Autumn Getaway QE2 Review

[Top Cat]

Here is my review from the QE2 on this past weekend’s trip to Belgium. We had previously cruised on Century in the Caribbean and Costa Atlantica in the Med.

 

We (my wife and I travelled with her parents) were fortunate enough to be staying in Q4 rooms, which meant priority embarkation on arrival at the terminal (which incidentally is much nicer than our previous experiences in Fort Lauderdale and Savona). We were through very quickly, after several magazines were collected in the waiting area and following a photo we were on our way to our rooms.

 

Room

The room was a good size with a much larger bathroom than on our previous cruises. We had a nice surprise on our arrival with a card advising of onboard credit, unfortunately on closer inspection it belonged to your neighbours so we delivered it to the rightful room. There was lots of wardrobe space and my wife enjoyed the complimentary toiletries from Cunard. We had the bottle of Pol Acker mentioned on my other post last week, but haven't dared touch it yet after the comments of more experienced cruisers.

 

Lido

We lunched in the lido both days and despite the comments from others, the food here we thought was fine. We also went there for the midnight buffet on the second night to enjoy the cheese and biscuits we had passed on at dinner.

 

Queens Grill

A fantastic restaurant with great service from Warren and Kim. Both were very attentive and pleasant without being overbearing, providing good advice on our menu choices. The food itself was excellent for dinner and breakfast, in a relaxed yet formal setting. We were lucky to have a good table by the window.

 

Queens Room

We went here for afternoon tea both days and again had a very enjoyable time. It is like a military operation from when it starts with the drinks through sandwiches to the cakes. On the second day there was a very good harpist playing which help add to the ambience.

 

Casino

We visited the casino on Saturday and managed to make a small profit. I stick to roulette as it is a game where no skill is required. We started when the rugby was on and as a result the casino was fairly quiet, with them opening the table just for us. However, after a short while others joined and we soon had a full table. The poor croupier was new and made a few mistakes, at one point trying to give my father in laws winnings to another lady and making the ball bounce out of the wheel onto my mother in law. However, this did not detract from out enjoyment (winning always helps).

 

Shops

We thought the shops were better than expected, certainly a reasonable selection with plenty of Cunard goodies available to remember the trip with. The clothes were though clearly aimed at the more mature traveller!!

 

Southampton Departure

We followed the excellent advice we were given on my post last week and took along a bottle of Laurent Perrier champagne to toast our departure from Southampton. We enjoyed taking in the Hampshire coast which means a lot to our party as we glided out of the Solent.

 

Photo's

The photographers were of a good standard and certainly more friendly than we had experienced on previous cruises. The prices are reasonable and there are not many chances to get dressed up and get photos taken together.

 

Excursion

We went on the Historic Bruges and Canal excursion which was very good, we had a very good guide on our walk. We were also fortunate to have a very eccentric but excellent and well observed boat driver on our canal trip through Bruges. Overall Bruges was a great city and I look forward to visiting again sometime in the future. The only slight downside (and the only slight downside of the whole trip) of the excursion was some of our fellow passengers who we had read might be on this "party" cruise". There were some loud people who don't represent Britain very well at all, what happened to the traditional British reserve!!!

 

Zebrugge

As I had been advised, the port at Zebrugge was an excellent opportunity to get some fantastic pictures of the QE2. It is every bit as fantastic as you can imagine and we got some pictures that we can look again in years to come.

 

Obviously there is a lot more to cover on this great ship, but these were our main highlights and I didn't want to bore you all. The QE2 is a very different cruise ship to those that we had previously experienced, maintaining a very traditional feel and cruising experience. We really enjoyed our one trip on the QE2 and I hope all those who want to travel on her, get their chance before November 2008.

 

Let’s hope we have as good a time back on Century next month when my wife and I are off round the Med.

 

If anyone else travelled on the QE2 this past weekend, please let me know your opinions.

 

Top Cat

[travel-to-go]

Obviously there is a lot more to cover on this great ship, but these were our main highlights and I didn't want to bore you all.

TC,

I think I speak for many of us.

BORE US, PLEASE!!!

 

Honestly, I would love to hear more, your thoughts about the decor, and other aspects of the ship. I will be taking my first (and sadly, probably my last) trip on her in April.

I am sure the QE2 veterans would also love to hear more of your review and your thoughts!

 

That review was fabulous. Succinct, but covers the bases nicely!

thank you,

Karie

[mtbny7]

Hi

 

Glad you had a great time!

 

I've been in many many cabins, including Q3's and P1's, but never Q4. What cabins did your party have?

 

-Michael

[PennyAgain]

Please write more!

 

Does anyone know which Gilchrist and Soames products are provided on the Queen Mary 2?

 

Thank you!

[Top Cat]

Thanks for your kind replies. In answer to your questions:

 

Decor

In a lot of the ship it is very traditional, but in other areas it is the same modern style as any other ship you will find. It all appears to be of a good quality though. The theatre is a real throw back and very old fashioned, but places like the Yacht Club are more contemporary.

 

Where to stand when departing port?

I was a bit worried we wouldn't get a good spot for the ships departure with the ship being full, but we managed to find a spot on the Boat Deck towards the back of the ship and on the side we wanted to be on. There did look to be plenty of space though for all to get a good position for departure.

 

Golden Lion Pub

This is one place that I didn't really think fitted in with the whole ship. It was extremely smoky when the football and rugby was being shown (don't worry I didn't waste my weekend watching). They also had karaoke which is a pretty low form of "entertainment".

 

Queens Grill Lounge

We didn't really get to spend any time here, but looked to be a pleasant place in a relaxing setting when we walked through to dinner.

 

Grand Lounge

This is another very traditional setting, but is not as dated as the theatre. On Friday night they had a Beatles tribute playing and I thought they were of a good standard (I am a big Beatles fan, so not easily pleased as well).

 

Toiletries

I am not sure if it is different between the QE2 and QM2, but they were Bronnley They went down well in our party.

 

Cabins

We were in rooms 1060 and 1063, which are identical, but on opposite sides of the ship. As I posted earlier, we were very pleased with our rooms and the amount of space they had (I did miss having a balcony though).

 

Is two days on the QE2 long enough?

Absolutely not!! There were parts of the ship that we didn't see, but we are pleased that we got to travel on this grand old ship and experience her once before it leaves service next year.

 

Well I have definitely gone on too long now.

 

Happy sailing

 

Top Cat.

[RAL72]

Thanks so much for your post. I'm going on the same short trip, but marketed as the 'Festive Getaway' in December.

 

I am SO glad that Zebrugge offers some photo opps of the great ship - thats the only reason I'll be getting off!!

 

Did you take your own champers up on deck then? Sounds like an idea :)