Englishman and an Indian, the last two crew of QE2 in service

Gulf News

Tour guide Peter Warwick and head chef Ramasamy Pavadai say an intense love of the ship. Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/videos

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00:00Welcome to the QE2, and this is where our passengers embark this iconic vessel.

00:14Well, we are now in the midship's lobby, and this is particularly nostalgic for me,

00:18because 26 years ago I was standing here, in this very position,

00:22in my embarkation uniform, welcoming passengers on board as we sailed around the world.

00:27In fact, my colleague would be standing opposite, and here, in the main lobby,

00:31there would be perhaps a harpist or a string quartet playing as passengers embarked to sail around the world with us.

00:41I first came on the QE2, to be fair, as a passenger back in 1987,

00:45and it was for my 21st birthday, and my mum and dad booked a cruise on here,

00:49and we had a party in the Grand Lounge, which is one of the lounges upstairs on the upper deck.

00:53And then I really fell in love with the ship. You can't describe the hold this ship had on people,

00:59and in fact, a friend of myself used to come on many cruises as passengers, coincidentally,

01:04and we were crying before we got off. I mean, it really did have that much of a nostalgic feel.

01:09Then I said to my mum, I would work on this ship, to which she said, don't be ridiculous.

01:14Well, I actually did work on this ship from 1995 until 2001,

01:19where I think I clocked up about 50 trips to New York on the QE2,

01:23and six around-the-world voyages of four months each.

01:26So, I mean, really, between being a passenger and working on here,

01:30the amount of people you meet is astounding, both famous and regular passengers,

01:36and indeed, some of those were, you know, I met Aretha Franklin, I met Nelson Mandela,

01:41in fact, in this very room, the Chart Room, I had drinks with David Bowie.

01:45I mean, where on earth would you get to do that in a regular walk of life?

01:49I met Her Majesty the Queen, we had a conversation,

01:52so another sort of coincidence about being on this wonderful ship.

01:55And this, yet again, is more nostalgia, because this chest of drawers was here, actually,

01:59when I was doing the same tour in 1995, and I think it's amazing.

02:03It hasn't been scratched, warped, damaged, really, in any way at all.

02:06It does contain maps from different ports of the world where we used to cruise into and stop.

02:12For example, we have one of the Panama Canal here.

02:15There are many others, Hong Kong, Liverpool,

02:18and passengers really used to find this very interesting in the day.

02:21They would sit all around here and discuss where we were going.

02:24Perhaps they just wanted to check the captain was doing his job correctly, I really don't know.

02:28But it really was very, sort of, much part of the Heritage Tour,

02:31and indeed, part of life on board the QE2.

02:38Why did I come back to work?

02:40Really, the opportunity was just amazing.

02:43I mean, it doesn't happen very often in life, particularly someone at my age.

02:46And, I mean, I left the ship for valid reasons in 2001,

02:50never thinking I'd see her again, let alone work on her again.

02:53And, you know, as we discussed before, the whole of the ship had the meaning.

02:57If it had been any other ship, I genuinely wouldn't have come.

03:00I mean, I left London with the United Kingdom to come here,

03:03and, you know, it was just a no-brainer, really.

03:06I mean, it was amazing.

03:08The opportunity to come back to something that has been part of your life for that long, astounding.

03:15It was the same as when I was sailing, say, around the world.

03:18We were actually on this deck, this actual deck here.

03:21And we were dancing as we were sailing away, I think, from probably Reykjavik or somewhere like that.

03:25And myself, my friend, Christine, we were actually in tears

03:30because we had to disembark in a couple of days.

03:32We would go along the corridor and see suitcases outside ready to be taken off.

03:37And that was it, gone.

03:39I mean, it was just amazing.

03:41And that, coupled with the fact of the love I have for this ship,

03:45and frankly always have, was the reason I came back.

03:48And, as I say, when the offer was made, done.

03:51So, welcome then to the Golden Lion.

03:53Now, this really is quite historic and significant again.

03:56But, in fact, prior to 1994, this was called the Theatre Lounge.

04:00And, in fact, it was a transatlantic class night venue, if you will, live music, dancing.

04:05Now, looking at these shields around the walls here,

04:08predominantly they're maiden port of call shields.

04:11And whenever we went somewhere for the first time,

04:14the country would usually give us a gift and we would reciprocate a gift.

04:17Some of them, however, are perhaps from local mayors,

04:20from local towns somewhere near where we were docked,

04:23or perhaps travel agents and so on and so forth.

04:26But predominantly maiden port.

04:28However, the ones on the back wall along here are more concerned with our service

04:32in the Falkland Islands conflict when we were a troop ship.

04:34Back in 1982.

04:36Now, in 1994, the Cunard had a refit on the QE2,

04:39one of the many, perhaps 12, that she had.

04:42And, in fact, this was turned then into the Golden Lion.

04:45Very popular evening venue and, frankly, popular in the day as well.

04:53Hello, my name is Ramaswamy Pagadai.

04:56I'm a head chef for the Queen's Grill on board Queen Elizabeth II.

05:00I'm 40 years old.

05:02And originally from India, Chennai.

05:05I left India in 1997 to work to Dubai at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

05:11Then I got a great opportunity to work on board Queen Elizabeth II, 2002-2006.

05:18I returned to Dubai in 2007 to work in Madinah Jumeirah.

05:24After, the QE2 has followed me to Dubai.

05:30Last year, I got a great opportunity to work on board and Queen's Grill as a head chef.

05:36It should be great to return back on board because it was a great journey

05:41and great experience and great memories back on board QE2.

05:46So, we here at the QE2 Hotel Dubai are still making history

05:50and we hope very much that you will come and join us here

05:53and take a look at this monumental destination

05:56and that you will enjoy this iconic QE2 for yourselves in the not too distant future.

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