Elaine's QM2 Report!!!!!! Be warned this is quite long!!!!

[elaine61]

QM2 Southampton – Southampton 20th Sept – 14th October 2005

Embarkation

Apart from needing to be an octopus juggling hand luggage and handbag to show various staff that we had actually signed our passage tickets and also whilst travelling along in a queue filling in the norovirus form the embarkation process went quite quickly. We were advised with the tickets to arrive later than we actually did, but this did not seem to be an issue. QM2’s cruise card has your photograph on and acts as your on board account card, room key and card for leaving and coming back to the ship at the various ports of call. We were very surprised not to be put into a holding area, but instead we walked straight on board. You enter into the Grand Lobby which is pretty impressive.

Cabin 5142

Well the cabin was pretty much what I was expecting. I would say it was a similar size to the IB grade cabin that we are used to having on Aurora. At first glance I wondered how we would get 25 days worth of clothing in the wardrobe, but we managed to get everything in. The bedside tables only have one drawer but has a useful shelf at the bottom where we stored magazines and books etc. There was a double full length hanging wardrobe with a shelf up above, half sized cupboard which contained the safe and the lifejackets and 5 drawers underneath this and another single full length hanging wardrobe with shelf up above. Over by the door was a dressing table area, with fridge and TV unit. The TV’s on QM2 are interactive and you can view your account, place a wine order and even order room service from it. You can view the daily programme on there too. The balcony was large enough to have a couple of full sized sunchairs and a little plastic table. We did get to use them too on the crossing to the US. I don’t know what the cabins were like further up but the in hull cabins were very well protected from the elements outside the ship, so I personally would recommend this type of cabin for a transatlantic crossing. Probably in the warmer climates the other type of balcony would be more preferable.

The bathroom on first impressions seems to lack storage space. You only have on little corner shelf to store your toiletries on. BUT there is a hug cupboard under the sink which hides a multitude of things. I noticed that the cabin steward stored paper handkerchiefs in here as well as the usual things like needle bags and sanitary towel bags. The shower was a power shower and the shower cubicle big enough. It certainly didn’t seem claustrophobic in the shower or the bathroom. You get supplied with bathrobes and slippers. There was no shower gel actually in the shower itself although small bottles were in the corner shelf on arrival. These were the canyon ranch products. Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion.

