SCRIBBLINGS – MARCH 2022

                                                    From Bill Miller 

Mar 2022

Fri Mar 25^th Onboard the Queen Mary 2 at sea in the North Atlantic:  Bruce Nutton  had an American father & an English mother and as a teenager, in the 1950s, he crossed the Atlantic several times.  Even as a young man, he himself had a fascination for ships, especially those big, famous liners.   As it happened, he traveled on four of the most illustrious of the 1950s & ‘60s – the Liberte, Ile de France, Queen Mary & United States.   Recently, we met aboard the Queen Mary 2.  He’d attended my talks and some long-ago memories were sparked.

“Despite being English, my mother absolutely loved the French Line, in fact many things French,” he recalled.  “The Liberte might just have been her favorite ship of all.   We were very fortunate to travel in first class and the Liberte’s first class quarters were magnificent:   Fine, highly polished woods, Aubusson carpets, Lalique chandeliers and chairs done in that deep, rich red and which came from the Normandie.   It was all sort of post-war French Art Deco.   The waiters were charming, often good looking and delightfully accented.  Mother was absolutely charmed and even infatuated.   And one of those red-suited bell boys would always appear to light her after-dinner cigarette.   But of course the food, both the preparation and presentation, was, as was said so often,  absolutely magnifique!   It was Skate in butter sauce for breakfast just as you said in your talk.   The caviar and the wines just flowed. Mother went to dinner wearing long gowns, jewels and a fur wrap.  My parents sat each evening through 6 or 7 courses.  Dining was the main event – and then more Champagne and dancing afterward. First class on the Liberte [seen below at Le Havre] was like being in the finest hotel in Paris except that it moved.   It took 6 days, as I recall, to go from Le Havre to New York – and four of those nights were formal dress.” 

The Liberte & Ile de France together at New York, but idle during a French maritime strike in 1957

The main lounge on the Liberte, done largely in gold & in red

But it wasn’t all glamor and luxury and that fine dining for a teenager.   “My father took me one afternoon down to the ship’s indoor pool,” recalled Bruce.  “I think it was on D Deck, at the very bottom of the ship. But I was petrified.  I did not want to go in the water.   I was convinced that there was a hole at the bottom of the pool and which extended underneath the ship itself.   I feared I would be sucked into the ocean – and lost!”

“On another crossing on the Liberte, I did not want to go, to leave my friends in America.  After leaving New York, I went down to the gym where there was a large ship’s wheel mounted on the wall.   It was merely a decorative item, but I was convinced it could be useful – well, useful to me.   I manage to loosen the wheel and turn it 180 degrees.   I was sure this would cause the Liberte to reverse course and return to New York!”

On another crossing, Bruce and his parents took the equally splendid Ile de France.   The year was 1957.   “She was another ship of great decorative style.   The first class restaurant was three decks high and the lounges had fine tapestries as wall hangings.   Our cabin was large, styled in more Art Deco and had a bathtub as long as the Seine.   The Ile was also unique – she had that rare sense of a ship having a ‘soul’.   There was this ambience.   This feeling.   This sense of romance even.   She was, after all, rated as the very best ship for a shipboard romance.   Passengers strolled the promenade deck and it was called a ‘boulevard’ – with passing passengers.   One or two movie stars were on our trip.  You would always smell  expensive French perfume on the lle de France.   And on our crossing, the Ile was still heroic – she had just rescued lots of passengers & crew from the sinking Andrea Doria [July 25^th 1956].”

“The Queen Mary was another ship with that sense of having a hidden soul, something different from the steel, wood, nuts & bolts.   The feeling sort of embraced you.  You  just loved being onboard almost from the moment you stepped across the gangway.   We do 3 trips in her.   She was different than the French liners, however.   She was more like some grand old British country house filled with traditions, order, a sense of stately solitude.   The staff, again in first class, were Cunard trained and mannered down to their little fingers.  It was all very proper.  I remember thinking the chef looked like a winter snowman.  He came to our table, with a silver trolley and to carve the finest beef you ever tasted, in an all-white uniform and a big puff hat.   It was all done with a seriousness – there was no idle chit-chat, but highly trained manners.   Yes, the Queen Mary was like the best run country house, a sort of Downton Abbey on the seas.”

               SCRIBBLINGS

                                                    From Bill Miller 

Mar 2022

Tue Mar 22^nd:   At sea in the eastern Atlantic onboard the Queen Mary 2:   In the long lineage of glorious Cunard captains, Aseem Hashmi is one of the very best.   On our recent three-part voyage, he took the time and sit down (and over coffee) discuss the Cunard flagship and the recent Covid pandemic.

