Question For Those Who Were On The QM2.....

[ESLO]

Hi All,

My family & I are going on the 3rd of July cruise on the QM2 and are gathering things to take onboard and also asking questions about being onboard.

 

1- What are the amount of times to walk around the deck (? which deck) to make a mile distance for walking the deck?

2- We will be in A2 Cat. - Deluxe Balcony Stateroom. Do you get a Bathrobe and also Slippers supplied to those cabins?

3- Any suggestions about handling the Kings Court during breakfast or lunch? Is the rumors of crowds, confusion of those searching to be served true? Also passage of unnecessary people causing additional congestion in that area? Is there enought seating for all that is in need?

4- What meal or food with also possible tea is being offered on boarding after embarkation onto the ship? Where is it being held?

5- Suggestions on best time to eat in the Golden Loin Pub? Dishes tried and liked?

 

Would appreciate input from those who directly have experienced the ship before us.

 

Regards,

:) ESLO

(Ed & Bev)

[cruiserking]

Hi Ed & Bev,

 

Three times around the Promenade Deck(7) equals one mile. All cabins aboard the ship receive slippers and robes. If they are not there upon arrival ask your steward and he or she will bring them promptly.

 

Best place to grab a snack upon boarding is the Kings Court on deck 7. Generally, this is one of the few times during a voyage that this venue isn't very busy, as the ship is not full yet.

 

During our January cruise on the QM2 we thought we'd be slick and hit the Kings Court in the early am before our excursion, but, it was sheer bedlam. Personally, we much prefer the infinitely more civilized Britannia Restaurant for all of our meals.

 

We are big Pub Trivia fans and usually stick around for a pub lunch following our trivial pursuits at the Golden Lion. Don't miss lunch here, the Fish and Chips and Chicken Korma are standouts.

 

Also, don't miss afternoon tea in the Queens Ballroom, very elegant with white glove service and a string quartet. Look forward to meeting you on July 3 at the Commodore Club.

 

Jonathan

[Norfolk Brit]

Another tip regularly appearing on these boards is to book spa/hair appointments as soon as possible after boarding.

 

Regards, Mary

[imacruizer]

I will add a little more detail to a couple of your questions. Both Jonathan and Mary have given you very good advice.

 

3. We found that finding our table in the Kings Court before getting our food was very helpful. Since you are traveling with your family you can find a table and then take turns getting your food. As you walk around the Kings Court looking for your table, you can also check out the different buffet areas and decide where you want to get your food. Each area has different items, so you have lots of choices.

 

It is important to remember to look at all the areas when you embark. Often when one first enters the Kings Court on embarkation day, you stop at the first buffet you see and then after you have eaten discover that there were many additional choices. Check out The Carvery on embarkation day to see if they are serving the carved prime rib. It was delicious.

 

4. They do not usually serve tea in the Queen's Room on embarkation day.

 

Enjoy your time on the QM2.

[cusyl]

In case you haven't read it on the boards yet. There is a CC log book that was put on the ship during the maiden voyage. It is kept at the librarian's desk in a drawer. Just ask for it when you are in the beautiful library and you can add your name to the list of those who have sailed on her. :cool:

[pisces1]

Also, some of the King's Court buffet areas open at different times. All 4 do serve at the "prime dining hours" but I believe two of them (La Piazza) one of them that opens earlier both for lunch and breakfast. I did find that when dining during more off hours, the lines were very short and seating was plentiful, but obviously the selection for lunch was minimized. Frankly, the food offered in the King's Court was just average. For breakfast, go to the Chef's Galley, where you can get omelets and waffles cooked to order. That way you know you are getting food prepared fresh. During lunch they will cook up burgers and other selections as well.

 

As you wander the ship in the morning you can view the menus for lunch both for your designated dining room and at King's Court. That can at least give you an idea of where you want to go.

[colleency]

I didn't find the King's Court to be bedlam at all, so I believe that it is personal experience.

