| CUNARD |
| QUEEN MARY 2 |
Remarks of Carol Marlow
to the
Cornell Club of New York
to the
Cornell Club of New York
Cunard Today
During the second half of the 1900s, Cunard changed ownership a
few times. It was an independent company up to 1971. Then, after
that time, it was bought by Trafalgar House and then Trafalgar
House was bought by Kvaerner. [Cunard] didn’t really have a
strategy. The company added ships here and there, they were all
different sorts of ships and nobody really knew what Cunard was.
Then in 1998, Carnival Corporation came along and saw that this
historic part of the shipping industry was in a mess and struggling.
Carnival decided to invest, partially in 1998 and finished it off in
1999 by buying the whole thing, and started to inject a vision into
Cunard. That was that Cunard had the most famous ocean liners in
the world.
QUEEN MARY 2
Whilst we had QE2, we needed a new ocean liner and that is where
QUEEN MARY 2 came into being. Micky Arison, who is the
Chairman and CEO of Carnival, personally wanted to build this
vessel and she came into the marketplace in 2004.
I joined the company in July 2004. Sadly, it was quite clear that the
service levels onboard the ship were not what they needed to be. It
is very difficult to bring out the world’s largest ocean liner when all
you have to choose from in terms of staff is QE2 and CARONIA.
So, we needed to do some work on all the ships and so we changed
the organizational structure so that a lot of our operational and hotel
side were going to be run by Princess Cruises. They were not to
mimic a Princess cruise, which is very different than a Cunard
voyage, but to give the expertise and help to get the service right.
So, we went through a period of learning and moving things forward
and I think we are very pleased with the result and I think that the
ship now is chiming on all cylinders.
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2
The other challenge for us was QUEEN ELIZABETH 2, QE2 - -
what was going to happen with QE2. We had a ship that was aging,
she was getting up to be 40 years old, which for a ship is a very long
life. She was incredibly successful though, she is incredibly
successful. She goes from strength to strength. But when Cunard
was taken over by Carnival, I think it is safe to say that they were
not happy with the state of the ship. So, there was a lot of
investment in QE2 to make sure that she still has that Cunard service
and the distinction of being a Cunard liner. We thought long and
hard about it and we invested a lot of money in the ship, we continue
to invest a lot of money to try and keep that 40 year old ship in
condition. And, we said that we will keep her going as long as we
possibly can because she had a huge following.
That said, we had to think that sometime, her life with Cunard was
going to be over and we had to think about what on earth we would
do at that point. QE2 is an icon of Cunard, she is such a well-
known and well-loved ship around the world that none of us can
bear to think of sending her to a scrap yard somewhere to be broken
up. Our secret dream and desire was that we would manage to find
someplace where she could go and have a future home, where she
could be preserved, her history and her heritage all preserved, for
future generations to see. We were very lucky that quite out of the
blue came an approach from Dubai, the government of Dubai, Dubai
World, and they showed an interest in the ship. The more we talked
to them, the more we thought we think these chaps actually know
what they are taking on. They understand her history and her
heritage and the importance of the vessel. And, we came to a final
agreement to turn QE2 over to them in Dubai in November of next
year.
Over the years, we have had a number of different approaches about
QE2 but none, to be honest, that we felt seriously understood the
costs involved in keeping a ship like that in the pristine condition that
we would want her kept in. So, this Dubai offer really seemed to be
the only one that made sense. For us, there was no point in us selling
her, having her go to her new owners and then become a mess. She
still has Cunard’s name on her so it is important for us that she be
maintained in her first class condition. Therefore, this was really the
only offer we had. There was some interest from the U.K. in one of
our seaside resorts but again, nothing that had any sensible
understanding, sadly, of the cost. So, this is really the only serious
offer that we had.
They are going to be refurbishing her either as she is now or as she
was when she came in in the late sixties, which is an interesting
concept. They are looking at the plans and seeing whether they can
do that or not. But she will be QE2 as we know her. Of course,
she has been renovated, refurbished throughout the years many,
many times. The cost of her was around 29 million pounds and we
have spent at least 15 or 16 times that as a company on
refurbishment and renovation.
It was a very difficult decision to take. She is an icon and she could
have gone on for a few more years. We just took her around the U.
K. on her 40th anniversary voyage and we had crowds out in every
port of call. We had fireworks, we had an incredible time because
this ship is just an icon. She is a legend in her own lifetime. There is
really no other ship quite like her. But, to turn down an opportunity
like that to have her well looked after and to have her preserved in
the way she will be would have been very wrong. So, she will leave
our fleet in November of next year.
An International Company
The other challenge for Cunard is that it is actually an international
brand. Our guests do come from all around the world. That is the
best opportunity for us but also it presents challenges. [We must]
make sure that we are marketing ourselves correctly in the different
market places so that we are one brand, one product. We need to
make sure that we appeal in the different marketplaces so that when
people come aboard they understand what we are and they have a
great experience that meets their expectations. That is sometimes
challenging with our different marketing departments whether it be
over here, in the U.K., in Germany, in Australia. Bringing it all
together and making it all work is a challenge. We are not perfect
but we are getting there.
