We woke early thanks to the QE2’s wakeup call service. This morning I would be presenting at 10am, as the ship approached Palermo for her final visit here.

The QE2’s telephone system was ‘state of the art’ when it was introduced in 1969. I am sure that it was updated and modified several times during the ship’s career, and sometime between my first cruise aboard in 1995 and my penultimate voyage a few months before in 2008, it was definitely updated.

The old tan-coloured phones I recall from 1995 had been replaced, with more modern ones.

And this isn’t some kind of false childhood memory. After I wrote this, and just moments before I sent it out, my friend and subscriber Gavin Harper emailed me this photo of him aboard QE2 in 1996. You can clearly see the old style phone on the dresser.

Remarkably, Gavin is in cabin 3049, the exact same room Rachelle and I were sailing in 12 years later during this very voyage.

I took a photo of the phone in our Five Deck cabin in March 2008, so you can see the ‘newer’ style I am referring to. There was a wake up call button on the newer phones. Pressing it would lead to a ringing tone followed almost immediately by a voice, with a slightly computerised twang, saying something along the lines of:

I had entered 0 - 7 - 0 - 0 the night before. At which time the voice said… “thank you very much” and hung up.

I remember the phone gave no guidance as to whether those four digits were a 24 or 12 hour clock, but I’d always correctly guessed it was 24 hour. You just had to hope you’d done it right. But luckily, the phone rang at 7am.

With the exception of the Computer Learning Centre helpdesk, a crossword puzzle and some group stretching classes, my lecture was the first order of business for the day.

Today’s topic was “The New QE2”, a title that Cunard bestowed upon the ship in 1987 when she returned to service following a massive $100 million re-engining project.

As the lecture was at 10am, we made a quick dash to the Lido for a bite to eat. The ship was sailing towards Palermo and was expected to dock at 12-noon… though the daily programme’s front cover had incorrectly noted that she would be alongside by 12am!

I love how Cunard used the tagline of ‘The Most Famous Ocean Liners In The World’. At this time, they still had two ocean liners, QE2 and QM2 while prior to 2004, they had three, when Caronia was in the fleet.

After breakfast, we headed back to the cabin where I changed into my lecture outfit, and grabbed my laptop and charging cable. From Three Deck, we headed aft, to the D Stairway and then to Upper Deck, where the Theatre was located.

QE2’s Theatre was accessible on Upper Deck through doors on the port and starboard side. We’d made our way to the port side, as this was where the podium was on the stage.

It was not yet 9:30am and already there were people in the Theatre, reserving seats.

I was excited to see the interest in this talk, as I had wondered if the impending arrival in port might impact the crowd size. I had been worried for nothing, as by 9:45am, the entertainment staff were already asking people ‘not to sit in the aisles’.

Just like on my first talk, I was introduced by Thomas Quinones. Thomas had been with QE2 for many years, and he even appeared on the ‘welcome aboard’ image on the ship’s brochures and website. He’s the man in the middle with the Cunard logo on his jacket:

At precisely 10am, Thomas took to the stage and introduced me once again. There was a tremendous round of applause as I made my way up to the podium, and the talk was underway. While during the first talk, it took a few minutes for the audience to warm to this ‘young’ historian, this time I was among friends.

I discussed the ship’s 1986/87 refit, the return to service celebrations, Princess Diana’s visit to the ship in 1987, Cunard’s 150th anniversary in 1990 and QE2’s 1994 refit.

I finished on the growing popularity that QE2 experienced in the late 90s and early 2000s. This helped Carnival Corporation justify the $800m order for her successor: Queen Mary 2.

And the final slides, well this is where things got a bit emotional. I’d made a tribute to the workers from John Brown Shipyard in the first talk. This time, I acknowledged QE2’s retirement, and all the crew and officers aboard who are going to farewell their “home” in just a few weeks time.

As I was speaking, passengers in the audience started sobbing. There were sniffles, and I looked down to a sea of faces, wiping tears away from their eyes.

It hadn’t been my intention to make people cry. But I felt their pain in that Theatre, as I had shed a tear or two myself, at the thought of QE2 being decommissioned, and the Cunard story losing its long-term spiritual home.

After the talk, I was again surrounded by passengers wanting to share their stories and pass on words of thanks.

At 11am, we headed out of the Theatre and raced down one level to Quarter Deck for a second book signing. To my surprise, and despite Palermo now being visible outside the ship’s huge windows, there was another big crowd waiting to get their copy of QE2: A Photographic Journey signed.

One man, named Bill, had actually bought half a dozen copies for friends back home. He told me he was even giving one of the books to his hairdresser, who was fond of the ship. We were honoured!

At about 12pm, when all the books were signed, we stood by the windows with Jayne and Carmel from the QE2 Bookshop, and watched as the ship made fast alongside.

I could tell that these two long term QE2 ‘shoppies’ were feeling very emotional at the thought of leaving the ship, and we talked briefly about their plans for 2009.

At Palermo, we left the ship for a self-guided walk around the city. Before we had flown from Australia, my Mum had given me a card to open after the first lecture. Inside, was a lovely little message of congratulations. I’d put this card up against one of our portholes, and from the pier I could now make out our cabin 3049.

That day, we shared the port with Voyager of the Seas. In 1998 when this ship entered service, it was the world’s largest passenger ship. By 2008 it was merely one of many very big ships, in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Compared to QE2, she was bulky, and I thought she was kind of ugly up close. But in the years since, I’ve really come to appreciate how Royal Caribbean make an effort to add styling and curves to their cruise ship designs.

Today I rate the Voyager-class as one of the better big-cruise-ship designs, and Royal Caribbean’s slightly older Vision-class Enchantment of the Seas is my favourite cruise ship to look at externally.

We’d heard that Palermo was the cultural capital of Sicily, so we walked into town to find a caffè, and then take in some of the historic buildings.

With the lecture and book signing this morning, we’d left it a bit late to leave the ship so we were only shore for a few hours. I recall being surprised at how quiet the city was for a Thursday, but I did manage to find a little shop that sold post cards.

One thing I do remember quite vividly, is how nice the coffee was. I was also impressed by the fast service. Walk into a small caffè, order a cappuccino, and a few seconds later it was served to you, in a little cup.

From near where QE2 was docked, we could see Monte Pellegrino, and we walked along Banchina Crispi for a bit, to get the best view. But gates, fences and cranes partially blocked the perspective.

Later that day we returned to QE2, and I took a moment to admire the ship’s 1987-era funnel juxtaposed with the 1950s-era Stazione Marittima.

QE2 set sail at 6:30pm. As we had open seating in the Caronia Restaurant, our group would always opt to meet up after sail away, to make the most of the departure views on this final cruise.

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It was worthwhile, as Voyager of the Seas passed us as she departed at around 6pm. The younger ship let out a whistle blast, and QE2 responded with a far mightier and more impressive blast from her two massive mast-mounted whistles.

As we waited for our turn to set sail, Monte Pellegrino offered a great view, and we were able to see a number of Italian ferries preparing for voyages between Mediterranean ports.

We walked the QE2’s teak wood boat deck towards the aft, where there were views of the city that we had been walking in just a few hours before. The air was warm, but there was a gentle breeze that offered some respite.

Then the QE2’s whistles let out three mighty blasts, and the ship once again put to sea, this time for a relatively short journey to Naples. On deck, we got chatting with a number of other passengers, many of whom had come to my talk that morning.

It had been a great day. The contrast of my lecture, reminiscing on QE2’s long service life, with an afternoon being a ‘cruise passenger’ made me think about how this was still a working ship, right up until the end.

We woke late today, and by the time I looked out of the porthole the QE2 was already at anchor. Last night had been a late one, and given we had no tour organised for our call at Zakynthos, we decided to have a slower start to the day.

Today was a tender port, as Zakynthos did not have the facilities to handle a 293m (963ft) long ocean liner with a 9.8m (32ft) draft. Tendering is always a slower and far less convenient process for passengers, but I quite enjoy it.

The main reason is that it allows for such great views of the ship.

Today was my last chance to see QE2 at anchor. I had done so for the first time a decade earlier in 1998, off the coast of Cozumel. To capture the experience, I had made sure that both of our cameras were fully charged and ready for the day ahead.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the Lido, just as they were preparing to finish the breakfast service.

The Lido was technically open 24/7, but between the main meal times this was a reduced offering of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, water and juice (as well as cookies) that was served by humans (no DIY) to passengers, from a bar on the starboard side.

Each drink order was presented on a tray, with a little doily under each glass. Back when I first sailed on this ship, these had QE2 branding on them. But by 2008 they had been updated with generic Cunard logos.

If memory serves me, I think QM2 used to offer these early in her career too.

It might not be as environmentally friendly as today’s DIY drinks stations, but it had heart. And it was nice to have a human make the drink for you. Plus, if you needed help, they’d even carry the tray to your table.

Since 1994, the QE2 had carried six large tender boats, that also doubled as life boats.

Four of them were Class B motor launches. They had covered cabins both fore and aft, and a lovely little open area at the very stern. They were actually added to QE2 in 1975, and had a classic beauty of their own. From 1994 to 2008 they were numbered 8, 9, 10 and 11.

The other two tenders were Harding Tenders, added in 1994. Numbered 13 and 14, they look a lot more like the modern tender boats that you find on cruise ships today. They have an open air section on the top, but the main cabin is fully enclosed. In fact, looking at the photos now, I think these are a very similar design to those that QM2 carries today.

If you want to go down a QE2 lifeboat rabbit hole, I’d recommend this topic at the QE2 story forum.

The ship also had two tender pontoons. Unlike modern ships, where the pontoon folds out of the side of the hull, QE2’s pontoons were carried on Boat Deck and lowered over the side.

