Back from the QM2

[nautiboy]

As I alighted my taxi I heard some people remarking "What a big queen!" (did the picture hat give me away?). I gave them a dirty look but they said, "Not you...the OTHER Mary." Well!!! I turned around and had to agree. She is quite an impressive sight. Especially on the inside. Interiors are gargantuan and beautiful.

I have to hand it to the cruise director for planning so many events in such a short time and yet you still felt relaxed and unrushed. All in all a terrific cruise.

I had a short but wonderful time on this 3 day cruise. The title of the voyage "Queen for a Day" refers to Mother's Day (I think). I found the food to be excellent. The service slow but courteous. Lots of lines (Should it be called the Queue M2?). I had the cheapest inside accommodations but it proved to be very comfortable. Loved the Canyon Ranch toiletries, the robe AND SLIPPERS, the duvet (it was snowy white so they must keep them laundered). Even the in-cabin tv was wonderful which included channels devoted to the ship, the history of Cunard, lectures from prior sailings concerning the golden days of the transatlantic crossings and other stuff.

We had a Friends of Dorothy gathering at 1 pm both sea days in the Commmodore Lounge. Didn't feel the need to attend both but it was nice that they were provided.

Marni Nixon was one of the guest speakers (I guess Lipsynka was unavailable!) It was fun hearing her tales of Hollywood and dishing Natalie Wood.

The production shows were a hoot. Very over the top. The planetarium show in Illuminations was fantastic. It was the show I saw last year at the Museum of Natural History in NYC. By the way, check out the tush on the Mercury statues outside the entrances to Illuminations.

Aside from the slow service, my only other criticism is the tiny size of the indoor pool area. What were they thinking?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> As I alighted my taxi I heard some people remarking "What a big queen!" (did the picture hat give me away?). I gave them a dirty look but they said, "Not you...the OTHER Mary." Well!!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Glad you had a good time - sounds great...is she worth a return or are you going to do that "other" cruise? And tell me about the...well, never mind. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

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Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

[nautiboy]

Thanks Bri. I'll give you a full report via e-mail. You can e-mail me any questions you have. And the answer is yes...4 times.

[mattinla]

Nautiboy is a fantastic handle by the way...

So I'm curious, which production show did they do? Did they do the one with the giant nipple opening up above the stage? That was hilarious.

Was anyone using the top decks? On our Caribbean cruise, it seemed like the entire top of the ship was a ghost town... and there were so many great sunning spots.

Did you sign the CC guest book in the library?

CRUISES: Queen of Bermuda '89 Tropicale '99, Explorer of the Seas '02, Radiance of the Seas '02, Vision of the Seas '03, Queen Elizabeth 2 '03, Infinity '03, Serenade of the Seas '03, Monarch of the Seas '03, Norwegian Star '03, Queen Mary 2 '04,
Diamond Princess, '04

Detailed ship pix: http://community.webshots.com/user/mattinla

[JPEvans]

I was on the Tandem Crossing on the QM2. I went with Pied Piper. Our group I think had 27 in it. I was shocked at how many gay men were on the ship. Looking at the passenger list they gave us, there were lots of men listed without a female mate next to them. I would guess more then a third. The joke of the crossing was. The QM2 was "the gay nineties, either you're ninety or gay" I don't know if it was this particular crossing or does Cunard attract lots of gay men??

J.P.

[mattinla]

Nope, always very gay.. of course with PP, a little more so... besides the gay 90's joke, the other thing you always hear is that the Commodore Club should be called the Commodorothy..

CRUISES: Queen of Bermuda '89 Tropicale '99, Explorer of the Seas '02, Radiance of the Seas '02, Vision of the Seas '03, Queen Elizabeth 2 '03, Infinity '03, Serenade of the Seas '03, Monarch of the Seas '03, Norwegian Star '03, Queen Mary 2 '04,
Diamond Princess, '04

Detailed ship pix: http://community.webshots.com/user/mattinla

[nautiboy]

Hi Matt. They did 2 production shows. Not bad for a 3 nighter. The first one was something like Rock the Opera. And yes, the chandelier opened up and all the crap (mirror ball, beads, etc.)dropped down. I refer to it as the pinata. I left the show halfway through. Had enough of that. The other show was called Apassionata, I think and I skipped it. My companion said it was more of the same. What were they thinking, by the way, when they put handrails up to the stage in the Royal Court?Couldn't they have had the steps on the sides of the proscenium, or if they wanted the steps in front of the stage, have them mechanically descend when not in use. All in all I thought the design of Royalt Court was bad. Illuminations is a fantastic theatre, on the other hand. Excellent sight lines from every seat, just like Princess http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

It wasn't warm enough to really use the top deck. Only time it was really in use was during sail away. And what's with that splash pool? It's like a koi pond. What are you supposed to do in it. Wash out fine garments?
It's weird to see all that deck space without a swimming pool.