Reflections 2013
Series 8
June 9
Crossings - Rendezvous - Rail, Trail, Others - Shipboard Entertainers

 

Transatlantic Crossings   When I reviewed the numbers in the previous posting, I was surprised at my total of 19 surface transatlantic crossings. Before writing up this tally, off the top of my head, I would have guessed half that. It comes down to CGT 2 (Liberté & France); Deilmann 1 (Deutschland); Jugolinija 1 (Tuhobić); Cunard 15. Cunard then breaks down to: QE (original) 2; QE2 7; QM2 6. (I did the QV transpanama and haven't done the new QE. The only non-transatlantic I did on Cunard was on the Caronia.) In addition, this doesn't count the transatlantic flights. But using a route like the transatlantic for regular transportation, in addition to enjoying the amenities, got me thinking about friends who do that route regularly, so I checked with the only two I know that do that.

 
 

First I checked with friend Paul, who I met with his wife Marya on the QM2 leaving Hamburg in 2008. Paul reports that he's done the following: CGT 3, Holland-America 2, US Lines 1, Polish Ocean Lines 1, Cunard 17, for a total of 24 surface crossings, with 2 more (a round trip) planned for later this year.

 
 

Then I checked with friend Michael, who I met with his wife Christine on the QE2 leaving New York in 2000. I was sure that their total number of crossings was high, since Christine is from France and they have regularly visited her family there. Remember, I called them my mentors for transatlantics. He says they started sailing in 1990 and all their experience has been on Cunard, and specifically on the QE2 and QM2. They've done three Cunard cruises, to Norway, the Canary Islands, and the Caribbean, but they have done 46 transatlantics together, and, since 2011, Christine, who had just arrived in France for six weeks when Michael wrote, has done six more on her own, for a total of 52.

 
 

I also recently got a brochure in the mail from Cunard, which just happened to summarize recent Cunard history on the North Atlantic. It said that the original Queen Mary (1936-1967) did 1,001 Atlantic Crossings, the original Queen Elizabeth (1940-1968) did 896, the Queen Elizabeth 2 (1969-2008) did 812, and the current Queen Mary 2, which in 2013 is in its 10th season, will do its 200th Atlantic Crossing this year.

 
 

Cunard Royal Rendezvous   Since all of Cunard's ships now are named for Queens, when two or three of the ships get together they're referred to as Cunard Royal Rendezvous. [That's an interesting word in English. The singular is pronounced RON.dé.vu, in imitation of French, and the plural is pronounced RON.dé.vuz, normal for English. Yet both are spelled alike.]

 
 

Cunard don't seem to have used that name until recently. They've been done in Sydney and in Hamburg. Three ships met in Southampton on 5 June 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Cunard brochure I just got says there's another one scheduled for the three in Southampton on 9 May 2014. A little more eerily, the ships regularly stop in Long Beach, California, usually one at a time, to pay homage to the original, engineless shell of the Queen Mary, permanently docked there as a hotel. But there have been three Cunard Royal Rendezvous in New York, the first not yet using that name, and I saw them from my windows.

 
 

QM2's INAUGURAL VISIT, 25 APRIL 2004, & QE2 When the Caronia met the new QM2 in Rio on 24 February 2004, Beverly and I managed to be among those from the Caronia that were able to tour the QM2 later in the day. We were particularly happy when we found we'd be witnessing the QM2's inaugural visit to New York where she would meet the QE2, an event widely advertised for late April, since we were also scheduled to sail on the QM2 out of New York on 19 June that year. The QM2 was to be the first new ocean liner, and, at that point, the largest ever, to arrive in New York since the QE2 had in 1969. It was also pointed out that the best views would be on Sunday evening, 25 April, when both ships depart the harbor with a stop for fireworks at the Statue of Liberty, which is diagonally to the left of my windows. The QM2 would leave the New York Cruise Terminal in midtown Manhattan at 7:30, followed by the QE 2 at 7:45. This event was not billed as a Cunard Royal Rendezvous, but was one de facto. At the time, it was said that this was the QE2's final visit to New York, which didn't turn out to be the case.

 
 

I invited my entire family for dinner and to watch the event. I took my five grandnieces aside and coached them on the history of Cunard, the QE2, and the QM2. Later the three older ones stood out on my small balcony facing the Hudson and repeated the cheer "Queen Mary 2! Queen Elizabeth 2!".

