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A proper crossing: Our QM2 review of May 10, 2018, westbound transatlantic sailing


sppunk
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“Would you like pepper, sir?”

This was the repeated refrain we heard during our crossing on Queen Mary 2, which we disembarked this morning. We joked we were asked this so often they’d try it on ice cream.

My wife and I flew to London to celebrate our wedding anniversary and then sailed back home on the May 10 crossing. This was our first Cunard trip, and we have about 85 nights on HAL, 21 on Princess and a dozen or so on a few other lines. We are loyal HAL cruisers now, so naturally we did a few comparisons during our week onboard.

We sailed with 3 friends, so had a merry gang of 5 for evening activates.

We are DINKs in our mid 30s, and the Cunard atmosphere fits our style nicely. While I can do without strict formal nights, as I’m entirely indifferent on what others wear; it was a nice change of pace from every other cruise line today.

I normally do live blogs, but for this trip didn’t even keep a journal, so these ramblings are just that: random thoughts from our crossing. Take it all as YMMV and such!

Our boarding in Southampton was delayed about an hour due to the airbridge becoming disconnected from the ship. This wasn’t a big deal, but for those standing in security, I’m sure it wasn’t entirely pleasant!

First impressions of QM2: She is flat-out gorgeous. A sophisticated lady that looks virtually brand new (aside from weird flooring slants, holes and “mushy” areas). Millions of words have been written here about her, so I won’t bother. We greatly enjoyed the artwork of ships and the history panels that are everywhere. They really are great; take a day and read them!

 

We had a sheltered balcony on deck 5 very near the D stairwell. A very quiet and convenient location for most everything. The room is a typical verandah stateroom - no better than any HAL cabin IMO, but the bathroom lacked storage space and the shower curtain is awful. The low ledge of the shower must have been planned with older travelers in mind, but on the first turbulent days, I was worried water would slosh out of the shower all over the bathroom floor. Any slower draining time might yield a similar result. The bed was super comfy though, and we had great sleeps.

But the drawer pulls. Who on earth was asleep to let those get installed? They are horrifically designed with sharp edges that are difficult to grasp.

We had late seating dining and met each evening at 7:30 for drinks in the Chart Room. This was my favorite lounge, followed by Golden Lion Pub. The Commodore Club didn’t give me a warm feeling, and the champagne bar was a deserted wasteland most of the time. I enjoyed trying the many gins, mmhmm gin.

 

Dinner was OK. Britannia is a beautiful restaurant, and the service mostly was quick and efficient - but distant. The last night service was dreadful for some reason - waiting 40 minutes for appetizers and mains about as long.

 

Overall, food was a solid meh. I never ate anything that was great, and I had some things that were quite bad. Cold soups were inedible (think corn syrup-flavored fruit juices served in a bowl) and the desserts lacking in flavor. I found the menu far too complicated for the sake of pretentiousness with 9 ingredients in a salad listed but served in minimal fashion. Beef entrees were quite good - kudos there.

 

Breakfasts in the dinning room, according to our friends, was poor. Cold food, lukewarm coffee and bad service. They eventually gave up and joined us in Kings Court. Breakfasts there were good, ample selection and quick service. Carinthia Lounge has good breakfast options as well.

Lunches were split between Britannia, KC and the pub. I found the KC selection lacking and was disappointed in salad offerings. Britannia lunches were much better. Golden Lion Pub’s was a good change of pace and food was decent. After 1:15 it was easy to grab a table. The pub's afternoon tea looked interesting, but we never partook.

 

We only did afternoon tea twice, but it was fun and a good experience.

 

During days, we wandered around mostly, attended some lectures, saw the planetarium show, and walked the promenade.

 

The planetarium show was awful. You couldn’t hear the narration - the complaints about this afterward were loud. I feel this experience might be past its peak, the show from what we could hear was quite sterile.

 

The presenters were good. Michael Parkinson was onboard and while I'd never heard of him an am not British, I found his Q&A with his son fun. A military general onboard gave talks with a machine gun of facts, and the other two speakers gave talks on Cunard and random other history.

 

We did the behind-the-scenes tour, and I honestly felt ripped off. We have done these on other ships and seen more. On QM2 you go into areas and meet a supervisor but don’t see the inner workings. No laundry, for instance. They did two tours back-to-back, so we were discouraged from asking multiple questions that would risk delaying the second group. Staff actually complained about these tours taking too much time and being a corporate mandate. That left me feeling very cold. The bridge tour was terrific, though. But what upset me most is we had a photographer take photos in 5 places, including one on the bridge with Captain Wells. We only got one copy - a photo on the stage theater. It was blurry. We got two copies of the same photo. Bad form, Cunard.

The passengers were a fun, eclectic, friendly group. We had great fun meeting new people and hearing what their travel plans entail. I was floored so many do take QM2 as transportation solely to avoid flying.

Service everywhere was good and efficient. I felt the staff members were robotic and never got to get to know any which I missed from HAL specifically. This very well might be a British training difference, so ymmv.

Weather was, from what I gather, typical of mid May. First two days were bumpy with 8-12m waves and Force 8 winds. The rest was calm seas, cool, often foggy and rainy and windy. The forward decks only opened on the last day.

Overall we had a great time. We loved QM2 and the crossing. I don’t think we’d sail on a normal Cunard Cruise, but we’ll definitely take another QM2 crossing!

 

I’ll leave you with a few photos. Any questions, just ask!

 

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Thanks for the report. I'm making my first Cunard cruise (and it's a westbound TA) next year at the end of April/beginning May, so your weather comments were especially of interest.

 

Did you use your balcony during the crossing? And on which side of the ship was your cabin? (I'm thinking about our cabin and wind direction.)

