Mediterranean Cruise on the QM2

[islandsailing]

Home from a mediterranean cruise aboard the QM2 and thought I would express a few thoughts and share a few ideas.

 

Precruise pkg:

Airport transfer by Cunard. Nobody showed up to transfer us to the hotel despite the fact that I confirmed our flight info several times prior to leaving home. Ordered our own taxi at a cost of 55pounds. Discussed this with the Cunard representative at the hotel the next day and she reimbursed us with cash. Suggestion: Don't waste hours looking for the transfer representative. If they are not there upon arrival, just get a taxi, and you'll be reimbursed.

Crowne Plaza St James is a nice hotel and within walking distance of Buckingham Palace and other city highlights which we adored!

 

Motorcoach to Southampton. Our documentation indicated that because we

had a precruise pkg. we could embark at 12 noon. However, the motorcoach did not leave the hotel until 12:30 and made a half hour stop for snacks and bathroom break. Finally arrived at port at 3:30pm only to find that the computers were down and we'd have to wait in line. The port facility is a gigantic warehouse with a relatively small size office area for check-in. The area was stuffy and hot with no fresh air, the carpet was dirty and worn, and with 200 people in a queue with no movement for nearly one hour was awful. It was 5pm by the time we got on board. Suggestion: Arrange for own transportation and arrive at your designated embarkation time to take full advantage of your first day on board.

 

Stateroom: Category B4 When this stateroom was booked in Sept 2004, I was assured this room had a verandah with a totally unobstructed view. In the May of 2005, the website indicated that B4 was "in hull". Too late to upgrade as the sailing was sold out. However, the "in hull" verandah was acceptable except when seated on the verandah. Standing anywhere or seated on the far side of the bed, you had a pretty good view. It did allow for amplr light and fresh air in the room. The room itself was open and airy and very comfortable. The wardrobe is spacious and provided adequate storage for all our clothing, shoes, etc. The suitcases had to be stored under the bed. The bathroom and shower was a good size. A great stateroom for a 12 night journey.

 

Brittania restaurant: The restaurant is divided into main floor with several levels and three upper separate levels. It allows for a lot of fairly private dining. We were on the middle of the upper level and it was quite removed from the main level and any activity in that area. Our table suited us perfectly but there were other tables that were poorly placed, like along a corridor area leading out to bathrooms. I thought that we'd be entering an elegant open dining room but it wasn't like that at all. We entered from the third floor, up a few steps, passed a few tables, and sat down. No grand entrances, as I thought it would be, but OK just the same. Suggestion: go to your stateroom upon embarkation to find your table location on the map provided. Change immediately if you don't like it.

 

Kings Court: a good area for lunch, breakfast, and snacks. It is clean and open with lots of seating but has a real cafeteria-like feeling. It is hardly a place worth dining for dinner. Even though it is "transformed", it is still like a cafeteria. Suggestion: If you want a little variety to dining, go to Todd English Restaurant. It's nicely decorated and great food and good service.

 

Tour office: not well run and fairly disorganized. Poor hours of operation. They provide no travel recommendations and offer no suggestions in port if you want to venture out on your own. Suggestion: Read thoroughly through the shore excursion brochure sent to you prior to departure. Do all your research before you leave home and decide exactly which shore excursions you want to do before you arrive on board. Then, once on board, pick up a form from the table in front of the tour office, fill in all of your choices, and drop in box. They will charge your account and your excursion tickets will be sent to your stateroom. If you change your mind about any of the excursions, you can always cancel within a time designated every day in the Daily Programme. This way, you avoid disappointment, confusion, and frustration at the tour office. Good luck.

 

Ports: In most ports, complimentary shuttles to the main pedestrian areas was provided by Cunard.

 

Excursions: Well run and very organized. Motorcoaches had comfortable seating, large windows, and air conditioned but no toilet facilities on motorcoaches. Tour guides were all great!

 

Royal Court Theatre/ Illuminations: great venues with good entertainment most of the time.

 

Library and Book Store: great area! well stocked! greatt place to sit and read for a while with a beautiful view.

 

Ship: We liked the ship but we were expecting it to be grand and elegant and delightfully British.... but it wasn't. It was big and nice but not extraordinary. The shiny, veneered "wood" walls looked cheap, the "metal" wall carvings were plastic, the carpet was wildly patterned (typical of party cruises), and the floors and staircases even though they were carpeted, sounded like metal when you walked upon them (no under-padding, I guess).

Some of the public rooms seemed small and some had a poor use of space. They didn't seem to have a lot of character even though they all had cool names. G32 is in a most awkward location and is small and cramped even with no one in it. The G32 dance floor was amusingly tiny. The shops are very nice and well organized. The grand lobby seemed somewhat compressed and not open and spacious or grand. We thought the ship was great but not amazing.

 

Spa: Ahhh! It was perfect! Go there if you love the water and love to relax. The services are top notch! The waiting room is a great place to relax with a super view of the ocean.

 

Gym. Awesome. Spacious and lots of equipment.