Off to find our way around

Well this is a huge ship. We started up at the top floor (deck 13) and worked our way down. We first came across the sports area. Craig was pleased to see a basketball area, but to be honest there were not too many opportunities to use this area. Deck 12 has the pavilion area with a pool and a couple of Jacuzzi’s and lovely wooden sunbeds with green covers. Towels are rolled up and put on the chairs by the staff. This area was always quite busy as it is a fairly smallish area with approx 75 sunchairs. The bar was quite nice up here too. Boardwalk café is also on this deck. We went up there once for lunch on a warmish day during the crossing. Deck 11 is mainly cabins and the Atlantic room, but we didn’t ever go in this room again after finding it on our tour. Deck 10 is the main floor for the duplexes, grand duplexes and penthouses. Deck 9 is also the suite floor but at the very front of this deck is the commodore club. Natalie and I liked this room and managed to persuade Tom to take us here most evenings. There was a very good pianist in this bar by the name of Campbell Simpson. It reminded me very much of the crows nest on Aurora. Possibly why it was my favourite bar on QM2 too. Deck 8 mostly cabins, but fwd was the most impressive library I have ever seen. It housed books in all different languages for the mixed nationalities that travel on QM2. To the side of the library was also a bookstore so that you could buy books too. I believe they have something similar on Arcadia. On the portside was the beauty salon, but as I’m beautiful enough I didn’t go to this area!!!! J Aft of deck 8 was a pool and sundeck area. I should think this area is very busy on a Mediterranean or Caribbean cruise. Also aft on deck 8 is the Todd English restaurant. Deck 7 is mainly taken over by the king’s court. This area is divided into 4 different dining experiences. La Piazza serves Italian cuisine, Chef’s galley is where you can get sandwiches made to order and burgers etc. Lotus was the oriental section and The carvery which speaks for itself really. Here you got roasts every day as well as other dishes too mainly in the British theme!!! All of these areas opened up in the evenings too. The only place that you had to pay a supplement was the chef’s galley where the chef cooks the food you are going to eat right in front of you. We didn’t eat in any of these alternative eating places whilst on board so cannot comment really on what they were like. Going fwd on deck 7 is the winter garden. This area was used mainly for art auctions and the world club parties. Next to this was the canyon ranch spa. We used this area once. Natalie had a very relaxing massage and Craig and I used the thelassotherapy pool and steam/sauna rooms. To use this area though you had to have a pass. As ours was complimentary I don’t really know how much the pass is. I have just checked on cruise critic website and I think it is around $79 for a 5 day pass. This is the only area though with steam rooms, so if you like to use the steam/sauna then you would have to purchase a pass to use them. Right at the front of deck 7 is the gym. Wow this is the best gym I have ever seen on a cruise ship. All the cardiovascular machines have a personal TV on them so you can watch TV whilst exercising. Certainly makes the time go quick when you are laughing away to friends or bewitched. I think Tom even got to see some movies whilst he was in there (yes that is how long he spends in the gym)!! Outside on deck 7 was the promenade deck. It was nice to see the lined up wooden steamer chairs just waiting to be sat on. This is where I sat to watch us pass the statue of liberty. Aft on deck 6 is another pool area. This is the children’s pool. Just inside is the children’s play area, but as we didn’t need to use it, I cannot comment on the facilities in there. The rest of deck 6, deck 5 and deck 4 are just cabins. Boy those corridors are very very long!!!!! Who needs exercise?? Deck 3 and Deck 3L is where most of the public facilities are. Midships on deck 3 has the Sir Samuels wine bar, a quiet little bar and opposite that the Chart room. Tom preferred this bar. Here they played various types of music, but mainly the time we were in there it was a jazz trio. This bar was very very popular and it was always difficult to get a table. You had to time it just right. Just outside of this was the Veuve Clicquot champagne bar. You could also sit here and listen to the jazz but not as well as in the chart room. Around the grand lobby area was the various shops. But on QM2 they have brand name shops. H Stern jewelers, Hermes as well as the usual shops selling QM2 souvenirs. They also overflow into the walkways selling gold by the inch!! Forward to this is the upper level of the Royal Court theatre. Further on is illuminations. We went to about 3 shows on the first crossing and thought that the shows were good. They lasted about ½ hour. The old man next to me at one show showed his appreciation of the show by snoring!!!!! Natalie and I enjoyed the shows. Some of the seats did not work which wasn’t a problem for me being short as I just moved my bottom further down the seat and leant back. Deck 3L (or deck 2) was the place to find board games. This area ran the full length both sides of the theatre. Here we spent many an hour or two playing scrabble. We noticed that the majority of the games were all US based. The Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit games were all US based. There were also jigsaws on the go in this area and games like draughts and pictionary. Obviously the staff kept the games well as there was always paper and pencils to record your scores. You didn’t have to go searching for something to use. Like I say this area was either side of the lower level of the theatre. We did go and see a few shows (the ones that were on after 2nd sitting dinner had finished). We loved Rock at the Opera. Tom wasn’t overly impressed with the Zing went the srings show and I was just frozen that night by the air conditioning!! The theatre company is very good though. Most of the entertainers we had never heard of before. On the splendors of the falls trip Bobby Crush did a show. Well I wouldn’t have known that’s who he was!!!!!! He’s piled on a few pounds (or should that say stones)!! I always remember him on opportunity knocks I think it was as a really slim young man. Obviously that was some time ago now and he has obviously changed over the years. Did not go to any of the Rada performances, but I have been told that they were very good. Also we did not go to any of the lectures. Not sure why as I’m just looking back at the daily programmes and some of them sounded quite good. We must have been busy doing other things at the time. Around the grand lobby area is the purser’s desk which is open 24 hours a day and the tours desk. Also off the grand lobby is the casino. Wow this is a big casino. We love a game of blackjack, but on QM2 we played fun 21 which was slightly different to blackjack but not a lot!! They had a craps table in the casino and I was fascinated to see how it worked. I still haven’t fathomed it out!! The casino was very busy in the evenings. Also down here was the golden lion pub. Now I’m not normally a big fan of the pub type bars on the cruise ships, but this one was very nice. This is where they did the quizzes each day (there was on in the morning, one in the afternoon and one around 10.15pm). Also this is where the karaoke was. I’m not a big fan of Karaoke so didn’t go to them that often. The lower level of the Britannia restaurant is near the golden lion pub. We had a table just as you went in the right hand set of doors on the right. We kept this table throughout the whole trip even though we were asked if we wanted to move. We were quite happy here so declined the offer. Either side of the lower and upper levels of the restaurant is the walkway between the restaurant and the entrance to the Queens’s room and G32 nightclub. It is kind of midway between the two levels!!!! To get to the queens room and G32 you either go up or down some stairs depending on which deck you are on. On the portside is the photographers area and on the starboard side is the art gallery. I really liked G32. The band Xtasea played here and although they were very good, they were also very repetitive. They took it in turns with the DJ to get us all dancing. To get to G32 you have to go through the Queens room. This room was used for the late evening dancing, afternoon tea and the captain’s cocktail party. This room just didn’t do anything for me. I don’t know why but I just didn’t like it. About the only room on QM2 I did not like. Natalie and Tom had a go at learning tap dancing in here.

