Review Of Our Qm2 Double Transatlantic/mediterranean Cruise 5-4-05 To 5-28-05

[Kitycaty]

For those interested who are contemplating a Q-5 Suite and Queen's Grill dining experience, here's a review of our recent Double Transatlantic/Mediterranean cruise on QM2, from which we just returned last Saturday:

 

Our Q-5 suite was lovely and kept extremely clean, but the butler, particularly our first one (and his steward), on the 1st segment (transatlantic), was very inexperienced and useless for all intents and purposes. No one even offerred to help us unpack, as we'd been told our butler or steward would, and when I asked them for help, they were useless, (didn't know what to do, or where to start, even when told), so I wound up doing it all myself transatlantic both ways, which was very tiring. We complained, and the second butler and steward we were assigned, were much better and seemed more experienced, but they're really simply stewards, as you would get in any lower class on the ship, (seemed to have no extra training), and we couldn't see paying so much extra for their services, just because they serve canapes at 5 P.M. every evening! Some of them were actually short with us when we asked for help with things, and one female steward actually answered she was "too busy cleaning the more expensive grand suites to stay and help", when I asked her to have a look at our TV remote control, which refused to work.

 

The ship's crew (at least on our Deck, Deck 9), were mostly Phillipino, spoke (or pretended to speak), very little English, and the concierges were all very young, (kids actually), and it seemed to us frankly, as if no one really knew what they were doing, from the Tour Excursion Desk (which had the disembarking for tours completely screwed up, i.e., they'd tell folks trying to disembark the wrong way to the gangways and the wrong gangways at that, leaving passengers confused and running every which way), through the Conceirge to the Purser's Office. There was also much confusion boarding the tour buses. The lines to return to the ship were so long they sometimes required a half hour or more wait, even for the disabled, i.e., disabled people in wheelchairs and with canes and walkers, were made to wait in the same queues. This was a nightmare, particularly if you had to use the bathroom! I, being disabled, was refused a courtesy manual wheelchair and pusher to disembark on any excursions by the ship's excursion office rep when I asked for one, being told by her I'd have to pay $500.00 to rent one from the infirmary, when I already had an electric wheelchair in our suite, which I wasn't allowed to remove from the ship. She finally gave in at our last port, when I learned that the gangway in Lisbon would be too high and dangerous for me to disembark from the ship with only a walker. (On a recent trip on Celebrity's new ship the Constellation, I was given a wheelchair and pusher for every excursion where I needed it, and it was even placed on the bus in storage for me by Celebrity's tour guides, to take along on the tour so my husband could push me!) Big difference!

 

The TV never showed what the schedule said it was to be showing, and for 2 nights, we missed some very good ship's nightlife shows to watch movies we thought worthwhile, which were advertised on their TV programming schedule, and which never showed up on the screen at the listed time, (but of course, we had undressed from our formals and were waiting)! One time, after I called the pursor to complain, he, through the TV programming office, was able to reprogram their system to show the film, the other time, nada. The TV remote kept quitting, and this was extremely annoying, as it worked in slow motion, even though our butler changed the batteries twice, and the device was extremely critical, as it was used for everything from typing and receiving E-mails to surfing Cunard's various channels for information about the ship. Our bed vibrated constantly, as if it were the commercial type where you put a quarter in for a "massage", as did many of the ceiling tiles in our suite, making quite a racket, (we banged the tiles back up, using my cane to quiet them), which didn't help much. All the squeaking and creaking made it difficult to fall asleep, and I'm a good sailor, being raised on a boat, so I don't normally mind the noise, but this was extraordinarily loud! The pillow menu was unacceptable to us, and we wound up with all mushy or foam rubber pillows that gave us neck cramps every night, until we figured out a way to double stuff them to make a hard pillow, which was simply not available anywhere aboard ship. We had to have a board put in the bed in order to sleep well, as we're used to a hard mattress, which they kindly did, and that was a big help.

 

It also seemed like nothing worked in our Q-5 suite, literally. Their E-mail system was particularly screwed up and many people told me that their E-mails were bounced back to them, even though they were sent to our correct address aboard the ship. Also, we had to pay for all the E-mails bounced back in order to read that they were bounced back, and from whom! We thought this most unfair. Their wireless keyboard for typing was particularly bothersome, as it didn't work properly, and made typing even a short E-mail a half hour nightmare! The quality of the picture on the plasma television set was abominable. Either too dark or too light, very blurry, and with so much static interference on more than one occasion, that we had to call the pursor's office and get them to call programming to have them adjust it! (We were told for the entire length of the trip by the consierges, that they were "having technical problems with their television system"). When we were in port in Southampton, as our trip segment changed, I was abruptly interrupted typing a very long E-mail to my father and lost the entire E-mail due to change of segment because there was no notice from them that this would occur.

