Take a trip: Queen Mary 2
Terry Tazioli		Travel Editor Terry Tazioli visited Southampton, England, to tour the Queen Mary 2 prior to her maiden voyage Jan. 12, 2004. Read about his adventures.

January 06, 2004

A day to forget

I have to tell you that one moment tonight has become for me another of those experiences I won't forget. I'm grateful for that, because for several other, what-else-can-go-wrong episodes, today very nearly became a day I'd remember for all the wrong reasons. First off, a bit of background. I'm here in Southampton, England, to see a couple of queens. SCOTT BARBOUR / GETTY IMAGES Spectators watch the world's biggest passenger liner, the Queen Mary 2, arrive at her home port of Southampton, England, on Dec. 26, 2003. One, Queen Mary 2, the brand new Cunard ocean liner the company bills as the biggest, grandest, tallest, widest, most expensive, insert any adjective you'd like passenger ship in the world. The ship begins its maiden voyage to the U.S. next Monday from the Eastern Docks here on the waterfront. But before that, there will be all sorts of festivities to mark her sailing, and that's why I'm here. To see her and to see her off. And to tell you some stories about it. As part of the deal, I also get to see Queen Elizabeth. She is not a ship, mind you. She is the reigning monarch of England. I'm sure you all know that. Of course I won't be that close; I have no doubt that most of the other 2,000 invited neck craners, indeed far more polished at this sort of thing than I, will be placed much nearer to her. That's okay. At least I'll be on the same dock. As long as I can make out her purse, I'll be okay. Ah - but it was the getting here that, first off, nearly made my day. It's been an adventure of lost luggage - which apparently still is somewhere over the Atlantic (I trust not in it) despite assurances that it would be here by nightfall (night has fallen), cell phone on the fritz, Internet connections on the fritz and a brand-new garment bag (at least it got here) guaranteed to keep clothes looking like just-pressed. They lied. Much of that rubbed off this evening.

Posted by ttazioli at 01:30 PM

A night to remember

It was a bit chilly tonight out on the end of the pier at Town Quay on the Southampton waterfront. But at least it was fairly clear, the moon was out. It was quite peaceful. (Remember all you snow-besotted back home in the Northwest, I'm eight hours ahead of you as we BLOG through this.) As best I can tell, the tip of Town Quay provides one of the best vantage points from which to see the QM2 as she's abbreviated. I had walked up and down the waterfront. Over fences and buildings, I could see the top of the ship off in the distance, but that was it. So I wandered past all the shops and storefronts and ferry landings that make up quay and walked to the end. I'd been waiting for this. I got more than I dreamed. I wasn't alone out there. There must have been 30 or 40 of us and they just kept coming. Standing at the end of the pier, staring off across the water at the ship lit up like the - well, let's not use that analogy quite yet. It's in relation to another, tragic Southampton maiden voyager nearly 100 years ago now, not spoken of mainly - though you know in your socks that it's on the minds of a whole lot of people here, residents or not. She sits at a dock a bit ahead and to the left of the end of Town Quay. Quite a distance away, though. Imagine standing at the end of Pier 70 in Seattle and looking south past Coleman Dock and the ferries, more accurately nearly to the sports stadiums. That's a rough idea of our distance from the ship. In the darkness you could see tiny spots of light moving across the sky-black water, around the hull of the QM2. Like gnats. Smaller than gnats. They had to be security vessels, most of the onlookers explained. So small. This ship is damned big. And you heard nothing. That's what got to me in the end. People just stood and stared. Others, cars full of them, simply pulled into parking places at the end of the dock where they could see, some hauling out sandwiches, but still just looking at the ship. There were a couple of hankies. Trust me, they were not being used to stifle a sneeze of two. They were aimed at moist eyes. Folks there said they just wanted to see her. They were proud. They were awestruck. This is part of what Southampton is. A couple of the guys talked about their ship-building families, about the ravages of World War II, even about Southampton's aircraft-building past. And here they were again - part of another chapter in their history. "This is just about the same spot where the Titanic was tied up before its maiden voyage," somebody said. "Right over there." I stood with them for a while, and I have to tell you that if history doesn't sit on your shoulders like this, weigh you down, talk to you quietly, rivet you in the moment, then you're missing something. I was lucky. I didn't miss it.

