NeutralParticipant101

Guess hindsight is 20/20. Only found this board when looking for people with similarly experiences on this TA. If we ever do one again, I will for sure ask around here first for any tourist tips and general advice. Wish I had found it before embarking on this journey, it is a nice place. Also, just for clarity, we don't put any blame on the people working at the port in NYC or drivers and such. They helped us out and gave us information. We solely put blame on Cunard for not providing their guests with any information about the situation upfront, nor any kind of help or information after disembarking, when we all were standing in the rain and cold wind not knowing what to do.

Thanks all for shedding some light on the service fee/tip situation. A bit of a pity if different fees/tips go to different parts of the service staff, that's bad. And to expect people to pay a few hundred USD in tips on top of the several thousand USD for the voyage, plus the mandatory 15% service fee just doesn't sound right. But we can't complain since the former was at least not automatic. We received the letter about the tip pool on the 2nd or 3rd day, so gave on-bill tips before that. In the letter, you were free to give a pool tip at all and had the choice to give the recommended amount or write down a different fixed amount yourself. @NE John That sounds like a very good idea and much needed. Having read some other posts on here, the communication and customer care issues seem to be a common theme. And if you have a situation like bitob (luggage in water), it hurts even more. Whatever the reasons are, being late to port calls and other unplanned situation happen, regularly, so why aren't there processes in place to effectively and correctly communicate them. We will let our TA know about the experiences, hopefully they can place the concerns with the right people. It also seems she will be in dry dock for almost three weeks soon, so we can expect many of the cosmetics and maybe other things to be dealt with. Great to hear. A bit of rust here and there is to be expected on a North-Atlantic work horse, but a pipe on the cabin's balconies doesn't rust over on the full length of the ship in a few weeks (found on a picture I took). That must be missed maintenance. @Pushpit Having been in Hamburg the day before and the same morning, the wind never felt that bad. I read a report about the WW2 bomb being found near AIDAperla and that being the reason she stayed blocking the terminal, but according to a local newspaper the wind was the reason why the port was closed and she could not leave, even before the bomb was found. So maybe the wind was worse in other parts of the port or the Elbe river around critical bottlenecks. Also sorry for the crappy font and spacing in the initial post, seems something went wrong copying from the Word template.

Hi all, we feel like sharing our experience with this Cunard trip. Also hopefully we could get some other perspectives on this journey from more experienced travellers. We sailed from Hamburg to NYC between 2023.09.20 and 2023.09.29. Disclaimer: We have no prior cruising experience, so this was our shared first voyage experience. All expectations for this trip either came from Cunard’s marketing, other guest’s stories, or our heads. tl;dr: While the experience of a TransAtlantic and the ship herself were remarkable, Cunard’s service, organisation and communication was mediocre to absolutely disastrous. I will try to group the experiences instead of laying it out in a consecutive timeline. Ports: - Hamburg (Embarkation): The port was closed for 4hrs due to winds, which lead to QM2 being delayed. In the morning of the 20th, day of embarkation, we received an email that they hoped we were looking forward to board the QM2 “tomorrow” and that all time slots for embarkation where postponed by 4 hours compared to the original slot. Three and a half hours later we receive another email correcting the false statement of “tomorrow” to today and letting us know “Check-in at the Cruise Center Steinwerder will start at 16:30”. No mention of how that applies to the embarkation slots. That, combined with probably a few people not having access to their email (no sms were sent), lead to the terminal being swamped by passengers in the afternoon. Relatives going to their postponed 17:15 slot told us it was overcrowded with long lines everywhere. When we arrived to our postponed 19:00 slot, we were one of the last to check-in and board. Except for 15 minutes in the security line we did not have to wait anywhere else. - Southampton (Going ashore): Customs check in the Britannia D3 restaurant was very fast and pleasant. We could also directly walk into the terminal from the ship at around 10:00. What was apparent was the complete lack of signs or any Cunard personnel directing people to the regular shuttle bus. Eventually someone from the tour bus going to Stonehenge, I believe, told people when asked to wait in line at the “Crew bus” sign. Some time later, after a crew bus leaving, a pax shuttle bus arrived. But seriously? Why wasn’t there any sign for “Passenger shuttle bus” or someone directing people where to go? The