Ports of Call

New York, USA

Well what can I say? First visit we decided to go shopping. Natalie and I were quite disappointed because Tom and Craig kind of took over looking at the men’s clothes. To be fair Craig had saved up a lot of money so that he could get clothes for himself but with hindsight I think we should have gone our separate ways and met up for lunch or something. When we arrived back at the ship we sat on some chairs on starboard side so that we could get to see the statue of liberty as we hadn’t got up in the morning to see it. There was rather a lot of police activity with rifles in hands. On our second visit to New York we didn’t have as much police presence. I wonder what was going on the first time – or maybe I don’t want to know!! On our second visit to New York the weather was not in my favour for sightseeing. I wanted to do the open top bus to see the sights but it was pouring with rain. OK so it wasn’t cold outside, if anything it was muggy. So we had no choice but to hit the shops again. When we left a grey, wet New York that evening we stood on our balcony and watched the Manhattan skyline as we’d done the statue of liberty the time before.

Sydney – Nova Scotia - Tender

There was a chilly wind in Sydney and although sunny I felt cold all day. Tom went off in search of a game of golf but only ended up using the driving range as they had a competition on. The kids and I just looked around the town area. It was rather quaint!!!!!

Corner Brook – Newfoundland

We booked an on board shore excursion for Corner Brook. What we didn’t realize was that it was an all day tour. We usually do half day tours so that we can explore the town ourselves too. Anyway, I’m really glad we did the tour. It was a stunning place with some beautiful scenery and we would have missed all that if we hadn’t of done the tour. Lunch was a bit strange. We went to this small little town on our route and just stopped in what looked like a seaside café here in the UK. They didn’t know that a coachload of 50+ passengers were coming and they welcomed us with open arms. They gave us a menu of food that was quick to do (fish and chips seemed to be popular). Our tour was late back and the ship had to wait for us. I know you pay over the odds for the shore excursions on board but for me this is one good reason why I do book them with the ship rather than independently.

Quebec – Canada

We did an afternoon tour here, so in the morning we took the shuttle bus into town to have a look around for ourselves. We were docked quite a way from the actual town. Oriana and another cruise ship were actually docked right in town itself. It was lovely to Oriana there. We rushed back for our trip. We were to meet in the theatre at 12.15pm. We rushed up to King’s court for some lunch and then rushed to the theatre. On the tour tickets it stated the tour started at 12.30. By 1.15pm we were still in the theatre. Some of the passengers were slow hand clapping. When Tom asked if the tour was running late the tour girl said no. When he pointed out that it stated 12.30 on the ticket and it was now well after 1pm wasn’t that late, she said well if that’s the way you want to see it!!!!!! Well this did not impress Tom at all. Not the fact that we were late, but the fact that she was denying we were. When we finally got on the tour bus the guide kept saying that because we were late we would have to cut our time short at the winery. Because we were late we’d have to cut down the time we had at the Saint Anne Canyon. Personally I would have liked to stroll around the canyon, not rush from one photo spot to the other. Then to top it off on the return journey we were supposed to stop at a waterfall called Montgomery falls. Because we were late we would not be stopping and the driver would slow down on a fast road for us to take a photo. Again we were back late to the ship and although not the last tour bus to arrive back, not far off!! But according to the tour girl our tour was not late!!!!! When we got back Tom went to complain and asked to speak to the tours manager. They didn’t know where he was and you could come back tomorrow but he may/may not be here. Needless to say Tom didn’t pursue it next day. We’d got better things to do, but we were not happy with the attitude of the tours girl earlier on in the day. As we passed Oriana, QM2 sounded her horn 3 times and Oriana responded back. I was taking pictures of Oriana and you could see the passengers on Oriana taking photos of the QM2. At this point I was wondering how the guys on Oriana were enjoying their trip.