Posted by ttazioli at 01:51 PM

Let the tours begin

Lots of us from all over the planet - many of us media types - go on board tomorrow for a tour. In the meantime, take a bit of a virtual tour yourself. Here's a link to get you started. Make sure when you get to the home page to follow all the leads for news and online tours of the ship. http://www.cunard.com/default.asp When you get to the page with the virtual tour, have some fun and click on all the highlighted areas - it's neat for us not-so-geeky computer people who get turned on by such things. Make sure to click on the videos. It's weird - not videos of what's actually there, but videos of computer images that give you an idea of what's supposed to be there. Ah, life in these times.

Posted by ttazioli at 02:02 PM

Bottom to top

Dear FOBs (fans of BLOG) - remember, as I often don't, that the story starts at the bottom of this thing and goes backwards. That makes sense, doesn't it? But it will as you read through the days of these visits to the queens.

Posted by ttazioli at 03:06 PM

Do brown boots go with black suit? No

It's after 11 p.m. here and I'm ironing. And improvising. So, anybody have any tips on what to do when most of your "required" wardrobe is still missing on a flight somewhere? I.E. you will be SEVERELY under dressed? I hope the queen doesn't mind if my formal business attire is a bit mismatched. I have the suit and the socks, kind of... but there's a problem with these shoes. Um, these boots! They don't match. And there's the small thing of, shall we say, undergarments. There aren't any. I just missed closing time at a department store up the street from the hotel. Sigh. Though I did figure that I have 30 minutes tomorrow morning in which to run to get some fresh things before the bus takes us to the ship. You don't believe the dress requirements? Ha! Here's the official rundown for civilians. (If you're military of some sort or be-medaled in some civilian way, the list is longer.) Wednesday morning we begin with informal business attire and comfortable footwear for a ship tour. At least I have the comfortable footwear. Wednesday evening, formal business attire for a reception dinner. Uh oh. Thursday morning, informal business attire (see Wednesday - same outfit; sorry, Your Majesty). Thursday afternoon, for the ship-naming ceremony itself, formal business attire and overcoat. Have the latter. Thursday evening, formal, black tie, with decoration. At least the tie made it. Honest - I have - er, had - everything. This was the most organized I'd ever been prior to a trip. I followed all the rules. Except the line about "with decoration." But research helps. (Note, as you peruse, that a tastefully pinned-on Christmas ornament or one's entire rhinestone collection don't count.) http://www.debretts.co.uk/etiquette/orders_and_decorations.html Is anybody out there so decorated?

Posted by ttazioli at 03:29 PM

Another day, another revelation

Goodness. It's Wednesday morning already - about 6:50 a.m. Where did the time go? Ironing? Rearranging the same set of clothes? Washing the same piece of underwear? Do you think maybe the unnamed (as yet) airline has guessed its name by now and has decided to retrieve my ONE LITTLE BAG THAT IT PROMISED WOULD BE HERE YESTERDAY from Irkust? Doubt it. But, with stiff upper lip, I say poppycock. Instead, I'm making tea and sorting out this formal wear "decoration" thing. Here's the latest. http://www.debretts.co.uk/etiquette/wearing_orders.html Good luck. Send me pictures of your own decorations. (Did you know that in a pinch, a small towel on short, wet hair doubles as a comb?)

Posted by ttazioli at 10:51 PM

A little research and some light reading

As this adventure unfold, I’ll try to keep you posted on as many sites as I can where there’s coverage, including local media, etc. For starters, here’s one from the Southern Daily Echo online in Southampton. http://www.debretts.co.uk/etiquette/wearing_orders.html Check this out, also from Echo. Click on the QM2 slideshow for some terrific photos of her arrival in Southampton, etc. http://www.thisishampshire.net/hampshire/southampton/slideshow/ You of the gushing variety can see Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight going on about the ship this week on ET, through Thursday’s naming ceremony. http://et.tv.yahoo.com/tv/2004/01/06/maryhart_queenmary2/ Talk about being able to do things the rest of us won’t. AND, according to ET’s site, she’ll stand in for the Queen during a rehearsal of the naming ceremony. Let me see – what did they call this in journalism school? Objective reporting – yes, that was it. Better than Mary (not your mother, Your Majesty, she was one of the good ones), look for the news of the thing on such sites as these – um, and a few other tidbits. This comes courtesy of Marisa Lencioni, a Bellevue, Wash., native and employee of Amazon.com in the UK. She’s also my cousin, which convinced her to do the research for free. The comments, indeed, are hers. Papers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news 'Auntie Beeb', as they call the government news service. Excellent news Web site. Royalty: http://www.royal.gov.uk Their OFFICIAL site - you can view the Queen's 2003 Xmas TV speech here. http://www.etoile.co.uk/Rnews.html Unofficial 'fan' site with great daily links to news stories about the Royals in all the online papers - Telegraph, Daily Mirror, Observer, etc. http://www.guardian.co.uk Good lefty newspaper sure to be critical of the monarchy. That’s it at the moment.

