A review of Queen Mary 2 cruise from a Celebrity regular

[iandjm]

I returned from 14 nights on Celebrity Eclipse on 4 June and was lucky to go on Qm2 on 17 June so was in a good position to compare both products

About me

I am a 30 something who usually travels with friends. On Celebrity I usually have a sky suite. On Qm2 I had a simple inside cabin. I have been on 20 P&O cruises, 13 Celebrity cruises and several on QE2 and Princess that vary in length from 2 to 17 nights.

I was travelling on Qm2 with my 91 year old neighbour and 84 year old grand mother. It was a special trip for them.

Check in and boarding in Southampton

We arrived the Ocean terminal in Southampton in at midday and were allocated a number and asked to sit in the very modern waiting lounge until our number was called. When our number was called (after 30 mins) we went up and carried out check in, went straight through security and boarded QM2. Our cabins were available at this time. Far nicer than having to wait in public areas for the cabin to be ready.

Cabin

I had an inside cabin on deck 5. It was nicely laid out, had a flat screen tv, and the bathroom although not quite as good as Celebrity’s did have Gilchrist & Soames toiletries, a nice touch. Also there was a full bottle of sparkling wine on ice, once again a very nice touch. The cabin steward, Bianca came along to introduce herself, she was very pleasant and proved to be one of the very best I have ever known. She seemed to have more time to engage in conversation, and carried out her job very efficiently indeed. There was a card in the cabin detailing the restaurant table allocated, which included a nice plan of the restaurant, so I did not feel the need to rush down and find where my table was.

Ports

We called firstly at Stavanger. We explored the city on our own, visiting the historical wooden houses of the old town (which was right beside the ship)

Second port was Flaam. What an amazing trip down the Fjord to Flamm! We were up on deck at 6am to see all the sights. At Flaam we took a ships tour onto the railway and up into the mountains. We stopped off to admire the view and for refreshments there before travelling back down to the Port.

Thirdly we anchored in Geiranger. Wow what an amazing place. Stunning mountain views and a little village and shops to explore. Tendering went well, with open tendering from11am.

Bergen. We moored in the docks here. There was Free (yes Free Celebrity!!) shuttle bus into the centre of the city. We went on a ships excursion around the city and up on the Bergen funicular railway. Wow what a view!

We had sunny weather in every port!

Main dining

Our group were allocated table 60 on the lower level of the Britannia Restaurant (notice it is actually called a restaurant, not a dining room as it would be on Celebrity. I dislike the expression dining room, as it sounds like something from a boarding school, not an upmarket ship)

Our waiters were very good. Our glasses of water were refilled instantly when needed. The sommelier was really efficient, and we never had to wait more than a few minutes for our wine to arrive.

The food was good quality, always really hot and had a good selection of vegetables. Portion size was just right too. It was nice to have petit fours brought to the table after every meal.

Overall the dining experience was excellent, every bit as good as the Coronia Restaurant on QE2.

We had several lunched in the Britannia Restaurant. It was interesting to note the restaurant was also open on port days, something I really miss on Celebrity, as I am not a fan of buffets.

Afternoon Tea

Another great tradition held every day in the Queens Room. Served with finger sandwiches, cakes and cream scones. A really nice experience made even better with live harp or piano background music.

Buffet

Not as nice as Celebrity by any stretch. Very spread out. Lots of seating. I did not use it at all after boarding day, having said that you did not have to with all the other options onboard.

Drink prices

Although in $US I thought prices were considerably cheaper than Celebrity

Alternative lunches

Pub lunches were served in the Golden Lion Pub and Sir Samuels wine bar had a range of sandwiches / paninis

Room service

I had room service on a couple of occasions. It was always delivered within 20 minutes of ordering and the side salad had proper dressing on it, a nice touch again.

Theatre / Entertainment

The cruise director was Ray Rouse, a real professional! He presented a half hour daily tv programme as well, with interviews with that evenings performers etc. A very professional and friendly cruise director.

