsible on the captain's part to even attempt this. Let's see if this is for real or not!

I am eagerly awaiting further pictures of where the ship attempted to squeeze through to definitively answer this question. Surely the rock outcroppings will show damage, displacement, and the ship's paint. Divers eventually found the rock outcropping that QE2 scrapped her way over, covered with red antifouling paint, matched to her hull. That rock now bears the name "Queen's Bottom." What will this area be renamed as, the Schettino Passage?

Interactive Winter Crossing - January 10, 2008

2012-01-12T23:20:00.000-05:00

(note: check back over time as I add more information to these posts, such as additional video, menus, etc.)

7:30AM and I'm on deck, virtually alone and it's still somewhat dark. Queen Victoria is back off to our starboard side today.

Seas have calmed down and QE2 appears to be going ever so slow; less than 20 knots according to the stats on the cabin TV. Just look at the minimal wake. It's also light enough out to make out the brown exhaust streak in the sky from her MAN diesels. Queen Victoria's exhaust is less apparent, perhaps due to newer equipment fitted to comply with the ever tightening emissions regulations.

Surprise, surprise, the Funnel Bar was deserted.

At this point, with no one around, I was able to examine the aluminum superstructure and document the numerous patches at stress points, correcting cracking of the aluminum due to all her years on the Atlantic. I view them as battle scars. At forty years old, this is quite acceptable, but in reality, the ship started experiencing these stress cracks shortly after she was put into service. The second patch below had a patch on top of a previous patch. Wow! I've read that there are crew members specifically assigned to repair this while at sea. The amount of paint on the plating is also apparent around the patch, where the paint was removed to bare aluminum for the rewelding and in the instance below, additional fasteners.

Pool was drained and netted. Hot tubs filled, but no takers yet......

The real reason I got up early was to see if they would do anything special while we neared the location of the sinking of Titanic. I could be wrong, but I think I caught the tail end of the wreath ceremony. Something special was clearly going on.

Thomas was there among other crew and was that some sort of wreath on the table? Is the window open to toss the wreath overboard?

With the decks empty, I got a chance to photograph the "bubble" in the teak deck that we had kept walking over each time we took a stroll on deck. The teak planks in these areas had become separated from the steel plates and the deck bulged in this area, creating a mild tripping hazard that I was a bit surprised that Cunard had not addressed or had roped off. (note: this would be corrected after the completion of the World Cruise during QE2's "wet dock" at Southampton in April)

With the skies brightening, it was time to head back in and get ready for a full breakfast in the Caronia Restaurant, looking forward to orange marmalade on toast, served in those very cool silver toast racks. If they had sold them on board, I would have definitely bought one. (hint, hint Cunard, make this so!)

Thankfully, today turned out to be a beautifully sunny, but cold day in the North Atlantic, perfect for exterior photographs of QE2 and Queen Victoria. Moments like this, Queen Victoria is looking sharp, although still alot like a floating block of apartment flats with all those balconies.

All the photographers were out on deck with the perfect lighting conditions. After talking to this guy about his camera, I definitely had big zoom lens camera envy! I think I did pretty good with what I brought for the Sony Minicam has a decent lens, as long as there was decent light.

Walking on deck, I was reminded of Queen Mary, having seen the scenes shot onboard for the movie Poseidon Adventure, which by the way, was instrumental in starting my facination with ocean liners in my early years.

Another shot that reminds me of that scene in Titanic where Jack sees Rose from the deck below, looking off into the distance. Everywhere you walk, the iconic funnel dominates the skyline!

Passengers were posing all day with the new Queen in the background.

A quick pop down to 3 Deck and our cabin, number 3129. Here's the view forward, showing the original wood panelling. Our cabin was considered a first class cabin back in the days when QE2 was a two class ship.

On my way back up to deck, I decided to stop by the various restaurants to photograph them empty. Mauritania Restaurant, where we dined in 2000 is pictured here. (Iinterestingly, I would dine here again in September in one of the tables on the left).

Another view in the A Stairway at the top landing, with the Britannia figurehead on the right and illustrating the metal balustrade extensions.

Back on Boat Deck in time for a spectacular sunset to end the day.

Back inside again, I spotted carpet repairs going on. QE2 would be retired in November, yet Cunard was going to have her go out looking good, at least from the passengers perspective. This would be in sharp contrast to the sad events of the retirement of QE2's namesake, which was only repainted on the side of the ship the Queen would see before the original Lizzie left Southampton for the final time in the early 70's.

Looking all the way down to 5 Deck from the top of A Stair.

From 5 Deck, looking upward. This stairway, used daily in lieu of the lifts, helped the waistline from expanding while on board!

Dinner in Caronia was topped off with an embarrassing gaggle of singing wait staff and a very tasty cake in a belated celebration of my birthday, ending another spectacular day on board QE2. This was what I expected a crossing on QE2 to be exactly. The ship was truly living up to all the hype. Transatlantic Crossings are a unique experience and Cunard has kept the the tradition alive all these years with QE2. "The only way to cross!"

Interactive Winter Crossing - January 9, 2008

2012-01-11T22:24:00.000-05:00

(note: check back over time as I add more information to these posts, such as additional video, menus, etc.)

Third full sea day and we're back to dreary weather again and Queen Victoria is off to port again. Early in the AM, the switch had been made, with her dropping off speed and then slipping behind us, and then catching back up. I wonder if we slowed down so she could catch up with all of her engines running!

Once again, my favorite area was off limits due to the high winds. I spotted activity on the open bridge wing, one of QE2's now somewhat unique features among the current fleet of cruise ships, which predominantly have enclosed bridges, full width of the ship.

Turns out is was Captain McNaught, wearing glasses with what looked like one very lucky passenger. I would make my attempt once again, writing the Captain to request a bridge tour, on this trip, only to be turned down yet again "due to security reasons." At least I got a letter signed from the captain expressing his regrets.

Seas and wind pretty much curtailed all outdoor activities for the day. At this point, I'm starting to appreciate the view a bit better, thinking to myself that at least the stern decks are tiered more like a traditional ocean liner, at least in appearance. These areas are all large private balconied cabins and not public spaces such as on QE2. Either way, I'm trying to like Queen Victoria from afar.

Here's a view of the port side Boat Deck, taken from the protected area near the stairs to the forward observation deck. A few brave passengers were about, but walking on deck today, into the wind, was more challenging and the older passengers stayed indoors.

As you can see, it was windy and the spray off QE2 hull was in the air and wreaking havoc on my camera lens.

Back inside, at the top of the A stairway, is a model that was once on display in the original configuration of the Britannia Restaurant. I am not sure what the name or significance of this ship is. It is not the Cunard's original Britannia as she was a sidewheeler. The wall coverings and artwork in this stair are essentially as they were since the ship was built. Carpets have been changed and the balustrade modified over time to comply with newer safety standards. The A stair is a bit of a mystery to those unfamiliar with the history of the ship. A few floors are bypassed at the upper levels, a function of the two class layout that the ship had when originally constructed. I would use this stair every day to go from our 3 Deck level directly to the Boat Deck; a very nice workout to work off all the "Full English" breakfasts, pub lunches (with Guinness), and the wonderful dinners in Caronia Restaurant.

This carving was oddly positioned in the A Stair upper lobby, in front of what is now the Mauretania Restaurant. This carving of Britannia was commissioned by Lloyds of London and presented to Cunard and one stood on display in the original configuration of the Britannia Restaurant. Original plastic laminate wall coverings, whose pattern was specifically designed for the ship, along with some of the original modern art on display are visible to the right. The red balustrade is original, but the metal handrail installed above to increase the height, are a later addition.

Additional information on the history and refurbishment of this iconic carving can be found here, on Commodore Warwick's son's QE2 website.

Queen Victoria turned on all her exterior lights early on in the afternoon as the skies darkened. She was looking rather smart cutting through the seas now. I kept saying "she's the future so embrace her." Still, the funnel, a clear QE2 knock-off, appears oddly placed towards the rear, instead of more amidships as QE2's, probably purely a function of locating the engines farther aft closer to her Asipod propulsion units.

Here, I believe I am standing just outside the revolving door entrance to one of the main gift ships, protected a bit from the elements as it began to rain again. It appeared that the seas had kicked up a bit too in response to the higher winds.

Those standing beside me, chatting about Cunard's future and clicking away at the same time were treated to a few spectacular moments. I wished I had a better camera at this time to capture this in the low light conditions.

We were have such a grand time on board doing nothing (well not really since the days were filled with Cunard Enrichment lectures, bridge lessons, and elegant dining) and thoroughly enjoying it
; so much so that these are all the photos I took for the day!

Interactive Winter Crossing - January 8, 2008

2012-01-10T21:14:00.005-05:00

(note: check back over time as I add more information to these posts, such as additional video, menus, etc.)

Second full day at sea and we awoke to rain and wind, with seas still whipped up a bit, but by this time, we had our "sea legs."

Queen Victoria was now off to the starboard, and actually quite close at times. Thankfully, there were bits of blue sky poking through, signalling the weather might be improving.

The view from one of our cabin windows. That bit of Federal Grey paint on the glass would irritate me the entire crossing! At this point, the sun was finally out and it was actually warm. We must be in the Gulf Stream now.

My favorite part of the ship remained closed, due to the high winds. People were lining up on this side of the ship today to watch how the new Cunarder handled in the North Atlantic. In the midst of all the talk about this and the overall sadness most were feeling that this was truly an historic crossing, passengers mentioned how special it was to cross and have something to look at; Queen Victoria off either side of the ship. Not having done another crossing to compare this one too, I guess this does make some sense.

I heard one person mention that it was reassuring to have another ship at our side if QE2 broke down in the middle of the Atlantic. I rather thought the opposite; that passengers on Queen Victoria should be sleep easier that a time tested true liner was at her side. I had to bite my tongue, but chatted further with them and later found out they were on board for the first time and really did not know too much about the ship or even of Cunard in general. I told them the Cunard Heritage Tour cannot be missed and after that, they would truly "get it" about QE2.

I had read about the Funnel Bar renovations that had been done since the last time we sailed in 2000 and decided to venture up to check it out. I encountered a sea of passengers reclined in their steamer chairs, with QE2 embroidered blankets, sipping on their hot bouillon, a Cunard crossing tradition! Those blankets are cherished now and unfortunately not a one got lost in my luggage.

Today, we made it to the Golden Lion for a Fish n' Chip pub lunch, with a Guinness and yummy mushy peas. I had come quite fond of this dish, having experienced it in London prior to sailing and the QE2 kitchen did not disappoint. We had quite a long wait to experience this dish since it appeared our waiter was very overworked! We also had to wait for a table and were rewarded with a nice table with a view of Queen Victoria. While we sat in the non-smoking section, with the smokers only a table away, that was an utter joke. Who cares...we were on board QE2 and having a pub lunch with a view!

With Queen Victoria all lit up off to starboard, we heading off to dinner, giving the new tux I had bought for this trip some use. We dined in the Caronia Restaurant, due to our cabin selection. I had booked a Caronia grade cabin "guarantee" and we were rewarded with a two grade upgrade, to a C1 grade room. With this venue set up as a single seating dining experience, the dining experience was never rushed or did we feel like the wait staff were hurrying us along for another seating. This was very nice and with our wonderful table mates and superb wait staff, the dining experience was magical. This was what I had dreamed QE2 was all about!

After dinner, we managed to get a group shot of our entire table, standing in front of the large ship's model at the entrance to the Caronia Restaurant. Bill and Cassie, on our left, were actually from Connecticut too, while Roger and Wendy, to our right, were from the UK, just outside of London. Lifetime friendships were made here and for that, we have QE2 to thank.

I was extremely envious of Roger and Wendy as they were on board for the entire World Cruise, sadly QE2's final one. Over the next few months, I would receive periodic updates from Roger and experienced the World Cruise through him and the QE2 bridge cam. We would all later meet in New York City in April for a reunion of sorts, as QE2 stopped for her final port call on her trip back to Southampton.

Interactive Winter Crossing - January 7, 2008

2012-01-07T20:02:00.005-05:00

During the evening, both ships sailed into increasingly higher seas and our cabin literally came alive. The sounds of the ship flexing and the joinery gently flexing were what one would have expected on a wooden sailing ship. QE2 was specifically designed for the North Atlantic Crossing, accomplished at her service speed of 28.5 knots, in all forms of weather conditions. With all her cabins having experienced the grueling North Atlantic stresses imposed over 40 years, she's earned the right to be a bit creaky! I have to admit, the cacophony in the cabin took some getting used to before I fell asleep. Maybe it was just me listening and enthralled with all her sounds, as if she was actually living and breathing. If you listen carefully, you can hear the cabin sounds in the opening of today's video.

Looking out our cabin porthole as I awoke, Queen Victoria was nowhere in sight. In fact, she had moved off to port side of QE2 in the early morning and would stay alongside us for most of the day (trying to keep up with all of her engines running, while QE2 was running on half of her available power.

These pictures do not convey the true sea conditions. The swells were decent sized (25' perhaps?) and both ships put on quite a show for each other. I ventured into the Computer Center located up forward to establish my internet access account for WiFi connectivity. With all the pitching, being in a small room, and staring at a screen for too long, it all started to get to me (I can't read in a car), and I had to get some air on Boat Deck. Within a few minutes all was much better. Family and friends think I was crazy to wish for rough seas, but this was exactly what I wanted to experience; QE2 in her element, doing what she was designed to do. The only thing missing was her speed. She was "loafing" along at 21-22 knots so that Queen Victoria could keep up.

Queen Victoria showed off her bulbous bow on numerous occasions throughout the day! From the above picture it, I am not so sure I would want to be in one of those forward balcony cabins, precariously close to the bow during one of her limited crossings. Now, Queen Victoria was designed as a cruise ship and NOT an ocean liner, but she will do limited crossings. We were witnessing her first and she was definitely getting a workout.

I had timed it perfectly, being on deck for the noontime whistle test, hearing from afar the similar test taking place on board Queen Victoria. Later in the afternoon, I would attend the Cunard Heritage Tour, hosted by Cunard's ever entertaining Thomas Quinones. I filmed a portion of the tour, in which Thomas guides passengers through the ship, stopping at all the various historical artifacts throughout. Some might say he's a bit over the top in his enthusiasm, but I found it all quite entertaining. His love of the ship was abundantly clear. Here's the video of a portion of the tour that I captured.

To cap off the evening, we attended the Captain's Cocktail Party, not wanting to miss the opportunity to meet Captain McNaught for another photograph opportunity from the ship's photographer. This party was for the passengers dining in the Mauritania Restaurant. Once all that attended had made their way through the receiving line for the requisite photo and handshake with the Captain, we were treated to crew introductions, followed by comments from the Captain himself. Here's the video of Captain McNaught's pithy and witty comments, which perfectly illustrate why he is so beloved by QE2's fans.

Interactive Winter Crossing - January 6, 2008

2012-01-06T07:55:00.002-05:00

In the spirt of Cunard's current Interactive Transatlantic Crossing, here is the first installment of the retro version.

Four years ago today, I boarded QE2 for her final Winter Crossing, a very special crossing not only for this reason, but because we would be doing this in tandem with the new Queen Victoria, which would be making this crossing for the first time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cave-MF2yHs

The check-in computer system broke down and we waited, with much anticipation, to board for over an hour in the terminal. Due to the delay, by the time we finally had our picture taken and were allowed to board, the photographer along with the life ring had all been packed up. Very dissappointed since that picture would have implied we were going on the entire World Cruise. In fact, we even missed the mandatory lifeboat drill. Nevertheless, we were finally onboard for QE2's final Winter Crossing and the first leg of her final World Cruise.

Goodbye QM2

2011-10-24T00:38:00.009-04:00

Here's a video compilation of the the QM2 bridgecam, showing her sailing off into the sunset, along with my enthusiasm for Cunard at this moment. This whole reflagging mess that has been created by Carnival/Cunard has me re-evaluating where to spend my cruise dollars next. With this one move, I am now seeing the future of Cunard in a different light. I am deeply saddened to say that I have no desire to sail on Cunard now. The reality of what they're really about is now staring me straight in the face.