Halifax – Nova Scotia

Tom went off in search of golf here. Apparently the scenery at the golf course was stunning. The kids and I took a tour of Halifax by horse drawn trolley.

St John, New Brunswick – Canada

Again Tom went off in search of golf. Having been recommended to play at this course http://glenarbour.com/ whilst the kids and I opted to stay in the town itself. The weather was foggy and cold. According to Tom playing golf at the above golf course was the one of the best things about our holiday!! The other being spending quality time as a family together and on this trip we certainly did. No friends for the kids to go off with. Just us!! I think we all agreed that it was the quality time we spent together that made this trip special. Take a look at the golf course link. I just have as I didn’t go with him and it is a stunning golf course.

Portland, Maine USA - Tender

To go back into the US we had to go through immigration again. We arrived in Portland with not a sight to be seen as the fog was so thick. We had to be up really early to go to the immigration inspection. Well the queue was horrendous. We had to queue for 45 minutes to get to the queens room!! Once inside all 4 of us were done in 30 seconds!! To be honest if I was actually a US citizen and I had to queue that long to get back into my own country I wouldn’t have been too happy!! Anyway, for now nothing was happening because of the fog. We had a tour booked so did the immigration and then went for some breakfast before heading off for the theatre. It was really odd being in a tender not being able to see where you were going! Good job our driver had Sat Nav!!! We did a tour that involved one of those amphibious ducks!! By the time we hit the water in the duck the fog was clearing near the land, but QM2 was still not visible. After our tour we spent some time looking around the town. I wanted to stay in town for lunch but miscommunication between husband and wife resulted in us going back to the ship both not speaking to each other. Well we had been together 24/7 for a considerable time by now, so it had to come eventually J When we pulled up the anchor we could still not see the land from the ship. So we missed the lighthouse we were told to look out for by our duck guide!!

Boston, Massachusetts USA

This was one of my personal favorite ports of call. The other being Newfoundland!! We took a cycling tour along the Charles River. Taking in the sights of Boston with some exercise. When the tour finished we wandered around the main shopping area in Boston before going to Quincy market. Here we went into a replica of the set of Cheers. We did not see the original Cheers building on our cycling tour unfortunately. We had a drink at the bar. We took lunch at a fast food restaurant in the main shopping area, but wished we’d waited and had lunch at Cheers instead. Oh well a good excuse to go again me thinks!!

Newport, Rhode Island USA – Tender

Again a tender port. By the time we were ready to head into Newport we were able to just go straight to the tender lounge. Golden princess which had been at most of the same ports of call as us was anchored too. She is a rather odd looking ship. QM2 looks much more elegant. Newport itself was very pretty. Obviously a summer getaway I would imagine for New Yorkers. We looked at several restaurants determined to eat on shore after our little misunderstanding previously. We chose a restaurant on the waterfront, but it had certain stipulations about dress. Tom was wearing a sleeveless T Shirt and I was wearing sandals so we were not able to go in. We chose a different restaurant on the shopping side of the town. We had a lovely lunch here. Natalie chose the lobster, but had to tackle the beast all by herself. Me I preferred it on the ship where my waiter would take the nice juicy meat out of the shell for me.

Back to New York!!

After all of our other ports of call, New York was most definitely not my favorite. Even shopping was not the bargain hunters paradise I had been led to believe it was by family and friends before we went away!! I found it a busy place. It even made London look quiet and I can’t stand London because it’s too busy!! But hey what a wonderful experience!! And what a wonderful way to do it!!!!!