I went to all shows in the theatre and found them all to be excellent. The production shows were varied and I thought the music and vocals were the best I have experienced on a ship.

On other nights there were guest singers including a really good Dean Martin impersonator. He had been in the ‘Rat Pack’ stage show recently.

On the first and last night there was a variety show in the theatre, featuring guest singers / musicians and a routine from the singers and dancers (one was a tribute to the music of ‘sting’ ) I was impressed with this as on many cruise lines you get 3 production shows from the cast, and that’s it.

Also we had lectures from destination guides, held in the 500 seat planetarium auditorium along with two fascination talks from John Maxtone Graham, a fascination ship historian.

Also shows in the planetarium were the obvious planetarium shows, films and also 3D fils (the opera Carmen was shows one evening in 3D)

Queens Room

Every evening the Queens Room hosted ballroom dancing, with a live orchestra and for some of the time a vocalist. Ballroom dancing is not my thing, but I have to admit given the atmosphere and surroundings I really enjoyed it. It felt like the classic days of the ocean liner.

Décor

The interior of QM2 is classic. Wood panelling on every wall. Beautiful stair wells with classic ship paintings. The Lifts were the same inside with lovely wood panelling and paintings. I loved the classic look of the ship.

Decks

QM2 has really nice tiered aft decks on several levels. There is a large pool on the lowest of the levels, along with a pool bar. All decks were teak. It was lovely to stand here when at sea or departing a port. I have forgotten how nice it is to be on a ship that does not have the cut off flat stern, with the only access to it being on the top deck.

In front of the funnel on deck 12 there was a very large open deck area, with a viewing deck one deck up in front of the funnel (a great place to hear the original whistle from the Queen Mary)

Nice features

Behind the bridge there is a viewing area, which enables you to view what is happening on the bridge through windows. This was open on sea days and I thought was a great idea.

When ordering a drink in bars your invoice is delivered in a walled for signing at your leisure. I really liked this as you felt less hurried and more ‘trusted’

Also when ordering a drink in the evening a small plate of canapés is delivered with your order. Later in the evening a bowl of crisps or peanuts was delivered with all drinks. Nice touches.

Disembarkation

Very well organised. No onboard announcements. Went along to the theatre before allocated time and was off the ship 30 earlier than expected.

Conclusion

I felt that QM2 was a very well run ship. Lots of the ways of doing things made you feel more special than you do on Celebrity. The interior was classic ocean liner which I liked. I thought the deck space was far superior to the millennium and solstice class ships, with a full wrap around promenade deck and the lovely tiered decks at the stern. The dining was superb, which I was not expecting after Celebrity. Overall 10/10

[JRarey]

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed hearing the comparisions and after your review will look into a possible cruise with P&O.

 

I have seen their ships and always admired the aft deck layout. It is one of my favorite parts of a ship, and I believe they have done a great job with the layout.

 

Again, thank you.

 

Jan of Jan & Joe

[lightning bolt]

Enjoyed reading your review, thanks for sharing it on the Celebrity board.

[iandjm]

I forgot a couple of opinions from the review. I felt far less pressured to keep spending money onboard. Recently I have felt quite hounded on Celebrity to buy drinks etc and announcements encouraging people to book speciality restaurants, I have also found the servers getting annoying delivering drinks during the shows, expecting people to sign recepts in the dark.

Also it was so nice not to have the waiters / stewards TELL me to say how brilliant they are on the customer comments form at the end of the cruise. On all my recent Celebrity cruises I have been badgered by staff to comment positively about them. Something any decent person would do anyway if they had gone the extra mile. Infact it almost encourages you to not bother filling in the form!

[retired067]

Hi, great review, curious as to the daily rate p/p comparison, X vs curnard

Thanks

[iandjm]

Hi, great review, curious as to the daily rate p/p comparison, X vs curnard

Thanks

 

Hi,

 

Do you mean tipping? $11 per day

 

Ian

[iandjm]

Or in terms of cruise cost the rate was arond £100pp per day

 

Next year I have booked 16 Nights in November for £1900pp in a balcony with $600 pp onboard credit!!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review and comparisons.

