Joe33472

We're going pretty fast!  Almost 26 knots!   I'm thinking that's because they shortened this crossing to six nights.   Still very impressive speed.   And smooth like butter and soft purr of the engines, even though we're on deck 9. 

4 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Trust me.... I have been sailing in ocean liners for half a century (starting with SS FRANCE in August 1974) and worked briefly aboard one and the basic complaints you have articulated would make any steward or maitre d' cringe.  Give them a chance to make it better and they will. Honest. I have sailed with Cunard since 1977 and it's not perfect and when it's not... tell them and they will do their best to make it so.  

I truly appreciate your comments and agree that these basic issues would probably make a maitre d' cringe, but with all due respects, it's not my "job" to counsel them on basic restaurant operations.  Serve hot food, don't let me sit there with an empty plate for 15 minutes, and don't serve food that's available on the buffet.  And don't have the drink guy serve me a double because he's too busy to come back mid-way and serve me again.  That's what he said, seriously.  

Why pay for QG if I can get the same food on the buffet.  They didn't even name it something different on the buffet.   

I'm not taking about serving me from the wrong side.  Or waiting too long for hot food.   We're talking about basic stuff, for QG I shouldn't have to even be mentioning this stuff. 

12 minutes ago, Kordy said:

I think the first day, during the Disembarkation/Embarkation, the Boarding process, safety checks, loading/unloading, the crew is running around like headless chickens and things will settle on Day 2 and then afterwards. Give them a chance to get it right as it all settles in!

Yes, absolutely!  We're definitely not going to complain or make issues for anything today.  We're tired too, so maybe our patience is low right now.    We're definitely going to QG for lunch and dinner tomorrow, so we'll see what happens. 

The only reason I mention all of this is just to give my perspective of the food and service of QG and hopefully help someone considering what type of cabin to book.   Right now, it's absolutely not worth the premium fare paid.  I'm open to that changing.  And had hoped it would be worth it, so it's more disappointing than anything.    

11 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

It seems odd to me to share what sound like valid complaints and quite specific ones with anyone in the world with access to this site. Yet not address them with the people tasked with providing you, as a Cunard passenger, let alone one in Queen's Grill with better.  

 

You might start breakfast in the Grill tomorrow with a chat with the maitre d' and see what that gets you. 

Really not odd.  Trust me, I'm a discerning consumer and over the years I've had the opportunity to advocate for myself and my family when we are not receiving services that we've paid for.  As I've matured over the years, I pick my battles and tend to not sweat the small stuff.   I also try not to give workers issues, as they work so hard.   

We have to be on this cruise for the next 6 days, and I really don't want my food spit into or other adverse retaliation for my "complaints".    I've never sent a dish back to the kitchen to be "fixed" on land.  I just don't do it.  I'm not going to do it at sea.  When I was in HS, I worked in a kitchen of a fancy Italian restaurant, and just wouldn't do it.   People will say, oh no, they won't mess with your food.  Okay, think what you want to think..... I'm not eating it after the complaints.   

1 minute ago, Kordy said:

 

The food in the Queens Grill is definitely supposed to be better and I remember reading somewhere that you can ask for custom made orders where they can make you custom-made food, to your liking, based on a recipe that you like and they can do many different types of cuisines, such as Italian, French, Asian, etc.  Maybe that's something you can try @Joe33472 although I think you may have to order in the morning so that they have enough time to make it, before dinner?

Yes, I read too that in QG you can order off menu (which is one of the reasons I booked QG in the first place), but we found some things on the regular menu that we could eat and we figured rather than be fussy or difficult we'd eat what was being offered on the regular menu in those instances when there are things we can legitimately eat.   And that the since it's what's on the menu it would be served hot.  We can definitely try to order off menu and see if that would be better.  

11 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

As a general point, if you don't complain you tend to miss out on remediation, as I'm sure you appreciate and thus it is unsurprising that no-one notices. You would have paid significant sums for QG so if the food isn't hot then they need to know.

 

It would be close to crazy (at least to my mind) to not have breakfast by not having room service, QG or Kings Court, however you do have the option of Britannia for breakfast (and lunch), it's just evening meals where you would be expected to go to your own restaurant.That would be an eccentric outcome though.

