QE Alaska Review From A First Time Cunard Cruiser

[ceilidh1]

One negative I do want to point out that surprised me was the behaviour of some of the other passengers during the production shows. Every show we attended, folks would walk in late and then proceed to walk up and down the aisle looking for their perfect seat, disturbing those of us that arrived early. Worse were the guests who insisted on chatting and commenting to one another throughout the show, and then the ones that would just get up and leave half way through. I work in the arts/entertainment industry and know exactly how much time/effort and hardwork goes into putting things like this on - I found this behaviour to be rude and inconsiderate.

[Host Hattie]

There are definitely less activities on a very port intensive cruise so you might have found more to interest you with more sea days (or just more of the same stuff that didn't appeal to you!).

It's nice to see the difference in activities, food etc for Alaska.

[ceilidh1]

I forgot to mention the library! Oh My Goodness. Usually the library on a ship is tiny little cupboard with a handful of books that other passengers have left behind. The library on this ship was amazing - two floors and simply beautiful with a winding wood staircase. I could have spent the entire cruise in there. One plus to having less things to do meant that I actually sat and read the books I had brought with me. I love reading, but can never find time to do it. I sat on the promenade deck at some point every day and read - it was delightful. I also forgot to mention the promenade deck - yes, a full deck that you can walk all the way around the ship (why so many ships are designed without this nowadays is beyond me). On this deck, there were lovely wooden loungers with padded cushions. I loved it.

[NE John]

21 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

One negative I do want to point out that surprised me was the behaviour of some of the other passengers during the production shows. Every show we attended, folks would walk in late and then proceed to walk up and down the aisle looking for their perfect seat, disturbing those of us that arrived early. Worse were the guests who insisted on chatting and commenting to one another throughout the show, and then the ones that would just get up and leave half way through. I work in the arts/entertainment industry and know exactly how much time/effort and hardwork goes into putting things like this on - I found this behaviour to be rude and inconsiderate.

Because the production shows are included in the cruise fare, pax feel they can do what they want: arrive late, leave early, talk, take videos/pix all while disrespecting fellow pax and the hard working performers. Therefore we see this poor behavior in the theater more on ships than land based shows. 
 

[exlondoner]

10 minutes ago, NE John said:

Because the production shows are included in the cruise fare, pax feel they can do what they want: arrive late, leave early, talk, take videos/pix all while disrespecting fellow pax and the hard working performers. Therefore we see this poor behavior in the theater more on ships than land based shows. 
 

It’s not just production shows. I’ve been in lectures where the latecomers nearly collided with those leaving earlier.

[ceilidh1]

The library!

[ceilidh1]

Pub lunch - same each day but pie changes. 

[RICHARD@SEA]

I too really enjoy Cunard - since the 1980's.....

 

As far as service  _... I usually sail solo so(if you're interested - I sit at the bar - the bartenders have always been nice & if I care to speak w other passengers.  Like your favorite in the pub.

 

Also - did you note the service problems you encountered on the passenger survey or jot off an email to CUNARD / Carnivore Corp????  I never did before but now make sure I do.

 

I'm hoping to be onboard QE next month - I shall report back!!!

 

Thank you for your efforts....

[ceilidh1]

12 minutes ago, RICHARD@SEA said:

I too really enjoy Cunard - since the 1980's.....

 

As far as service  _... I usually sail solo so(if you're interested - I sit at the bar - the bartenders have always been nice & if I care to speak w other passengers.  Like your favorite in the pub.

 

Also - did you note the service problems you encountered on the passenger survey or jot off an email to CUNARD / Carnivore Corp????  I never did before but now make sure I do.

 

I'm hoping to be onboard QE next month - I shall report back!!!

 

Thank you for your efforts....

I never got the promised survey! Nor did my BFF that sailed with me...

I DID fill out a few of the commendation cards while on the ship - why are those not more prominent? I feel like more crew would get recognised if passengers didn't have to line up at guest services to request a card!

[3rdGenCunarder]

44 minutes ago, NE John said:

Because the production shows are included in the cruise fare, pax feel they can do what they want: arrive late, leave early, talk, take videos/pix all while disrespecting fellow pax and the hard working performers. Therefore we see this poor behavior in the theater more on ships than land based shows. 
 

 

If I'm unsure if I will like the show, I take a seat toward the back so that I can slip out quietly.