In the past, I've been willing to accept higher prices for a bit of that so called "Cunard 171 years of tradition", knowing all along that there was a bit of trickery going on behind the scenes, but I justified it all as necessary to remain profitable. Now, with the move to reflag the entire Cunard fleet to Bermuda to skirt paying higher wages to crew disguised around the trumped up issue of needing need to have weddings on Cunarders to remain profitable, suddenly, the line has lost its polish. All the marketing prose I have lapped up for years is ringing a bit hollow.

What most irritates me is how disingenuous the excuse has been on the part of Cunard and taking loyal cruisers, which I count myself as previously one, for granted. This line exists solely on its history and now they've sold out on that. What other cruise line do people take because of the lines history or the port displayed on the stern or even the flag flown? Only one; Cunard. I highly doubt a single soul is booking an NCL cruise for their Norwegian heritage or even Holland America for their Dutch ties. Cunard touts their history with various versions of QE2's Heritage Trail on their ships. A Heritage Trail on a NCL ship is a laughable thought. Would they highlight their disposal of their own flagship, the Norway?

Cunard beards have screwed with the very thing that attracts people to the line, the British Maritime History. Shame on them. This obviously company written press release is absolute rubbish. Just as I was getting over Mr. Shank's comments uttered at QE2's farewell in Southampton that QE2 was holding the brand back, he come's out with this marrage excuse to further water down the brand. Then, as an insult to injury, Cunard posts this utterly ridiculous response to the growing discontent among Cunard fans on the their Facebook page. It's been all quiet since this one response on their part.

The loyal fans have not been quiet though, as long list of negative comments demonstrates. Reading that this very process is not new, having previously been done on another Carnival owed line, P & O in the not to distant past wrapped around the same wedding excuse, I cynically feel this is all calculated. If the Carnival beards could not foresee the backlash, then they have no clue what they've got with CUNARD.

I am insulted. Only eight ships with the Southampton name? What about Liverpool? The real question is how many Cunard passenger ships were NOT flagged in the UK? In all fairness to Mr Shanks, I have no idea what ultimately was his role as President of the line is in this. Did he personally write this lame attempt at damage control? One has to wonder whether it goes farther up the command. With all his recent comments about QE2 and the history of Cunard, I was really thinking he finally "got it" regarding why so many fans still long for QE2 and the rich history of the line. Mr. Shanks, show us your real passion for this line and how you fought to the bitter end to preserve its heritage. I suspect most of us Cunarders would be more willing to accept this change if we were told the truth and shown how far the company went to keep Southampton on the sterns of the fleet.

Going back to 1998, Micky Arison, President of Carnival Corporation, bought the line and inherited a rich maritime history along with the most famous ship in the world, QE2. He built his dream of an ocean liner, yet compromised it with the additional decks, a stubby funnel, and unreliable pod propulsion. Not that I like it, I get all that actually. It had to be financially feasible to put that amount of money into a ship and those tough decisions had to be made. Later Micky goes on to sell QE2 for a cool 100 million and washes his hands of her, deftly avoiding the whole messy disposal question. It is obvious that Cunard was not going to repeat NCL's mistakes with the Norway.

Now I've consistently touted the fact that if it wasn't for Carnival, QE2 would have never had the lavish care right up to her retirement, nor would there have even been a replacement built. Carnival saved Cunard, but now it seemed like the brand has become homogenized as it has been brought under the umbrella of the "World's Leading Cruise Lines."

Ultimately, the goal of the line is to turn a profit, and as as a shareholder myself, I am in complete agreement there. Sadly, there appears to be a perceptibly slow, drip, drip like, erosion of the Cunard brand. I have seen it and I am by far not a frequent passenger (Gold World Club status for fellow Cunarders), yet I still notice. With this move to reflag the fleet, the Flagship of the fleet, QM2 will no longer be the pride of the British Merchant Marine, nor will the new plastic Lizzy be able to continue to use the radio call sign "GBTT", with it's long history with the great Clyde-built Queens. Wasn't there much fanfare over the transfer of this call sign from QE2 to QE(3) by Cunard only a short time ago? Cunard has messed with it's history and tradition. That is a recipe for disaster for that was the one thing that set the line apart from all the rest. What is next? Rock climbing walls and water slides? Hairy chest contests at the pool? So much for tradition.

In a way, this decision has been liberating, freeing me up to look at other ways to spend our limited vacation dollars. Perhaps a trip to see the original Mary and the fine Scottish craftsmanship in authentic Art Deco style is what I need. At least Liverpool is still displayed on her stern.

Three Years Ago

2011-10-16T10:11:00.002-04:00

October 16, 2008, Queen Elizabeth 2, left New York under command of Captain Ian McNaught, for her final transatlantic crossing of her career. This would be a tandem crossing with Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2, the purpose built flagship of Cunard and replacement for QE2. I watched her departure from a chartered NY Watertaxi on the Hudson River. Captain McNaught, QE2's final Master and biggest fan, with her paying out pennant flying (the long thin one at the top) from the foremast, gave us a wave from the iconic open bridge wing as she passed us on her way down the Hudson for the rendevous with Queen Mary 2. Here is a video compilation of the event.

As we made one final pass around the ship, we all noted that it appeared that almost every porthole and cabin window were lit up for this final departure. Were the cabin stewards all instructed to turn on all cabin lights and pull back curtains? We'll never know, but nevertheless, it made for a spectacular site for QE2 fans, marking the end to an era. The boat ride back to the dock was a quiet one, with those onboard seemly all quietly reflecting on the event that just transpired.

So Far From Home

2011-10-07T01:57:00.000-04:00

Three years ago today, I was onboard QE2, anchored off the Forth Rail Bridge in Queensferry, Scotland. This day would be the last day she would fly the St. Andrews Flag of Scotland. As with dinner each night, we were presented with another special menu, commemorating the day, as shown above. Obsessed QE2 fans will easily spot when this photo was originally taken by the so called "speed stripe" visible on her hull below the Cunard logo and running aft. By the time I saw her in 2000, this stripe had been removed. I did not notice this since my true obsession had not yet fully blossomed until I had experienced the ship for the first time.

Reflecting on the past three years, it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride; witnessing the sad farewell in NYC, staying up all night watching her run aground on the AIS website on her final approach to Southampton, catching all the coverage of her final departure from Southampton, barely stomaching the arrival in Dubai, scouring the internet for any news of the conversion plans, finding http://www.qe2story.com/ and connecting with fans suffering with the same sense of loss and fustration over the lack of news, utter joy in seeing her in drydock for a cleaning and mainenance work for a planned sailing to Capetown for the World Cup, devastation when the Capetown deal is scuttled for whatever reason, worrying over her condition after seeing rumors posted on various boards, relief and utter sadness watching Rob Lightbody's videos of his exclusive visit to the ship, and most currently, more worries after seeing the reports that the plan to put her in the planned Dubai development have been scuttled.

I think these words written on the back of one of the commemorative dinner menus still ring true today, three years later........

Liner Bows

2011-08-09T02:20:00.001-04:00

People ask me "Why the fascination in QE2 and her replacement QM2?" My response is always because both are true ocean liners and there is nothing quite like traveling at speed through less than idea seas. It is both exhilarating and reassuring that you are on board a ship that can handle the toughest weather that can be thrown at her. Those comments inevitably launch into a discussion of ocean liners and their differences from the typical cruise ship of today and that often used phrase "form follows function." It really does apply here.

Ocean liners are ships traditionally purposely designed to ferry passengers on a specific route or a "line" on a schedule. The traditional "line" crossing of the Atlantic required a ship with speed to make the crossing under five days, at the highpoint of this type of travel to and from Europe, and to make this crossing safely,on time, and with consistency, despite the weather and sea conditions. Before the arrival of the Boeing 707, this was the main way to get to Europe and the ships could be regarded as very large and elegant ferries, depending on your class of cabin. Nowadays, cruise ships are used mostly as "the" destination and not as a pure form of transportation to get to a destination.

Oddly enough, though, QE2 was designed to function as both North Atlantic ferry and cruise ship. In fact, when the ship was introduced, there was a conscious effort put forth in the advertising that the ship itself was the destination. This turned out to be the case throughout her service life.

To this date, Cunard effectively uses this strategy with their current ships, the true ocean liner Queen Mary 2 and the cruise ships Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. Both of these ships are designed for the cruising mode, at reduced speeds, which is reflected in more fuller bow sections, which give more interior space, with the resulting less efficient hull form.

Now, the North Atlantic can be notoriously rough certain times of the year, usually from late Autumn to early Spring. Ships built for this application require strengthened hulls to take the constant strains imposed upon them all the while at the high speeds necessary to keep to their published schedules. These design constraints dictated slender bow sections to efficiently slice through the seas, bow profiles to deflect the seas in all conditions, and big powerplants to drive these ships at speeds averaging over 28 knots. Even with this speed, there had to be extra reserve speed available to make up time when bad weather was encountered. As illustrated in the photo above, QE2's bow configuration was designed for speed and seaworthiness. In fact, this hull design was one of the first passenger ships modeled with the earliest computer aided design back in the early 1960's. This hull form was so successful that when the time came to design her replacement, Queen Mary 2, her bow sections were basically lifted right from QE2. According to her Naval Architect, Stephen Payne, even with all the most sophisticated modeling software available today, they ended up with a scaled up version of QE2's bow, but with a more efficient bulbous bow design. In the end, why mess with success!

This head on bow shot of the Carnival Miracle shows the difference in bow designs and is the basic hull design that the Cunard Queen Victoria/Elizabeth sisterships has evolved from. Not that there is anything wrong with this ship in my eyes, mind you, but as form follows function, this ship is designed for cruising speeds maximum of about 22 knots, and must slow considerable when encountering rough seas.

I am eagerly anticipating another winter crossing on a liner, Queen Mary 2, in January, and hope to see first hand how she handles the North Atlantic like QE2 and her predecessors.

Queen Mary 2 in Manhattan

2011-08-04T23:35:00.002-04:00

July 1st was a special day in New York City for ocean liner enthusiasts and fans of Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2. Nowadays, the ship docks at the new cruise ship pier in Brooklyn, but this day, another Carnival owned ship, the Caribbean Princess, which uses the Brooklyn pier exclusively, was also scheduled to be in port. Queen Mary 2 would be "forced"to dock once again at the Manhattan Cruise Ship terminal, the piers she was originally specifically designed for and the same piers used by her predecessors, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and most recently Queen Elizabeth 2. For traditionalists, and many former QE2 passengers accustomed to the traditional Manhattan pier, this pier change was a very special treat.

Having made this trek up the Hudson on QE2 back in January of 2008, I can attest this is definitely the best way to arrive in New York City, treated to the beacon of the Statue of Liberty in the early morning on the portside and the entire Manhattan skyline on the starboard side. This time I would be standing on the renovated Pier 86 in shorts and a polo shirt rather than standing beneath the bridge of QE2, all bundled up and trying to keep my finger on the camera shutter from frostbite. The weather was picture perfect. As QM2 appeared in the distance, the morning sun appeared and lit up the ship rather theatrically, highlighting the iconic funnel. Although QM2 is demonstrably larger than QE2, the ship she replaced, she is every much a liner and a standout amongst the current batch of cruise ship resembling stacks of apartment flats.

In the early morning sun, it was apparent that the ship has suffered some hull damage, in the awkward area of the stern required for the pod propulsion units. More than likely it was a bump to a pier. Didn't she make headlines with a mishap at some port in Europe? The ship is scheduled for drydocking this fall and it clear that she's due for some refurbishment; antifouling paint is very worn and the hull is in need of repainting.

Queen Mary 2 docked at Pier 88, originally the French Line pier where the Normandie tragically caught on fire during its conversion to troop ship during WWII. Attempts to extinguish the fire added water to the hull that eventually led to the ship rolling over in the pier and sinking. With the ship a loss, it sat for much of the war in the pier, as a sad reminder of the war. Carnival Miracle would arrive and quickly dock on the opposite of QM2 at the pier and I was treated to a nice view of several tails; the French built Queen Mary 2, Finnish built Carnival Miracle, British built Concorde SST, and American built U.S.S. Intrepid.

Before meeting up with ocean liner friends (some getting off QM2, others joining the ship this day for the traditional Fourth of July cruise), I planned to walk the entire waterfront from the Cruise Terminal down to Battery Park and take advantage of the picture perfect weather. While I would end up seeing such maritime relics such as the Lightship Frying Pan and the fireboat John J. Harvey, my main goal was to get an up close view of the once glorious Cunard Line Pier 54 of the Chelsea Piers. I've seen it from the water, having it's historic nature pointed out to us on the decks of QE2 and Circle Line excursion boats.

On the rusted ironwork face, you can still make out both names, the original Cunard Line, and then the subsequent Cunard White Star name of the merger of the two lines which resulted in the completion of the original Queen Mary.

All that most visibly remains is the ironwork arch of the head house and the stone base, which looks like it was fashioned from Stony Creek Granite, from the Stony Creek Quarries of Connecticut that I previously visited through work. Peering through the fence though, were bits and pieces of the terminal strewn about, including the art deco inspired stone pieces depicted above, a very sad sight. One can only image what this pier was like in it's heyday. Sadly this historic structure, designed by the architects of Grand Central Station, did not escape the wrecking ball. It was here that the Lusitania sailed for her final time and also where the Cunard Line's Carpathia offloaded survivors of the ill-fated Titanic.

Following lunch, fellow ocean liner enthusiasts and I debated where would the best spot be to see Queen Mary 2 depart. We would end up taking the New York Watertaxi over to Weehawken, NJ, for the best view of the ships departing that afternoon. Perched above the access road above the cliffs across from the Cruise Ship Terminal, it was readily apparent that this was a good decision.

Queen Mary 2 departed on time in the afternoon sun, with short blasts from her original Queen Mary Tyfon horn, which sounded remarkably improved over the last time we heard it while onboard. She looked ever the part of a classic ocean liner in profile against the Manhattan skyline.

Cunard Line has used several of my pictures in a recent blog post of Cunard President Peter Shanks.

Just above the bow of QM2, the Freedom Tower can be seen rising above the lower Manhattan skyline. I'll no doubt be back next year, same date, same cruise, and hopefully in Manhattan again (please Cunard make this happen). Who knows, maybe I'll be onboard.............

75th Anniversary of Queen Mary Maiden Voyage

2011-05-27T19:17:00.006-04:00

On May 27th , 1936, Cunard-White Star Line's Queen Mary began her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Here is original footage of her arrival in New York. Here is better Newsreel footage.

(Sorry, but I cannot locate where I obtained these photos from on the internet to give proper credit and a link. If anyone knows, please send me the link.)

QE2 Ringtone for iPhones

2011-05-15T14:44:00.000-04:00

I've finally ditched the old flip phone, which I could not customize the ringtones. With my new iPhone 4 in hand, I now wanted to customize the ringtone to something reminding me of QE2. At first, it looked like it could be somewhat complicated, after doing a quick search of "how to's" with Google. Thankfully, though, I have found there is no need to download any fancy apps or software to do this. If you have iTunes loaded on your home computer, this is super easy. This procedure is for the iPhone, which use iTunes for music files.

First, download this mp3 file, which was offered originally on the day of QE2's final departure from Southampton:
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/3842159.Get.QE2_s.whistle.as.a.free.ringtone.for.your.phone/

Note: you do not have to use this file if you have another MP3 file of QE2's Tyfon horns to choose from. I certainly do, but this clip is perfect; perfect sound, with no wind and crystal clear sounding.

Second, follow these easy instructions for converting the MP3 file to an M4A file and then renaming to a M4R file that the iPhone recognizes as a ringtone.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/156234/turn_any_mp3_into_an_iphone_ringtone.html

Third, with M4R created and in you iTunes account, connect iPhone to computer and sync phone. Go to your ringtone settings and the QE2 file should be there to chose from and reset. Voila! Done!

Getting phone calls now puts a big grin on my face. I just discovered another cool thing the other day with the iPhone. Listening to the iPod feature, I got a call, and the QE2 ringtone played over the song on my headphones. At first, I was completely caught off guard when I heard it, but then realized I had an incoming call.....cool!

The Shape of Things to Come, Part 2

2011-03-25T20:22:00.014-04:00

Yes, this is a cruise ship and not a apartment block on the water's edge. It's NCL's Epic, as I caught a glimpse of her in Manhattan on the day of her maiden port of call to New York City.

