QM2 update as of 6/26 - 7/2

[londonfog]

My wife and I just had occasion to travel on the QM2 as of the above date. Having read so much about her, good and bad, I still felt we should stroll her decks.

We landed at Gatwick on June 25, raining and cold. We transferred by auto to Southampton on the 26th, no rain but cold.

Boarding was easy, but the line snaked around the rope guides as it seemed the whole ship wanted to board at once. The good thing is they had a lot of counter people and others keeping the line moving.

The luggage was taken immediately by the pier personnel and loaded onto a conveyor belt right into the ship.

We were shown immediately to the buffet area, which looked like a cafeteria in many ways, white tile walls and floors. The food was okay, standard first day lunch on a ship, mostly salad items. It was spread out so there were no jams, but the AC was spotty, so we had some seating areas that were cold and others hot; with a lot of people looking for food and seats.

Our cabin in Brittania Club was lovely, spacious, with a good shower, plenty of room, but the toilet was basically small. The areas for clothes storage was adequate, no problem.

The mattress was excellent, nice king bed. The balcony was lovely, fairly good size, but with the weather cold, nasty, rainy, foggy, it was impossible to use it all the while we were on board. The same went for all the outdoor decks, many of which were closed, if not all, during a day and a half storm. Of course, the ship is built for travel in the north atlantic, any other ship would have floundered. Of course, nobody else sails that way except the QM2 and sisters.

There is a large lounge where tea is served and a pianist plays daily. The only trouble is this is a smoking ship - ashtrays everywhere you go. So being a non-smoker, walking through the lounge the first time was horrendous. There was a beautiful smaller lounge right next to it, the Veuve Cliquot lounge, which was quite nice, but you did get some smell of smoke through the open doorway.

The Brittania Club restaurant is magnificent. The head waiter, the servers, male and female - which we had - were terrific. The food was five star, the same as Princess Grill, but we were not allowed to order caviar - no great loss. It was quiet, beautiful and very reserved, a wonderful experience.

The only other poor aspect of this ship is the fact that Internet time starts at $13. or $14. and goes up from there, and that is for half an hour.

Also, if you have an international cell phone, as I do, you cannot use it as the ship has no antenna for that. If you want to make a call, the price for the ship is $4.95 per minute versus $1.29 or $1.49 a minute privately;

talk about nickel and dime, and also adding the obligatory 15 percent to everything you want to purchase in food and beverage. I think most of the ships do it, but it leaves a bad taste when this is supposed to be luxury.

The Planetarium was closed for one or two days out of five because of the weather.

The last grouse is the fact that none of the crew, including the lowest sailor, ever said hello, nodded or anything. This also was the case in most of the shops. Not a hello, but for a sparse few. I know the shops are upper crust shops, but this is not the way for crew or shopkeepers to be on cruises; we have sailed on many ships and have never seen that. It is a hallmark of Regent ships that from the deckhands all the way to the Captains, the managers, the hotel directors - all are pleasant, noticeable and very friendly - not so this ship.

Disembarking was fairly easly and smooth. When you leave the terminal in Brooklyn, there are many cabs, private cars and buses to accommdate all very easily, and no ripoffs, even though you may think that all in New York look to rip you off - which is a complete falsehood.

Anyway, I look forward to my next trip on Regent. If you care to add or enlighten about what I said, please say hello.

[judy&steve]

Several years ago, we did a TA on Grandeur of the Seas. It was a lovely itinerary and the ship was nice, but the crossing, well not so much. It was impossible to be on our balcony most of the time and the decks were closed frequently due to high waves and winds. The crossing was so bad, that crystals from the chandeliers in the theatre fell down from the ceiling. They actually had to cancel some of the shows. On a transatlantic, shows are pretty important for those of us who tend to get bored. I don't believe I could ever do another transatlantic on any ship, including QM2.

We spent a week in the Caribbean on QM2 last year. We found the crew and staff to be more than friendly and totally accommodating. We dined in the Princess Grill and had a junior suite. We enjoyed an overabundance of storage space and an okay sized bathroom with a tub. We have been in grander accommodations, on less grand ships, but we really enjoyed our time on the ship.

Are there any smoke-free ships? I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke and never had any real problems. There are definite smoking and non-smoking areas on QM2. I would love to have a smoke-free ship, except the Paradise, which I believe was the only non-smoking ship, no longer has that distinction.

I hate the whole internet ripoff on all ships. There's no reason that internet shouldn't be part of the package, but it's a cash cow, and I, like everyone else, need to be online a lot. On past cruises, the ship's telephone was about $10/minute, but i was pleased to find the lower rate on QM2. I never used the service.

