Fashion on the QM2

[Happy ks]

I have to say I was delighted in the clothing worn on QM2, both day and night.

 

I would not allow my husband to board in jeans, not that I have total control over him, he does dress himself! But, he asked and I said it was inappropriate. We did see some jeans, none sloppy, but they were definitely in the minority. We did see one group of perhaps 8 people (4 couples) entering the dining room the first evening in jeans, you could tell they had been wearing them all day. They were definitely in the minority.

 

Boarding was a fiasco, the computers were down after the first 400 or so people were processed. It took 3 hours once we arrived at port until we were allowed to board and, we were some of the first people on. I saw many lovely ladies, dressed to the nines, sitting on the floor of the terminal.

 

I ended up taking clothes that would have been way too dressy for any other line for casual nights and I'm glad I did. I've never seen so many people in cocktail dresses, dressy pants suits, men with sportscoats, many with ties on both casual evening. Formal night was what you envision when the wording "formal night" is written on the daily sheet. There was a sea of gowns and tuxes, beautiful jewelry, beautiful hair. Just a smattering of people underdressed, not enough to really notice. We had breakfast with a couple who did say they were following a couple who were denied entrance to the dining room for the formal dinner, as they were in jeans. They said the Maitre d' was very respectful to them, explained the dining room was formal that evening and would be happy to seat them when they returned in more appropriate attire.

 

I hardly saw any baseball caps, jeans, too tight souvenir T-shirts during the day, it was as if people were dressed for a luxury vacation.

 

We met a lot of very nice, friendly people. Many of whom were very well travelled, most of them from So. Cal. A lot of very fit, trim folks, I don't go to the gym, preferring to walk on deck, but my husband said the gym was packed all the time.

 

Service was on par with other major cruiselines, pretty much like what we've gotten on Royal Caribbean, not quite so good as Celebrity. For the price, we did expect a little more "white glove" treatment, but we're easy to please, although quite a few complaints were heard around the ship.

 

Jane, if you're reading this, we met several couples who have cruised with Oceania and give it the thumbs up over even the more luxurious lines.

 

All in all, we had a very pleasant experience. While I would not be crazy for the idea of cruising on this large a ship again, my husband loved it. We'll have to talk about this a little more seriously again in a few years. We had breakfast with some Cunard execs, who told us the Queen Victoria is going to be smaller than this vessel, so that's a thought!

[Lois R]

:) Hi Kathy, welcome back! Glad you had a nice time and brought

the right clothes too:D ;)

 

Well, I just sailed a couple of weeks ago.....but found a Happy Hour

price on Zenith for April:D too good not to go!

 

Great to see you again:)

[MrsMoose2001]

Welcome home HappyKS.

 

I am so happy to hear you had a great time.

 

That is awful about the boarding, but I am glad that it did no ruin your time and trip and anniversary and that you had brought the right clothing to feel comfortable and appropriately attired.

 

Just happy you are back, I missed you and I look forward to hearing more if you have more stuff to tell us.

[Happy ks]

I'm making up a new packing list for our next little cruise in May. This one is on NCL Star and is a 3-night repo, so we know we won't be needing to dress as formally. I packed in a carry on and garment bag, but had to put DH in a full sized suitcase. He didn't come close to wearing everything he packed, but to be fair, I had a couple items I didn't end up wearing, either. We both took jackets that were never worn, the good thing was the weather was nicer than expected.

 

After packing my new satin pants, I regret I did not wear them. Instead, I wore them with my Chico's knit pants and they looked fine. If I'd worn the top on formal night, though, I would have worn the satin. Oh well, we have a Christmas cruise at the end of the year, so I'll save them for that!

 

I took along a new short sleeved white t-shirt (from Travelsmith) and one of those Tide pens and loved it! I'll pack like this forever now, since you really only wear an item of clothing on a cruise for a few short hours. The t-shirt can also be rinsed in the sink and dries overnight. Layered with a jacket and jeans or knit pants, it's great. I've yet to try the pen on colors, but the one little spot I got on the "t" at lunch time came right out.

 

Another nice thing about this ship was the absence of the smell of cigarette smoke, we only noticed it in smoking areas and, of course, the casino.

[Jane110]

Welcome back! Glad you had great time!

 

Too bad about the boarding glitch. I hope they handled it with class and handed out some complimentary wine and juices to those sitting at the pier.

 

Does the QM2 have the same "caste" system that the Q ships have? That is, you dine according to your cabin class? I've avoided those ships because of that. We don't take the top penthouse suites and I'd feel like I was being treated like a 2nd class citizen if I couldn't dine where I wanted because I "only" have a balcony.

 

Glad to hear the Maitre'D turned away the underdressed. Kudos to them!

 

Interesting what people said about Oceania. I've heard that lines like Radisson and Silversea are much better, but then they're also much pricier. BTW, if smoke bothers you, Oceania is a great line as there are only two spots on the ship where people can smoke and pax are not allowed to smoke in their cabins or on their balconies.

 

Welcome home and Happy Anniversay!

 

Jane

[Happy ks]

Thank you, all.

 

Jane, they do have the Queens Grill and Princess Grill dining rooms, for those in suites, but it did not affect us in any way, just a different dining room. The main dining room is lovely, we took almost every meal there with the exception of embarkation lunch and the specialty restaurant. I had no feeling of being a lower class citizen than anyone else onboard. Of course, I didn't venture into the Queen/Princess area during dining times, I had no reason to. Our muster station was in the Queens dining room, it was nice, but nothing special. I would think there would be better food/service in those rooms, but for the price, you would hope so.

 

We did have lunch in the Todd English restaurant, it was very nice, beautiful presentation and service. The restaurant was booked to capacity by the time we went there, so we put in a request for anytime. The very next day, we had a notice that we had a 1:30 pm lunch ressie,

perfect, as we had late dining time.

 

I'm glad this wasn't our first cruise experience and we know what to expect when it comes to dining. Looking at prices for this ship, I feel it is way out of line in comparison, as it is typical of other lines.

 

The couples I spoke with about Oceania were interesting. One couple had just gotten off an Oceania Asian cruise, returned, picked up their bags (same day) and came to board QM2, home for Sunday and heading out on Monday for Rio, I think, for another Oceania cruise. They were obviously well healed and retired, a very delightful couple, we could have spent the whole day with them. The other people were happier with Oceania, because they liked the crew and said the pax were friendlier. We did have dinner with a couple who had just recently sailed Silver Sea and said their socks were blown off. Everyone has their likes and dislikes.

 

All in all, I think I'm not one for this large a ship. We had a hard time getting our bearings and got lost or had to use the ships map all the time. Even the last day, we had a hard time finding our way to our disembarkment waiting area. Too many times the stairs/elevators didn't go where you thought they would, the decks were chopped up a bit. There were half levels and areas where, according to the diagram, you would be able to get to a destination, only to find out you were on the back side of where you wanted to be. Clear as mud, but we did enjoy the exploration and travel. Sometimes you get a pleasant surprise when you get lost!

[LandLockedInAZ]

So glad to hear you had a wonderful time, Kathy! I believe we'll be sailing this ship in summer '07 returning from Europe, so I enjoyed reading your observations.

Quite interesting how the pax were so well dressed for such a short cruise. I guess the QM2 just demands this level.