Passengers boarding the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship in Miami first saw the bellhops, standing stiffly and wearing formal English uniforms.
At the entrances to the port terminal and aboard the vessel, men and women wore long red jackets tightened by gold buttons and donned black pants with gold stripes. They could have been mistaken for the Royal Guard standing outside Buckingham Palace.
Their presence is meant to evoke Cunard’s long history, including an era “when only the rich could travel,” Wade Menard, business development manager for the cruise line, told the Miami Herald Thursday while waiting in Terminal D at PortMiami as travelers arrived. Back in the day, bellhops would greet each guest entering the ship and take their bags to their rooms.
Cunard certainly has history — 185 years of it — but in that long span, the company’s ships have never called Miami home. Until now.
The Queen Elizabeth arrived at PortMiami around 6 a.m. Oct. 16. It wasn’t there for long, departing that evening for a 12-night voyage to the Caribbean, the vessel’s inaugural trip from the Magic City. Stops include San Juan. Puerto Rico, St. John’s, Antigua and Bridgetown, Barbados. The ship returns to Miami’s port on Oct. 28.
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✍️: Vinod Sreeharsha
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