Capt Hashmi is also quite unique.   In the annals of both ocean liner & Cunard’s 182-year history, the captain has held two prestigious roles – he commanded aircraft for British Airways and then, making a career change and being extensively re-educated and retrained, he attended maritime college, graduated, joined Cunard and became master of the illustrious Queen Mary 2. 

COVID & THE QUEEN MARY 2

The Queen Mary 2 was on her annual long winter cruise and in Australia when the disruptive and deadly covid virus took its firm hold back in March 2020.   Like cruise ships worldwide, all plans were disrupted — and huge changes and, of course, challenges lay ahead.   Captain Aseem Hashmi was due to go on leave from the Cunard flagship, but sudden, fresh orders were flashed from Carnival/Cunard headquarters in Southampton.

“We were ordered to return to the UK – and abort our long, 95-day winter cruise.  So, we disembarked all passengers at Fremantle and flew them home – well, except for 200, who for medical reasons could not fly.  Our homeward routing was simple:   Directly to Southampton via only Mauritius (for fuel) and then Durban (again for fuel).   Before departing, however, we were officially re-classified as a ‘merchant ship’.  We were no longer a ‘passenger liner’.   Therefore, there would be no entertainment onboard (except for one pianist), the menus reduced and, at my own request, having church service only once a week.   After departing from Fremantle, we did have an added duty:  We set-up meteorological buoys in the Indian Ocean for the Australian Government.”

Captain Hashmi continued:   “Once at Durban, we waited at anchor for 6 days.   There was a long queue of ships with us.   No one was allowed ashore even as we took on South African fuel.   We actually loaded 3 days extra fuel just for a possible emergency.  We would be 2 ½ weeks at sea, without port calls, from Durban northward to Southampton.  We did, however, have a medical emergency off East London and used a helicopter evacuation.  Altogether, we sailed at a reduced 20 knots to conserve fuel.  There was a long gap between Walvis Bay and Dakar with just about no suitable ports [along the West African coast] for landing or even emergencies.”

“We had 1,250 crew and the 200 guests onboard for the 29-day voyage,” added the Captain.   “Deck 13 was reserved for passengers only.  A bar was open four hours a day – two hours in the daytime, two in the evening.  The crew generally spent time ‘deep cleaning’ the ship.  The only notation during the trip was that we did have another medical emergency off Tenerife, but again we used a helicopter.”

“When we finally reached Southampton, there was great uncertainty, even great fear, of the virus.   It was the very beginning — there was no covid testing yet.   Even the harbor pilots feared us.  On the bridge, we were all dressed like suited astronauts.   Southampton itself was so strange, even eerie.  It was totally silent – completely empty.   The Queen Victoria, Azura and Britannia were already laid-up.  We could see from the bridge that the roads and streets on shore were completely silent.  There wasn’t a car or bus or truck in sight.   But our first priority was to get the staff & crew off the ship.   It became a slow and difficult process.   Quarantine periods in the UK were in place.  The crew was told that they would be paid for at least several months, but sent home first.   Carnival UK chartered several 747 jets and sent them to India & the Philippines.  But first, it was all a very emotional farewell. The Queen Mary 2 was their home, their safe haven.   Many crewmembers were in tears.  We told them that they would probably be back in 4 months.  But it actually took 20 months for them to return.”

The next decision was what to do with the Queen Mary 2.   Captain Hashmi rotated in command and along with a much reduced 120 maintenance crew.   The 131,000-ton liner was placed in “hot lay-up” (as compared to “warm lay-up” for longer periods and “cold lay-up” for  extended periods).   The Captain added, “We were anchored for a month at a time off Weymouth and later Torquay, along England’s South Coast.  At one point, 10  liners were gathered together. We were a solemn group.  Months and months passed, but we would actually leave for sea at times, mostly  in winter and because of storms.  Every crewmember had his or her own cabin — and one with a balcony.  The Carinthia Lounge on Deck 7 was converted to the officers’ club.”

“The normally busy and happy Queen Mary 2 was like the Mary Celeste,” concluded Captain Hashmi.  “She was empty and silent, and we had only dim lighting.  Once a week, we would run water (showers, sinks, toilets, etc) at the same time to avoid plumbing problems.   The ship was of course full of rumors, especially ones of a return to service.   The dates were actually postponed several times.  It was all referred to as our ‘RTS,’ our return to service.   Finally, we were sent to Brest in France for drydocking and a refit, and then, in late September [2021], the crew returned.   A few did not return of course, but those that did  had to be re-trained for safety, newly in place Covid rules & precautions and refreshing for Cunard’s fine White Star service.  The Queen Mary 2 resumed sailing that November [2021].”

