Queen Elizabeth

[jgd3rdbcfd]

My wife and I just returned from a TA on QM2.  We sailed her before and were very disappointed in food, service in dinning room, and entertainment.  We sailed QE several years ago and really enjoyed the experience.  We are looking any in put on the QE for an August cruise to Alaska before we book.

[NancyDrew1953]

I just disembarked the QE on May 26 in Tokyo, having spent the past almost three weeks aboard her in Japan, with two stops in South Korea and one in Taiwan. I loved the food, the entertainment, and the service was outstanding from my perspective.  However, if you were disappointed in the QM2, then you may not be happy on the QE as the menus are basically the same and the entertainment is very similar.  For example, the production shows in the theater are the same on all of the Queens, except the new QA.  Likewise, many of the other entertainers had previously performed on other Cunard ships.  In Japan, we had a couple of unique entertainers since the demographics were predominantly native Japanese speakers.  As a result, for example, we had a Polish violinist (who was superb) and who was extremely fluent in both Japanese and English and several other languages.  But, most of the music, speakers, dancing, etc., were very similar to my QM2 experiences last year.
 

This was my first time on the QE, having mostly done the TA crossings on the QM2.  With the exception of ship design,  I found the QE and QM2 experiences to be almost identical — in my view, wonderful.  I dined in the Club this cruise and found the service impeccable as always. From discussions with other passengers, service in the MDR was great except for the normal first night typical passenger confusion.  Maybe some of the service issues you experienced on the QM2 was due to transferring the more experienced staff to the QA.  The QE had not lost many staff to the QA during the Asia segment, but several I talked with were going over to the QA later on.  I think that Cunard is attempting to spread the more experienced crew members from the three Queens over the now four Queens.

 

I loved my experience on the QE so much I’m now booked for another QE cruise this fall.  However, if you were not happy on the QM2, I’m not certain that you would be any happier on the QE. 

[jgd3rdbcfd]

Nancy,  thank you for your help.  Greg

[ClipperinSFO]

We also completed a Japan cruise on QE last month.  Loved the ship and the food, but we were in Grills so that may have skewed our view.  We have crossed several times over the years in QM2 Grills and found the food on QE almost identical.

 

I will say, however, it was a struggle to get a decent (gin) martini on QE.  You could go to any bar on QM2 and they were consistently perfect with minimal fuss and direction.  

 

If you were disappointed with QM2, I am not sure QE would change your opinion much. 

 

[david,Mississauga]

Having been on many voyages of the QM2 and four on the QE I would agree with others that there is a similarity in terms of food and entertainment. We have travelled in all four restaurant "classes". 

 

There are some aspects of the QE that I find superior: the grand lobby is much grander than the one on the QM2, the Commodore Club appears bigger and is better laid-out, the two-story library is more elegant (although smaller) and the Royal Court Theatre is a traditional theatre.

 

If you are splurging on the Grills, we have found the QE to be much better in terms of the location of the restaurants and larger deck space. Because of their shape, the PG cabins are not as popular as those on the QM2 in the opinions of most people, but at least they are all midships. Even the cheapest QG suites have a separate shower which is helpful to those who have difficulty climbing into a tub.

 

I'm not going to say my wife and I prefer the QE overall but we are very fond of it and are returning in July for yet another Alaska cruise - our fourth on this fine ship.  You have probably noticed that the fares for this Alaska season have tumbled considerably.  We have booked QG for the 10-night cruise for a little  more than we are paying next year for the Club on a seven-night QM2 crossing.  

[NE John]

6 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

You have probably noticed that the fares for this Alaska season have tumbled considerably. 

Why do you think the fares have tumbled down so much? I’m in pleasant shock with this trend of higher cabin grade at lower price since my I initial booking in Oct 2023. 

[david,Mississauga]

My theory is there are too many ships going to Alaska.  There is lots of space available in all categories except inside cabins on my QE cruise.  When I last looked PG was almost empty and there were 27 Q3s and Q4s.

 

For medical insurance reasons I could not book our cruise until recently and I'm glad we had to do that. Even though we don't get the perks that were offered for early booking, we saved Can.$5,000 on our QG suite. 

 

But it is not just cruises from Vancouver that are being discounted.  Although we have not been on Holland-America for nine years I get a brochure in the post every week and an e-mail almost every day offering discounts on many cruises. Alaska cruises seem to be the most discounted, and that is for cruises from Seattle as well as Vancouver.  We have never been on Princess but get an offer a least once a week for discounts, with Alaska cruises from Seattle and Vancouver being the most discounted.  

[NE John]

10 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

My theory is there are too many ships going to Alaska.  There is lots of space available in all categories except inside cabins on my QE cruise.  When I last looked PG was almost empty and there were 27 Q3s and Q4s.

 

For medical insurance reasons I could not book our cruise until recently and I'm glad we had to do that. Even though we don't get the perks that were offered for early booking, we saved Can.$5,000 on our QG suite. 

 

But it is not just cruises from Vancouver that are being discounted.  Although we have not been on Holland-America for nine years I get a brochure in the post every week and an e-mail almost every day offering discounts on many cruises. Alaska cruises seem to be the most discounted, and that is for cruises from Seattle as well as Vancouver.  We have never been on Princess but get an offer a least once a week for discounts, with Alaska cruises from Seattle and Vancouver being the most discounted.  

Our June 21 voyage finally is sold out now, even though I can still bib for upgrades. As we know, that upgrade process is a mystery. 

 

 

Edited May 27 by NE John

[Wedgie Wedgie]

11 hours ago, NE John said:

Our June 21 voyage finally is sold out now, even though I can still bib for upgrades. As we know, that upgrade process is a mystery. 

 

 

We're on the same sail. If it's sold out how can there be available upgrades?

[NE John]

2 minutes ago, Wedgie Wedgie said:

We're on the same sail. If it's sold out how can there be available upgrades?

Yes, a mystery indeed…I’m happy with our first time in QG so I’ll leave it at that level. 

Edited May 28 by NE John

[david,Mississauga]

13 hours ago, NE John said:

Our June 21 voyage finally is sold out now, even though I can still bib for upgrades. As we know, that upgrade process is a mystery. 

 

 

 

I have noticed that three early Alaska cruises are now showing as sold out. Recently these had ample accommodations available.  

 

There is still plenty of availability on the cruise I am taking: 22 July.  The fares, except for the Grills, have increased a little in the past few days.  Pricing is a great mystery, but so it is for air and even train travel - at least in Canada.

[Winifred 22]

4 hours ago, Wedgie Wedgie said:

We're on the same sail. If it's sold out how can there be available upgrades?

Upgrades are handled by a third party.  They are just hedging their bets in case their are any cancellations. Just because you are offered a chance to bid for an upgrade it doesn’t necessarily mean you will be offered one or there are any available cabins. Similarly there will be folk waitlisted for sold out voyages who hope to be offered something.