Crossing the equator

Hi,what do Cunard ships do in the way of ceromonies etc when crossing the Equator?Cheers,Brian.

Last spring, on the Cape Town-Soton leg of QE's World Cruise, passengers were recruited to volunteer for the festivities, which involved a judge in wig and gown, as well as King Neptune and his consort in a coconut-shell bra. A court was convened at the swimming pool, and various mildly unpleasant things happened to the volunteers who were adjudged, in witty verse, to be guilty of various malefactions. Nor were officers exempt; one of the Engineering officers was thrown into the pool in his tropical whites.

Beyond me why people volunteer for this, but they do.

A few pictures of the "ceremony" on QE in 2014.

Poseidon and his queen

The Pirates getting ready to dunk the captain

Where the polliwogs got slimed and had to "kiss the fish"

On QM2 a similar type ceremony on a very crowded pool deck.

I think everyone got a certificate delivered to their stateroom.

IMHO one should have to endure some (small) part of the ceremony to get a Shellback certificate.

I still have my Bluenose card (Arctic Circle crossing) from 1982. The (slightly) unpleasant experience makes it worth having.

Cheers guys,we're doing Singapore to Capetown next year on the QE,looking forward to it.

King Neptune held court on QE in 2013 on the way out to New Zealand. On the way back he couldn't hold court as the ship had been invaded by the dreaded Noro or similar.