Observations and Review on Westbound TA HAM-SOU-NYC 21.06-01.07

[s.s.France]

Observations on Westbound TA HAM-SOU-NYC 21.06-01.07

 

Travelling in Queens Grill Q5

 

General Voyage:

-Check in in Hamburg was delayed due to uncommunicated reasons for about 40 minutes.

-Unfortunately the "Steinwerder Terminal" is still being used, the "Hafencity" Terminal is much preferred due to far

better views and more crowds waving goodbye.

-Did not leave the ship in Southampton. Lots of people toured the ship there on invitation to get an impression,

some reception going on ashore also.

-Seven Sea-Days Crossing, four formal nights ( I prefer the shorter crossings)

-On time on a beautiful morning in New York, no problems on disembarking and immigration.

-Dresscode adherence was so/so, my fellow germans being the notorius ones ( grey suit- formal isn´ it ? no?)m

but also some british and americans with dresscode problems, even in Queens Grill.

Unfortunately, "strictly enforced" means not enforced at all, obviously.

But, generally, most people still tried, more or less hard. I was under the impression that maybe due to high season, more holilday folks on board.

-Suite:

The remastered Suite looks very good, the new furniture ist very nice and heavy.

The new oval writing desk is nice and practical.

A giant HD Monitor is mounted, and the route map is in HD also now!

The Wallpaper and all the lamps and curtains are new and of nice design.

The new carpet is very elegant.

Balcony furniture is new,nice and comfortable .

A ILLY coffee machine and a water kettle is provided.

Turndown chocolate is now Godiva.

Bathroom unchanged, brighter lights though, much appreciated, new shower fittings.

Still no magnifying mirror! Cunard, please put one up!

Balcony railing and Glass looks still worn and very often overpainted.

Generally, the new design is a very big improvement.

There is a problem with all the new little handles on the furniture, though.

They are of an nice design, but impossible to grab and quite sharp edges!

-Corridor:

New carpet, which is not the best choice. It looks worn when new.

No new Wallpapers, and no new ceiling panels.

So, all in all, the corridor still looks loke a 12 year old ships corridor.

No more water leaks from above though. Deck 9 corridor was notoriously flooded.

 

-Ship general:

Almost all carpets and most Wallpapers replaced. The new designs look great.

Most of the upholstery replaced, too

All blind windows replaced.

Ships outside looks fresh, some parts and fittings still show their 12 years of Atlantic

crossings. Painting and Scrubbing went on continously during the voyage.

Deck chairs for Deck 7 promenade came aboard in Southampton.

Teak Decks sanded and repaired.

Lifeboats new paintjob.

New Deck 13 Cabins finished, but occupied by personnel / Staff.

All new single cabins finished. Dont know if occupied.

Deck 14 accessible when weather allows, great views.

Deck 6 pool area received an large hot tub, and for the first time I saw Deck 6 aft

really being in use.

The Duplex suites now have massive sunscreens over their balconys. Much

appreciated by their occupants for sure. They provide cover from rain, sun, and

views from Deck 11.

Deck 12 aft is now part of the kettles. So the nice viewing area is no more accesible

except for pet owners (on transats).

-Queens Grill specific:

The Grills Lounge has a fresher look due to new carpet, Wallpaper and chairs/ upholstery.

The Queens Grill restaurant looks fantastic. The new service stations away from the

tables area are a great improvement. The new chairs look great, but are a little

uncomfortable in the shoulder are. Armchairs and non-amrchairs are provided.

The Grills Terrace on Deck 11 got two popular corners of outdoor-sofa-lounge furniture.

Hot Tub retiled and overhauled.

Bar service was provided. The weather on this crossing was particularly warm and

sunny. It felt like a mediterranen cruise.

The remastering fell short of the Concierge Lounge (Deck 9 mid). New furniture, but

the ceiling looks very bad. The staff was very nice and helpfull!

-New Menus: ( QG )

Daily Menu, and a la carte menu ( not everyday, for reasons unknown.)

The new dishes where a bit lighter and very well made.

Pasta was on the lunch menu everyday, as opposed to last year, where there was no

pasta at all.

A dish much missed was the rack of lamb. I forgot to ask the maitre about it. I will

aks if it is not back on the menu in November. In fact, no lamb whatsoever.

Off-menu ordering is still possible and encouraged. Caviar was available.