We're definitely going to have breakfast tomorrow, somewhere.  I just need to negotiate with my better half on where we'll be dining.  She's a little cranky right now.   I can say it definitely won't be QG, which is where I would like to go. 

As far as complaining, yes, if this continues we will definitely have to say something about the food and the service.  Not exactly sure where, when, and to whom I'll do the "complaining".   How do you even complain about serving food at proper temperatures.  That's just basic restaurant stuff.  If they can't get food temperatures right, they got some big problems.  

3 minutes ago, Wagtail adventures said:

Sorry to hear of your QG food and non-attentive service. We were on the Dec22 transatlantic and the food and service were very good. We are repeating the experience this December, and have friends joining us this time, also in QG, so I am getting a little concerned now. It would be quite embarrassing if they are serving the buffet food in QG, after we have been telling our friends what a wonderful experience it was.

Just out of curiosity, we went through the buffet tonight after dinner to see what duplicates were on the QG menu for dinner and what was being served on the buffet and we found several duplicates.  The asparagus soup and the fillet of trout, the exact same food on both menus.  I certainly wasn't going to cross reference the two menus, but based on lunch, I'm sure there were more.  We paid extra to do QG because the food was supposed to be so good, but it's the same stuff as on the buffet?  Not a good sign.  It's also cold and not cooked to order.  I'm really at a loss for words.  

I forgot to mention that I went to the spa today and got a haircut from the barber.   He had 2 months of growth to deal with and did a wonderful job, as I apologized profusely and tipped generously at the end.  I feel like a whole new person.  So that was a wonderful thing today.  

2 minutes ago, Kordy said:

Thank you @Joe33472 for posting the Daily Programme for each day - I'm boarding in NYC on Jun 29th, just after you disembark, and most likely, the daily programme will be the same, so it's a good way to get to know all the activities coming up ... also, almost certainly we will also have Captain Aseem Hashmi, so again, it will be a very similar cruise - although we are sailing up to Canada instead of back to the UK.  Thank you !

I'm glad it's helpful.  Hope you have a great trip next week!   

I think we're done for the night and just going to have a night cap in our cabin.    We went out and about and things were pretty quiet.   Must be a lot of tired people too.   It's really has been a long day.  We left the room at 9:45 p.m. and I was looking for a snack and there is no option that I can see until 11:00 p.m. snack in Kings Court.   I don't want room service, so I think I'm out of luck at least for tonight. 

I was just informed by my SO that she's doesn't want to go to QG for breakfast for bad food.  I really don't like buffets, so we're at an impasse.   Maybe a good night's sleep and she'll wake up with a better attitude.  I'm trying to remain positive and mentioned that a bunch of staff was transferred to Queen Anne.  She says, "Not our problem".  

Tomorrow night is Gala night.   Red and Gold.   

  Day 2 Programme.pdf

Went to dinner and things were quicker than lunch, but sadly I'm still not impressed with the food or the service.   My SO had pork medallions and her food was literally cold.   My steak was under cooked and tough.   We're not the type to send things back to the kitchen, we just don't do it. 

The surprising thing is that nobody seemed to notice or care.  This is what I had left over after eating (maybe a couple more bites, but substantially what's below).  If I had left this amount of food uneaten at any nice restaurant in the states, the manager would have come over to ask if there was a problem and/or offer something else.  When we were in the Cinque Terre a few months ago I left my meal 3/4 uneaten and the owner of the restaurant came out to see what my problem was.  I told him the problem was me and not his food, that I was full, but I really didn't care for the recipe. 

On a positive note, I had pouched pear for dessert and that was FANTASTIC.  The best think I've eaten so far.  Since it's a cold dessert, there was no problem with the temperature.

I would have posted a picture of the pear, but the Internet is not cooperating.... UGH.... 

38 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

Lucky you Joe3.