What is going on with the hull at the stern, which looks like it's sprouted a ducktail-like appendage? This hull feature clearly has a function since it cannot be said that it was added to enhance the beauty of the ship. Perhaps it was necessary for the hull hydrodynamics for pod propulsion. Wait a minute, this ship does NOT use pods for propulsion. Despite being built at the same yard as Queen Mary 2 and is about the same size, conventional shafts and propellers are used.

So what is going on here? Surely, the yard is not shying away from pod propulsion based solely on the problems that have been experienced on Queen Mary 2 and other Celebrity ships that utilized the Rolls-Royce Mermaid pod design. I'm guessing it has got to be to increase the waterline, increasing hull speed, which, in effect, would allow the ship to use less fuel.

Actually, it seems like we're seeing a trend developing here in cruise ship design and it is not a "pod" thing after all. More evidence here from the stern of the P&O Azura, which sprouted one of these similar appendages. We saw this ship in Barbados while on our Queen Mary 2 Caribbean Calypso cruise this past January. This ship is based on a proven Princess Cruise Lines Grand Class design; you know the ones with the weird handle bar or spoiler attached high above on the stern. Azura, thankfully, was built without it, and this feature is scheduled to be removed from other similar ships in the fleet. Apparently, this feature was just not working for the line. Perhaps those passengers deserted the aptly named Skywalkers nightclub located in the "spoiler" when the seas were anything but smooth. Anyway, I digress. Azura is NOT pod propelled , but has conventional shafts and props with thrusters mounted in the keel area for unassisted tug manuevering. The appendage shown here has slight pockets in it for the propellers, which can be seen in the uneven dark area at the waterline.

Construction photo of the Azura, showing the keel mounted stern thrusters and conventional shaft and prop propulsion. Photo was found on the Cruiselinefans board here

Back to another example of this new trend. Here is the stern of NCL's Jewel, taken from a Circle Line excursion boat on the Hudson in October 2009. Now this ship does have pods; the ABB Azipod design, similar units used on the Vista Class twins Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. The appendage is nicely integrated into the hull here and while not a fan of all the hull graphics, I am not offended by the design, unlike the massive NCL Epic. From this angle, it looks like the appendage will act like similar to trim tabs used on smaller boats. In fact, if you study the hull design of QV/QE and her other sisterships, you can see a less pronounced duck tail appendage in the squared off sterns.

Taken on October 16, 2008, while watching the final departure of QE2 from New York, the Carnival Miracle is one of the first Vista Class type hulls in the vast Carnival fleet. Technically it is classified as a Spirit Class ship and is the precurser to the current Vista Class ships. This ducktail appendage appears less integrated into the hull design as in the latest iterations on the QE/QV twins, HAL's Eurodam and Niew Amsterdam, and the latest from Costa. Carnival is clearly getting alot of their money's worth out of this hull design. On the Miracle, it really does look like this "stern flap" was added after the fact. Look at the corners where there appears to be a pipe guard for additional pod protection.

For Cunard's most current ship, here we have Queen Elizabeth, navigating the locks of the Panama Canal for the first time, courtesy of http://www.wearecunard.com/. The stern flap is now seamlessly integrated into the modified Vista Class hull. From this angle, you can see the added cabins at the stern, resulting in a less rakish profile as compared to the Miracle above.

While this energy saving appendage is subtle here on the Elizabeth, the stern flap appendage appears to have been taken to the extreme on the new Celebrity Solstice class ships. I'll go out on a limb here and say that I rather like the outward appearance of these Celebrity ships, from the distinctive shear profile, sleek bridge wing design, distinctive sloped stern profile, and even the blunt nose bow shape. I could do with less of the dark tinted glass, but I liked the design from the day I saw the artist's renderings posted online.

Delving into the design of this new class of ship for Celebrity, I found a very interesting article explaining all the unique aspects of the ship and the class found here.
Note: all photos of the Solstice here are courtesy of www.meyerwerft.com/

As explained in the above article, an extension of the hull, the extended ducktail, resulted in a sleeker hull and less resistance. Extensive tank testing was done at Marin in the Netherlands, who were used for Queen Mary 2 development, to optimize the hull form.

In addition to the ducktail, there is another feature, not readily apparent underneath the tail called an interceptor. In this case, it was found that a wedge shaped interceptor proved most efficient in decreasing the amount of power required to drive the hull. More information on hull interceptors can be found here.

I've yet to find any really good pictures of this feature, but there is a picture in the Solstice PDF file referenced above that hints at the appendage under the ducktail. You just have to commend the Naval Architects and Celebrity for trying out this new technology. Up close, the tail does look a bit weird to the eye accustomed to more conventional shaped sterns and especially from the air, it really does take on the shape of a ducktail.

Additional measures to reduce fuel consumption included grinding all the hull welds smooth and using the latest state of the art antifouling paint coatings. Cunard has similarily been using this improved coating on its fleet with success. While these contribute to the increased fuel efficiency, the second most readily apparent feature on the new Solstice class is the extended bulbous bow.

Piercing the water in the preceeding bow shot of the Solstice, is a bulbous bow, which appears to take this appendage to the extreme as well. It could very well be the longest bulbous bow fitted on a cruise ship. Unbelievably, it appears to extend to at least the length of the blunt nosed bow. At first I thought this photo below was distorted due to the camera angle, but the above mentioned article explains that the appendage was indeed lengthened for speed.

The Meyer-Werft shipyard design appears different than the extended bulbous bow on Queen Mary 2 in that the cross section is much thinner, less round in appearance.

Queen Mary 2's appendage was lengthened during the design process after tank testing did not produce the hull speed specified by Cunard. As Naval Architect Stephen Payne has mentioned, there are compromised with extending the bulbous bow appendage to increase speed. "Bulb slap" is probably the worse consequence, which occurs when the appendage comes crashing down into heavy seas first, since it is so forward of the bow and sending shudders throughout the ship. QE/QV experience this "wiggle" in heavy seas from what I have read and heard from passengers, but Queen Mary 2 is not immune to this as well. Further discussion on bulbous bows and the eternal cruise ship vs. ocean liner debate can be found here on my favorite forum for discussing all things QE2, http://www.theqe2story.com/.

Queen Victoria's bulbous bow in drydock, courtesy www.wearecunard.com

Who knows how the Solstice ships fare in heavy seas, with their more slender bow-like shape. The interiors of this class of ship are trend setting modern design, much like QE2 was in her time. In the novelty department, the Solstice has a Owens-Corning glass blowing feature and an industry first; real grass on the sports deck. One day, I intend to try out both inovative features first hand.

Jumping on the ducktail bandwagon, Princess Cruises just announded their new Royal Princess cruise ship. At first, I thought that this ship had to have been designed by the Meyer-Werft yard since it resembled the Solstice Class of ships and even included the bridge projection that the yard is famous for on other ships for Aida and NCL. Note: all photos courtesy of Princess Cruises.

The stern flap is readily apparent in this rendering, but this ship is surprisingly going to be built by Fincantieri, which has a long standing relationship with Carnival Corporation. Most recently, Fincantieri has delivered the QV/QE sisters for Cunard for instance and were the builder for the Carnival Splendor, which made the news recently for the dramatic engine room fire and days spent adrift at sea.

As always, you have to follow the money. Shipbuilders and owners are driven financially by the almighty bottom line. Apparently, the cruise ship industry has followed the United States Navy in their quest for fuel savings. I found this paper online, which goes into detail on the "stern flap" technology. If you're interested in what your tax dollars funded, read on. http://www.dt.navy.mil/pao/excerpts%20pages/2001/sternFlap9_01.html

For further technical reading on combining both stern flaps and hull interceptors, take a look at this paper. For further technical reading on stern flaps, take a look here.

All this research has brought back those college memories of brain overload with the sleep robbing Architectural Design Studio and the brain frying mathematics of Naval Architecture classes running concurently.

The Aft Deck

2011-03-18T23:28:00.000-04:00

QE2's aft deck, final call at Liverpool, October 2008

QM2's aft deck, morning on the Caribbean Sea, January 2011

What's missing from QM2's pic is the guy with the pint out in the sun on QE2. Mind you we had not fully docked yet at the pierhead in Liverpool in that photo and most folk were at the rail watching the ship approach the pier, he was getting some sun and enjoying his beer. This apparently was his favorite spot since I inadvertently captured him in a similar pose on yet another day!

The chairs on QM2 are plastic coated metal with mesh fabric, while QE2's were all PVC plastic with cushions. Somehow, though, I think this guy would feel right at home on the aft deck of QM2.

Queen Mary 2 Sunrises & Sunsets

2011-03-12T17:51:00.001-05:00

To take your mind off the recent events in Japan, where Queen Mary 2 is currently safe and sound, sailing on her World Cruise, here is a compilation of sunrises and sunsets taken while on the Caribbean Calypso cruise this January. Although I missed the first morning's sunrise, sleeping in after a few long nights of packing for the trip, I set the alarm and got up for every other sunrise. It was completely worth it. Taken with my Nikon D90, bought last minute for the QE2 Farewell to the UK cruise, these photos are just a few of the over 5000 pictures I took. The Nikon was on my shoulder most of the trip and it really makes the person behind the lense look like a pro!

The "bit beneath the bridge" was the spot to be at sunrise for most of the trip, until we changed direction and headed back home. Every morning, I shared this spot with another fellow photographer that I had met back in New York before we even boarded the ship. We met taking bow shots at the Red Hook terminal, with a common interest; photography of a great ocean liner. He was German and spoke little English, but we exchanged a few words each morning as we were awestruck with our combination of great weather and ship. You can actually spot him in the video of the bridge shots while we approach Dominica. Don't ask me why, but we did not exchange email addresses.

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_pqk_Iewzs

Cakewalk

2011-03-10T00:15:00.007-05:00

Cakewalk photo courtesy of Derecktor Shipyard

Why am I featuring this strikingly beautiful yacht here? First, this yacht was constructed in Bridgeport, Connecticut of all places, not in Europe at one of the more famous yards noted for their mega-yacht builds. Derecktor Shipyards has constructed the largest yacht built in the United States, and it was built in my home state! In fact, it was practically constructed under my nose, yet it completely escaped my roving eyes until it was launched.

Since 2004, I have been making a regular trip to Long Island for my project at Cold Spring Harbor Labs, taking Interstate 95 into New York City in the very early hours, spending the day out on Long Island, and then battling the traffic home in the afternoon. The Derecktor yard is readily visible from Interstate 95, but most times, it was either too dark to notice on the drive in, but quite the opposite on the return drive. Often, with traffic at a crawl, I could get a good long glimpse of the yard, usually filled with various commercial craft with the occasional large yacht. Sometime in the spring of 2010, during one of my return trips, the door to the large shed was open and I recall wondering just what I saw inside. It was definitely a large mega-yacht, but it was a puzzle what it was doing in this yard at this time of year when it should be off cruising in warmer waters.

Fast forward to the summer of 2010. August 10, 2010 would be a special day. I had to make the usual trek in to the Lab to deliver drawings and take as-built measurements and photographs of a new project on the campus. I would not be accompanied by anyone from work, but instead with my son Ryan, who would get to see what I have been working on for such a long time. With absolutely perfect weather, we drove in and made haste in performing my tasks, with Ryan getting his first taste of holding the "dumb end" of the tape. He was clearly not impressed with the job, but I promised we'd go for a tour of the the newly opened Upper Campus Lab complex. If we did not spend too much time there, we could drive further East on Long Island and pick up the Port Jefferson Ferry for a different way home. Of course, I was detained a bit in the building since I ran into the contractors, who were still working on final touches. It would be a close call to make it on the ferry. We ended up being the second to last car to board the ferry and it was departing the dock before we could get out of the car. It was then I told Ryan that if we missed it, we'd have had to wait another full hour for the next ferry.

For me, I cannot pass up any opportunity to get on the water and today, we were going to take the Port Jefferson Park City car ferry back to Bridgeport, Connecticut, making the short trip across Long Island Sound. While not much of a time saver since the ferry is NOT one of those high speed jet drive catamarans, we were back on the water with picture perfect weather to boot. Ryan was quick to point out that this was actually the first time the both of us had been back on a ship since our final trip on QE2 in October of 2008; way too long to be away from the water.

Now there's a familiar shot! Yes, the Park City has exposed bridge wings and those life raft canisters are so reminiscent of those on the rear deck of QE2.

I've taken this ferry several times before for work, and today, the seas were like glass, unlike the last time, which I recall was shortly after my QE2 January 2008 Transatlantic Crossing. Winds were howling and the shallow depths of Long Island Sound whipped up the seas for an interesting hour long trip. Plodding along in seas maybe 10 feet high, she was rolling considerably. Co-workers ribbed me when I had to shut the laptop and go up deck for some air. I make an Atlantic Crossing in January without incident, but I go green on a little jaunt across the Sound in seas that weren't that bad...go figure.

Today was the complete opposite; very warm, little wind, and dead calm seas. Still, there was that smell of salt air and the occasional whiff of diesel exhaust from the funnel. Call me crazy, but I just love the smell of diesel exhaust and sea air! Yeah, I love the smell of diesel in the morning too.....Granted, the smell is a bit different that the heavy bunker grade fuel used on cruise ships such as QE2 or QM2, it still is a "good" smell to me.

The Park City appeared to be twin screw, but from way it maneuvered and all the noise and vibration felt in the deck below our feet, it appeared to have bow and stern thrusters. There would be no tug assists on this mini "crossing" of sorts!

To the left, Ryan's doing his version of a "funnel run," something we never got to experience on QE2.

Reliving our favorite moments on QE2 spent watching the sea from the "bit beneath the bridge", we made our way to the same spot on Park City. She's got a bit of a different foredeck for sure since the bow swings up to allow the cars below to exit upon arrival. Still, with the wind on our faces, we were approaching port, but not anticipating any crowds cheering and waving as we approach the pier. The chimney stack in the distance is the power plant located in Bridgeport harbor, our final destination, which seemed to take forever to arrive at. Park City is no speed queen! I asked one of the deck hands what her cruising speed was, and he stated it was 16 knots. It felt more like 10.

Bridgeport harbor is very much a working harbor, with Derecktor Shipyard and other commercial piers, mainly with local fishing boats tied up. As we made it into the breakwater, Derecktor's appeared off our starboard bow, with a large floating drydock and boat shed dominating the horizon.

Just beyond the drydock, I could make out a large yacht. We were going to get a closer look as we approached the pier and perhaps I could make out a name.

What was this thing? It was very out of place for here I thought. Perhaps the yacht had to make emergency repairs. Thisis a Derecktor yard, who's other yard in Newport was famous for America's Cup racing sailboats, most notably Dennis Conner's Stars and Stripes, which successfully brought the Cup back home to the States. It never occurred to me they would actually build a yacht of this caliber here.

Wow! What a striking profile and pleasing set of lines, but no name yet. Today was August 10, 2010. Incredibly, the yacht was only launched two days before on August 8th. I'd have to wait several more months until I saw a write-up of Cakewalk in a boating magazine to find out the details of this very special vessel. Cakewalk was proudly built by this Bridgeport yard by local craftsman, hidden away in the large shed during most of her construction. She is 281 feet long and is the largest yacht ever built in America. Check out more beautiful images on her own website.

Still following along and wondering what's the real significance with this yacht and QE2? Interestingly, the yacht's hull is constructed in steel, with her superstructure done in aluminum, just as in the case of QE2. The mirror-like finish of the steel hull is a testament to all who labored on her construction. Cakewalk had both a yacht designer and a naval architect, as well as an interior designer on the design team, similar to QE2's design team. Designer Tim Haywood crafted the look of the yacht, with the naval architecture handled by Azure Naval Architects, and interior design by Dalton Designs.

Tim Haywood previously worked for over 20 years for Jon Bannenberg Ltd., a designer of megayachts and whom QE2 fanatics will recognize as one of the designers responsible for some of the interiors of the original QE2. While Tim did not work for Jon at the time QE2 was on the drafting boards, he worked with Jon before his death and influence of his style is very much evident in the lines of Cakewalk. More on his bio and clips can be found here.

Azure Naval Architects, responsible for the hydrodynamics and engineering of the yacht, are located in the Netherlands. Unbelievably, they too have a QE2 connection. Browsing their website, low and behold, there was a photo of QE2 in their projects section, listed under "refits." Apparently they were hired by Nakheel to perform engineering for the yet to be accomplished, hopefully stillborn, plan to convert the ship to a floating hotel. Note to self; contact them for a future blog post if they are willing to divulge any details on their QE2 project.

