Commodore Rynd returns in December

Cunard has posted QM's officer changes for December:

 

Captain Kevin Oprey/ Christopher Rynd (change 12 December)

Executive Chef Karl Winkler/ Klaus Kremer (change 19 December)

Food & Beverage Manager Glenn Milway/ Stefan Engl (change 7 December)

Chief Purser Ruud Jansen/ Chantal Mooiman (change 8 December)

 

(They should have checked the rest of their web page - which still shows "Country of Registry - Great Britian".)

A welcome change. Do you have a feel for how long a Captain's contract is. I'm hoping he'll be on board August 28, which looks reasonable if the term is roughly 3 months.

 

Roy

Cunard has posted QM's officer changes for December:

 

Captain Kevin Oprey/ Christopher Rynd (change 12 December)

Executive Chef Karl Winkler/ Klaus Kremer (change 19 December)

Food & Beverage Manager Glenn Milway/ Stefan Engl (change 7 December)

Chief Purser Ruud Jansen/ Chantal Mooiman (change 8 December)

 

(They should have checked the rest of their web page - which still shows "Country of Registry - Great Britian".)

 

Hi mariepr. Thanks for that info. I'm looking forward to meeting Captain Rynd. Cheers, -S.

Hi mariepr. Thanks for that info. I'm looking forward to meeting Captain Rynd. Cheers, -S.

 

Surely you mean Commodore Rynd? ;)

Surely you mean Commodore Rynd? ;)

 

Oops, I forgot.:o (Battlefield promotion, was it?) Anyway, thanks for reminding me. :)

His very nice and friendly wife, Julie, often accompanies him on his voyages. Perhaps she'll be on for your Christmas trip, Salacia. We've met her twice at CC meetings.

His very nice and friendly wife, Julie, often accompanies him on his voyages. Perhaps she'll be on for your Christmas trip, Salacia. We've met her twice at CC meetings.

 

Hi Oahucruiser.:) I hope so - from what I've read, Ms. Rynd is a very interesting person.

 

Parenthetically, I have many happy memories of my fellow passengers, especially those memories of Caribbean shore excusions where we all dashed unabashedly into the clear blue ocean and discovered the undercurrent.:eek::) We rush into the sea, get knocked down, laugh, and get up and do it all over again. No one cares what anyone looks like, and we all look out for each other. At least, that is my personal experience, and I'm really looking forward to doing it again - like a kid at Christmas.:)

Have a wonderful holiday cruise, Salacia. Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the refit.

 

I'll be checking in on the 3rd of January when you return.

 

Bon Voyage,

Bobby

Thanks very much Bobby.:) I'll try not to get any sand on the new carpets! Hope you have a great holiday and a happy voyage too! Best wishes, -S.

I sailed with Commodore Rynd in December through hurricane force winds and 50 feet waves. I found him to be quite rude. He actually said to me "I don't have to be polite to everyone." It was completely unprovoked.

I sailed with Commodore Rynd in December through hurricane force winds and 50 feet waves. I found him to be quite rude. He actually said to me "I don't have to be polite to everyone." It was completely unprovoked.

 

I am sorry to read that you had a problem, I've yet to meet Commodore Rynd, although people I know who have met him, and his wife, relate different experiences to your own.

On a more positive note, can I encourage you to tell us of the good parts of your cruise in your second post? I, for one, love to hear passenger's views and memories, it helps to keep me going until my next voyage, thanks!

 

Bon Voyage for your next cruise.

I sailed with Commodore Rynd in December through hurricane force winds and 50 feet waves. I found him to be quite rude. He actually said to me "I don't have to be polite to everyone." It was completely unprovoked.

 

He was very polite to my wife and me after we arrived late to the Captain's reception on the Xmas cruise a few months back and came over and insisted that we had photographs taken with him after we were told by the hostess that 'we were too late' - which we almost were - and complimented my wife on her 'ballgown'. However, I do know what you mean as I have in the past for some unknown reason been given the brush off by someone who is supposed to be 'very nice'.