Posted by ttazioli at 11:28 PM

January 07, 2004

Southampton and the Titanic

Southampton itself is worthy of exploration, regardless of that big ship on the waterfront. It’s an old Roman seaport with an amazing Medieval wall still up and visible to a great degree. Check out the city’s website for more. www.southampton.gov.uk You can also write to Southampton City Information, 9 Civic Centre Road, Southampton, Hampshire SO147FJ. Or call 023-8083-3333. Ask for the brochure Explore Southampton. Of course during these days, there’s again renewed interest in the Titanic. The city has memorials galore to those who lost their lives. Hundreds of them, in fact, were Southampton citizens who worked aboard ship. More than 1,500 people died when the Titanic sank April 10, 1912, 900 of whom were crew members. There’s a Titanic Trail in Southampton, which includes includes stops all along the waterfront area, from an exhibition to the chief memorial and the departure point. The latter two are off limits unless you’ve made prior arrangements. 023-8048-8800. Check the Southampton website. Here’s the Titanic information. http://www.southampton.gov.uk/leisure/visitguide/titintro.htm There are many, many other Titanic sites worth reading, or at least exploring. Here are just a few. This one deals with some news reports before the ship sailed. It’s a bit ironic? Frightening? Some of the same words are used today to describe the Queen Mary 2 and its stature. http://titanic.thewestofireland.com/articles.htm#wp2 Try this one for an encyclopedic view. http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/index.php Try this one for reports on the day the ship left Southampton. http://www.thisishampshire.net/hampshire/southampton/ titanic/SOTON_TITANIC_NEWS46.html There are, obviously, so many more sites and so much information on the ship’s sinking. I don’t doubt that many of you Tiitanophiles have most of them memorized.

Posted by ttazioli at 12:51 AM

Off we go

I'm outta here, for a bit. This morning in Southampton we get our first interior view of the big ship. And ... my makeshift outfit gets its first big test. (See refs to lost luggage earlier in the BLOG - okay, okay, so everybody loses luggage now and then. But, hey, I got this stuff specially for Her Majesty!) We're also hoping to get a photo gallery up soon on seattletimes.com so we can show you more of what's happening here. Big events are tomorrow (Thursday) in Southampton. Once that page is up and running, we'll let you know.

Posted by ttazioli at 12:57 AM

The first walkabout

Just in from hours aboard the Queen Mary 2. I only have a short window here, between events, to talk about the ship. I promise to add more later, once today’s festivities finally have concluded and there’s time to let this sink in. No pun intended. The ship is gigantic, which, come to think of it, was the name for a sister ship to the Titanic. Again, nothing intended. Do follow along with this cutaway. http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/feature/QM2-plan.html The Queen Mary 2 (I hardly heard a soul refer to her today as anything but HER and Queen Mary 2 – not QM2) is nearly four football fields long. Imagine that. It is nearly twice as long as the Space Needle is tall, should you choose to stand the thing on end. Twice as tall. Imagine walking up and down promenades and passageways and concourses nearly that long. A few times a day. Who needs a well-stocked gym complete with half a basketball court? Who needs five swimming pools? Who needs the workout? You might. Let’s see, the food outlets (such a tawdry word for such a ship with a pedigree – oh well) include the 1,300-plus seat Britannia Restaurant, the ship’s enormous, three-tiered main dining room. The Princess Grill for passengers in junior suites, the Queens Grill for duplex apartment dwellers (wait 'til you get a load of the apartments later), Todd English restaurant (he’s a hot guy in the food biz), Kings Court for buffet all day, and Golden Lion and Boardwalk Grill for yet more – ye olde hamburgers, hot dogs, steak sandwiches, ribs, sausage, chicken, lamb (your basic meat products). Then there are the bars. I know there’s a specific number, I just can’t find it at the moment. And the shops and the theatre and the planetarium/auditorium and the lecture hall, the library and bookstore, the spa – the Canyon Ranch SpaClub http://www.worldshipny.com/index.html, and the entry hallway. It just goes on and on. Sort of like My Heart Will Go On. Who sang that? Wasn’t that about some ship thing? Gotta run. More later.

