Is there a more perfect cruise company for us?

[Brit abroad]

We have crossed twice on QM2 with our family and loved everything about her and our experience, however we now feel we have had our fill of the crossing experience and are now getting curious about other cruise lines, agendas & ships to explore. We have had a look at Cunard cruise agenda's and they don't really appeal because of the short stay aspect at each port of call.

 

Our ideal cruise would be on a luxury class vessel with less ports of call than average and with longer stays i.e at least over night, as we hate the idea of having to disembark in droves and then rush about for only a few hours before rushing to get back on board, having had a stressed out time.

 

Given that we really enjoy the formality, prestige, high standards of food and varied enrichment programs of Cunard, what would those with a more varied cruising experience suggest might suit us?

 

Our perfect wish list would be:-

A beautifully appointed vessel with spacious cabins, elegant surroundings & an upmarket atmosphere

Immaculate & attentive customer service

A great standard of food

High standard of enrichment & entertainment shows

Lovely cocktail bars

Limited or preferably no smoking (apologies dear smokers:)!)

Better and bigger indoor & outdoor pool area and swimming pool than QM2

Kid friendly with great organised kids activities & facilities but definitely not over-run with kids

An agenda where the emphasis was more about the quality and length of stay at interesting ports of call, rather than how many you can anchor up at throughout a voyage.

 

All thoughts gratefully received

[ocngypz]

Smaller, luxury vessels which overnight in port.........overnight because they tend to do more port intensive itineraries.

 

The also do not cater to children.

 

Except for kids activities and fewer ports, Regent Seven Seas would fit the bill nicely.

[Rotterdam]

From your description I would suggest Seabourn...check out the boards....they are a wonderful & very helpful group....Seabourn has smaler ships...300 passengers & is coming out w/ 2 new ships 700 passengers...

[CruiserTed]

We are devoted lovers of the Cunard Line and asked ourselves the OP's question: "might there be something even better?" In our quest, we tried a Med cruise on Crystal. We have only one word: "don't." Where Cunard (passengers, officers and crew) is cosmopolitan and gracious, Crystal is provincial and vulgar.

 

Very best to you!

[Host Sharon]

I too don't believe you are going to find what you are looking for. Formal, luxury and prestige don't usually go together with good childrens' facilities. I have done several overnight port stays with P&O (Quebec, Copenhagen, Hamburg etc). Some of the ships are good for children and they have formal and semi-formal nights but they are a step down from Cunard and I wouldn't call them luxury. Good yes, but not luxury.

[foodsvcmgr]

Another option that may deliver many to most of the attributes you

seek would be Holland America Line.:)

[SeaFlint]

We keep getting things from "Voyages of Discovery" and "Oceania" (I think it is) and they both look like what you are takling about. Smaller vessels, smaller ports, longer stays. The ships are a bit older but they look fantastic in the marketing materials (of course!).

 

I don't know how old your kids are, but "Sea Cloud" and her sister ships sail into interesting palces. She is a sailing vessel. The style looks nice and it would be a real adventure for the kids.

 

Others have suggested Regent and HAL (some of the ships, but not others, I would suggest) which would also be good.

 

I know we just had a mailer from Oceania (or Oceana) and they were even offering 2-for-1 rates, discounts on these, free airfare and a pile of other incentives for a trip to South America. Looked WONDERFUL!

[Brit abroad]

Many thanks for the helpful info & reflections all.

 

Our sons are 11 & 17, so obviously its important they have some organised & structured fun time with others of their own age group, but they will also be very happy to spend time off ship in the ports of call with us.

[orchestrapal]

Oceania is a wonderful cruise line but not formal and does not cater to children of any age. It definitely would not be what you are looking for.

[SeaFlint]

Oceania is a wonderful cruise line but not formal and does not cater to children of any age. It definitely would not be what you are looking for.

 

Wow! Thank you for that information. We've been considering them because of all the wonderful stuff they send. But if it will not work for our 12 and 9 year old children, then we'll have to pass.

[heywood]

Many thanks for the helpful info & reflections all.

 

Our sons are 11 & 17, so obviously its important they have some organised & structured fun time with others of their own age group, but they will also be very happy to spend time off ship in the ports of call with us.

 

It is difficult to organise family time together when the children reach a certain age.

