One of the most spectacular things I have seen this week – on television, and then on YouTube – was the turning of the Three Queens.
On 24 May, three huge ships of the renowned Cunard cruise line, ‘Queen Mary 2’, ‘Queen Victoria’ and ‘Queen Elizabeth’, sailed into Liverpool, one behind the other, and then made an amazing synchronized 180 degree turn. Bow to Stern.
Thousands of onlookers watched the event, live, standing there, on either sides of River Mersey in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
But people like me had to be content watching the pictures and videos available online.
For three of the world’s largest cruise vessels to sail in a majestic array, to stop mid-river in a straight line, and then to slowly turn around - all three ships at the same - it must have required a tremendous amount of planning and coordination.
The humongous size of the ships makes the turning very slow and very hard to coordinate.
But if you watch a time lapse video of the same, in fast motion, available on YouTube, you would definitely deem it a daunting display. A splendid spectacle.
The fleet commodore and his teams showed the world a marvellous marine manoeuvre.
It is a fitting feat, I think, to mark the 175th anniversary of the Cunard Cruise Line. A company which, for almost two centuries gave each of its sea traveller, an experience of their life time.
When Samuel Cunard the founder was awarded the first British trans-Atlantic steamship mail contract, and founded the company in 1840, he probably never thought how shipping will change.
His first ships were built to mainly transport mail and cargo, apart from a few passengers. But today, Cunard’s pleasure cruises are among world’s most sought after.
Apparently, in 1840, when the company's first steamship, the ‘Britannia’, sailed from Liverpool in Britain to Halifax in Nova Scotia and then, on to Boston, Massachusetts, there was Cunard and just 63 other passengers on board.
Today, ‘Queen Mary 2’ alone can take in 2,620 passengers. ‘Queen Elizabeth’ has a capacity of 2,058 and ‘Queen Victoria’, 2,014.
At the time of her construction, ‘Queen Mary 2’ was the longest passenger ship ever built, but she lost the distinction to Royal Caribbean's ‘Freedom of the Seas’ in April 2006; which too was soon overtaken by yet another other ship.
Today, ‘Oasis of the Seas’ of Royal Caribbean, is the world’s largest cruise ship, which can accommodate – hold your breath – 5,400 passengers!
But coming back to Cunard Line, we must know that it is now a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc.
And Carnival – which has about 9 different cruise line brands, including Cunard – currently commands a market share of 48 per cent of world cruise passengers, and 42 per cent of cruise market revenue.
“Cruise Market Watch” website says that, worldwide, the cruise industry has an annual passenger compound annual growth rate of 6.55% from 1990 - 2019.
But, did you know this? All the cruise ships in the entire world filled at capacity all year long still only amount to ‘less than half’ of the total number of visitors to Las Vegas, annually.
These Three Queens, today, may be great. But I still think, the world owes a lot to three other ships, which changed history.
They are ‘Pinta’, ‘Nina’ and ‘Santa Maria’, in which Christopher Columbus and his crew made the first notable trans-Atlantic journey.
On 24 May, three huge ships of the renowned Cunard cruise line, ‘Queen Mary 2’, ‘Queen Victoria’ and ‘Queen Elizabeth’, sailed into Liverpool, one behind the other, and then made an amazing synchronized 180 degree turn. Bow to Stern.
Thousands of onlookers watched the event, live, standing there, on either sides of River Mersey in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
But people like me had to be content watching the pictures and videos available online.
For three of the world’s largest cruise vessels to sail in a majestic array, to stop mid-river in a straight line, and then to slowly turn around - all three ships at the same - it must have required a tremendous amount of planning and coordination.
The humongous size of the ships makes the turning very slow and very hard to coordinate.
But if you watch a time lapse video of the same, in fast motion, available on YouTube, you would definitely deem it a daunting display. A splendid spectacle.
The fleet commodore and his teams showed the world a marvellous marine manoeuvre.
It is a fitting feat, I think, to mark the 175th anniversary of the Cunard Cruise Line. A company which, for almost two centuries gave each of its sea traveller, an experience of their life time.
When Samuel Cunard the founder was awarded the first British trans-Atlantic steamship mail contract, and founded the company in 1840, he probably never thought how shipping will change.
His first ships were built to mainly transport mail and cargo, apart from a few passengers. But today, Cunard’s pleasure cruises are among world’s most sought after.
Apparently, in 1840, when the company's first steamship, the ‘Britannia’, sailed from Liverpool in Britain to Halifax in Nova Scotia and then, on to Boston, Massachusetts, there was Cunard and just 63 other passengers on board.
Today, ‘Queen Mary 2’ alone can take in 2,620 passengers. ‘Queen Elizabeth’ has a capacity of 2,058 and ‘Queen Victoria’, 2,014.
At the time of her construction, ‘Queen Mary 2’ was the longest passenger ship ever built, but she lost the distinction to Royal Caribbean's ‘Freedom of the Seas’ in April 2006; which too was soon overtaken by yet another other ship.
Today, ‘Oasis of the Seas’ of Royal Caribbean, is the world’s largest cruise ship, which can accommodate – hold your breath – 5,400 passengers!
But coming back to Cunard Line, we must know that it is now a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc.
And Carnival – which has about 9 different cruise line brands, including Cunard – currently commands a market share of 48 per cent of world cruise passengers, and 42 per cent of cruise market revenue.
“Cruise Market Watch” website says that, worldwide, the cruise industry has an annual passenger compound annual growth rate of 6.55% from 1990 - 2019.
But, did you know this? All the cruise ships in the entire world filled at capacity all year long still only amount to ‘less than half’ of the total number of visitors to Las Vegas, annually.
These Three Queens, today, may be great. But I still think, the world owes a lot to three other ships, which changed history.
They are ‘Pinta’, ‘Nina’ and ‘Santa Maria’, in which Christopher Columbus and his crew made the first notable trans-Atlantic journey.
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