 

I actually had to call the concierge's office and have the ship's carpenter come up to our suite and install a full-length mirror on the wall in our walk-in closet, as there are none in the Q-5 suites (believe it or not), so I spent the first half of the trip wondering how I looked from the waist down after dressing for the formal nights! When we checked out the cheaper cabins, i.e., P-1, B-1, they all had full-length mirrors in them. Guess the Q-5 folks don't rate (lol)! Even the cheapest suites on Celebrity had a full length mirrors in them! The Q-5 suite has a half mirror in the entrance hall and a half mirror in the dressing room, but no full-length mirror. Pretty cheesy!

 

We gave the food in the Queen's Grill mixed reviews also. The fish entrees were simply awful, unequivicably. The fish is frozen (as is all the meat and fowl), but the fish was particularly tasteless, being very thin sliced when presented, and bone dry when eaten, and everything from the Dover Sole to the Tubot tasted exactly the same! We tried to order "fresh" Dover Sole in Southampton (4 days before arriving), and were told by the Maitre d'Hotel that this was impossible, as it would all be frozen. The beef, lamb and fowl were much better, very tender, but nothing to write home about, and the menus were actually the same food being served in the Brittania Dining Room, plus an extra entree and an A la Carte menu, the items from which we learned could be ordered elsewhere too. Unlike the QE2, which has separate preparation rooms for their Grill Rooms, on the QM2, all food is prepared in the Brittania Dining Room and sent up to the Grill Rooms. We "special ordered" a Beef Wellington one night, just to see how they'd prepare something not on their own menus, and it was very cheaply made, i.e., no foie gras wrap, too thick and doughy a crust, with enormous piles of chopped onions all around it between the meat and the crust. Super cheapy recipe and not authentic! We were never even offerred the cheese cart, and had to ask for it any time we wanted cheese, and noticed it was not being offered to anyone else either! The canapes were only fair, with very little caviar, and basically the same items every night with no variety. In fact, caviar was very sparsely served indeed, generally tiny little dabs here and there, which was unexpected. The breakfasts were uniformly awful, period, with very little choice, and the only thing I enjoyed were the scrambled eggs, (with tasteless Canadian Bacon), which I ate almost every day, and which I was told weren't real eggs (due to the Salmonella problem) lol! The American bacon was tasteless and both the English (Bangers) and American sausage got me sick, they were too fatty and spicy (but that was my problem, I think!). One dessert was well-made, i.e., the hot Grand Marnier Souffle. The buffet restaurant, King's Court was a mad-house, and we only ate there once, when we missed breakfast, and had no choice. To put it plainly, it was noisy, dirty, and there was no service. Room service food was abominable, plain and simple. Generally cold and unappetizing. The poached eggs had so much vinegar in them, they were uneatable due to their highly acidic taste. I inquired and was told that they add vinegar to "set" the eggs. We were hearing so many bad food reports about the Todd English Restaurant from friends aboard who'd eaten there, that we cancelled our two reservations for dinner, opting to continue on in the Queen's Grill instead.

 

Our excursions were very interesting, but there was very poor coordination of them by the QM2 Excursion staff, and on more than one excursion, when we and others disembarking asked where the gangway was, they weren't able to tell us and there was much confusion because of this, i.e., people running every which way and winding up in the wrong place looking very confused. There were no bathrooms on the tour buses, so that when we got caught in a 3 hour traffic jam on the road to Rome, many older people couldn't hold their urine, and one poor guy (who had come to the front of the bus 3 times to warn the tour guide that he was in distress), was finally passed a wastepaper basket by the tour guide, and had to urinate in it in the back of the bus, (very humiliating), after they said they wouldn't deviate from the expressway to go to a restroom! My husband and I had to get out and urinate in an outhouse by the side of the road, that a parking attendent very kindly let us into, (hole in the ground type thing, but we were grateful), or we'd have soiled the seat of the bus! That hole sure looked good to us! (Our Italian tour guide quickly got off of the expressway for us, when we told her that if she didn't let us off to use a facility, we'd soil the bus seats, and that got her moving!). Most of the guides were very insensitive to the toilet needs of their passengers. Some of the tours were good, i.e., Monaco, Vigo, Stonehenge, Cannes, and Gibraltor, some were not all they were cracked up to be, and the lunch on the 9-1/2 hour Monaco excursion supposedly at one of the best restaurants in Monaco, the Cafe de Paris, was "convention food quality" at its best! At least the ship stopped this trip at Gibraltor, and we thanked our lucky stars, because it was fascinating! However, many of the tour guides were just plain nasty, i.e., I asked the Spanish tour guide in Barcelona a simple question before we boarded her bus, and she turned her back on me, and curtly walked away without a word. Welcome to Barcelona!

 

The tables in the Queen's Grill Restaurant vibrated constantly too, as did the entire restaurant which made dining noisy (there was always a loud hum in the background along with much vibration), and even the flowers on the tables vibrated. This gave my husband a headache. (I guess we were spoiled on Celebrity's ship the Constellation, due to their turbine engines, which give you such a nice, smooth ride - everywhere on the ship). We found these things very irritating, for the amount of money we paid for this trip, $40,000, by the time we were finished.