 
 

It finally got dark enough for fireworks, and the QM2 eventually arrived at the Statue and waited, but the QE2 was delayed. We could see across the river the brightly lit QM2 waiting, but looking upstream to the right, all we saw were the lights in the skyscrapers of Jersey City, opposite. No QE2. Most of us sat down to chat and stopped watching. Our shipspotter turned out to be the most unlikely person in the room, based on no particular interest in ships, my late mother, who was 87 at the time. Still standing at the window, she turned to everyone and said calmly "I think something's coming", and we all rushed to the windows. She was right, but it became clear why she only "thought" something was coming. The QE2 was a ship of a less glitzy era, and her exterior didn't have all the illumination that most ships do today. At first, you could only tell that "something" was coming when you saw a black silhouette blocking out the New Jersey lights as she slowly passed. She was like a ghost ship. This YouTube video of the QM2 & QE2, New York, 2004 will make it clear. It pretty much shows the view we had. The brightly lit QM2 is on the left, pointed out to sea, with the Statue of Liberty fireworks behind it. When the camera pans upstream to the right, only the red funnel indicates you're looking at the black silhouette of the "phantom" QE2. I can virtually guarantee that this video was taken at the railing on the Esplanade below my windows, so we had this view, but from the sixth floor.

 
 

RENDEZVOUS, 13 JANUARY 2008: QM2, QE2, QV This was the first of the two officially designated Cunard Royal Rendezvous for New York, held three years apart, and, rather spookily, both exactly on 13 January. Both of these also involved three Queens, and this was the first time that three Queens were together at the same location. This time the occasion was the new Queen Victoria's first Atlantic Crossing and the QV's inaugural visit to New York, and the crossing was done in tandem with the QE2; both met the QM2 in New York. It was just one year later, the following January, when I sailed out of New York on the QV for Panama and Los Angeles. That was the voyage where we had sailed down the Hudson from Midtown Manhattan on 10th January and the US Airlines flight crash landed on the Hudson on the 15th (2009/1).

 
 

I again invited family for dinner, but there was a scheduling conflict, so only about half could make it. We were witness to one of the wonders of modern ships, the QM2's ability to pirouette in place. The QM2 has four pods that propel it. Shall we consider that like four-wheel drive? Theoretically, it could cross the Atlantic backwards by just revolving all four pods accordingly. Because of these, she can pretty much dock herself, without the help of tugboats.

 
 

In any case, while the QV and QE2 were docked in the New York Cruise Terminal in Midtown Manhattan to my right, the QM2 was docked at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to my left, which is already opposite the Statue of Liberty. That meant the QM2, to be present for the fireworks display, would have to start out sailing upstream and then turn around. Fortunately it can do so on a dime, and did so right in front of my windows, so that its pert stern flashed us. This pair of videos shows it quite well. They're over nine minutes each, so I suggest skimming.

 
 

This is the first part of Rendezvous 2008: QM2 Pirouettes.

 
 
 1:00 - the video is taken in Battery Park, which could also imply the adjacent Esplanade in Battery Park City, so this is the view we had
1:04 – Staten Island Ferry (orange)
1:58 – two chains of lights in background are on Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, under which the ships will be headed on departure
2:14 – silhouette of Ellis Island
3:12 – QM2 headed upstream
5:30 – at this point, she's into her pirouette in place
6:46 – her stern faces us; she's maybe 3/4 turned around
7:18 – it's jaw-dropping to have this view out your window
7:40 – turn-around almost complete
 
 

The second part of the video is Rendezvous 2008: QV & QE2 Arrive

 
 
 0:31 – looking upstream, we see the QV arrive
1:46 – once again, the dimly-lit QE2 is close to a silhouette against the NJ background
3:00 – a NYC fireboat puts on a welcoming display
4:27 – a fireboat gives a red, white, and blue display
 
 

RENDEZVOUS ON 13 JANUARY 2011: QM2, QV, QE This time it was the new Queen Elizabeth that was to make its first Atlantic Crossing and so it was the QE's inaugural visit to New York, and it also crossed in tandem with the Queen Victoria, but this time the QV was the senior ship. They met the QM2 in New York. On this occasion I had over for dinner friends Paul and Marya, who had just then arrived transatlantic on the QE, and Dave and Leslie. We had the QM2's pirouette again in front of the windows, which is always spectacular. Still, it was similar, so this is just a quickie, 18-second video of the Rendezvous 2011, QM2, QV, QE.