August 10th would not be the last we'd see of Cakewalk, however. During our January 2011 Caribbean Calypso cruise on QM2, I recognized the distinctive blue hull while on our way to the aerial tram in St. Thomas. There she was in the harbor, off the bow and dwarfed by the futuristic looking Ruby Princess and sharing the pier with NCL's butt ugly Norwegian Jewel. Queen Mary 2 can be seen off in the distance at the Havensight pier in the aerial photo. (This deepwater pier was not built at the time we called at this port on our first trip on QE2 in 2000. QE2 anchored between the islands and we tendered in to the pier.)

While on the tram, we witnessed the Ruby depart the pier unaided, churning up the sandy bottom, and giving us a bird's eye view of our Connecticut built mega-yacht Cakewalk. This time, her name was clearly visible.

Cakewalk is available for charter for a cool million a week.

QE's Funnel Comes Up Short

2011-03-01T20:25:00.007-05:00

Photo to left, QE2's funnel, taken from the rear. Photo to right, QE and her captain, courtesy of Cunard's Facebook page.

What happened here Fincantieri, designers and builders of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria? Why does the funnel casing stop short of the engine exhaust uptakes? Even the arrangement of the uptakes is untidy. They're not symmetrical, but who notices these little things except ship nuts like me? The builders managed to do this on other similar Vista Class ships they have built for Holland America Line as well, but then again, they were not tasked to replicate the QE2's iconic funnel. Okay, so they probably were not asked for a carbon copy, but a modern interpretation of what the world has come to recognize as distinctly QE2 and in effect Cunard. The vertical ventilation slots are there on QE's stubby funnel, but we're just missing the top row!

I have yet to hear a rational reason why the casing must stop short. The argument that I have read elsewhere is that it is an aerodynamic/functionality issue. That explanation falls on its face when you look at Queen Mary 2's beautifully designed, if not a bit vertically compromised, funnel. You can just make out the large, well concealed gas turbine uptakes from this photo.

Notice the similarity to QE2's funnel below, abeit abbreviated due to that damn Verrazano-Narrows Bridge height restriction!

QE2's iconic funnel in the early morning sun off the Isle of Man, October 3, 2008 ( photo mirrored for comparison to QM2's funnel)

For a more in depth discussion on the subject of QE2's funnel, including a comparision to the new Queens, visit my favorite QE2 website here. From a link in this discussion, here is an excellent side by side comparision of QE2's magnificant funnel compared to the stubby versions on the new cruising Queens. Looks like I need to practice some Photoshop editing here to illustrate what these funnels could easily have looked like!

Photo courtesy of Albireo2006 found here on Flickr.

QM2 Foremast Design

2011-02-26T10:49:00.001-05:00

Queen Mary 2's foremast, as seen theatrically lit at night, was inspired by the original on Queen Elizabeth 2. What's most different from the QE2 is that the ship's Tyfon's are not located here, but on the funnel on the Mary. I love how the ship is lit up at night for maximum effect.

Bridge Design Evolution of the Queens

2011-02-26T00:02:00.004-05:00

For this excercise, I am deliberately leaving out and discussion on the new Queen Elizabeth. In my opinion, there is no design evolution or connection with the previous Queens save for a near carbon copy of the QE2 foremast and a rather untidy rendition of QE2's iconic funnel. Check back here for a future post on QE's funnel design.

Let's compare the original Queen Elizabeth bridge and forward superstructure design with that of Queen Elizabeth 2. The similarities are striking when one compares photos taken at similar angles of the two ships. In retrospect, I now find the QE2 design more evolutionary than I had once thought. The enclosed bridge, while present on the original Elizabeth, gets updated with a modern, futuristic flare on QE2, with the added feature of the forward raked windscreen. Let us also not forget that the original QE2 windows were not painted out in black, but were painted out in a tan color. In my opinion, the black accentuates the design and imparts a look that is more modern that the original color scheme. In fact, Stephen Payne recognized this aspect of QE2's design and incorporated it into Queen Mary 2's bridge design, with the raked center portion and blacked out window frames.

The functional open bridge wings are evident in both Elizabeth designs, with the vertical supports still present, but tucked in a bit from the superstructure on QE2. Cleverly, the ships running lights are integrated into these structures on both ships. Both ships also have observations decks located below the bridge area; my favorite exterior place to be I might add. Even the wind deflector device at the face of the open bridge wings is evident on both designs. The forward facing windows became smaller and less in quantity in the QE2 design, but the intent of updating the Queen Elizabeth fenestration pattern is clearly evident, especially when you see what the original designers intended.

The current configuration of QE2, with the later appendage housing an expanded kitchen and resulting plating over of the taller existing forward facing windows on QE2 diminishes the outright comparison of the appearance of the forward superstructure with that of the original Elizabeth. In fact, when I first laid eyes on QE2, I was surprised to see the lack of forward facing windows. I am not alone in that I have never know QE2 without the modifications to the forward superstructure. From these shots above and below of QE2 undergoing sea trials, it is clear that the designers were intent on an evolutionary, yet modern interpretation of the legendary original Queen Elizabeth, proudly built on the Clyde.

Pride of the Clyde Tartan

2011-02-25T22:32:00.006-05:00

A Google search revealed that there is a registered tartan called the "Pride of the Clyde." I rather like the color combination. In fact, I had experimented with a background color when setting up this blog initially and it looks like I inadvertently got very close to the to the dominant blue color of the tartan. I guess now I need to find a way to integrate this somewhere in the blog.

Developed by John Keogh of Keogh and Savage Gents Outfitters, Ltd. of Greenock, it appears to have been released in 2007. Not much else was to be found online regarding the tartan, but I did find this press release.

A brand new tartan with echoes of the heritage of the river Clyde has recently been introduced by John Keogh of Keogh and Savage in their shop at West Blackhall Street in Greenock.

'As a child I grew up seeing the edges of the shipyards from my window and have tried to reflect this aspect of Inverclyde within the tartan we have produced', said John. The blue stands for the ocean, with the vertical white lines suggesting the Greenwich meridian and the horizontal white the equator. The grey signifies the steel of the ships which went from Greenock to the four corners of the world. There was a time, you know, when 75% of the world's shipping was built on the Clyde. The thin blue lines represent the burner's torches I could see from my window at night while the thin white line represents the arc of the electrical welders at work. Finally, the light blue signifies the sky's horizon.
We have made the Pride of the Clyde tartan kilts with extra pleats to help signify the waves of the Clyde when worn. We have also designed a special sporran to go with the new tartan using an anchor with a celtic cross effect and three ropes and a blue chain arc on the cantle.
Overall I hope wearers will feel that this new tartan is a celebration of the river and will wear it with pride. A number of kilts have already been sold while others are on order and hire arrangements for the new tartan are in place. We have sent material over to North America with the aim of getting the tartan well known there through the various Scottish Associations.

We also hope that the Pride of the Clyde tartan will be suitable and liked by families whose surname does not lead to a specific named tartan. There also may be some interest from a national media company.'

The new tartan is on display in the Keogh and Savage window in West Blackhall Street, Greenock.
From the Scottish Registry of Tartans website the GOvernment of Scotland's official site, http://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails.aspx?ref=3382, below is an enlarged view of the tartan.

DNA of a Liner

2011-02-20T02:18:00.003-05:00

Sometimes there is no need or room to improve upon greatness. Take the bow hull form of QE2. At the time of QM2 construction, QE2 had 35 demanding years of handling the Atlantic Crossing schedule under her belt. Stephen Payne, QM2's Naval Architect has admitted that they essentially copied QE2's bow, scaling up the shape with the only modification being the more modern extended bulbous bow below the waterline. As a further nod to QE2, the center portion of the bridge windows are angled forward in the QM2 fully enclosed bridge design and the window frames blacked out similar to QE2's familiar bridge structure. QE2's DNA has successfully been transferred to the new Cunard Flagship, Queen Mary 2.

Unfortunately, the new Queen Elizabeth shares no DNA with QE2. None. Sorry Cunard marketeers. Her lines are not as fine in the bow sections since she has no need to run at speeds customarily associated with the Queens. She and her sistership Queen Victoria are built for cruising. Nothing wrong with that, but it irks me to no end when I hear all the doublespeak about these new ships being liners. Now I was hoping at least they would paint out the window frames black in an attempt to dress up the Vista Class clone a bit more like her predecessor or even change the amount of glass used in the bridge. At least try to make the ship look like one in the family beyond the color scheme and funnel design. I suspect that might have gone a long way in making these designs more unique and as least looking more like the QE2 or QM2. Here's what the Arcadia, the original Queen Victoria looks like with blacked out window frames.

Speaking of the funnel, I wonder out loud if lifting the funnel design with the uplifting airflow scoops off QE2 was really necessary, beyond marketing purposes for these new ships, QM2 excepted. The ships are never going to travel at QE2's speed, nor do any of the other many Vista Class clones have this feature. They apparently have functioned for years without it. In fact, when the first Queen Victoria hull was reassigned to P &O as the Acadia, they left off the scoops of the decidedly QE2 looking funnel. Has anyone complained?

When it was announced the new Elizabeth would be another clone of Queen Victoria, I had hoped for a bit more individuality on the exterior of the newbuild. Instead, we got the same, with a bit more ugliness at the stern with additional cabins added to an already squared off stern. Even then, this was not unique as this had already been done on the HAL Eurodam and several Costa ships.

While I am in this Vista bashing mood, one thing that has bothered me since the Queen Victoria was unveiled is the "fake" sheerline, done in paint to mimick the hullform of another Cunard ship. This division from Federal Grey to White on the hull of the QE/QV design has as unappealing flatness and unnaturalness in an attempt to replicate the shear of QE2's hull, which is further highlighted with the placement of the name on the bow and the unequal amount of white visible below the name. Holland America ships which share the same hull and similar dark hull/white superstructure treat this area different and, in my opinion, in a more pleasing fashion to the eye.

The reality is though, once on board, the exterior lines and proportions become secondary to the amenities and service that the ship provides for your vacation. With that in mind, I am particularly looking forward to a cruise on the new Queen Elizabeth in the future in her updated Art Deco inspired interiors. Perhaps I am just spoiled with the perfectly proportioned QE2, which I could not find a bad angle to photograph her from.

Why do I dwell on the exterior of these ships? As an Architect, I have been trained to design to not only satisfy the program requirements of the end user, but to also impart a sense of beauty to the design which will be experienced by all. Beauty and proportion go hand in hand, but there is also a functional aspect of design that cannot be overlooked. For instance, while Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York City has great sculptural beauty from the exterior, as a museum to view art, it has its shortcomings with its interior ramp design.

Great design is timeless and is comprised of many layers of allure as one of the partners of the firm I work at often opine that we, as designers, should be striving to achieve. Satisfying and appealing to us on many levels over time, good design will become cherished. Like certain buildings, ships such as Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth 2 have become cherished. Decorating styles will change, but the backbone and layout of the building, or ship for that matter, must be sound. QE2 was lavishly designed in every detail and proportion, smartly laid out, and stoutly built by proud Scots. I think the results speak for themselves.

QE2 - there will never be another.

Stephen Payne's Clever Nod to the Past

2011-02-19T22:56:00.001-05:00

Although it has been over a month now since we left Queen Mary 2 in New York City, she is still revealing wonderful little secrets. Uploading and archiving the several thousand photographs taken on the trip has been a daunting task, still not fully complete. While performing some touching up on the above photo, I had the photo zoomed in detail and noticed something that completely escaped me while onboard.

Stephen Payne, Queen Mary 2's Naval Architect, had inserted a subtle reference to the former Queens in the railing projection at the stern of the ship. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, along with most other ships of their vintage, had rear observation wings or decks that extended out beyond the ship to aid in docking maneuvers. Maybe there is a proper name for this feature, but I could not find one with a Google search. Whatever you want to call it, it was as functional as the extended bridge wings in their day, allowing extended views down the length of the ship. Today, I would venture this rear observation platform has been rendered completely obsolete with all the modern day communication and video devices in use on the ship. Seeing this feature in the photo while sitting back at home at the computer, I thought to myself "if only I had seen it on deck, it would have made for some very interesting shots taken looking down the hull."

Digging further into my photos, I found the above photo and am dissapointed in myself here. Amazingly, I had already captured this feature on deck one early morning. Perhaps getting up early each morning to see the spectacular sunrises left me a bit groggy and oblivious to this feature. Nevertheless, I am completely guilty of not seeing obvious things while being totally absorbed in the taking of the photographs. Looking at this photograph now, it also appears that the railing to the left of the life raft running perpendicular to the outer rail was either bent or damaged as seen in the crooked teak railing.

From the Wikipedia entry on Queen Mary, here is a cropped view of what Stephen Payne was emulating. In the practice of Architecture, we often borrow from the masters that have proceeded us. We have a fancy description for this practice; precident analysis. We look to the past to see what was done right or wrong by designers facing similar constraints. We do this with the intent not to copy, but to build and improve upon the design if possible while imparting our own style. Here is but one of several subtle and not so subtle examples of this practice being brilliantly applied to the Naval Architecture of Queen Mary 2. I will elaborate on further references to great liners of the past used here in future posts.

Simon Fisher Artwork

2011-02-19T13:35:00.007-05:00

Artist Simon Fisher has done beautiful pencil profile drawings of various Cunard Queens and other significant ships in addition to his other nautical artwork. For instance, I have his excellent print of the two original Queens meeting at see on the Atlantic, purchased onboard QE2 back in 2000. I purchased his profile drawings of the QE2, QM2, and original Queen Elizabeth while onboard QE2 on the final winter crossing in January of 2008.

QE2's profile is particularily impressive, perhaps in no small part to the perfect proportions of the ship the artist had to work with. I stood in the que for well over an hour to have Captain Ian McNaught personalize the artwork with his signature. The artwork is now proudly on display in the house along with the original "Lizzy."

Now here is the Queen Mary 2 pencil drawing of her profile. Unfortunately, there is no way to disguise her bulk and less graceful proportions. Different ships for different times would sum it up.

While onboard QM2, I was careful to avoid spending too much time in the Library Gift Shop, knowing how much of a hit my onboard account took on previous QE2 trips. This time, I was in search of one more Simon Fisher print. Not the new Queen Elizabeth print, which I do not know if he has even produced yet, but the original Queen Mary profile pencil drawing. Fortunately, they had one onboard and that became my single artwork pruchase onboard for this cruise. When I get the print similarily framed, she will be displayed above the QM2 print, thus completing my collection of great Cunard ocean liner profile drawings.

I highly recommend these prints for those with similar interests. Prints are available on Cunard ships and on his website. http://www.simonfishermaritime.com/index.html

Queen Mary 2 - Caribbean Calypso

2011-01-25T18:46:00.006-05:00

A little background is in order here. I had originally booked the QE Maiden Crossing, which was going to be historic since it was her first “technically” speaking as she would arrive to NYC and also in tandem with QV. She had crossed the Atlantic earlier on a round trip cruise to the Caribbean from Southampton. I booked this QE crossing around the day it was officially released. I had also hoped that eventually Captain McNaught would assume command of this new ship. Hopefully, the truly magical experience we had on our one and only crossing, QE2’s final winter crossing and tandem affair with the new QV, would be repeated. Chinks in my resolve to keep this booking soon appeared when firm details of the ship were revealed. She was going to be a near sistership to QV as had been rumored. Then Cunard released the details of the “toilet seat” above the bridge and the news that the ship would have the extra cabins at the stern like other new Vista ships, such as the Eurodam. She was not going to be pretty, at least from the outside. Then we get word McNaught will not command the new Queen, followed up with his later departure from Cunard. “So much for recreating the QE2 experience” I was thinking in my head, whether right or wrong.

Fast forward to the deadline to make final deposits and we had to make a family decision. With the state of the economy and my work situation, budget wise, we could not afford to take the entire family over to the UK, stay for Hogmanay, and then head back over on the new QE and do this trip properly. I contemplated going solo, paying the single supplement. There were other friends making this crossing so I would be in good company. This option, although I tried to sell it for its historic aspects, was not sitting well with the family. To broker a deal, I went searching for another cruise on Cunard and found the QM2 Caribbean Calypso 10 day affair that made a lot of sense. Same time frame and we would be arriving with the “kissing cousin” Queens in New York at the same time. No airfare and a round trip cruise from New York City to somewhere warm, all for less that the cost of the QE trip. This all sounded very compelling. Driving to Red Hook was not a problem. We had done this in July for our brief glimpse onboard QM2 and the “Mr. Oceanliner” movie premiere.