This means that tender embarkation would take place from Five Deck, aft, and you’d need to be able to walk down a little stairway, outside of the ship.

We waited until the general call for open-tendering was made, and headed down to Five Deck. To get to Zakynthos, we were allocated an older Class C motor launch, which was great because we could find ourselves a spot at the back to photograph QE2.

To me, there really was no more impressive nautical sight than looking at QE2 from the waterline. The ship’s lines were very impressive, and the detail of windows, clustered in groups, portholes and the various styles of lifeboats, meant that there was always something that caught my eye.

In the sunlight, you could also make out the wrinkles on the QE2’s funnel. Although the funnel had been rebuilt in 1987, it still contained panels that were warped by a fire in the 1970s.

At the aft, we could see the terraced decks and the cruiser stern. The window awnings on One Deck were still in their 1969 design, while those on Quarter Deck and Upper Deck had been modified during various refits.

Under One Deck, the open crew area had been enclosed with metal bars. This was done later in the ship’s career, to reduce the risk of “uninvited embarkation” from pirates. Though with QE2 able to achieve 32.5 knots, it was done in an abundance of caution, but she was, after all, a prized target. So no chances were taken!

As the tender made its way towards land, we sat mesmerised by QE2. It struck me as odd that such a beautiful, capable and well loved ship would soon be retired while cruise lines around the world churned out boxier and boxier vessels.

When QE2 was re-engined in 1986/87, Cunard had promised that it would keep her sailing “well into the 21st Century.” To many, myself included at the time, 8 years fell a bit short of the mark.

I remember thinking, imagine if Tower Bridge, or the Empire State Building, or the Sydney Harbour Bridge were treated in such a fashion!

In the years since, I have revisited this position. In hindsight, I am kind of glad QE2 left service when she did. Sure, she was ageing, and elements of the experience were starting to date, but the crew ensured that QE2 remained at her very best, right up until the end.

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In fact, looking back, I actually rate the service we received during our two cruises in 2008 above that which I experienced during trips I took in 2005 and 2006, despite the ship’s impending retirement.

And while QM2 and Queen Victoria were starting to introduce reductions in service as early as 2007, QE2’s crew held out to the bitter end.

But, I am not sure how much longer after 2008 they could have done this, with financial pressures from a changing cruise industry. A simple example is petit four, which is a small bite-sized confectionery, pastry or chocolate served after dessert, usually with an offer of tea or coffee.

On QE2, in 2008, even in the Mauretania Restaurant (linked to the lowest grade of accommodation aboard) petit four remained a grand affair.

Waiters would come to the table, with a massive tray. On it was a huge selection of treats, including hand made chocolate truffles, chocolate coated strawberries, after dinner mints, small pastries and even ginger. To this day, I blame QE2 for my After Eight obsession.

To achieve this level of after dinner excellence, the ship had to have a high crew to passenger ratio. There needed to be a budget for the creation of all the relatively expensive treats on that tray. And then multiply it by 1,800 diners. It all adds up.

Meanwhile, on my 2007 and 2009 QM2 cruises, petit four in the Britannia Restaurant had been reduced to a plate of small cake slices, placed on the table. The whole experience, the grandeur of it all, had been lost.

On the tender boat, and the closer we got to Zakynthos, the more of the ship we could see. The wind picked up, and the Red Ensign at the stern of the tender flapped wildly in the wind.

Today was a warm day. If memory serves me, probably around 28 degrees Celsius (82.4f), so rather like what I was used to in Australia. The tender docked, and we got out to have a walk around.

Rachelle and I had not really done any planning for this day visit. Neither of us had a smartphone in 2008 and my Nokia couldn’t roam in Europe. We’d bought some guidebooks at Angus and Robertson Bookworld back home before we left, but nothing for Zakynthos.

Turns out Zakynthos is known for its beaches, cliffs and turtle population. So we didn’t really need to do much, other than turn up and take in the views.

We are very spoilt in Australia for our beaches, so it takes a pretty spectacular beach to impress and according to my notes, this wasn’t in my top 10.

After a stop to buy post cards (I always sent my grandparents post cards when I travelled) and another stop for something to drink, we decided to return to QE2. In just one-weeks-time we’d be back in Southampton, and I knew I’d never get to sail on this ship again. So I was happy to head back.

On the return trip, we got one of the Harding Tenders. Both Rachelle and I made an immediate beeline for the top deck, to take in the fresh air and get some more photos of QE2.

Once back aboard, we had some afternoon tea in the Queens Room, which was served regardless of whether the ship was in port or at sea. For the Zakynthos departure, we found a spot on the aft decks and I recall we spoke with many other passengers, some of whom thanked me for the lecture a few days earlier.

Tomorrow would be another port day, this time in Palermo. However, it was not a full port day. QE2 was a very fast ship, and the itineraries offered sometimes included 1/2 days in smaller ports. This could be achieved as QE2 could zip from port to port easier than a slower cruise ship.

So tomorrow morning would be ‘at sea’ and at 10am, I’d be presenting my second talk: The New QE2, followed by a book signing as the ship sailed into port. I went to bed that night, hoping that we’d get another full house.

We woke early on Tuesday 2 September 2008 as QE2 was due to dock at Piraeus. This is a large port city, quite close to Athens. With curtains opened, the light shone into cabin 3049. It was diffused by translucent netting that helped reduce the glare from the two portholes.

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Today we were heading ashore, to check out some of the historic landmarks that the Greek capital has to offer.

After a bite to eat at the Lido, we headed one deck up to the Grand Lounge to check in for our shore tour. The Grand Lounge was situated across both Upper Deck and Boat Deck, though the Boat Deck level was an open well, and really for observation only.

Upper Deck was the main location for the lounge, which had been named the Double Down Room back when the ship entered service. In the 1994 refit, it had been remodelled to feature a stage, with decorative curtains, and lots of seating.

There was also an exposed wooden dance floor, and tables between the chairs for drinks.

We were assigned to tour group ‘Grey 10’, and just like at our previous port calls, we were given a sticker and told to sit and wait to be called.

This time, the gangway was on Five Deck, Port side. When we were called to disembark, we made our way from the Grand Lounge forward along Upper Deck, to the E Stairway. We then walked down the green stairs to Five Deck and forward again to the gangway.

Stepping out onto the pier, and as ever, I was impressed by the presence that QE2 had. When QE2 was built, she was one of the largest passenger ships to ever go to sea. But by 2008, she had been well and truly eclipsed in size, by a flood of new modern cruise ships.

But the shape, style and design of the ship meant that even in a crowded port, she drew attention and was pretty much impossible to ignore.

Busses were lined up outside the ship, to take us on the various tours. We joined the ‘Grey 10’ group, boarded our bus and headed towards Athens.

The tour took in some remarkable historic sites that neither Rachelle or I had seen before. This included the Acropolis of Athens. Here, I think the Parthenon was the most impressive structure, dating back 2,458 years.

My homeland of Australia has an ancient, rich heritage, with the indigenous people having inhabited the land for around 65,000 years. But I still remember being impressed with the scale and design of these huge structures, built in Athens so long ago.

We then visited the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, completed in 161CE. It is impressive how the engineers at the time were able to design a structure that carried sound so well; 1,700 years before the first basic electric speaker was invented by Johann Philipp Reis.

After some ‘free time’ for a walk around the city (I always find it funny how the Cunard tours make a big deal about ‘free time’ when one is paying such a high premium for the tour itself), we were taken back to the ship.

It was September 2008, and the impact of the Global Financial Crisis was already taking a big toll on Greece. So we found a lot of the Athens retail stores boarded up, and those areas that were open were very quiet.

Arriving back at Piraeus, the QE2 dominated the view at the port. This afternoon, I had time to linger and enjoyed taking in the view of QE2’s magnificent profile. I remember thinking at the time, that this might be the last opportunity to see her bow like this up close.

After the ship set sail, we returned to the cabin to find we had been invited to the Chief Engineer’s party, at the Funnel Bar. This bar was added in 2004 to the QE2’s aft Sun Deck.

Back in the day, Cunard used to host all kinds of wonderful parties onboard their ships. The Captain’s Cocktail Party and World Club parties are still hosted today, but there were many, many others.

On QE2, these included the Chief Engineer’s party, the Officers’ Party in the Wardroom, the Executive Chef’s party down in the ship’s store rooms and even the Hotel Manager’s party.

They were all invitation only, but if you sailed on QE2 enough, you’d generally find yourself on the list. We enjoyed champagne while the sun set.

Later, after dinner at the Caronia Restaurant, we returned to Funnel Bar, for cocktails that were being served in cut-out pineapples.

The QE2’s Yacht Club band, Changez, were playing Caribbean style music. Drinks were free and the atmosphere was phenomenal.

But… the drinks were quite strong, so suffice it to say, that is pretty much all I remember from this day.

We awoke early in our Four Deck cabin. Light was shining from behind the curtain over the single porthole, and being closer to the waterline, there was the noticeable sound of the water rushing past the ship, which I quite liked.

We’d not slept all that well. The double bed seemed like a great improvement from twin beds, but it was a mixed blessing. It was created by placing a mattress atop two fully made (duvets and all) single beds.

I think after 39 1/2 years of service it had seen better days, as the springs were so responsive, the mattress would react to movement in a way that reminded me of the ignition sequence of the Space Shuttle.

But all was well, as we soon discovered we’d be moving rooms for a second time. This time to cabin 3049.

This cabin was a C2 room, situated on the starboard side, right near the B stairway landing. Oddly enough, the B stairway is missing from the official deck plans below…

We were met at our temporary Four Deck room by a member of the Purser’s Office team and were escorted to Three Deck to check out the new cabin before moving all our stuff.

