08 Oct 2010
Many of the Sovereign team used to work at Cunard Line and we have many friends that still work for Cunard both at sea and on land.
One of our good friends is Jonathan Leavor, who will be known to many Cunard World Club Members. We caught up with Jonathan on board the Queen Elizabeth in his position as her first Chief Purser to get his personal view of this new iconic Cunarder.
Sovereign: Hello Jonathan. Let’s start by you telling us how long have you worked for Cunard Line and what was the first Cunard ship that you worked on?
JL: I have been with Cunard since August 1984, my whole working life in fact. I started on the great QE2 and after 19 years was involved with the introduction of the first new Cunarder in many years – Queen Mary 2. I also spent time in 2008 on Queen Victoria before returning to Queen Mary 2 and my latest appointment now to Queen Elizabeth.
Sovereign: What were your first impressions of the new Queen Elizabeth upon joining her in the shipyard?
JL: I joined Queen Elizabeth in early September, so the superstructure had already been built but inside the whole Ship was a complete building site! Your immediate thoughts are how is this place ever going to come together? There are literally hundreds of tradesmen all working away in their little area and it is not until only a few days prior to delivery to Cunard does it all come together and start to look like the beautiful ship she is today.
Sovereign: How similar is the new Queen Elizabeth to the Queen Victoria?
JL: The superstructure is in many ways the same. The major difference is the addition of some staterooms built on the aft part of the ship to accommodate additional guests in the new Britannia Club Dining Room, a single seating dining room for the top Britannia grade staterooms [AA Grade]. This gives Queen Elizabeth a very square ‘rear end’ compared to Queen Victoria. There are also a few new concepts on the Queen Elizabeth such as the three new alternative dining options in the Lido; Asado which has a South American Theme, Jasmine serving Pan-Asian food and Aztec serving authentic Mexican dishes. We have also replaced the Todd English Restaurant with our very own Cunard Verandah Restaurant, named after the Verandah Grills on the old Cunard Queens. This restaurant features contemporary French Cuisine. Another new idea on Queen Elizabeth is the introduction of Apple computers in Connexions to tie in with new i-study programmes, complemented with a new Apple retail store as Queen Elizabeth has become an authorised Apple retailer – all at duty free prices.
Sovereign: How different is your day to day job on the new Cunard ships compared with when you worked on the QE2?
JL: Things have changed a lot since I first went to sea. In line with many other businesses, the introduction of technology has seen a reduction in the number of people employed in the same areas 25 years ago and today. There were always lots of people to do the various jobs with time to spare. Nowadays everyone is multi-tasking and working more hours a day than we used to. When I first started at sea passenger manifests were type written and copied on a duplicator and carbon paper was used. Now we have the latest computers with digital colour printers and copiers.
Sovereign: What is your favourite part of being chief purser on a Cunard ship?
JL: I am just very proud to be working for a great Company with so much history and tradition. My position as Chief Purser does afford me the pleasure of meeting many of our guests, mostly on a social basis, thankfully. I enjoy the interaction between the departments and get an enormous amount of satisfaction when I see our guests enjoying their vacation.
Sovereign: Finally, may we ask what are your favourite ports of call around the globe?
JL: This is a question often asked of me. I am very fortunate to have travelled to all parts of the World. My favourite five ports to sail into on a ship are; Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Cape Town and Hong Kong. To return one day for a vacation to my favourite place would have to be Moorea in French Polynesia, South Pacific. I do always enjoy sailing in to our home port of Southampton – especially when going home on vacation!
Sovereign: Many thanks for talking with us today, we wish both you and the stunning new Queen Elizabeth calm seas and fair winds.
For further details of how to book your place in history by joining Queen Elizabeth during her Maiden Season, at the guaranteed best fares and with the highest levels of knowledge and service, please contact The Sovereign Cruise Club, The Cunard Experts, on 03331 22 44 66 or by email at info@sovereigncruise.co.uk .