Posted by ttazioli at 09:36 AM

Relief

Ah, the underwear, etc., has arrived - just in case anybody's interested. At least I'll match at tonight's dinner function. And Her Majesty will no doubt notice that I'm not wearing mismatched shoes tomorrow when she names the ship. (Almost as bad as George Bush winking at people in the audience during the playing of the British national anthem when he visited recently. Well, maybe not quite that bad.) Back later.

Posted by ttazioli at 09:39 AM

I dreamed I was at Manderley again...

Picture it. England, the countryside, a dark and stormy night. There we were, a winter-clad group of writers and publicists, driven by motorcoach deep into the forest… to… http://www.handpicked.co.uk/rhinefieldhouse/RhineFieldHouse.php Now picture the picture you’ve just seen - at night. Dark, rainy, misty, muted lights in the windows, enormous, skull-crushing chandeliers behind those great windows in the center of the photograph. A fireplace big enough to roast Henry VIII. And his wives. At once. It’s the dining hall and we are here at Rhinefield House for dinner, a chance to get away from ship for a while. (By the way, find the history of Rhinefield on the site, if you can, especially the part about the original family planning to have four girls, designing the house for them - and then having but one, deadbeat son.) I know I digress. I’ll get back to the ship in a minute. This evening was too much, especially when the bus driver apparently took the bus and himself to dinner and left us. And we sat there, alone, late into the evening, waiting, wondering which rooms we might get should we be abandoned in the storm… And whether Mrs. Danvers was still alive up there, somewhere. Lighting fires. "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again. We can never go back to Manderley again, that much is certain. But sometimes in my dreams I do go back." Thank you young Mrs. DeWinter, for that tremendous opening line, and Maxim, Mrs. Danvers, Alfred Hitchcock and of course author Daphne du Maurier, of "Rebecca." This is living! (Yes, we eventually were fetched by the sated bus driver and driven away from the bug-eyed insanity of the suddenly and silently THERE Mrs. D.)

Posted by ttazioli at 04:15 PM

Hats and brickbats

It’s late here in Southampton. Well past midnight. A bunch of us, freed from today’s task of inspecting Queen Mary 2, went off to dinner in the countryside (see the previous entry – above or below this, I’m never certain with this BLOG thing.) I’ll fill you in more, as long as I can stay awake. Then tomorrow I’ll be up and at it again. Tomorrow’s the big day. The ship officially gets its name from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We’ll be busy most of the day, but I’ll bounce off and on here as I can with reports. The big items concerning journalists here? “Are hats required at the naming ceremony?” No, they’re optional. And... “Did Prince Charles REALLY plot to kill Princess Diana?” (It’s in all the papers – too bad you can’t see Wednesday’s Daily Mail! But here’s some info, nonetheless - "The death of Diana" and "Diana letter sensation". Don’t you just love the WORLD EXCLUSIVE label? And here comes the Queen, right into the midst of all this mess. Life is good in England.