While 3049 lacked the gold-leaf ceiling that our Two Deck room had, I think overall it was a nicer cabin. It featured a blue theme, with twin beds, a chair, and a tiny little CRT television (found in most QE2 cabins… you were after all here for the ship, not the TV).

The cabin had original wood-panelled bulkheads, two big portholes, and the same style of granite and wood bathroom as 2050. Importantly, Three Deck was full height, so I didn’t need to duck.

I never did work out why the original occupants didn’t like this room. It was quiet, the air-conditioning worked well and our new cabin attendant was lovely.

Three Deck was actually the longest deck on QE2. If you walked all the way to the aft and looked forward, you’d see the deck disappear into the deck head. This is because QE2 had a sheer, which was a curve in the deck structure built into ocean liners to assist with stability.

You’ll also notice on the QE2 deck plans that there are little corridors that lead off the main corridor. This design allowed two or three cabins to be combined into a little grouping, and some of those small corridors had their own external door; a bit like the interconnecting door setup in some apartment hotels today.

At the back of each cabin door, was a chart that showed the QE2’s evacuation and lifesaving procedures. Our muster station was the Chartroom Bar and the suggested path was B stairway to C stairway to D stairway to the Chartroom… things are much simpler on modern ships!

Very happy with the new room, we officially accepted the offer to move into 3049 for the rest of the cruise. I headed back to Four Deck to get our things. There, I was met by two crewmembers with a big trolley, and they carried our luggage and clothing up for us.

Today we had one big appointment on the calendar. And that was to attend Phil Bye’s lecture. We had met Phil and his partner Angela Frier on Embarkation Day and were becoming fast friends. We’ve stayed in touch ever since.

Phil’s talk, ‘Travelling with the Queen’ was at 12:15pm. With the cabin changes, we’d not eaten, so we took in a late breakfast in the Lido with a plan to skip lunch and have afternoon tea instead.

I recall finding Phil’s talk really fascinating, as he shared some of the behind-the-scenes information of filming Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip on Royal Tours of Kenya, India and Bangladesh.

I also noticed that the Heritage Trail tours were being hosted by Thomas again today, so at 2:30pm we headed to the Midships Lobby, which was the starting point of the tour.

I also noticed that the seating fabric had been updated to a darker hue, in the sunken lounge, during the April 2008 refit, and thought it was really good of Cunard to continue to invest in the ship right up until the end.

Thomas used the four murals by Peter Sutton to set the scene, starting with Sir Samuel Cunard and ending with the QE2 before the walking tour made its way around the ship.

Even though it was 2008, the new ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria didn’t get a mention in QE2’s Midships Lobby. These murals were painted in 1994, when the QE2 was still the ‘last’ of the great ocean liners.

The Heritage Trail was a remarkable onboard museum. It was added in 1994 during a huge refit that was aptly named ‘Project Lifestyle’. This refit sought to update the QE2 passenger experience, and enabled the ship to remain popular for another 14 years.

The trail included original oil paintings, builders’ models of old Cunard liners, statues, silver cups, gifts presented to QE2 when she visited various countries around the world, memorabilia from the ship’s time in the Falklands War, sculptures, historic photographs… the list goes on.

And each had a little plaque on it, with well written brief information to describe what you were looking at. Here’s just a tiny bit of the trail:

I loved the QE2 Heritage Trail, and had done since I first saw it as a boy. I thought that it really was a remarkable shipboard museum. Passengers could (and did) get lost for hours looking at all these items.

As I walked the Heritage Trail with Thomas, I remembered how surprised and disappointed I felt a few years earlier when I realised that QM2’s Maritime Quest was so inferior to QE2’s Heritage Trail.

Don’t get me wrong, the printed panels on QM2 are full of information and it is wonderful that they remain part of her stunning internal fitout.

But I know that I am not the only person back in 2008 who felt that the 1994-era Heritage Trail on QE2 nailed the history brief in a way that Cunard hasn’t quite been able to replicate since.

It was a pleasure to walk the trail one last time, though I’d revisit many of these pieces several times again during the cruise.

Afternoon tea in the Queens Room was a grand QE2 tradition. A harpist was set up on the floating dancefloor, and people would join tables with strangers (voluntarily, can you believe it) and make new friends; as sandwiches, cakes and scones were offered by the QE2 crew.

QE2 had patchy wifi at best, in only a few public areas, and in 2008 hardly anyone had a smart phone. So people used to talk to eachother aboard the ship. QE2 was, in essence, a friendship making machine.

That evening, we joined our fantastic tablemates in the Caronia Restaurant for another delicious, and hilarious meal. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at dinner quite as much as I did on this cruise. Derek would tell the most unusual jokes, which would set Peter off in fits of laughter which, of course, meant we all started howling and… well the result was pure joy.

By now the senior waiters of nearby tables were popping over to say hello, and the head waiters and maître d’hôtel were regularly stopping by, to see what all the fuss was about. They commented, more than once, at their surprise that the two 20-something’s were the quietest of the bunch!

The show that night was Nations United, with the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers. Afterwards, Rachelle and I went for a walk around the ship’s boat deck in the warm night air.

Sunday 31st August, 2008 was a beautiful sunny day off the coast of Cagliari, Sardinia.

Today, we’d woken a little later than yesterday. Saturday had been a big day, with my first Insights lecture and our first book signing on the ship. We’d had a very exciting and emotional day, and needed a bit of a sleep in.

On QE2, whether you were berthed in the Queen Elizabeth suite up on Signal Deck, or the smallest single cabin on Five Deck, the ship had 24 hour room service available to you. Simply pick up the phone at any time of day or night, press the Room Service button and place an order.

I do remember that ordering Room Service was kind of a strange experience. As QE2 had dedicated room attendants working on each deck during the day and night, the Room Service was coordinated by those attendants, rather than the cetralised service that is used on Cunard ships today.

So you’d pick up the phone and press the room service button, to be met with a pre-recorded voice that said something along the lines of:

Then, when the attendants were available on your deck, your phone would ring, you’d answer, and they’d take your order.

This sounds a bit convaluted nowdays, but it actually worked really well as the ship’s high crew to passenger ratio meant it never took long to get a call back, and it saved you sitting on hold waiting in the queue.

This was the process if hunger struck during the day. But if you wanted to have breakfast in bed, you’d fill out the breakfast in bed order card the night before, and leave it on your door knob.

Some time after 1am, a person who I can only assume was the fittest crewmember aboard, would walk the decks and collect them all.

We’d filled in our card late last night, and were awoken with a knock at the door and the words “room service” from the corridor outside our cabin. The QE2 room service was of a very high quality. Still to this day one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever eaten was a QE2 room service meal.

Breakfast was also of a good quality. It was delivered on a big tray and the room service delivery crewmember would pull a little table out from the dresser, between the beds, to rest the tray down.

I can’t recall exactly what we ordered, but looking at the menu if I was to choose today, I’d have Alpen museli and milk, wholemeal toast with Marmalade and a mixed fruit plate… and probably a blueberry muffin… oh and coffee! What would you order?

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After breakfast, we headed up on deck to watch the arrival into Cagliari.

On the forward Sun Deck observation area, we watched as a floatilla of tugs made their way out to meet us.

On the foredeck, there were two large air vents that sat in the middle, facing the superstructure. Between them were the big flood lights that illuminated QE2’s forward superstructure when she was alongside.

The vents made a distinctive humming noise, which became a familiar background sound when standing here during arrivals and departures.

From here, we could see that the Norwegian Jade was already in port. Her boxy appearance was in stark contrast to QE2’s graceful lines. It always felt good to sail into a port aboard a ship that looked as spectacular as QE2. Despite her age, or perhaps because of it, the QE2 would draw crowds at nearly every port she visited.

Even people who weren’t that interested in ships, often found themselves unable to ignore the graceful lines of this ocean liner.

Up on deck, it didn’t take long for us to realise that we weren’t moving. Something was off.

The ship sat, stationary for quite a while as passengers started discussing the delayed entry, sharing possible theories as to what the cause was.

Then the loudspeaker crackled. QE2’s public address system didn’t have an alert tone for general announcements, so the voice of the Captain would just burst out, often with much gusto. Today, the voice of Captain David Perkins echoed across the ship.

Captain Perkins told us that the ship’s propulsion system was playing up, with the engineers unable to get the propeller shafts to reduce from cruising revolutions to docking revolutions.

He made a quip about sending them out to row, but assured us they were working on the issue, and hoped to have it sorted soon.

When QE2 was re-engined in 1986/87, her steam propulsion was removed and replaced with a diesel electric system. This included the installation of two gigantic propulsion motors, as well as new variable pitch propellers and shafts.

This system enabled the propellers to always rotate at constant revolutions. 144rpm for cruising and 72rpm for docking. The pitch of the propeller blades would take care of the rest, to enable QE2’s speed to build from dead slow to full ahead, or reverse.

On this occasion, the mechanism that enabled the revolutions to slow from 144rpm to 72rpm was in a bad mood. So we had to wait.

It didn’t bother me. As much as I was looking forward to seeing Cagliari, this was far more interesting to me. So we watched as the tugs circled, and listened to several more updates from the Captain. According to my photo EXIF data, we were waiting from 10:28am to 10:54am, so it wasn’t long before the ship was turned around by the tugs and reversed towards the pier.

As we got closer and closer to the Norwegian Jade, with each closing metre, the younger ship seemed to somehow get uglier and uglier.

That is how I felt in 2008, but now I find Norwegian Jade one of the better looking modern cruise ships, on account of the fact that her bulk has at least been sculpted to some degree.

