DUBAI CALLS
22 March 1997
27 March 1999
25 and 26 March 2001
26 March 2005
2 April 2006
26 November 2008
If i remember rightly that was the call that coincided with the official opening of the new cruise terminal, the one that was designed to look similar to a ship.
If so, then here's an interesting, and slightly, amusing story.
We were in overnight and due to sail around 1300 after the official opening which was to be done by the Tourist Minister or somebody of equal importance.
After the opening he was due to board QE2 for a short tour and, on his departure from the ship it would be, 'in gangway' and set sail.
'All Aboard' was slightly earlier than the usual 30 minutes before departure that day due to the tightness of the programme and only being able to use the 5 deck gangway.
The Staff Captain and i had worked out the most convenient, and interesting, route around QE2 and this was agreed by the Captain, printed, distributed and all concerned allocated positions to be at to ensure the tour party passed smoothly around the ship. We had Assistant Housekeepers positioned at the 'A' Stairway lifts as lift operators and i had a team of 3 or 4 waiters to help me ensure all went smoothly. The tour was scheduled to last no more than 30 minutes and was to highlight the main parts of the ship and also to allow the minister to meet a few of the passengers.
So the appointed hour arrived for the official opening and it went off without any itches, the Minister accompanied by the Captain boarded QE2 and moved to the ‘A’ stairway lifts, Captain, minister and translator in one and the rest of the tour party in the others! Sadly there was not enough room for the Security officer so I had to ‘leg it’ up the stairs and just managed to arrive on Boat deck in time, out of breath but in time!
The tour went well, through the Queens Grill, Queens Grill lounge, and out onto the ‘C’ stairway to look at the display of photos, then the upper level of the theatre. From here it was due to be down ‘C’ stairway and along to the Grand Lounge, then back forward via the Chart room to ‘A’ stairway lifts then down to 5 Deck and ‘goodbye’!
Just as we were leaving the ‘C’ stairway photos the Captain decided to change his mind, Staff Captain stepped forward to ‘advise’ him of the agreed route but Captain just said that ‘he would decide the route’!
So the next 20 minutes was a case of ‘guess and see’ as we toured the ship, visiting places that had not been informed of any such visit!
Eventually we ended up, long after 1300 and the original sailing time, at ‘A’ stairway but as this was not in the original schedule the Assistant H/Ks had long gone, with the lifts back in regular use and on a variety of decks!
The only answer was for the party to use ‘A’ stairway and this they did using the Mk 1 leg!
So this is where the amusing bit comes, for those who know QE2 you will know that it has a Synagogue at ‘A’ stairway, 4 Deck. The door with a Star of David sign on it is facing ‘A’ Stairway.
So there I am leading the party down ‘A’ stairway and when we get to 4 deck there stood in front of the Synagogue door is this French Waiter with his arms and hands at the most peculiar angles and a big stupid grin on his face! As the party passed him the Captain gave him one of those looks that said; ‘You need a psychiatrist’!
I then led the party to the gangway, the visitors left and straight away the deckies started de-rigging the gangway and we prepared to leave port, almost 35/40 minutes late!
When I turned around after the Captain had gone off to the bridge, the French Waiter was stood there waiting for me to dismiss him. But before I could say anything to him he said that he had stood in front of the door so that the Minister for Tourism hadn’t seen the Star of David or noticed that we had a Synagogue onboard! Hence trying to use all of his, slight, body to cover both the ‘SYNAGOGUE’ sign in the middle of the door and the Star of David at the top.