My embarkation was an absolute nightmare, standing for hours (literally) shuffling slowly forward in stuffy and airless conditions - a long queue to get in the queue, which was also very long, then finally another very long queue through security. 
Didn’t get on board till well after 4pm. 
Then very disturbed to find:

No power points or usb outlets by the bed - big fail. 
No shaver socket in bathroom in which to plug my nightlight - second big fail. 
What twisted mind dreamt up those bizarre coat hangers? They are going to drive me berserk every time I need something out of the closet. 
A fixed hair dryer in the drawer that would be most useful to use? Yet another huge fail. 
No choice of pillow. I am accustomed to having memory foam pillows available but apparently not so on this ship. So six nights of rotten sleep coming up. Wonderful. 
 

I hope the rest of you enjoy your cruise but I can already tell I’m one and done for Cunard. 
 

So sorry you're not having a good experience so far @jollyjones.  The check-in area was pretty chaotic.  I kind of knew that the USB outlets would be an issue and planned accordingly.   I think that the ship was built before USB was invented..... just kidding.... well maybe not kidding....

46 minutes ago, vieux_carre said:

Do you happen to have a copy of the embarkation day program that you could post?

 

Many thanks!

Here you go! 

Day 1 Programme.pdf

1 hour ago, Judyrem said:

Thanks for posting!  Their lunch menus looked better then the dinners.  

Roasted carrots for an appetizer?   Ham knuckle?  

 

No wonder I have the pop ups booked.

I'm totally not adventurous, but decided to live a little and try the ham knuckle...... I think I would have been better with the roasted carrots.

The Queen Anne is right behind us leaving Southampton!  So cool to see her. 

1 minute ago, olegna said:

Thanks for the update.  Looks like you are off to a great start.  Surprised  cappuccinos  are served after noon.  Will have to take advantage of that when we board.  Happy sailing.....

Yes, cappuccinos definitely served after noon on the QM2.   And I have no hesitation on ordering one when I want one, despite the practices in some countries.  

Boarding was a breeze!   Organized chaos is probably how I could best describe the process.   Glad we are in a suite, as that seemed to speed up the process.  We didn't have to sit in any waiting room or queue, so we were super happy.  The only hiccup we encountered is that the check in staff said that one of our bags was too large for the scanners and we had to check the bag.   It's probably because the expansion zipper was out and the bag was really thick.  For some strange reason, all hand luggage was being put in plastic buckets to go through the x-ray machines.  Kind of bizarre.  I still think that the luggage would have fit, even with the plastic bin, but I wasn't going to argue with them. 

We were in the cabin at about 1:00 p.m. and met our butler. Really impressed with the size of our stateroom and the overall condition of the ship.  I was a little surprised that during the dry dock last year that they didn't paint this rust on the deck.  There is more rust on other parts of the deck.   Not really a big deal, just surprising that they didn't take care of this.  Perhaps the rust on the sheltered balcony cabins was worse and they dealt with that first.   

We had lunch in Queens Grill at 1:30 and was happy with the selection.  Here is the lunch and dinner menu for today.

6.23.24 Queens Grill Menus.pdf

We both started with the pumpkin soup.  It was just okay.  Warm, but kind of watered down and tasteless.  

We shared this goat cheese appetizer, which we really enjoyed.  But is was super small. 

For our lunch entree, we had quesadillas and Italian style sausage and pappardelle, with the former being better than the later.   Was not offered any Parmesan cheese for my pasta and it was served less than warm.  

For dessert, we had lemon meringue pie and the crumble.  Both were okay.   My SO didn't finish her lemon meringue and she usually finishes her desserts (sweet tooth), so that was surprising. 

Service was slow and we sat there a long time with empty plates and were clearly done between courses, so that was a little surprising.   Hoping for a better experience at dinner tonight.    An interesting thing is that we walked through the buffet on our way to our muster station and saw the desserts we just had on the buffet.   And the soup too!  So, we were basically served buffet food for lunch.   Not sure about the pasta and quesadilla, because we didn't go around the entire buffet. 

On a positive note, the cappuccinos we had after lunch at Sir Samuel's were delightful and exactly what we needed to a perk up.

On another positive note, the staff has been very helpful and delightful.  

👍Forwarded luggage made it to our room without a Cunard luggage tag.   Someone had added a handwritten sticker to the shipping label that had our cabin number in large print. 

1 hour ago, jollyjones said:

 

I too am boarding this afternoon but as a Cunard newbie, I have a boarding time of 3.45pm - ugh! 