Due to the late arrival, the QE2 deck crew had been walking around, handing out drinks. Rachelle and I had moved to Boat Deck and stood in the shade of one of the original open top boats with a class of ice water.

In the distance, I could see a wind farm, while closer to QE2 were the remains of a ship that had performed a far less successful docking manoeuvre than we were experiencing.

Like in Lisbon, we had purchased tickets for a Cunard shore tour. This tour took us to the Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Saturnino, as well as a stop for a glimpse of Sella del Diavolo. It also stopped at several other locations for us to take in views, which included looking at QE2 and Norwegian Jade in port together, docked near a local ship-sized ferry.

When we returned to the ship, we found a letter in our cabin asking us to urgently contact the Purser’s Office. This couldn’t be good.

I called them, and was put through to someone from the crew office who told us that we’d need to move cabins. The gist of it was…

I think that the team aboard knew how ridiculous this request was, as we were soon met at the door with bottles of wine, a thank you card and many, many vocal apologies. We were offered the chance to check out four or five C3 or C4 grade rooms which were vacant.

But, I was a bit devastated, I must be honest. Our C2 room 2050 had been so special and we had been living on cloud nine over the last 24 hours, so this really did bring me back down to earth.

However, we dutifully agreed to move rooms, and checked out a variety of cabins, all of which were far less impressive than ours.

In fact, the ship was technically sailing as ‘full’, so I suspect these were a few of the QE2’s ‘condemned’ cabins; rooms which were serviceable at a pinch, but not ideal, and generally kept off the main manifest towards the last few years of her career.

To make matters slightly more challenging, the rooms we were offered were on Four Deck. Now for some reason, QE2’s Four Deck had a lower head clearance than all other accommodation decks.

I know this for a fact, as I am close to 2 metres (6' 6”) tall and had to duck on Four Deck. I later learnt, from the Chief Engineer, that it’s to do with piping and services, that needed extra space to run along this deck. It didn’t impact most people but for someone my height, it was annoying.

Finally we settled on a Four Deck room amidships. Its number escapes me, but it was not as nice as our Two Deck room. It was smaller, narrower, had only one porthole and generally was looking a bit worn out.

But it did have a Double Bed, which was a plus. Though this in itself was hilarious, as the Queen matress had been placed atop two fully made single beds. So the whole thing felt like a 2008 maritime remake of Fawlty Towers.

However, the Four Deck head height issue was the real deal breaker. This room had a shower over bath, and there was a step up into the bath. On Two Deck I could stand up no problems. Here, I could not.

But that evening, after sail away, as I was kneeling in the bath trying to wash my hair, I had the most obvious thought… Finishing my shower, I quickly dried off, dressed and burst out of the bathroom, making a beeline to the phone.

I was calling our crew office contact… Knowing the rooms on Three Deck were far nicer than those on Four Deck, and given we were both pretty solid sleepers, I had a plan…

I asked, in an excited tone, that I suspect left little option but to agree…

Came the reply.

This was excellent news. Tomorrow we’d get a third QE2 cabin of this trip. And it turned out this cabin, 3049, was a lovely C2 room that was even more spacious than our Two Deck cabin.

And we never did hear a noise.

Back in July, when Caroline had invited me to speak aboard the ship, she’d passed me over to Ben Lewis from Cunard Enrichment. Ben had suggested that due to the interest around QE2’s retirement, it would be a great idea to prepare four talks about the ship.

After all, most of the passengers aboard were saying their goodbyes to QE2.

Turns out that this was a great idea. So, in the weeks leading up to this trip, I’d built out four PowerPoint slide decks on my Dell Inspiron laptop.

1. Number 736 - told the early story of QE2, from design and construction to the Falklands War. It started with a short retrospective of Cunard’s history from 1840 to 1967 to set the scene and featured many photos courtesy of Commodore R.W. Warwick, who I’d become friends with back in 1998.

2. The New QE2 - shared the story of QE2’s 1986/87 refurbishment and re-engine, as well as the 1994 ‘Project Lifestyle’ refit, her later years and upcoming retirement. For this talk, Michael Gallagher from Cunard’s PR office had helped out with photography of the ship’s major refit.

3. Behind the Scenes on the Queen - A photo tour of crew areas, engineering, The Bridge and other areas off-limits to passengers. We had been lucky enough to see this part of QE2 earlier in March 2008, when Captain Ian McNaught had opened the ship up to us in support of our book project, and

4. Our QE2 Story - A planned joint talk, where Rachelle and I would share the story of how we got our book published and aboard QE2 just before her retirement.

On Embarkation Day, Warren Smith the Cruise Director had asked us to drop one talk. So, we decided to drop “Our QE2 Story”. Being young, first time Authors, we felt that the passengers aboard were really there to hear about QE2, rather than us.

Back in Cabin 2050, and I remember the atmosphere around this day being quite electric. Breakfast in the Lido was followed by a walk around the decks.

At 9:45am there was a notice in the Daily Programme that QE2’s watertight doors would be tested. This is a common procedure aboard ships and happens regularly on any cruise ship you travel on.

However, on older ships such as QE2, you could actually see this taking place as the lowest passenger accommodation deck, Five Deck, was divided by watertight doors.

The doors would close when the ship was sailing in and out of port, and on many past voyages I’d seen them closed as I had often travelled on Five Deck. There was, of course, alternate exits from all the watertight compartments.

We headed down to Five Deck to watch the doors closing and reopening as part of this test. I’d seen it before, but this was the last time I saw QE2’s watertight doors closing. I recall when I first cruised on QE2, these doors were blue, but by 2008 they had been repainted in yellow and black stripes.

During the day, there was always a buzz of activity on board. Upper Deck and Quarter Deck were the main entertainment decks aboard. QE2 had wonderful floor-to-ceiling windows that let in huge amounts of natural light, and offered a great view of the ocean. This meant that wherever you were on these decks, you could see the water around the ship.

I’ve saved the Daily Programme for that day. The Officer profile was for Chief Engineer John Hanvey, while the programme shows that the daytime movie in the Theatre was, I am Legend, a film I’d watched on land, and once was definitely enough!

We headed back to our cabin, and I ran through my presentation one more time before the big event. Afterwards, we had a light lunch at the Lido, but by midday I was feeling too excited and nervous to eat.

When I was younger, I was a terrible public speaker. I remember with almost perfect clarity the shaking and sweaty hands, fumbling with palm cards and praying for the school bell to ring before it was my turn to present an English or Geography talk at high school.

But I also really, really wanted to share the QE2’s story, even as a schoolboy. So, when I went to university, I voluntarily enrolled in a public speaking course. For someone as nervous as I was, to voluntarily do this felt a bit like self-inflicted torture.

But on day one of the course, the lecturer asked us to think of a formative childhood memory that helped make us who we are. We were then invited to present this experience, reliving it as if it was live, in front of the whole class.

I put my hand up and offered to go first. My childhood memory was from 1995, on a warm summer’s morning in Auckland, when I saw the QE2 for the first time.

I re-enacted seeing the ship, the excitement, running to the windows of the Princess Wharf terminal and peering up at the ship. My little skit got a standing ovation from the equally nervous group of students.

It was there that I realised something. We’re all just humans. I can speak publically. I can be confident. I had a voice and if the audience didn’t like it, well that’s their choice. It was a remarkably freeing feeling.

But, despite presenting at university, board meetings and corporate reviews, I’d never done an enrichment lecture before. I was, after all, in my early 20s. So, I was still nervous.

Rachelle tells me that I was definitely nervous before I went up there, and hung behind the podium, but spoke well and clearly. And the audience became very receptive. I think the key to this first talk was practice, practice, practice.

We arrived at the Theatre about 20 minutes ahead of the talk. I worked with the tech team to set up the laptop on the big podium, all the while noticing how full the room was becoming.

Then Thomas Quinonas walked in. Thomas was a legend on QE2. He ran the Heritage Trail tours, which were a walking tour of the ship’s remarkable floating museum of Cunard heritage. He had just come from a Heritage Trail tour. Usually these ran for hours, but due to the interest in my talk, he had done an abridged version of the tour ending here in the Theatre.

I’d met Thomas as a boy, back when I was a young passenger on QE2. Our paths had crossed many times across various voyages. He was here to introduce me, and I was thrilled that it was him.

Just before Thomas got up on stage to welcome attendees, I turned around and saw that we had a full house audience. This was terrifying so exciting. In fact, people were sitting in the narrow aisles, and were being told by the crew to gather at the back of the Upper Deck level in order to keep exits clear.

What a thrill… My heart was pounding… Thomas took to the podium and said something along the lines of…

This was it…

I stepped up the port side stairs, onto the stage, and started talking.

At that point a lady (I later became friends with called Linda Crooks from Canada) in the front of the Theatre called out: “Oh, so you’re Chris Cunard!” There was a little chuckle from the audience, as I continued…

I vividly remember feeling a bit of a strange atmosphere at first… it was kind of like the room said: “Who do you think you are?”

I mean, fair enough, I suppose. Here’s this twenty-something guy on the QE2’s stage, talking to a room full of QE2 and Cunard veterans, most over forty years my senior, about a ship that was already nearly two decades old, when I was born.

But I had a story to tell, and I was going to tell it…

And in the first five minutes of the 45-minute presentation, something amazing happened. As I talked about QE2, a ship I’d been studying for well over half my life, the room warmed up.

Slowly at first, and then quicker and quicker.

By the time I was talking about the ship’s 1967-launch, it was as warm as an Australian summer’s day in that theatre… The crowd was captivated. The jokes had landed. This was going well!

The presentation ended with an emotional tribute, to all the workers who had built QE2 at the John Brown yard in Clydebank.