What would they like to do? Do they still want to cruise?

Would they fancy something more land based?

That may persuade you all (as if you need it) that transatlantic/Cunard are the best option.

A friend has just returned from a very enjoyable Celebrity Solstice cruise. Some cruises seem to stay overnight in Venice or Istanbul but they may not be luxurious enough for you.

[Brit abroad]

It is difficult to organise family time together when the children reach a certain age.

What would they like to do? Do they still want to cruise?

Would they fancy something more land based?

That may persuade you all (as if you need it) that transatlantic/Cunard are the best option.

A friend has just returned from a very enjoyable Celebrity Solstice cruise. Some cruises seem to stay overnight in Venice or Istanbul but they may not be luxurious enough for you.

 

Hi Heywood, the kids were very happy on the QM2 and more than happy to now take a cruise, as we all agree that a 3rd TA (no matter how much we liked it!) would be rather unadventurous! Hence, wondering about something that comes close or is even better than Cunard QM2, but takes us to some interesting ports of call.

 

Ultimately we are trying can find a liner or ship that lives up to our now high expectations after the QM2, but avoids the horror stories we have read about re typical cruises i.e lining up to take tenders, lining up for taxi's & coaches, for a few hours where you cant do the port of call justice, followed by a frenetic race back just a few hours later.

 

In truth, if Cunard had an agenda that suited us and stayed longer in the ports they visited, then we would have gone for that, as it doesn't we are looking for the best alternative, if there is such a thing?

[Goldryder]

My next cruise is on an older ship, a small ship and one that caters for all ages from toddler to OAP. The cruise will have 1 night in Singapore, 1 night in Phuket and 2 nights in Mumbai...Costa Allegra, 40 night b2b2b from Singapore to Italy via Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Aden, Egypt, Spain & Corsica. Best guess there will be 8-9 formal nights and the rest semi formal (since last year in the Far East on the same ship every night was dressier than I have experienced on other ships/lines). Great value too, 3 grand for a solo cruiser including flights and a one night pre stay in a 5+ star hotel in Singapore.

 

I have done a transatlantic with Olsen, and have come to the point that I want something with a bit more adventure attached...love the sea days but also love seeing off the beated track ports/countries too, so Costa Allegra's homecoming cruise next April/May fitted my bill perfectly :o They do have much bigger ships with bells & whistles but I love the intimacy of a ship under 30k tonnes and 800 max passengers :)

[gardenbunny]

Interesting discussion but I have found it very difficult to find a cruise that stays in port more than 1 day - other than the overnight in St Petersburg. I love Cunard and would have a difficult time trying another line. I wish all cruise lines would re-think the port situation and stay in some of the larger areas for over nights. I have never understood the new port every day concept. I suppose if you just want the "flavor" of the port city in 8 hours it is OK - obviously the journey on board is more than the destination. Therefore, I do land trips when I want to seriously explore an area, and save my cruises for the enjoyment of the ship and quick look at interesting ports. I have booked on the new QE for Dec 2010 to the Canary Islands - primarily for the new ship and this is an area I have never been to. I will be interested to check back and see what you decided.

[Brit abroad]

We are devoted lovers of the Cunard Line and asked ourselves the OP's question: "might there be something even better?" In our quest, we tried a Med cruise on Crystal. We have only one word: "don't." Where Cunard (passengers, officers and crew) is cosmopolitan and gracious, Crystal is provincial and vulgar.

 

Very best to you!

 

I feel your disdain Cruiser Ted and thanks for sharing your point of view, but give me a clearer understanding of why you feel this way - must say a bit disappointed to read this, as Crystal had been one of those under consideration.

[pumpkin 11]

In all honesty, i think that Celebrity offers quite abit you are asking for. the suites and Concierge class offer a luxury cruise, rather than standerd accomidation which offers a preiumum cruise. the childrens play room is great. they don't have to many over night ports though. as you can see from our many Celebrity cruises that we like them, just my opinion.;)

[CruiserTed]

Well, as the OP has asked, I repost here my Crystal Serenity review:

 

"What is the city but the people?" William Shakespeare, Coriolanus, 3.1.199

 

Summary Review

 

My wife and I have just returned from Serenity's # 7322 (Venice-Athens

12 day). This was our first voyage on a cruise ship (after 12 voyages

– for me – on Cunard liners). Though we enjoyed some aspects of the

experience, we were not, perhaps, a great match for the ship, its

crew, and its passengers. In brief, we were not, as many on this

board are fond of saying, "Crystalized."

