Cunard liners mark 175th anniversary in Liverpool - BBC News

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Three famous ocean liners have sailed together in Liverpool for the first time to mark Cunard's 175th anniversary.

The Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth saluted the city where Samuel Cunard began his transatlantic line in 1840.

Thousands of people lined the River Mersey to watch the "three queens" perform a synchronised sailing display.

As the fleet completed its manoeuvres, the Red Arrows performed a fly-past.

Captain Christopher Wells, who was at the helm of the Queen Mary 2, said it was a "very special weekend".

"It allows us to celebrate our anniversary in the city where the company was founded. To have that celebration is very important not only to us, but also to the city," he said.






The display was part of a three-day celebration, which ends on Tuesday, marking the company's first transatlantic crossing from Liverpool.

Sir Samuel Cunard, who founded the service, sailed aboard the RMS Britannia to Boston on its maiden voyage on 4 July 1840. The Cunard company revolutionised travel in the 19th Century with its steam ships which added speed and safety to journeys which had previously been made on less reliable sailing ships. By the early part of the 20th Century, the company's "big three" liners - Mauretania, Berengaria and Aquitania - were the primary means of passenger transport across the Atlantic. The shipping company moved its headquarters from the Cunard Building on Liverpool's waterfront to Southampton in 1965.

Video news report accompanies this story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-32836087

[onthecushions]

Had two weeks on each of QM2 and QVic. They're sumptuous, vast, comfortable ships with service better than any land-based hotel. P&O staff are far better trained than Cunard in our experience, odd in that Cunard is marketed as the prestige product with P&O mid-range. Carnival have done a superb job in remaking UK^▸ (United Kingdom) passenger shipping. Cruise ships even call at Liverpool.

I've often thought that P&O would make a marvellous intercity rail franchisee - gleaming gloss white carriages with BA^» (British Airways - about) type Union flag motifs rather than Barbie artwork, and the customer service to match.....

OTC

[ellendune]

I've often thought that P&O would make a marvellous intercity rail franchisee - gleaming gloss white carriages with BA^» (British Airways - about) type Union flag motifs rather than Barbie artwork, and the customer service to match.....

Yes but by the time DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) had assessed the tenders taking a considered balance between cost and the quality measures that DfT had put in the call for bidders, they would be found to be providing [poor value for money or anything just to allow DfT to let it to the bidder with the least call on their budget. 

[Thatcham Crossing]

Carnival have done a superb job in remaking UK^▸ (United Kingdom) passenger shipping. Cruise ships even call at Liverpool.

I agree to a point - I've sailed with P&O and will be again at the end of the month (on their new, biggest ship, Britannia) and last time the "British-ness" of the P&O Brand and quality of on-board service was undeniable. Though I've not experienced them, I expect that Holland-America still "feels" Dutch and Costa still "feels" Italian, although they are also part of the same Corporation (along with Princess Cruises).

However, look beneath the surface and it is possible to detect that there is a Corporation in control - the ships are registered in Bermuda, which I expect has all sorts of "advantages" in terms of tax and employment law liabilities. The ships (the big ones built in recent years, in any case) have nearly all been built in the same Italian shipyard (Fincantieri) and are all probably quite similar under the skin, which of course makes them cheaper to build, as larger Contracts can be negotiated. You get the idea.

Nevertheless, this is the way of The World and if it must be this way I'm glad that the owning Corporation allows sufficient autonomy within the brands to provide a service that appeals to the markets they are looking to serve.

[onthecushions]

I've sailed with P&O and will be again at the end of the month (on their new, biggest ship, Britannia)

However, look beneath the surface and it is possible to detect that there is a Corporation in control - the ships are registered in Bermuda, which I expect has all sorts of "advantages"

Have a wonderful time. The only adverse comment I've heard about B is that the 'midships lifts take a long time to come. Apparently they've dispensed with the staircase so everyone must use the lifts, even for one floor. An easy work-around for a hardened traveller. Don't forget your FGW^▸ (First Great Western) season wallet for the cruise card.

The other advantages of big corporations (Carnival and Royal Caribbean) are that there are now good international regulation and safety standards and large enough markets for standard design and serial production of ships in Europe. Also, there are upgraded ports of call, consistent large demand for provisions and masses of jobs for every type of sea and support role.

Only the occasional sick-bag in the corridors!

OTC (Baltic Tier)

[grahame]

Apparently they've dispensed with the staircase so everyone must use the lifts, even for one floor.

OH MY GOODNESS ... is it just me that would find that hard?    We stayed in a high rise hotel in Newark the other week and I enquired about the stairs (was queueing behind a coach load who had just arrived) and was told that the only staircase was the external emergency exit.       On the TransAtlantic ship we used, we were on deck 9 and I regularly used the stairs ... down from 14, down to 4 or 3. And at one point an electric failure stopped the lifts with people in them.  Only for a few minutes but still worrying at the time.

[onthecushions]

It's about 70s walk from the centre lifts to the forward staircase, more to the aft entrance.

Hence the work-around or rather walk-around.

OTC