Slipping standards QM2

[Cruachan]

All in good time Judy, all in good time lol

and who knows, J A may get there before me lol

 

Bet he's got a wifi broadband connection in his cell! :D

 

J

[The Real PM]

Bet he's got a wifi broadband connection in his cell! :D

 

J

He has moved from his cell to a big ole mansion!

[Cruachan]

He has moved from his cell to a big ole mansion!

 

For the moment :D

 

J

[MsDeva]

For the moment :D

 

J

 

Ah now don't forget the TAG ....assuming that's tonic and gin ;)

 

Best

Judy

[Norfolk Brit]

...and if you don't tell us Julian Assange will!!! :eek::eek::eek:

 

J

 

Currently my guest in Norfolk.

 

Sir Martin

[Cruachan]

Currently my guest in Norfolk.

 

Sir Martin

 

I din't think you were in Norfolk any longer. I thought you had descended to the seventh level of the realm of Dis(s).

 

J

[Norfolk Brit]

I din't think you were in Norfolk any longer. I thought you had descended to the seventh level of the realm of Dis(s).

 

J

 

My spiritual home is still there.

 

Sir Martin

[Cruachan]

My spiritual home is still there.

 

Sir Martin

 

So are we to assume that you are now the feline equivalent of Black Shuck?

 

""And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring, And its wild bark thrill'd around, His eyes had the glow of the fires below, Twas the form of the Spectre Hound"

 

Clearly this will need to some work to adapt it to the Spectre Cat.

 

J

[Norfolk Brit]

So are we to assume that you are now the feline equivalent of Black Shuck?

J

 

Yes.

 

Sir Martin

[Cruachan]

Ooer! That's actually quite scary :eek::eek::eek:

 

J

 

Yes.

 

Sir Martin

[Norfolk Brit]

Ooer! That's actually quite scary :eek::eek::eek:

 

J

 

Not half as scary as the consequences of going off topic, so I shall now return to the original subject of lowering standards.

 

If I recall, this is something that you are rather good at:D.

 

Sir Martin

[Cruachan]

Not half as scary as the consequences of going off topic, so I shall now return to the original subject of lowering standards.

 

If I recall, this is something that you are rather good at:D.

 

Sir Martin

 

I have few equals in that field. As one of my former Commanding Officers wrote in my annual report "Sgt Christie sets himself low standards and consistently fails to achieve them".

 

J

[Terrence Richards]

I have just read the last few reviews of QM2 which were not very complimentary. I do hope that the standards improve by 19th December!!!

 

Hello cruzadict,

 

You will receive as many different opinions here as the same amount of entries.

 

So, here is mine. After completing my 18th voyage with Cunard last October 2010, I still count the months to my next one in October 2011 on the Queen Mary 2.

 

Terrence

[keithm]

StarFlyr,

 

Like you, I came within a whisker of cancelling my first cruise because of the ill-informed, specious garbage that I read on this site - the constant carping whingeing about "falling standards", the demented obsession with trivialities, the manic insistence that the world would end were the minutiae of the dress code not observed to the letter, the obvious troll who said that he had had better food in Tesco's cafeteria than on QE2.

 

The people who post in this vein tend to fall into one of two categories, viz: wind-up artists, or perfectionists. To the former I say, "go and do your winding up elsewhere - you are causing unnecessary and unfair stress and anxiety to first time passengers". To the latter category I say, "I am desperately sorry for you - you are destined to go through life enjoying nothing, because nothing on the face of the planet can possibly meet your stratospherically elevated standards - life is not perfect, and sometimes things go wrong. Suck it up and get over it"

 

To you I say, go on your cruise with an open mind but, more importantly, go on it motivated by an unswerving determination to enjoy yourself to the limit - despite the impression that you have evidently gained in this particular corner of cyberspace it is, after all, a holiday!. You will not be disappointed.