 
 

Travel   Travel, as we discuss it here, and not including vacationing or business travel, includes where you're going and how you'll get there, or Place & People Visited plus rail, sail, trail (car, motorcycle, even bike) plane, bus. We can even make that a formula: Travel = Destination + Routing Mode. Picking a destination is easy, but it's the routing mode that can add to, or detract from, the experience, since it can be further broken down this way: Routing Mode = Transportation + Pleasure. The transportation is obviously simply the physical movement required to go from A to B, but too often the pleasure factor is overlooked. For sea voyages traditionally on ocean liners, there was no other choice for the transportation factor, and the pleasure was an automatic part of the experience. But with cruises, too often the transportation is of little importance, and it's purely the pleasure factor that comes to the fore, making cruise ships simply vacation resorts. Think of people who just want a Caribbean cruise, and don't care where to in particular. They just want a boat ride. There are even cruises to nowhere, which proves my point perfectly. Too many people treat transatlantic crossings the same way, sometimes turning around (by ship or plane) immediately, and only minimally visiting the destination. On the other hand, far too often, the pleasure factor is discounted completely, such as when we are in a hurry and fly, and accept a substandard experience. The argument there tends to be that rail 'n' sail is too slow. But that slower speed is whence cometh the pleasure.

 
 

Travelers & Visitors   At this point we should distinguish again between Travelers and Visitors as opposed to "Tourists", which is a topic I feel strongly about. Those of us who prepare ourselves well for their trip and are knowledgeable about their destination and mode should be careful about nomenclature. Knowledgeable people, when they are moving between destinations, are travelers. Once at their destination, they are visitors. Historically, the term "tourist" was applied to anyone on a tour, but that's out of date. It doesn't mean that anymore. Today, "tourist" is most frequently a derogatory term for would-be visitors or travelers that appear out of place for one reason or another, such as because of their demeanor, dress, or general befuddlement. If we are not tourists, we should resent being called such.

 
 

Rail, Trail, Others   Other than their being mentioned in the travel diaries, I've never kept any lists of rail trips, even special ones, nor of car ("trail") trips, or plane or bus trips. But for the sake of completeness, we can summarize some highlights here.

 
 

RAIL I often quote the saying posted on a boulder on the seaside cliff in beautiful Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, in Canadian/British spelling: SAVOUR THE SEA. I like that. Remember that, even with the prevalence of air travel, distant destinations are still said to be "overseas". But I now have supplemented it with: RELISH THE RAILS. I like that, too.

 
 

As it turns out, I recently had to prepare a rail summary. In September, I'm finally going to China, on what is being described as a study tour, but probably not what you think. I'll not only see all the historic and cultural sights I want, the study tour aspects of the trip will be rail oriented. I'm going with a high-speed rail affinity group, that will not only get to its destinations on high-speed rail and regular rail, we'll also visit a maglev system and subway and tram systems. Because the Chinese officials want to know just to what extent the trip participants are really interested in rail so they know what they should prepare for us, we've been asked to make a summary of our rail interests for presentation to them. To present my rail experiences and background, I included a list of rail organizations I belong to, plus the following summary, slightly adapted for presentation here.

 
 

Round-the-World by Rail Self-planned Round-the-World by Rail trip in 2005 (15 May-1 July):
Rail from New York to Halifax to Vancouver (Trans-Canada coast-to-coast)
Air Korea Transpacific to Seoul & Vladivostok
Rail from Vladivostok to Saint Petersburg & Moscow
Rail to Berlin, Paris, London, Southampton
Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic to New York

 
 

High-Speed Rail Travel on high-speed rail systems as follows:
U.S.: Travel on the Acela between Boston, New York, and Washington
Japan: Travel on Shinkansen between Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, more
Taiwan: Travel from Taipei to Zuoying (for Kaohsiung)
France: Travel on Eurostar; TGV Atlantique; TVG Méditerranée
Germany: Travel on numerous ICE trains
Sweden: Travel on X2000 (SJ 2000)

 
 