As I finished the lecture, and the applause died down, I noticed that many of the passengers in the Theatre were wiping away tears. This ship meant so much to so many people, that the prospect of her retiring in a few months’ time was all too much for many of us onboard to handle without setting off the water works!

Then, a big group of passengers met me at the front of the room, to share their own QE2 story or say thank you for the talk.

One man, who I am convinced was set on tripping me up, asked a highly, highly technical question about the process of joining the ship’s steel hull to QE2’s aluminium superstructure. This was done by using an epoxy liquid to stop corrosion and riveting the panels together on a ship that was otherwise built with welded sheets.

But his question was so obscure, that I had no more detailed answer for it. Luckily another man came forward and shared a detailed reply. Turns out he had been one of the ship’s builders. We shook hands and I asked him to come to all of the future talks, just in case.

We couldn’t linger in the Theatre for too long, as at 4:30pm on Quarter Deck we had our first onboard book signing. Jayne and Carmel from the Ocean Bookshop had set up the signing table and in true Ocean Books tradition, had advertised the big event in the daily programme.

When we arrived at the Book Shop, we were overwhelmed to see a queue stretching back past the Queens Room. This was one of the exciting moments of the voyage yet!

The excitement, energy and satisfaction of this day was remarkable. Actually, as I stand here at my standing desk writing this, I still get a shiver thinking about this day. It is such a significant part of my story, that I can’t really remember what we did afterwards, other than it was a formal night so at some point we’d have returned to our cabin to dress for dinner.

That evening in the Caronia Restaurant, Derek, Pat, Anna and Peter made a huge fuss about how great the talk had been. This was lovely of them and made me feel like a billion dollars! Christina and Jacqueline also commented as the talk was replaying on the QE2 TV and they’d caught a bit of it in their crew cabins.

I actually filmed a little bit of it from the TV in our cabin… When I listen to it now, I think I sound a bit stale and nervous but at the time I felt very proud!

But, while I like mornings, it’s really the getting out of bed part that I am not a huge fan of. Especially when the beds are as comfy as those aboard QE2.

And on this trip, every morning was special. We only had 12 days left aboard QE2 before we said goodbye to this ship forever. So, Rachelle and I were up early for the arrival into Lisbon, the first port of call on this cruise.

Arriving in Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) meant passing under the 25 de Abril Bridge. This bridge spans the Tagus, and passing under the bridge is an exciting part of any Lisbon arrival. Particularly so on QE2, as the funnel was so large, it always gave the appearance that the ship might not quite make it under!

I must have got some video footage of this arrival, as Rachelle captured a photo of me holding the VHS-era video camera. This camera recorded onto tapes, and I can’t find these old tapes anywhere, so I’ll have to make do with photos only.

From the ship, we could see the Santuário de Cristo Rei, which was built in the 1950s. QE2 docked at Porto de Lisboa, which meant that as we sailed in and out of the Tagus, we had views of a number of Lisbon’s major landmarks.

We were booked to visit some of these sights on a Cunard-hosted shore tour. But first, the ship needed to be secured alongside.

As I mentioned in Southampton, two days ago, the QE2 required tugboat support for arrivals and departures. The same was true in Lisbon.

To make the afternoon departure easier, the ship was turned around upon her arrival. So, she ended up being secured alongside, with her bow facing away from the 25 de Abril Bridge.

I love the design of QE2’s bow, as the anchor chains are visible, as is the foredeck observation platform and during arrivals you’d see the crew gathering for a view of the action.

Rachelle and I had the pleasure of going out onto QE2’s bow in March 2008, and standing there looking back at the ship’s ‘face’ was very, very cool.

We had been standing on the ship’s Sun Deck observation area as she docked. To get ready for our shore tour, we headed down the port stairway to Boat Deck and walked aft. The stairs were made of wood, and each step had a metal strip attached for grip, that made a ‘tap’ sound as you stepped.

At the very aft of Boat Deck, we took a similar flight of stairs down, first to Upper Deck and then to Quarter Deck, for a quick breakfast in The Lido. It was busy as usual, but as the ship was stationary now, there was none of the rattle or vibration from yesterday.

After breakfast, we made our way to the Upper Deck level of The Theatre, which was the shore tour gathering location specified for our tour. We’d been given this information the night before in the Daily Programme which was delivered during the evening turndown service.

I was excited (and a little nervous) as I would be speaking here the following day, at 3:30pm, for my first ever Cunard Insights presentation.

In The Theatre, the QE2 shore tour team were handing out coloured stickers. We were handed teal tags with group 16 indicated on them, before taking a seat to await being called. The Theatre has two levels, Upper Deck and Boat Deck, with each featuring velvet seating, of the type where the seat folds up when not in use (you’d probably have seen these in land-based theatres or cinemas).

It wasn’t long before our group was called, and we made our way to the gangway. I don’t remember the exact gangway that was used on this call, but it must have been on Four Deck, as the photo above shows QE2 alongside with Five Deck’s portholes below the pier and given I am standing amidships on the pier (rather than in a raised terminal) it’s unlikely that the Two Deck gangways were used.

The tour took us to the Torre de Belém, as well as Padrão dos Descobrimentos and Alfama, the oldest part of the city. At Torre de Belém, we were able to see the Princess Danae, which was a 1970s era cruise ship that had started life in the 1950s as a refrigerated cargo ship named Port Melbourne.

Built for the Port Line, the ship sailed in her cargo carrying capacity, until she was converted for cruising at the Chalkis Shipyard in Piraeus, Greece. We would visit Piraeus later in this voyage.

Also visible during the tour was the QE2, far off, on the opposite side of 25 de Abril Bridge. You can just make out the ship’s silhouette, on the left of this photo above, while the photos below show some of the monuments in a little more detail.

We’d never been to Lisbon before, so we spent the mid-morning and early afternoon in the city (eating pastéis de nata) before returning to the ship. We were trying our best to juggle making the most of the port visit while spending as much time aboard QE2 as we could, before the ship retired.

That afternoon, the ship set sail. Sailaway on QE2 was always a hub of activity. Not just for the officers and crew, but also for passengers. As QE2 only had 30 cabins with balconies by the time she retired, nearly everyone was out on the open decks for departures, which created a tremendous atmosphere.

For this departure, Rachelle and I found a spot on the starboard Boat Deck, which gave a great view of the same historic sights we had just visited, only this time viewed from the river.

After dinner at the Caronia Restaurant (where the laughter from our fabulous table was growing ever louder) we took in a violin performance in The Grand Lounge.

Then we returned to our cabin, as I wanted to rehearse my presentation one last time before tomorrow. I’d never spoken in a Theatre with 500+ person capacity before, and I wanted to get this right!

When we got back to our room, our cabin attendant had performed the turndown service. Beds were turned down, and used towels had been exchanged with fresh ones.

On the pillows were high-quality Cunard-branded dark chocolates. Nearby on the bed, the breakfast-in-bed room service ordering card was laid out, alongside tomorrow’s Daily Programme.

Cunard’s Daily Programmes of this era were fantastic, with huge amounts of detail. They featured profiles of officers, crew and guest speakers. There were nautical facts, historic snippets and heaps of detailed information about the day’s activities. I particularly liked how there was a dedicated section for the Navigation information, as well as the names of the senior officers at the top. Inside, there was also a special section for the QE2 Bookshop.

But this programme was incredibly exciting, as right there, on the front page, was the announcement of my lecture under the Enrichment Lecture Program title.

This was really happening.

Tomorrow was going to be awesome!

If you get seasick, you’d feel it aboard, but it was nowhere near as noticeable as modern cruise ships.

As I woke up, the sound of the ship also caught my attention. The QE2 had a creak, and also a slight ticking sound. If you’re a former QE2 passenger or crew, you’ll know EXACTLY the sound I am referring to. I’ve not heard it on any ship since.

But for those of you who never sailed on QE2 (given this cruise was 18 years ago, some of you might not have been born when this trip happened), the sound was kind of like…

You’ll have to use your imagination, as I have no recording of this sound to share. But I will never forget it, and I would know it instantly if I heard it again.

Anyway, the light was peering into my cabin 2050, which as I mentioned yesterday, was at the forward end of Two Deck.

Actually, now might be a good time to show you the entire deck plan, to help you follow along:

I had no lecture today. My first presentation wouldn’t be until Saturday the 30th. Our cabin was located aft of the Forward Lobby, and quite close to the Midships Lobby. This was the embarkation lobby, where we had boarded the ship yesterday, and we walked through it again as we headed aft.

The Midships Lobby was a circular space, with a sunken central lounge area. In the very middle, a fibreglass trumpet-style column raised upwards, connecting the deck with the deck head.

This space had been reimagined during the ship’s 1994 refit. During this time, four murals depicting the Cunard story from 1840 to 1994 had been added to the room.

Every time I walked through this lobby, I’d stop and take in these images… Poor Rachelle… getting anywhere on Two Deck with me would always take a while!

There’s the Origins of Cunard mural, showcasing Sir Samuel Cunard and the early fleet, and the Ocean Greyhounds panel with Mauretania featuring heavily. Then the Queens panel, showcasing Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, and finally the QE2 mural.

This panel shows the QE2 sailing from New York. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre are visible, with the Concorde flying overhead. This is a nod to QE2’s long standing Concorde transatlantic package trips.

QE2’s role cruising the world is also shown. Sydney is depicted, which I thought was a really nice touch, showcasing my homeland of Australia.

