HAL vs CUNARD

[NorthernNeighbour]

We took the MS-AMSTERDAM eastbound early in May (transatlantic) and are now on the QM2 headed westbound back to New York.

 

I cannot help comparing CUNARD to HAL (and vice versa) although when I boarded I had no intention of doing so.

 

The good news is that the beds are more comfortable and the food in the main dining room better on CUNARD. Almost everything else is better on HAL -- better entertainment, better shipboard activities, HAL ship was cleaner (although the QM2 is clean), better staff attitudes, better cabin layout and better cabin bathrooms. In addition, parts of the QM2 decor can only be described as tacky -- which CUNARD can get away with by living off their past reputation.

 

 

[Grumpy1]

Very interesting comparisons. Considering that most people consider the HAL beds to be about the most comfortable in the world, the QM2 beds must be an absolute dream. Or could it be that they are actually the same bed, but those on the Amsterdam are starting to wear down a bit with age.

[NorthernNeighbour]

Very interesting comparisons. Considering that most people consider the HAL beds to be about the most comfortable in the world, the QM2 beds must be an absolute dream. Or could it be that they are actually the same bed, but those on the Amsterdam are starting to wear down a bit with age.

 

Perhaps you are correct now that I think about it. But what I can say is that both my wife and I noticed immediately how much more comfortable the beds were on CUNARD than on HAL. Not only the quality of the bed but the quality of the bed linen.

 

I forgot to mention that the lectures on CUNARD (arranged by Oxford University) are also very good -- but quite anglo-centric. The Europeans on-board who are not English have nothing designed for them -- and there are hundreds of them on-board.

 

Just returned from breakfast where the food was very good -- but the service was awful.

[Lurker1]

We took the MS-AMSTERDAM eastbound early in May (transatlantic) and are now on the QM2 headed westbound back to New York.

 

I cannot help comparing CUNARD to HAL (and vice versa) although when I boarded I had no intention of doing so.

 

The good news is that the beds are more comfortable and the food in the main dining room better on CUNARD. Almost everything else is better on HAL -- better entertainment, better shipboard activities, HAL ship was cleaner (although the QM2 is clean), better staff attitudes, better cabin layout and better cabin bathrooms. In addition, parts of the QM2 decor can only be described as tacky -- which CUNARD can get away with by living off their past reputation.

 

 

My best comparison is the QM2 (last year) and the O-dam (this year).

 

Both ships are beautiful, but I was more comfortable with the size of the O-dam. The food and the entertainment were about equal overall. The Lido for lunch and breakfast on the O-dam is a much better set-up than the King's Court, but the special venues at night in the King's Court were very good (we tried the Asian Fusion). The beds were better on the O-dam, but QM2 was bedding was better than our first HAL cruise on the Statendam (before the SOE upgrades).

 

What the QM2 has is that wonderful history of cruising and ocean liners on the walls in the various hallways, etc. What the O-dam has is one of the best crews in the industry. In gnereal, I've found HAL service is always consistentently very good to excellent, on the QM2 it varied from excellent to passable.

[MacD]

What I do find rather strange is that the very fact that both the respective Companies being CCL (Carnival Corporation subsidiaries) why would one wish to compare? Surely they are aiming at different market sectors!!! HAL an upscale Cruise Line & Cunard a transatlantic passenger style market!!!

[NorthernNeighbour]

What I do find rather strange is that the very fact that both the respective Companies being CCL (Carnival Corporation subsidiaries) why would one wish to compare? Surely they are aiming at different market sectors!!! HAL an upscale Cruise Line & Cunard a transatlantic passenger style market!!!

 

My comparison notes are not based on things aimed at different market sectors. Rather, I concentrated on HOW they executed during the cruise not the types of things they do. The reason for wishing to compare is I am preparing an article (as a writer) for a publication. Anyway, it will be some days before I revert to my notes and start writing, since I have other fish to fry at the moment.

[bepsf]

What I do find rather strange is that the very fact that both the respective Companies being CCL (Carnival Corporation subsidiaries) why would one wish to compare? Surely they are aiming at different market sectors!!! HAL an upscale Cruise Line & Cunard a transatlantic passenger style market!!!