Surely you mean Commodore Rynd? ;)

 

NomDePlume, I did it again, in person when I met Commodore Rynd. Twice I called him Captain. Very embarrased at having done so. But he was quite polite and very charming and forgiving of my faux pas.

 

More importantly to me was his command of the ship. Just as two diverse examples: a passenger was expertly medevaced during the voyage. And Santa Claus arrived on the ship. Both events were relayed to passengers with great care and consideration by Commodore Rynd.

 

Manners and being polite are very important most of the time. But driving the ship well is the main focus for a captain. Es verdad? -Rhetorical question in response to post #11

Regards,

Salacia

ok, I guess I should explain things.

 

1- Am I not supposed to append to an old list? I do not usually write to these things. I saw the comments and remembered the incident with Commodore Rynd.

 

2- This was my third voyage on the Queen Mary 2. The other two voyages were sublime. I am not the type of person who is demanding or needs to be constantly entertained. I found the staff on the ship to be quite nice, decent, polite, and friendly. They were more than I expected.

 

3- The cruise was "memorable" for a few reasons. This December 12, 2011 westward crossing to NY (the start of the Christmas cruise) skirted a severe storm. We first went south at avoid the center of the storm and caught the edge of it instead. We went so far south (and not west) that, after the one hour time change, the sun rose at 6:30 am. It was obvious, after a while, that they calculated that if we skirted the storm and then went at the fastest speed, we could arrive in Brooklyn on time. So, we encountered the aforementioned hurricane winds and 50 feet waves. After the storm, the cruise was very noisy at night due to the speed.

 

People were falling down. Some unsteady people might have been hurt. I saw one man fall on his back. There were many incidents of vomit on the new carpet. The staff was walking around in hazmat suits and putting yellow tape around the "deposits."

 

Of course, we were not allowed to go outside for a few days and the waves were slamming into the windows of Britannia restaurant.

 

4- When I said the encounter with the Commodore was "unprovoked" I guess I should have explained. I am ugly. As I moved along on the reception line I noticed in my peripheral vision that he made a face, obviously, to say that he did not like me. I told him, "That was rude" and he responded, "I don't have to be nice to everyone." I then said, "Maybe you should check your job description" and it went downhill from there. He at one point said that he could keep me in my room. He also said, "Do you know what the problem here is?" and I responded, "Yes, you have not realized that you are the Commodore of the good ship lollipop and not the Nimitz." So, it was rude all around. I do not look as if I stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. I can understand why people who do would like him. He can be entertaining under ideal conditions.

 

5- The other Commodore, Commodore Warner, was quite nice. He stopped me in the hall once and had a nice, funny conversation with me. I found him to be personable, funny, considerate, engaging, and... human.

 

6- They were sort of rationing the baked goods in the Kings Court on that voyage. They stationed someone at the cakes to intimidate people from taking too much. The other food was not up to their usual standards... even for Kings Court. I did not realize until after I returned home that it must be impossible to bake a cake under those conditions. They did the best they could under the circumstances.

 

7-I tried to make a comment about the cruise in January but it was rejected.

 

8- If it upset some people that I "appended" then it may provoke people that there are now too many topics.

Dencruise80, welcome to Cruise Critic. Your follow up comments about the voyage are helpful. Often we see "one post wonders" who make a negative, general comment but then disappear.

 

...4- When I said the encounter with the Commodore was "unprovoked" I guess I should have explained. I am ugly. As I moved along on the reception line I noticed in my peripheral vision that he made a face, obviously, to say that he did not like me. I told him, "That was rude" and he responded, "I don't have to be nice to everyone." I then said, "Maybe you should check your job description" and it went downhill from there. He at one point said that he could keep me in my room. He also said, "Do you know what the problem here is?" and I responded, "Yes, you have not realized that you are the Commodore of the good ship lollipop and not the Nimitz." So, it was rude all around. I do not look as if I stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. I can understand why people who do would like him. He can be entertaining under ideal conditions...