 

Some aspects were excellent: we found the specialty restaurants very

fine, the computer center lectures excellent, the ship spotless, and

the shore excursions exceptionally good.

 

Unfortunately, service was consistently lacking, our fellow passengers

were not kindred souls, and the ship, though spacious, was alternately

desolate (the dance floor) or clamorous (the dining facilities).

Ceilings were also terribly low nearly throughout the ship and the

less said about the décor, the better as it was an unfortunate

pastiche (the work of Swedish, Italian, Japanese, British, and

Canadian firms). Too many cooks spoil the pot. In this case, the

mismatched interiors resembled a shopping mall which allowed its

tenants too much leeway in choosing their own styles. For those

interested in substantiating detail for my above impressions, here is

the LONG version of the review:

 

Full Review:

 

Embarkation: Shoreside, embarkation was prompt and polite. The pier

was nearly empty. We were greeted onboard by a crewmember who offered that, as our cabin would not be available for another hour (3:00p.m.), we might take lunch at the Lido deck buffet.

 

First meal: Making our way to deck 12, we were taken aback by

the offerings: entirely inedible burgers (beef, vegetable, chicken)

which had been precooked and were served after reheating in an oven

and a once-over on a griddle onto which some grease had been ladled.

The buns were also of poor quality, the French fries wan. The tables,

though large and well-spaced, and with room for all, were bare and the

area clamorous with amplified musak, plates and cutlery clanking and

loud chatter. The views from the floor-to-ceiling windows were

lovely, however, and the bar service polite and efficient. We tried

to chalk up the poor food and hospital cafeteria ambiance to turnover

day stresses. By no definition, however, was this an introduction to

"six star" luxury. We boarded after a stay at the Hotel Cipriani in

Venice and so had an easy, immediate comparison between an experience

of astonishing luxury and something much less so.

 

Cabin: As expected, our "Deluxe Verandah Stateroom" was a cruise

industry standard cabin with more space than usual allocated to the

bathroom which was nicely fitted-out with dual under-mounted sinks,

granite counter and backsplash, small tub/shower, ample storage above

the sink, etc. The balance of the cabin featured a busy, somewhat

worn and dated amalgam of fabrics, treatments, colors, and textures

which were not enhanced by the down-market touch of fluorescent light

from some of the fixtures. Halogen is now industry-standard and casts

a much more flattering broad-spectrum light. The balcony was

well-sized and comfortable. The fridge contained sodas and bottled

water which a sign on the interior of the fridge door promised would

be replenished daily. Our Stewardess arrived to introduce herself and

to proffer a complimentary fruit basket which, the attached card

stated, would be replenished daily to our specifications. The

obsolete CRT television was bulky and of poor quality.

 

Stewardess Service: As we travel with voluminous luggage, we are

accustomed to asking our steward to store it for us until the day

before disembarkation. It does not fit easily under the bed and,

further, we like to use that area for easy access to various items we

store in under-bed storage containers. Our Stewardess averred, in

what was to become a repeated refrain: "Yes, it will be my pleasure…"

trailing off into a vague refusal – the "never say no to a 'guest'"

training at its most irritating. In this case, she claimed she would

be pleased to take our bags but she could not because she had no place

to put them but would "try." I asked her kindly to discuss this with

the Baggage Master but there is, apparently, no such post aboard.

 

That evening, the bags untouched, I happened upon the Chief Concierge

in the alleyway outside our cabin. He was gruff, dismissing me with

"talk to your Stewardess!" After explaining that I had done so, he

stated "of COURSE she [the Stewardess] has room for them [the bags]! I

will make sure she takes care of it." Neither he nor our Stewardess

did anything through the next day and so we gave up, making do with a

less-than-comfortable arrangement of the bags wherever we managed to

fit them.

