Day 3

  Atlantic Ocean, United States
Saturday, August 9, 2008

(written 12:50am August 10th)
 
   This morning I was not quite as happy to see my morning tea at 8:30am as I lost another hour of sleep with the time change. Now, I could have started to go to bed an hour earlier since I was essentially waking up an hour earlier every day but what fun is that? My interview this morning was going to be with the Food & Beverage Manager Rudi Lainer from Austria and the Maitre 'D, Sandro Ranieri from Italy at 10:45am so I was able to take

Interview with F&B Manager and Snr. Maitr d'

my time getting up, showered and dressed. I looked over my equipment, changed my shoes 3 times and fixed my hair at least twice. I then took my time walking the ship a bit before meeting them in the Grand Lobby on Deck 2. There is still so much I haven't had a chance to do that I really wanted too. So far my thoughts of long hours sitting in a deck chair gazing out to sea have not been a reality even though the weather has been really quite nice.(Waves about 10ft and warm enough to be outside without a jacket.) I am just too busy with everything else going on. Now, the advantage to the QM2 compared to most ships is that almost everywhere you go there is a grand sea view so I enjoy catching glimpses of it as I walk the halls of decks 2 and 3 particularly.
 
I was met in the lobby by Mr. Ranieri who is the epitome of an Italian. Tall, dark and handsome with a thick accent and welcoming smile he rather reminded me of Victor Mature. (for those of you who didn't grow up on old movies he was a famous movie star in the 40's & 50's) He had to repeat his name three times before I finally asked him to say it very slowly so I could get it right.  We were soon joined by Mr. Lainer who I would describe in a nutshell as a delightful person. Being Austrian he was from the same area in the Alps that made "The Sound of Music" such a beautiful picture to watch. He was what I expected an Austrian to be, tall with bright blue eyes and low deep voice that was just a bit more gravelly than usual due to a touch of sore throat, he is also out-going and loves to be around the passengers. He is a natural host and unbeknownst to me had nearly the whole day planned for me.
 
The interview was held in the upper dining room of the Britannia Restaurant. If you haven't been on the QM2, the Britannia Restaurant is one of the most grand and stately at sea. While you can watch the  interview on video here I also want to make a few comments. First, apparently, according to Mr. Lainer anyway, Mr. Ranieri doesn't normally have such a thick accent but you can listen to the video and when you meet him compare notes. The other thing I wanted to mention that again was perhaps not as evident on the tape as it was in preceding and post conversations was the real love and admiration they have for this ship, their jobs and those they work with. Many of the crew onboard has been with Cunard for years and unlike other lines that have rather large turn over rates the people here often keep renewing their contracts for years even making it an entire life's career as did one man who I will be bringing you a story on later. There is also a gal onboard ship who as a child grew up on the QE2 and is now working here on QM2 (I will also have an interview with her later this week).
 
After the interview I was brought back to the offices where Mr. Lainer introduced me to the real woman who ran the Food & Beverage department Claudia Pal, a Romanian, his personal assistant. She is the one that "keeps him in line" and "Makes sure the work is being done".  A lovely girl who I liked immediately she has bright chocolate brown eyes and a beautiful smile, She goes on holiday in a couple of weeks and while she is looking forward to it she is also sad to leave the ship even though she will be back!
 
I enjoyed a cappuccino while we talked more in depth about the life of the crew, life onboard ship as well as all the little bits of gossip that was flying around the ship about my visit! Apparently, they enjoy it when someone comes onboard who is keen to learn about them and their work so I had been "flagged" and there was a small bit of bantering going on about who knew more about me, who all I was meeting with etc... I also learned about the story I will share as a postscript to this trip blog and another "story" onboard. A lovely couple were on for the first time with their son moving over to Austria for a year from St. John's. This couple met while working on Cunard's Vistaford, she an American and he an Austrian. While they did not especially notify Cunard that they would be sailing they were recognized on board and out of appreciation for their service years were given star treatment which they thoroughly appreciated and deserved. I truly believe what the officers and crew have been telling me, that they are a family here.

At noon I was taken by Mr. Lainer to the Golden Lion to meet this lovely couple and their adorable son. We hit it off quite well and talked for sometime. Later this evening we were all to go to dinner at Todd English. They had somewhere to go that afternoon so after they left I enjoyed my usual lunch. Only this time without the fish and chips, all I really wanted were the mushy peas. After a few "are you sures" I was granted my request and a plate of the delightful green dish appeared in moments. I got a few strange looks from passengers as they watched my elated face beam more after each bite...until they saw my extended appendage...then complete understanding followed.
 
This afternoon I met up with Julie and Andrei and went to the Planetarium. I found it extremely interesting and looked forward to going again. Afterwards we went to the Royal Court Theater to enjoy RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) perform "Romeo and Juliet". It was very good and presented like I would have expected the original to be performed, that is, without special affects (other than a little music here and there and a small use of light changes) or a large cast. I thoroughly enjoyed the freshness of it.
 
After this I spent some time emailing before going back to my cabin to prepare for dinner at Todd English. It was another formal night and I chose a long Grecian inspired red dress. There was also yet another cocktail party to attend and afterwards I spent some time in the Chart Room with Claudia while we waited till it was time to go up to Todd English for our dinner. At T.E. we were joined by Mr. Lainer, Berndt & Mindy (the couple from the Vistaford love story ) Jennie Foskett a Personal Assistant onboard as well as Claudia of course. Todd English has a wonderful entrance and the small U shaped bar is a perfect meeting point.

The party in Todd English

We enjoyed Tapas of feta cheese, octopus and fried cauliflower before being seated. I had the Crab cakes, salmon pasta and duck. Dinner went on for a couple hours so we took a small break before having dessert. I used the restroom while the others got some fresh air. We reconvened at the bar where we were soon greeted by a wonderful sight. The bar was filled with all the different desserts available at dinner in the restaurant. The cream brulee, the mango, raspberry and banana sorbets, tiramisu with a wonderful coffee ice cream and the best of all.... Fallen Chocolate Cake

My obsession

which would become my new obsession! If you come onboard the QM2 for no other reason, come for this cake! A slightly crispy outer shell of chocolate gives way to a warm molten chocolate center. Raspberry sauce and three fresh raspberries with a sprig of mint, vanilla ice cream on a cookie crumb base finish off the plate. It was heaven ...pure heaven.

The "Dessert Bar" or "My Heaven on Ship"

This wonderful parade of desserts and in fact the whole dinner was organized by Mr. Lainer who was the ultimate host. During dessert we had a visit by Executive Chef Klaus Kremer who I would interview later in the week. The whole evening was marvelous. When you come onboard you mustn't miss Todd English!
 
It was quite late when dinner ended so while I had intentions of going to the Queens Room for a while, I but walked in, listened for a minute and realized that I was far too tired so went to my room to sleep.