The New Wine list is very extensive. Very nice.

I have to say I dont think the new menus are an improvement in general, just a bit

different.

We liked every meal we ate. So no complaints! (except the LACK of Lamb, of course)

The Staff was as great as always! Maitre Osman really took great care of everybody.

-New Ship Areas

Grand Lobby:

New carpet, new furniture elevators removed, ist very airy and spacious

now.

I always found the elevators ugly and tacky.

The Casino is closer to the lobby now on Deck 2 but it doesnt disturb the

atmosphere at all.

Sir Samuels / Godiva

Sir Samuels is now Godiva branded, new upholster, looks fresh, very nice

sweet cakes in the afternoon for sale.

They also sell Godiva chocolate from a glass display case.

Carinthia Lounge:

A very nicely styled area, quite large. It became our favourite breakfeast

place since the QG breakfeast times are a bit early.

They offer warm and cold breakfeast dishes in a nice atmosphere until

10.00

Full bar service, fresh orange juice.

 

King´s Court:

We never used it, but it looks great. Clean fresh, elegant, and the offered

food also looked very good.

Everything new here, white napkins, nice seating areas. The biggest

improvement on the ship for many travellers for sure.

The Verandah:

The new Verandah has a very nice style. It has a very elegant and

sophisticated atmoshere. You really feel like being in a very high end

Restaurant ashore. The staff is much more restrained as in Queens Grill,

and does not respond well to joking as opposed to the Queens Grill staff.

Menu and Food are excellent, but with its leaning towards high end

french cuisine maybe not to everybodys taste. I only mention froglegs

and escargots. Check the Menu before booking!

Will definitely use it again, but only once per crossing.

Big improvement over Todd E., also in the general style and design of the

Restaurant.

 

Photo Gallery:

A bit in a dark corner, but practical with the new touchscreens. Worked very

intuitive and easy.

Royal Court Theatre:

The New Giant LED screen is exceptionally impressive.

 

 

The Bookshop is gone, ecxept for a very limited stock of Cunard books.

We really hope this is a temporary thing.

No major changes to the Deck 12 pool area, except the route map is now a monitor.

Commodore Club, Library unchanged.

I did not visit the Spa this time.

No changes in the Illuminations. We saw two films, one in 3-d. Projection is a bit

dark and not as high-res as in your local cinema.

We did not see a planetarium show, so no comments on broken seats.

 

I surely forgot to mention something of interest. Dont hesitate to ask.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for all the details.

[Pennbank]

The seats are still broken in The planetarium ,

The glass shower that got broken in The November storms on Deck 8 has still not been repaired and has yellow/Black tape around it.

Cranberry Juice no longer offered in the machines in Kings Court, Apple Juice instead. Two of the Three new Ice Cream Machines broke after a few days. They were so fierce that a steward had to dispense the Ice Cream for guests as most were unable to take the force of the machine so the cones ended up on the floor.

[wenlyn]

Been watching the boards for peoples comments since the revamp so glad you posted yours. I can't wait til we go, 1st August so less than a month :-) It sounds like Kings Court is better (tho' to be fair I never found it that bad to begin with)

We're only Britannia Guarantee so keeping fingers crossed in hope of an updated room but as I wasn't expecting to get a crossing this year I'm feeling very lucky just to be going.

[Jacqueline]

Wenlyn, I'm a guarantee both ways (P2 and BZ). So I will be a surprise! No assignment yet on the July 24.

 

Thanks for the succinct rundown, SS France, I can't follow those very long threads. I am more excited than ever. Happy to hear about the breakfast in the Carinthia lounge. I find the morning buffet gauntlet not to be a good start to my day. And I don't think I want to eat in the same dining room for three meals a day.

[sfbearcat]

The lighting in much of the ship looks like LEDs which I find to bright. Are there dimmer switches now installed in the cabins? and hopefully some kind of night lighting for the bathroom.

[s.s.France]

The lighting in much of the ship looks like LEDs which I find to bright. Are there dimmer switches now installed in the cabins? and hopefully some kind of night lighting for the bathroom.

The lighting in the Golden Lion pub is indeed far to bright.

No dimmable lights provided.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the report.

[katzoe]

Great report. Especially pleased to read that the Carinthia Lounge is a good dining alternative for breakfast. Also that the Grills Terrace has been smartened up.

Thanks for the detailed information.