 

Why not compare the two?

HAL does Transatlantics and Cunard have Caribbean itineraries - and both have World Cruises. I met quite a number of folks on Noordam who have sailed w/ Cunard in the past and seemed to enjoy both for different reasons.

I find the comparison very useful, as friends have asked me to consider booking w/ them on Cunard - it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility, and our time on HAL counts towards status/perks on Cunard.

Thanks for taking the time to post here NN and Lurker!

[zaandam_2]

I like the comparison as well. While I have no plans to sail on QM2, I will be sailing on the QE2 someday.

[kryos]

My comparison notes are not based on things aimed at different market sectors. Rather, I concentrated on HOW they executed during the cruise not the types of things they do. The reason for wishing to compare is I am preparing an article (as a writer) for a publication. Anyway, it will be some days before I revert to my notes and start writing, since I have other fish to fry at the moment.

I'd be very interested in reading your article and seeing your posts here on the subject.

 

I am doing something similar to you next April. I will be taking the Veendam from Tampa to Venice, and then the QE2 back to New York. I'm finding these comparisons very interesting.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[NorthernNeighbour]

As promised, I have gone through my notes of the two transatlantic cruises we recently took, the first one being eastbound on the MS-AMSTERDAM (voyage of 9 May 2006) and the second one being westbound on the QM2 (voyage of 29 May 2006). So here goes!

 

I have chosen to do a comparison and contrast of the ways in which the two lines (owned by the same parent company) execute things that all cruise lines should perform well. However, since CUNARD has always styled itself as the finest afloat (or words similar), I hold them to a slightly higher standard when critiquing their service that might otherwise be the case. I do realise that the two lines cater to different market segments, so I have tried to avoid where possible what they do and concentrate on how they do what they choose to do. However, in some cases, I will comment on what CUNARD does (and not how they do it) for reasons which I will explain.

 

It seems appropriate to start at the beginning so I will go through the CUNARD cruise just finished and compare/contrast it with the previous cruise of three weeks earlier on HAL.

 

The embarkation for CUNARD was slower and busier which is perhaps understandable since the QM2 is a larger ship. Both lines gave us a 1 PM embarkation time. HAL made it clear that we could come earlier (from 11:30 AM) and wait in the lounge to embark. CUNARD implied that if we showed up earlier we might be sent away and refused check-in. However, we found -- upon arriving at CUNARD at 1 PM -- that most passengers had ignored their appointed check-in time and had, in fact, arrived early. The check-in lines were long but not unpleasant for the “steerage” booking we had made. Lines were very short for the Grill passengers and, to CUNARD’s credit, they did direct lower class bookings to the Grill check-ins when they were unoccupied.

 

Both HAL and CUNARD holding lounges were fine -- we did not wait an inordinate amount of time. However, both lines could improve the embarkation greatly if they would provide a separate queue for passengers who do NOT want to be photographed. One of the great annoyances on any cruise is being pestered by photographers that you do not wish to have anything to do with. To HAL’s credit, once onboard, the photographers were much less pesky. The CUNARD photographers do not understand the word NO from any passenger not travelling in first class. (Yes, I know CUNARD calls these GRILL passengers -- it’s still first or cabin class and BRITTANIA is still third class. It‘s just not desirable for marketing people to call anything third class.)

 

CUNARD gets hands-down the best marks for their muster procedure in terms of comfort. Passengers are directed to the Promenade Deck where they have a seat (indoors but close to the muster stations) and go through listening to how to put on the vests and what to do. HAL does it the old-fashioned way by having everyone stand up on deck until the last passenger arrives for muster. Not a problem for anyone not of a “certain age” but on these voyages almost all the passengers were not young and many could not stand for extended lengths of time due to bad knees or other assorted ailments. On HAL, one passenger obviously thought it fashionable to show up late for the drill -- she made an “entrance” as late as possible and paraded herself down the line to find a place. (Tacky but not HAL’s fault.) HAL does give somewhat better explanations of the lifeboat boarding procedures should there be an emergency. The CUNARD attitude is more “we are unsinkable”. I seem to recall they said that about the TITANIC or so my Grandfather told me.