 

Also, I was under the impression that Cunard confirmed they would have the 100% lactose free/fat free "Lactaid" milk I require (as I'm Lactose Intolerant), and they didn't have it, and couldn't get it (supposedly, it's not sold anywhere in Europe and the ship's procurer didn't have the sense to pick up 4 quarts in NYC before we left), and I really needed it, as I must have it on the oat bran cereal I need to eat every 4th day for my Diverticulitis. I also had no milk to put in my coffee for almost the entire trip,(the beans for which I brought myself, which they kindly ground for me). This was very upsetting, and left me in much stomach discomfort for the balance of the trip. When I inquired about it, asking what people in Europe do who are Lactose Intolerent, the assistant Maitre d'Hotel answered "they just don't drink milk!" At various ports, the ship's procurer would bring back a partially fat-free/lactose free milk which I would try, and promptly get sick. When we'd disembark to tour a city, my husband and I would take time from the tour to "shop" for this Lactose Free/Fat Free milk, but it was no where to be found. We gave up our valuable touring time on many wild-goose chases!

 

QM2 gift shop items were unbelievably expensive, as were all of the photos from their photo shop, and other shops, all high-end. We wound up spending another $3300. for excursions, laundry, gifts, tips, photos, and E-mail, by the time we were through!

 

The shows we saw were fair, the Cunard Singers and Dancers were very good, but the orchestra was extremely loud and the mixing very unprofessional. Jacqui Scott and the other soloists sang very well, but were drowned out by the orchestra's loudness. We also went to the Planetarium show which was very nice, but we found that in order to see the show properly the seat back must be lowered and all of the seat "lowering buttons" were broken, as were most of the seat backs! Therefore, very few people got to see the show properly without very stiff necks! These seats should have been fixed months ago! What a shame...

 

Also, it seemed as if at least half of the passengers and crew on the ship had the "ship's virus" which was very prevalent, with horrendous runny nose, sore throat and non-stop coughing. We had to move our table in the Queen's Grill early on because we were seated next to a table with a woman who was sneezing and coughing so badly, we were afraid of catching what she had (I can't take antibiotics). As it turned out, my husband caught the virus (from the tour director who also had it, he thinks), 2 days before disembarkation and gave it to me directly thereafter, but we were very grateful to be able to complete the trip in a healthy state, and I'm slowly getting better, albeit without the antibiotics he's had to take, as he developed pneumonia from it.

 

To sum it all up, we really can't see paying such an exhorbitant price for what we feel is a very overrated, over-hyped ship.

 

The one good thing we can say is that the service was uniformly excellent in the Queen's Grill and the wait staff and maitre d'Hotel were extremely cordial and helpful, but that was it, and that certainly doesn't justify the expense!

 

Therefore, we cannot recommend sailing on the QM2 in Queen's Grill class, and now understand why Conde Naste Traveler completely ignored Cunard's ships in their "Best 100" Cruise Ships issue earlier this year.

 

Well, at least we made the trip this time! (We were the ones who had to abort it last October due to illness). Sorry it can't be a better report... :(

 

B.J.

[Stu UK]

Me and my partner returned from the 12 night Med section of the cruise.

 

We were in the Princess Grill in a P1 Junior Suite. All I can say is the cabin, food and service were out of this world. I will post a full review in the next week or so as I sail today on te new P & O Arcadia (formally to be Queen Victoria).

 

Have also travelled on Constellation so will do a comparison of the 3 ships.

 

However what is very clear Queen's Grill on QM2 does not seem to be worth the expense unless you want a massive cabin. Princess Grill (P1 & P2 grade) seems to offer best value.

 

One correction to the previous report I need to make is that the QM2 Grills do have a seperate galley between them. Food does not come from the Britannia.

[Kitycaty]

Hi Stu UK,

Regarding the separate "preparation areas", we specifically asked the Chief Maitre d'Hotel of the Queen's Grill if the food was prepared in the Queen's Grill itself, as it is on the QE2, and his response was very clear that the food came up to the Grill Rooms from the Brittania Restaurant, and was garnished and finished in the small prep rooms of the two Grills, Queens and Princess Grills. Only the salads were actually put together in the prep rooms according to him, but all ingredients for them and for table-side flambeing, etc. came from the Brittania, even the Cherries for the Cherries Jubilee and the sauce for the same were from the Brittania. I was very surprised to hear this as I thought all preparation was done in the Grill Rooms themselves. One morning when they were out of croissants in the Queen's Grill, they told me there would be quite a wait, as they had to send someone down to the Brittania for more croissants, from where they came.

FWIW.

B.J.

[Louise D]

Interesting review, B.J. What a shame that your trip did not live up to expectations.

 

My impression is that Q class on QE2 is much better than on QM2. Certainly many of your problems about facilities and meals would be unlikely to be repeated on QE2. Perhaps you would have been better to do one of the Mediterranean tours on QE2 rather than QM2?

[elaine61]

Will be looking forward to your QM2 report on your return from Arcadia. Also an Arcadia report would be welcome as we are booked into an aft suite July 2006.