Service and Food on board

The food and service on board QM2 was really no better than the service and food we have had on P & O (IMO)!! Of course we are all individuals and as such have different likes and dislikes. The service from our cabin steward was good. He did what he had to do (except for the one day we both slept in until 1pm and by then he had gone on his break)!! We didn’t need to bother him for much really. We did have room service breakfast a couple of times, but we found they never really brought the food at the time specified!! It was always about ½ an hour earlier than requested!!!! So we didn’t bother again. Our waiters were always very good. I didn’t like the fact that they didn’t lay the place setting out properly before the start of the meal!! I don’t know if this is normal practice for QM2 or not. On P & O the waiters lay the cutlery out in order before the meal commences. The waiters get moved from one section to another quite frequently and so we had a different set of waiters on our return transatlantic. Both sets of waiters could not be faulted really. The wine waiters, we had a different one each leg of our trip!! The food was always hot when it should have been hot and always cold when it should have been cold!! The quality of the food was very good too. But only in my opinion no better than what we get with P & O. Because the food is already plated when it comes to the table I had to rule out certain dishes as I didn’t like what it came with. That is obviously just personal taste. I don’t think there was ever an evening in the whole time on board where we couldn’t find something that we all wanted. We ate at Todd English on our daughter’s birthday and on the last formal night on the transatlantic back to the UK. Both times we had a very lovely meal. Could not fault it. The service was very good. On our first trip there we had a birthday cake for our daughter (no cost turned up on our account as I had been led to believe would), so we didn’t have any desserts. We had to go a second time just so that I could have the chocolate fallen cake. Wow what a lovely dessert, but again just my opinion it could have done with being slightly smaller. After all the other food we had had I just couldn’t do it justice and finish it off!!!!!!

Anyway, I’m sure that this report is not what anyone was expecting. It seems to have gone on forever and ever. Maybe I should post them as two separate reports. Or maybe I should just get you to e mail me for it. Well I’ve done it now so I’m not going to change anything.

We have had a wonderful time on QM2 despite some little niggles and I would say that this is the only way to go transatlantic. I would do a crossing again in the future.

[mufi]

Elaine - I think the reason they don't set the table is because they don't know what you are going to order. No point setting a steak knife etc. if you are not ordering steak. I still think Cunard has the edge in food.

 

And you would go again!!!

 

David.

[Linerguy]

Thanks for the report. I thought it was a well balanced account of your experience and I have renewed faith that you truly had a good time.

 

I only wish that you had posted this from the get-go.....

 

Russ

[imacruizer]

Elaine,

Thanks for a wonderful review. Thanks for taking the time to post all the details.

[stowaway2k]

Hello Elaine,

 

I, and I'm sure many others here, have been living vicariously through your many posts on your QM2 experience.

From your earliest postings expressing your excitement at booking QM2, your questions, eagerness at waiting for your documents and tickets, and the approach of sailing day.

 

Now it had come and gone.

I am sorry for the issues you and your family experienced, but glad that, in the end, you had a good time.

Thank you for sharing it all with us.

 

Now, all you have to do for us is post your photos somewhere on-line and let us know where to go to see them!

[elaine61]

Elaine - I think the reason they don't set the table is because they don't know what you are going to order. No point setting a steak knife etc. if you are not ordering steak. I still think Cunard has the edge in food.

 

And you would go again!!!

 

David.

 

David

 

Yes I would possibly consider going on QM2 to the Med. We did have some issues whilst on board but that doesn't take away the fact that she is a lovely ship. Some of the staff should remember that it's us paying passengers that pay their wages and treat us with a bit more respect at times. Found this to be a problem with the pursers desk and tours desk mainly. I have this very morning had a mailing from Cunard offering up to 60% on the suite accommodation for a couple of cruises in November and December. The Grand Duplex for only £8,999 for 12 nights in the caribbean. Shame I'd have to fly to join!! I wouldn't mind seeing the QM2 from the suite perspective!! BTW in my report I forgot to mention that the grill restaurants are at the aft of deck 7. Princess grill on one side and queens grill on the other. Their own bar area is also at the aft of deck 7. Looking in from the outside of deck 7 there seems to be a lot of tables for 2 in these restaurants. Of course I was never really out on deck 7 at meal times, but I would have thought it could have the feeling of being in a goldfish bowl if other passengers were just wandering the decks in the evening looking in.