 

I much preferred King's Court to Brittania for breakfast, as at KC I could select as LITTLE food as I wanted, and I couldn't prevent them from bringing me too much in Brittania. I could have a light snack at KC, go to yoga, then meet my family back at KC for breakfast.

 

As far as seating, I never once had a problem finding a place to sit. I couldn't always find a window seat, but there were always tables available.

 

I'm not a smoker, so I found that Golden Lion was a slightly more difficult experience. DH had the fish and chips, which were very good. I had the Ploughman's platter, which was about average. We took our meal away and ate on deck.

 

I would recommend experiencing the Queen's Room tea at least once, but I preferred taking tea on a deck chair, either from the King's Court or the carts that brought tea round at about 4pm. The same selections were available. I recall the Queen's Room tea is only available on non-port days.

[ladymacwilly]

My suggestion is to skip the Kings Court and restaurants for breakfast and order roomservice. (I'm still adjusting to coming home and NOT having breakfast delivered to my door!) :mad: The fruit is fresher and more abundant, no crowding, A FULL pot of coffee or tea, who cares if the hair dryer takes 30 minutes to dry your hair....):rolleyes:

 

As CK and another poster mentioned, do the Court on embarkation, (before the ship is totally full), and DO check the different stations. Then, map them out and go on only the "shoulder" hours as it can become a bit crazed.

 

But for breakfast.....helloooo...ROOM SERVICE! (BTW, be warned, they will arrive about 15 minutes before your requested delivery) :cool: Fine, if you actually know that.

[ESLO]

My suggestion is to skip the Kings Court and restaurants for breakfast and order roomservice. (I'm still adjusting to coming home and NOT having breakfast delivered to my door!) :mad: The fruit is fresher and more abundant, no crowding, A FULL pot of coffee or tea, who cares if the hair dryer takes 30 minutes to dry your hair....):rolleyes:

 

As CK and another poster mentioned, do the Court on embarkation, (before the ship is totally full), and DO check the different stations. Then, map them out and go on only the "shoulder" hours as it can become a bit crazed.

 

But for breakfast.....helloooo...ROOM SERVICE! (BTW, be warned, they will arrive about 15 minutes before your requested delivery) :cool: Fine, if you actually know that.

 

Hi ladymacwilly,

 

Thank you for the information and advise.

 

We just got the documents on Friday for the cruise and we are second to board at 12:30PM for deck 11/12. Decks 9/10 the mini & suites are boarding 12:00PM. So we have a big advantage over the others boarding behind us as being on earlier. Should beable to board pretty fast and head for the food. So when we are heading to unpack the others should be heading for their food.

 

Hope it works out that way.

 

Thank you again!

 

Regards,

:) ESLO

(Ed & Bev)

[QM2 Cruiser]

Hi. This is a little off topic, but I found a photo of somewhere on the QM2 and I don't know where it is onboard, and have not seen it before. The link to the photo is below. I looks to be very relaxing, so I am thinking it is part of the queen or princess grills or the spa? Maybe someone could advise me. Thank you very much.

http://cruisecenter.smugmug.com/gallery/1290737/10

[QM2 Cruiser]

oops

[pepperrn]

Hi. This is a little off topic, but I found a photo of somewhere on the QM2 and I don't know where it is onboard, and have not seen it before. The link to the photo is below. I looks to be very relaxing, so I am thinking it is part of the queen or princess grills or the spa? Maybe someone could advise me. Thank you very much.

http://cruisecenter.smugmug.com/gallery/1290737/10

 

Hi, this is, I believe, deck 7 starboard side forward, the rest area of the canyon ranch spa.

 

cheers,

[Toffeegirl68]

Kings Court is a series of food counters on deck 7.

 

There are hot counters and cold counters the offerings of which change according to what time of day it is. e.g. hot buffet, cold buffet, pizzas, burger / sandwich bar, salads, cheese bar, Chinese, afternoon tea... At least one of them is open 24 hours a day (we know, cos one night we didn't bother going to bed!!!). You can get yourself tea, coffee, hot choccie, juice, water and ice 24 hours a day too.