 

Elaine

[guernseyguy]

Kitycaty

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience - warts and all! Have you sailed in QG on the QE2?

 

Peter

[Mickb]

Hi Katy

It sounds as though things didn't get much better for you after the first Transatlantic. What a shame. Thank you for sharing your comments and I hope that you are feeling better.

Mick

[mncyclist]

Very sorry to hear about what seems to have been a disappointment on QM2. My wife and I crossed in April 2005 in a Q5 suite and we were completely satisfied. Our butlers/stewards were excellent, the concierge staff were very professional, and the Queens Grill restaurant was superb. I am a fairly strict vegetarian and we drink soy milk, which was made available in the dining room and in our suite. The suite itself was extremely comfortable and well-equipped.

 

Having said all this, I would have to agree that Princess Grill is the best value for people who wish to enjoy some luxury. You have the convenience of single-seating dining, a very comfortable stateroom, access to the Queens Grill lounge & concierge. People we knew in Princess Grill said their dining experience was excellent and I suspect about the same as QG, though without the official separate a la carte menu. The spaciousness of QG is indeed nice, but I would have expected a few extras, such as complimentary spa pool access or perhaps even a spa treatment or two.

 

I think there is a misunderstanding about the galley serving the Grills on QM2. While the ingredients and supplies may well be stored in the same area that Brittania uses, all of the final preparation occurs in the galley between PG and QG. There were occasions when we had to wait (for soy milk the first time) for things to be brought up from "stores", but otherwise, everything we had was delivered quickly and very hot.

 

Charles

[2moose]

For those interested who are contemplating a Q-5 Suite and Queen's Grill dining experience, here's a review of our recent Double Transatlantic/Mediterranean cruise on QM2, from which we just returned last Saturday:

 

Our Q-5 suite was lovely and kept extremely clean, but the butler, particularly our first one (and his steward), on the 1st segment (transatlantic), was very inexperienced and useless for all intents and purposes. No one even offerred to help us unpack, as we'd been told our butler or steward would, and when I asked them for help, they were useless, (didn't know what to do, or where to start, even when told), so I wound up doing it all myself transatlantic both ways, which was very tiring. We complained, and the second butler and steward we were assigned, were much better and seemed more experienced, but they're really simply stewards, as you would get in any lower class on the ship, (seemed to have no extra training), and we couldn't see paying so much extra for their services, just because they serve canapes at 5 P.M. every evening! Some of them were actually short with us when we asked for help with things, and one female steward actually answered she was "too busy cleaning the more expensive grand suites to stay and help", when I asked her to have a look at our TV remote control, which refused to work.

 

The ship's crew (at least on our Deck, Deck 9), were mostly Phillipino, spoke (or pretended to speak), very little English, and the concierges were all very young, (kids actually), and it seemed to us frankly, as if no one really knew what they were doing, from the Tour Excursion Desk (which had the disembarking for tours completely screwed up, i.e., they'd tell folks trying to disembark the wrong way to the gangways and the wrong gangways at that, leaving passengers confused and running every which way), through the Conceirge to the Purser's Office. There was also much confusion boarding the tour buses. The lines to return to the ship were so long they sometimes required a half hour or more wait, even for the disabled, i.e., disabled people in wheelchairs and with canes and walkers, were made to wait in the same queues. This was a nightmare, particularly if you had to use the bathroom! I, being disabled, was refused a courtesy manual wheelchair and pusher to disembark on any excursions by the ship's excursion office rep when I asked for one, being told by her I'd have to pay $500.00 to rent one from the infirmary, when I already had an electric wheelchair in our suite, which I wasn't allowed to remove from the ship. She finally gave in at our last port, when I learned that the gangway in Lisbon would be too high and dangerous for me to disembark from the ship with only a walker. (On a recent trip on Celebrity's new ship the Constellation, I was given a wheelchair and pusher for every excursion where I needed it, and it was even placed on the bus in storage for me by Celebrity's tour guides, to take along on the tour so my husband could push me!) Big difference!

 

The TV never showed what the schedule said it was to be showing, and for 2 nights, we missed some very good ship's nightlife shows to watch movies we thought worthwhile, which were advertised on their TV programming schedule, and which never showed up on the screen at the listed time, (but of course, we had undressed from our formals and were waiting)! One time, after I called the pursor to complain, he, through the TV programming office, was able to reprogram their system to show the film, the other time, nada. The TV remote kept quitting, and this was extremely annoying, as it worked in slow motion, even though our butler changed the batteries twice, and the device was extremely critical, as it was used for everything from typing and receiving E-mails to surfing Cunard's various channels for information about the ship. Our bed vibrated constantly, as if it were the commercial type where you put a quarter in for a "massage", as did many of the ceiling tiles in our suite, making quite a racket, (we banged the tiles back up, using my cane to quiet them), which didn't help much. All the squeaking and creaking made it difficult to fall asleep, and I'm a good sailor, being raised on a boat, so I don't normally mind the noise, but this was extraordinarily loud! The pillow menu was unacceptable to us, and we wound up with all mushy or foam rubber pillows that gave us neck cramps every night, until we figured out a way to double stuff them to make a hard pillow, which was simply not available anywhere aboard ship. We had to have a board put in the bed in order to sleep well, as we're used to a hard mattress, which they kindly did, and that was a big help.