 

I'm sorry but your own account of this incident puts only yourself to blame. The Commodore's "making a face" may have had absolutely nothing to do with you. This is a receiving line and who knows what comments the people in front of you made to him. Yet you presumed he was reacting to you physical appearance. After greeting him with "That was rude" of course the meeting had nowhere to go but downhill.

 

Your statement "I am ugly" is a very harsh self assessment. Most of us will never have modeling agencies asking for a portfolio. Others suffer severe burns and disfigurements. Yet the physically unattractive can nonetheless be beautiful human beings in how they react with everyone else. (And the tabloids give us plenty of examples where beautiful actresses are absolutely miserable to everyone they encounter.)

ok, I guess I should explain things.

 

1- Am I not supposed to append to an old list? I do not usually write to these things. I saw the comments and remembered the incident with Commodore Rynd.

 

2- This was my third voyage on the Queen Mary 2. The other two voyages were sublime. I am not the type of person who is demanding or needs to be constantly entertained. I found the staff on the ship to be quite nice, decent, polite, and friendly. They were more than I expected.

 

3- The cruise was "memorable" for a few reasons. This December 12, 2011 westward crossing to NY (the start of the Christmas cruise) skirted a severe storm. We first went south at avoid the center of the storm and caught the edge of it instead. We went so far south (and not west) that, after the one hour time change, the sun rose at 6:30 am. It was obvious, after a while, that they calculated that if we skirted the storm and then went at the fastest speed, we could arrive in Brooklyn on time. So, we encountered the aforementioned hurricane winds and 50 feet waves. After the storm, the cruise was very noisy at night due to the speed.

 

People were falling down. Some unsteady people might have been hurt. I saw one man fall on his back. There were many incidents of vomit on the new carpet. The staff was walking around in hazmat suits and putting yellow tape around the "deposits."

 

Of course, we were not allowed to go outside for a few days and the waves were slamming into the windows of Britannia restaurant.

 

4- When I said the encounter with the Commodore was "unprovoked" I guess I should have explained. I am ugly. As I moved along on the reception line I noticed in my peripheral vision that he made a face, obviously, to say that he did not like me. I told him, "That was rude" and he responded, "I don't have to be nice to everyone." I then said, "Maybe you should check your job description" and it went downhill from there. He at one point said that he could keep me in my room. He also said, "Do you know what the problem here is?" and I responded, "Yes, you have not realized that you are the Commodore of the good ship lollipop and not the Nimitz." So, it was rude all around. I do not look as if I stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. I can understand why people who do would like him. He can be entertaining under ideal conditions.

 

5- The other Commodore, Commodore Warner, was quite nice. He stopped me in the hall once and had a nice, funny conversation with me. I found him to be personable, funny, considerate, engaging, and... human.

 

6- They were sort of rationing the baked goods in the Kings Court on that voyage. They stationed someone at the cakes to intimidate people from taking too much. The other food was not up to their usual standards... even for Kings Court. I did not realize until after I returned home that it must be impossible to bake a cake under those conditions. They did the best they could under the circumstances.

 

7-I tried to make a comment about the cruise in January but it was rejected.

 

8- If it upset some people that I "appended" then it may provoke people that there are now too many topics.

I hope that I don't start a big debate here but when I was aboard the QE2 in January 2006 for the New York to Los Angeles segment of the QE2's World Cruise,Commodore Christopher Rynd then known as Captain Rynd was in command of the QE2.Since I both requested the late dinner and a seat at the captain's table,I did get both requests.I thought that he did seem to ok in his treatment of the passengers and I was also able to have a conversation with him early one evening at the observation deck located under the QE2's Bridge,There was one night where he was the host and if I remember correctly we did not even have dessert yet,we completed the main course of the dinner when Captain Rynd announced that he was very tired because he had a very long day and because of that he wanted to leave us at the table and he would then go to his cabin to retire for the night.He did give us passengers at the Captain's Table an apology for leaving early.After he left, us passengers at the table did agree that yes we don't doubt that he had a long day.However we also did agree that hosting passengers at a table is not hard physical labor like shoveling coal into the boilers that was done in the Titanic's Boiler Rooms.And Captain should have stayed at the table at least until us passengers were finished with dessert and coffee.One or Two other nights when he was supposed to be the host he sent his wife or daughter instead.There were other times aboard QE2 or QM2 where I was assigned to a officer's table and the officer would stay with us passengers well after dessert and coffee were finished.Any opinions on how Captain Rynd treated me and the other passengers at the Captain's Table on this QE2 cruise? Regards,Jerry

Dencruise80, welcome to Cruise Critic. Your follow up comments about the voyage are helpful. Often we see "one post wonders" who make a negative, general comment but then disappear.