shuttle itself and going back aboard later went without issues. However I would advise taking any of the offered tours that go outside of Southampton, the city itself is a bit of a dud. - NYC/Brooklyn (Disembarkation): A complete disaster. We stood in line at our assigned slot (08:45) in the ship and it took roughly 20 minutes until we could reach the scanning station and walk through the gangway. The advertised “from stateroom directly to the gangway” didn't work. But since we queued on time, we could walk straight to our suitcases. Other people that stood in line with us, apparently thinking being earlier than assigned was smart, had to wait in the terminal hall until the luggage assigned to their later group was released. Customs took a good hour and was a very slow process, but that is not Cunards fault. The agents were just really slow/thorough and that combined with people having issues in their documentation lead to a slow progress. When we left the terminal hall half annoyed from the waiting it got worse. It was still raining and stormy. We had booked a Cunard transfer to our Cunard-organised hotel and were told in writing on board to directly walk to the coach that was clearly marked with our hotel’s name. There were no coaches. Or taxis. Or anything similar, for that matter. Only chaos. What we then learnt from a local worker was that, due to the heavy rain that night and morning and the previous days, the access roads to the terminal were flooded and nothing could get in or out at that moment. Did anyone on board mention this to us? No. Was there anyone posted outside from Cunard to direct or help people? No. So what happened was there were a lot of people with no idea were to go or what to do. Some had to get to an airport, others to their hotels or any other destination. One worker told us to wait under one of the roofed platforms for “a” transfers to arrive. It got really crowded there because there were also people waiting for anything else. We waited and waited and nothing happened, nobody knew more. Eventually another local worker went through and formed two lines, one waiting for taxis, one waiting for private car service and directed people to other lines for Uber, regular buses and the ferry. At some point a third worker recommended to all people heading for Manhattan to take a ferry as it would take a lot of time for enough cars to make it. Splendid. We still were not sure if our platform was where we were supposed to wait for our coach. No need to mention there was no signage anywhere. There were a few coaches waiting a bit away, but after asking they were not affiliated with Cunard or hired by them. While we were there some 2 crew buses arrived, so at least they had a chance to get away. During that not even a handful of other cars made it. After 1.5hours total standing in the wind and rain we talked to the absolute GOAT that was desperately trying to manage the private car service when a few vans and SUVs trickled into the terminal area. He was completely soaked from the rain, hope he didn’t get ill. After another 30-45 minutes he got us into a SUV with our Cunard-issued tickets and to our hotel. The bulk of the people there was still waiting for transportation when we departed. All in all we left the ship at ~09:00 and reached the hotel in Manhattan at ~13:30. Only to then wait another 1.5hours for Cunard to transfer our reservation details to the hotel so we could get checked in. 0/10 experience. Obviously the rainstorm is not Cunards fault, and some may argue that the terminal operator is responsible for some tasks, but in the end we had a contract with Cunard and were their customers, not the terminal’s. For a company that allegedly has been doing this for 100+ years, the lack of any communication, organisation or taking responsibility for their guests (not even a “sorry for that, hope you’re ok” mail afterwards), this was a complete let-down. The transfer a few days later from hotel to the airport, also organised by Cunard, went well. Ship: - Stateroom: It was an standard outer cabin with a window. The interior was clearly dated and very much used, but nothing was broken and it was clean. The bed was really comfortable. The in-cabin entertainment in form of the TV was questionable. With the exception of some local channels in Full-HD, the quality was close to VHS/DVD and the aspect ratio of many channels was wrong. It could also not be changed with the remote. The recordings of the on-board talks were barely decipherable and the shore-leave recordings for the destinations were a good 20 years old. Seemed odd for a luxury ship. All in all we did not mind that too much as the point of a crossing like that for us is not to stay in our stateroom during the day. - Exterior: After having rounded the ship we were a bit shocked by the state of it. There was a lot of rust on many parts of the exterior. Both in common areas and in/close to the cabin’s balconies. While, weather permitting, we did see crew painting parts of the ships constantly, it seemed to focus only on the eye-level parts of the promenade. However, having read/seen some experiences from people on QM2 shortly after the big break, she is in a