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Rebecca Tobin
Almost 20 years later, I still get goosebumps when I think about the situation that got me and a few travel agents in the same room as Queen Elizabeth II.
Sure enough, I was as far away from HRH as Queen Mary 2 was tall, and there were hundreds of cruise and cruise executives and VIPs in the room with me. And if you’re being technical, there really wasn’t even a room; As in theater, Elizabeth was given a starring role and many of us are lucky to be on the roof. But that’s what brought me to her presence: the naming of Cunard’s great ocean liner, a much-anticipated, exciting and memorable event that Travel Weekly’s grown-up editors almost threw away because of the invitation (at least they did in my mind).
The QM2 captivated the entire cruise industry, and the experience of its creation, launch and cruise is a subject I have returned to many times over the years. And although Queen Elizabeth was only briefly at the QM2 ceremony and spoke less than two dozen words in public, her presence was huge. “When you’re in front of Her Majesty the Queen, it takes it to another level,” Peter Shanks, Cunard’s former senior vice president for Europe, told me in 2014.
With the Queen’s death last week, I can relate to the huge draw that saw thousands of Britons line up for hours to see her coffin. Thousands lined the streets for her funeral; To watch millions of events on television.
Much has been written about her life and legacy in the past week, so I will focus only on her relationship with Cunard, which, according to the company, dates back to 2015. As it was when she accompanied her mother to Queen Elizabeth’s inauguration in 1938. She was christened Caronia in 1947 and, more importantly, Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1967, becoming the flagship of the line, ferrying passengers gracefully across the Atlantic and also serving as a troop transport.
Several years ago, a Vanity Fair video asked British actors to name their favorite member of the royal family. “She should be the queen,” Jeremy Irons said. “She’s the top.”
And by the time Queen Mary 2 was about to launch in late 2003, it became clear: No other mother than the woman above would make.
Still, her yes wasn’t a lie. Among the many reasons to say no, the ship’s naming ceremony coincided with her annual winter vacation at Sandringham in Scotland.
Gerry Ellis, now Carnival Corp’s vice president of safety, security and health compliance, but also Cunard’s director of new builds at the time, recalled. “I know all the wonderful planning that went into the naming ceremony and how we asked Buckingham Palace to name the ship Queen,” he wrote in an email. “The response from the palace did not come back quickly, and we were not sure that she would agree, but we continued to plan and we had high hopes. While waiting, there were many worried faces in the planning team.
“As we know, she finally agreed for real, and the event itself was absolutely amazing,” he added.
Seeing the queen
When I was on board for the ceremony in January 2004, I remember being so excited that my mate was face to face with the well; This means that if I time it right, I can see the Queen coming. And that’s what I did: I hid on my balcony carved out of the steel structure of the ship, feeling very cold, until Her Majesty’s little black cars pulled up to the gangway.
Waiting to greet them was Pam Conover, president of Cunard. The QM2’s hull is large, suitable for a true ocean liner, and I was far from the pier. But I knew when Elizabeth left. Now I knew.
The queen went to the ship, and Conover got off the chair. In an interview for our 10-year QM2 report, Conover, who is herself British, told me of that moment “I was afraid I was going to fall over laughing.”
“But she was very beautiful,” Conover said.
After the party had gone on board for a visit, I left my balcony and hastened to the public quarters; There was a feeling of joy. “Prince Philip, Prince Philip,” he kept shouting, and soon he was seen walking aboard with Carnival Corp. executive Howard Franks.
Ellis said Elizabeth was introduced to the crew and Cunard Coastal management. “I always remember how kind and friendly she was, and she had the right questions for everyone she met, listening intently to every answer,” he recalled last week.
Gala holidays fit for the royal family
Shortly after seeing Philip, guests were asked to disembark QM2 and ushered to the pole stage for the ceremony itself. The program lasted for an hour and included music, speeches, the Queen’s personal bag, blessings and more. Arnie Weissman wrote: “He realized that there was a real advantage to staying with the Queen … At last you would see the best musicians and singers in Britain doing their best to entertain her.”
The Queen made no speech except for her official blessing, which was the cue for the bottle to be released on the ship’s hull. The empress and her entourage soon left, but the gala celebrations continued well into the evening.
I have never been closer to Queen Elizabeth II than the chairs. But others have. When Carnival Corporation chairman Mickey Arison acquired Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth in 2010 and P&O Cruises Britannia in 2015, they met her more than once.
And will we see other royals as mothers? Camilla, now the queen consort, is the mother of Saga’s ship. And the future Queen Kate, now Princess of Wales, rightly named her Princess Royal. After all, Cunard’s Queen Anne is on the horizon.
But perhaps no mother like Elizabeth ever lived.
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