Other Rail Regular rail travel, plus some luxury trains, as follows:
U.S.: Travel full distance on every Amtrak overnight line but four (on to-do list)
Canada: Travel full distance on every VIA overnight line but one (on to-do list)
Panama: Travel coast-to-coast in 55 minutes on Panama Railroad
Mexico: Travel on Copper Canyon Railroad
Japan: Travel through Seikan rail tunnel to Hakodate
Japan: Travel on overnight train from Sapporo to Tokyo; other Japan rail travel
Australia: Travel full distance on Indian Pacific, Ghan, Sunlander, Overlander, more
New Zealand: travel full distance round-trip on all three rail lines
Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand: Travel on Eastern Orient Express
Thailand: Travel overnight Bangkok to Chiang Mai
South Africa: Travel on the Blue Train, Pretoria to Capetown
Africa: Travel on Rovos Rail, Capetown via Victoria Falls to Dar-es-Salaam
Europe: Travel on Orient Express (with British Pullman) London to Paris to Venice
Europe: Travel on numerous lines in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, France, Germany, Benelux, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia

 
 

Subways Travel on numerous subways and metro lines, (also tram systems, as in Melbourne) as follows:
New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami People Mover, Kyoto, Tokyo, Tokyo Monorail, self-propelled Yurikamome Line, Fukuoka (Japan), London, Paris, Lisbon, Athens, Vienna, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Stockholm, Oslo, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Mexico City, Toronto.

 
 
 As part of the 2005 Round-the-World by Rail trip, travel on six different subways from June 14 to July 2, a period of just 19 days: Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, Paris, London, New York.
 
 

TRAIL Since car trips require active participation, rather than sitting back on rail 'n' sail and letting someone else do the driving, there might be less relaxation, but a good car trip has its own pleasures. I just disparage long-distance hauls by car. If possible, getting to a destination by other means and then renting a car is an ideal solution, such as recently in Saguenay. Sometimes it's the only solution, such as last summer on three of the Azores, Madeira, and two Canary Islands; also in Hawaii. It supplemented the rail trip in Australia, when I drove in Uluru/Ayres Rock and Perth/Margaret River, and it supplemented flying in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and others). Other than these examples, all my driving has been in North America, specifically CanUS, and Europe.

 
 

CanUS I've mentioned before the two monumental drives in CanUS in our VW Camper, when we wanted to "see it all". In 1968 we did our western trip. From New York we drove southwest and then drove in a huge clockwise circle through all the western states and provinces, on our way back. It took 62 nights, almost nine weeks, and covered 12,383 mi (19,929 km). In 1969 we did our eastern trip. From New York we drove in a figure eight, first counterclockwise to New England and the Atlantic Provinces (Newfoundland waited for us until 1984) and then cut to the US South and circled it clockwise. 43 days, over six weeks, to cover the 8,718 mi (14,030 km). That's why we went to Alaska and Hawaii in 1970, as mentioned in the previous posting.

 
 

Since then there have been many memorable drives, but I'll mention particularly two: (1) Southwestern US I-II-III (2007 14-15-16) that included Route 66, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Las Vegas, and more, and Northwestern US I-II-III-IV (2008 18-19-20-21) that went all the way up the Pacific Coast.

 
 

Europe As I reflect, I think I've driven in every country in Europe less 2-3 in the furthest southeast, and in some places considerably much more extensively, like the British Isles and Germany. But the two drives that stand out, not only for being longer, but for going extensively behind the Iron Curtain at the time, were the two trips we took during our joint sabbatical.

 
 

In 1971, arriving on the France, we studied French for three weeks in France (Pau), drove to Germany, studied German for three weeks in Austria (Vienna), then drove clockwise around southeastern Europe, to Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and back to Nice, then went to Genova to board the Tuhobić. This took from July to November.

 
 

In 1972 we flew in to Luxemburg, then drove to Paris, West Germany, East Germany, Poland, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia and into Austria, where we studied Russian for three weeks in a course given in an inn in an Austrian village, Unterweißenbach, sponsored by the Austrian government. From there we took probably our most unusual drive ever, to the Soviet Union. Leaving Vienna, we crossed the Slovakian part of Czechoslovakia to Kiev (Ukraine), then to Moscow. After that visit, we left the car in the hotel parking lot (!!!) and took an overnight train to Minsk (Byelorussia), a day train to Vilnius (Lithuania), then flew on our only flight ever on Aeroflot to Riga (Latvia), from where we took an overnight train back to Moscow and to our car. (It was illegal for us to drive to these places, so we took trains, but one connection had to be flown.) Back in our car, we drove to Tallinn (Estonia), since that was permitted, and after visiting Saint Petersburg (then still Leningrad), left the country for Finland and Helsinki, where we took Finnlines back to Germany. This all was between May and August.