 

The cabin layout onboard the MS-AMSTERDAM is superior to the QM2 for the similar cabins we booked (mid-ship on lowest deck in order to give best stability and value for money). On the MS-AMSTERDAM we had a full bath with cupboards on the wall to the side of the mirror. On the QM2, only a shower with cupboards under the sink -- not a problem unless you are an older passenger who has difficulty bending over. The HAL cupboards were definitely more convenient. The HAL bathrooms were spotless -- you have never seen anything so clean. The CUNARD bathrooms, while not dirty, were just not as clean as the HAL ones. Evidence of stains (not dirty, just unsightly) were present. But in the bedroom area, there were electric sockets on the QM2 that were dirty and obviously had not been cleaned -- the dirt having come from passengers repeatedly plugging and unplugging the hair dryers.

 

As for the staterooms themselves, we much preferred the HAL layout. Beds were closer to the windows and couch closer to the door -- much better for getting room service and looking out at the sea from your bed. More drawer space on HAL than on the QM2. And HAL had a nice curtain near the bathroom that could be used to close off the bath and cupboard area. This was very good for two reasons: we closed the curtain at night so that if one of us got up to go the bathroom or got up early to dress and go to breakfast, the other passenger could sleep better. Quite important for us since my wife is a light sleeper. Also, we authorized the cabin steward to enter our cabin every morning to leave the newspapers just inside the door (since another passenger had stolen ours the first few days). He was able to enter the cabin and leave the newspapers without seeing us in bed since the modesty curtain was drawn.

 

CUNARD gets the prize for the quality and comfort of their beds, particularly for the fine bed linens used (even for “steerage” passengers such as us).

 

As for the TV/Radio reception, HAL was slightly more convenient. We could control the TV/Radio from the bed better. Also, HAL lets you dial a certain radio channel to hear all shipboard announcements, if you wish. While I believe CUNARD also has this option, we could never figure out how to get it to work and our cabin steward was unsure.

 

The stability of the QM2 due to its sheer size is understandably better than for a smaller ship such as the MS-AMSTERDAM (although she is not really a small ship).

 

We found the design of the MS-AMSTERDAM more attractive than the QM2 as far as the public spaces go. Perhaps due to her being built in Italy (although I do not know if the interior designer was Italian), she has the feel of one of the classic Italian transatlantic liners but updated with more modern amenities and, of course, high tech goodies. Her design is not staid but also is not tacky. And clean, clean, clean everywhere like you have never seen. The Dutch officers do know how to insist on cleanliness.

 

On the other hand, the CUNARD ship public spaces are, in my view, just tacky in many respects. Lots of posters with publicity or bad photographs including glamour shots of the Hollywood stars from by-gone eras who have travelling on CUNARD. Who cares whether Marlene DIETRICH travelling onboard with 40 pieces of luggage more than 50 years ago? Or whether Cary GRANT was onboard with a society hostess and her daughter she was trying to marry off to someone rich or famous?

 

Oddly enough, however, the tacky wall posters on CUNARD worked in our favour. We could easily remember which tacky poster was on port side nearest our cabin -- so we used it as a “navigation aid” when leaving the lift on our deck in order not to go starboard when we meant to go port. Somehow, I don’t think CUNARD has this in mind when the posters were mounted, but who knows? No tacky posters or photographs onboard the HAL ship, just classic décor in very good taste.

 

For an housekeeping item -- some people just love to do laundry and ironing while on holiday (Martha STEWARD would be proud of them my wife says) -- the launderettes on CUNARD are somewhat better and are free-of-charge. On HAL, you have to trot to the Purser’s Office to get eight American quarters for the laundry. However, both lines do supply detergent and HAL only charges for washing not for drying. On board the QM2, the irons in the launderette on our deck were out of order. OK by us -- while we do wash our Pjs often, we don’t care to iron them. I found the washers on HAL are more the European type that go on for what seems like hours before finishing (reminds us of when we lived in Switzerland and had to endure long, long washing cycles with boiling hot water). CUNARD has North American style ones that can finish in 18 minutes flat -- more appropriate to travellers who probably don’t have dirty clothes from having played adult games in the mud (unless one is very kinky)!

