A sad ending due to the virus

Queen Mary 2 Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 199

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Queen Mary 2

Southampton to Sydney

Sail date: January 10, 2020

Ship: Queen Mary 2

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 10082

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Many ships understandably stopped going to China and Hong Kong. Cunard chose to eliminate every port in Asia. Other ships, even from the Carnival line, had no such problem. We know for sure that Seabourn Ovation, for one had people go ashore in Port Klang. MSC Splendida, with friends onboard, began in Singapore. I can't fault Cunard's decision to be overly cautious and the fact that no virus cases occurred, is a good thing. But despite whatever financial hardship this has caused the company, the passengers (like myself) who made and cancelled several return trips home from different ports and lost the entire payment for a Singapore hotel remain distressed and hurt financially as well as missing ports that were one of the reasons for taking this cruise in the first place. Some compensation is deserved based on the fact that Cunard chose to forgo many ports and many others did not.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Zipped right into our cabin.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
No complaints on foof, especially in the grill. Buffet had a good variety. One never sees berries in the buffet and the grill ran out early in the cruise. I judge a line by the quality and variety of fresh berries, especially at breakfast. Cunard does not meet my standard there.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Good fitness center. Most other activities, such as watercolor painting, trivia is for the older more laid back crowd. That's okay as we adapt and there's other things to be involved in. Just not a great variety to choose from. If I want that type of action, I can do RCL.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
The entertainment was superb. Some of the best.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Quite friendly and helpful.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Not bad. Was on one of the first cruises in 2004. New ship, new everything. Now, after 16 years and more than 70 cruises for me, the ship still maintains its grandeur.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
A bit small for the cost. Needs more hooks on the walls for various hanging of things. How about a make-up mirror in the bathroom, proper reading lights over the bed (the nightstand lamp not adequate for reading), overhead lights are all on at once, better to be controlled in sections, maybe with a dimmer. These are small things available inn the better suites on other lines that make a big difference.

Ship tip

Be prepared to spend a lot of money for water, coffee outside of the buffet and alcoholic drinks if you're not in a suite. It's petty and annoying.

Ports of call

Lisbon, Portugal

5 out of 5

Messina, Sicily

5 out of 5

Cruise Strait Of Messina

4 out of 5

HAIFA (JERUSALEM), ISRAEL

5 out of 5

Port Said, Egypt

5 out of 5
Just a layover at anchor before the canal.

Suez Canal Transit

4 out of 5
Lots of sand.

Aqaba (Petra), Jordan

5 out of 5

Dubai, U.A.E.

5 out of 5

Muscat, Oman

5 out of 5

Colombo, Sri Lanka

5 out of 5

Phuket, Thailand Did not visit port

Virus fears, ship did not visit.

Penang (Pulau Pinang), Malaysia Did not visit port

Virus fears, ship did not visit.

Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia

5 out of 5
Only stopped to refuel for trip to Freemantle. Only passengers who wanted to leave could disembark. No new crew or passengers allowed to board due to virus fears.

Singapore Did not visit port

Virus fears, ship did not visit. We were due to disembark here.

Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam Did not visit port

Disembarked in Kelang

Nha Trang, Vietnam Did not visit port

Disembarked in Kelang

Hong Kong Did not visit port

Disembarked in Kelang

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Ship supplied free transportation to Kuala Lumpur airport
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