Posted by ttazioli at 04:35 PM

More on Mary 2

Back to Queen Mary 2. A huge crowd of us boarded for tours about 10 yesterday (Wednesday) morning. Many of us were journalists – the rest, lottery-drawn invited guests, past Cunard passengers, lots and lots of them delightful, older Brits. We were ushered into the Grand Lobby, which covers two decks and is topped by an atrium which extends through six decks. There are 12 interior cabins, way way up there that have views to the atrium. I thought “how cool!” Later I ventured into one of them. I thought “no way!” Unfortunately, not only do you look down but also directly into the cabins of those across the atrium from you – who also have gigantic windows. On boarding, we were handed a 24-page, self-guided tour book. And I, not one to read directions on anything, lit out on my own, wandering through the entire expanse of Deck 3 which houses much of the Queen’s common spaces before opening said book. Oops. We had been instructed to save this deck for last, starting instead on 12. Way way way up there. So, I mingled with the staff and spent an hour on my own. I wish I could describe this vessel. I don't even know what to call it, it's so big. Everything, like the ship, is enormous. Enormous lobby (with sculpted relief of the Queen Mary 2 itself, swathed in changing lights; bars this way and that, offering bevies of cocktails, etc.; fetching faux orange trees to greet you along one side – I could see the glue sticking branch to trunk, so there); huge hallways decked with sculpted murals; the main food emporium called Britannia Restaurant, sprawling from side to side and up several layers; beyond that the Queen’s Room, a ballroom with a dance floor dubbed the biggest at sea; and beyond that G32, a two-story spot for nightlife. Hey, and that was just toward the stern. Up front I wandered down more hallways, past shops and elevators and into the Royal Court Theatre. And then I had to sit down. I’d been at it an hour. That’s when one of the million-or-so-it-seemed, well-stationed guides gently told me I was off in the wrong direction. So I grabbed an elevator and headed skyward. And I began the dash downward from there – from the sports deck, to the big suites, to the HUGE apartments at the stern, to the smaller suites to the smaller cabins to the interior cabins (which, frankly, are quite cozy) to more common rooms than I can count, the spa, the library, the bookstore, the lecture rooms to be populated by an Oxford University-planned lecture series on each cruise, the planetarium at sea called Illuminations, again dubbed one of a kind. Then lunch in the Britannia dining room. Exhausting tour. I’ve never seen a thing like this ship. She’s sleek, has the classic black-grey hull of ocean-going liners, the white upper decks. She appears sharp and enormous, which she is. And she is definitely the pride of those who watched her from conception to birth. And, frankly, I keep thinking of ghosts.

Posted by ttazioli at 05:11 PM

Dear Your Majesty...

Before I forget, try this little exercise. Not that I'm going to be close to her, but if I were, what would you ask me to ask the Queen in your behalf? You have 10 words or less. Mail your questions to travel@seattletimes.com and stick Dear Highness in your subject field. Please be courteous. That's in all the etiquette books.

Posted by ttazioli at 05:18 PM

January 08, 2004

It's showtime!

It’s about 7 in the morning here in Southampton, it’s Thursday and today’s the day the Queen arrives to officially name Queen Mary 2. Last night, many of us were wondering about a slip up. Say she should have a momentary lapse (we all do) and proclaim, instead, “I Christen Thee … Eulalia! Oh, wait… that’s not right, is it?” But wouldn’t that make it official? And if so, would workers immediately have to scramble up her bow and stern and rub out Queen Mary 2? Yes, it’s already painted there. And how would you fit Eulalia, oh wait that’s not right, is it… on the side of a ship? You can tell we’re giddy with anticipation.

Posted by ttazioli at 12:02 AM

Storm at sea... er, dockside

I can hear the wind whistling outside the hotel. Big time. There’s something of a classic coastal storm brewing, very much as strikes us in the Pacific Northwest. Today’s forecast of moderate rain and winds with gusts to 40 miles per hour and above is being unleashed on us – now. It’s fierce. http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/03865.html It’s also still dark, but I can see the rain coming in at a steep angle. It’s rather miserable. It sounds miserable. Welcome to christening day. And I’m already wondering about a couple of things. There’s a huge tent dockside where the ceremony officially naming the ship is to take place – or at least it was. Given the storm, I’m wondering if it’s still standing. And, of course, there go the hats! And two – well, I’m not wondering about this at all at the moment. I’m not doing the next item on our press agenda, period - which is to board a very small vessel to be taken out into the harbor for views of the ship from that angle. No thank you. Not in this storm. I’m going to watch the wind and rain from my window until it’s time for us to be taken to the ship for the ceremonies and tonight’s bit of a gala celebration. Is this your classic bit of inauspicious beginning or what?