 

As for land-based shows, behavior has declined to the point where Playbills for Broadway shows include a letter from the CEO of Playbill reminding people of theater etiquette. No cell phones, no pictures we hear all the time. But the list includes other items that should be obvious like no loud comments during the play, and for musicals please don't sing along with the performers.

[alc13]

@ceilidh1 - fabulous review, wonderful photos.  We were on QE in April so it was fun to see so many pictures of the ship.  A small point, but it has the most gorgeous carpets of any public space I've seen!

 

The Irish duo were on board then, too.  Mr ALC loved them so we saw them several times.  Lots of fun.

 

Sorry you had such bad drinks service.  We always look forward to cocktails on Cunard.  Some great bars on those ships.

[Victoria2]

Alaska is one of our favourite destinations.

 

Thank you for your excellent comprehensive review.

 

[Craigrlewis]

Absolutely great pictures and updates - thanks for sharing.

QE is my favorite ship out of the 3 Queens.

We had a spectacular time last year in Alaska on her and your reviews and photos brought back some find memories

Thanks

[david,Mississauga]

10 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

If I'm unsure if I will like the show, I take a seat toward the back so that I can slip out quietly.

 

As for land-based shows, behavior has declined to the point where Playbills for Broadway shows include a letter from the CEO of Playbill reminding people of theater etiquette. No cell phones, no pictures we hear all the time. But the list includes other items that should be obvious like no loud comments during the play, and for musicals please don't sing along with the performers.

 

We avoid most of the "big shows" because I know they are not to our taste.  So when we take a chance we do the same and take an aisle seat close to the back so we can make a discreet exit.  On our recent cruise on QE we decided to take a chance but when we got to the theatre just a few minutes before it started it was close to full. So we had to sit near the front.  After five minutes I wanted to be anywhere else. (I know that singers shrieking into hand-held microphones and jumping up and down and rolling on the stage is appealing to  a huge amount of people, but not me.) It would be rude to get up and leave, even though we were on an aisle. I just thought about the production of Top Hat which was coming up in a couple of days. The same cast redeemed themselves by proving they could sing and not shriek. 

[david,Mississauga]

Thanks for posting the photos of the library. (I have not managed to take any good ones.) It is one of my favourite rooms on the QE. It is just one of several aspects of the QE that is, to me, superior to the equivalent on the QM2.  I am very fond of the QM2, however, especially for Atlantic crossings.

 

As someone who does not have  a smartphone and prefers not to take my laptop on holiday, I have used the computers in the library almost every day. It's a pity that half of them were out of order on my June cruise. On our first QE cruise in 2013 there was a large very attractive computer room off the Grand Lobby. It's a shame that is gone. At least last year the QM2 still has a computer room as well as some computers in the library. 

[elmsliebev]

On 8/10/2023 at 3:50 PM, ceilidh1 said:

I forgot to mention the library! Oh My Goodness. Usually the library on a ship is tiny little cupboard with a handful of books that other passengers have left behind. The library on this ship was amazing - two floors and simply beautiful with a winding wood staircase. I could have spent the entire cruise in there. One plus to having less things to do meant that I actually sat and read the books I had brought with me. I love reading, but can never find time to do it. I sat on the promenade deck at some point every day and read - it was delightful. I also forgot to mention the promenade deck - yes, a full deck that you can walk all the way around the ship (why so many ships are designed without this nowadays is beyond me). On this deck, there were lovely wooden loungers with padded cushions. I loved it.

I love the Library, but as someone who works in one, I had to stop myself from shelving the books in true alphabetical order 🤣 It was a struggle!

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, david,Mississauga said:

Thanks for posting the photos of the library. (I have not managed to take any good ones.) It is one of my favourite rooms on the QE. It is just one of several aspects of the QE that is, to me, superior to the equivalent on the QM2.  I am very fond of the QM2, however, especially for Atlantic crossings.

 

As someone who does not have  a smartphone and prefers not to take my laptop on holiday, I have used the computers in the library almost every day. It's a pity that half of them were out of order on my June cruise. On our first QE cruise in 2013 there was a large very attractive computer room off the Grand Lobby. It's a shame that is gone. At least last year the QM2 still has a computer room as well as some computers in the library. 

 

QE's library is lovely, especially that staircase--and I haven't taken any good shots of the library, either. 