Then there’s a depiction of QE2’s mighty 1987-era funnel, which is by far and away the most impressive iteration of the Cunard smokestack that I’ve ever seen… wouldn’t you agree? … just to make the point even more clear, here’s the real thing:

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I like how the artist Peter Sutton included one of the “Alpha / Beta” tender boats near the funnel in his mural. These boats were removed in 1994, so it acts as a bit of a nod to QE2’s pre-refit silhouette. And also, I like how the modern QE2 is juxtaposed next to the ship in 1967, awaiting her launch at Clydebank.

Just like in 2008, I’ve dedicated a disproportionate amount of time to admiring these murals. So let’s get back to our first morning aboard.

After pausing for a long moment, Rachelle suggested that we get moving again, and we continued to make our way aft. We walked up the G Stairway to Quarter Deck for breakfast at The Lido. This was QE2’s alfresco restaurant, and whether the ship was at sea or in port, it was a buzz of activity at mealtimes.

A lot of thought had gone into the design of the service areas in The Lido, with the space changing several times over the ship’s career. There was a port and starboard serving area, with everything duplicated on each side, meaning no double-backing in the queue.

We lined up and a waiter handed us a tray. It was grey with a white piece of A3 paper on it, adorned with the QE2 and Cunard logo, and a quote from Sir Francis Drake about a life at sea being better than a life ashore.

Knives and forks were handed out next, before we made our way to the various food offerings.

On QE2, they logically started with cereal, milk, fruit, and then hot foods. And finally, a cook to order station. If you wanted toast, there was a central island servery for this, as well as porridge and other condiments. Waiters were on hand to help you carry your tray to a table.

But it was at the cook to order area where something remarkable happened. Like many people, we have a favourite breakfast when travelling at sea. Mine is fried eggs (over easy) with some toast and Rachelle likes a freshly cooked omelette.

As I mentioned yesterday, we’d last been on QE2 in March 2008, five months prior to this morning’s breakfast. And on that cruise, we’d ordered our favourite, most days, from the Port side of The Lido.

This morning, as we were making our way towards the fresh-cooked egg station, the chef, remembering us from March, said:

We were blown away! This level of attentiveness, of passion for working aboard QE2, is what made coming back to this ship such a joy, time and time again.

With the day to ourselves, we had the run of the ship, and we took our time easing into the day. The Lido’s big windows were rattling, as QE2 made her way at high speed towards Lisbon. After breakfast we headed out of the aft doors to check out the sights and sounds on deck.

We walked around the QE2’s teakwood boat deck, and I spent some time taking in all the nautical features of a 40 year old ship. Open top lifeboats, davits, railings and old motors were just some of the things to look at… and as always the mighty funnel overlooked it all.

Then there were the wooden deck chairs, added after the 1999 refit to make QE2’s boat deck better resemble that of Titanic. Prior to this refit, the deck chairs were made from aluminium with blue and white rubber-like back supports.

After a lap of the deck, we headed back inside the ship via the aft revolving doors. This led us into the ship’s Royal Promenade Shops.

Home to Harrods as well as designer clothing stores, my favourite shop here was always the QE2 Souvenirs store. It was full of high-quality QE2 memorabilia and clothing, some of which I still have to this day.

But what we really wanted, was to get to the Library and Book Shop on Quarter Deck and say hello to the onboard librarians.

On this voyage, our main contact was Carmel, who I had met on many previous voyages. Jayne was working alongside her, and both were excited to meet with us, to discuss the upcoming lectures and book signings.

I can’t put into words how exciting it was to see our book in the QE2 Book Shop. Even though it had been years in the making, it really felt like a bit of a dream. The best part was seeing the “Authors On Board” sign under the books, in the big windows.

Jayne told us that there were several boxes of books aboard, and that they had already sold hundreds of books on the two previous voyages, since the book was first brought on board. I only wish I’d had a better camera 18 years ago, to get clearer images of this unforgettable moment in time.

As I mentioned yesterday, there were lots of other Cunard Insights speakers aboard QE2 on this trip, and I wanted to check out some of the lectures. I recall that we did attend a noon-lecture on this day, and I think it was a talk about astronomy from Paul Murdin.

I’d been in The Theatre many times before but given this was my first lecture trip it was good to get there for this talk, and see how it was all organised ahead of my own speech in a few days’ time.

Dinner tonight was in the Caronia Restaurant. As the ship was at sea, it was a Formal Night. Formal Night dress code on QE2 was defined as:

And it was strictly enforced. No tie, no dinner… or at least not in any of the 5 main dining rooms.

Our table in the Caronia Restaurant was an absolute hoot. We had the funniest, most energetic companions and waitstaff. Already on the 2nd night, the maître d'hôtel was keeping an eye on us, as the laughter was getting a little bit rowdy.

But it was all in good fun.

After dinner we took in a show at The Grand Lounge. The Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers were doing a show of famous show tunes, that included Mad Dogs and Englishmen. We’d seen it before in March, but our table companions were heading that way, so we joined them.

Tomorrow we’d be in Lisbon, and the next day… my first Insights Lecture…. Good night.

This August day would be my last embarkation day aboard QE2. Rachelle and I had recently been aboard QE2 in March 2008, photographing the ship for our first book: QE2 A Photographic Journey. Now the book was in print, and stocked aboard the ship!

Rachelle and I had been invited to sail aboard QE2 in what was a bit of a last-minute addition to the lecture schedule. We’d got our QE2 book published, and asked Cunard if we could come aboard to see it on the ship.

A long-term Cunard contact and friend, Michael Gallagher, introduced me to Caroline Scallan, the head of Cunard Insights in 2008. I got in touch and Caroline offered us the opportunity to lecture aboard QE2. It was a dream come true to sail on a cruise that had been sold out for over a year.

And this cruise, The Mediterranean Sojourn, was a real treat. It set sail on 27 August 2008, exactly three months before QE2 would be formally withdrawn from Cunard’s fleet in Dubai. It was a 14-night voyage that sailed as far east as Greece, so we had two weeks of QE2 bliss ahead of us.

Back at the Holiday Inn, we’d selected this hotel because it was supposed to offer good views of the Queen Elizabeth II terminal at Southampton where QE2 was docked. Or so I thought.

As it turned out, we had a room facing away from the terminal. With the views of the ship blocked, we decided to walk down to the water to see if we could catch a glimpse of QE2.

I seem to recall that we could see some of QE2 from the water, but according to my photos the best we got was a view of Independence of the Seas docked at what is now City Cruise Terminal.

Our embarkation time was at noon, so we decided to head into town for a few hours. We’d done our first ever book signings in Southampton the day before, at Waterstones West Quay and Borders Books. But there were two other locations selling our new book, that we wanted to check out.

The first was Waterstones City Centre, and the second was the Southampton Visitors Centre. QE2 was a very popular ship in Southampton. She had homeported there since 1969. Over 39 years later, there was a lot of emotion about her permanent departure in just a few months’ time.

The day before, at Borders Books, Jenny (the team member who had arranged our book signing) told us how much she will miss seeing QE2 sailing in and out of the port, after the final departure in November. It had been a familiar sight she had seen many times over the years.

That sentiment was shared among many people who had come to buy a book from us. Most of the signed copies went to locals who loved QE2. After checking out the Visitors Centre, we stopped by Costa Coffee on High Street for some much-needed rocket fuel. I’d never seen such a huge coffee cup before.

By mid-morning, we were really just trying to keep ourselves busy. I always struggled on QE2 embarkation day, as all I really wanted was to get on board the ship. I’d have boarded with the pilot, if I was allowed!

But finally, it was close enough to noon for us to get a taxi down to the ship. It was a short ride. We arrived at the Queen Elizabeth II terminal, with the taxi pulling into the large drop off area. Huge Union Jacks were hanging from the roof as we left the taxi and headed in for check in.

I’d sailed with Cunard many times before and always knew what my cabin category was well ahead of the voyage. However, for this cruise, we had no idea what our cabin was going to be. Caroline had told me that we’d get passenger accommodation on this voyage, as guest speakers are accommodated as passengers aboard Cunard ships.

These days most guest speakers get a Britannia Grade room on Cunard, but in 2008 on QE2 the cabin categories were a bit different to the modern fleet. There were 4 grades of cabins, linked with 5 different restaurants. I made a chart below to help illustrate this for anyone unfamiliar with QE2.

We were told that we’d be in a Caronia Grade cabin. What I didn’t realise was that we’d get a C2 room, which was one of the best of the Caronia rooms, and a cabin that was one of the original first class cabins aboard the ship.

After checking in for the cruise, we were asked to wait until our embarkation time was called on the loudspeaker. So, we headed out to the observation area to take in the view of QE2. And it was there, looking into the windows of Quarter Deck that we saw something truly exciting. Our book in the Bookshop windows!

We boarded the ship just after noon, entering into the Two Deck Midships Lobby. QE2 had a wonderful embarkation tradition, where crew would meet passengers at the gangway, take any hand luggage they had, and escort them to their cabin.

This didn’t happen on QM2, or the then-new Queen Victoria. So even though we knew the way to our cabin, we basked in the enjoyment of this lovely, personalised tradition one last time.

Upon arriving at our cabin, the crewmember who escorted us used the key (yes, a real metal key, there were no keycard locks on QE2), to open the door and showed us around our cabin.

Our cabin was on Two Deck. It featured twin beds (many of QE2’s rooms had fixed beds that couldn’t be turned into Queens), with wood panelled walls, two large portholes, red and cream bedding and a walk-in robe. There was also a large bathroom with granite and wood vanity and a bathtub.

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We didn’t get many photos of this cabin (you’ll find out why later in the journey, so remember to subscribe), but a few candid snaps below give a sense for the space.

Waiting for us in the cabin was a welcome letter from QE2’s Cruise Director Warren Smith. We’d met Warren before, when we travelled as passengers aboard. The letter invited us to the Cruise Director’s office on Upper Deck, to chat through the lecture schedule.

