In 1967, at the age of 16, Thomas Cook agent Tina Bull took one of the last voyages from Southampton to New York on board the original Queen Elizabeth.
Now the manager of the Colchester branch of Thomas Cook, she was one of the first agents to get a sneak preview of Cunard’s newest Queen Elizabeth ahead of its official launch on Monday by the Queen.
The ship is named after the original Queen Elizabeth and is the third in the Cunard fleet, which, the line claims, is now the youngest in the world.
Cunard president and managing director Peter Shanks says the arrival of Queen Elizabeth will help change public perception of Cunard, demonstrating that the line is more than a heritage brand.
Tina’s verdict
The ship is absolutely amazing, it is a really beautiful ship. It has got amazing art work all in keeping with its history and the colour schemes are beautiful.
“It has got such a wonderful feel to it. As soon as you come on board it is welcoming and very relaxing. The restaurants are amazing, the Verandah restaurant is beautiful as it is full of white leather.
“The Britannia restaurant has got a lot of memories in it, there’s a lot of artwork and design from the original Queen Elizabeth which gives it the lovely feel that Cunard ships have.There is a definite feel to it as it has got that traditional ambience. It is like the golden age of travel and it is very sophisticated.
“Everywhere you go it’s kept to scale and never feels too big, for instance because the Britannia restaurant is on two tiers it doesn’t feel massive; everything has been kept down to scale. The Queen Elizabeth is going to be a fantastic sell, cruise is so popular and people are looking for something different.
“This will give customers the taste of luxury they want, they will come on here and feel really special and this is something people will book when want a trip that’s really special. Cunard has always been on the luxury side anyway and this is a step further. The feel is one of luxury and sophistication.”