 

The sheer size of the QM2 gave many opportunities to explore different areas of the ship on different days. Onboard the AMSTERDAM it was more likely you could see every area of the ship in one day -- even without meaning to do so. It turned out that we appreciated that CUNARD placed the Queen’s Room behind the BRITTANIA Restaurant (a more out of the way place). That way we could avoid many of the pretentious activities that CUNARD holds in the Queen’s Room -- the main one being the Ascot Ball, the very idea of which must have been thought up by some Cruise Director having a day when he or she was fresh out of ideas. Tacky in the extreme to see ladies dressed on a formal night in gaudy hats some of them hand-made for the occasion. Luckily, most women chose to put them on only after dinner just before heading out for the Ball. (We were safely locked in our cabin by then but were told by out table mates the next evening.) Apparently, not all that many ladies chose to attend with hats -- but those who did either wore serious, professionally made hats or, alternatively, very silly hats.

 

About the only thing on HAL we found similarly tacky was their Mr or Mrs. Amsterdam contest where the crew pick two passengers (not necessarily spouses) at the start of the cruise to be Mr. and Mrs. Amsterdam, the object being for the other passengers to ask everyone on-board (as a social ice-breaker?) if he or she is Mr. or Mrs. Amsterdam. We were glad to learn during the course of the cruise that few people bothered to ask. HAL should dispense with this silly custom. If it worked and everyone asked, it would very soon get to be a real pain.

 

CUNARD has somewhat more of an attitude of “CUNARD is right, the passenger is wrong” than HAL. For example, many Canadians and Europeans were on-board the QM2 and asked for Dijon-type mustard with their luncheon sandwiches. We were told in no uncertain terms (and by a chef no less) that CUNARD would only serve English mustard, never anything else. Somehow, we suspect not -- there must be a jar of Dijon onboard somewhere, the attitude was “why would you question our judgement?”, when in fact we asked quite politely.

 

When it came to ship-board lectures, CUNARD gets kudos for their Oxford series of lectures on intellectually stimulating subject matter. All the speakers were professionals. The HAL lectures, while OK, were not great -- an American giving a lecture on European affairs with only the American viewpoint. We found this both sad and amusing. Whereas the CUNARD speakers almost always concentrated in their lectures on contrasting American and European viewpoints when the occasion demanded it.

 

As for the floorshows, HAL gets the credit for having better shows. The beginning show was (in our view) about of the same quality as the closing show on CUNARD and the HAL shows kept getting better as the cruise went on. Near the end of the cruise, by which time the AMSTERDAM had made a call at a Irish port and picked up an Irish comedienne, the show where she appeared was packed to the rafters with standing-room only and she had everyone rolling in the aisles with laughter. On the QM2, by the final nights, half the seats were empty for the floorshows and with good reason. Second rate entertainers that CUNARD, of course, billed as the latest London sensations and this fooled no one. Interesting note -- one evening when a short Noel Coward play was being performed on the QM2 (not his best work and a very dated one with jokes which were only shocking in the 1920s), ¾ of the seats were empty, the reason being that someone in the crew had forgotten to take away the “theatre closed due to rehearsal” sign from the front of the theatre.

 

All in all, we found the quality of the food in the main dining room better on CUNARD than on the AMSTERDAM, which tended to vary from night to night. However, the dining room steward service was better on AMSTERDAM, while not bad on CUNARD (except for breakfast where it was truly out-of-order). However, the buffet service was better on the AMSTERDAM -- more choices, better choices, stewards to help elderly passengers with their trays and re-fresh drinks. One evening on CUNARD we choose to skip the main dining room and use La Piazza (buffet style Italian dining) -- all three courses were made with green peppers and all one could taste of course were the peppers. We were amazed that they did not put green peppers in the dessert!!! Only a bad Italian-American restaurant would serve such stuff.