 

I do travel with my laptop, so I haven't used a ship's computer in a long time. I've seen the computers in the library, but where is QM2's computer room? I cannot picture it at all. Oddly, I can still remember the computer room on QE2, but not on QM2.

[TheOldBear]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

QE's library is lovely, especially that staircase--and I haven't taken any good shots of the library, either. 

 

I do travel with my laptop, so I haven't used a ship's computer in a long time. I've seen the computers in the library, but where is QM2's computer room? I cannot picture it at all. Oddly, I can still remember the computer room on QE2, but not on QM2.

QM2's computer rooms are in the Library [deck 8] and the 'Connections' classrooms [port side deck 2, between the Royal Court and Illuminations

[D&N]

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I do travel with my laptop

Our 6.8" phones match or better the resolution of our laptop and PC monitors and my wife's tablet. I only have my 32" monitor set to 1080p.

We had no need for anything else. Spreadsheets, Photo editing etc were all easily done on the phones.

If we did want to see anything on a bigger screen we could mirror the screen to cabin TV or display photos/videos there from a USB key.

[alibabacruisers]

7 hours ago, elmsliebev said:

I love the Library, but as someone who works in one, I had to stop myself from shelving the books in true alphabetical order 🤣 It was a struggle!

LOL, I used to work in the library filing the books and pulling them to the front edge, so when I went to the library on QE, found myself just "straightening"  ..........lol

[rj59]

Thanks for the review, since I'm taking my first Cunard cruise on QE this week, only 3 days to SF. To me it looks like a British version of HAL, with the same basic ship design as their Vista-class ships, although maintaining things that HAL has done away with, like libraries and a dress code and wraparound promenade decks and adding things like a proper pub. I never order drinks at a meal, especially now with packages and all-inclusive so common, because I want them focusing on getting food, so I bring my own drink to dinner if I want one. The upside-down photos made me think the ship had a Poseidon Adventure capsizing. Rudeness at shows is common on all lines--I had young ship officers on Princess chatting during a show there, so I usually sit close to the stage, at the very end of an aisle, since there are usually exits there on the lower level and I can beat crowds out that way and avoid annoying post-show cruise director patter. 

[Down-Unders]

On 8/10/2023 at 4:56 AM, ceilidh1 said:

After dropping our bags and checking into the muster station, we headed off in search of lunch. I was hoping to find the pub open, or at least a dining room, but it seemed the only option was the buffet. And, like all buffets on embarkation day, it was madness! The food looked great but was lukewarm at best. There were no tables and, if one was vacated, there were no staff to clear them. We ended up standing next to a newly vacated table, with plates in hand, for a good 5-10 minutes hoping that someone would come clear away the remains from the last guests. No one did. In the end, I ended up holding our plates of food while BFF cleared the table and walked the dirty dishes up to the counter. Only then did someone approach and wipe down the table. Not a great first impression, especially after we had been so wowed up to this point! Not surprisingly, no one came to ask if we wanted drinks, so BFF headed off the the drink dispenser and came back with...pineapple juice!? Huh? No lemonade, out of cranberry juice, so pineapple it was. Not that I have anything against pineapple - just seemed kind of random. 

Can I let you into a secret when I see no tables cleared or drink machines empty, I become proactive  and go looking for staff especially on the first boarding day, this way I do not become a Victim and I guarantee it works!

[Down-Unders]

On 8/11/2023 at 1:09 AM, NE John said:

Because the production shows are included in the cruise fare, pax feel they can do what they want: arrive late, leave early, talk, take videos/pix all while disrespecting fellow pax and the hard working performers. Therefore we see this poor behavior in the theater more on ships than land based shows. 
 

We must be going to different shows!

[Down-Unders]

On 8/10/2023 at 8:20 AM, Desert Cruisers said:

Currently on the QE doing B2B to Los Angeles. Boarded July 27. These are our 14th and 15th Cunard sailings. 
 

Service, except for the cabin attendants, reception, and staff in specialty restaurants, is very “hit and miss”.  Don’t know if it is due to low morale, poor training, or a combination of factors. My husband was chastised by our waiter for not positioning his cutlery correctly on his plate so that the waiter would know that he was finished.  
 

Agree with the comments re bar service. Coverage very spotty. Good luck getting a drink in the DR at lunch. 
 

So easy you just open your mouth and politely bring it up with say the Head Waiter or F&BM that is why we travel Cunard, they listen and act!

[edspec]

Great review @ceilidh1