During the second half of the 1900s, Cunard changed ownership a
few times. It was an independent company up to 1971. Then, after
that time, it was bought by Trafalgar House and then Trafalgar
House was bought by Kvaerner. [Cunard] didn’t really have a
strategy. The company added ships here and there, they were all
different sorts of ships and nobody really knew what Cunard was.
Then in 1998, Carnival Corporation came along and saw that this
historic part of the shipping industry was in a mess and struggling.
Carnival decided to invest, partially in 1998 and finished it off in
1999 by buying the whole thing, and started to inject a vision into
Cunard. That was that Cunard had the most famous ocean liners in
the world.
QUEEN MARY 2
Whilst we had QE2, we needed a new ocean liner and that is where
QUEEN MARY 2 came into being. Micky Arison, who is the
Chairman and CEO of Carnival, personally wanted to build this
vessel and she came into the marketplace in 2004.
I joined the company in July 2004. Sadly, it was quite clear that the
service levels onboard the ship were not what they needed to be. It
is very difficult to bring out the world’s largest ocean liner when all
you have to choose from in terms of staff is QE2 and CARONIA.
So, we needed to do some work on all the ships and so we changed
the organizational structure so that a lot of our operational and hotel
side were going to be run by Princess Cruises. They were not to
mimic a Princess cruise, which is very different than a Cunard
voyage, but to give the expertise and help to get the service right.
So, we went through a period of learning and moving things forward
and I think we are very pleased with the result and I think that the
ship now is chiming on all cylinders.
QUEEN ELIZABETH 2
The other challenge for us was QUEEN ELIZABETH 2, QE2 - -
what was going to happen with QE2. We had a ship that was aging,
she was getting up to be 40 years old, which for a ship is a very long
life. She was incredibly successful though, she is incredibly
successful. She goes from strength to strength. But when Cunard
was taken over by Carnival, I think it is safe to say that they were
not happy with the state of the ship. So, there was a lot of
investment in QE2 to make sure that she still has that Cunard service
and the distinction of being a Cunard liner. We thought long and
hard about it and we invested a lot of money in the ship, we continue
to invest a lot of money to try and keep that 40 year old ship in
condition. And, we said that we will keep her going as long as we
possibly can because she had a huge following.
That said, we had to think that sometime, her life with Cunard was
going to be over and we had to think about what on earth we would
do at that point. QE2 is an icon of Cunard, she is such a well-
known and well-loved ship around the world that none of us can
bear to think of sending her to a scrap yard somewhere to be broken
up. Our secret dream and desire was that we would manage to find
someplace where she could go and have a future home, where she
could be preserved, her history and her heritage all preserved, for
future generations to see. We were very lucky that quite out of the
blue came an approach from Dubai, the government of Dubai, Dubai
World, and they showed an interest in the ship. The more we talked
to them, the more we thought we think these chaps actually know
what they are taking on. They understand her history and her
heritage and the importance of the vessel. And, we came to a final
agreement to turn QE2 over to them in Dubai in November of next
year.
Over the years, we have had a number of different approaches about
QE2 but none, to be honest, that we felt seriously understood the
costs involved in keeping a ship like that in the pristine condition that
we would want her kept in. So, this Dubai offer really seemed to be
the only one that made sense. For us, there was no point in us selling
her, having her go to her new owners and then become a mess. She
still has Cunard’s name on her so it is important for us that she be
maintained in her first class condition. Therefore, this was really the
only offer we had. There was some interest from the U.K. in one of
our seaside resorts but again, nothing that had any sensible
understanding, sadly, of the cost. So, this is really the only serious
offer that we had.
They are going to be refurbishing her either as she is now or as she
was when she came in in the late sixties, which is an interesting
concept. They are looking at the plans and seeing whether they can
do that or not. But she will be QE2 as we know her. Of course,
she has been renovated, refurbished throughout the years many,
many times. The cost of her was around 29 million pounds and we
have spent at least 15 or 16 times that as a company on
refurbishment and renovation.
It was a very difficult decision to take. She is an icon and she could
have gone on for a few more years. We just took her around the U.
K. on her 40th anniversary voyage and we had crowds out in every
port of call. We had fireworks, we had an incredible time because
this ship is just an icon. She is a legend in her own lifetime. There is
really no other ship quite like her. But, to turn down an opportunity
like that to have her well looked after and to have her preserved in
the way she will be would have been very wrong. So, she will leave
our fleet in November of next year.
An International Company
The other challenge for Cunard is that it is actually an international
brand. Our guests do come from all around the world. That is the
best opportunity for us but also it presents challenges. [We must]
make sure that we are marketing ourselves correctly in the different
market places so that we are one brand, one product. We need to
make sure that we appeal in the different marketplaces so that when
people come aboard they understand what we are and they have a
great experience that meets their expectations. That is sometimes
challenging with our different marketing departments whether it be
over here, in the U.K., in Germany, in Australia. Bringing it all
together and making it all work is a challenge. We are not perfect
but we are getting there.
QE2 in July 1986. (Photo: G. Wagner).
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QUEEN MARY 2