 

Onboard the AMSTERDAM, we got our International Herald Tribune printed on-board every morning very early (the way we like to receive news, when it is new). On the QM2, it rarely appeared before noon. HAL was very careful to give us a courtesy two-sheet page of Canadian news everyday (since we are Canadian residents, even though I am an American). CUNARD was supposed to do the same, but never did. I personally went to the Purser’s Office to request this; they promised to supply it but never did. We wondered which part of our Canadian address or my wife’s Canadian passport CUNARD did not understand qualified us for Canadian news? But the penultimate day, I gave up even trying to obtain this.

 

CUNARD makes a big point of providing French and German interpretation of the Captain’s noonday comments. We don’t know about the quality of the German -- but the French interpretation was “out to lunch” on at least a couple of days. For example, on the day when the Captain spoke in English to report we were south of Newfoundland (which even though he is British he pronounced as New Found Land, not as one word as any Canadian or Brit should know), the French interpreter placed us south of Nova Scotia (for which she did not even know that Nova Scotia in French is NOT Nova Scotia, but Nouvelle Ecosse as anyone could tell from just bothering to look at a bi-lingual Canadian map). Not to make too big a point of it, but if the Captain had been making a very serious safety announcement and the interpreter got it wrong -- this could lead to something tragic!

 

We were surprised at how limited the wine list was onboard the QM2. While they obviously have the largest wine cellar at sea, they do not have the most extensive list. The AMSTERDAM list was more than twice as long as the QM2 list -- and we never ordered a wine on the AMSTERDAM that was not available. Onboard the QM2, several selections were out-of-stock. However, the QM2 prices are more reasonable than the AMSTERDAM, significantly less for wines of comparable quality.

 

The Parade of Chefs onboard the QM2 left a distinctly bad taste (pun is intended) in a significant portion of the diners on-board. Not a single female chef among the parade -- this was much commented upon by the women on-board, many of whom declined to applaud. All the women at our table of eight noticed it immediately when 87 men entered in the chefs parade. I was told later that the QM2 does have one female chef (in pastry) but she as absent that night. Onboard the AMSTERDAM, while there were not any chefs parades, we did see several female chefs in evidence onboard (definitely more than the token one that CUNARD has).

 

One very unpleasant thing happened to my wife onboard the QM2 -- which we suppose could happen on any ship. On the penultimate morning at breakfast, she found a piece of broken glass at the bottom of her orange juice (not broken from the glass she used, a piece from a different glass). She had it in her mouth and assumed it was a piece of ice, until she luckily realised it was not before swallowing it. We reported it immediately to the chief steward and included this bit of unwelcome news on our shipboard critique.

 

All in all, we enjoyed the AMSTERDAM experience more than the QM2 one. While we do not regret having sailed on the QM2, we are not sure we would do a repeat voyage for a number of small reasons, nothing really bad (except for the broken glass, which could have been very ugly had my wife swallowed it). It seems to us that CUNARD raises your expectations of what to expect then fails to deliver in several respects. HAL is careful not to raise your expectations, then proceeds to exceed them. While both lines are owned by the same corporate entity, there are obviously different management styles and it shows.

 

I have some other items in my notes of differences I did not care for -- but they mostly relate to the CUNARD ship being somewhat class-ridden (a throwback to its British heritage) whereas the AMSTERDAM is more equalitarian. The Dutch officers were not anywhere near as “stuffy” as the British ones and were a delight. One of the ship’s officers on the QM2 told us he was a South African citizen born in South Africa but he “really was not South African”. Which part of being born in South Africa does not make you South African? We all know what he meant but did not exactly say. And we all know why he left South Africa!

 

One British Lady (while dining in the King’s Court as an alternative to the Queens Grill, who knows why?) had the nerve to insult my wife to her face about her Canadian accent in French (my wife has perfect grammar but does speak with a Canadian accent). This was a bit too much coming from a Brit -- I pointed out to her that it was not unusual to find a lot of Brits who do not speak with “received pronunciation”. (Would she have the nerve to criticize them to their face? Perhaps or maybe she only insults people who are not British.) Not really the fault of CUNARD (her attitude) but it does show the type of clientele CUNARD attracts. We never found anyone on HAL who was condescending, either among the passengers or the crew.

 

Needless to say, all of the above writings are my personal views -- others, I feel sure, would be perfectly at ease with things we were want with which to find fault.

[RuthC]

I remember now why I vowed I would never sail Cunard again.