We never used the buffets, but they seemed to be attractive and functional when we passed through them. We had our first lunch in the Princess Grill. It was a pleasant surprise to find it open so early that day.

So, back to Cunard we go and back to Regent for you. It's too bad you didn't find the QM2 up to snuff.

--Judy

[patwell]

I'll echo Judy's comment that I'm sorry you didn't find QM2 up to snuff. And like Judy I also did a Caribbean last winter and never passed a crew member of any sort that didn't nod, smile and wish me a good morning Madam etc....everywhere!! Actually it was so noticible that I commented on it to others and they said the same.

 

I'll confess to getting confused in the beginning in Kings Court but we had some excellent lunches in there which surprised us. Boarding day was awful...I felt sorry for them trying to feed these hoards of people who jammed everything at one time...never saw that happen after that one day.

 

While I don't feel a need to use the internet onboard, I gather charges on other ships are comparable. I thoroughly enjoyed the email from the cabin feature and used it a good bit to stay in touch...my bill was not bad for that and I did send and receive quite a few emails. Beyond that I can't comment.

 

And like Judy, I'm back to QM2...as often as I can con my husband into it and I hope you have pleasant sailing on Regent.

 

Cheers, Penny

Penny’s Affair to Remember QM2 Review

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

 

November 10,2007...the “Affair” continues....

[QE2 fan]

Judy,

In what month did you do your crossing on the Grandeur of the Seas?

[judy&steve]

Judy,

In what month did you do your crossing on the Grandeur of the Seas?

 

It was September (2004, I believe.) We went from England to Boston. Approximate Itinerary: Hartwich, LeHavre, France, Plymouth, had to skip Cork, Ireland (big time major disappointment) due to rough seas; then on to Halifax in Canada; Portland, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts.

--Judy

[sealegs9]

 

The last grouse is the fact that none of the crew, including the lowest sailor, ever said hello, nodded or anything. This also was the case in most of the shops. Not a hello, but for a sparse few. I know the shops are upper crust shops, but this is not the way for crew or shopkeepers to be on cruises; we have sailed on many ships and have never seen that.

Hi London Fog,

I was on the voyage after you (see my extensive review in the "they're back" thread), so we had many of the same crew members aboard. I agree with you about the friendliness, or lack thereof of the crew members. We usually sail RCCL and Princess. Always have a hearty greeting from all on RCCL and a polite greeting with a smile on Princess. I can name the few crew/staff who are friendly and some don't work for Cunard (entertainment).

Our great Steward, Fernando, was friendly. He explained to use the last night that he is too busy to chat with the pax as he did in the past. We had a nice chat that night. He said after Princess took over the "hotel" mgmt area, the number of rooms he had increased from about 12 to 16. He said they're now talking about assigning 18-20. He put in for a transfer to the QV, but withdrew it.

The few staff I spoke to all have applications in for transfer to the QV and are anxiously awaiting to hear later this month. Could that be one factor in their indifference to the pax??

No one greeted us in the shops or asked if we wanted help.

We learned that one bar waiter in the Golden Lion was leaving the next day and he said many were also leaving. They were having a big crew party that night (they basically kicked us out at 12:30).

The guys in the jazz band were so friendly (not Cunard employees), as were the pianists in the lounges. Our maitre'D Jolanta was friendly -she thought we sailed with her on the Grand Princess. We didn't.

And- the spa staff was top notch; again not Cunard employees, but Canyon Ranch.

Just an observation. It Did Not Ruin Our Cruise.

[LunchCompanion]

was on the Sapphire Princess transpacific April 17, 2007 until May 15, 2007 Hardly of the crew or hotel staff smiled.

My b/b/b last year on the QM2, many of the passengers complained about what I considered the small stuff and I didn't blame the hotel staff for not smiling much. But I liked Anya who was an assistant cruise director, and, because of her, and an Australian bartender, I can't remember his name, an assistant maitre-D, I can't remember her name, and fellow passengers I enjoyed company with, I have just booked a thirteen day cruise on the QM2 for next year. I wish the QM2 would be more restrictive of smoking like I experienced on the Celebrity Constellation or I as I understand the new rules on Regent, but I think the QM2 is the queen of the seas, and I am rather used to the QM2.

By the way I crossed the Atlantic last year aboard the QM2(both ways) and the Pacific this year aboard the Sapphire Pincess(one way) I was fortunate that the seas were rather calm. It was rather rough when I crossed the Pacific in 1988 on the Fair Princess. On the leg from San Francisco to Hawaii.

[QE2 fan]

LunchCompanion,

Which month did you cross the Pacific when you encountered rough seas?