The North Atlantic is prone to high seas, and this trip was no exception, with salt spray soaking our deck 5 cabin's balcony. But as the Queen Mary 2 was designed for this, the only impact was the loss of use of that balcony. All was very stable, despite beign on the tail end of a hurricane. We took this trip primarily as transportation (we hate to fly), and it was much more than adequate at that. Dining room service was a bit slow and the shows unimpressive, but the lectures were excellent and all else just as expected.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
We were transferring from a cruise on the Queen Victoria. As the ships were moored on opposite sides of the harbor, it was not a simple or fast process, though the paper work was dealt with promptly. We did manage to get lunch, but only just.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Cunard has a very good kitchen, though you'll search in vain for spicy foods if that's what you like (hint: ask for Sambal). The buffet was also good, but a lack of clear traffic flow made it a bit of a mob scene at times. We had some challenges from the menu though, as the desriptions often failed to match up to the food. Sometimes this was (I suppose) just a British take on things, sometimes it was simply not using words in the usual way. The breakfast menu never changed, but on a 7-night cruise, that's tolerable. Hint: At the buffet, fill a small bowl with ingredients, and ask the omelette station to us them for filler. Get to know your server and especially your sommalier. The wine list is very long and occasionally obscure, so take advantage of Cunard's well-trained wine staff for advice.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Cunard is famous for outstanding lectures, and we enjoyed these as best we could. Unfortunately, sometimes the 10am talk ran clear to 11am, and the 11am talk was in the other theater, making for a mad dash and poor seats.
Pursers Office
1 out of 5
Bad information, no information, and long queues. Not pleasant to deal with.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
We didn't attend the theatre shows, as our experinces on Cunard have been bad. The classical trio and harpist are quite good though, and worth a listen.
Illuminations
3 out of 5
This is a very nice auditorium, and the planetarium dome is a unique asset that was, on this trip, underutilized. Sadly, the reclining mechanism on the seats under the dome are badly in need of maintenance, with perhaps a third of them collapsing to full recline as soon as one sits. Test the seating before makign a selection, and watch your knees!
Royal Court Theatre
3 out of 5
Seating here wraps 3/4 of the way around the stage. Might be good for shows designed to use that, but bad for lecture presentations where many seats had no good view of the screen, and that's before the posts that block views from some seats. Choose carefully.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Cunard service is very proper, quite restrained, and not overtly friendly in the ways one might expect from other cruise lines. That said, if you can get them to talk, they're as friendly as anyone. Dining room service varied a lot, especially at breakfast and lunch. I had a lot of trouble keeping my coffee cup filled at all three meals.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The Queen Mary 2 is a liner, not a cruise ship, as you will be told repeatedly. This means it's about 40% broader than other ships of its size. This gives important stability in high seas, and it allows for the generous use of space in public areas, with broad corridors and spacious bars. It does not grant much more space in the cabins and some corridors, and a couple of areas cannot be reached without going to another deck. Cleanliness was good, but maintenance issues abounded, for example, a good third of the seats in the planetarium were broken and fell into full recline as soon as one sat. Hard on the knees behind you, as well as hard to see the show.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Large enough to be comforable, with a decent sized bath, but both the room in general and the bath were both short on drawers and shelves. Not too bad for a 7-night crossing, but with three formal nights on the trip, space was at a premium.
Ship tip
Get to Afternoon Tea early, as they often run out of seats.
Just in town for a quick transfer from the Queen Victoria. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a slow transfer, but we still didn't see much of the town.
Terrible. It started when they failed to deliver luggage tags, with the Purser's Desk then giving us the wrone ones. We didn't know how to reserve a wheelchair until disembarcation day, and thus went to the end of the list. Porters were few, and we waited an hour to get one. And of course our New York cabbie overcharged us. Second worst disembarcation out of 50+ cruises.
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