Unfortunately, we were going have to settle with an interior cabin since all four person oceanview cabins were sold out at this late time. No problem, we would not be in the room that much anyway, with all the ports of call we would be making. With some reluctance, the booking was switched. I was going to get my cruise on a red and black funneled ship and it was going to be on a “proper liner” as Ian McNaught would have quoted. In hindsight, it turns out this was the most brilliant decision, especially in light of all the flight problems in New York and London that occurred exactly at the time we would have been flying “over the pond.” Here’s my impression of Queen Mary 2 and the cruise itself.

Pros

You are greeted to a stunning multi-story atrium upon arrival. The ship is generally easy to navigate throughout, with the four main stair/elevator banks color coded in décor. Gone is the requirement to use the “E” for every floor stairway and trying to memorize which stair goes to what levels, ala QE2. While the two story Britannia Restaurant is stunning, it prevents the easy flow into the Queens Room, which really is my only major criticism on the ships layout. The Queen’s Room is a destination at the rear of the ship, unlike QE’s where you are constantly walking by it and can see what activities are going on there. It’s a minor squabble that I can easily live with.

If I had to pick a favorite exterior place, it would be the “Bit Beneath the Bridge”, recalling the same space on QE2. This space is absolutely huge and offers far more protection from the elements than QE2’s to the point that it was open for the entire cruise except when we had gale force winds. Also, the exterior elevators make it quickly accessible and offer spectacular views. A little haven off this area is the Atlantic room with windows overlooking this deck. This area was little used on our trip and we found ourselves frequently the only ones there. This is also a great space to warm up in after standing outside on a cold departure.

The Commodore Club and Library both have seating for views of the bow and is where you can sit for hours and watch the seas, either with a book or a drink! In addition to the interior spaces with welcome views views of where you are going, there is the open foredeck area and propeller blade sculpture area that offers spectacular views in good weather. Deck 7 is equivalent to Boat Deck on QE2 and there is an enclosed wraparound area at the bow which lets you completely circle the ship on one deck. I wish they would have used some of the QE2’s deck naming nomenclature, but I can see why, since her deck naming convention is backwards to current ships. We quickly familiarized ourselves with the basic layout of the ship and were quite pleased with our cabin location, convenient to the A Stairway and access to the bridge areas.

The observation platform is a nice addition. Having never been on the original one on QE2 or any other ship that had one, it offers a unique vantage point to view the ship and the sea; real handy at the noon time whistle test!

I am happy to report there is absolutely no effort being made to erase the memory of QE2 onboard this ship; quite the opposite actually in both the spirit of the crew and various aspects of the ship that are decorated with paintings of her. A chat with the Librarian had both of us welling up at the talk of QE2 and her most favorite captains. Captain Wright referred to her in his World Club speech as well. I did see a few crew from my last time onboard QE2 and our waiter was on QE2 for years.

The ship is a liner in every sense and does not turn its back to the sea. There are windows everywhere, large ones, where you constantly get glimpses of the sea going by, often dramatically in the lower decks. I could have easily spent the day sitting in one of the window recesses, watching and listening to the sea go by. Sitting by the window, playing a game of chess was a bit distracting, in a good way, with the sea rolling along at 25 knots. She handled our day and a half of confused seas with ease. After eight days of calm, she finally began to feel like a liner with a nice rhythm. I did sense some distant pounding and vibration in the bow as the bulbous bow would come crashing down in the highest of seas, but completely unlike the tin can feeling we have felt on other cruises ship when the seas were stirred up. QM2 feels solid; shall I say built like she would have been on the Clyde?

One comparison I constantly was making was the ease at which QM2 would come in and out of the various ports. It truly was a sight to see the ship spinning around so effortlessly in tight quarters, without a tug. We had a tug standing by in Barbados, but the only time I think a tug touched the hull was back in Brooklyn when the Gramma Lee Moran offered her assistance as the ship did a 180 in front of the pier. What would take QE2 an hour to do with all sorts of tugs and commotion, QM2 accomplishes in minutes. I am not sure if I like this or not since I enjoyed watching the docking of QE2 in every port and seeing the Captain at work on the exposed bridge wings.

The ship is big; there are areas we really never really discovered on our 10 day jaunt. For instance, I did not find the Boardwalk Café for burgers until the second to last day. At times, since there is so much space, the ship seems eerily deserted, even though we sailed at full capacity. This could also be due to a lot of the senior passengers being snuggly tucked away by 10PM. I fully expected to see a more senior group onboard and the passenger mix was just as expected.

The Golden Lion is smoke free!!!!! Sorry QE2, but I really did not enjoy a smoke filled lunch. Service was a little long at times, but the pub fare excellent as always. Once, I did have a somewhat overcooked Cottage Pie that was promptly replaced with a delicious Fish n’ Chip platter. The Banger’s and Mash with Yorkshire Pudding was tasty as well.

The entertainment, from the dancers and singers to the enrichment lecturers, was outstanding to our astonishment, unlike what we had experienced on QE2 in the past for at least the evening entertainment. We were pleasantly surprised with the performances in the Royal Court Theater. The magician show was a little slow getting started, but finished off brilliantly and had the kids mesmerized.

Cons

The Kings Court or Kings “Chaos” could use some improvement, but I have to preface that this area was little different than the buffet areas that we have experienced on other ships. They had made an attempt to prevent crossing over in certain areas with the movable ropes, but these prove ineffective. Lots of people crossing and bumping into each other and lots of ‘so sorry” heard from the wonderfully polite Brits onboard. The Germans….well they were just flat out rude. QE2’s layout worked better! We also found the food to be hit or miss here. At times it was stellar and others, such as breakfast, the pancakes, waffles, and the toast were dismal; hard and tasteless. It is what is it is, but I think some of the food is left out too long on display. There was a good selection most of the time as well, though. As in QE2, it does seem that the staff are least experienced in this area. I will have to say that my impression of this area vastly improved when the fruit crumble and warm vanilla custard FINALLY appeared (thoughts of Myles here). We missed the QE2 custard we had grown accustomed to being always available. So in the end, go into this space realizing it will not be any better than the Lido. A side note; I caught myself calling it the Lido more than once!

Our service in the Britannia Restaurant was not up to par on the first two nights. Gone are the “plated” meals that we had grown to love on QE2. I gave the wait staff a pass on the first night, with them getting to know us, but on the second night, it was very disappointing and definitely not White Star grade service. Having never done this before, I mentioned this to the Maître’d Jamie Firth and it was promptly fixed. Unfortunately, with the new QE in the fleet, Cunard has taken some crew from both ships and having to fill the void with new crew. Our issues were with long delays between courses/drinks as well as not getting all the meals at one time, leaving others to wait politely for the rest of the meals to arrive. Sometimes this was a long time and the food was getting cold. Don’t forget we had two children to entertain as well during these delays who fail to understand the concept of relaxed dining. We had a senior waiter, Daryl, who worked on QE2 for years and his helper clearly was not performing up to par. Perhaps he was overworked too since we really did not see much of him. In the end, Daryl essentially took care of our table by himself and really earned back our goodwill. Hats off to Jamie Firth for his diligence and also to our head waiter, Rafal, who went completely out of his way to entertain our kids and even provided my daughter with plates of broccoli when he noticed she was getting tired of the kid's chicken nuggets.

When we did eat in Britannia for breakfast and lunch, we found the food and the service excellent. I do miss the little QE2 touches such as those nifty toast holders though. I guess I need to pay attention to eBay more and find one for myself. Also, the after dinner chocolate tray was a disappointment for lack of selection, but after dinner and dessert, we really didn’t need to pile on any more calories. We did have a great assortment of rolls to choose from, contrary to what others posted as complaints on other boards. In the end, these final issues are nitpicky items to an otherwise excellent experience.

Conclusion

QM2 is in every sense a worthy successor to QE2. The spirit of QE2 does indeed live on in this ship and her staff. She is the Flagship of Cunard and the pride of crew is evident. For the first two days, I personally had a very rocky start onboard, exacerbated by our less than stellar service in Britannia. Seeing Robert Marshall’s gut wrenching lecture with video of the Three Queens in NYC left me with tears running down my cheeks by the end of the lecture. Damn, he got me with that distinctive QE2 horn and the comment about her fate being unknown. He finished me off with mentioning the Alang rumors. All this did not help at all, reminding me all too easily of what once was.

I stepped onboard, probably with a bit of skepticism, looking for that special feeling I got while on QE2; that feeling that is hard for me to explain except that I immediately felt at home whenever I returned to her. Perhaps it is like seeing an old friend you haven’t seen for years and picking up right where you left off years ago. QE2 felt comfortable and enveloping, from the moment you stepped onboard in the Midship’s Lobby. I did not get that feeling on QM2 at first. Perhaps it was because you enter into a large atrium space or that familiar QE2 smell, or "perfume"was missing.

Weirdly, I developed a sense of guilt or sadness on or about day three when I stopped comparing and started enjoying the ship. Was I neglecting my true love off in the desert of Dubai? Was I cheating on her by starting to like another ship? By the time we got to St. Lucia, though, everything had completely changed; guilt erased and substituted with the sense that I was onboard the second greatest ship in the world. So what caused this change? Perhaps getting up early every morning to see the sunrise over the bow and to walk the near deserted ship, taking it all in, had something to do with it. Most likely, though, it was seeing the ship majestically at anchor from the tender and then later from the distant hills while on a shore excursion. There it became clear. I could almost see QE2 off in the distance if I squinted, anchored proudly in the blue sea, as I remembered her on my first cruise on QE2 to the Caribbean.

How ironic it was to also experience QE2’s successor in the same environment. I did not plan this, but it all now made sense. Her DNA has truly been passed on brilliantly by her Naval Architect Stephen Payne in QM2. I will always see QE2 whenever I see QM2’s bow profile and will smile.

Returning to the ship that afternoon, I ventured into the photo gallery. There, I was treated to a replay of the video of the building and naming of QM2 by the Queen. Standing at the video monitor, I became overwhelmed with the sense that this ship is truly unique, special in her own way, and worthy of all the fanfare she generated at her launch. I had completely forgotten about all this. It seemed so long ago that I saw her for the first time in NYC as she headed off with QE2 for their first tandem crossing. I had watched in anticipation via the internet as she was constructed in France and now I was finally sailing onboard her. It was then realized that I never felt that excitement during the build up of QE nor have that burning desire to see her like I did with QM2. I knew then that I had made the right decision to switch from the maiden QE crossing to this cruise.

Over two years have past since QE2's retirement to Dubai; years spent agonizing watching from afar on http://www.theqe2story.com/ , worrying about her fate, cheering when seeing her drydocked in preparation for a role in Capetown, and then sinking into dispair when it all fell through. I wondered what it would be like to sail on a new Cunarder or any other ship for that matter. Right from the start of this cruise, the inevitable comparisons came, but thankfully I realised you just cannot compare QE2 and QM2 on the same level. They are simply different ships for different times. QM2 is taking the spirit of the previous Queens to the oceans for hopefully as long and distinguished a career as QE2's. QE2 will continue to command my attention, but my love of the sea and cruising continues on. I have now found my new ship, Queen Mary 2, to sail on for years to come and in the spirit of the Greatest Ship in the World, Queen Elizabeth 2.

Manhattan Piers Go LED

2010-12-02T07:54:00.000-05:00

Piers 88 and 90 of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, piers that QE2 and countless other Cunard ship have used throughout the years have received a bit of a facelift, as reported in this article in 10.20.2010 edition of The Architect's Newspaper. With the ability to change the background color and to run video on this background, it will be interesting to see what they come up with when the two cruising Queens, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, visit the piers in January after their tandem crossing.

Brutalistic, cold, and imposing concrete ramps and and structure have obscured the remnants of the original piers for years and without a ship in port, you would be hard pressed to recognize the structure as little more than a parking structure with a nice view of the Hudson River. These piers were in drastic need of updating. More to follow when I get an up close view of this little bit of Times Square on the Hudson in January 2011.

Finishes with Engines - November 27, 2008

2010-11-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today, Cunard turned QE2 over to her new owners. My son Ryan pointed the "Finished with Engines" command in the artwork on the wall of the Midships Lobby while we were on our last trip onboard and recognized the significance and that the end was all too near. Glad we were not on the final voyage and having to be around for this event. I read that some lucky passenger actually won the honor of pushing the button.

QE2 Arrives in Dubai - November 26, 2008

2010-11-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today, QE2 arrived in Dubai, bringing to a close 39 distinguished years of service with Cunard. The excellent photograph above is courtesy of Furstleur Photography, who had posted a full album of photographs of the day, but unfortunately, these photos have been taken off their website. It is hard to believe two full years have passed since this day. As documented here, on my favorite QE2 website, she sits, engines running in rotation, her fate still unknown.

QE2 Final NYC Departure - October 16, 2008

2010-10-16T06:59:00.001-04:00

Two short years ago to this day, QE2 departed the Manhattan pier she called her second home over her 39 years of service, for the final time.

This video montage was taken with the Nikon D90 in video mode, unfortunately without a monopod for stability. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwM5NsjxrLg

QE2 Final Time in Scotland - October 7, 2008

2010-10-08T23:56:00.007-04:00

October 7, 2008, QE2 anchored off Queensferry, Scotland. This would be her final port call in Scotland and the last time the flag of Scotland would be flown from her foremast.

Here we see two icons of Scottish engineering, the QE2, built in Clydebank, Scotland, and the Forth Rail Bridge. The Forth Rail Bridge opened for service in 1890 and was the largest cantilever bridge in existence until 1917, while it remains the second largest to this day. This engineering feat had it's history in a previous rail bridge disaster, the Tay Bridge, designed by Thomas Bouch, who was also working on a design for a bridge to span the Firth of Forth. After the Tay Bridge famously failed, sending a complete train into a stormy sea with massive loss of life, the designer was fired and the design for the Forth Rail Bridge scrapped.

The Glasgow based company of Sir William Arrol and Company was hired to redesign the bridge. The result is a massively overbuilt structure built entirely of steel, the first of its kind. Sir William Arrol and Company are also famous for designing and building the Titan Crane, which was used to build the three great Queens as well as other famous ships such as the H.M.S. Hood.

Touching the hull for the last time.

QE2 as viewed from the tender.

Getting ready to leave.

Forth Rail Bridge at sunset from the bit beneath the bridge of QE2.

QE3 Arrives in Southampton

2010-10-08T22:18:00.004-04:00

QE3 arrives in Southampton. Photo courtesy of Cunard

Almost tied up at the pier in Southampton. Photo courtesy of Cunard.

Turning around, unaided by tugs. Photo courtesy of Cunard

Photo courtesy of Cunard

Queen Elizabeth (3) made her maiden call to her homeport of Southampton, UK today. From at least these photos posted on the Cunard Facebook page, she looks rather stunning. Other angles, particularily of the stern area are less flattering. In a few days, the Queen will name the ship. She better not go off message and name the ship Queen Elizabeth the Third! All the names have been welded to the hull with no room to add a "3" and the ship fully stocked with Queen Elizabeth merchandise. As Cunard says, "the world awaits!"

QE2 Isle of Skye - October 6, 2008

2010-10-06T23:38:00.004-04:00

Two years ago, QE2 passed by the Isle of Skye while on the Farewell to the British Isles cruise. The day began dreary, but the sky opened up as we passed by the ancestrial home of the MacLeods.

QE2 Officer's Noon Position Report

Ryan wanted pancakes for breakfast so we headed to the Mauretania Restaurant. I joined him with an order of pancakes as well, but made my blueberry, with American style bacon. Ryan's came with the thicker British style bacon, which was the only time we had any meal "cock-up" on our cruise.

In honor of my Scottish heritage and the fact that we were off Isle of Skye, I ordered a second course of kippers, a decision that would haunt me for the rest of the day. I love fish and will occasionally have a tin of smoked kippers that we can get at our local supermarket. What came from the kitchen of QE2 was far different and more potent. In fact, the second course came up the dumbwaiter at the waiter's station near us and I could immediately smell the order of fish for breakfast.