 

 

 

I'm sorry but your own account of this incident puts only yourself to blame. The Commodore's "making a face" may have had absolutely nothing to do with you. This is a receiving line and who knows what comments the people in front of you made to him. Yet you presumed he was reacting to you physical appearance. After greeting him with "That was rude" of course the meeting had nowhere to go but downhill.

 

Your statement "I am ugly" is a very harsh self assessment. Most of us will never have modeling agencies asking for a portfolio. Others suffer severe burns and disfigurements. Yet the physically unattractive can nonetheless be beautiful human beings in how they react with everyone else. (And the tabloids give us plenty of examples where beautiful actresses are absolutely miserable to everyone they encounter.)

 

 

I DO have burns all over my face. I had a terrible accident in late 2001 which nearly killed me. (Actually they told me I was going to die. But, I did not.)

 

No one spoke to the Commodore before he made the face. AND, if that were the case, he would not have said "I do not have to be nice to everyone."

 

As far as me being rude to him... I paid for the cruise and he was not as polite as the least paid employee on that ship, all of whom had been polite.

I hope that I don't start a big debate here but when I was aboard the QE2 in January 2006 for the New York to Los Angeles segment of the QE2's World Cruise,Commodore Christopher Rynd then known as Captain Rynd was in command of the QE2.Since I both requested the late dinner and a seat at the captain's table,I did get both requests.I thought that he did seem to ok in his treatment of the passengers and I was also able to have a conversation with him early one evening at the observation deck located under the QE2's Bridge,There was one night where he was the host and if I remember correctly we did not even have dessert yet,we completed the main course of the dinner when Captain Rynd announced that he was very tired because he had a very long day and because of that he wanted to leave us at the table and he would then go to his cabin to retire for the night.He did give us passengers at the Captain's Table an apology for leaving early.After he left, us passengers at the table did agree that yes we don't doubt that he had a long day.However we also did agree that hosting passengers at a table is not hard physical labor like shoveling coal into the boilers that was done in the Titanic's Boiler Rooms.And Captain should have stayed at the table at least until us passengers were finished with dessert and coffee.One or Two other nights when he was supposed to be the host he sent his wife or daughter instead.There were other times aboard QE2 or QM2 where I was assigned to a officer's table and the officer would stay with us passengers well after dessert and coffee were finished.Any opinions on how Captain Rynd treated me and the other passengers at the Captain's Table on this QE2 cruise? Regards,Jerry

 

 

You Must be joking.

Did you really mean to voice this sense of entitlement...(which wouldnt be surprising considerring the way in which the thread seems to be heading)

 

Jerry...really i expected more from you.:eek:

You Must be joking.

Did you really mean to voice this sense of entitlement

 

 

Actually, I was unaware you were able to request to sit at the Captains table.

 

It makes it even more relevant that often I have looked over at their table and felt sorry for them having to sit through a night with a boorish bunch of people of whom they (now that I know how you get on their table) have had no choice about having to sit with and now smile sublimly as they listen to them trying to outdo themselves and impress the officers and any other poor sop within hearing distance. Especially when they know they have more important things to do such as get a good nights rest to get up at often 3 or 4 in the morning so they can control a huge piece of equipment in and out of port.

 

Ive often wondered how they get out of it. Now I know.

 

Though Im sure this wasnt in YOUR case Jerry.

Actually, I was unaware you were able to request to sit at the Captains table...

 

Not anymore, althouth one can make a request at booking to dine at an officer's table:

 

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/captains_table

 

https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/dine_officer

Actually, I was unaware you were able to request to sit at the Captains table.