 
 

PLANE I disparage flying; it's fast transportation, but with no soul. Upgrading out of Economy Class is often far too expensive for the short time involved, and then there's the security. The only bright side involves those airlines that rise above the Skytrax three-star (average, very average) rating into four and five. Four-Star airlines are usually a bit above the fray. I've enjoyed four-star flights on Air New Zealand, Emirates, EVA (to Taiwan), JetBlue, Lufthansa, Qantas, South African, Swiss International, maybe more. I particularly enjoyed four-star Korean Air from Vancouver to Seoul, but then that was business class. I will be taking four-star Air Canada to Newfoundland in June—we'll see.

 
 

Nirvana is a five-star airline, and I'll be taking five-star Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong for the China trip in September and have high hopes. But without a doubt, the best flight I've ever had was on five-star Singapore Airlines to Singapore (2010/14). The thing is, the entire flight was business class, which really lent class to the experience. It was the only flight I've ever taken that was virtually a "destination unto itself", such as a special hotel might be, for instance.

 
 

BUS And then there's the lowly bus. It's advantage is that it's cheap, and also that sometimes it's the only choice. I only wished the bus lines were still running on my last trip to Middlebury, when I had to hire a car to bring me up from the Rutland train station. I had taken the bus from New York to Middlebury the first time I went, although after that I rode with a friend.

 
 

I believe the first solo trip I ever took was by bus, when, during Queens College years, I went to Boston where my cousin Gary was studying at Harvard. Shortly after Beverly and I got married, we went to Expo 67 in Montreal, and did it both ways by overnight (!!!) bus, since it was cheaper. Those were the days where there were no facilities on the bus, so there were "rest stops", as well as a "dinner stop" to grab a sandwich. They also put us on a bus when the Tuhobić arrived in Boston instead of New York.

 
 

The only other earlier bus trip worth noting crossed the Iron Curtain. When we were studying in Mainz in 1972, early one morning we took the train to Frankfurt, but then the cheaper bus to West Berlin. We crossed over at Helmstedt/Marienborn, and then again from East Germany to West Berlin, and then back. It was my first of several times in Berlin.

 
 

Finally, I did have decent bus rides in Tasmania. My time was limited, and I'd wanted to rent a car, but all the agencies online seemed to be in town, not at the ferry terminal. When I got there, though, there were plenty of car rental agencies right there, but I'd already booked my bus trips on Tassielink. I only had two destinations, Hobart and Launceston, then back to the ferry, and the highways were scenic, and the buses very uncrowded. But still, should there be a next time in Tasmania, I'll drive.

 
 

Shipboard Entertainers   Based on the fifty voyages described in the last posting, we can see that there's a panoply of maritime possibilities at sea, and I didn't even mention local boating such as friend Carter likes to do in the waters around New York, surely the most intimate way to Savour the Sea. But of the commercial possibilities, the ones that are most sea-oriented have no need for other distraction, such as the three favorites I mentioned, and many others. On these, shipboard activities fill extra time such as the daily crossword puzzles, perhaps bingo, and the one in recent years that I participate in, Team Trivia.

 
 
 I note with nostalgia the disappearance of "horse racing" as still played on the Queen Elizabeth in 1957. Guests gathered in the lounge after dinner, staff spread out the "racetrack", a long mat with maybe a half-dozen lanes running its length, each subdivided into boxes. The "horses" were wooden, numbered cutouts on waist-high posts, so that the area looked like a giant-sized board game. Minor bets would be placed, and then a staff member would roll dice to see which horse moved next, and then how many boxes forward in its lane it moved. Simple? Of course, but in its way, more social than today's "shows" on stage, because you could socialize with others as you rooted for your horse. Newer is not always better.
 
 

Today, entertainment is more formal, and even (rarely) exists on trains. I remember enjoying on the special Transsiberian train a guitarist appearing on board in the lounge for a period of time, and at another point, a pianist who played Scott Joplin's ragtime music, or as his sheet music indicated (transliterated) Regtaym. Also, in Australia, we enjoyed a guitarist in the lounge on the Sundowner, Queenslander Class, and that was a regularly-scheduled train.

