LIVE from QM2 June 29 to July 6

[Kordy]

I boarded just as @Joe33472 got off. Great cruise so far.  Everybody happy.  The ship is 100% full so there are lines to Britannia for open dining for the 6pm seating but no line by 7pm. Great entertainment and staff are wonderful. Food is great.  Weather in Halifax better than forecast and the rain has stopped early on.  Going to Boston next for the July 4 fireworks. 
 

If anyone has any questions, I am here to help while I have the WiFi in the port.  
 

I can provide pros and cons and what worked well and what didn’t.  If anyone interested. 

[Host Hattie]

Nice to hear from you, I’ve moved your post to a new thread.

[Kordy]

This is my 4th cruise in my life so far. Did Princess, Celebrity, HAL and now first time with Cunard on the famous QM2.  So far, it's the best out of the aforementioned cruises and the service levels are higher and it feels more exclusive and luxury than what I experienced before. 
 

The food has been amazing so far. Lots of great choices with a more European focus.  The scones are done to perfection, something we don't have done well in USA. Food is not over processed and good balanced meals with veggies in addition to meats, even with steak. Entertainment is higher callibre than on other cruise lines I experienced. 
 

The weakness so far:
- the buffet upon boarding on the embarkation day was a little weak compared to the other days 
- for the gala night the 2nd day of cruise, too many people tried to come for the 6pm open seating and there was line well beyond the Golden Lion pub and they started turning people away, asking to come back at 8pm. It was disappointing for some who waited in line all dressed up. The cruise is 100% full and so it's interesting to experience that. 
- the dress code on the gala night doesn't seem to be followed or enforced.  I saw maybe 20% to 25% of people walking around in the evening dressed very casually and in t-shirts and baseball caps, even in Britannia restaurant and Queens Room. 

 

I really wanted to do the Behind the Scenes tour for $120.  But they cancelled the tour for some reason - claiming "too many port days".  But we have 2.5 sea days, so it was disappointing. 

Edited July 1 by Kordy

[Pushpit]

1 hour ago, Kordy said:

- the dress code on the gala night doesn't seem to be followed or enforced.  I saw maybe 20% to 25% of people walking around in the evening dressed very casually and in t-shirts and baseball caps, even in Britannia restaurant and Queens Room. 

That's indeed one perspective, here's another: 75% plus did follow the dress code, which is great. They are good guys and gals who deserve the focus. I suspect that if you add in "making a bit of an effort at least" you'd probably get above 80%. It's Black and White Gala night on QA, with many German guests, I would say it's about 80% plus over this side of the Atlantic tonight. I hope everyone has a good time.

[Kordy]

Yes. Agreed.  But I was under the impression that they are pretty strict with dress code, especially on gala nights.  But I observed no strictness at all, even if you came to Britannia for dinner during gala night wearing comfortable loose shirt and baseball cap, they would still offer you a seat.  No questions asked, just smiles. 

Edited July 1 by Kordy

[leyland1989]

5 hours ago, Kordy said:

Yes. Agreed.  But I was under the impression that they are pretty strict with dress code, especially on gala nights.  But I observed no strictness at all, even if you came to Britannia for dinner during gala night wearing comfortable loose shirt and baseball cap, they would still offer you a seat.  No questions asked, just smiles. 

On my last crossing, we had a couple walking into the theater in literal PJ and tracksuit on a Gala night. 

There were 0 enforcement, I guess the time has changed. 

[ovccruiser]

Enforcement of dress code may only be applicable to certain areas of the ship and more relaxed in others. Not everyone want to dress up so some areas must be left "more relaxed"

[*Miss G*]

@Kordy, if you and your sailing partner both have iPhones, could you please connect to the ship’s intranet and try texting each other over iMessage?  I am curious to see if it works.

[Kordy]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

@Kordy, if you and your sailing partner both have iPhones, could you please connect to the ship’s intranet and try texting each other over iMessage?  I am curious to see if it works.

We tried. It doesn't work sadly. We don't have the internet package. 

 

This works in other ships but not on Cunard. 

[*Miss G*]

17 minutes ago, Kordy said:

We tried. It doesn't work sadly. We don't have the internet package. 

 

This works in other ships but not on Cunard. 

 

Thanks for following up! Much appreciated.

[Kordy]

Boston turned out to be super hot, humid and sticky. Got back to the ship and it's lovely and cool.  I think Halifax had better feeling than Boston. I wish we did one more port in Canada and skipped Boston, which is just a big city with traffic and also the location of the ship is far far away from all the nice parts to walk to. With Halifax, we were so close to a nice Harbour walk and all the attractions as well as restaurants. 

 

The nice thing about Boston will be the fireworks - which we are all looking forward to. 

[Tattycoram]

Down the coast from you, and not too far up the coast from Brooklyn, it has been super hot, humid, and sticky too.  Horrible air quality.  It just started raining a bit which might continue to tomorrow's departure (for you) and arrival (for us).

[NE John]

3 hours ago, Tattycoram said:

Down the coast from you, and not too far up the coast from Brooklyn, it has been super hot, humid, and sticky too.  Horrible air quality.  It just started raining a bit which might continue to tomorrow's departure (for you) and arrival (for us).

