This is the first of a series of Blog toasts of 5 segments to the 2024 cruise that involved the first four Queen Anne Maiden Voyages around Europe and ending with the Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic to New York and consisted of : –
1 – Southampton to Lisbon and return
2 – Southampton to Canary Islands and return
3 – Southampton around British Isles and return
4 – Southampton to Western Mediterranean and return
5 – Southampton to New York on Queen Mary 2
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Friday May 3, 2024 – Southampton Board Queen Anne
The maiden voyage of Queen Anne commences. We had been looking forward to this day for some time and it was finally here. The ship was brought in from the Italian shipbuilder – Fincantieri Castellammare di Stabia, Venice, a couple of days ago and the final touches added as she was alongside (Port to Dock) the Quay at the Mayflower Cruise Terminal in Southampton, UK. Anne and I had driven down from Wokingham, dropped our luggage, returned the car at the Southampton Airport and back to the terminal where we went through the Boarding process. Finally about 3PM we boarded this magnificent ship.
A good place to start are some of the facts and figures:
DIMENSIONS
⁃ Gross Tonnage – 113,000 GT
⁃ Max Speed – 22 Knots ( 40.7KPH)
⁃ Length – 322.5m (1,058 Ft)
⁃ Beam – 35.60 m (116.8 ft)
⁃ Height – 64m (210Ft)
⁃ Displacement – 12,402 tons (11,251 tonnes)
⁃ Year Built – 2021-2024
⁃ Max power output – 4 x Caterpillar-MaK 12V43C, each 16,896 hp (12,600 kW)
⁃ Propeller Diameter 4 blades
⁃ Bow thrusters 3 each HP
⁃ Stabilizers – 2
⁃ Passengers:- 2,996
⁃ Crew – 1,225
⁃ Decks 16
⁃ Seats in Royal Court Theatre – 835
⁃ Number of books in the Library – 2,700
⁃ Launch ceremony (the date when the hull of a ship goes down the slipway and is transferred from land to water for the first time) was made on 29 April 2022.
⁃ 249th Ship built by Cunard
⁃ First Captain – Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge – Born & grew up in the Faroe Islands and moved to Denmark in 1989. Master’s license in 1994,
Dining Alternatives
⁃ Aji Wa – Japanese Cuisine
⁃ Aranyaka – Indian Food
⁃ Tramonto – Mediterranean
⁃ Sir Samuel’s – Steak & Shellfish
⁃ Pavilion Cafe – Vegan & wellness
⁃ Golden Lion – Pub
⁃ Artisans Foodhall – Cafeteria
⁃ Britania – Main Restaurant
Initial Staff
Captain – Inger Klein Thorhauge
Deputy Captain – Yuliyan Kostov
Hotel General Manager – Robert Howie
Human Resources Mgr – Stuart Smart
Chief Engineer – Jon Cammish
Entertainment Director – Neil Kelly
Safety Officer – Lukasz Pozniak
Chief Medical Officer – Dr. Chanel van der Westhuizen
Staff Chief Engineer – Jonathan Albertin
Staff Electro-Technical Engineer – Alex Newton
Entertainment Officer – Glyn Phillips
Hotel Operations and Retail Manager – Girlie Muega
Housekeeping Manager – Olga Loos
Food and Beverage Manager – Anton Nootenboom
Senior Maitre D’Hotel – LLven Miranda
Executive Chef – Mark Oldroyd
Senior Cunard Executive Chef – Nick Oldroyd
We found our cabin 8.039 on the Starboard side towards the front of the ship, and greeted our cabin steward – Hilbert from Southern Philippines. The cabin is in many ways similar to the other Queens, but definitely a bit smaller than Queen Mary II. Very nicely appointed with the overall blue and gold color scheme, with splashes of bright colors. Closets (3) at the entrance with safe and one small one inside the room in the corner, are more spacious than the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. The sofa is comfortable, but slightly smaller and the desk / coffee area is far superior, having plenty of room and a very spacious shelf to put things on. A nice balcony with its usual 2 chairs and table is good. The bathroom layout is slightly different, but the big change is the much larger shower space that has a glass wall and door, so the rest of the bathroom stays dry. This shower is a big improvement and has 2 caddies for toiletries inside the shower.
