Thanks for the link to the cruisemates.com article.
I'm wondering about, at the bottom of the article, the references to the Queen Mary.
It would be unfortunate if Cunard is choosing to perpetuate the myth that Cunard had ever intended to name Queen Victoria what became Queen Mary.
Perhaps they feel that spreading colorful legends is preferable to the factual history of their company.
Historians who have written about the Queen Mary all say that there is no basis of fact to this story of the naming of the Queen Mary, there is no historic indication that the Queen Mary was ever going to be anything but the Queen Mary.
Plus, I wonder about the photo of the "Queen Mary" bannisters, supposedly inspired by the Queen Mary. I am very familiar with the Queen Mary, past and present. There is no such bannister on the Queen Mary today, and in photos published in books and brochures throughout her long career and retirement, I can find no such bannister, which, if it ever did exist, maybe was only in a minor Third Class space which was destroyed in Long Beach.
Just curious as to where the inspiration for the "Queen Mary" bannister came from...
Perhaps I'm mistaken, I'd love to know where such a bannister is or was on the Queen Mary.
I was recently on a short Carnival "Booze Cruise" on the Carnival Paradise (Yes! Me! Carnival!)
The Paradise has an ocean liner theme throughout in her artworks, and her bars and lounges are named after notable liners.
Her library, the "Blue Ribband" held a replica of the Hales Trophy. I was surprised to see that in the now-empty case, there is a notice that the trophy is on loan to Cunard for display in Queen Victoria's "Cunardia" musuem.
I found this ironic for two reasons. (other than finding such a thing on a Carnival party barge)
The Cunard Line, when they were in posession of the Atlantic speed record, declined the honor of posessing the Hales Trophy, the chairman saying that he would sooner the honor than the prize, and said he found "a cup" to be inappropriate for the speed record.
Also, the Queen Victoria, Cunard's slowest ship in over a century, will now be displaying the Hales Trophy, even though a replica.
Kyle
in a smoky L.A.