My second cruise was on Cunard---way back in '79. I didn't like the attitude and came home vowing never to sail them again. In more recent years I've felt that perhaps I've changed somewhat, and was maybe ready to try them again.

Guess it'll be a few more years.

Thank you for a very comprehensive report. Would you mind naming the lecturers for both lines? I've always enjoyed HAL's Flagship Forum series---found them a worthwhile way to spend an hour or so.

Also, would you say who the entertainers on HAL were.

Thanks again.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Interesting comparison.

 

I have not noticed an "attitude" on Cunard... And am very surprised to hear the British officers described as stuffy. I find that they may come off as reserved when you first meet them, but spend a little time with them and they loosen up ;) !

 

I agree in general that Cunard's marketing seems to set people up for a let-down. They style themselves as a "luxury" product and in reality this is only true for the Grill accomodations... The rest of the ship (Britannia on QM2; Caronia and Mauretania on QE2) is squarely in the "premium" (read: "upper-mass-market") segment with HAL.

 

Cunard's lecture series is wonderful - it is the one thing that stands out as way better than HAL.

 

Anyhow, they are both excellent in their own different ways and I like both a lot... But I give the edge to HAL, even though QE2 is my favorite ship! HAL's product is just that little bit more "polished". Cunard can still be a bit dodgy in places though hopefully things will continue to get better under the management of Princess. At least after 40 years of turmoil, they seem to be on a solid footing again.

[obriendan]

Thank you for your excellent review. We sailed on the QM2 on an 18 day Three Continents Cruise in 2004. I agree with most of your comparisons. Indeed, the lecture series was superb on QM2 but that’s as far as it went. Our QM2 cruise was early in her career and the service kinks had not yet been worked out. We came away feeling that luxury is inversely proportional to size! We had very long waits in the main dining room. On one evening, the appetizers did not arrive until 75 minutes after we sat down! On HAL we have always gotten much better service and the cabin steward and dining room servers are so much more pleasant!

[NorthernNeighbour]

I remember now why I vowed I would never sail Cunard again.

My second cruise was on Cunard---way back in '79. I didn't like the attitude and came home vowing never to sail them again. In more recent years I've felt that perhaps I've changed somewhat, and was maybe ready to try them again.

Guess it'll be a few more years.

 

Thank you for a very comprehensive report. Would you mind naming the lecturers for both lines? I've always enjoyed HAL's Flagship Forum series---found them a worthwhile way to spend an hour or so.

Also, would you say who the entertainers on HAL were.

Thanks again.

 

The main lecturer on this HAL cruise was the father of Elizabeth VARGAS, the newscaster, who is a retired military type from the US and had served at NATO Headquarters in Europe. I'm an expat American who lived in Europe for many years (longer than him) and found his analysis of European affairs very one-sided -- i.e., the American side.

 

On CUNARD, the two I enjoyed were Peter LEWIS, the chief fiction critic for the London Times, and Dr. Gyllis who is at Oxford University and gave an excellent lecture on differences between British and American English -- there was NOT a seat left in the theatre (standing-room only) and he got a standing ovation at the end.

 

The best entertainment onboard HAL was the Irish commedienne Geraldine DOYLE. She is great and does adult humour without being crude, which the ladies appreciated. The HAL show troop -- a bunch of young guys and gals mainly from the US mid-west -- were also first-rate and HAL (unlike CUNARD) did NOT try to bill them as being the latest sensation. They are not the latest sensation, just good solid performers who gave it their best shot -- which was a very good shot indeed when compared with the second rate performers on CUNARD.

 

The worst performer on CUNARD was a glamorous violinist (very beautiful) who -- because her violin was so heavily miked -- sounded strident. We enjoy her glamour but not her performance. Sorry I forget her name -- but they did bill her as the latest London sensation and clearly she is not. Yet they had her performing THREE times while on-board. No wonder the shows were so poorly attended.

 

The final show on CUNARD -- half empty audience -- the final show we attended on HAL, packed for both performances.

[NorthernNeighbour]

Interesting comparison.

