Our first Cunard voyage in 1973

[david,Mississauga]

Exactly 50 years ago my wife and I were on the QE2 crossing from Southampton to New York. We had sailed to England on the France.  It was a fast crossing and since then we have never experienced its equal, even when the QE2 was still doing five-night trips.  The ship had been delayed leaving New York and had arrived in Southampton 13 hours late. Cunard gets full marks for the way they handled this situation. We had received a letter at our hotel, which I have reproduced below. I recall there were no queues and food and excursions with meals were provided. We departed about 14 hours late at 1:00 a.m. of the 3rd of October (so I was told as I was asleep) and arrived in New York on time at 9:00 a.m. on the 7th.

 

Without going into extensive detail of all the changes we have seen on Cunard in that half a century, I have attached the fare chart and some of the bar menu. It's hard for us to believe now, but in 1973 the Canadian $ was worth a little more than the US $. Our fare was $380 pp in Canadian funds. That was for a Tourist Class (Britannia Restaurant) midships outside two-bedded cabin with porthole. The Bank of Canada inflation calculator says the equivalent amount this year is $2512. A gin and tonic cost 20p which was 50 Canadian cents. Today that would be $3.30.  The bar menu doesn't give measurements, but even if the drinks were one ounce they were cheap. Obviously drinks were not a major profit centre for shipping lines in those days.

 

There was far less entertainment on this voyage than there is this century. There were three classical musicians, including a young flutist Ransom Wilson. There was nothing else to interest us. Even when young I had no interest in the pop music that seemed to be everywhere. There were no "insights"  lectures.  On our crossings in the 70s and 80s there was no string orchestra or harpist. A Cunard brochure of the time, bragging about how modern the QE2 is, said that "there are no violins on the QE2." Thanks a lot, Cunard. For a long time Cunard was not our favourite, although we took several crossings when there were very few alternatives. For a while the Union-Castle ships were our favourite and after their demise the P&O's Canberra appealed to us. 

 

I hope other members of this forum will reminisce about their earlier voyages.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Our first voyage on Cunard was on QE2 in 1988. We went standby, $999 fly one way, sail the other. I was working in NYC at the time and called the Cunard office there every day to see if we had made it up the standby list. I think the man gave us a cabin to stop me calling! I picked up my tickets at their office on 5th Avenue and my plane tickets from British Airways a few blocks down the street from Cunard. It felt so much more sophisticated than getting tickets from a suburban travel agency!

 

We flew to England, had a few days there and sailed home. We had a very far forward inside u/l cabin down on 5 deck. And we had he roughest weather I have ever encountered on the Atlantic. I foolishly watched "the view from the bridge" on the tiny TV. Watching just one cycle of up and down did me in. I was seasick for the first 24 hours of the crossing. 

 

Then we passed through the storm and things were better. We reserved deck chairs on Sun Deck ($12 for the whole crossing). Dennis was in charge then. Crusty old guy, but somehow everyone loved him for it. I think Roger was his assistant. Later Roger took over when Dennis retired. I loved having a cushion brought for me when I walked to my chair. Blanket for a cold morning. Tea and bouillon for elevenses. Afternoon tea chairside. 

 

There were entertainers in the evening--comedian, magician, singer, dancers. We did have lectures during the day. I looked at the programs I kept and there were interesting topics. Talks about architecture of NYC and a doctor talking about lipo and plastic surgery. A costume designer who had done the costumes for the BBC "Six Wives of Henry VIII" and "Elizabeth R."  There were "infomercial" talks by people from the Steiner Salon. 

 

There were celebrities, too. I remember that we saw Telly Savalas while we were walking around the first day. He was with his wife and child. I never saw them with him again, although I saw him again once or twice. It must be difficult for a celebrity being recognized and having strangers know what your kid looks like. The creepy factor is much more now, of course, but even so... He was dressed casually in khakis and polo shirt. But the day he gave his talk on shooting movies on location, he was all "who loves ya, baby" with the silk shirt and gold chains and sunglasses. After the talk, he posed for pictures with passengers. Then Mr. Movie Star went away, and he was a regular person again.

 

Edwin Newman, a news correspondent, gave a few talks. I still remember that one was about language. He was very picky about usage and complained about the misuse of "hopefully." "Hopefully, we will have good weather" is not the correct use of the adverb. A correct example would be "Can you lend me $10?" he asked hopefully. He complained about it a lot at work so someone put a sign on his door that read "Abandon all hopefully ye who enter here."

 

The ship had been late arriving, so we left late. Sailing down the Solent at midnight or whenever it was called for something festive. So DH ran inside to get us glasses of champagne to drink on deck. The bartender made him swear he would return the glasses, which he did. They were nice glasses, better than what we'd seen on previous cruises (HAL), so we were carful. The next day, we realized it was the QG Lounge. DH had just gone to the nearest bar without realizing it wasn't for everyone. That bartender was very kind to have served him AND let him take the crystal glasses out. I still have our final bill. Those two glasses of fizz cost $11. (A Coke in the Lido was 55 cents) The ship was still two classes. The Queens Room was for First Class passengers only. I think that distinction was only on transatlantics at that point. We never saw it again after that.  

 

Alan Bennell was captain and Elaine MacKay was social directress. 

 

@david,Mississauga, I am envious that you got to sail on the France. I didn't meet her until she was the Norway, late in her life, when NCL let her get shabby.

Edited October 7, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you for sharing. How time flies as my first with Cunard was in 1976. Great memories!

[foodsvcmgr]

Thanks for starting a fun topic.