 

Main Dining Room: Upon our arrival for our late seating at a table for

eight (rear, starboard), I was astonished first by the impossible din

in the low-ceilinged, crowded room. Immediately thereafter, I was

appalled when my wife was taken from my arm by the waiter while I was

left to trail behind the pair to our table. It later became apparent

that this bizarre affectation (at dinner only – not breakfast or

lunch) is meant in some way to convey "luxury," though in what era and

in what civilization I am unaware. A pair of helium-filled party

balloons rose from the center of our table (an error later corrected

after some interrogation of our party by the waitstaff – the balloons

were for someone else). Our waiters introduced themselves and

apparently recited some specials. Their voices were, unfortunately,

impossible to make out in the surrounding noise and the assistant

waiter did not speak sufficient English to perform his job. I asked

the Sommelier for the wine list. He never presented himself again and

never produced the list.

 

We introduced ourselves to our tablemates and learned that one reason for the noise might be the presence of large groups aboard (three hundred from some West Coast Florida high rise condominium community, hundreds more from a wine group, etc.) Our tablemates shared membership in some civic association. While educated and superficially polite, they

were not well-versed in polite conversation, as they were prone to

speak of themselves excessively and out-of-turn, interjecting

unprompted political commentary (pro-war, by the way), tales of

hunting, golf, flat-panel television purchases, all in the first

half-hour. Asked our occupation – we are attorneys – one shouted

"waiter! I want to change my table." Asked where we live – New York

City – we were given horrified glances and told "hey, it's O.K. –

whatever you're into." At this point, to add to the din, a strolling

trio of Philipino tuxedo-clad violinists made its way to our table –

an especially odd juxtaposition as we were all casually dressed for

embarkation. They played, loudly, a portion of some American Standard

before, thankfully, moving on. The food was fine – classic French

Escoffier-based cuisine - though impossible to enjoy under the

circumstances.

 

I decided I could not suffer another dinner in that room and we did

not do so. Indeed, passing the main restaurant at dinner on other

evenings confirmed the impossible level of noise.

 

On another occasion, the "Grand Gala Buffet" luncheon consisted of

filling the main lobby with the smell of sterno from the chaffing

dishes set up there. No matter, the passengers attacked the towers of

shrimp and lobster tails as if famine were fast approaching. A waiter

rushing to refill the groaning boards banged into my wife without

apology. The noise was enormous. When we realized that we were meant

to "pile on" our own plates and then navigate through the crowd of

passengers and crew to a table in the main restaurant to eat, we gave

up and ordered from the then-abbreviated dining room menu.

 

Finishing the food service for the day were the turndown chocolates on

our pillows: marked "Astor Chocolate Corp, Lakewood, New Jersey."

They, like the Lido buffet food earlier that day, were entirely

inedible.

 

We did not try the food at "Tastes," the Lido restaurant, as the

offerings, such as a sandwich on brioche (already rich with egg),

battered and deep-fried (a nauseating idea) did not appeal. Overall,

my wife found the selections of light cuisine sorely-lacking when

compared to the Canyon Ranch menus on QM2. Certainly, on the

Serenity, one can eat healthfully, but bouillon and steamed vegetables

are not what she was looking for. She expected inventive lighter fare

(fat-free carrot-ginger soup, buttermilk marinated chicken breast,

low–fat baklava, etc) and was disappointed.

 

Dinners in the restaurants from that point on consisted of meals at

Prego (the Italian-themed restaurant) or Silk Road (the Nobu fish

restaurant). Securing reservations was a continuing effort, however,

requiring repeated personal appearances at the times designated for an

audience with the Specialty Restaurant Maitre D'. These meals were

excellent – Silk Road surpasses Nobu in TriBeCa in New York City by a

great margin. Prego, though heavy on salt, served expertly-prepared

classic Italian cuisine. Chef at Prego relies too heavily on

artificial truffle oil in too many dishes. Preferably, he should

shave a few slices of true white truffle (with its inimitable complex

fragrance) on occasion rather than fumigating the plates with the

one-note wallop of the artificial version. Service, especially

Specialty Restaurant Maitre D', Bruno Marques, and the sommeliers and

waitstaff, was top notch. Bravo.

 

Shore Excursions: To the one, Crystal chose the local vendors

carefully and executed the excursions with precision. From sea

kayaking to mountain biking to the evening concert at Ephesus, each

exceeded our expectations. The extended calls in port allowed for

these events. Bravo, again.