Someone at another table commented that I was brave and wondered if I knew what was in store. THey obviously could smell the dish from their table. They suggested that I add butter to complete the dish and temper the fish flavor. With the butter, the fish was quite tasty, but I think it was a bit overcooked around the edges. I finished most of it, but the taste of fish would remain with me for most of the day, at least until I had a hamburger at lunch!

After the meal, I ventured out on Boat Deck to grab some pictures of Skye. Despite the distance maintained by QE2 from the rocky shore, the scenery was breathtaking. I could make out a lighthouse on a peninsula, which I would later determine from Google Earth to be the Neist Point Lighthouse.

Neist Point Lighthouse

The Outer Hebrides in the distance.

Trawler at work with a village in the distance.

Skye in the distance.

Outer Hebides, Isle of Lewis and Harris in the distance.

Later that afternoon, the QE2 Cabin Cavalcade was scheduled and those that chose to participate in showing off their unique cabins were to meet in the Midship's Lobby. Commodore Warwick stopped by at the beginning and spoke to us all for a bit, before heading off. More on the tour in a future post.

Silver model of QE2 by Asprey, located in the Midship's Lobby, which now resides in the Yacht Club of QE3.

New Queen Elizabeth 3 Video Posted

2010-10-05T02:13:00.000-04:00

Cunard President Peter Shanks with the keys to the new QE3. Photo from www.wearecunard.com

Cunard, having accepting delivery of QE3, finally has posted a decent video of the ship. Thank you Cunard for this excellent video. Now that I have seen the ship in action, you have saved me money!!! I can cancel my maiden transatlantic trip and go on a real liner, QM2.

Actually, the decision was difficult to switch the booking to QM2's Caribbean Calypso cruise, but was mainly an economic decision and not a reflection on the ship. The interiors are stunning and we will sail on her someday, but for now it will be QE2's replacement and Flagship of Cunard, the Queen Mary 2. The countdown to the cruise begins! This spot, beneath the bridge, similar to that on QE2, will be our favorite spot to view the sea.

In fairness, I cancelled yesterday before the video came out and the decision had already been made. Now, what is the obsession with the bulbous bow in the QE3 video????

Cunard Takes Ownership of New Queen Elizabeth 3

2010-10-01T01:04:00.001-04:00

Stunning Britannia Restaurant close to completion in a modern Art Deco theme - Photo courtesy of Cunard

Not the most flattering view. Photo courtesy of Cunard

Cunard Press Release
30 September 2010 - Cunard Line has taken delivery of Queen Elizabeth - the second largest Cunarder ever built and the third new liner for the luxury cruise vacation company in six years.

The Handover Ceremony took place today on board the new 92,400-ton vessel at the Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard. The event included a speech by Cunard President Peter Shanks. The Italian flag was ceremonially lowered and the Blue Ensign was raised, marking the entry of another magnificent Cunard liner into the Register of British Shipping.
"This ceremony to mark the completion of the Queen Elizabeth and our acceptance of delivery, is just the first of a number of significant events over the next few weeks - including the ship's official naming by Her Majesty The Queen in Southampton on Monday 11 October," said Shanks. "I'm certain the British will take this truly magnificent ship to their hearts, as they have all the Cunard Queens."
Queen Elizabeth is due to leave the shipyard today and sail to Southampton, where she will berth at the Ocean Cruise Terminal on Friday 8 October.
Queen Elizabeth will depart on her Maiden Voyage at 5:00pm on Tuesday 12 October.

http://www.cunard.com/About-Cunard-Line/News-Room/Press-Information/Queen-Elizabeth/?art=6457

Queen Elizabeth 3 - Photo courtesy of Cunard

Southampton Sailaway - September 30, 2008

2010-10-01T00:22:00.000-04:00

Two years ago today, QE2 left on the farewell lap of the UK. We were onboard and it was the perfect trip to say goodbye to the world's most famous ship. Here's a video of the Sailaway, compiled from the first video I took with the new Nikon D90 as well as stills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2wN788OLfs&feature=player_embedded#!

R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth - September 27, 1938

2010-09-27T07:46:00.003-04:00

On this day in 1938, the second great Cunard Queen, R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth,was launched at the John Brown Shipyard into the River Clyde, almost four years to the day of the launch of Queen Mary. Launching video can briefly be seen here.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=13459

http://www.relevantsearchscotland.co.uk/ships/ships/042queenelizabeth.html

R.M.S. Queen Mary - September 26, 1934

2010-09-26T16:23:00.003-04:00

On this day in 1934, the first great Cunard Queen, R.M.S. Queen Mary,was lauched at the John Brown Shipyard into the River Clyde.
"I am happy to name this ship the Queen Mary. I wish success to her and all who sail in her." Queen Mary, September 26, 1934
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5W3CDrjoxA

Queen Mary leaving the fitting out basin of the John Brown Shipyard. Shortly after, the ship would run aground in the tight channel, driven off course by heavy winds.
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=6410

Cunard Abandons Helvetica

2010-09-21T08:04:00.000-04:00

Back in 1967, the choice of using Helvetica for the font for the name of Queen Elizabeth 2 was completely logical. Cunard wanted a clean break from the previous Queens, designed in the 1930's with Art Deco style interiors and exteriors not too far removed from the days of Titanic. QE2, right down to the logo, would be revolutionary, new, hip, and a clean break from tradition. Even the funnel was modernized down to a sleek thin appearance, without the traditional Cunard red and black colors. She was sleek and all modern. The Helvetica font used for the name was a perfect fit. Picture Austin Powers dancing in the corridors. Groovy baby!

QE3 Gill Sans Font -photo courtesy of Cunard

The soon to be launched Queen Elizabeth (3) is NOT carrying on in the tradition of using the Helvetica type font in her name. Gill Sans is similar upon first glance and used today extensively in the corporate world, but something alway looked a little off when I viewed these names on the new Cunard ships. Actually the the Helvetica font was ONLY used on QE2. Queen Mary 2, QE2's replacement, uses the common Gill Sans font in her name as well as Queen Victoria. Graphic artists can spot the difference instantly. Not so with the masses and the new breed of Cunard ~~passengers~~ guests.

Launching Day - September 20, 1967

2010-09-21T03:17:00.003-04:00

Forty-three years ago, the last ocean liner to be built in the UK, Queen Elizabeth 2, was launched into the River Clyde at the former John Brown Shipyard, then called Upper Clyde Shipbuilders after consolidation.

Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II named the ship, famously calling her "Queen Elizabeth, the second," and then pushed the button to release the ship down the slipway. After several seconds of delay, and a nudge from a hydraulic ram added to the slipway to ensure the ship would move, she began her decent down the slipway, out into the Clyde.

Due to her length, she carried on into the River Cart opposite the yard, as the previous Queens and countless other ships had done many years ago.

Queen Elizabeth 2 would spend an additional 18 months in the fitting out basin and in sea trials before Cunard would accept the ship for service. The maiden voyage was delayed, reluctantly by Cunard.

Steam turbine problems delayed acceptance along with labor problems that persisted in the yard. Despite all this, Clydebank built a fine ship, the likes of which we will never see built in the once great yards of the Clyde again

http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/archives/exhibitions/qe2/qe2photogallery1/ - All photos except the first two, which I thougth were from that site , but apparently not.

QE3 on Sea Trials

2010-09-09T00:37:00.003-04:00

QE3 on sea trials in the Adriatic Sea - all photos courtesy http://www.wearecunard.com/

The new cruise ship Queen Elizabeth, which I will continue to call QE3 to differentiate her from her predecessor (sorry Cunard), the original Queen Elizabeth, a true liner proudly built at John Brown Shipyard in Clydebank. From this angle above, she looks complete, at least from the exterior appearance. Judging from the bow wave off the bulbous bow, the ship is probably cruising near or at the whopping top speed of 24 knots, several knots slower than QE2's service speed of 28.5 knots.

Comparisons to QE2 come natural, since she is still in the minds of many and is similarly named. In reality, Cunard has added to the confusion with their current marketing of the ship as a replacement of QE2 and not correcting this factual error. Queen Mary 2 was designed from the get go as QE2's replacement. Comparisons should not apply since the role of this new ship is dramatically different from QE2's. Times have changed and we have one ship currently handling the transatlantic crossing route; Queen Mary 2, the world's only ship currently in service worthy of the ocean liner designation.

QE3 and her sistership, Queen Victoria were designed for cruising with the "occasional" transatlantic crossing. Although marketed by Cunard as liners, they are more cruise ship than liner. To me, they are well designed for this role, using a proven Carnival Vista class hull design, modified to Cunard specifications. I just wish they would not have marketed them as "Queens" and reserved that designation for ships expressly designed for the rigors of transatlantic service with the necessary speed to maintain the crossing schedule. This debate on what makes a ship a liner verses a cruise ship and whether these Vista sisters should be called "Queens" or not will rage on for a long time to come.

While one can argue that QE3 is a decent looking Vista Class ship, the added cabins in the aft end take the already least attractive part of the ship and make it more boxier and frankly, uglier. At least Queen Victoria has a stepped down appearance at the stern in a most liner-like side appearance.

From the bow, the only other major difference visible between the Cunard Vista sisters is the semi-enclosed sports deck on QE3, which is visible as the white "top hat" or perhaps a "crown" if you want to continue with the references to the ship's namesake. At first, I was not a fan of this added appendage, but after seeing the final product, I'm warming up to it. I am looking forward to lawn bowling in this area.

QE2's exterior appearance was crafted in a different era. Her proportions were carefully crafted by the team of designers for both functionality and beauty. Her silhouette is perfectly balanced and every feature from her slender bow profile with pronounced flair, to the funnel design, centrally situated due to her original powerplant's boiler locations, are the perfect synergy of form and function. Like all great design, her design is timeless. Today's crop of cruisers are all about maximizing interior space to include all the latest features today's typical passengers, or guests as Cunard would like us to call them. Unfortunately, the outward exterior appearance of the ship suffer, but the obvious counter to this complaint is that once on board, all is lost and the focus is on the interiors. With this in mind, QE3 appears to have some stunning Art Deco themed interiors. More on the interiors as updated interior photos are released.

QE2's Last Master Captain McNaught Responds to Forum Questions

2010-09-08T23:56:00.011-04:00

Captain Ian McNaught, with Paying Out Pennant flying in New York

Captain Ian McNaught has gratiously responded to questions posed to him on the QE2 Story Forum here. The last series of questions were posed by yours truly, with interesting responses on the viability of getting QE2 back up the Clyde to her birthplace. With deliberate tact, he addresses the embarrassing grounding on the final approach to Southampton as well as any future plans on returning to Cunard to captain QM2, a desire expressed by fellow Cunarders and McNaught fans. Also included in the article were several photos I took onboard while docking in Manhattan in January 2008 and in Greenock in October 2008.

Recently, I found my documents from my first time on QE2 in October 2000. In the Daily Programme, it listed Captain McNaught as "Staff Captain." With this information, I can now state that I was onboard with Captain McNaught for my entire 22 cumulative days spent onboard!

The Clydebank Plan Revised

2010-06-22T20:09:00.004-04:00

http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/thisweek/articles/2010/06/09/401219-no-work-on-shipyard-site-for-three-years/

With the fate of Clydebank redevelopment in the balance, the addition of Clydebank's last great ship would serve as the centerpiece, alongside the great Titan Crane, for showcasing the proud shipbuilding history of the area. Plans for mixed use redevelopment have turned there back on this rich history and thankfully are stalled due to the economic downturn. Plans to turn the QE2 into a floating hotel are stalled in Dubai as well. The merits of returning QE2 home deserve to be studied. More to follow.....

QE2 Sold

2010-06-18T19:28:00.006-04:00

Two years ago on this date, this image came up on my screen at work. This image was saved to my hard drive. While I sat down at my desk for a quiet lunch, I could not believe what I was seeing was true. A few more frantic Google searches confirmed the news to be legitimate. I was just not prepared for this news. All signs coming from Cunard were that the ship would sail on past the 2010 SOLAS requirement deadline, which we had been told the ship would be able to meet with minimal work. Apparently, Cunard got an offer they just could not refuse.

In only one respect was this good news. This bit of news sealed the deal regarding whether we were going to go on the transatlantic crossing I had booked months earlier. This winter crossing was going to be special anyway since it was a tandem crossing with the new Queen Victoria. I called Dawn at work and told her that there would be no further discussion about cancelling this trip. We were going on QE2's final winter crossing and we would make it into the Winter Crossing Club with no time to spare.

I would get in my winter crossing and experience some rough seas with a big grin on my face!

Thank you Myles for posting a reminder of the significance of this day on the definitive site on the Queen Elizabeth 2, the world's most famous ocean liner. http://www.theqe2story.com/.

What Were They Thinking

2010-06-18T08:03:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoVOG-4-_IA&feature=related

While the interiors are far better than the exterior, something disturbs me about seeing brick on the interior of a "ship." The block of flats above the bridge area look like they were added as an afterthought, after the ship was under construction. Actually, this construction has some precedent with NCL, who pulled the same thing off with the France/Norway conversion.

This is what the ship looked like in her original configuration as the S.S. France. I think Carnival got the inspiration for their iconic funnel from this ship.

The ship in her final incarnation as the NCL S.S. Norway, shortly before the boiler explosion that would ultimately take her out of service forever.

NCL towed the ship from Miami, where the boiler explosion occurred, to Bremerhaven, Germany to allegedly repair the damaged boiler. After sitting idle for an extended period, the ship was transfered to NCL's parent line, Star Cruises, and the path to Alang began. Despite numerous attempts to save the ship and deny entry into Alang due to hazzardous materials onboard, the ship was beached and the systematic dismantling of the ship began.

A sad end to a great ship in Alang, India. NCL currently owns America's great SS United States, which may meet the same fate.

QE3: The Shape of Things to Come

2010-06-11T01:15:00.007-04:00

This phrase reminds me of the advertising for the Triumph TR7 that was used in the late 70's to describe the radical for the time wedge shape of the new sports car from the British automaker British Leyland. The radical shape provoked a love it or hate it reaction. Coupled with the dreadfully poor build quality of the cars, the Triumph nameplate disappeared in the United States in the early 80's.

When Cunard announced they would be building a replacement for QE2, the speculation was that the design would be a derivation of the Queen Victoria design. QE3, the third Queen Elizabeth, would later confirmed by Cunard to be a true sistership to Queen Victoria, but which some changes. For myself and countless other QE2 devotees, this would prove to be an utter disappointment, expecting more from Cunard. QE2 was a radical design and trend setting when she was launched in 1967. She would showcase the latest design trends, featuring prominent British designers, and she was a shock to many accustomed to the Art Deco interiors of the original Queens.

Cunard, in choosing to name new the ship Queen Elizabeth, is harking back to the Art Deco designs of the original Queen Elizabeth, in a retro style, and is taking no chances here with cutting edge interior design. You could see this coming with the interiors of the Queen Victoria, which are done in a heavy retro Victorian theme. Having not seen either ship yet in person, I will reserve any further judgement. Having experienced the "over the top" Joe Farcus interior designs on the Costa Magica as my other cruise ship experiences, I suspect the Princess interior design team will provide a much more classy, restrained elegance experience throughout the ship. Perhaps the Art Deco influences will be handled well, but I am concerned that they may go the Disney route here and do a watered down poor impression of Art Deco.

My biggest disappointment with the new QE3 lies in the fact that the new ship will not be trend setting or special in any way, but more of the same from Cunard, who are playing it safe with the retro "liner" theme. I can understand why the ship will not be built for the speed and sea-keeping abilities of a liner. QM2 is handling this market well. I can also understand using a proven hull design to save on engineering costs. Both the Queen Victoria and the QE3 are variations on the proven Carnival Corporation Vista hull design. But I had higher expectations that there would be more customization of this design to make them unique to Cunard. Perhaps additional engines for additional speed when desired. Perhaps a different bridge design. Perhaps some modifications to the squared off stern. Perhaps even a Tyfon horn sound to remind us of QE2.

Instead, the Queen Elizabeth is getting additional cabins, similar to the sistership HAL's Eurodam, which does not make the already rather ugly stern profile any prettier. Gone is the stepped down liner-like profile of the Queen Victoria in favor of additional cabins and smaller balconies. Adding to this, the area above the bridge on the QE3 is roofed over for indoor sporting activities, which adds additional mass high up on the profile. While I am looking forward to using this space, it does look a bit tacked on from the photos that have been posted.