 

I have not noticed an "attitude" on Cunard... And am very surprised to hear the British officers described as stuffy. I find that they may come off as reserved when you first meet them, but spend a little time with them and they loosen up ;) !

 

I agree in general that Cunard's marketing seems to set people up for a let-down. They style themselves as a "luxury" product and in reality this is only true for the Grill accomodations... The rest of the ship (Britannia on QM2; Caronia and Mauretania on QE2) is squarely in the "premium" (read: "upper-mass-market") segment with HAL.

 

Cunard's lecture series is wonderful - it is the one thing that stands out as way better than HAL.

 

Anyhow, they are both excellent in their own different ways and I like both a lot... But I give the edge to HAL, even though QE2 is my favorite ship! HAL's product is just that little bit more "polished". Cunard can still be a bit dodgy in places though hopefully things will continue to get better under the management of Princess. At least after 40 years of turmoil, they seem to be on a solid footing again.

 

One of our table mates was a well-to-do Bermuda resident who travels often on CUNARD and has been on both the QE2 (many times) and on the QM2. She told us also the QE2 is her favorite ship -- much easier to cruise with than the QM2, in her opinion.

 

We heard this also from other passengers. I had not been on CUNARD for 35 years so had no basis of comparison for the QM2 vs the QE2. But I have cruised serveral other lines.

[PRINSENDAM]

As promised, I have gone through my notes of the two transatlantic cruises we recently took, the first one being eastbound on the MS-AMSTERDAM (voyage of 9 May 2006) and the second one being westbound on the QM2 (voyage of 29 May 2006). So here goes!

 

.

 

 

Dear Neighbour.

 

Thank you for a very balanced review.

 

I have often wondered how the QM2 would have turned out had she been designed and built as an Atlantic liner but built (and designed) for Holland America rather than Cunard. We can only guess what things would have been arranged differently. For sure, with HAL's input and style she would be a magnificent ship. Honestly, if Cunard can run a ship on the North Atlantic during the peak months there is no reason why Holland America couldn't do it. Perhaps one day Carnival might allocate the funds for a new HAL 'liner'.... the New York to Rotterdam run ... the NIEUW AMSTERDAM!!!!!

 

Stephen

 

Stephen

[Copper10-8]

Nice review Northern Neighbor! Just curious; we've only been on one Cunard cruise and that was a 14-day Panama Cannal (FLL-LA) back in 1993 on Sagafjord. Had an excellent time although we and another couple were by far the youngest in age. What I remember was the large number of formal (read tux) or semi-formal (read jacket and tie) nights (I believe only 4 out of the 14 nights were Cunard casual) Is this still the norm on QE2 and or QM2?

[bepsf]

I have often wondered how the QM2 would have turned out had she been designed and built as an Atlantic liner but built (and designed) for Holland America rather than Cunard. We can only guess what things would have been arranged differently. For sure, with HAL's input and style she would be a magnificent ship. Honestly, if Cunard can run a ship on the North Atlantic during the peak months there is no reason why Holland America couldn't do it. Perhaps one day Carnival might allocate the funds for a new HAL 'liner'.... the New York to Rotterdam run ... the NIEUW AMSTERDAM!!!!!

 

Stephen

 

What a fascinating concept!

 

Well for one, she'd be BLUE - and she'd have two proper funnels instead of one big red lump in the center and those two skinny kitchen vents aft...

 

...a proper Magrodome on the roof, real artwork & antiques instead of Faux-memorabilia everywhere - and plenty of Dijon Mustard to go around!

:D

[Bramcruiser]

Well overall I take every review with a grain of salt because they are all based on one's personal point of reference and their own subjective tastes. I think NorthernNeighbour is honest in his review of the products known as Cunard and HAL as its known to him. I probably even agree with him on certain aspects. I simply pay little attention to review of food and entertainment because this is just too subjective and I've been known to hate things that people rave about and love things that people complain about.