[sealover155]

Thanks for such an informative review. Just wondering what the smoking situation was like. Did you feel overwhelmed in your stateroom, casino, bars? Also, since the QM2 is really an oceanliner and can travel at greater speeds, did you enjoy being out on deck or did you feel like you would get blown overboard? It sounds like you had a gracious, lovely experience.

 

BTW, you are a hero for traveling with your elderly grandmother and friend.

[DocJohnB]

First of all, real nice comparative review.

 

However, I have to disagree with the below (highlighted) statement.

the Britannia Restaurant (notice it is actually called a restaurant, not a dining room as it would be on Celebrity. I dislike the expression dining room, as it sounds like something from a boarding school, not an upmarket ship)

 

All ships sailing for Celebrity have restaurants and they are not called dining rooms. Please note I said "sailing". It does appear from the Deck Plans that the Silhouette and the Reflection do not share that designation. The Reflection actually just shows the words Main Dining Room (hasn't been named yet?). The Silhouette is called The Grand Cuvee Dining Room. I wonder if the designation will change to Restaurant upon its' acceptance into the Celebrity fleet.

 

In fact, on the deck plans of the Eclipse (prior to initial sailing), the dining area was designated as The Main Dining Room. The current deck plans show it as The Moonlight Sonata Restaurant.

[lucky white heather]

Hi,

 

Do you mean tipping? $11 per day

 

Ian

 

Don't know if you'll remember me Ian but we have sailed together on Celebrity back a few years .We chatted online on the appropriate rollcall before the cruise.

We've done 6 cruises now on Cunard and well over 20 on Celebrity ... but because we actually are having a hard time deciding whether to return to Celebrity or not ... we are holding off. We just aren't all that convinced any longer that we enjoy Celebrity as much as we used to ....so we are undecided about whether to give Celebrity a further try.

 

When we initially decided to try Cunard I was fed up with all the unrest on upholding the dress codes on Celebrity which we feel we want to support...and on Cunard the dress codes are well defined and upheld so you don't have a problem with your choice of "stuff" being code appropriate or not. No one on there seems to want to flout the suggested codes so you know exactly what to pack which makes it so much easier for those who fly to the ship as we do.

 

When I recently looked on the main Celebrity board it was as if the discussions for / against upholding dress code traditions were still ongoing 2 years later.

Because the cost of cruising in the Uk is fairly high .....we like to feel we are getting ALL the standards we want when we have paid a great deal of money for a cruise and frankly IMO Cunard offers a very good standard for their more reasonable cruise cost outlay. So I appreciated all your comments about Cunard... and agreed with them.

[tcook052]

How did OP find the cleanliness of the QM2? I ask as I read the recent failed a sanitary inspecation:

 

http://www.cruiseshipnews.co.uk/20110624/cunards-queen-mary-2-fails-inspection/

[Glenndale]

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed hearing the comparisions and after your review will look into a possible cruise with P&O.

 

I have seen their ships and always admired the aft deck layout. It is one of my favorite parts of a ship, and I believe they have done a great job with the layout.

 

Again, thank you.

 

Jan of Jan & Joe

 

Jan, I'm not sure if you realised but QM2 is a Cunard ship and not P&O.:)

[Little London]

Thank you so much for your review. It was of great interest as my Grandfather sailed on the first Queen Mary, and I have always wanted to sail out of Southampton to New York on QM2. It is my big birthday next year, and that is what I am going to do. Thank you again.

[C 2 C]

I returned from 14 nights on Celebrity Eclipse on 4 June and was lucky to go on Qm2 on 17 June so was in a good position to compare both products

 

Thank you for the comparison of the two lines..

We're always interested in finding a wonderful cruise experience.