Posted by ttazioli at 12:09 AM

The jinx

There was a press conference at the end of our few hours of ship touring yesterday. Many of us sat in the onboard planetarium, named Illuminations, with Micky Arison, chairman and chief executive, Carnival Corporation; Pamela Conover, president and chief operating officer, Cunard Line; and Commodore Ronald Warwick, master of Queen Mary 2. They took questions on everything from whether tugs are needed to maneuver the ship into place when it reaches a port (no, not necessary on most occasions, it’s that manageable and powerful) to whether the ship is filled with paying passengers on its maiden voyage (yes, it’s packed and there’s a waiting list). The questions were standard – until one writer finally stood up and asked about security, and more to the point, whether or not the Queen Mary 2 already was jinxed. If you don’t know or hadn’t heard the background for these questions, here’s one reason the question was asked… http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/11/16/mary.deaths/ And this: http://www.itv.com/news/1789442.html Additionally there have been reports that the Queen Mary 2 could be a target for terrorists. Of course, that’s something that’s been floated about all cruise ships since 9/11. But there was a recent report that something specific had been mentioned about this ship at this time, about the same time the latest security code increases have been heaped upon us. No corroboration that I can find, at least at this point, for the ship as target. But then when have we ever heard anything more than words like “chatter” and “increased activity” as they apply to security threats, and then have it left at that, being told that release of any more information would be counterproductive. Not a surprise, Conover wouldn’t answer the security question, saying instead that of course we understood why they couldn’t talk about specific security measures. Just be assured that the ship and its passengers are well protected. Arison, for his part, tooted the cruise industry horn by saying what a great job the business had done immediately after 9/11, instigating security measures designed prior to the attacks on New York and D.C. “It took us one day and it took the airlines forever” to react, he said, and put measures in place. What he doesn’t give you, in that answer, is perspective. It's worth nothing the following: Cruise passengers in 2003 http://www.cruising.org/cruisenews/news.cfm?NID=152 Passengers through Sea-Tac in 2002 http://www.portseattle.org/seatac/statistics/ Notice the numbers. Logic tells us that it might be a tad more difficult securing the world's airports than the world's cruise ships, given the gigantic disparity in number of passengers and locations. Then he took on “the jinx.” As you have seen, 15 people were killed at the shipyard at Nazaire, France, at an open house on the Queen Mary 2 for families of the construction workers. A gangway collapsed. And two more people were injured in a shakedown cruise off Southampton last week. “Jinxed? The reality is that this (the collapse in France) was an unfortunate incident… tragedy. It was a tragedy.” He went on to tell us that accidents like this happen in other shipyards and we just don’t hear about them. The reality, he said, is that these are construction zones. And we, the media, just don’t cover these things. “The ship was not named nor owned by us yet (when the accident happened). We certainly send our condolences to the families. We have moved on.” He called the departure of the ship from France on its delivery cruise to England anything but somber, as he said most European media described it. “It was one of the most spirited departures I’ve ever seen. “This is the luckiest ship in the world… because of her advance bookings.” And then there's today's storm.

Posted by ttazioli at 12:43 AM

The players

Lest you think that all the passenger ships at sea are owned by their various lines, healthy and happy in their individual and competitive business dealings, you should note this: http://www.carnivalcorp.com/Sections/InvestorOverview/Brands.aspx What ho! The gracious couple who have sailed a number of times from their home in England and who took me in tow as we went through the suites on board the ship yesterday were right. “You know, lad,” the gentleman of the couple said, leaning close. “This is an American ship.” Hard to argue with him, at least in part and at least in spirit. Take a look at that web site and notice all the lines that now sail under Carnival’s watchful eye.

Posted by ttazioli at 12:56 AM

Everybody up for God Save the Queen

Let’s see. The wind is now powerful enough to have pushed in part of the window in my hotel room. Attention all ships at sea! We’re sinking! Sorry. Just practicing. Actually, what else is there to do as we await today’s adventure but to practice. Please join me. First, we sing! http://www.angeltowns.com/members/awcanada/godsave.html and then http://www.napoleonguide.com/music_rulebrit.htm and finally http://www.lyrics.jp/lyrics/T014100010001.asp And then we practice our manners and set out to finalize the purchase of a gift for Her Majesty. On second thought, in this weather? No. She’ll have to make do with what she’s got. But do study on the following: http://www.renfair.com/bristol/media/Meeting%20the%20Queen.pdf

Posted by ttazioli at 01:11 AM

Blow ye winds!

It's official. The storm at Southampton increases. The rain is now moving sideways and something large and bannerlike just flew by my side of the hotel from the general direction of the waterfront. Oh, and the window in my room has sprung inward another notch. God Save the Queen! Everybody else, over the side!