 

Formal Nights/The Ship: It was on formal nights at sea that we most

sorely missed the Cunard liners. Aboard Serenity, we suffered a

depressing sense, in our tuxedo and gown, of "all dressed-up and

nowhere to go." Fully a fifth of the men did not rise to the occasion

and don formal wear – similar numbers of the ladies could not be

bothered, either. Large ships are, as Cunard used to advertise of the

QE2, [cities] at sea." This is the heart of our mismatch with

Crystal: we are city-dwellers and, we like to think, urbane. A great

part of the fun of a formal day at sea is the sense of shared event,

of shared experience, of conviviality. This we found sorely lacking.

A city is, indeed, made by its inhabitants and this city at sea was

filled with a kind of suburbanite who is out of his element in such

surroundings. One man thought it funny on our bike ride in Corfu on

the day of the Greek elections to shout out to the voters at the

polling places "No Hillary!" Another man shouted at our brilliant,

sophisticated, cultured Turkish guide in Istanbul "So which are you,

Sunni or Shiite?!" The guide politely explained to the bellicose,

philistine American that the distinction is, in Turkey, a spurious

one, and further a largely manufactured one in Iraq. He reminded the

tour that Turks are not Arabs.

 

Crystal oddly endorses a type of cultural distancing from the ports of call by blasting through the public address system Louis Armstrong's version of "What a Wonderful World" upon every sailaway. This is undignified and insensitive. Though the ports may differ, Crystal appears to be indicating, what's important is that those aboard ship remain unaffected by the visit to shore, that we retain our insularity. What's more, the repetition of

the song day after day is just a terrible aesthetic decision.

 

The Captain, a Norwegian, justly proud of his ascent from lowest deck

hand to his present rank, did not, however, in his daily announcements, provide the thrilling atmosphere we so enjoy aboard QM2 when the Eton-accented British Commodore Warner speaks in regal and articulate tones. It is fine to be told, as we were on the Serenity that "I [the Captain] hope that you vill enyoy yerself in da port and ull the nice things you vill see out dare" but it just does not have the same panache.

 

More flavor: a passenger, after we were given directions to the

toilets by our guide in Ephesus, exclaimed to her companion, loudly

"whenever they say you CAN go, I GOTTA go."

 

Rather than seeking to learn or attempt to rise to the manners and

moirés of Cosmopolitan behavior, these doyens of suburban country

clubs stuck to "their own," erupting into loud (and louder)

conversations as the evenings wore on. Backslapping,

self-congratulatory sentiments and guffaws were the order of the day.

Shrinking from the unfamiliar, and therefore threatening, we were told

on MANY occasions that our fellow passengers were "sorry for [us]"

that we live in New York City and that "you don't SOUND like you're

from New York City" and that "[our] parents must have spent a lot of

money to get rid of the accent." Naturally, everyone is entitled to

their opinion; however, it is extremely rude to express such opinions

in polite company.

 

Without recognizing it, most passengers, especially those in the large

groups aboard, had made of the ship a self-selected ghetto, along with

the ghetto mentality which goes along with such a place. Crystal did

nothing to quell this sentiment but rather supported it by closing off

the Palm Court (on the first and last evening, at the least) for

"private" group events. This is a grave error – not because I had any

pressing need to get into the Palm Court when it was closed but

because of the corrosive effect such exclusivity has on the social

life of the ship.

 

Often, our cheerful greetings to fellow passengers in the alleyways,

even some we had met previously, were met by distant murmurs, or

stares into the half-distance, or dismissive glances. Aboard QM2, as

one makes one's way down the grand, high-ceilinged, axial corridors,

toward (or from) dinner or the well-attended ballroom, the fantasy is

a shared one, the pleasures are mutual. I believe the social trouble

aboard Serenity was amplified by the fact that groups, by their

nature, are insular and, because groups made up such a large number of

the passenger complement, they killed-off the spirit of the

passengers as travelers together. Further, the ubiquitous American

Businessman aboard contrasted unfavorably with the teachers, writers,

journalists, and general iconoclasts we always find on the QM2.

 

The dance floor on Deck 12 (Palm Court) was, sadly, nearly deserted

every evening. My wife and I, along with the four charming gentlemen

hosts and two other ladies, made up nearly the only attendees on each

night. While this made for plenty of room on the dance floor, it was

also certainly not a celebratory atmosphere. Unlike most of the

passengers, the gentlemen hosts were gracious, were accomplished at

polite conversation (no religion or politics, no dominating the

conversation to the exclusion of everyone else) and were the most

interesting, friendly, and accomplished people we conversed happily

with on the entire cruise.