 

Our approach was to find a table first and then wander around to see what the offerings of the day were on each. The hardest bit is remembering where you bagged your table (and avoiding people who don't look where they are going...).

 

All the food everywhere was great.:)

[PBrown]

>>>For breakfast, go to the Chef's Galley, where you can get omelets and waffles cooked to order.>>>>>>>

 

Isn't that the specialty restaurant? It's open for breakfast? Additional fees?

 

Hubby and I going on the June 9 - July 3 cruise. I've been reading the cruise boards and am confused because of the comments. I've read some really bad reports about service. We've never sailed on Cunard before, but I thought they were suppose to be top notch.

 

Also heard mixed reviews of the food in Britannia. Some say good, some say average some say "Denny's". Makes me wish I hadn't read anything. Please someone give me the straight skinny. I understand everyone perceives things differently but what I've read seems to be more than just a Preferences thing.

[travel-to-go]

>>>For breakfast, go to the Chef's Galley, where you can get omelets and waffles cooked to order.>>>>>>>

 

Isn't that the specialty restaurant? It's open for breakfast? Additional fees?

 

Hubby and I going on the June 9 - July 3 cruise. I've been reading the cruise boards and am confused because of the comments. I've read some really bad reports about service. We've never sailed on Cunard before, but I thought they were suppose to be top notch.

 

Also heard mixed reviews of the food in Britannia. Some say good, some say average some say "Denny's". Makes me wish I hadn't read anything. Please someone give me the straight skinny. I understand everyone perceives things differently but what I've read seems to be more than just a Preferences thing.

 

Brownie, <G>

Waffles and omelets are made to order in one of the areas of the KC- Only practical place to do this. Beware, when there is a crowd, this is a very slow process.

As for mixed reviews, Understand the standards of the people making these reviews. If you are expecting 5 star service and there are some faux pas, one might be disappointed that they were not at their sterling and impeccable best. If one did not know what to expect, but were used to the service at the average "nice" upscale restaurant, one might be delighted by the excellent service one experiences aboard ANY Cunard ship. ,Anyone, including a five start dining staff waiter, can have a bad night- perhpas he just got bad news from home. And some people cannot be satisfied no matter HOW goos it is! "Sure, you walked on water, Jesus, but what have you done since then? And why haven't you cured poverty?"

 

Trust me when I say, it would be highly unusualy were you not totally enthralled, delighted, and a bit let down when you have to go home to the oridnary. I've been on a few ships, a few lines, including 5 Cunard trips. I still feel like I am wearing my mom's high heels and earrings when I dine on a Cunard ship! Like "What if they find out I am not really royalty after treating me like this for the past week!" Then I go home, and have to cook and wash the dishes myself! And not once is there a cheese tray after dinner at home, or one of those cute little wafer things in my ice cream. Nor does anyone make art work with my sauces on my plates of food and desert. Come to think of it, I rarely get really incredible sauces and deserts at home, and on those rare occasions, I have to work hard at making them, then I have to clean up after myself!

 

Ooops, just mentioned you said food, not service.

Well, ask your waiter. If something is a little better than something else, or an item on the menu is not up to par, they will tel you henestly and recommend against it. They are pretty good judges, especially if you are on second seating as they have heard the opinions of the first seating diners. Also, if something is not to your liking, or wasn't all you thought it would be, they will take it back and bring you something else. Without fail, I assure you! Usually even, they will insist, if they know you are not satisfied. It is always possible but something wasn't what you thought it would be, or someone else gets something you REALLY yearn for after you see it If they know, they will usually bring you BOTH!

Trust me. People like to talk just to hear themselves talk. (Ask me how I know !<G>) Everyone likes to complain somewhat. In reality, we wouldn't be on these boards if we really hated it!

You'll have a marvelous time, and fabulous food. I guarantee it!