Posted by ttazioli at 01:32 AM

The ship has a name

If there's one thing you can say about this country, it is this. It is precise; precision is its lifeblood. How else to explain the naming ceremony for Queen Mary 2 this afternoon in Southampton. As is the ship, it's quite difficult to describe. Except to say it was perfect - in timing and execution and certainly scale. And like the ship, huge. After a hellacious morning that had to have had royal watchers and big ship tenders rolling their eyes heavenward, the rain stopped, the wind shrank to a stiff breeze and the skies cleared, and in we went, about 1,500 of us, dressed to the nines, to see the Queen and the ceremony that would officially bring Queen Mary 2 into the ranks of ocean liners. We were shown off the ship, across the dock and into a pier-side tent - theater is more like it. An enormous, heavy plastic-lined structure on the outside, billowy curtain-lined on the inside that housed tiered seating for all of us, a stage big enough to hold hundreds (which it eventually did) and a curtain that stretched as a backdrop behind it all, blocking our view of the water and the Queen Mary 2. In fact, it covered the back of the stage completely. It easily was more than 100 feet wide and 50 to 60 feet tall. Billowing, like everything else, thanks to winds outside that still caused the structure to creak and its outer lining to snap. And lots in the audience to crane their heads upward. Regardless, the show was to begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. and it did. And it went like clockwork. Precisely. The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, Portsmouth, came first, playing for precisely 45 minutes. Then the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra entered and took its seats on one side of the stage while the Royal Choral Society entered to fill the other. Music rose and ended then - precisely as the very last woman in the choral reached her chair. Precisely. And then in came Her Majesty and her lifetime consort His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and took their seats in the front row and on we went. A few minutes later, just as British singer Heather Small finished an anthem called Proud, the curtain fell and right there, filling the entire stage as a backdrop was the prow of the Queen Mary 2. (I did find this one thing a bit odd. No one used the ship's name, until after the Queen made it official. I mean, there it is, big as life, with the name in letters no doubt as tall as I am. But nix on the name until it's official. I had thought about standing up and shouting, "Hey, turn around! It's not 'This Ship.' The ship has a name and it's right behind you!" But that may have been unseemly. You really had to be there. Again, minutes later, Her Majesty was invited to the stage. STEVE REIGATE / AP Britain's Queen Elizabeth II officially christened the Queen Mary 2 today in Southampton, England. She spoke one sentence naming the ship, invoked the deity's guarantee that she and her passengers be saved from peril on the sea, hit a button on the podium and way up behind her a bottle of champagne was loosed, bashed the ship, everybody cheered and the vessel had a name. And that's all she said. And all she wrote. Her Majesty headed back to her chair (yes, darlings, she was fetching in pink coat and pink and purple hat; no purse, for all of you who sent e-mail and asked about its contents), sat through a finale of rousing music, fireworks and light show and then got up and left. And so did we. It was quite a day. And I sit here now in my cabin - which is nice, but I'm not sure how two people would survive a week in this thing. I've yet to figure out where to store luggage - the contents, yeah, the bags - um, no room. The phone doesn't work, the television control has no batteries and I'm not sure they were expecting anyone to use more than a small bathroom towel - which is about all there is. But now it's time for the parties. So, I'm changing - and looking for a way to send this to the States. Seems there's no Internet access either, at least none I can find at the moment. Hope this gets to you! Ta ta for now.

Posted by ttazioli at 11:23 AM

It's a say-something hat day!

It certainly was a say-something hat day at the naming ceremony. It was also a say-something fur day. My fav hat? The one that looked like it was simply a small stand of twigs done as velvet and growing directly out of the center of the head of the woman in front of me. I nearly asked if she glued it on or whether it simply grew there. My fav fur? The dark black number that, when it reached the waistline, became layer on layer of fur as it descended to the floor, sort of skirt over skirt of skirt of animal hide. Tonight there are cocktail parties galore. And then a formal dinner at 8 p.m. After that, there are gaming lessons in the Casino, a performance by the Royal Cunard Singers & Dancers, a DJ and band somewhere, and several showings of what's called Infinity Express in the Planetarium. That's where I'm going later; the chairs tilt back and I can snooze. But first, I need to find a way to get this all to you. I go in search of modern technology. Pray for precision.

