Our Experience on the QM2

[MCEdmond]

We sailed on the Feb 12th Caribbean Cruise. It is an abosultely beautiful ship. The appointments, artwork and details are quite nice and I appreciated Cunard's efforts to capture the old world charm. Yes, there are things I would have done differently but you can't please everyone all of the time and that was quite apparent when listening to some passengers complain about certain things.

 

The service was excellent. Our waiter, maître d' and sommelier were attentive and responsive. What ever we wanted, we got! The wine selection was not what it should have been but certain types were not stocked due to the fact it was a Caribbean sailing.

 

Our dinner companions were a delight. We have not been so lucky on other cruises. The one complaint I have regrading dinner was that we were seated by a table where the guests were quite opinionated. In fact, the film crew shooting on board spent a long time interviewing one of the guests at this table and we were subjected to a lengthy tirade of his loud bitching. One of his gripes was that the ship was too big! However, this annoyance was a trade-off. We enjoyed seeing his partner's outfits, wigs and make-up each evening. It was entertaining.

 

I think the food was excellent and our dinner in the Todd English dining room was superb.

 

I think some of the public rooms were over-air conditioned and we had a series of unfortunate late night phones calls (hang-ups) which distrubed our rest. All in all, it was a fabulous vacation for us and we had a wonderful time. I would go again in a heartbeat.

 

I have a picture of the QM2 docked beside a German cruise ship in St. Kitt's. The other cruise ship looks like a toy compared to the QM2.

 

My partner has a rule - if I travel with him, I can only bring one carry-on bag and that's it. I have become an economical packer and plan my outfits well. I am not a size 9 so even my underthing take up lots of room so accomplishing this feat is difficult. On the QM2, my partner was greatly chastized by a group of men who felt his rule was cruel and "simply not possible". On the return trip, our bags had expanded a bit due to some purchases in St. Kitts. He agreed to check the bags at the airport. US AIR lost the bags!!!

 

We were flying first class on US Air and they have some lessons to learn. We found the planes dirty and the flight attendant lazy. The ground crews in Philadelphia were unprofessional and unorganized. Never again....

[JPEvans]

I'm going on the QM2 for the second time in exactly a week. I was on the Tandem Crossing last April. It was one of the most memorable trips I've taken so far. I followed the whole QM2 thing right from the first press release to the first steel cutting to going down to NY to watch her sail in for the first time and finally three days later sailing on the Tandem Crossing. I was pleasantly suprised by my QM2 experience. After hearing all the bad reviews in the months after the maiden voyage, I was expecting bad food and service. Which I didn't experience. When I got back, I couldn't wait to book her again. From the sounds of your review, it looks like things have gotten even better. I'm anxious to compare the two sailings to see if their is a difference. As far as packing goes, I've learned a lession on the last QM2 trip. After the ship docked, my sister flew to London. She and I took the Eurostar to Paris and then back to London for our flight home. I had two full size pieces of luggage and A carry on with me, she had just a carry on. I thought she was going to kill me by the time we got to Paris. We used the subways to get from airport to train station and to hotel and back again. It was "not" fun carting that many pieces of luggage around. Now I realize that I could wash my QM2 clothes onboard and not have to take extra Paris clothes.

[imacruizer]

MCEdmond, thanks for your review.

 

JPEvans, we, too, recently completed our second cruise on the QM2. We loved our first experience and had no complaints about that trip. However, we saw many positive changes on the second trip. Things just seemed more organized. I hope you will post your impressions after you return.

 

Like you, we had followed the press and building of this ship. Since I had sailed on the original Queen Mary, I was determined to sail on the QM2 also. One thing that I have seen mentioned on this board only once is the Reunion of the Original Queen Mary guests. That is such an interesting meeting and is certainly not limited to original guests. I think anyone with an interest in ships would enjoy this glimpse into maritime history. On our first sailing there were guests who had sailed in first class, soldiers who had sailed during World War 11 and war brides. On our last sailing there were two crew members from the original Queen Mary who were now guests on the QM2. They had fascinating stories to share. If you would enjoy this meeting look for it in the daily programme.

 

Have a wonderful cruise. I know you will!

[twinkletoes915]

Please share the secret of how anyone could could cruise for 6 nights and not take 2 suitecases? I am all ears! With 3 formal nights (3 long gowns) and 3 other fancy outfits, plus 6 outfits for the day, how do you do it? Plus the toiletry bag!!

We too are taking the Eurostar from London-Paris-London, so now I am really scared!

[JPEvans]

Maybe all a girl needs is a little black dress and just change the accessories. Nobody would probably notice?

[travelgals]

I've been on several cruises (all warm weather) and have always managed to carry on. This is a result of DH's family, having been all airline employees with knowledge of luggage losses and ease of travel when one carries on, training me from the moment I met them... (If left to my own devices, I would have a dozen bags). Anyway,I have used one of those ugly black rectangles with wheels in the size allowed by airlines, (and DH) along with a backpack. The carry on has all the clothing- formal nights are silk pants, several tops, shawls, accessories and maybe an additional dress, but all color coordinated to one pair of evening shoes and it works for formal or informal nights with a change of jewelry, makeup, hair and accessories. Daytime is shorts or linen capri pants with cotton tees, sandals and or sneakers, underwear, swimsuits in similar color scheme requiring one wrap and flip flops. Books, toiletries and other stuff is in back pack and I still come home with unused clothes. I am not confident this would work in cooler climates with bulky sweaters et al, but it really easily works in warm climates. I always feel really well dressed and not lacking anything. It might not work if I brought a real ball gown, but there are garment bags that fold to carry on size that might work for that. DH uses one for his stuff and tuxedo.

[bfoot34]

We were on the Feb 12th cruise. We got upgraded from P to Q. What a surprise. Our experience in the Queen's Grill was like going to a 5 Star Restraurant every night. Great time. All the rest you said is oh so true.

 

Jerry