 

It also seemed like nothing worked in our Q-5 suite, literally. Their E-mail system was particularly screwed up and many people told me that their E-mails were bounced back to them, even though they were sent to our correct address aboard the ship. Also, we had to pay for all the E-mails bounced back in order to read that they were bounced back, and from whom! We thought this most unfair. Their wireless keyboard for typing was particularly bothersome, as it didn't work properly, and made typing even a short E-mail a half hour nightmare! The quality of the picture on the plasma television set was abominable. Either too dark or too light, very blurry, and with so much static interference on more than one occasion, that we had to call the pursor's office and get them to call programming to have them adjust it! (We were told for the entire length of the trip by the consierges, that they were "having technical problems with their television system"). When we were in port in Southampton, as our trip segment changed, I was abruptly interrupted typing a very long E-mail to my father and lost the entire E-mail due to change of segment because there was no notice from them that this would occur.

 

I actually had to call the concierge's office and have the ship's carpenter come up to our suite and install a full-length mirror on the wall in our walk-in closet, as there are none in the Q-5 suites (believe it or not), so I spent the first half of the trip wondering how I looked from the waist down after dressing for the formal nights! When we checked out the cheaper cabins, i.e., P-1, B-1, they all had full-length mirrors in them. Guess the Q-5 folks don't rate (lol)! Even the cheapest suites on Celebrity had a full length mirrors in them! The Q-5 suite has a half mirror in the entrance hall and a half mirror in the dressing room, but no full-length mirror. Pretty cheesy!

 

We gave the food in the Queen's Grill mixed reviews also. The fish entrees were simply awful, unequivicably. The fish is frozen (as is all the meat and fowl), but the fish was particularly tasteless, being very thin sliced when presented, and bone dry when eaten, and everything from the Dover Sole to the Tubot tasted exactly the same! We tried to order "fresh" Dover Sole in Southampton (4 days before arriving), and were told by the Maitre d'Hotel that this was impossible, as it would all be frozen. The beef, lamb and fowl were much better, very tender, but nothing to write home about, and the menus were actually the same food being served in the Brittania Dining Room, plus an extra entree and an A la Carte menu, the items from which we learned could be ordered elsewhere too. Unlike the QE2, which has separate preparation rooms for their Grill Rooms, on the QM2, all food is prepared in the Brittania Dining Room and sent up to the Grill Rooms. We "special ordered" a Beef Wellington one night, just to see how they'd prepare something not on their own menus, and it was very cheaply made, i.e., no foie gras wrap, too thick and doughy a crust, with enormous piles of chopped onions all around it between the meat and the crust. Super cheapy recipe and not authentic! We were never even offerred the cheese cart, and had to ask for it any time we wanted cheese, and noticed it was not being offered to anyone else either! The canapes were only fair, with very little caviar, and basically the same items every night with no variety. In fact, caviar was very sparsely served indeed, generally tiny little dabs here and there, which was unexpected. The breakfasts were uniformly awful, period, with very little choice, and the only thing I enjoyed were the scrambled eggs, (with tasteless Canadian Bacon), which I ate almost every day, and which I was told weren't real eggs (due to the Salmonella problem) lol! The American bacon was tasteless and both the English (Bangers) and American sausage got me sick, they were too fatty and spicy (but that was my problem, I think!). One dessert was well-made, i.e., the hot Grand Marnier Souffle. The buffet restaurant, King's Court was a mad-house, and we only ate there once, when we missed breakfast, and had no choice. To put it plainly, it was noisy, dirty, and there was no service. Room service food was abominable, plain and simple. Generally cold and unappetizing. The poached eggs had so much vinegar in them, they were uneatable due to their highly acidic taste. I inquired and was told that they add vinegar to "set" the eggs. We were hearing so many bad food reports about the Todd English Restaurant from friends aboard who'd eaten there, that we cancelled our two reservations for dinner, opting to continue on in the Queen's Grill instead.

 

Our excursions were very interesting, but there was very poor coordination of them by the QM2 Excursion staff, and on more than one excursion, when we and others disembarking asked where the gangway was, they weren't able to tell us and there was much confusion because of this, i.e., people running every which way and winding up in the wrong place looking very confused. There were no bathrooms on the tour buses, so that when we got caught in a 3 hour traffic jam on the road to Rome, many older people couldn't hold their urine, and one poor guy (who had come to the front of the bus 3 times to warn the tour guide that he was in distress), was finally passed a wastepaper basket by the tour guide, and had to urinate in it in the back of the bus, (very humiliating), after they said they wouldn't deviate from the expressway to go to a restroom! My husband and I had to get out and urinate in an outhouse by the side of the road, that a parking attendent very kindly let us into, (hole in the ground type thing, but we were grateful), or we'd have soiled the seat of the bus! That hole sure looked good to us! (Our Italian tour guide quickly got off of the expressway for us, when we told her that if she didn't let us off to use a facility, we'd soil the bus seats, and that got her moving!). Most of the guides were very insensitive to the toilet needs of their passengers. Some of the tours were good, i.e., Monaco, Vigo, Stonehenge, Cannes, and Gibraltor, some were not all they were cracked up to be, and the lunch on the 9-1/2 hour Monaco excursion supposedly at one of the best restaurants in Monaco, the Cafe de Paris, was "convention food quality" at its best! At least the ship stopped this trip at Gibraltor, and we thanked our lucky stars, because it was fascinating! However, many of the tour guides were just plain nasty, i.e., I asked the Spanish tour guide in Barcelona a simple question before we boarded her bus, and she turned her back on me, and curtly walked away without a word. Welcome to Barcelona!