 

Spa Services: My massages were very good – nice deep pressure without

additional cost. However, I was, in a sense, slapped awake after one

massage when presented with the bill at the spa desk: my masseur had

made the obligatory Steiner hard-sell of some absurd tube of cream

which he told me cost $ 42. I politely declined but he kept pressing

the sale. I declined again. Nonetheless the printed bill contained a

$ 52, yes $ 52, charge for the cream which I had to ask to have

removed. That was very poor form and NEVER happens at the Canyon

Ranch Spa on QM2. What a way to end a massage!

 

A putative lecture on health was actually a sales pitch for a "Body

Composition Analysis" and "detoxification" potions. My wife took the

$ 50 computerized test, administered by the head of the gym staff,

which failed to take even basic measurements. Not impressive.

 

Computer Center Lectures: I took two classes on Photoshop. The

lecturer was superb and the availability and performance of the

computers for hands-on work was excellent.

 

Service difficulties: To use Sam Donaldson's phrase, an "aura of

incompetence" or at least sloppiness pervaded shipboard services (with

the exception of cleanliness – the ship is spotless). To wit:

For the first four days, our telephone did not allow us to call our

stewardess. Each time we had to call the operator (and wait on hold)

in order for her to place a call for the stewardess to return. We

received promises up and down the chain of command that it would be

"fixed immediately."

 

Our stewardess did not replenish our bottled water (though we

explained that it is all we drink). Neither did she replenish our

fruit plate nor all of the bath products, nor the drinking glasses. A

burnt-out lightbulb in the bathroom went unrepaired, nor did she

provide the dinner menus to us so we could order from the main dining

room during dinner hours as we were entitled to do. Knowing that

these complaints could be addressed during the cruise (but not wanting

to cause her the grief of a reprimand in case there was a language

problem, training problem, etc) we considered writing the concierge. Informally, my wife wrote a list of the service issues and left it

among our other belongings on the desk in our cabin. The stewardess

obviously read the list because she immediately corrected all the

service deficiencies except for providing the dinner menus.

 

We took up the issue of the dinner menus with the assistant concierge who said that obtaining them "all depends on who you know" and suggested that we ask our dining room waiter. At that point, we gave up.

Obviously, non-penthouse cabin passengers are dissuaded in every way

possible from ordering room service from the main restaurant. This

would not be so bad had we not been promised the service or if the

standard room service menu was passable. It was not. Canned

spaghetti sauce on plain noodles or the aforementioned inedible

burgers do not constitute "six star" dining. If that were not enough,

not one room service food order was filled with complete accuracy. It

became a game of saving items in our fridge for the times when they

did not appear with the room service orders (milk for the morning

cereal, etc). One room service dinner (of the two we attempted) I

suffered without my entrée because, after 40 minutes' wait, the

stewardess insisted that a bowl of vegetarian pasta sauce was, in

fact, my grilled fish. She said "do you want me to taste it?" We

gave up. Steamed vegetables appeared as potato chips, tea orders were

chronically incorrect; though raisins were available onboard, cherries

were always delivered instead, etc.

 

Someone else's dry-cleaning was left hanging on the handle of our

cabin door though it was clearly marked, twice, with the correct

cabin. We did our fellow passenger the favor of bringing it to her.

 

I requested a wake-up call for the second morning. I received it,

albeit 35 minutes late.

 

When our phone was repaired and we could finally page our stewardess,

she would, indeed, promptly return our call but sometimes said "I will

call you back." We waited and waited and after 25 minutes, we called

again, extending a call for some cheese and crackers into a one hour

wait that was hardly worth the trouble.

 

My personal training sessions, pre-booked months in advance, were

rescheduled according to the printed report delivered upon

embarkation. Unfortunately, the hand-written calendar on which the

spa staff keeps its records did not conform to the printed material

provided to me. Six star?

 

Though Crystal does not charge for caviar when it is offered on the

menu, the first night both servings were of inedible quality – salty,

unpleasantly oily, muddy-tasting. The second time, the caviar was

described as "Petrossian." I have eaten at Petrossian's in New York

City many times and have enjoyed their caviar at home so I can state

with certainty that Petrossian's would never sell caviar of the poor

quality/condition of that which bore their name aboard Serenity. It

was barely edible, though better than the first offer.