 

J

Let's not be too nasty here! Though our cruise in the Queens Grill was unsurpassed, I do know of quite a few who had less than good service in Britannia. If you had 1 of the more seasoned staff, you had a good voyage. If, however, you had an untrained server you then had inferior service. To have a server say there is no "Lapsong Souchong Tea"(very common tea!) when we found it in our suite, is a crock. This happened to a friend of ours. The Maitre D did have this tea available. The waiter really couldn't be bothered. This is a complaint I've seen becoming more frequent. They may treat us better in the Grills(due to the much higher cost we pay)but service seems to be slipping quite a bit in Brittania. We're really afraid to try Brittania again. I won't stand for sloppy service. This ship was only about 60% full on our Nov.27 trip. This is why so many folks got upgrades. In the past the ship was completely full. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I feel, along with others that Cunard should not just be an "offshoot" of Princess. Seaborn certainly has the skills on what it means to have luxury cruising. Even if cunard is not all about luxury, they need a strong lesson of proper customer support. A little research will show you that most of Cunard's past management has gone over to Saga Cruises. They may not be true luxury, but they seem to know what proper British service/style is all about.

[The Real PM]

I am no longer suprised that the waiters on my recent cruise were so untrained, that on board account showed $11 when my receipt showed I only spent $2 (pot of tea ),that shows were the same for past 5 years,etc. since it is obvious that so many who have written on this thread say that they are prepared to accept such low standards as normal because they are on Cunard !

 

That they are willing to pay almost $300 per day (inside cabin) just to look walk around and look at pictures of dead film stars , to gaze at the waves.

 

That they are willing to accept incorrect on board accounts , to sit at dinner for 2 hours and only get a bowl of soup and a less than hot entree,because service is so slow, and say "Ah but I am on the QM2 (QV or QE) a most wonderful ship , so nothing else matters"!!!

 

Any one want to buy last weeks newspapers for twice the price of of todays issue?

 

Hi Lynn,

 

You remember the cruise to Panama and the Caribbean in March of 2008 where we all spent many a lunch and tea together. In fact I remember when you so skillfully found us clotted cream (the real stuff) at afternoon tea and I found it absolutely amazing. Anyway, I really am wondering, have standards declined so radically from then to now? I just cruised to Canada in September and really saw little or no decline in standards at all. Could it possibly be because of the new Queen Elizabeth and the acquisition of new help as well as movement from one ship to another to accommodate that third ship? I am just trying to understand your perception of so radical a decline in standards.

 

Gail:)

[Jimsgirl]

Gail

 

I think it is because of the new QE, with all the hype Cunard probably feels they have to "put out the red carpet". Certainly they denuded the Britannia staff in order to provide top notch service on the new ship.

 

On previous cruises there has been the odd time when things did not go quite as they should (I do not expect perfection 100% of the time, ) but this time it was more than just one table, or one waiter, more than just "I do not like this xxxx entree" As I said the Head Waiter did not come around on the last night, and you know he has always done so in the past.

 

It seemed that every night there was a line waiting to see Maitre'D as I left the diningroom. and I heard quite a few horror stories as I took my "fix" in Sir Samuels, the Chart Room,Commodore Club etc. and especially at breakfast, where as you know with open seating you meet people that perhaps you would not normally meet.

 

It was the same story, inattentive waiters, slower than molasses service,incorrect dishes (order chicken get fish, and then to add insult the waiter would insist you ordered the fish!) Entrees taking so long to arrive they were cold when put in front of you. As I have said one night we (the table all solo passengers) had to leave at 8 o'clock without having had desert, beverage or petit fours, because the service was so slow.

 

It seemed that the Hotel management had totally lost control over the staff,as one review (on review page) states , there was one night in the Queens Room, where the Cruise Directors staff decided to have a party, and crowded the dance floor pushing the paying passengers off the floor.

 

In the past this would have happened . Staff would not have been allowed to party in the Queens Room, they have their own leisure areas in the crews quarters.

 

I hope that I will have a much more positive report on the QV in Feb. I think quite a few passengers will not cruise Cunard again due to poor service. With all the ships out there customer satisfaction is the most important aspect to keep customers coming back. Cunard seems to have forgotten this with respect to vast bulk of their clients, -the 75%+ who are Britannia class.

 

Lynn

[LongTimeTvlr]

Lynn,

 

We were on the Nov. 27 QM2 cruise as you were. We met you in Sir Samuels one day. It was a pleasure to meet you after all this time of reading your posts.

We were Britannia class as well. I guess we were lucky. We had great service and I thought the food on this voyage was among the best we have had on our 16 odd cruises. The iced Grand Marnier souffle was the best dessert I have had in quite a while, land or sea.

We booked Sept. 2011 cruise on the new QE around the British Isles we were so delighted with our experience.

Sorry to hear you trip did not go as well.