The mass expanse of the bridge, extending low across the bow, does not appear to have been changed in the slightest from the Queen Victoria design. Once again, I was wishfully thinking that Cunard would have made at least a few subtle changes in the design to pay homage to the greatest ship in the world that preceeded the current design. Also missing, will be the open observation deck I spent so much time braving the elements on QE2.

One of QE2's sleek, almost sinister features I loved to photograph was the blacked out bridge window area with the forward sloping glass. Blacking out the vast expanse of window mullions across the bridge would go along way to improving the look here.....hint, hint Cunard.

Despite these changes and cookie cutter approach to the design, with the Cunard colors, QE2 inspired funnel and foremast, QE3 will still look better than most other cruise ship sailing the seas. QE2 was stunningly beautiful at any angle, with perfect proportions. She was designed in a different time, without the emphasis on balconies and interior volumes and amenities that the cruising public have now come to expect. Wherever I look on QE2, I see evidence of designers spending time to get every detail and proportion just right. Unfortunately, I just do not see this in QE3.

QE3 is the shape of things to come, personifying the trend to maximize what the ship contains inside while striking a compromise with the exterior aesthetics of the ship. Like the TR7 car design, it's a love/hate reaction to those familar to QE2. I'm just not in love quite yet. We're booked on the Maiden Tandem Crossing in January 2011 and I suspect that may change once we're onboard after a two years absence from Cunard. The temptation to make comparisions to QE2 will be still be hard to resist.

QE2: In the Haze of Dubai

2010-06-10T22:33:00.003-04:00

The latest picture of QE2, looking very lonely, in the afternoon haze of Dubai. The movable cranes at the pier have been moved, giving an unobstructed view from the webcam.
http://www.dubaicoast.ae/coastimages/index.jsp?camera=0&format=1&view=View

T.S.S. Cameronia

2010-06-06T23:08:00.007-04:00

The T.S.S. Cameronia was used for Atlantic crossings at least twice by my family members. The Cameronia was built for the Anchor-Donaldson Line in 1919 by the William Beardmore & Co. Ltd. shipyard located on the River Clyde in Glasgow. The T.S.S. designation either refers to "turbine steam ship" or "twin screw steamer." The ship measured in at 16,365 gross tons, 552 feet long, with a beam of 70 feet. She was a one funnel, two masted, twin screw ship with a service speed of 16 knots. The ship carried a total of 1740 passengers in 265 1st class, 375 2nd class, and 1100 3rd class accommodations. Additional information on the ship can be found here.

On October 19, 1929, my great aunt Jane (Jean) MacLeod, 18 years old at the time, left Glasgow on the Cameronia to join my grandfather as an immigrant to the United States, arriving in New York City 10 days later on October 29, 1929. At this point, the Cameronia was owned by Cunard as they had purchased the Anchor-Donaldson Line and were running it as a subsidiary of Cunard, often sharing the same facilities and piers in New York.

From left, Susan Connon (Angus) Milne, Isabella (Angus) Grant, John Baird Angus, Janet McDougal Angus, and Mary Jane (Angus) McLeod, my great grandmother.

Ten years later, my great grandmother, Mary Jane MacLeod made a similar trip along with her brother John Angus. An Angus family reunion of sorts was held on the deck of the Cameronia at the pier in New York.

From right to left; Jane McLeod, Mary Jane Angus McLeod, Susan Connon Angus Milne, unknown relative, Isabella (Beldy) Angus Grant with grandchild(?), Charlotte Grant (pretty confident on this) and unknown relative.

I had these photographs of my grandfathers, but could not identify the ship or the year. I studied Bill Miller's book on the Cunard Line, looking in particular for a Cunard ship with woodwork on the bridge area as seen in the background on this picture below, but to no avail. It wasn't until I found the actual records on the Ellis Island site, did I solve the ship mystery.

Mary Jane (Angus) McLeod Mary Jane (Angus) McLeod and my grandfather William MacLeod

On June 30, 1939, my great grandmother Mary Jane McLeod, departed Glasgow on the Cameronia with her brother John Angus, arriving in New York City nine days later on July 9, 1939. She made this trip without my grandfather, who apparently stayed behind in Peterhead, to see her first grandson who had just been born, my uncle Robert MacLeod. At this time, I am still searching for confirmation as to how long she stayed and how she got home, since crossings at this time would become increasingly dangerous due to the war. At this time, the Cameronia had been sold when the Cunard-Anchor Line had gone into bankruptcy and had been purchased by a newly formed Anchor Line.

The Cameronia continued to make unescorted transatlantic crossings until she was requisioned as a troop ship by the British Admiralty in December 1940. In December of 1942, she was hit with an aerial torpedo, with the loss of 17 lives, but carried on to port for repairs. The ship woould later go on to become the largest troopship to take part in the Normandy Landings. After the end of WWII, the ship was laid up, but was broguthout of retirement and converted for use as an Australian emigration ship.

January 1, 1953, the ship was sold to the Ministry of Transport and renamed the "Empire Clyde." After 39 years in service, including hard wartime service, the ship was sold to scrappers in March 1958.

R.M.S. Saxonia

2010-06-06T15:47:00.006-04:00

R.M.S. Saxonia was the ship my great grandmother, Emily Elizabeth Sinclair (Cochrane) took, along with my great uncle Benjamin Sinclair, who was 3 at the time, to immigrate from London to the United States.

Boat Deck accessible to all passengers

The ship left Liverpool on September 17, 1909, stopped in Queensferry, Ireland for additional passengers, and arrived in Boston 9 days later on September 26, 1909, a far cry from the speed of a 30 knot 5 day QE2 crossing.

Early incarnation of the ship's bridge, as viewed from the bow

Launched in 1899 from the same yard which would later build QE2, the Saxonia was built by John Brown and Co, Clydebank, Scotland for the Cunard Line. The ship was 14,200 tons, 580 feet long, 64 feet wide, and had a service speed of 15 knots. She and her sistership, the R.M.S. Ivernia, have the distinction of having the tallest funnel every fitted on a steamship. The Saxonia held 1960 passengers, with 164 1st Class, 260 2nd Class, and 1600 in 3rd Class accommodations. These 3rd class accommodations, specifically designed for immigrants, paid for the majority of the operating costs of the ship. I suspect that my relatives traveled in 3rd class.

Utilitarian 3rd Class accommodations

3rd Class Lounge, no doubt where my relatives spent time in during the crossing

3rd Class Dining

The Saxonia was later requisitioned by the British Admiralty to serve in WWI and survived her wartime service without major incident. After the war ended, the ship was used to transport solders from France back home to New York. In 1919, the ship re-entered commercial passenger service. In 1924, the ship was laid up in Tillbury, her career with Cunard over. In 1925 she was purchased for scrap by a Dutch yard and broken up.

Saxonia Postcard available on the ship for purchase

Unfortunately, I do not have any family photographs of the ship. The majority of the black and white photos are courtesy of the National Maritime Museum archives, Greenwich, London. http://www.nmm.ac.uk/

R.M.S. Laconia

2010-06-05T01:39:00.002-04:00

This Cunard ship is directly responsible for my existence and the continuation of our branch of the MacLeod family ancestry in the United States. On July 31, 1927, my Grandfather, William Angus MacLeod, arrived in Boston on the Laconia. The ship sailed out of Liverpool, with a stop in Glasgow, where my Grandfather boarded for his journey to America, never to see Scotland again. With the fishing fleet of his hometown of Peterhead essentially destroyed in WWI, there was no work to be had. Many of his family had already fled to the United States with the hope of jobs and prosperity. His occupation is listed as "sawmill worker" on the immigration papers, but more specifically, he was a cooper and made the wooden barrels for the fishing fleet. Other Peterhead family members were stone masons in the granite quarries of Peterhead and many fled to Barre, Vermont to continue their trade in the local granite quarries. My Grandfather left with all his worldly posessions, including his tools, in a steamer trunk, which I still have in my possession.

Interestingly, my Grandfather changed his name here from McLeod to MacLeod. In Scotland, the two spellings are interchangable and dropping the "a" is an abreviation of "Mac", which means "son of." I recall him mentioning the reasoning behind the subtle change was that he did not want to be confused as a "Mic" or irishman. At the time, there was widespread discrimination in this country of the Irish.

The Laconia was built for the Anchor-Donaldson Line by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipbuilders located in Wallsend-on-Tyne, UK along with sisterships Scythia and Samaria. Cunard Line later aquired the Anchor Line in whole and ran the line as a subsidiary. Sadly, when we visited the Tyne on our QE2 Farewell to the British Isles Voyage, there is absolutely nothing left of the shipbuilding trade save for the drydocks.

The 20,000 ton Laconia was the second ship to bear the name as the first Laconia was sunk in WWI by German torpedos. As originally constructed, the 623 foot long, 73 foot wide Laconia accommodated 2180 passengers in 340 cabin class, 340 tourist class, and 1,500 third class cabins. Rest assured, my Grandfather traveled in third class. With twin screws and steam turbines, her service speed was a respectable 16 knots, but the crossing would be long compared to a swift 30 knot QE2 crossing in far more luxury.

In 1923, the first of its kind Cunard World Cruise was undertaken by the Laconia, with 22 ports of call during the 130 day long cruise, a tradition upheld by QE2 and the current Cunard Fleet. Located outside the Yacht Club on QE2, there is a large silver cup, the Laconia Cup, commemorating this event. This was a reminder to me of my family's Cunard connection everytime I passed by it.

R.M.S. Laconia continued her service with Cunard until September 4, 1939, when the British Admiralty requisitioned the ship for war time duty, converting the ship into an armed merchant ship. Unfortunately, the second Laconia met the same fate as her predecessor and was sunk by a German torpedo. On September 12, 1941, at 8:10PM, 130 miles northeast of Ascension Island, the Laconia was struck on the starboard side by a torpedo fired by U-Boat U-156. At 9:11PM, the ship sunk with many Italian prisoners of war onboard, which proved to be an embarrassing situation for the Germans since they were allied with Italy at the time. At this time, the U-Boat captain surfaced and rescued as many survivors as they could in an incident that would become known as the Laconia Incident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lknR2nc6--A

Realizing civilians and prisoners were onboard, the U-Boat captain requested additional help from U-Boat Command and several additional U-Boats were dispatched, all flying Red Cross flags signaling a rescue operation was underway. Allied B-24's in the area, allegedly unaware of the rescue operation underway and they started attacking the surfaced U-Boats with survivors on deck. The German submarines were ordered to dive and the survivors on deck were abandoned. After this incident, the German Command ordered all U-Boat commanders not to rescue any survivors after torpedo attacks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7INatXt5Fjs&feature=related

The Laconia is one of many Cunard ships responsible for safely transporting my relatives from the UK either to visit or to immigrate to the United States. While my Grandfather did not get the opportunity to experience the Statue of Liberty on his arrival, many of my relatives did on other ships of the Cunard Line Cameronia, Carmania, Saxonia, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth and White Star Line Cymric and Olympic (Titanic's sistership.)

QE2 in Old Saybrook, CT

2010-05-16T23:19:00.004-04:00

Dock & Dine, located at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook, CT is home to local artist Steven Cryan, who just so happens to be a big fan of Queen Elizabeth 2 and her replacement Queen Mary 2. Steven's interests mirror my own to a great degree; ocean liners, trains, tugs, and model railroading. He has been painting and photographing his interests for years. His small studio, located at the entrance to the restaurant, has on display and for purchase photograghs and artwork of all his interests. If you're so lucky, as we were tonight, you can catch him working on a new painting.

Tonight, we stopped in for dinner and to view the breathtaking view of the river and Long Island Sound at sunset. It's times like these that bring back the reason why I wanted to move to this area that I had spent so much of my early years mucking about the river in my little 13' Boston Whaler. In fact, looking at the center console boats out fishing for Striped Bass and Shad this night, reminded me that I need to get our 25' Whaler back in the water for this season.

View looking south at the breakwater, the inner lighthouse, Brewers Marina, and Long Island in the distance

As mentioned, we caught Steven Cryan actually at his studio, working on a painting of the outermost lighthouse located on the Old Saybrook breakwater, which reminded me of the painting we witnessed being painted onboard QE2 on our final trip. With one of my QE2 hats on, Steven recognized a fellow QE2 fan and we struck up a conversation on our favorite liner. He then showed me an impressive recent painting of QM2. He also has a nice photograph of QE2 taken in 1983 in the very brief period that the ship was painted white. I large version of this print is on display in the restaurant near the restrooms.

Steven has photographed, painted, and even played in a band onboard QM2. Back in 2004, with his connections to Moran Tugs, he was onboard a Moran tug as QM2 approached New York City for the first time. I have a video he offered of this historic event with some fantastic early morning video of QM2. Unfortunately, Steven doesn't have much of a website, but if you're in the area, stop in and see his work. Dock & Dine is just okay as far as the food goes, but the main draw is definitely the view. Steven's model railroading work can also be seen locally on permanent display at the Pizzaworks Restaurant located at the Old Saybrook Amtrack Station.

View looking North up the river. The Amtrack train bridge and Route 95 bridge are way off in the distance.

QE2 Time Machine

2010-05-13T01:11:00.002-04:00

Here is a compilation of pictures I have accumulated over the years, showing the forty plus years of QE2 history. Some of these pictures are mine, others were culled from the internet. The somewhat chronological order illustrates the changes that have occured over time to the ship, set to an aptly appropriate symphonic interpretation of Pink Floyd's "Time" from their "Dark Side of the Moon" album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5w-zFiPrfs

QE2 Webcam Found

2010-04-27T00:45:00.002-04:00

Thanks to "Dubai Guy" posting on my favorite website for finding this cam.
http://www.theqe2story.com/forum/index.php/topic,1912.0.html
This is a high resolution cam and if you save the image as mentioned in the forum post, you can zoom in and get a decent idea of our ship is doing in Dubai.

While not the bridge cam that I used to have open and minimized to a corner of my desktop to see where QE2 was on any given day, this Port Rashid harbor cam is the next best thing. How sad it is though to see her sitting there idle, baking in the hot sun.

Pride of the Clyde

2010-04-11T00:09:00.001-04:00

When researching names for this blog, I found it difficult to come up with a unique name that had not already been taken. With the popularity of QE2, it is not amazing that there are a multitude of websites devoted to the ship. I ultimately settled on "QE2 - Pride of the Clyde." Unfortunately, a Goggle search found a Coach for hire company in Greenock using "Pride of the Clyde " already. So much for my unique name. Since I liked the ring to this name, I figured a way around this, which in theory, might add traffic to the site by adding "QE2" to the name. Now I was ready to launch my new blog, thinking I had a somewhat unique name to capture my obsession, the pride of Scotland, and to honor the workers who built the last ocean liner in the UK.

The blog was started long after QE2 had made her trip to Dubai. I had taken one of the final voyages, a very special one that had been shoehorned into the schedule once the announcement had been made that the ship had been sold to Dubai. This voyage was billed by Cunard as the "Farewell to the UK" voyage and this would be a lap of honor for the ship around the UK. When I saw the itinery, I knew the Greenock port of call would be special as this was the closest QE2 would return to where she was built. Unbelievably, the weather was absolutely perfect for our arrival, with an escort my the HMS Manchester. People were lining the waterfront as we arrived, along with our flotilla of small craft that accompanied us up the Firth of Clyde and eventually into Greenock. My initial perceptions of Greenock were spot on.

The photo above was taken along the Esplanade, with the docks in the background. QE2 had obviously not yet arrived, but as the photo shows, there was quite a turnout for QE2's final homecoming of sorts. We unfortunately never got to see this display and it wasn't until months later did I find photos posted of this tribute. Once the ship docked, we eventually got off and took a Cunard shore excursion to Glasgow to see the Transport Museum, which has a vast collection of shipbuilders models, but the main reason why we took this excursion was to visit the site of the former John Brown Shipyard to see QE2's birthplace. I knew that there wasn't much left, but I was still shocked to see utter distruction. Basically, the only thing left is the Titan Crane as discussed in the previous post.

This special day was full of a wide range of emotions. For us, there was the initial excitement on the approach to Greenoch, seeing Scotland from the sea for the very first time. Then, there was the feeling that we were experiencing something very historic. It is not everyday that a non-military ship gets a naval escort into the pier. The sense of pride was palpable. People were lining the streets to see the ship all day. After the euphoria of our arrival, seeing the remains of the John Brown yard later in the day brought the complete opposite emotion of incredible sadness.