 

At breakfast at the main dining room, juices were fresh-squeezed and

of good quality. Breakfast in the room brought glasses of canned

juice.

 

Gratings of "Parmesan" cheese at Prego (which should properly have

been of Parmagiano Reggiano) were actually the much less expensive

(and much less flavorful) Grana Padano – and a young one at that.

Only a long-aged Padano might be a passable substitute for a

Parmagiano Reggiano.

 

My wife, who favors a low-fat diet asked at lunch in the main dining

room if the "sliced chicken" on a salad was fried. She was told that

it was not. What appeared on the salad was a mound of chunks of dark

meat chicken battered in corn starch and deep fried (Kung Pao

chicken).

 

Regarding Crystal's tipping policy: Though Crystal's printed guide

entitled "Gratuities Billed to Shipboard Account" states that ". . .we

understand tipping is a very personal and private matter. . ." it goes

on to describe that, five days before disembarkation, if you have

elected to have your shipboard account charged for gratuities "the

staff members you choose to tip will be notified of all pre-paid

gratuities." So much for the matter being personal and private. As

we chose not to participate in the pre-paid gratuities program, sure

enough, after our stewardess did not receive notice of pre-paid

gratuities on our account, she stopped delivering fruit and bottled

water. Again, is this a "six star" experience?

 

Neither did we suffer horrors aboard, nor did the experience meet our

expectations.

[Brit abroad]

Well I did ask!

Thanks Cruiser Ted, I can see that you are well beyond Crystalization!:D

[Chelsea1]

I think the problem really is that the QM2 is such a hard act to follow. I was very lucky to go on a port intensive 14 night Royal Mediterranean voyage and a twelve night Northern Europe and Fjords with overnights in Oslo (due to Engine maintenance) and Hamburg during her first two years. A disappointing Celebrity experience (14 night Baltic) followed - a real let down after the QM2. The QM2 really is unique vessel and is truly cosmopolitan. Looking forward to trying the Queen Victoria in October.

[CruiserTed]

You are likely to love the QV also. However, the Grills really are a world apart on the QV (in contrast to the QM2, where they are not) and we highly recommend the Grills on QV, if possible.

 

Happy sailing!

[sw18]

Have a look at Sea Dream Yacht Club........true all-inclusive prices, watersports for the kids included, casual but elegant house party atmosphere, much better cuisine than Cunard.

 

Service on board merits their top ranking in the Berlitz guide, cabins can be a little small with no balconies, but as long as you think "yacht" and remember that there are as many quiet spaces on deck as there are passengers you'll love it. There is no nickel & diming on board, & little attitude. The kids (&older kids!!) will also love the open bridge policy.....stay as long as you like & have a coffee with the Captain, officers on duty.

[Katyany]

...<<<when the Eton-accented British Commodore Warner speaks in regal and articulate tones>>>

 

I think you are idealizing Commodore Warner's accent, which is very nice, but Etonian? I suppose from the other side of the pond the nuances in British accents are not as clear, just as the many American accents might baffle the Brits.

[Brit abroad]

Commodore Warner had a chat with us a few weeks ago on our recent TA and he confirmed he was actually a Bradford Boy, a rather well spoken Yorkshire Man though, I will give him that:D!

 

That doesn't mean he didn't go to Eaton of course, although my money would be on the equally impressive Bradford Boys!

 

Just had a quick glimpse on SW18's recommendation re: Sea Dream - now that looks most interesting - thanks Edina!

[CruiserTed]

Katyany is correct; I am unable to recognize an Eton accent and do romanticize the Commodore's voice.

[Chelsea1]

You are likely to love the QV also. However, the Grills really are a world apart on the QV (in contrast to the QM2, where they are not) and we highly recommend the Grills on QV, if possible.

 

Happy sailing!

 

 

Princess Grill (P3 guarantee) on QV already booked! Really looking forward to it. Agree - I would not be inclined to book QM2 Grills - Brittania staterooms and restaurant are fine - I did not particularly like the look of the Grills restaurants on QM2 and am very happy in a deck 6 sheltetred balcony cabin. Any review of QV much appreciated.

 

Clare