Our cabin was at the forward of Two Deck, and Warren’s office was near the G Stairway at the aft. But we weren’t heading direct for his office… we’d take the E Stairway to Quarter Deck first for the most important moment of the day!

Seeing the books close up, with that gold “Authors On Board” sign was the realisation of a childhood dream, as it was here on QE2, 13 years earlier that I decided I wanted to be a Maritime Author.

With full hearts, we headed aft to the G Stairway and up one flight of stairs. Heading to the Port side, near the ping-pong tables, we met two other people waiting outside Warren’s office: Phil Bye and Angela Frier.

Phil was the one presenting on this voyage. He is an acclaimed cameraman who was awarded an MBE for his work capturing ITN media coverage of various warzones.

Angela was instrumental in Phil’s talks, however, as she was operating the slide show that accompanied his speeches. Angela worked at ITN covering many international warzones, and herself was awarded an MBE. I was in excellent company.

At the meeting, Warren told us that this voyage of QE2’s farewell season had been overbooked with lecturers, and as such we would only be required to present three of our four talks. Seems like I really was lucky to get a last-minute slot on board as they already had a full schedule lined up. Thanks again Caroline!

As this was my first Insights engagement, and having never presented to a large crowd before, I was pretty nervous and only too happy to have an extra day off to relax and enjoy QE2. I recall that Phil was equally happy to relinquish one of his talks in return for a day of leisure. These days, I wouldn’t want to skip a talk. They are my favourite part of the cruise!

At 4pm, with all passengers aboard, the ship was ready to depart. The Independence of the Seas had set sail just ahead of QE2, and Rachelle and I joined the crowd on the forward-facing Sun Deck Observation Area, to watch the departure.

Independence of the Seas moved past QE2 without the aid of tugs. The QE2 had no stern thrusters, and I’d heard her two 1960s era bow thrusters described as having the power “of hairdryers”, so the elder ship required help from three tugs on this departure.

It was always fun to experience a QE2 departure, as you could see the activity on the bow, and with the tugs busy moving the ship there was always a lot of scenes to enjoy.

This is where my photo log ends for Embarkation Day. I do recall that we had dinner that evening in the Caronia Restaurant, which was the first time I’d dined there. There we met our table companions Pat, Derek, Peter and Anna, as well as our absolutely sensational wait staff, Head Waiter Christina and Assistant Waiter Jacqueline.

Being asked by Caroline Matheson (head of Cunard Insights at the time) to lecture aboard Cunard’s retiring QE2 was a dream come true. It set me on a path to become a regular speaker within the Cunard Insights programme.

My regular history lecture gigs on board the current Cunard fleet, remain one of the joys of my annual calendar. Yet despite completing more lectures than I can count over 18 years, that first trip on QE2 is still the strongest in my mind… as strong as if it was yesterday.

I’ve been feeling nostalgic this week, and looking back at photos from that remarkable voyage got me thinking… wouldn’t it be fun to recreate it as a virtual cruise?

So from embarkation day on 27 August to my final farewell of QE2 on 14 September, I’ll be posting a daily blog; reliving my time aboard QE2 from 2008.

From my diary notes written 18 years ago, to memories that Rachelle has of that first lecture, to photographs we took on that last voyage, I hope you enjoy the virtual cruise.

If you know someone who would like to sail-along with me, don’t forget to let them know to subscribe.

But first… Getting there was NOT half the fun.

Rachelle and I were very excited to have been invited to sail aboard QE2. Not only would I be achieving a childhood dream - to talk about QE2 on the ship’s very own lecture stage - but we would also be seeing our first book - QE2: A Photographic Journey - for the very first time.

Our publisher had arranged for several book signing events in the UK, at Waterstones and Borders Books. So after negotiatng with our ‘day jobs’ for some time off, we had arranged to get to the UK a few days ahead of the cruise.

We had been booked to fly on Cathay Pacific, travelling from Australia to the UK via Hong Kong. The trip was a night flight, however on the day of departure we got the notification everyone dreads… our flight had been cancelled, due to a typhoon in Hong Kong. And flights for the coming days were also being cancelled.

With precious little time available to get to England for the book signings, and the cruise just days away, I was in a bit of a panic. Cathay Pacific couldn’t secure us an alternative flight before QE2 set sail… the whole trip was at risk!

Luckily, after a lot of phone calls (it was 2008, there were very few iPhones and my Nokia had no internet access) I was able to secure us a seat on Emirates’ A340-500 flight that took off that very evening.

This remains to this day the most expensive economy class ticket I’ve ever bought, owing to every other impacted Cathay Pacific customer having the same idea I had. But it got us there!

So off we set, via Dubai, on our way to start a new career as published authors, and for me, a Cunard Insights speaker.

We touched down at Gatwick (it was supposed to be Heathrow), took a train to the city and were met at the hotel with a box from The History Press. It was our book! The journey had begun.

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To find out what that journey was like, keep an eye out for the first post from onboard QE2 coming on 27 August 2026, exactly 18 years after we embarked our favourite ship for one last voyage.

The crown jewel of Liverpool’s historic buildings has to be the Three Graces. This comprises of the 1907 Port of Liverpool Building (right in the photo below, with the dome), the 1911 Royal Liver Building (left, with the clock tower) and in the middle, the squared-off 1917 Cunard Building.

For decades, the Cunard Building was the hub of operations for the Cunard Steamship Co. Reservations, baggage storage and embarkation preparation all took place here.

It was also home to the company offices, and design team. This was the location where great liners such as Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2 were conceived!

While the Cunard transatlantic express service was relocated from Liverpool to Southampton in 1919, the Cunard Building remained the home of Cunard Line. It continued this role after the Cunard-White Star merger in 1934.

Following World War II, Cunard absorbed White Star, and once again the Cunard Building served as the home of Cunard Line, until the 1960s.

Today the building is owned by the Liverpool City Council and is Grade II* heritage listed.

Luke also sent across some great snaps of the Majestic Princess.

Last time I saw this ship, she was 17,000km (10,563 miles) away from the UK, in Sydney, Australia. She was, at the time, partaking in the post-pandemic restart of cruising in Australian waters.

She is a Royal-class cruise ship, and was the third delivered to Princess Cruises (in 2017) after Royal and Regal Princess.

With a gross tonnage of over 144,000, Majestic Princess is far larger than any of the historic ships that used to grace the Mersey during the era of the Ocean Liner.

Rob, as I am sure many of you subscribed here know, is a world leading authority on all things P&O and Orient Line.

In fact, he saved a huge portion of the P&O and Orient Line historic archive, from destruction, and has spent decades (and many, many dollars) restoring and preserving it as The Henderson and Cremer Collection.

On this visit, Rob shared with me some remarkable original deck plans from the collection. The original documents I saw, date from the early 20th century to the mid-20th century.

I was very interested in these detailed plans.

For example, the plans for Otranto circa 1926 that I have pictured here, show the details of the number of passengers berthed in the various staterooms.

There are one and two berth rooms, as seen below, for first class. Some of these contain baths however many do not have ensuite facilities, and on the deck plans you can see the various bathrooms in the middle of the deck plans, between the engine spaces and funnel uptake casings.

And, you can also see more details, such as a Children’s Saloon where children in first class would be welcomes to dine on a special children’s menu.

In addition, the engineers mess is visible, and the “well over dining saloon” designed to give the restaurant below extra height.

Lower in the ship, where the third class passengers resided, you enter areas of the ship where there are far more persons per room. This includes some 6 berth and even a number of 10 berth cabins.

Could you imagine a long duration voyage from England to Australia, crossing the tropics, in an unairconditioned room for 10? Many of whom were likely strangers at the start of the voyage.

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These rooms do not contain bathrooms or private ensuite, and rather one had to find the dedicated ‘bathrooms’ or Gents / Ladies Lavatories, Bathrooms and Wash Places.

In fact, many times while at sea the crew had to deal with clashes between passengers who were not fond of eachother’s company.

Rob showed me many other historic deck plans, including detailed plans of Oronsay and Strathnaver. If you are interested in seeing these, please let me know, so I can share some more of the wonderful photos I captured of Rob’s unique collection.

50,000 subscribers!

I just wanted to take a moment to send this out and say thank you to everyone who has supported me to grow the channel, with a huge shout out to our subscribers, members, contributors and co-hosts.

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There are just too many wonderful people to thank individually, but I did want to send a big thanks to a few people who really have made a huge difference to the channel.

The Expert Cruise Show co-host Anthony Davis, whose support, ideas and inspiration has pushed me to make better videos, as well as my best mate Luke Morrison who has been a guest on many “Best Mates On Board” videos, and my brother in law Alex Lucas who encouraged me to ‘get back on the YouTube horse’ after I fell off in 2021, during the dark days of the global cruise shut down.

And, of course, a gigantic thank you to my creative life partner and co-author Rachelle Cross, who has been there for every step of our maritime history journey. None of the content happens without her input and support.

Plus a special shout out to Mum & Dad for taking me on that first QE2 cruise that started all of this!

The 50k Video:

And strangely enough, the video that pushed us over the 50,000 subscriber mark wasn’t one about Cunard, cruising or even ocean liners. It was about a ground breaking electric ferry made right here in my homeland of Australia.

Carnival Destiny is a name steeped in history…

…but its choice for this new ship is an historical oddity. This is because in 1996 the original Carnival Destiny entered service. And in doing so, she broke the 100,000 gt barrier.

This was a monumental moment in history. Never before had a passenger ship exceeded 100,000 gross tons. Carnival Destiny smashed the size record held since 1938 by RMS Queen Elizabeth. And she created the Destiny-class in the process.