 

Cunard does tend to sell itself as a luxury product as HostDoug says and I do agree that it really pertains to the Grills only. I noticed how 90% of the brochures talk about the Grill life and the pics are not of the standard passengers. Cunard might be smarter to re-tailor its advertsing based on its history and experience of being a true ocean liner company rather than a glamour product. Watched a documentary the other night and it was White Star (that Cunard eventually merged with) that was the product with the amenities while Cunard relied more on its speed rather than glamour. So does being a last surviving ocean liner company really translate to luxury? Still Cunard probably does seem comparable to HAL on many levels as they seem to attract the same type of cruisers and HAL does have its own history to fall back on. As HostDoug said they really do service the same end of the market.

 

Attitude on Cunard? Hmmm. Isn't that just a remnant of the British class system? Or simply a North American view of how open and friendly service staff is supposed to be?:) On HAL everyone raves about the friendly and attentive Indonesian staff. While I had the most fantastic cabin steward on my HAL cruise I noticed so-so dining room service and very poor service in the Crow's Nest. Still I don't think this is indicative of HAL and all its ships.

 

I guess I'll give my two cents in more detail next year. Did HAL last year and will be doing the QM2 (the Americanized British ship) in December and the QE2 (more truly British) in August 2007. However, I do think I'll be looking at each of these cruises differently especially in anticipation and expectations as I had done with my HAL trip.

 

I guess I will find out for myself how the two compare. Thanks NN for your review though.

[PRINSENDAM]

So does being a last surviving ocean liner company really translate to luxury? Still Cunard probably does seem comparable to HAL on many levels as they seem to attract the same type of cruisers and HAL does have its own history to fall back on. As HostDoug said they really do service the same end of the market.

 

.

 

 

Bramcruiser,

 

Indeed. Holland America Line is no less an 'ocean liner' company than Cunard. We should remember that HAL's great flagship and dual purpose liner ROTTERDAM was in service until just nine short years ago.

Stephen

[RuthC]

Thank you, Neighbor, for furnishing those names. Until fairly recently I didn't kow who Elizabeth Vargas was, but I do know Ralf.

I always like to get the names of the entertainers. Sometimes it brings back a fond memory; other times it gives me an idea who to be on the look-out for on my cruises.

[NorthernNeighbour]

Nice review Northern Neighbor! Just curious; we've only been on one Cunard cruise and that was a 14-day Panama Cannal (FLL-LA) back in 1993 on Sagafjord. Had an excellent time although we and another couple were by far the youngest in age. What I remember was the large number of formal (read tux) or semi-formal (read jacket and tie) nights (I believe only 4 out of the 14 nights were Cunard casual) Is this still the norm on QE2 and or QM2?

 

Yes, only the first and last nights were casual. All the other nights were formal except for one night (mid-cruise) which you call sem-formal and CUNARD calls informal (although by informal CUNARD still means jacket and tie).

 

I wore a dark suit -- not that I object to wearing a tuxedo, just did NOT have any room left in my luggage (due to airline weight restrictions for domestic UK flights to Southampton) to pack more clothes. I had to cut something out -- and the tux went.

 

We could have taken the train to Southampton from Scotland (with more luggage) but would have had to change trains -- something we wanted to avoid since my wife has a cane and I am the only one who deals with both our luggage when I cannot find a porter.

[NorthernNeighbour]

Thank you, Neighbor, for furnishing those names. Until fairly recently I didn't kow who Elizabeth Vargas was, but I do know Ralf.

I always like to get the names of the entertainers. Sometimes it brings back a fond memory; other times it gives me an idea who to be on the look-out for on my cruises.

 

Yes, Ralf VARGAS is the father of Elizabeth VARGAS. A good speaker and he honestly gives his opinions -- but from the American perspective.

 

We differ in that I like to have lectures with an European perspective, even though I am a native-born American (but an expat).

[dougnewmanatsea]

Yes, only the first and last nights were casual. All the other nights were formal except for one night (mid-cruise) which you call sem-formal and CUNARD calls informal (although by informal CUNARD still means jacket and tie).

This is the new "less formal" dress code!

 

Originally, QM2 had two casual, two informal, and two formal on a six-day crossing. The traditionalists didn't like this so they made one of the informals into a third formal.

 

Of course, this is still rather different from the traditional dress code, still practiced aboard QE2 on her occasional crossings - that is, first and last nights informal, and the other four formal.

 

QE2 has no casual nights at all, not even on cruises!