 

Thanks,

AG

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Thanks for your report. Last week we took a little repo on the Eurodam after having spent most of our recent time on the QM2. I was struck by the similarity of the cabins - the sink and counter were obviously by the same company. And the (phasing out) little HAL tubs. You're totally right about those knobs that appeared in the refit, They're terrible in all regards. I also appreciated the removable hangars on the Eurodam.

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Thanks for the report. I'm making my first Cunard cruise (and it's a westbound TA) next year at the end of April/beginning May, so your weather comments were especially of interest.

 

Did you use your balcony during the crossing? And on which side of the ship was your cabin? (I'm thinking about our cabin and wind direction.)

 

Thanks,

AG

We’d walk out and stand on it for a few minutes each day but never hung out there - too cold and wet. Our friends however on 9 couldn’t stand on theirs due to wind.

 

We were on the port side.

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I also brought home all daily programs I can scan next week if anyone is interested.

 

No RADA, which I was hoping to have onboard.

 

We're doing the roundtrip in August (not for the first time), so it would be good to see the latest daily activities offered.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Stewart

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Excellent report and thanks. Like the photos too of "typical" early season North Atlantic weather. What struck me was how placid the wake looks, showing just how SLOW QM2 crosses now. What a contrast to the days when QE2 was a proper five-day express liner and the wake astern was torrents of froth and foam, the funnel smoke flattened to the horizon by the slipstream and the whole vessel throbbing and vibrating like a real liner. I don't remember lots from many express crossings... a few nice meals, a few keen shuffleboard matches, some pleasant company and conversations struck up in the bar or deck chair.. and before you knew it, you were there.

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Thanks all. I'll get those programs uploaded early next week.

 

I did record a video of her horn during one of our many fog-filled days. Here it is!

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

Edit: I can't get it to embed, ugh. Here is the direct link:

 

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We’d walk out and stand on it for a few minutes each day but never hung out there - too cold and wet. Our friends however on 9 couldn’t stand on theirs due to wind.

 

We were on the port side.

 

Thanks for the information (I think). Our cabin is also port side, but, up on deck 13. Maybe we'll be sheltered, a little, by the bridge/Look Out... My partner is already joking that he may tie me to some furniture so I won´t be blown overboard, maybe there´s actually some logic to this. We´re hardy norther europeans, so we´ll bring all-weather jackets. My sister who lives in Texas, and also on the journey, swears she´ll be able to wear shorts. ;)

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Thanks for the information (I think). Our cabin is also port side, but, up on deck 13. Maybe we'll be sheltered, a little, by the bridge/Look Out... My partner is already joking that he may tie me to some furniture so I won´t be blown overboard, maybe there´s actually some logic to this. We´re hardy norther europeans, so we´ll bring all-weather jackets. My sister who lives in Texas, and also on the journey, swears she´ll be able to wear shorts. ;)

I had to buy a $70 Cunard coat in the (quite terrible) logo shop, ha.

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Thanks for your report. Approximately what percentage of men wore tuxedos on the formal nights?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Overwhelmingly most. Random guess - 90-95%. I wore a dark suit however and didn’t feel out of place or looked down upon.

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This may be off-topic, but I'm thinking of going the other way and travel with HAL for once.

 

So after seeing the QM2, can you recommend you a particular HAL ship that fits the tastes of a fan of the QM2?

I'm looking for a proper, well designed ship which offers excellent shuffleboard, reliable afternoon tea, good lectures and a decent bar. A well stocked library is also appreciated.

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Holland America is a complete void if you like shuffleboard... they don't even have it. I used to like HAL though but feel it has been so ruined by a management that hasn't a clue want it wants the line to be (and antagonized many loyal customers as it finds out), I haven't sailed on them in seven years and won't go back. Oceania has shuffleboard and also a really nice putting green, too. HAL has... basketball (!) and that's it!

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Every HAL ship I’ve sailed on has a shuffleboard court. And I’ve sailed on 7 of them.

 

I think the best ship might be Eurodam. Nothing really compares directly with the QM2, of course.

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Shuffleboard is not on my radar but I'll take sppunk's word hands down on someone who hasn't been on a HAL ship in 7 years. I'm going to suggest that if a library is important to you you consider the Prinsendam. I don't have a clue if it has a shuffleboard court or not but right now kazu is running a live report and you could ask there.

 

 

Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam are very similar to QE and QV.

 

 

Roy

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Shuffleboard is not on my radar but I'll take sppunk's word hands down on someone who hasn't been on a HAL ship in 7 years. I'm going to suggest that if a library is important to you you consider the Prinsendam. I don't have a clue if it has a shuffleboard court or not but right now kazu is running a live report and you could ask there.

 

 

Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam are very similar to QE and QV.

 

 

Roy

They’re all up on the sports or sky deck, depending on class. I’ve never seen a shuffleboard court in use on my 27 cruises fwiw.

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A couple of questions.

 

When you got a bad meal in Britannia were you eventually able to find something acceptable, did the waiter give you any grief?

 

Also, any idea what percentage of travelers actually use the ship for transportation instead of flying? Always curious about that.

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Cunard waiters don't give grief.

 

I once had a table mate not like the main course she was given so she sent it back and asked for a blue (very rare) steak off menu*, then send the steak back because it was overcooked. All taken in stride by the waiters (as it should be).

 

*In Britannia there are a few always-available items that aren't listed on the menu: Steak, chicken breast, Caesar salad, and shrimp cocktail. Waiters can generally accommodate a request for a plate of vegetables as well.

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When you got a bad meal in Britannia were you eventually able to find something acceptable, did the waiter give you any grief?

 

Were you aware of the always available (but unlisted) items in Britannia - or did your waiter offer them?

 

I call this the "secret menu" - but have gotten scoffed at here for using that term.

 

- Mark

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