 
 

It was apparently the cruise ships that started over-the-top entertainment, and it spread to the ocean liners, so that the fancier the ship, the harder they're going to try to entertain you. But this development is parallel to restoring tired historic neighborhoods with gift ships—it saves them from destruction. This first struck me when we visited Amana, Iowa, which started out in 1856 as a German settlement called the Amana Colonies. They were self-sufficient, and even manufactured the Amana refrigerators. Today, Amana is a National Historic Landmark, but few people live there, as the buildings are all gift shops and restaurants. In other words, Amana is still there, but altered. Similarly, in Québec, the Rue Petit-Champlain in the last posting is beautifully restored and preserved, but it's all gift shops and restaurants. I maintain that, in the same way, converting ships into resorts-at-sea is what saved major oceangoing travel. In Amana, one just has to enjoy the architecture and ignore the commercialism that saved it, and on shipboard, on has to savour the sea and ignore the excesses of resort life.

 
 

AMBIENT ENTERTAINERS When it comes to shipboard entertainers, to my way of thinking, not all is well. I will not fault, but praise, the shipping companies for the ambient entertainment they provide, those performers who do not appear on stage in the theater but appear randomly around the ship. There are few things more thrilling than boarding the QM2 and finding the begowned harpist playing in the center of the tall atrium lobby, and then periodically at announced locations around the ship. It's a joy. There's also the string quartets on several lines. I particularly remember the one on the Regatta in the Amazon. They would play at announced performances at varying times around the ship, such as at tea time. I particularly remember them playing at a lounge at the top of a large staircase, with people enjoying the performance on the couches, or even on the floor. This is chamber music played in intimate venues, as was originally intended. Other ambient entertainers are the lounge pianists and other musicians, including the ship's dance band, and band singers. I particularly remember meeting Helga Reiss, from Montréal, as she sang with the ship's band, and invited her to our table at dinner.

 
 

CELEBRITY ENTERTAINERS & LECTURERS It is to Cunard's credit that they have run themed crossings with celebrities, who would give presentations, and we'd have the opportunity to meet them afterwards. In 2001 we were delighted with Julia Child's presentation on the QE2, and met her and shook her hand afterward (2001/1, with supplementary anecdotes on 2001/3). We met John Cleese on board in 2001 and again in 2004, and he gave some riotously popular presentations, especially about Fawlty Towers, and explained the origin of his surname, and we again met afterward and shook hands (2004/9).

 
 

In 2004, on Beverly's last cruise home on the QM2 that she spent in the ship's hospital, Cunard contracted with the continuing education program of Oxford University for onboard lecturers. I went to several presentations, but enjoyed one in particular by the most famous of the lecturers (2004/15). I've quoted myself once in the past with this paragraph from that posting, but will do so again. The lecturer was:

 
 
 PD James, the author of the Dalgliesh mysteries. She is now Baroness James. The talk I went to was one in which she was encouraging writers, mostly of fiction, but also nonfiction. Of the nonfiction, she said autobiographies, biographies and diaries are popular, and she emphasized the importance of one's developing one's own style. I of course couldn't resist, and went up to shake her hand afterwards. I told her I write a sort of travel and language journal that I self-publish [online]. . . . She gave me some supportive remarks. I know nothing will ever come of it, but it was fulfilling to feel I could talk "author to author" with someone of her caliber.
 
 

I should not forget to mention again renowned ship historian Bill Miller. I first met him on the Deutschland in 2000, transatlantic WB, where he lectured in English to the German audience about emigration from Germany. In 2004, he was on the QM2 transatlantic WB, and one evening we both sat at the Captain's Table with about a dozen others—see 2004/15 "Bill Miller" and "Captain's Table". He was again lecturing transpanama on the Queen Victoria in 2009 (2009/1), where I got to know him a little more personally.

 
 

LOCAL ENTERTAINERS I will also praise the use, by cruise ships, of local entertainers, which are always culturally relevant. They are welcomed aboard when the ship's in port for an evening. They usually perform in the lounge or on the dance floor, but occasionally on stage. On the Regatta in the Amazon, there was a local folk show when we were in Manaus. On the Deutschland in Greenland, we had the local chorus, in costume on the stage in Sisimiut. But I remember two local groups best.