 

It makes it even more relevant that often I have looked over at their table and felt sorry for them having to sit through a night with a boorish bunch of people of whom they (now that I know how you get on their table) have had no choice about having to sit with and now smile sublimly as they listen to them trying to outdo themselves and impress the officers and any other poor sop within hearing distance. Especially when they know they have more important things to do such as get a good nights rest to get up at often 3 or 4 in the morning so they can control a huge piece of equipment in and out of port.

 

Ive often wondered how they get out of it. Now I know.

 

Though Im sure this wasnt in YOUR case Jerry.

Well Roscoe39 I have learned that concerning myself that it is not about being at a captain's table and or a officer's table that matters anymore and as a matter of fact I really don't care about being assigned to a captain's or officer's table anymore because that means having a late dinner and then by the time the late dinner is finished at around 10 or 10:30 there is not much time left to do anything else.And then the Captain may end up being sort of a disappointment.To put it another way the experience of being aboard ship is all that really matters to me and from now on all my dinners aboard ship will be early dinners and they can have a chimpanzee in command of the ship for all I care. Regards,Jerry

I sailed with Commodore Rynd in December through hurricane force winds and 50 feet waves. I found him to be quite rude. He actually said to me "I don't have to be polite to everyone." It was completely unprovoked.

 

So, the Commodore was "rude". Let me think? Hurricane force winds, and 50 ft waves, and the Commodore couldn't make time to "small talk" with you because you percieve yourself to be "ugly".

 

Perhaps he "might" have been preoccupied with controlling multiple thousands of tons of metal in an unstable environment, and circumstances, of which you are totally unaware of triggered that exchange. Your later disclaimer that no conversation had passed with the Commodore is both fascinating, and all encompassing. I wish i had that "awareness".

So, the Commodore was "rude". Let me think? Hurricane force winds, and 50 ft waves, and the Commodore couldn't make time to "small talk" with you because you percieve yourself to be "ugly".

 

Perhaps he "might" have been preoccupied with controlling multiple thousands of tons of metal in an unstable environment, and circumstances, of which you are totally unaware of triggered that exchange. Your later disclaimer that no conversation had passed with the Commodore is both fascinating, and all encompassing. I wish i had that "awareness".

 

This happened at a reception. If he was so concerned with "controlling multiple thousands of tons of metal in an unstable environment" he should not have been there. He has many assistants. And, based upon the Costa Concordia disaster, it seems that Cunard tells him what to do at all times anyway. If he was in control and so concerned, he could have steered out of the storm.

 

Again, based upon Concordia, Cunard knows you can not sue them so they do not care if a few people get injured as long as they dock in Brooklyn on time.

 

Where did I say he did not want to make small talk with me? I said he was unpleasant not uncommunicative.

This happened at a reception. If he was so concerned with "controlling multiple thousands of tons of metal in an unstable environment" he should not have been there. He has many assistants. And, based upon the Costa Concordia disaster, it seems that Cunard tells him what to do at all times anyway. If he was in control and so concerned, he could have steered out of the storm.

 

Again, based upon Concordia, Cunard knows you can not sue them so they do not care if a few people get injured as long as they dock in Brooklyn on time.

 

Where did I say he did not want to make small talk with me? I said he was unpleasant not uncommunicative.

 

BUT one minute you said you were in a receiving line...then the next you said that no one had said anything to him before he spoke to you indicating that you were the only person to have the pleasure to converse.....im sure everyone in the line had the opportunity for greetings .... so im confused.....are you sure you wernt being oversensitive for something that was not even aimed at you....

 

 

 

and im only playing cos im sitting here bored waiting for the aniversary of the iceburg....3 hours and counting...:eek:

 

 

RIP TITANIC

I've been fortunate to have several very pleasant conversations with Commodore and Mrs. Rynd so the description posted doesn't match what I remember but sadly the Commodore isn't here to give "his side" of the story. I try to be fair and would prefer to hear both sides before I condemn anybody.