So no lunch on board for me, shame, that's what I would usually expect to have.

Also, we're at QEII terminal - QA has the Mayflower - so I've had to book a taxi (hope it turns up on time) - I was planning to walk to the Mayflower but QEII is a bit too far even though I am, as always, travelling with hand luggage only.

 

Sorry OP for butting in, I hope you have a great embarkation day today and a great cruise!

 

Our first time on Cunard too, so super excited.    Hope you have a great embarkation day too!   Like you, we only have hand luggage, so our plan is to handle our own luggage onto the ship.      

Up early this morning for our embarkation day on the QM2 and we're so excited.   This was our luggage set up on 4/21 when we left for Europe. 

We've picked up these along the way.  Not too bad all things considered (the recycle bag was empty when we left)....

In full disclosure, we sent 5 packages back to the US.  The first package was stuff we brought with us and shouldn't have packed, but the last 4 packages were things we picked up along the way.  We used DHL and all 5 packages arrived in the US in 2 or 3 business days.   We probably could have done this less expensive using the Italian Mail service and USPS, but I don't find either service too reliable.  It was so worth the cost not carrying our "finds" around Europe.  It was way easier than guidebooks or websites described (even in Italy).

Our car service is picking us up at 10:30 a.m. from our accommodations in Covent Garden.   We absolutely love this area of London and have had a great time.  Based on reviews on CC, we booked with Blackberrycars.  I think we're going to be at the cruise terminal too early, but we have no where else to go with all our luggage. 

Looks like the QM2 has arrived at berth 38/39.  

Got to get myself together to go out to take some last minute pictures for my Dad.   Told him how cute Covent Garden is, but haven't sent him a single picture....

Next stop, the cruise terminal....

I would add that since Cunard partners with Luggage Forward, I'm fully expecting our bag delivered directly to the cabin without an issue.   It's not like this is a random service.  And even though the instructions regarding sailing date and cabin # is small, the Luggage Forward label is very distinct, so I'm sure the Cunard staff know exactly were to look on those tags.  I've attached copy of the luggage tag from LF. 

We left our luggage with a family member about 2 months before our cruise (embarks tomorrow), so I can let you know how this works out really soon, because I didn't even think about attaching a Cunard luggage tag to our forwarded luggage.   These were the instructions from Luggage Forward.  There was no mention of attaching a luggage tag from Cunard.

As per a prior post, there are instructions (in small print) on the label attached to the luggage which provides the sailing date and cabin #. 

I'm hoping that our bag is in our cabin tomorrow afternoon.  I'll let you know! 

18 minutes ago, NE John said:

@Joe33472  while in London, go to Skygarden. It’s free, just make an online reservation. Great views from the top and grab a drink. 
Have a great trip. 

Thanks John!  We'll definitely look into this place.  Looks very cool! 

16 minutes ago, rog747 said:

Sorry you had a costly lunch in Cov GDN...My favs there in the area, are Joe Allen's (just off the Strand) and Rules just up from there on Maiden Lane, Rules is London's oldest eatery and very famous.
If you can bag any last minute seats (returns) for the Ballet at The Royal Opera House (Swan Lake tonight, or Rhapsody FRI & SAT)

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations.  We'll definitely look into those.

The lunch was very good in terms of food (service was a little spotty), but more than we would normally spend for lunch at about $200 for the two of us and we didn't have steak or anything with pricey ingredients.  I had a glass of $12 wine, but no other alcohol. 

We have a show in the west end tonight, but will look into ballet.  Thanks again for those restaurant recommendations!  We were wondering where we would eat today.  

Hope you have a great sailing too!   Halifax to Boston sounds great.  

25 minutes ago, olegna said:

Happy to hear you are sailing on the QM2.  We will join the cruise on Saturday, June 29 for the Halifax - Boston segment.

 

Eager to read your posts.

Enjoy.

@*Miss G* I've really enjoyed your review and it's reassuring that you really enjoyed the QM2 and that it's your new favorite.   We can't wait until Sunday.    

4 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Yippeee!  Another QM2 report!  I will definitely be following along as you sail across the seas.  I hope you have a lovely journey and enjoy the ship just as much as I did.  She is my new favourite ship!!