 

The tables in the Queen's Grill Restaurant vibrated constantly too, as did the entire restaurant which made dining noisy (there was always a loud hum in the background along with much vibration), and even the flowers on the tables vibrated. This gave my husband a headache. (I guess we were spoiled on Celebrity's ship the Constellation, due to their turbine engines, which give you such a nice, smooth ride - everywhere on the ship). We found these things very irritating, for the amount of money we paid for this trip, $40,000, by the time we were finished.

 

Also, I was under the impression that Cunard confirmed they would have the 100% lactose free/fat free "Lactaid" milk I require (as I'm Lactose Intolerant), and they didn't have it, and couldn't get it (supposedly, it's not sold anywhere in Europe and the ship's procurer didn't have the sense to pick up 4 quarts in NYC before we left), and I really needed it, as I must have it on the oat bran cereal I need to eat every 4th day for my Diverticulitis. I also had no milk to put in my coffee for almost the entire trip,(the beans for which I brought myself, which they kindly ground for me). This was very upsetting, and left me in much stomach discomfort for the balance of the trip. When I inquired about it, asking what people in Europe do who are Lactose Intolerent, the assistant Maitre d'Hotel answered "they just don't drink milk!" At various ports, the ship's procurer would bring back a partially fat-free/lactose free milk which I would try, and promptly get sick. When we'd disembark to tour a city, my husband and I would take time from the tour to "shop" for this Lactose Free/Fat Free milk, but it was no where to be found. We gave up our valuable touring time on many wild-goose chases!

 

QM2 gift shop items were unbelievably expensive, as were all of the photos from their photo shop, and other shops, all high-end. We wound up spending another $3300. for excursions, laundry, gifts, tips, photos, and E-mail, by the time we were through!

 

The shows we saw were fair, the Cunard Singers and Dancers were very good, but the orchestra was extremely loud and the mixing very unprofessional. Jacqui Scott and the other soloists sang very well, but were drowned out by the orchestra's loudness. We also went to the Planetarium show which was very nice, but we found that in order to see the show properly the seat back must be lowered and all of the seat "lowering buttons" were broken, as were most of the seat backs! Therefore, very few people got to see the show properly without very stiff necks! These seats should have been fixed months ago! What a shame...

 

Also, it seemed as if at least half of the passengers and crew on the ship had the "ship's virus" which was very prevalent, with horrendous runny nose, sore throat and non-stop coughing. We had to move our table in the Queen's Grill early on because we were seated next to a table with a woman who was sneezing and coughing so badly, we were afraid of catching what she had (I can't take antibiotics). As it turned out, my husband caught the virus (from the tour director who also had it, he thinks), 2 days before disembarkation and gave it to me directly thereafter, but we were very grateful to be able to complete the trip in a healthy state, and I'm slowly getting better, albeit without the antibiotics he's had to take, as he developed pneumonia from it.

 

To sum it all up, we really can't see paying such an exhorbitant price for what we feel is a very overrated, over-hyped ship.

 

The one good thing we can say is that the service was uniformly excellent in the Queen's Grill and the wait staff and maitre d'Hotel were extremely cordial and helpful, but that was it, and that certainly doesn't justify the expense!

 

Therefore, we cannot recommend sailing on the QM2 in Queen's Grill class, and now understand why Conde Naste Traveler completely ignored Cunard's ships in their "Best 100" Cruise Ships issue earlier this year.

 

Well, at least we made the trip this time! (We were the ones who had to abort it last October due to illness). Sorry it can't be a better report... :(

 

B.J.

recently returned from a qm2 cruise in the grill cat.MAGNIFICENT!!! FOOD, SERVICE EVERY THING WAS PERFECT!! COULDNT BE BETTER!!!! I TRULY BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE CANNOT BE SATISFIED, COULD THIS BE YOU ?????????? I'M GLAD WE DID'NT MEET PEOPLE LIKE YOU ON OUR CRUISE!!!!

[Liners]

2moose, Is it really necessary to quote the entire review as part of your reply? geez!