noticeable better shape now. Still, a few days of maintenance in a dock seem like a very much needed treatment for her. - Interior: Here we have almost nothing to complain about. We love the art-deco style and did not notice any broken, dirty or missing parts of décor or furniture. The only exception is one seat in the Illuminations theatre I sat in that seems to be stuck in planetarium mode. Additionally, when the heavy rain started in Brooklyn, there was quite a waterfall coming down from the Deck 7/Stairway A starboard side ceiling nex to the door to the outside. A lot has been said about navigation on the ship already. For a new guest, it takes days to learn. - Entertainment: Every day there is a full program of things to do. Due to bad weather most of the days the outdoor activities fell through. We went to two talks by different people (“History if Immigration with Ocean liners” (paraphrased) and “The History of Cocktails” (paraphrased). Both were abysmal, so we stayed away from any other, although afterwards we heard there were also very good ones. The shows were great. While we enjoyed some of the musicians, others were more of a deterrent for that location while playing. Either we did not check the schedule well enough, but it seems there was no bar we you could spent a whole evening without any music/entertainment and just talk to each other while drinking. When music was playing, it was always loud enough to make it difficult to converse without shouting. - Food: Overall the food is of good to very good quality, the taste good, both in the Britannia restaurant and the buffets (King’s Court, Carinthia Lounge). A bit more seasoning would be nice, though. The desserts all were fantastic and you could easily overeat on them daily. The King’s Court was overcrowded during the breakfast and lunch rushes (around 08:00 and 12:30 respectively), but quiet enough for Afternoon Tea and dinner. We heard the menu in the Britannia restaurant was on a 12-day cycle, but subjectively some elements already repeated during our 9-night stay, But you always have a choice of four mains, so it didn’t bother us. The Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room is an absolute delight, but more suited for people with a late dinner slot. We sampled many cocktails and also found many of them very tasty ;-) - Service: We were left a bit confused regarding the “White Star Service”. There always was a lot of staff around, yet many seemed “neutral friendly” to just weary. No one was unfriendly or rude, but on average most seemed not to enjoy what they were doing or at least pretend so for the guests. We found ourselves actively seeking out the very few staff members that had a smile on their faces, who brightened our day a little with that. Waiting for our food never took long in Britannia, however waiting for drinks took unusually long in most cases across the whole ship. We don’t know why exactly. In Britannia we always ordered the same wine from the same table at the same time from the same sommelier, but even on the last day we had to order and wait for over 10 minutes. Based on other experiences and Cunard’s marketing (...), we expected more. When you book a table in the main Britannia restaurant, look for tables towards the outer hull of the ship. The mid section was always packed, loud, and very busy. The stateroom stuart however always greeted us nicely and on the day of embarkation directly knew our names just from the cabin number. The cabin always was in tip top shape. Side-note: Cunard “suggests” that you tip 14.50USD per person/night in Britannia and 16.50USD in Grills for the hotel and service staff tip-pool. I find that bordering on outrageous. You already pay 15% for every non-included drink, snack or service and can optionally tip directly. Do they not pay their staff properly? It was also interesting how Cunard phrased it in their letter, that it was “optional for guests booking from continental Europe” to do so. So is it mandatory for people booking from other continents?! Journey: - Experience: All in all being on a TransAtlantic is a very precious experience. Being away from everything (if you don’t opt to book the 15USD+/day Internet) is very refreshing and relaxing. Lounging on deck watching the ocean pass by can even be hypnotic. While passing the post-tropical cyclone Nigel the ship was very stable towards her sides, mostly only giving into the upward/downward motions while taking the waves almost head on. If you are into roller coasters, you’re gonna love it. We were a bit disappointed with the dress code, especially towards the end there were several people with unfit cloths for “Smart Attire” in the Britannia restaurant for dinner. If you have the rule, please enforce it. The ship and her story are fascinating. She is unique and you learn to love her quickly. - Conclusion: So while we totally would want to experience the ship again, the experience with Cunard makes that decision very difficult. Adding to that, we fully expected to receive some kind of request for feedback during or after the voyage. So far nothing came and it looks like Cunard doesn’t actively do that. Doesn’t make us feel like they want to do better.