 

Elaine

[heywood]

Thanks Elaine - it has been long awaited!

Heywood

[Mickb]

Elaine

Thank you for this really informative post. I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed the trip. We had a wonderful time crossing from New York to S'ton in May and it made me feel like I was back on board!

We ate by a window in the Princess Grill and never felt that anyone walking by outside was looking in. The food was more or less the same offered in the Britannia ( a few more choices) but the level of service offered was truly outstanding - much better than Radisson who seem to be winning all the plaudits at the moment!

Taking the time to produce such an in depth report is a big undertaking - I'm sure that you have given pleasure to a lot of people!

Mick

[bonni99]

I, and I'm sure many others here, have been living vicariously through your many posts on your QM2 experience.

From your earliest postings expressing your excitement at booking QM2, your questions, eagerness at waiting for your documents and tickets, and the approach of sailing day.

 

Now it had come and gone.

I am sorry for the issues you and your family experienced, but glad that, in the end, you had a good time.

Thank you for sharing it all with us.

 

!

 

I have to agree with this poster- thanks for taking the time to let us know how your trip was and what you enjoyed and what parts you thought could be better.

 

Out of interest what were your views on the cruise director Brian? Did he do the speech at the end of the crossing urging you to mark 10 out of 10?

[guernseyguy]

Elaine,

 

Thanks very much for posting your thoughts - a very comprehensive review. I'm glad you all enjoyed your trip. I recognised some of the service short comings you mentioned from my times on Cunard. The Purser's Office has ever been unfailingly unhelpful - even on such a super ship as Caronia - their job seemed to be to fob responsibility off onto some one else, rather than fixing issues - unlike RCI for example. I wonder if the other issues are a result of the 'White Star Service' initiative not sticking - an organisational 'this too shall pass' to organization change....or a few people having 'off days'?

 

I found the food a smidgen better than RCI or Princess - but clearly mass catering - and very close. I also much prefer the QE2's silver service - with plated meals they never put enough veg on the plate for my taste - but then I suspect some accountant has counted up all the left veg and decided not to put them there in the first place.....

 

I agree that to market the QM2 as 5* vs Oriana at 4* is probably misleading, certainly in Britannia - the ship is undoubtedly magnificent - but how you deliver superlative service to 2600 people is possibly beyond the wit of man....and certainly currently beyond the wit of Cunard.

 

I'm back on the QE2 in January so I will pay attention to service/upkeep and see how the old girl is faring....treating myself to Caronia, vs usual ~(perfectly acceptable) Mauretania....

 

Have you been on ARCADIA? I'd be interested in what people who have sailed on Cunard think of the might have been 'QUEEN VICTORIA'.

 

Peter

[elaine61]

I have to agree with this poster- thanks for taking the time to let us know how your trip was and what you enjoyed and what parts you thought could be better.

 

Out of interest what were your views on the cruise director Brian? Did he do the speech at the end of the crossing urging you to mark 10 out of 10?

 

We didn't really watch Brian's TV show so didn't hear the speech about marking 10/10!! There seemed to be the same 2 or 3 entertainment staff doing the various quizzes and karaoke. One guy stands out most and that was a guy called Zak who left the ship in New York on the 8th October. Such a shame. He was always dashing around like a little whippet!!!!! To be honest Brian was seen at the cocktail parties and used to do a lot of the tannoy announcements. Apart from that we didn't see him that much.

 

Elaine

[elaine61]

Elaine,

 

Thanks very much for posting your thoughts - a very comprehensive review. I'm glad you all enjoyed your trip. I recognised some of the service short comings you mentioned from my times on Cunard. The Purser's Office has ever been unfailingly unhelpful - even on such a super ship as Caronia - their job seemed to be to fob responsibility off onto some one else, rather than fixing issues - unlike RCI for example. I wonder if the other issues are a result of the 'White Star Service' initiative not sticking - an organisational 'this too shall pass' to organization change....or a few people having 'off days'?