[guernseyguy]

recently returned from a qm2 cruise in the grill cat.MAGNIFICENT!!! FOOD, SERVICE EVERY THING WAS PERFECT!! COULDNT BE BETTER!!!! I TRULY BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE CANNOT BE SATISFIED, COULD THIS BE YOU ?????????? I'M GLAD WE DID'NT MEET PEOPLE LIKE YOU ON OUR CRUISE!!!!

 

2moose,

1. Ditto Liners
   
2. NO NEED TO SHOUT!
   
3. Kitycaty provided a list of detailed specific, actionable things which could have been different - but weren't, and hence did not meet her expectations - you and she may have different expectations and experiences, but that does not make her's invalid.
   
4. I rather suspect she reciprocates your final sentiment.....
   

Peter

[Kitycaty]

Thanx, Mick and GG. (Mick, again, it was great meeting you and the others, and the photo Linda sent was great!) When we sailed on QE2, we sailed in the class similar to Brittania Restaurant, Stateroom B-1, but we found the attention to detail much better, quality of food far superior, and all of the services much more professional than on QM2. Also, everything in our stateroom worked and nothing on the ship needed repair or was left wanting, and I would agree with Louise D regarding the two ships. Actually, we two aren't difficult to please, except regarding the dietary items I must have in order to travel, and Cunard was well aware of them months before we left on this trip, and you are correct, Peter, I do agree with you regarding your statement concerning 2Moose. I think it's very clear that they're having a problem with this ship, and just because a ship is the "hot" ship of the moment, does not a great ship make!

 

I also discovered (to my surprise), that the transatlantic crossings on the QM2 are quite underbooked at the moment, and there are some great deals to be had out there for those interested, according to a reliable source on the ship. We noticed many empty tables on both transatlantic legs of the trip every night, and many less passengers in toto about the ship. This answered my question as to why all the sudden solicitations and deals offerred from Cunard via internet and snail mail, for future QM2 transatlantic crossings, before we left on this trip! FWIW...

All the best,

B.J. :D

[Liners]

I also discovered (to my surprise), that the transatlantic crossings on the QM2 are quite underbooked at the moment, and there are some great deals to be had out there for those interested, according to a reliable source on the ship. We noticed many empty tables on both transatlantic legs of the trip every night, and many less passengers in toto about the ship.

Perhaps it varies from leg-to-leg, and class-to-class. The June 9 crossing is sold out.

 

Paul

[Kitycaty]

So they say, Liners, so they say...

B.J.

[Paul NH]

The "sold out" was based on an internet travel agency page that said it was. I do not think they would be turning away business if there was still business to be had. But who knows. After my experience with booking a June 9 cabin, I am very leary of what the reservations office communicates.

 

Paul

 

P.S. My account was not working so I temporarily became "Liners." I think Paul NH is working correctly now.

[Kitycaty]

With all due respect, Paul, this is how they sell cabins! Of course they want the public to think the ship is sold out, that's how they're keeping it the "hottest ship around" at the moment! I was told by my travel agent that the Med portion of our trip was sold out early on, but when I inquired about availability of Q-5, P-1 and B-1 staterooms from other internet cruise travel agencies, there were many to be had, even very close to the sailing date. It's good "public relations" and "marketing" to keep the public thinking of the desirability of sailing on the QM2, and the "difficulty" in booking its cruises.

 

I didn't mean for my review to sound like everything went wrong on our cruise...we had some wonderful moments, but we both felt that there were simply too many irritating things occurring en suite, with staff, and on their excursions that added up, when they shouldn't have, and I only mentioned some of them in my review!

 

 

Biggest thrill of the cruise was peering out of the window in our suite after returning from dinner at 10:30 PM, to see us passing the QE2 in the English Channel sailing in the opposite direction all gala and lighted up (as we must have looked to her passengers), with our Commodore saluting her via ship's horn and her Captain returning the gesture many times. This continued until we were out of site of each other. What a moment, and if we'd been five minutes later, we would have missed it!

 

The QM2 is a very imposing lady and with some polishing and fine tuning by staff and crew may one day equal the QE2 in stature and reputation, but in our opinions, not yet! ;)

B.J.

[Cunard Cruiser]

As a few of you mentioned that June 9th is "sold out". I called Cunard out of curiosity. They told me there are still inside and ocean view cabins left. Knowing Cunard I bet they are not even discounted.

[mncyclist]

I would just comment that a half-empty Queens Grill dining room is not necessarily a good way to judge whether the ship is full or not. Our crossing in April was completely sold out (confirmed by signs advising no cabin changes possible at check-in), yet the Queens Grill restaurant always seemed half-full. This is actually part of the luxury of single-seating dining, anytime between 6:30PM and 9:00PM, meaning that guests wander in whenever they like. Over the course of an evening, most of the tables would get used, but they are not ever all occupied at the same time. Some guests may also be opting for room service. We noticed that on the few occasions we dined earlier, we saw different people than when we dined later.