Posted by ttazioli at 11:29 AM

That's it for this evening

We're putting some photos up as we get them. Check out the site; we'll add more as they come in. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/travel219 So it's 7:30 p.m. here. I'm in the press room, where I feel at home. In great part because it's about as disastrous in looks as The Seattle Times' digs. Ah, what's life without mess, bad technology and a lot of people whose favorite expression is the blank stare. It's popular the world over! So - I'll check in tomorrow with some final thoughts. I need to track down the people on my deck who were yelling at porters about their quarters. Too small, was what I heard yelled in accents other than American, thank God. But I have to say on my deck, I'm in agreement - for the price you'll be expected to pay. We were told yesterday minimum sailing is about 1,000 pounds, which, if you look at the latest exchange rate, means you're rushing headlong at nearly $2,000. That's a bit much. And that's per person. If you want the top of the line, try 18,000 pounds for one of the apartments at the stern. Try doubling that cool amount to get an equivalent in dollars. Story heard yesterday was that a Cunard exec was to have sailed on the maiden voyage in one of the apartments. But a customer called, wanting to book it - for $42,000. Said exec gave up the space for the cash! Wouldn't you? Way outta my league, I'll tell ya. Anyway, have a great one. I'm going back to wreak more good ol' U.S. charm on these darlins. Bye.

Posted by ttazioli at 11:37 AM

January 09, 2004

Final touches

It's 5:30 a.m. here in Southampton, and I'm still aboard the Queen Mary 2. I would imagine most of my fellow overnighters are still sound asleep. I'm up early because I made the mistake of returning to my cabin after dinner last night to drop off some things, sat down and fell sound asleep. I missed the late-night festivities. But that's what a voyage is all about, right, doing your own thing at your own pace? So, it's time to roll the credits and wrap this up. • There was distinct absence of sequins and extra body weight on nearly all of last night's guests. I attribute that to the absence of U.S. citizens. Yes, let those cards and letters pour in. • The ceremonies and toasts all have been on time, on target, far from cloying, blessedly brief and, for the most part, compelling. In retrospect, the entire ceremony was one in a million. • Grace before dinner, delivered by the ship's master, Commodore Warwick, was about one sentence long. Something like bless this food and this ship. Amen. Sit down. A U.S. version of same? I won't answer that. Not in a million years. Any attempt would guarantee that I would be seat-belt-strapped into the next hot rod to hell. • THE Toast. Did you get that? ONE toast. From a member of the British governing body. I quote: "To the Queen." That was it. Stand up, sit down, eat, eat, eat. (We did eat, by the way. Trilogie de Canard - which I take to mean duck prepared three ways - fantastic. Consommé en Croute, which would be essence of pheasant with pistachio crust. Braised Maine Lobster in Champagne Sauce, "nestled" in papardelle pasta with green asparagus. And champagne, and wine and dessert.) • The ship is huge, and grand. Would I sail on her? I'm not sure. Honestly, I am not one for cruises. So how did I get the travel editor's job? Who knows? That said, a crossing of the Atlantic, an entirely different affair, is appealing - and that's what the Queen Mary 2 is built for. But this ship is not inexpensive. You can see some of the prices in an earlier entry. But it might behoove you to wait until the ship has settled into its normal runs, and then watch for discounts. Check with travel agents who specialize in cruises. The discounts will come. Maybe not for a while, but they will. A majority of the early bookings on this ship are from the U.S. The Europeans aren't using her - yet. I would imagine, from conversations here, that they will do what they always do: Wait for the impetuous, suckers-for-any-trend Americans to have their way with the ship, move on to the next fleeting passion, and leave room for those who really do like to sail. • I like Southampton. I wasn't here long enough to see much of it, though. Our schedule was quite understandably jammed and focused on the Queen Mary 2. But I like this town. Reminds me of home. And I've enjoyed the folks I've met here very much. (Including the two guys I met at a pub the other night who slaughtered me in darts but who still insisted that I skip one of the press dinners and come with them to a game at their new football stadium. I regret not having done that.) • Did you know that Southampton was the departure spot for the founding fathers and mothers of what we know now as the United States? • "Would you all please be upstanding..." is a much more appealing way of saying "Please stand up." Sadly, it's not something we brought with us to the colonies. • "Ladies and gentlemen please note that all prices on board are quoted in U.S. dollars which makes the shopping even more inviting." I had to reread that a couple times. It's a line from the Daily Programme issued on board, a rundown of what we overnighters would be doing, seeing, eating, etc. "More inviting?" It was absolutely frightening. At least with quotes in pounds we can pretend - for a few minutes. • There was scant mention of the folks who died in the production of this vessel - and there have been several - except by religious figures brought aboard for the ceremonies. Frankly, I find that appalling. • And it's que-NARD. Like the que ball. With that, I'm outta here. It's been grins. Cheers.

Posted by ttazioli at 10:12 AM