 
 

When the Caronia stopped in Buenos Aires, since Argentina is the home of the tango, we had a local dance troupe come aboard in costume for a performance on the dance floor. I've never seen better. It's such a stylized dance, and the one jaw-dropping move I remember best occurred in only a second or two. The woman stiffened her back—and her neck, apparently—and fell backward to be caught by the man, a move which is already incredible. But he didn't catch her by her shoulders. He caught her with one (!!!) hand on the back of the head, which was the purpose of her stiffening her neck. And it was done so gracefully that it was dance, not acrobatics.

 
 

The other performance I remember was much tamer, but so memorable. In 1988, on the very small Charleston coming up the inland waterway, one of the stops we made in South Carolina, just beyond Savannah GA and Hilton Head SC, was Beaufort SC, pronounced BYU.furt. We had to learn to distinguish it from the other Beaufort in NC, beyond our last stop in Charleston. Beaufort NC is pronounced BO.furt. Go figure. Anyway, the evening we were in Beaufort/BYU.furt, an excellent barbershop quartet was invited to perform, in straw hats and striped blazers. While on other ships local performers seem so exotic, this was such an unexpected good example of Americana.

 
 

FORMAL ENTERTAINERS We now cross the line to the formal entertainers that perform on stage. A large ship will have a resident troupe, and many ships will fly a performer in at one port to leave at a later port. This is the point where, with some NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS, I fault ships for straying too far from simply allowing passengers to savour the sea. I personally find the wealth of "entertainment" available on stage less than of top quality, and provides an undesirable resort atmosphere. (Of course, there are those who love that, which is why it's done.)

 
 

Every day's schedule tells who's performing that night. Usually I try to sample the beginning of new acts, so that I can know whereof I speak. Singers, dancers, jugglers, magicians it's mostly old hat. I usually sit in back or at the side, so that I can walk out easily if necessary, after I make a judgment. At home, people would not pay money to go out and see a variety show—vaudeville died years ago. Nor are there any more variety shows on television, Ed Sullivan introducing the Beatles years ago notwithstanding. The QM2 has a resident troupe of young men and women who put on several "Broadway shows" each crossing. They work hard, but no one would pay money to go to Broadway to see this fare, and anyway, Broadway doesn't do this any more, either. If anything, song-and-dance on Broadway is built into a musical, with a story line.

 
 

THE PEARLS AMONG THE OYSTER SHELLS But I keep on trying to at least attend part of the shows, because (to mix metaphors) sometimes there is wheat you can separate from the chaff, and the sea you are in the midst of savouring may offer glittering pearls among the discarded oyster shells. One that I can recall shall have to go nameless, because I never recorded her name. She had a wonderful tribute act to Edith Piaf on the Deutschland. This woman sang Piaf's songs, in French, and included minor stage settings so that she didn't just stand there. One setting had her as Piaf sitting at an invisible theatrical mirror facing the audience while she put on makeup and sang through the empty round frame. It was very well done.

 
 

There happen to be just three outstanding "pearls" among shipboard entertainers that I have, and I can picture their performances in detail, since seeing each of them was a thrilling theatrical event to remember. They are of three different nationalities, I enjoyed their work on three different ships, and they presented three very different kinds of acts.

 
 

The three are, in no significant order, Peter Mezoian, the American banjoist, John Martin, the English comedian, and the Berlin Comedian Harmonists, the German close-harmony sextet that serves as a tribute act.

 
 

Peter Mezoian, Banjoist In 2011, the Regatta had left the Amazon for the Caribbean, and in Barbados, Peter Mezoian, from Portland ME, came aboard until the trip ended for most of us in Miami, although he continued on to Bermuda. He gave only two performances, and by the first one, I was hooked, when he simulated several banjos playing at once. I'm not going to repeat here the entire event, and suggest you look at 2011/14 for more details. We dined together a couple of times and I invited him to join us one day for team trivia. I learned that early on, he admired Steve Martin, who is known mostly for his comedy, but is also known as a banjoist. Peter was thinking of something similar, but reversed the emphasis, being a banjoist, yet interlacing the music with dialog, including a flavor of standup. Peter has performed with Steve Martin. Both Peter's musicianship and repartee onstage totally won me over.