Bill Miller on “Crystal Cruises”

LITTLE SCRIBBLES

From Bill Miller 

Cruise writer & expert Gene Sloan has penned what is to me an excellent & highly accurate article on the great Crystal Cruises.  I am sharing it here because I too sincerely hope that Crystal survives and returns to the seas.   Crystal is outstanding – and then some!

Good journalists are supposed to be impartial. They stay neutral when reporting the news. And even as someone who has built a career writing about the fluffiest of topics — cruising — I have tried to hold fast to such principles.

Alas, every so often a story that I am covering hits me in the gut to such a level that it is hard to stay impartial. The suspension of operations at Crystal Cruises Wednesday in the wake of a financial meltdown at its parent company is just such a story.

Crystal is, without a doubt, the finest cruise line that I have ever experienced — and I have sailed with more than 40 cruise brands. The possibility that it won’t be around to continue to set the bar for what a great cruise line can be fills me with sadness. 

I will lay my bias on the table right here, for everyone to see: I really want Crystal to survive.

Whether it does or not seems up in the air.

For now, the suspension of operations at Crystal, which specializes in luxury cruises, is just temporary … at least, that’s what the line is saying. On Wednesday, Crystal said it only canceled sailings of its three oceangoing ships through the end of April. It canceled sailings of its five river ships through the end of May.

But the line’s fate is now in the hands of liquidators for its parent company, Genting Hong Kong.

Genting Hong Kong said on Wednesday that it was nearly out of cash and filed for what is known as a winding-up petition with a court in Bermuda, where it is registered. This clears the way for liquidators to sell or shut down divisions as part of an orderly restructuring.

What happens next is unclear.

In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, Genting Hong Kong said some of its business activities, including (but not limited to) the operations of its Asia-based Dream Cruises division, would continue as its liquidators pursue a financial restructuring “in order to preserve and protect the core assets and maintain the value” of these assets during the process.

However, it said it expected the majority of its existing operations to “cease to operate.”

Genting Hong Kong has a controlling interest in three cruise lines — Dream Cruises, Asia-based Star Cruises and Crystal — as well as shipyards in Germany and a Resorts World casino in Malaysia.

Why I am rooting for Crystal Cruises!

The luxury corner of the cruise world in North America is dominated by just a few major players, most notably Crystal, Silversea Cruises, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Together, they operate about two dozen ocean ships.

Over the years, I have sailed with all of these lines many times, and there is no bad apple in the bunch. They all are wonderful cruise operators, with beautiful ships, carefully crafted itineraries and — most importantly — generally impeccable service.

But among them all, Crystal has always stood out. It’s something special.

There is a culture on board Crystal ships that is like nothing I have experienced anywhere else at sea — and this is coming from someone who has sailed on more than 160 cruise vessels operated by 41 different lines. I’ve easily taken more than 200 cruises in all.

The service on Crystal ships is consistently intuitive and flawless at a level that makes it extraordinary. It’s often the little things that tell the tale.

A few months ago, when I was sitting in the Palm Court lounge on Crystal’s new expedition ship, Crystal Endeavor, the room’s bar manager, Ana, arrived with a cappuccino. She quietly placed it on the table in front of me while I was typing away on a story.

I hadn’t ordered the cappuccino, but I was indeed ready for one, which she somehow intuitively knew. She clearly had taken note in the days before that I liked to slowly sip on a coffee as I wrote in a corner of the room. She must have noticed that my coffee orders on board were invariably cappuccinos, not Americanos or lattes.

Related: Why we named Crystal Endeavor the ‘best new expedition ship’ 

Ana also struck up conversations with me at times when I visited her bar, but she seemed to know just the right time to do so and just the right time to leave me alone. That’s a fine line to walk, and she walked it like a pro.

I wrote about this at the time, as it was a perfect example of the amazing, anticipate-your-every-need service that is a hallmark of Crystal.

It’s the sort of service that points to a company not only hiring the very best people in the business but also training them extensively and about as perfectly as possible.

Crystal’s crew members are not the only ones who are a delight, though. So are the passengers. It’s a truism of cruising that every line has its own culture when it comes to their regular crowd, and Crystal ships are a second home to some of the most interesting, fun and engaging people you’ll find at sea. I always enjoy being around them.

The best outcome:

The next few months could go a few ways for Crystal.

In a statement Wednesday, the line said its suspension of operations for the next few months would “provide Crystal’s management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward.”

That leaves open a lot of possibilities. It’s also not clear how much of a vote Crystal’s management will get when it comes to choosing a path forward. Judging from Genting Hong Kong’s filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday, the company’s liquidators will have the biggest sway over what comes next.

Related: I just boarded Crystal’s new expedition ship. Here’s the first thing that blew me away

In the filing, the company suggested the liquidators would pursue a financial restructuring that could keep at least parts of the company running. However, they also would have the power to “dispose of all or certain of the company’s assets with a view to maximizing value and returns for creditors.”