 

I found the food a smidgen better than RCI or Princess - but clearly mass catering - and very close. I also much prefer the QE2's silver service - with plated meals they never put enough veg on the plate for my taste - but then I suspect some accountant has counted up all the left veg and decided not to put them there in the first place.....

 

I agree that to market the QM2 as 5* vs Oriana at 4* is probably misleading, certainly in Britannia - the ship is undoubtedly magnificent - but how you deliver superlative service to 2600 people is possibly beyond the wit of man....and certainly currently beyond the wit of Cunard.

 

I'm back on the QE2 in January so I will pay attention to service/upkeep and see how the old girl is faring....treating myself to Caronia, vs usual ~(perfectly acceptable) Mauretania....

 

Have you been on ARCADIA? I'd be interested in what people who have sailed on Cunard think of the might have been 'QUEEN VICTORIA'.

 

Peter

 

Hi Peter

 

Thanks for replying.

 

We found a plaque on the wall by the atrium lifts about the white star service and what to expect. I wish I'd taken a picture of it now to remember what it said word for word as I'm sure at times they didn't stick to the committments it stated!!!!!

 

I have to admit to not being a big fan of the plated meals. I much prefer to have my vegetables offered to me. I don't really have potatoes and would much rather have a plate of green vegetables. To be fair on a couple of occasions the waiters brought a plate of extra vegetables for me and served them to me.

 

You are right the ship is magnificent. I don't think there are any arguments about that. As I said the only place I didn't really like was the Queens room. Can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with this room but it just did nothing for me. I also thought it was a bit strange that you had to go through here to get to the nightclub!! Do you think this was a design fault???

 

I hope you enjoy your time on board QE2. Are you doing her world cruise??? She is getting on a bit nowadays isn't she?? Well have a nice time on board and do come back and tell us how she is fairing.

 

I have been on Arcadia, but only to look around just before she was launched. We were quite impressed with her and immediately came off and booked for next July. So I have her to look forward to. I have heard differing reports. Some like her and some don't.

 

Elaine

[elaine61]

Elaine

Thank you for this really informative post. I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed the trip. We had a wonderful time crossing from New York to S'ton in May and it made me feel like I was back on board!

We ate by a window in the Princess Grill and never felt that anyone walking by outside was looking in. The food was more or less the same offered in the Britannia ( a few more choices) but the level of service offered was truly outstanding - much better than Radisson who seem to be winning all the plaudits at the moment!

Taking the time to produce such an in depth report is a big undertaking - I'm sure that you have given pleasure to a lot of people!

Mick

 

Hi Mick

 

Probably in the evenings when passengers were dining people just didn't look in. Being in Britannia the closest we got to anyone looking in were the flying fish ;) !!!!! I actually thought that the Britannia restaurant was very elegant. I enjoyed dining in there. I'm glad my report made you feel like you were back on board.

 

Elaine

[LuAnn]

Elaine...Thank you for the very in-depth review! As you know, we were on the same cruise (Fall Colors) as you...what a pleasure it was to meet you and Tom and what an added benefit that you have taken the time and effort to tell everyone the plus and minus of that cruise! I agree with you that there are certain areas which need improvement (tours, immigration, cards that don't work :( etc) but I am also so happy that your ultimate experience was postitive!!! It was certainly one of our best cruises over...because of the ports and the people we met (both on the ship and in port) and the beauty of the ship...I think, IMO, that since they don't normally do "excursions" that they do need a lot of practice in this area...and Brian, the CD, coming on every day to say how sorry he was, didn't really help much! Let's keep the Cunard "mistique" alive and try again, shall we?

[dtwtraveler]

Because the food is already plated when it comes to the table I had to rule out certain dishes as I didn’t like what it came with.

 

Thanks for posting your travel diary! I've really enjoyed it, and added sections of it to my ongoing Word document on information posted on these threads on the QM2. I'm glad to hear that you were able to have extra vegetables! I hope that the QM2 will be as accomodating as the QE2. My husband always asked for and received extra vegetables, and usually didn't want the starch. And, as I said on another thread, we had salmon every evening during our transatlantic crossing! A few times I ordered two different appetizers, because I wasn't enamored with some of the items on the various plates. One of our tablemates was a quasi-vegetarian, so he was always ordering items from the various plates to be served as his dinner. Starting on the third evening, the waiter suggested different items that he thought our tablemate might enjoy.