 

Basketball court/ driving range: puny

 

Boardwalk Cafe: pitiful. a kitchen/cafeteria hallway.

 

Regatta Bar: dull with restricted hours. In fact that whole top level is full of nothing! What gives? All that space with a few plastic table and chairs strewn about. What a waste of space. We couldn't figure it out.

 

Internet: spacious area and easy access

 

Sea Sickness: We were surprised at how much movement we could feel on the ship. With its immense size and sea-worthiness, we thought we'd feel nothing. We were a little sea sick on the last sea day heading north along the Spanish coast and through the Bay of Biscay. However, the seas quieted later in the day and we dined that evening without any problems. I don't know what it would be like for a crossing, but I can imagine it might be quite rough.

 

Attire: We saw everything. Gentlemen, if you don't own a tuxedo or don't want to bring one, then a dark suit with white shirt is totally acceptable, especially if you are dining in the Brittania. There were shorts and jeans, t-shirts and jogging pants, tennis shoes, sandals, flip-flops all throughout the ship during the day. The day dress was not "smart casual", it was simply comfortable. Perhaps the guests dress more formally during the day on crossings, but everyone seemed pretty relaxed and in comfortable clothing during this cruise. Nearly 40% of the guests were from the UK and we thought it would be quite formal. But, it really wasn't! Suggestion: Don't worry too much about your clothing. As long as you follow the recommended dining dress code in the daily programme, you will be just fine.

 

Best Moment: Travelling through the Straits of Gibraltar with Africa to the south, Spain to the north, the Rock of Gibraltar reaching out to the sky, dolphins swimming along side the ship, the sun shining, the breeze gentle and sweet.... it was heaven!

 

In closing: Did we have a good vacation? We had an amazing time and we really loved the trip. It was great to be on the QM2 and wonderful to visit so many beautiful countries. It was like an incredible dream that came true!

[elaine61]

Hi Island sailing

 

Glad you had a good trip. We are booked into a B4 stateroom for our forthcoming trip. I see you state that your suitcases were stored under the bed. If you were to have had too many suitcases or they were too big to go under the bed were you able to give them to your cabin steward for storage?? Also do you think a B4 stateroom will be OK for a 24 night journey?? You didn't find the in hull balcony to be a big problem even on a med cruise. So transatlantic should be ideal I would have thought??

 

Elaine

[mufi]

islandsailing - Thanks for a good "warts an all" review. You highlight many of my own thoughts about the ship, particularly re the dress worn daytime. I thought that a crossing would be quite formal, but it is much as you describe although a Med cruise would be expected to be less formal. Things move on and elegance on cruise and crossing has mostly gone.

 

David.

[islandsailing]

elaine61,

 

We were able to fit four suitcases under the bed, the largest being 28 x 20 x14 inches in size. The bed frame is lightweight and easy to lift, which was necessary to slide the largest suitcase underneath. But once past the outer bed frame, it was no problem. There was enough room under the bed for six suitcases. If your luggage doesn't fit, they can be easily stored by the room steward. If you can scale down some of your clothing, there are well equipped laundrettes on board. There are four washers, four dryers, and two ironing boards in each. The laundry soap is complimentary as well as the washers and dryers so you don't have to worry about coins, etc. You could easily do a full weeks worth of laundry in 2 hours!

The B4 in hull stateroom will be great for your 24 day journey. We have always had a full view verandah with plexiglass and so we were a little disappointed at first, but we quickly adjusted. You won't have any view when seated on the verandah, but you will have fresh air and it will make your stateroom more open and airy. I was worried at first, but it really was just fine. You will have two lounge chairs with soft cushions on the verandah, so it still is a comfy place to sit. Additionally, being on deck 4, 5 or 6, you will be lower in the ship and feel less motion, especially during the crossing. The bathroom is a decent size as well in this category.

Hope you have a fantastic vacation!

[iris]

We were on the same cruise in B2 and we agree with all your statements but have to include the tour office and pursers office have an attitude with their lack of knowlege! This was our first and last Cunard cruise. We have been on much better run ships. The layout is so poor that 3 weeks in drydock won't help. The casino is in a side room that is small and forgetable-must ships have it in the niddle so you have to walk through to get to dining or a show!

[bonni99]

The casino is in a side room that is small and forgetable-must ships have it in the middle so you have to walk through to get to dining or a show!

Don't know about others but i am glad they dont have the casino in the centre of the ship- not all of us are gamblers and want to trail through smokey casinos in order to get to dinner- much better to wander down to dinner from the Chart Bar or the veuve Cliquot chamopgne bar...

[elaine61]

Casino's on ships built specifically for the UK market tend to be on the small side (I'm not suggesting that this is the case with QM2 but I think I have to agree with bonni 99 on this). When P & O took over Ocean princess and renamed it Oceana the one thing I did notice was how the casino seemed to dominate the sports bar with tables on one side and lots of slot machines on the other. Personally I cannot see the enjoyment in playing the slot machines and nowadays you have to have an degree just to be able to work them!! I do however like to spend time playing black jack!!!!!

 

Elaine