[keithm]

Lynn,

 

We were on the Nov. 27 QM2 cruise as you were. We met you in Sir Samuels one day. It was a pleasure to meet you after all this time of reading your posts.

We were Britannia class as well. I guess we were lucky. We had great service and I thought the food on this voyage was among the best we have had on our 16 odd cruises. The iced Grand Marnier souffle was the best dessert I have had in quite a while, land or sea.

We booked Sept. 2011 cruise on the new QE around the British Isles we were so delighted with our experience.

Sorry to hear you trip did not go as well.

A friend of my mother was also on the trip. Her table had good service, but 1 of the neighboring tables had the folks complaing about abyssmal service. I guess it really varied quit a bit.

[bobby1119]

I would like to add my (IMHO) observations to the conversation about standards on Queen Mary 2.

 

I was also on board for the November 27 cruise (solo) and had very good service at my table for 8 in Britannia (2nd seating). While the orders were coordinated and distributed correctly and without the kinds of delays that are being reported in this thread, most entrees still arrived less than piping hot. I think it's almost a physical impossibility when serving so many guests to have entrees arrive as hot as they should be and would be in a fine restaurant on land serving a limited number of diners.

 

On previous cruises I have been in both the Princess and Queens Grills. Of course the service is more uniformly crisp and the entrees arrive hotter. But both dining rooms are smaller than Britannia, and the passenger to server ratio is lower. The kitchen that serves these dining rooms is also not as far away from the farthest corners of the grill rooms as it is from the various levels of Britannia.

 

I am looking forward to an encore on the January 3 cruise and hope that my dining room service will be at the decent standard as it was for the November 27 cruise. I always remind myself, however, that dining on board ships the size of Queen Mary 2, or on most ships for that matter, is arguably nothing much more than a variation on banquet food and service.

 

I do agree with Lynn (whom I met and with whom I enjoyed good conversation at her favorite spot in Sir Samuels!) that the more experienced waiters have been shifted to Queen Elizabeth, regrettably leaving many passengers to contend with marginally competent new waiters. There were fewer familiar faces throughout the entire ship this time.

 

I did hear reports of crew apathy and indifference and did observe some staff, fortunately not in the majority, who seemed to be best characterized as zombies walking through their jobs and looking straight through you. Those who cared after me in my stateroom and in the dining room, however, were experienced, confident and friendly. It was rare when I was not greeted politely and often warmly by crew passing by in hallways or in stairways.

 

While I continue to enjoy Queen Mary 2 and the overall Cunard experience, it is my hope that Cunard will choose to resist the trend toward brand homogenization in the mainstream cruise line industry, a disturbing direction which threatens to dumb down and erode the very standards Cunard claims to represent and that are the backbone of their marketing.

 

:)

[Jimsgirl]

Hullo Bobby

 

So pleased to read all went well with your cruise. I met so many nice passengers who made my cruise a good experience. As for Sir Samuels, as you said I had my favourite spot, and the staff there were very good.

 

I share your hope that Cunard will realise that they need to guard their unique niche in the industry, and retain all standards. both for staff and passengers alike.

 

Happy cruising for the future.

 

Lynn

[omakim]

if I can find a cup of hot coffee or tea & the most basic of food

 

Works for me....

 

Signed Jon - 46 years deep sea, 2 years tugmaster in Seattle.

[omakim]

"Sgt Christie sets himself low standards and consistently fails to achieve them".

 

 

That's a riot.

 

Mine was as it was being written I was asked, "Jon, is there a hypen between 's**t' and "head?"

 

Jon

[Cruachan]

That's a riot.

 

Mine was as it was being written I was asked, "Jon, is there a hypen between 's**t' and "head?"

 

Jon

 

I like it, Jon. I like it :D

 

J

[Salacia]

Thanks to all for setting this thread straight. The complainers and the whiners here remind me of my dear old dad when I was a smart ass teenager. If I complained about some trivial thing, he would reply that "I would probably even complain if "I were hung with a new rope". I suspect the naysayers here would also fit that bill.

 

StarFlyr, I have leard to appreciate straightforward responses on this board. It seems to me that terming responses from some as "complainers and whiners" is not conducive to open exhange of opinions.

 

BTW, I think your Dad was giving you a compliment: afterall, should you not complain if you were to be hanged, be it with an old rope or a new rope? -

Assuming, of coursem, that you had been convicted of no crime worthy of the death penalty.

 

Cheers,

Salacia