First time cruise on Queen Mary

[Jody Ellis]

Hi my parents have booked a christmas cruise on the Queen Mary around the Caribbean. We haven't cruised before and don't know what to expect. Neither my brother or I really want to go as we think its a holiday for older people. I am 18 and my brother is 15.

 

What can we expect on the cruise? Is it all bingo and snobby older people?

 

It's a 15 day cruise and I understand you have to dress up for dinner. What does everyone wear in the evening? I don't know what to pack for formal evenings etc. What are they. Also what do you wear on normal evenings.

 

Any help would be great seeing as I have to go on this holiday even though I would rather stay at home with my aunt and her family.

 

Thanks Jody

[Essiesmom]

Cunard is all about tradition, the elegance of The Crossing and cruising in the glory days of the great liner. Part of that tradition is dressing for dinner. If you are doing the 15 day cruise leaving Dec. 19, there will likely be at least 4 formal nights, and on Cunard, formal means formal. There will be a lot of tuxedos in evidence. A dark suit will be okay. Even on semi-formal nights, you will not be admitted to the main dining room without coat and tie.

Daytime activities are not all bingo. There will be trivia, movies, speakers (don't disparage them, some can be very entertaining), the best library at sea, the only planetarium at sea, the pools...Plus food whenever you are hungry. Go with an open mind, prepared to have fun. EM

[Smithkids5521]

What can we expect on the cruise? Is it all bingo and snobby older people?

 

Thanks Jody

 

ROTFL! "QM2- it's all Bingo and snobby older people" ...they should use that in their ads! :p

 

At least 1 good point to mention is that I believe the legal age to gamble on the QM2 is 18...so you could hit the casino for a bit if that type of thing interests you. ;)

[cruisincarly]

We were on this ship summer 2010. I didn't notice a lot of teenagers, though there were some. Lots of young adults, though. I didn't find the passengers any snobbier than any other group of people.

 

The ship is more formal than others (i.e. people definitely are formal on formal nights), but I think you'll find plenty to do. Pub games (like darts tournaments and trivia) might be up your alley. We found they were well attended and the atmosphere was friendly and sporting.

[COMBOY]

Hi my parents have booked a christmas cruise on the Queen Mary around the Caribbean. We haven't cruised before and don't know what to expect. Neither my brother or I really want to go as we think its a holiday for older people. I am 18 and my brother is 15.

 

What can we expect on the cruise? Is it all bingo and snobby older people?

 

It's a 15 day cruise and I understand you have to dress up for dinner. What does everyone wear in the evening? I don't know what to pack for formal evenings etc. What are they. Also what do you wear on normal evenings.

 

Any help would be great seeing as I have to go on this holiday even though I would rather stay at home with my aunt and her family.

 

Thanks Jody

 

My mom wanted to go on a Caribbean cruise and our Dad didn't so she took me. I was 19 years old and my first cruise. I was like you and didn't know what to expect. Oh my...did we have fun. All we did when we got home was tell my Dad what a great time we had and we got him to go with us the following year. That was my start for my love of cruising and that was 30+ cruises later.

 

Now for what to expect: During holiday sailing you should find plenty of families & kids during this time so hopefully you will be able to meet some other teenager to hang with. I really think you will find a diverse group of people during this sailing. Yes, there will be a lot older couples and singles, but that's the type of folks that are attracted to Cunard. There are tons of things to do on board a cruise from the swimming pools, gym, shops, shows every night, movies, library plus a lot of great food. The ship has a two level disco call G32. I'm sure the young folks will be partying in there at night. You will get a newsletters in your cabin the night before with all the activities going on. But just lying around the pool in the sun with a good book or Ipod is heaven. Of course, you will get off the ship in the different ports and either go on shore tours or just walk around the ports.

 

Here is a review written on Cruisecritic by a passenger that I found for you on last years holiday' sailing on the QM2. I think it should give you an overall feeling of what to expect. They claimed there where over 200 teenagers on their holiday sailing.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=77279

 

No one can say whether or not you and your brother will have a good time or not, but I bet you will. The way I look at it is getting out of the cold and going to a lot of nice tropical Caribbean island with some great beach is enough of a reason to go. Don't worry too much about formal ware. Most of the evening are dressy casual and maybe bring one or two really dressy outfits for the formal nights. I'm sure you must already have something is your closet that you wear to special occasions like weddings, birthdays, etc. If not discuss this with your parents. I would expect 4 or so formal nights. No one expect you to be a long evening grown unless you want to. Go and have a great time. Come back and write a review for us on Cruise critic and let us know how it was.