 
 

YouTube has some, but few, videos by Peter. These three are each only 50-55 seconds long: the 1912 song "Waiting for the Robert E Lee"; "Hoedown", the famous last movement of Aaron Copeland's 1942 ballet "Rodeo"; and "Flight of the Bumblebee". This is the famous interlude from an 1899-1900 opera by Rimsky-Korsakov. To blend in a bit of "language" to this discussion, I've learned that a bumblebee in Russian is a шмель / shmel', and that the title of the piece is Полёт шмеля / Polyot shmelya (note the similarity of "polyot" to English "pilot").

 
 

I have to dispel any rumors that Peter does not smile. (!!!) While much of his onstage performance, including the comedy, is straight deadpan, it's part of the act. But an occasional smile will appear, as at the end of this more laid-back last sample. It's an after-midnight, two-banjo, lobby jam session with Peter, on the right, and Nathan Hanna.

 
 

The best place to sample his music is on his ever-improving website (click on "Videos") www.outrageousbanjo.com. Peter flatters me by having links in two places on his website to my 2011/14 writeup of him.

 
 

John Martin, Comedian I have often referred to the comedian John Martin, who's from Liverpool. I first met him, as with Peter Mezoian, on a ship coming up from Brazil, and hugely enjoyed his performances. It was on the Caronia in 2004, and he got on in Saint Thomas, on the way back to Fort Lauderdale. He has an amazingly quick sense of humor, and I wrote him up extensively on 2004/7 ("John Martin"). Please review that to see a couple of prime Clinton jokes. I know I met him three times on ships, and as I check back now, I'm surprised to see that the second time was the very same year. He was on the QM2 transatlantic WB (2004/15). Other than seeing his performances, I sought him out, and was able to arrange for him to sit, at my invitation, at our table in the Britannia Dining Room for dinner, in Beverly's empty seat, since she was in the ship's hospital. The third time John was on the Queen Victoria (2009/1) for the one-night distance between Fort Lauderdale and Curaçao, and we got together for a chat.

 
 

I mentioned on that first writeup, and I also see it's on his Wikipedia page, that he entered the Guinness Book of Records for continuously telling jokes for 101 hours and 39 minutes (96 hours is already four days). I also mentioned there his huge interest in something that surprised me, General George Custer. He's an authority on the subject, and has visited many of the places connected with Custer, and is also a founding member of the Custer Association of Great Britain.

 
 

On a more serious note, I also discussed with John my last visit to Prague, where we visited the church that is today the National Memorial to the Victims of the Heydrich Terror. Members of the Czech Resistance in 1942 had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, possibly the second most despicable of the Nazis, but were betrayed and caught in the crypt of this church and died there. I discussed this visit because I found out that John is a world authority on this event, lectures on it, has written a book about it, and has received Czech and Slovak awards regarding his work.

 
 

This is a YouTube video of John Martin emceeing an awards event. You can see why he calls his style of comedy interactive, given the banter with the audience. John Martin's website is www.johnmartincomedy.com. Click on "World Record" to see his Guinness certificate and "Author" to see his book.

 
 

Berlin Comedian Harmonists, Close-Harmony Sextet (Tribute Act) I saw the Berlin Comedian Harmonists on my first trip on the Deutschland in 2000. They are a close-harmony sextet that serves as a tribute act to the original widely-known and beloved Comedian Harmonists of the late twenties and early thirties, whose careers came to a lamentable end due to the rise of the Nazis. It was only shortly before I saw this tribute act on the ship that I learned of the compelling, poignant story of the original group, and I was thrilled at my luck that the tribute group was performing. Starting with what I heard and saw at their performances, I expanded my knowledge of them and primarily the original group. On this basis, the Berlin Comedian Harmonists are the third "pearl" I've found on shipboard entertainment.

 
 

That fact completes this summary, and would be the end of the story, except that most readers need a lot more explanation as to who the original Comedian Harmonists were. Since it's a favorite topic, I'm more than pleased to provide more explanation in the next posting, which will be completely musical, specifically involving the sophisticated (mostly) music of the 1920's and 1930's. Think Fred and Ginger. But unfortunately, the latter part of the time period of this music coincides with the rise of the Nazis in 1933, a further manifestation of the yin and yang of 20C history.

 
 
 
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