There are so many who rave about one product without ever experiencing the competition. We will give this line a serious look.

[lucky white heather]

Thank you for the comparison of the two lines..

We're always interested in finding a wonderful cruise experience.

There are so many who rave about one product without ever experiencing the competition. We will give this line a serious look.

 

We've also cruised with you and your wife ! We danced in the Rendezvous regularly .

 

I can tell you that since we cruised Cunard over our last 6 cruises ..we have enjoyed the dance opportunities in a large ballroom with orchestra and singer every night ... which is quite different from the Rendezvous experiences.I'm not knocking that but the difference between the two lines regarding dance opportunities is quite wide.

Cunard is quite formal... you know exactly what to pack and what is expected ......and enforced.

We're still dithering over whether to give Celebrity another "go"...we look back on our times with the line with pleasure but is it changing for the worse in our estimation in some respects ??????????...we're still deciding, but it may be Cunard fills our cruising expectations better these days.

[Member]

I heard that Cunard lines disallow the non-suite guests to certain ship venues. Is it just a rumor?

[iandjm]

How did OP find the cleanliness of the QM2? I ask as I read the recent failed a sanitary inspecation:

 

http://www.cruiseshipnews.co.uk/20110624/cunards-queen-mary-2-fails-inspection/

 

The public areas were as clean if not cleaner than Eclipse (and that is saying something!) There were actually no real signs of wear and tear, and all carpets and furnishings were as new

[tcook052]

The public areas were as clean if not cleaner than Eclipse (and that is saying something!) There were actually no real signs of wear and tear, and all carpets and furnishings were as new

 

Thanks for the update :) and it would seem that inspection was an aberation.

[iandjm]

I heard that Cunard lines disallow the non-suite guests to certain ship venues. Is it just a rumor?

 

The only exclusive areas for the suite passengers are the Princess and Queens Grill restaurants, the Grills Lounge and a tiny area of deck at the stern. This is a tiny tiny amount of space on a massive ship. In fact the Grill passengers could be said to be subsidising the main cruise passengers as a 150,000 ton ship with 2600 passengers on it is a very spacious ship indeed.

[miched]

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I have heard that they use the class system on board because it is a ocean liner and not a cruise ship. Depending on what cabins you have dictates the to where you dine and what areas of the ship that you have access to. Is that true?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

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[eileen & jay]

Thank you for your Celebrity Eclipse/Cunard QM II review/comparion. Definitely looking forward to sailing on a Cunard ship one day soon.:) Thanks again.

[avalon1025]

True, but it is not very noticeable as all passengers have access to 95% of the ship. Its similar to Aqua Class on the Solstice Class, or the Villas on NCL, or the Neptune Lounge on HAL. All ships now have some sort of class system if you book a suite...

.

 

.

 

 

 

I have heard that they use the class system on board because it is a ocean liner and not a cruise ship. Depending on what cabins you have dictates the to where you dine and what areas of the ship that you have access to. Is that true?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

.

[miched]

True, but it is not very noticeable as all passengers have access to 95% of the ship. Its similar to Aqua Class on the Solstice Class, or the Villas on NCL, or the Neptune Lounge on HAL. All ships now have some sort of class system if you book a suite...

.

 

Thanks for the response. We have considered and talked about a cruise on that ship but since we knew we weren't going to be in a suite we weren't sure about the class system. The way you explained it makes it no different than another cruise line.

 

 

 

.

[DocJohnB]

As I stated in my other post, I appreciated the comparative review made by the OP.

 

And, of course, ALL reviews are mostly subjective w/some objective items included.

 

Having said that, I did a quick check in the review section of Cruise Critic and quite a number of folks reviewing the QM2 disagree with iandjm. Only 76% "Loved It".

 

When reviewing the Eclipse, 91% of the reviewers "Loved It". In fact the 91% was just about the the average for all 3 Solstice class ships. (88, 91, 93).

 

I guess a review, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.