The smoke from the massive NYC fireworks was still lingering around NY this AM causing air quality issues. Hopefully gone by now. 

[Tattycoram]

38 minutes ago, NE John said:

The smoke from the massive NYC fireworks was still lingering around NY this AM causing air quality issues. Hopefully gone by now. 

And tomorrow in Brooklyn is supposed to be 91, with humidity around 70% (and an even higher dew point!) with thundershowers off and on.  I cannot wait to be out in the middle of the ocean!

[NE John]

1 hour ago, Tattycoram said:

And tomorrow in Brooklyn is supposed to be 91, with humidity around 70% (and an even higher dew point!) with thundershowers off and on.  I cannot wait to be out in the middle of the ocean!

It’s the best ship to be on in rough seas. Make sure you get down to Decks 1A and 2 near the waterline or grab a window seat early in the pub to watch the ocean action. 

[*Miss G*]

I am so excited for your cruise, @Tattycoram!!  Have a wonderful time. I can’t wait to hear all about it!!

[Tattycoram]

I don't even aspire to your greatness--but I do promise to post a little something.

 

Thanks to ALL of you who have dispensed such wonderful advice, from the library to texting on board.

[Kordy]

Great cruise .. disembarkation at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal was a breeze, since we already went through immigration on the ship (Queens Room) in Boston - no lines, just walk through.  From the moment we left the cabin at 7am, we were sitting in Uber by 7:10am.  This is a new record !

Edited yesterday at 12:37 PM by Kordy

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Kordy said:

Great cruise .. disembarkation at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal was a breeze, since we already went through immigration on the ship (Queens Room) in Boston - no lines, just walk through.  From the moment we left the cabin at 7am, we were sitting in Uber by 7:10am.  This is a new record !

Was that everyone or just US nationals?

[Tattycoram]

That's wonderful!  You've exited to a muggy world with dark skies and thundershowers, but welcome!

[Kordy]

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Was that everyone or just US nationals?

 

Everyone. We all went through full immigration in Boston, while on the ship.  This morning, it literally took 5 mins end-to-end from exiting the cabin to walking outside into the Uber waiting area at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

 

Since I just did 7 days on the cruise, which has an unusual itinerary (NYC->Canada->Boston->NYC), feel free to ask any questions in case you are curious about anything.

Edited yesterday at 12:48 PM by Kordy

[Mudhen]

Thank you for all of your posts! Very glad you had a wonderful cruise!

[*Miss G*]

Welcome home, @Kordy!

 

Bon Voyage, @Tattycoram!

[Kordy]

16 minutes ago, Mudhen said:

Thank you for all of your posts! Very glad you had a wonderful cruise!

 

Yes, it was a truly wonderful cruise.  I have to give it to Cunard and to QM2 for doing a great job.  This is my 4th cruise, in my life and a 4th cruise line I tried, and it was the best so far.  The main difference was the food was higher class than on other cruises (overall), although when it comes to just the Buffet, I think Celebrity/HAL was a little better (eg: HAL makes you a custom, fresh-to-order omelet at breakfast in the buffet, and while it's possible on QM2 buffet if you ask nicely, it's not advertised, it's one of those ask-and-hopefully-you-will-get).

 

Where Cunard impressed me with their buffet, however, was unlimited seafood, such as smoked salmon, salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi and even basic sushi rolls (plentiful).  I saw some people take 10 pieces of sushi-grade sashimi and 10 mins later, went back for more.  On my last HAL journey, yes, there was smoked salmon, but it was controlled and you could only get 1 or 2 pieces at a time and would have to eat and ask for more, hoping it will still be there. On QM2, it was unlimited, you could pack your entire plate.  Also, there was no sashimi on HAL or Celebrity!

 

So yes, without doubt, Cunard wins.  Best cruise of my life so far.

 

Even if I wanted to fault something, I really can't.  It was just truly wonderful.

Edited yesterday at 01:13 PM by Kordy

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Kordy said:

 

Yes, it was a truly wonderful cruise.  I have to give it to Cunard and to QM2 for doing a great job.  This is my 4th cruise, in my life and a 4th cruise line I tried, and it was the best so far.  The main difference was the food was higher class than on other cruises (overall), although when it comes to just the Buffet, I think Celebrity/HAL was a little better (eg: HAL makes you a custom, fresh-to-order omelet at breakfast in the buffet, and while it's possible on QM2 buffet if you ask nicely, it's not advertised, it's one of those ask-and-hopefully-you-will-get).

 

Where Cunard impressed me with their buffet, however, was unlimited seafood, such as smoked salmon, salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi and even basic sushi rolls (plentiful).  I saw some people take 10 pieces of sushi-grade sashimi and 10 mins later, went back for more.  On my last HAL journey, yes, there was smoked salmon, but it was controlled and you could only get 1 or 2 pieces at a time and would have to eat and ask for more, hoping it will still be there. On QM2, it was unlimited, you could pack your entire plate.  Also, there was no sashimi on HAL or Celebrity!

 

So yes, without doubt, Cunard wins.  Best cruise of my life so far.

 

Even if I wanted to fault something, I really can't.  It was just truly wonderful.

And perhaps grass fed beef comes from happier cattle?