She showed the critics that 100,000 gross tons of internal volume can be operated profitably at a time where there were serious doubts about the ultimate scalability of cruise ships.

And it might surprise you to know that this ship still sails today.

In fact, you can still cruise on Carnival Destiny. Only, hardly anyone today that sails on this ship knows it’s iconic history, as she cruises under an unassuming and relatively generic name: Carnival Sunshine.

What’s in a name?

The history of this name holds weight. This is why Carnival are using it for their new ship. But in my opinion, the history of this name belongs with the ship that created the history back in 1996.

I am scratching my head trying to think of a time where a new class-leading cruise ship is named after a prior class-leader (a legend in her own right for that matter) that still sails, after having its name taken away from it.

It is true that cruise lines frequently recycle historic names. Carnival did it recently with Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration, and Carnival Jubilee. However, those original ships were long gone from the fleet.

Carnival Destiny is still sailing and is still historic. And with Carnivale, Holiday, or even Fantasy, Ecstasy, Imagination… there were plenty of other historic choices.

What do you think?

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She will return to service in November 2026 with refurbished spaces that will see her interiors brought in line with recent changes made to Queen Elizabeth, as well as new cabins, and a new dining concept for this ship.

Here is everything we know that is changing on board, so far:

From 17 October to 5 November 2026, Queen Victoria will undergo a full refit at Damen Shiprepair Yards in Rotterdam. Cunard is aiming to bring the 19 year old ship’s on board features up to date with the rest of the fleet.

But this comes with a catch… Queen Victoria is without a doubt a fan favourite, with many Cunard travellers preferring this ship over the other three in the fleet. So any refit has to be done with respect for the Victorian-styling that made this ship so popular to start with.

And these upgrades will touch on the ship’s most iconic areas.

The Grand Lobby is getting a refresh, which Cunard say will elevate its sense of arrival. Renditions show vibrant red carpeting replacing the more muted colours currently used.

QV’s Queens Room Ballroom, will also be refreshed. This very much is along the same lines as the changes made to Queen Elizabeth, with renditions showing the space updated with bold carpeting, new curtains, updated wall coverings and new chairs that look similar to those found in the Carinthia Lounge aboard Queen Anne.

In addition to these public room changes, Grills suites will be refreshed and there will be eight new Britannia staterooms added, including three in a new category: Britannia Deluxe Oceanview.

These will have floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows. Some outlets are claiming these rooms will be on Deck 10, the only location I can think of that would fit this bill is if space was annexed from The Zone… but this is pure speculation at present, as Cunard has not released the revised deck plans yet.

Queen Victoria will also become the third ship in the Cunard fleet to introduce The Pavilion Wellness Café. First introduced aboard Queen Anne, this daytime dining venue focuses on healthy eating, serving plant-based cuisine alongside sustainably sourced meat, fish, and dairy.

Now the big issue on everyone’s minds here is how much will this change QV?

Don’t forget that when the ship first entered service in 2007 she featured a spectacular interior design, with the Victorian styling and theming running throughout the whole ship.

Features such as the Cunardia heritage trail, a spacious Café Carinthia and a huge Chart Room Bar were removed or remodelled in 2017, when the Britannia Club (which features a striking design, though it is not at all in keeping with the rest of the ship) was added.

But being built in 2007 means there are some areas where the ship does show her age, such as cabin bathrooms with small sinks, plastic shower cubicles and … the dreaded cruise ship shower curtains…

And most cabins do not appear to be having significant works done during this refit, at least outside of the Grills accommodation refresh that was announced.

My thoughts?

Personally, I think the Pavillion changes will be a great addition to the ship, as the Wellness Cafe seems popular on Queen Anne and Queen Elizabeth and the current Pavillion Bar is underutilised aboard.

The Grand Lobby changes seem sympathetic to the existing space, and the Queens Room renditions look bold, but quite vibrant. QV’s Queens Room colour scheme always came across as slightly muted to me, and less vibrant than QM2’s or Queen Elizabeth’s, so the changes and the green/teal colours might work quite well with what exists already.

And, at first glance, the changes seem far less dramatic than the works done in 2017.

Queen Victoria returns to service on 7 November 2026, ahead of her 2027 season and World Cruise.

I have requested a lecture engagement aboard the 2027 world cruise, so I’ll let you know when Cunard confirms my voyage, if you want to book aboard to check out the refreshed ship, and come to my lectures.

When I first saw Norwegian Jade in 2008, she had only just become an NCL mainline ship. The ship was just over two years old, and had recently been transferred from the ailing NCL America brand to NCL’s main brand.

The ship was built at Meyer Werft in Germany and was the second of the 93,558gt Jewel-class ships. These ships were built to upscale the NCL fleet. They share some similarities with the Leo-class ships, SuperStar Leo (now Norwegian Spirit) and SuperStar Virgo (now Resorts World One), as at the time of their design and order, StarCruises owned NCL.

Norwegian Jade entered service in 2006 as Pride of Hawaii and sailed in the Hawaiian market. Although she was German-built, NCL America was able to operate her under the U.S. flag through a unique legislative carve‑out, created during the Project America initiative. This allowed the company, and only this company, to deploy foreign-built ships in U.S. domestic Hawaiian service.

But by the time I saw the ship, she had transferred to the NCL brand. Her Hawaiian livery had been replaced with a teal style and her name changed to Norwegian Jade. It turned out that she was not overly successful in the Hawaiian market and therefore, she was moved to cruise in Europe in 2008.

I was aboard the QE2 when we shared the port of Cagliari with Norwegian Jade. I recall standing on the QE2’s boat deck watching our arrival nearby the larger and far more modern NCL ship.

QE2’s propulsion motors were playing up that day, and for some reason the engineers were struggling to slow her propeller revolutions from 144RPM to the manoeuvring speed of 72RPM. As such, we sat outside of the harbour for some time, with the Jade in sight.

After an hour or so, QE2 was able to make her way into the port.

During the day in port, we were able to see the two ships together. As QE2 retired a few months after these September 2008 photos were taken, it may well be the last time these two ships were together.

Interestingly, the Norwegian Jade is now one of the older NCL ships, and is a favourite of my Expert Cruise Show co-host Anthony Davis, who loves the smaller size of a ship that was once among the largest in the NCL fleet.

During the cruise, we anchored off Airlie Beach for a day ashore. This involved a lengthy tender ride, which gave me a great opportunity to check out the newly applied Carnival livery on her hull.

Given the Carnival Adventure is yet to receive this livery, the deep blue bow makes Carnival Encounter stand out among the Grand Class ships, that now sail for Carnival, P&O UK and Princess Cruises.

The ship started her life in 2002 as Star Princess and was built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.

During the Covid Pandemic, she was moved across to P&O Australia and renamed Pacific Encounter.

Last year the 113,000 gross ton ship transferred to Carnival, as P&O Australia was closed down.

This year she had a refit which included the repainting of the hull in this new livery.

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What do you think of the colours?

What happens when renowned journalist Anthony Davis sits down aboard RMS Queen Mary with the first British man to ever dive to Titanic? A man who’s been to the wreck 22 times and lived to tell the tale?

In this exclusive interview for The Expert Cruise Show, filmed on Queen Mary during the 90th Anniversary of that ship, Titanic Explorer Dik Barton reveals what he saw, what he recovered, and what really happens 2.5 miles beneath the surface.

Hear about:

• The moment the bow of Titanic appeared out of the darkness,

• How he recovered the artifacts you see in exhibitions today,

• The terrifying dive where his submersible became trapped inside the wreck,

• Why Titanic continues to captivate millions and

• The eerie similarities between Queen Mary and Titanic that only a diver would notice!

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If you love Titanic, ocean liners, maritime history, or real‑life exploration stories, this is one interview you won’t forget.

In 2012, I was lecturing aboard the Queen Elizabeth as part of the Cunard Insights programme. The voyage was a Mediterranean cruise from Southampton to Rome taking in various ports along the way.

The first port we stopped at was Palma de Mallorca, where the Queen Elizabeth shared the port with the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas.

This is a Vision-class cruise ship, and it is actually one of my favourite classes of cruise ship.

Grandeur of the Seas was built at the Kværner Masa-Yards Hietalahti yard, near Helsinki, Finland. She was the first Finnish-built Vision-class ship. She was also the first of the longer, extended design that superseded the original French-built Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas.

After returning to the Queen Elizabeth from a day ashore, I stood with Rachelle on the ship’s boat deck watching the 73,817 gross ton Grandeur push away from the pier and make her way out to open sea.

So… why do I like the Vision-class so much? It’s all to do with the ship’s lines.

Built in 1996, the Grandeur of the Seas is the quintessential 90s cruise ship. There are lots of balcony cabins, but they are blended into the ship’s overall design in such a pleasing way. As too are the inboard-set lifeboats.

The Vision-class all have a lovely, long bow, with a pleasing raked appearance. Their forward superstructure and Bridge is elegantyly curved. And they have a curved aft superstructure, that sits atop a stern design that mimmicks a cruiser stern, with its rounded shape.

I also like the proportions of these vessels. Visually, they appear to have a good length to height ratio. The funnel, set right aft gives them an interesting appearance, balancing the bulk of the centrally-placed Viking Crown Lounge.

I’ve only sailed on board one Vision-class ship; the Enchantment of the Seas. She was lengthened, making her the largest of the class. And she is my favourite of them all, probably because of the happy memories from our time aboard.

But all four of the larger Vision-class ships look great in my opinion. I might even go so far as to say that to me, they are far more elegant and balanced in appearance than most modern cruise ships, including the Vista-class ships of Carnival Corp, that Queen Elizabeth is based on.

What do you think?