 

Because of my grandfather's experiences on the QE1 and QE2, my husband and I were comfortable asking for variations and items not on the menu. It was fun seeing how adaptable the servers and the kitchen were when we asked for something that wasn't served that evening but was available on other evenings. However, we knew that we had to ask for these items when we first placed our orders and not later into the meal!

[AlbanyWA]

Thank you Elaine for your posting. Lots of interesting comments - which have all been useful - on Sunday our family start the journey to arrive in NYC in time for the 1st November crossing - looking forward to it and feel pretty relaxed about our expectations. My first time on the sea for over 30 years - last time was on the Cunard Ambassador in the Carribean -and those with a long memory may remember how that ended !

[elaine61]

Thank you Elaine for your posting. Lots of interesting comments - which have all been useful - on Sunday our family start the journey to arrive in NYC in time for the 1st November crossing - looking forward to it and feel pretty relaxed about our expectations. My first time on the sea for over 30 years - last time was on the Cunard Ambassador in the Carribean -and those with a long memory may remember how that ended !

 

I hope you have a safe journey over to NYC and a reletatively calm crossing. Look forward to hearing your views on your return!!

 

Elaine

[guernseyguy]

I also thought it was a bit strange that you had to go through here to get to the nightclub!! Do you think this was a design fault??? I hope you enjoy your time on board QE2. Are you doing her world cruise??? She is getting on a bit nowadays isn't she??

 

Funnily enough the Queen's Room was the first place I went 'wow' in on the QM2! I don't really think access to G32 is a design fault - I'm not ashamed to walk through the Queens Room en route to the disco!

 

I'm only doing the QE2's Trans Atlantic - its probably her last crossing to Manhattan as they are moving to Brooklyn in April 2006 - and by the time they get the West side piers sorted out the QE2 will be long gone....yes, the QE2 is old, but she probably only has one peer for crossing the Atlantic....and she's like an old shoe - familiar and comfy!

 

Peter

[nitnyleo]

Happy to hear that you enyoyed (for the most part) your voyages.

 

I have 10 days to go and am anxiously awaiting for Wilma to clear out and for the pond to settle down for a smooth sailing.

 

Thanks again!

[elaine61]

Funnily enough the Queen's Room was the first place I went 'wow' in on the QM2! I don't really think access to G32 is a design fault - I'm not ashamed to walk through the Queens Room en route to the disco!

 

I'm only doing the QE2's Trans Atlantic - its probably her last crossing to Manhattan as they are moving to Brooklyn in April 2006 - and by the time they get the West side piers sorted out the QE2 will be long gone....yes, the QE2 is old, but she probably only has one peer for crossing the Atlantic....and she's like an old shoe - familiar and comfy!

 

Peter

 

I didn't mean it was a design fault exactly Peter. Whenever we came out of G32 the guys were in the room cleaning. It was a long way back to the cabin in the early hours for us from G32. I actually loved G32 and thought it is the best disco we have been in on a ship. I loved the two storey aspect of it (being a people watcher it was great to look down and watch all that was going on).

 

QE2 is one of the great old liners that has lovely flowing lines in my opinion. We enjoyed our cruise on her a few years ago. Have a great time anyway.

 

I wonder what will happen to QE2 when the time comes for her to be retired off. It was heartbreaking to see Canberra washed up on an Indian beach all rusty and being dismantled bit by bit. IMO both QE2 and Canberra are the grand old ships of the seas that will always be remembered.

 

Elaine

[elaine61]

Happy to hear that you enyoyed (for the most part) your voyages.

 

I have 10 days to go and am anxiously awaiting for Wilma to clear out and for the pond to settle down for a smooth sailing.

 

Thanks again!

 

I hope you have a smooth crossing. One thing is for sure (IMO), QM2 handles the atlantic very well. And we did have some rough weather at times over the course of our trips. Anyway, enjoy and do come back and give us your opinions on QM2.

 

Elaine