That could mean that Crystal resumes operations as a division of a restructured Genting Hong Kong. It also could mean it resumes operations under the ownership of another cruise company, hedge fund or other entity that buys it during the liquidation process. It also could mean the brand is shut down completely or sees some of its eight vessels sold off for cash to interested buyers.

I like to think that Crystal has such a loyal following and offers such a unique brand promise that someone either within or outside of Genting Hong Kong will see the value of it as an entity kept whole and make a play to keep it running just as it is.

Given Genting Hong Kong’s not-so-great track record in overseeing the brand, the best outcome to me would be for the line to be sold to a financially sound buyer who won’t make too many changes to what it is now.

That’s my biased hope, at least.

Life on the Liners – January 2, 2022

From Bill Miller

Christmas Week 2021 on the Queen Mary 2

A random selection of photos from the Cunard flagship  … the ship has been  anchored off Barbados & again now berthed (Fri/Sat night)… the Queen Victoria remains a mile away, waiting at anchor  … 

Gala New Year’s Eve dinner onboard, fine formal attire, party, shows & finally grand midnight buffet here onboard the Queen Mary 2

Covid & the sinister Variant are on a rampage & the cruise business is not excepted.  

One headline just yesterday read:

More than 80 cruise ships are being investigated for COVID outbreaks. So why are people still going aboard?
The cruise industry has welcomed back more than four million passengers and demand remains strong. But that was before Omicron rocked the boat

Then a letter from a friend on a six-star luxury ship in the Caribbean:

“First yesterday,  before our arrival in Curacao,  the Captain announced at 8:30am there had been COVID cases found on board determined the day before. We think the number is 6. The port of Curacao was determining if anyone could go ashore. We were docked close to the center of town. 

By 10am the Captain came back with the news from the Miami office that no passengers could leave the ship here. We would depart on the original schedule at 1PM.”

Here onboard the Queen Mary 2, all guests are very conscientious, careful and follow the strict Cunard protocol:   “HFD — Hands, Face, Distance”

Every step of the way, Cunard & the staff onboard the Queen Mary 2 have been superb – kind, helpful, caring!  

We were due back in New York on Monday morning, but we will now fly – on Cunard arranged charter flights – and head home this weekend.  

PS:   Safe & sound and home yesterday on a specially chartered (by Cunard), brand new jet – and door-to-door for me:  Barbados-Newark.  

Thank you & highest praises to Cunard – their efforts were extraordinary, highly detailed, arranged step-by-step and altogether as easy & as comfortable under the circumstances.   In fact, I was home only one day earlier than planned.

PS:  My little red camera wanted a holiday rest, but request denied!

And one more time: A deep bow to Cunard and its excellent staff & crew in dealing with this otherwise very stressful & complex Covid interruption.  They  worked non-stop in a massive transition of getting passengers off the ship & then home.

Happy New Year TO ALL … 

AND THREE CHEERS TO CUNARD!

Life on the Liners

From Bill Miller

Christmas Day 2021

At sea on the Queen Mary 2

What is that expression about fine intentions and good deeds?  I had long finished my late morning talk and looked forward to a light lunch & then an easy, relaxing afternoon.  I felt firm in my decision:   I was not going to the ship’s Gala Christmas High Sea.  The temptations are far too great!

Well, after attending an afternoon recital, I ran into an elderly British couple – and could I help them, even take them, to the far end of the ship, to the Queens Room.   Well, here comes the good deed.  I walked them all the way and then, in a flash, I was sucked into the door.   And into a  virtual fantasyland of specially made winter cakes, smiling, white-gloved waiters and commanding, white-hatted head chefs & chief bakers.   “We have a table just for you,” said a charming matire’d.   Like the Titanic, I sank – and quickly.  Waiters appeared: pouring tea, offering silver trays of sandwiches, then scones. Despite all intentions,  I was seated at the Gala High Tea!

But then it all gets worse:   I decided to take some pictures of the center display of magnificent cakes, pastries & cookies.  Then, like a tugboat sidling up to an incoming liner, the ship’s head chef – a commanding, proud & beaming son of India named Kumar – grabbed my arm and began a guided tour.   Snap and two waiters appeared, followed us and held three or was it four plates.   “Mr Miller, must try this” were Kumar’s repeated words and that applied to just about everything – and especially his Indian chocolate.  Yes, it was my own journey of late afternoon decadence.  Mountains, yes mountains, of baked items were destined, like a cruise itinerary, to my table.   My plans were in tatters, well at least crumbs.

Kumar (above) the kind, proud villain in our afternoon tale …