PUERTO LIMON, Costa Rica — Suspended from heavy cables, a small, metal gondola holding seven people glided slowly upward from the shaded floor of a Costa Rican rain forest to its midsection and then to its canopy.
Bromeliads clung to the tree trunks. Giant ferns and the plume-like foliage of royal palms punctuated the dense walls of greenery. A few brilliantly colored butterflies flitted by. As though they had descended in a submarine to the bottom of the ocean, the visitors were immersed in another world.
“Wunderbar!” one murmured to his wife.
The gondola held six passengers from the Cunard Line’s newest cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth. Two were German, two were English, one was Canadian, and one was from the United States. They were on a day-long shore excursion while the ship was docked in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica as part of her first world voyage. Among the QE’s 2,068 passengers were people of 40 nationalities. The crew of nearly 1,000 came from 55 countries.
“We are a very British product that looks after international guests,” said Alastair Greener, Cunard’s entertainment director.
Though the Cunard Line is now owned by Miami-based Carnival Corporation, the Cunard ships are registered in Southampton, England, and the senior officers are primarily British.
The Cunard Line dates from 1840 when Samuel Cunard, a businessman from Nova Scotia, received a contract from the British government to provide regular trans-Atlantic mail service via steamship. Britannia, Cunard’s first mail ship, also carried passengers.
In the last 171 years, Cunard has had its ups and downs - nearly going out of business more than once but also launching some of the most famous and beloved ocean liners in the world. In 2008, when Cunard finally retired Queen Elizabeth 2 after more than 40 years of service, people lined the banks of every port she visited on her last voyage, and waved and wept.
Queen Elizabeth (the new one) was launched in October as a sister ship to Cunard’s Queen Victoria, which entered service late in 2007. Both ships were designed to serve as itinerary-driven cruise ships, complementing Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, an ocean liner that regularly makes trans-Atlantic crossings between Southampton and New York.
Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria are similar in size, but the newer ship is, if anything, even more elegant than her predecessor.
The art deco decor evokes the 1920s, when ocean travel was in its heyday.
“I like the style of the ship,” said QE’s cap-tain, Julian Burgess, who is new to Cunard, though not to other lines in the Carnival Corp. portfolio. Previously he served as captain of several P&O and Princess vessels. “I love Cunard’s international clientele. I hadn’t been used to that before. On the other ships, the clientele was mainly British. The guests on Queen Elizabeth seem to be a different profile. They are well heeled and well-traveled.”
As Capt. Burgess noted, “People associate Cunard with being a high-end product” and choose Cunard ships because “they like the formality.” In the evenings, there is a dress code and at least one night a week, an event for which formal attire is required. “I think that, in a lot of respects, distinguishes us from the other cruise lines,” he said.
The other thing that distinguishes Cunard is its long tradition. “On other cruise lines, there’s all sorts of art,” said the captain, “but here, most of it is associated with Cunard ships. There are so many mementos on the ship. That is something I haven’t come across before with the other brands and I think that is fantastic. The guests like that. The company and ships are legendary.”
Cunard’s British heritage and its traditions are evident in many ways on Queen Elizabeth, from afternoon tea served daily by white-gloved waiters who also proffer crustless sandwiches, pastries and scones to deck games such as croquet, paddle tennis and lawn bowling. Stairwells, corridors and the Commodore Club lounge and bar are filled with paintings and photos of Cunard ships and the celebrities and royalty who have sailed on them.
In the two-story, central atrium of Queen Elizabeth is a large wooden, inlaid panel depicting the original Cunard Queen Elizabeth. The panel was designed and created by a woodworking company owned by David Linley, son of the late Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, and Queen Elizabeth II’s only nephew.
The atrium also features the queen’s portrait, which hangs on a wall where the silver-haired, diamond-encrusted monarch (who christened the ship) can survey the comings and goings. Other images of the queen are found throughout the ship, including a gold bust formerly on Queen Elizabeth 2, and now at the entrance to the twodeck-high Queen’s Room, which is used for classes and tea during the day and for dancing at night.
If all this sounds a bit stuffy, it isn’t. There isn’t any neon on Queen Elizabeth. The guests don’t tend to deck themselves out in hot pink shorts and spangles, but they are clearly enjoying themselves. There are many repeat customers. Queen Elizabeth’s first world voyage attracted 803 people at a starting price of around $21,000 a person, double occupancy, for an inside cabin. Sanjeeta Najar, the world voyage concierge, said that 85 percent of those doing a world voyage on Queen Elizabeth had done at least one before on a Cunard ship.
Though there aren’t any rock-climbing walls on the ship, there are plenty of things to do. On a typical day at sea, there are bridge, dance and painting classes, movies, concerts by a string quartet or a pianist, table tennis tournaments, Trivial Pursuit games and informal gatherings of people with similar interests. The ship has a well-equipped gym and spa that includes a large, heated, indoor Jacuzzi pool and a thermal suite with heated lounge chairs and a variety of heat and steam rooms. There are two outdoor swimming pools. There is a casino. The Golden Lion Pub is equipped with board games.
Lectures, for which Cunard is noted, are held in the spacious Royal Court Theatre, and are packed. The 6,000-volume library is well used. In fact, most of the passengers seem to have a book in their hands at all times, whether they’re sunning themselves on a deck chair, dining in the cafeteria-style Lido or waiting for a lecture to begin.
In the evenings, there are presentations in the handsome Royal Court Theatre ranging from fully staged plays and magicians to classical singers and juggling. And every night, there is dancing in the Queen’s Room and sometimes elsewhere on the ship as well.
All of this is available to all passengers regardless of stateroom size, but Cunard ships still have vestiges of the old class system that once segregated First Class passengers from others. On Queen Elizabeth, top-of-the-line Queens Grill and Princess Grill passengers have their own intimate dining rooms with premium food and impeccable service. They also can dine in a private outdoor courtyard and have a secluded, private deck area. Most passengers dine in the Britannia, a two deck room that seats 872 people at any one time. As an intermediate option, there are 39 Britannia Club staterooms that give passengers access to the Britannia Club dining room, which seats 84 people and serves Britannia food.
The task of feeding Queen Elizabeth’s passengers and crew is gargantuan. The ship’s kitchens are busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week preparing 12,000 meals a day. The ship employs 142 chefs.Because of the international clientele, they have to cater to a variety of tastes. “The Germans want cheese and cold cuts in the morning. The Japanese want miso soup and rice, so that’s what we provide,” said Nicholas Oldroyd, Queen Elizabeth’s executive chef. In addition, he said, “All galleys have a special order cook to accommodate dietary requirements.”
Cunard prides itself on its food offerings, but obviously there are differences in quality between what is served to the passengers who are paying top dollar and those who are traveling in less expensive accommodations. The accommodations themselves also differ substantially. Princess Grill, Queens Grill, and suites are spacious, with ample storage space and bathrooms that are equipped with bathtubs as well as showers. Less expensive staterooms just have showers and might feel cramped on a long voyage.
Nevertheless, that is not where most people on a cruise spend most of their time.
Asked to describe the ship he commands, Capt. Burgess said, “This ship is elegant but relaxed. It feels well established, even though it’s new. It’s warm, friendly and elegant.”
That seems about right.
More information is available by calling (800) 728-6273 and at
cu nard.com
.
Travel, Pages 52 on 03/13/2011