 

Karie,

Who has NEVER complained about the service on Cunard.. Well, not so as they deserved it

 

"I can't complain but sometimes I still do..." Joe Walsh Life's Been Good to Me

[cusyl]

The Galley only has an extra charge at night, not for breakfast or lunch. We didn't do waffles, but usually had lunch there because they make fresh sandwiches. At night there is a charge and I think wine is included (not sure as we didn't do this)

[PBrown]

Thanks for the answers. We've mostly travelled Celebrity and save one trip everything has always been wonderful. The one trip we found the food was not up to standards, lot of people sending it back for good reason.

 

Also had a bad experience on Oceania (though they have a lot of nice things going on, their management are totally rude and dictators, also about 30 of us got caught in the no smoking policy which they didn't bother to do much to make known. We found the passengers extreme rude and self interested also) and one terrible experience on RRCL (though we've had two nice experiences too).

[imacruizer]

As usual, Karie and Cusyl have summed things up quite nicely. I will add just a little more. The Chef's Galley is open for breakfast and lunch and there is no charge. At breakfast they serve made to order items like omlets and waffles. At lunch they serve hamburgers, hot dogs and made to order sandwiches.It is the smallest of the areas in the Kings Court and one can easily miss it. At night it becomes a cooking demonstration galley where you watch the chefs prepare the meal. The charge at night was $30 last year. That charge includes wine but, of course, not your tip.

 

As Karie has pointed out your experience on board will depend on your expectations and many other things. I see you have enjoyed Celebrity. I have recently sailed on Celebrity for the first time. It was a wonderful cruise, but I did not find the food any better than what I have had on the QM2.

 

Read as much as you can on this board. There is a great thread about Things Not to Miss on the QM2 which offers wonderful suggestions. Have a great voyage!

 

Beth

[dtwtraveler]

We ate breakfast at the buffet every day on the QE2, so we had room service for breakfast every day on the QM2 partly because we had a balcony and were on a Caribbean cruise. We ate a light breakfast and had lunch in the Britannia or King's Court. Afternoon tea in the Queen's Room offers the proper ambiance.

 

We were satisfied with the Britannia food and service. You can order off of the menu. They accommodated our low-fat requests for my husband and sometimes me - no sauce, etc. We decided to eat healthier the last two nights, and had grilled salmon, steamed veggies and a double order of salad greens. In fact, after we ordered a double order of salad greens the first night, the waiter automatically served them to us the remaining ten nights! I love Escargot, so the waiter offered to bring another serving to me. One night, I decided that the appetizers were more interesting, so I just ordered various appetizers along with the salad greens. My grandfather sailed on the QE1 and QM1 in 1963 and had a T-bone steak every evening!

 

One of our tablemates had to have a special diet, so every evening the ?supervisor? brought the next day's lunch and evening menus for her to make her selections. He and the waitstaff made her feel comfortable and special which is so important when you can so easily feel embarassed and troublesome! Also, the bakery made a special bread for her every day, and it was served to her at lunch and dinner! After the first evening, they gave her the remaining wrapped slices for her to take to her room. We've had trouble with low-fat selections in land hotels and restaurants and were impressed with how smoothly they handled her dietary needs! Another tablemate frequently wanted what one of us was served, so she'd ask and receive that item too after receiving her own!

[RobertQM2]

Hello to all of you fellow "QM2 diners".

I really like to follow this thread which brings up so many nice memories of our cruise. What we really liked was Britannia Restaurant in the early morning after a few miles on the running track (deck7). We enjoyed to sit at a table at the window watching the sea rolling by, one can get lost in time and space during a wonderful breakfast.

 

We often welcomed other guests at our table to instantly start interesting discussions. The same happened at tea time in the afternoon with the white glove service.

 

@ESLO, although there is no new information for you in my message I wish you all the best for your journey and I'm absolutely sure you'll like it. Another way to get all information about "whats not to be missed on the QM2" you have to go to the particular thread, which is called "Whats not to be missed on the QM2". http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=104597

Robert from Austria