 

I also doubt very much that ANY QM2 crossings actually depart with very many rooms unoccupied. Cunard/Princess will find a way to fill each and every room with as many people as possible, even at the cost of some discounting. This is more than offset by the onboard spending that inevitably follows. As some may already know, the cruise industry generally runs at an occupancy rate of 105% or greater, which seems illogical at first, but the calculation is based on standard double occupancy of all rooms. So, in effect nearly every room is occupied on every sailing of every ship and some rooms with more than two people, hence occupancy above 100%. I know that airlines are happy to get near 80% occupancy on average, so in effect there are very few empty berths on most ships on well-marketed lines.

 

Charles

[wripro]

i would like to echo stu uk and others who have said that PG is the best way to go on QM2. i did two crossings in PG and the food and service in the princess grill was outstanding, every bit as good if not better than QG on QE2. as for the a la carte menu in QG we ordered anything we wanted off it as long as we gave them a days notice. and the cabin is more than comfortable, obviously not as large as QG but the huge price difference was not worth it IMO. also as previoulsy stated PG passengers have access to the QG lounge and the concierge lounge which i used frequently. in all, i have no intention of rushing back to sail on the QM2 ( for those prices id rather go Silversea or Seabourn) but if i did it would definitely be PG.

[guernseyguy]

Our crossing in April was completely sold out (confirmed by signs advising no cabin changes possible at check-in Charles

 

Charles,

 

Your faith in human nature and expectation of honesty by the Purser's staff does you credit! Some of the more cynical types on this board might think that that sign is ALWAYS there, to save them the hassle of shifting cabins, or admitting to sailing with a less than full ship. I've only EVER sailed on 'completely sold out' trips - well, I must have - that sign has always been there!;)

 

Peter

[aaannnthony]

The May 22nd crossing had the "sold out/cannot change cabins" sign, and, the count of passengers on board was announced at 2540, versus capacity at 2600. However, their were many cabins with three pax, and, others with more, with children, so, we were most definately under capacity.

 

We also learned that several deck nine "P" cabins were empty. Further, we learned that one couple was moved to a deck 4 "hull" from an obstructed view deck 8 cabin because of motion sickness of both passengers.

 

So, bottom line, there were most probably at least 50 unoccuppied cabins at sailing!

 

Lastly, we once moved cabins on another line, also "sold-out", because of wet carpeting/mildew in our assigned cabin!

[DREUX]

recently returned from a qm2 cruise in the grill cat.MAGNIFICENT!!! FOOD, SERVICE EVERY THING WAS PERFECT!! COULDNT BE BETTER!!!! I TRULY BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE CANNOT BE SATISFIED, COULD THIS BE YOU ?????????? I'M GLAD WE DID'NT MEET PEOPLE LIKE YOU ON OUR CRUISE!!!!

 

 

Listen 2Moose, how dare you find it necessary to post your insults here? The purpose of this board is for people to share their cruise experiences with others, both postive and negative. Kitycaty took an inordinate amount of time to share her views of her cruise with all of us and your ignorant bullying tone is just what it takes to deter others from sharing their honest experiences. In the future keep your ignorance and inuendo to yourself!!!!!!!!! I too was on one of the transatlantic sailings Kitycaty was on but in a standard Britania balcony cabin so I cannot comment on Queen's Grill accomodations. We found most everyone quite courteous and accomodations quite comfortable. And I for one am certainly glad I did not meet YOU or anyone like you aboard.

[deck chair]

I just heard from a very reliable source at WSJ that WAL MART is in negotiations to buy Cunard and HAL from CCL. Anyone else heard this as well?

[DREUX]

I just heard from a very reliable source at WSJ that WAL MART is in negotiations to buy Cunard and HAL from CCL. Anyone else heard this as well?

 

You are much more likely to get responses if you post your question in a thread of its own where people will notice it rather than hide it in a completely unrelated post. I would find the possibly of this purchase highly unlikely though.

[Kitycaty]

Greetings mnCyclist! :)

 

I understand about the freedom of dining times in the Queen's Grill, and would agree with your statement, if it weren't for the fact that we checked out the transatlantic occupancy situation with a high-up, well-informed staff source (who must remain anonymous), on QM2, who told us that the transatlantic crossings were not selling well, and much discounting was going on to fill them.

 

Another reason the Grill rooms were virtually empty on some evenings was due to seasickness, we were told, as there were a couple of rather rough, stormy nights on both crossings. Yours truly and her other half never missed a dinner, however, not one, and we have every menu! (At the end of your cruise, your wait staff presents you with a lovely little booklet of every printed menu on your cruise, as a rememberance). ;)

 

I would also like to state for the record that our 2 waiters and 1 waitress, Barna, Michael, and Laurence (ship stage name "Fifi"), were the best we've ever experienced at sea, particularly Laurence (Fifi), who was absolutely charming, very experienced (having worked previously many years on QE2), and a pleasure to know, chat with and see each day. Also the Senior Maitre d'Hotel, Beniamino Acler (Benny), was the best ever, and a very genuine, sweet, interesting and clever fellow, who did his best to try and rectify a no-win situation... They were the ones who made dining in the Queen's Grill worthwhile for us, and we won't soon forget them!

 

Thanx Dreux, for your "understated" (lol) comments...they're appreciated! :D

 

B.J.