My first T/A was April 1979 in what was by then democratically renamed “Transatlantic Class” inside single #3002 all the way forward.

In some of the heavy weather pictured I recall levitating off my little bunk as the ship pitched.

These gents were my server team in Tables of the World, Londoner section.

Agreed not a lot of professional entertainment then, but a highlight was a speech by Prince Asfa Wossen Asserate of Ethiopia who was on his way to the UN to ask for help liberating his country from the communists who had overthrown his father Haile Selassie.  A memorable precursor to todays lecture programs.

[foodsvcmgr]

Apologies, this was actually September of 1979.

In April I was experiencing the final days of the Italian Line aboard “Guglielmo Marconi”.

Back to Cunard, I was on a r/t under the One Way Free promotion of the time.

Laurence Portet was Captain.

The good old days…….

[RICHARD@SEA]

11 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

Exactly 50 years ago my wife and I were on the QE2 crossing from Southampton to New York. We had sailed to England on the France.  It was a fast crossing and since then we have never experienced its equal, even when the QE2 was still doing five-night trips.  The ship had been delayed leaving New York and had arrived in Southampton 13 hours late. Cunard gets full marks for the way they handled this situation. We had received a letter at our hotel, which I have reproduced below. I recall there were no queues and food and excursions with meals were provided. We departed about 14 hours late at 1:00 a.m. of the 3rd of October (so I was told as I was asleep) and arrived in New York on time at 9:00 a.m. on the 7th.

 

Without going into extensive detail of all the changes we have seen on Cunard in that half a century, I have attached the fare chart and some of the bar menu. It's hard for us to believe now, but in 1973 the Canadian $ was worth a little more than the US $. Our fare was $380 pp in Canadian funds. That was for a Tourist Class (Britannia Restaurant) midships outside two-bedded cabin with porthole. The Bank of Canada inflation calculator says the equivalent amount this year is $2512. A gin and tonic cost 20p which was 50 Canadian cents. Today that would be $3.30.  The bar menu doesn't give measurements, but even if the drinks were one ounce they were cheap. Obviously drinks were not a major profit centre for shipping lines in those days.

 

There was far less entertainment on this voyage than there is this century. There were three classical musicians, including a young flutist Ransom Wilson. There was nothing else to interest us. Even when young I had no interest in the pop music that seemed to be everywhere. There were no "insights"  lectures.  On our crossings in the 70s and 80s there was no string orchestra or harpist. A Cunard brochure of the time, bragging about how modern the QE2 is, said that "there are no violins on the QE2." Thanks a lot, Cunard. For a long time Cunard was not our favourite, although we took several crossings when there were very few alternatives. For a while the Union-Castle ships were our favourite and after their demise the P&O's Canberra appealed to us. 

 

I hope other members of this forum will reminisce about their earlier voyages.

Thank you so much for your posting...I too sailed in QE2 3x - one TA, one Panama Canal as part of the World cruise & one 4th of July cruise.  My parents used the QE2 as transport to England and the FRANCE( I liked both ships for different reasons).  All these trips were in the 60's, 70's & 1980's.

The 5 day crossings were great w a weekend in Paris or London.

 

I like the QM2 as she is really the only option at this point(other than the standard cruise ships / malls & amusement parks).

Favorite memories ==

Sailing down the Hudson River & under the Verrazano Bridge.

The British staff & officers - true sailors.

Dancing in the night club & realizing I was dancing across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Promenade deck - day or nite(or even in the morning waking up in a Deck chair still dressed in my dinner jacket.

And doing it all again the next day!!!

 

Thank you

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

My first sailing with Cunard was a transatlantic crossing on the QE2 in June 1984. This crossing was with my parents, brother, and grandmother. We booked a pre-cruise package with Cunard and spent several days in Paris and London prior to the crossing. We left Southampton late and sailed very quickly to Cherbourg. One of the sea days was very rough and they placed "deadlights" (covers) over the portholes. This was a five-day crossing and the ship plowed through the rough seas like a true ocean liner. Despite the weather, we arrived at New York on time.

 

There were interesting lectures in the theater during the day. Many of the public rooms (Queens Room, Double Room, etc.) still had their original decor. The sliding dome recently had been installed over the pool on Quarter Deck. This area was used as disco at night. Two large tenders (Alpha and Beta) were added in new davits on either side of the dome. The ship still had its original engines and funnel. By this time, the funnel was painted in the traditional Cunard red/orange shade. 

 

We were assigned to the Tables of the World Restaurant (termed "Transatlantic Class" at the time). Separate afternoon teas and evening entertainment were held each day in the Queens Room for First Class passengers and the Double Room for Transatlantic Class passengers. However, we had full run of the ship. There weren't any physical barriers between the classes. This was a very enjoyable crossing! 

 

I eventually sailed aboard the QE2 seven times between 1984 and 2005 (three crossings and four cruises). The QE2 remains my all-time favorite ship. I am booked on the Queen Anne's Maiden World Voyage in 2025 and hope to visit the QE2 during our stop in Dubai. 

 

In September 1994, I took a cruise on the Vistafjord with my grandmother from Southampton to Barcelona. Edwin Newman was the guest lecturer during our cruise. We attended all of his lectures and I had my picture taken with him. Following the cruise, we booked a two-night post-cruise Cunard tour to Madrid. There were only about 25 people on this tour. Because Mr. Newman and was wife were on this tour, we had the opportunity to talk with them on several occasions. They were very pleasant. The Vistafjord was a wonderful and very elegant ship. 

 

Chuck

Edited October 7, 2023 by seacruise9