After seeing that all our luggage had arrived safely, we headed to lunch. The large suitcase that we bought in Mauritius last year had been partially broken by the airline, finally gave way and the zipper broke. Fortunately there was a strap around the case and nothing had fallen out. So after unpacking that case it was given to the Cabin Steward to throw out. The cafeteria – Kings Court on the other Cunard ships – is called The Artisan Foodhall and consists of half a dozen or so stations, the same on each side of the ship, where waiters serve you different items. There is no self service as all the food is behind glass. So queuing and you get what they give you, is the order of the day. From the ship’s standpoint, it makes sense as there is undoubtedly less food waste as well as there being a way to better control norovirus and other such common illnesses aboard caused by many people handling food serving utensils. I find this a bit frustrating as I like to pick out the crispiest bacon, the combination of salad items and so on. We were looking forward to being the first on board a new ship in part, to see if things don’t work quite well and the food-hall did not disappoint. The soft serve ice cream making machine didn’t work (but there was a gelateria station), putting ice into a glass for water, juice or lemonade also poured out ice more and more even after removing your glass, as you walk into the public bathrooms you can hear and see the taps (with light / movement sensors) turning on and off, even though there was no-one near the sinks and you were the only person in the bathroom. These will soon be sorted, but it was fun that very soon after boarding we found a few things that need adjustment.
Back in the cabin we unpacked and then headed off to dinner in the Britania Restaurant. We had previously scouted out our 2-seat table 409 on the Port side near the windows. The dining room is very nicely appointed and a mixture of different sized tables to suit all parties. We were greeted by our waiter – a woman from South Africa – Jackie and somnolier – Justice. We had found our friend sommelier Ekaterina (Katia, wife of Nikolai) who had taken 8 months off after the Queen Mary world we took last year and purchased the wine package from her. We also came across Shafiq (South Africa) Maitre D’ and Jhanelle our 2023 world assistant waiter, and Nick Oldoyrd (Head Chef for all of Cunard from Yorkshire) wandering around the ship, so greeted them warmly and chatting with them, which is always fun. The dinner service was a bit of a challenge as the timing of service was off. Whether this was a kitchen fault or servers fault who knows, but after sitting for two hours, the people at the next table were only just getting their soup dish. The late sitting people were trying to get in while the early sitting people were just starting their main course. We made out OK, but by 8 PM we left before desert as we were told that the sail away was at 8:30 with fireworks, so wanted to get a good seat in the front of the ship on the top deck. We were a bit surprised as the entertainer in the theatre – Mike Doyle – the Welshman comedian we have seen several times and always enjoy his comedy, was on at 8:00PM. We did find perfect seats in the center with no-one in front of us to see the departure spectacle. However this did not actually take place until after 9 PM. We were thrilled with seeing the ship let go of the brand new white lines and start the first voyage of its life. (Being May and not going across the Atlantic, we are unlikely to suffer the Titanic Iceberg event on its maiden voyage). The fireworks display was terrific after which we caught the late Mike Doyle show which was similar to prior performances we have seen him do. So ends our first partial day aboard this new and beautiful vessel.
A word of warning to those who travel with a CPAP and require distilled water, Cunard has changed its policy and no longer provides distilled water as it previously did. Apparently there was some issue that arose creating this modification to the Policy. I found out as I was told that the only way to obtain the water was to go to the Medical Department, which I did and was offered a small 1/3 liter bottle (good for about 2 days) and told that the cost would be US$22.00 per bottle. Obviously, they do not want to provide Distilled Water. So either use the tap water (desalinated sea water) or bring on your own water / buy it at the ports as you make the journey.
Roger & Anne Travels 