So many countless times I have heard that QE2 was the last great ship built in Scotland, but on this day, there was no escaping why this ship is extremely special, much beloved by so many, and the "Pride of the Clyde." The once great yard that built her is gone along with industry that the Clyde was famous for. At the peak of the shipbuilding industry in the UK, "Clydebuilt" meant the finest in shipbuilding, known worldwide. The opinion voiced by our Titan Crane tour guide as well as everyone onboard QE2 was that the UK was about to loose their finest example of Scottish shipbuilding,craftsmanship, and engineering to Dubai in a few weeks time. The end was coming all too quickly. QE2 would depart Greenock for the final time later that evening, with a spectacular fireworks send off and not a dry eye in sight.

For me, though, the planner in me has kept thinking that there is a lost opportunity and by far a more suitible place for QE2 to be in her retirement. The fitting out basin is empty, awaiting her return............

The John Brown Shipyard fitting out basin, with the red brick lined notch in the bulkhead, modified to accommodate the first two Queens in the background. In the foreground, the bollards that QE2 and countless other great ships were tied up to during their fitout.

Clydebank Rebuilt

2010-04-08T23:18:00.003-04:00

This is the former Fitting Out Basin of the John Brown Shipyard. In the background are mounds of building demolition debris and the newly built Clydebank College. This is the site where the great ocean liners Lusitania, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Elizabeth 2 were completed as well as many naval warships such as the HMS Hood. Sadly, QE2 would end up being the last passenger ship built in Scotland, the "Pride of the Clyde." The John Brown Shipyard, in a last ditched effort to stay afloat during the construction of QE2, merged with other yards on the Clyde into Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS). UCS was later aquired by Trafalgar House , one time owners of QE2, then later acquired by Marathon Oil for oil rig repairing, which saw this industry declining on the North Sea and finally closed its doors for good in 2001. The site was later completely demolished, save for the Titan Crane, which has been restored and is now open as a unique tourist attraction.

The Titan Crane is the only "A Listed" historic structure in all of Clydebank and stands silently as the sole reminder of the vast shipyard that once existed on this site. Standing 150 feet tall, and with a 240 foot length of the cantilever, the crane was capable of lifting an astounding 200 tons. The great gun turrets of the HMS Hood were lifted in place with this crane. During World War II, Clydebank was targeted by the Germans due to the strategic importance of the shipyards. Clydebank was the most heavily bombed city in all of Scotland during the war, but miraculously, the Titan Crane was never hit. Fully restored and open now to the public via a new elevator, the views of the Clyde are breathtaking.

This view, looking down the Clyde towards the Erskine Bridge, shows both the beauty of the Clyde and the devastating remains of the building demolition of the site. Clydebank Rebuilt has a master plan in place, covering redevelopment of the Clyde. This short video offers a glimpse of the future for the area. This video gives a glimpse of the past. For added context, this excellent series of videos document employment in Clydebank, the decline of shipbuilding, and the social changes.

Recently, a new mixed income housing development opened, but vast areas lay open. Three minutes into the first linked video above, there is a view of the Fitting Out Basin as seen from the Clyde. What I see missing from that view is the last great ship built on the Clyde and fitted out in that very basin, Queen Elizabeth 2. Could she return? There are obstacles such as the Erskine Bridge, which would require temporary removal of her Funnel and Forward Mast. She could be THE centerpiece for redevelopment of the area. Here is a Google Earth flyover of the area, which was obviouly taken before all of the buildings were demolished or the new College built.

Currently, QE2 sits in Dubai, fortunately being well cared for, while her ultimate fate is unknown. Bring the Queen back home!

So Far From the Clyde

2010-03-28T13:19:00.001-04:00

Mark Knopfler, lead singer and guitarist from the legendary band Dire Straights has a new solo album, themed about blue collar life in the Highlands of Scotland. This haunting song is one of his best and is a reminder to all of what COULD happen to QE2 someday.

Mark is no stranger to writing music befitting life in Scotland. He composed the soundtrack to "Local Hero," a cult classic movie about a Scottish fishing village about to be developed into a oil refinery for the North Sea. "Going Home" is my favorite instrumental track on the soundtrack and was previously featured on my YouTube posting of the same name. According to Mark's website, he spend time in Glasgow until he was eight, and then moved to Newcastle on the Tyne. Obviously, he has expressed his deep affection for Scotland in his music. I suspect he is watching what is happening to QE2, the last great ship built on the Clyde and would NOT want her beached in Alang.

RMS Titanic Exhibit

2010-03-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

The RMS Titanic, Inc., the organization that recovered artifacts from the Titanic wreck site has several traveling exhibitions. We visited the exhibition that is currently in our area at Foxwoods Casino. I had seen this exhibit back in 1999 while in Las Vegas, but Ryan had not. Unfortunately, this exhibit pales in comparison to the much larger version in Las Vegas at the Luxor. For instance, missing was the large piece of the hull that was recovered and well as a great deal of the artifacts. Photography was not allowed. One unique display, which we were told had never been on display, were samples of the hull rivits, which have been analyized and found to have contributed to the sinkings since they were formed with inferior steel. This finding has been recently reported and had these rivits been sufficiently strong, the hull breaching probably would have been minimized and the ship may have been able to remain afloat. Testing procedures for steel had not yet been standardized at the time of construction.

As you enter the exhibit, you are given boarding passes of actual passengers. At the end of the exhibit, there is a display listing all of the passengers, by class, and you can look up your name to see if you survived. Graphically, it was easy to see if you were in Third Class, you were unlikely to have survived. Our passengers assigned to us were Archibald Gracie and Paul Chevre.

One interesting exhibit was a refrigerated block of ice, recreating an iceberg. You could go up to it and touch it. The guide mentioned that the seawater was actually a few degrees colder than the sample iceberg and that almost all of the passengers that entered the water died from hypothermia. Another interesting exhibit, towards the end of the tour, were samples of perfume bottles. The showcase had openings in the plexiglass and you could still smell the scent of the perfume. As we made it to the final passenger list display, we found out that both of us had survived! Exiting the exhibit, you enter the gift shop, which had a nice collection of Titanic books, samples of actual coal recovered from the ship, posters, shirts, and replicas of crockery used onboard Titanic.

We would recommend going to the exhibit, but spend the extra five dollars and take the audio commentary, which adds so much more to the experience. The exhibit left me wanting to see more, but then again, I had seen the more complete version before. It truly is remarkable to see how well preserved the recovered artifacts on display are in. It is also a bit morbid to see the clothes and personal effects of the passengers, which is a grim reminder of the grave loss of life that occured on April 15, 1912. The loss of the Titanic resulted in the creation of ice patrols and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations which affect construction and operation of all passenger ships to this day.

Launching of Q4

2010-02-19T20:04:00.003-05:00

Here's my latest eBay purchase, the Launching Day Cover of the the new Cunarder "Q4." What I find interesting with this postcard is the "Q4" logo above the ship and also in the stamp cancellation. At the time this was printed, the ship's name had not yet been revealed, although there had been much speculation.

The "Q4" designation was the internal name of the project by Cunard, the latest in a series of ocean liner designs. "Q1" was the designation for Queen Mary. "Q2" was Queen Elizabeth. "Q3" was the design for the replacement of the first two Queens. As seen in the internal Cunard rendering below, many of the "Q3" design features found there way into the smaller "Q4" design.

Rendering of Cunard's "Q3" design as depicted in Carol Thatcher's book :"QE2: Forty Years Famous"

This design was later scrapped, not to be built, in favor of a smaller ship, more versatile ship with the ability to traverse the Panama Canal and do cruising during the off season from the traditional Transatlantic Crossings. For further discussion on what can now be realistically viewed as a rather ill conceived design that probably would have spelled the end of Cunard, see the discussion here.

Harland and Wolf "Q4" proposal rendering dated November 27, 1964

Cunard revised their design and solicited proposals from several yards including Harland and Wolff, builders of Titanic, and John Brown. The above rendering was offered for sale on an auction house awhile back and offers a unique view of what may have been. According to the description, this rendering is dated November 27, 1964, two days before the tender for the "Q4" design was due in to Cunard. The funnel depicted looks remarkably like the Sagafjord and Vistafjord ships which would later be acquired by Cunard.

The revised ship, with the design untimately awarded to John Brown Shipyard of Clydeback, Scotland was named "Queen Elizabeth the Second, "infamously on launching day, September 20, 1967 by Queen Elizabeth II and would eventually become the most famous, most traveled ship in the world.

So how did the unique "2" come to be? Apparently, according to various sources, the Queen never opened the envelope, which had only the name "Queen Elizabeth" printed on it for the naming ceremony. Cunard's intention was to name the ship after the first Elizabeth, their common ship naming practice, so technically, as the Queen pronounced, she was Queen Elizabeth the second. Some would argue, though, that she named the ship after herself! This left Cunard in a predicament. They could not name the ship Queen Elizabeth II without angering the Scots who built her, since Scotland did not recognize the first Queen Elizabeth I. Common folklore is that Cunard came up with the idea to use the Arabic "2" instead of the Roman numeral "II" to get them out of this somewhat sticky situation. Perhaps this is true, but the true facts may never be known if the Queen takes the real story with her to her grave. Read more about the naming controversy here.

Clydebank Redevelopment

2010-02-17T02:26:00.000-05:00

Rendering of the fitting out basin courtesy of http://www.clydebankrebuilt.co.uk/

What is missing from this rendering of proposed redevelopment of the former John Brown Shipyard? Could it be that there is absolutely no reference to the proud shipbuilding heritage of this site? Even the arctitecture is pretty nondiscript and could be seen just about anywhere in Europe. This is the fitting out basin, where many famous ships were completed such as the HMS Hood, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth 2, and the royal yacht Britiannia. All that remains of the once great John Brown Shipyard is the Titan Crane, now fully restored and open as a tourist attraction, and this fitting out basin. The slipway is gone, replaced with a community college, but the guides still remain at the waters edge and the designers have outlined the location of the slipway in the treatment of landscaping.

Queen Elizabeth 2, on her launching day, September 20, 1967, being towed into the fitting out basin with the Titan Crane at her bow.

Photo courtesy of http://www.clydebankresoration.com/

While on QE2's Farewell to the UK cruise, we stopped in Greenock and took an excursion dubbed the "Cunard Heritage Trail", which included a motorcoach ride along the Clyde from Greenock to the Transport museum in Glasgow, followed up with a visit to the former John Brown Shipyard and the restored Titan Crane. What immediately struck me was the beauty of the Clyde at Clydebank, in particular, but nothing prepared me for the utter destruction I saw of the shipyard. Nothing remains of the buildings but piles of rubble and steel columns cut off at their bases. We stood along the fitting out basin after our tour of the Titan Crane and even sat on the bollards that the great ships constructed here were moored to in the basin. The tour guide even pointed out the modification to the pier, done in brick, to accommodate the first two Queens in the basin. The basin sits empty, unused, and probably with the public not appreciating the significance of the site.

The Farewell to the UK cruise allowed people of the UK to see their beloved ship, QE2, for the final time before the ship would leave for a future in Dubai as a floating hotel. It was also at this time that the financial crisis was hitting and many of us onboard were concerned whether the plans for an extensive conversion to a upscale hotel in Dubai would be affected by this financial crisis. This concern proved entirely justified as now Dubai is broke, having borrowed heavily to fund their massive build up and buying spree, which included QE2 among other properties. Reports of massive selloff of assets are in the news now and QE2 always is speculated to be a potential asset to be sold off in the news reporting. Perhaps the global recession will yield a silver lining; the potential that QE2 could be aquired in this asset selloff and return to her rightful home!

I know the perfect place for her; the fitting out basin in Clydebank. QE2 could be the key to revitalizing the waterfront, with some modifications of the long range redevelopment plans that are in place. She could be operated as a hotel and conference center, perhaps with a museum built alongside of the heritage of the Clyde shipbuilding industry. She would be THE tourist draw for the area. I see small excursion boats running from Glasgow to Clydebank and from cruise ships docking in Greenock running up to Clydebank. Bringing her home also has a few advantages for the ship itself. No extensive air conditioning modifications would be necessary with the local climate. She could essentially be opened up "as-is" and run for the time being while tasteful modifications are contemplated to insure her long term financial success.

Sure there are some potential issues to overcome, such as the clearance under the Erskine Bridge, which was built after QE2's launch and does not have the required clearance. Her funnel and foremast would have to be temporarily removed to clear the bridge. Then there is the depth of the channel to overcome, but these are all issues that can be overcome, providing there is a will to make it happen. For this to happen, even if the ship remains owned by Dubaiworld and relocated here, the government probably needs to get more involved. There is a precident for government intervention here. The original Queens were partially financed by the government and Queen Mary was untertaken to put workers of the Great Depression back to work. QE2 also received government financing. Another idea would see the Soverign Queen Elizabeth II purchase her, bring her back to Clydebank, and have the ship included as one of her historic properties.

As has been reported, QE2's owners are considering and evaluating all their options for their prized posession. Hopefully, the scenario I have outlined is at least being considered. More importantly, hopefully local officials are in contact with Dubaiworld for a potential return to Scotland of QE2. Stay tuned for further blog updates with some updated fitting out basin renderings that are in the works!

Liverpool Concert

2010-02-13T10:02:00.001-05:00

Here is a video I recently posted of Rod Stewart's "Sailing" as performed by the Band of the Welsh guards. Two of the pipers of the Band were playing outside the Liverpool Cathedral as we arrived.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQOsvwenNMo

Mushy Peas

2010-02-07T10:03:00.001-05:00

Mushy Peas; not the best sounding name for a food, but one I was eager to try on our first trip to the UK and on our return home via the QE2. We had our first taste of the dish in London and I've been hooked ever since. While on the tandem crossing with QV, we made a point to dine in the Golden Lion just to have an authentic pub lunch of fish n' chips and the peas did not disappoint, although the portion was far from adequate.

On our Farewell to the UK trip, we typically were not on the ship during lunch, except for the sea days, so that made it hard to get to the Golden Lion for a traditional pub lunch. On our final day at sea, we could not get a seat anywhere in the Golden Lion, smoking section or not. Fortunately, the waiter who we had on our crossing, who's name escapes me, set us to Mauritania Restaurant where they were serving the same fare as the pub that day for lunch. As luck would have it, we ended up finding our buddy Myles sitting at a table with total strangers. We were not aware they had no idea who this character Myles was until afterwards, thinking the couple were old friends from a previous trip. Checking off must do things on QE2, Ryan got to taste Mushy Peas on our last day onboard, in the nick of time! I ended up with the equally taste Cottage Pie that day.

Once back home, I was determined to replicate this simple dish. A Google search yielded interesting information and several recipes, with the traditional UK versions using marrow fat peas. Asking for this type of peas at the local supermarket resulted in several puzzled looks but no peas of that type. The following recipe is my own amalgamation of several recipes and substitution of commonly available frozen peas. They are simply yummy and to hell with the fat content! Enjoy!

Dubai Tyfon Horn Exchange

2010-02-02T07:36:00.000-05:00

Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 met again in Dubai, as I previously posted. Commodore Warner must have read my post! As they departed, he took QM2 right up alongside QE2 and gave all onboard a spectacular look at the former FLAGSHIP of Cunard. The Tyfon horns were very busy! This video and the pictures are courtesy of Safarigal, Leslie, who I met in New York for QE2's final departure.
http://www.youtube.com/user/samuels5731#p/u

New YouTube Postings

2010-02-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, I posted three videos on YouTube. These were taken with my Nikon D90 in video mode, which was a handy feature but not as easy to use as a minicam. These are raw, unedited, and without any added music. The camera can record up to 5 minutes in high resolution, but without a tripod, it gets heavy very fast. Another downside, the camera can not refocus as you pan the camera. There is just no substitute for a real minicam.

Here is the view from our five deck cabin porthole on our Farewell to the UK cruise. Call me crazy, but I just loved this cabin, located down low and above the engines. In addition, while in several ports, the gangplank was only several cabins away down the passageway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxKC-6hpE3Q

The second short video is of Queen Elizabeth 2 backing out of her berth at the Manhattan pier for the final time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORf2G1l-fzo

The third video, which I'd love to somehow rig up as a screen saver, is a bow view of QE2 on a spectacular day, which happened to be my final full day onboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdgnlAx8G5k