First Timer QM2 review

Below are some of my thoughts from our recent first-time QM2 crossing from Southampton to NYC, M423, October 8-16, 2014.

My wife Pam and I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. We have taken about nine other cruises on various lines. This was our first time with Cunard. After reading up on the history of ocean liners and hanging around this board for quite a while, I convinced my wife that we really had to cross the Atlantic on a ship. This took a bit of doing, but I finally convinced her.

After flying from the US to the UK, and spending about a week sightseeing in London, the day of our voyage finally arrived. We took a cab from our hotel to the Waterloo train station for a train ride to Southampton. We were fortunate that the train was not crowded, because it did not have a luggage rack section. So we piled our luggage in the seats across from us. This worked well. We also met a very nice English couple in the train station that we really enjoyed on the way there who were also bound for the QM2. But in true cruise fashion, after boarding, we somehow never ran in to them again on the trip until the very last day!

We had a very nice Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle party on the first sea day. For some reason Cunard kept trying to get us to move from the Commodore Lounge to the Winter Garden, but I was not having it. So we had about 20 people meet for an hour or so in the Commodore Lounge, without any Cunard participation. But a nice time seemed to be had by all.

A word about my first impressions of the ship… After boarding, one of the first things that struck me was the length of the hallways. We were on the 11th floor, and the hallway seemed to stretch forever. Overall, I felt the ship was truly beautiful, but it also seemed very comfortable to me as well. I loved the large carvings/ murals in the halls in front of the Britannia dining room. The Britannia Ding room was also spectacular, and we had a very nice table for eight near the first floor center with a great view of the large artwork that dominates the room.

I really thought the Chart Room was an elegant venue for pre-dinner cocktails, and we enjoyed the Commodore Lounge as well. We had a great time in the Champagne Bar one evening, which I thought was a nice venue you do not find on other ships. I also had a couple of very tasty cups of coffee from Sir Samuels on occasion, but to be truthful, we found the regular room service coffee to be quite adequate for us.

The ship layout was quite a bit different than the other ships we had been on, undoubtedly due to the differences between a true liner and a cruise ship. Although this took some time to get used to and was a bit troubling at first, I think it made the ship more interesting in the end. There were all kinds of very interesting displays throughout the ship, but we just never seemed to have enough time to take in many of them.

As advertised, we found the QM2 to be very good in handling the North Atlantic weather. We had a good bit of rolling one morning when they slowed down to repair one of the engines, but once they completed the repairs and were back up to speed, things were smooth. Also one night we had very rough seas with winds gusting to Force 10, and I thought the ship handled it very well. I also thought the Captain “managed” the weather well. By altering course and speed, he was able to avoid the worst until later in the evening, when many had already retired. Things were still dicey the next morning, but the worst had already past by the time most had awoken.

I found the food in the Britannia Dining Room to be very good. I thought it was quite a bit tastier than what I had recently had on Celebrity, which I had previously considered to be the best I had experienced on a ship. I can only imagine how good the grills must be. Maybe someday… We did eat lunch at Todd English one day and I found the brick chicken and the flatbread appetizer to be delicious.

Pam and I love to make our attempts at ballroom dancing, and I have to say the QM2 was miles ahead of any other ship we have sailed in that category. The Queens Room was an excellent venue with a great dance floor. I have to say that the Queens Room Orchestra with singer Michel Chartier was a highlight for us. They made such lovely music that was very danceable for us. I would have to say if you are a dancer who loves the music as well as the dance, its not going to get any better, anywhere, than this. I also thought the Cunard dance hosts seemed to be doing a great job. They seemed to dance every dance with the single ladies, and I hope that everyone who wanted to dance was able to do so. Pam danced with one of the hosts, Ben, and he was very nice.

We enjoyed the special themed nights in the Queens Room as well. At the Black and White Ball, I enjoyed the Officer’s Gavotte, where the social hostess led a folk dance type number. It was fun to get to dance (very briefly) with Imogene and one of the singers from the shows. For the Masquerade Ball, Pam and I wore some cheap paper masks we found on the streets of London. Pam was the Queen, and I was a London Bobby. We looked pretty silly, but still had a great time.

After dancing in the Queens Room, we headed to the G32 disco a couple of nights when we felt particularly energetic. The party band Vibz was very good, and the DJ also played some great music. There were a good many people in the disco when we were there, and we had a great time there. We did get a little bit of smoky smell on our clothes (they allow smoking on the second floor) but it was really no trouble.

I did participate on a few of the trivia quizzes with a lovely couple I had met at the Meet and Greet. These quizzes could be quite difficult at times, but we were able to eak out a win for a few of them. I was able to collect a nice pen and key chain set the last day of the cruise as my winnings, which I am sure will not set Cunard back too badly! The lovely couple I teamed with is cruising on through Canada and back to England, and they will be allowed to combine their winnings from all of their consecutive voyages. They will probably win so many times they will own one of the big life boats by the time they are finished.

Pam and I really enjoyed the shows we were able to attend. We thought the Cunard Singers and Dancers were very energetic and put on a very nice show. They also had a good comedian and some very nice solo singers. We were a bit disappointed that the late seating for dining had to choose between either seeing Apassionata, or attending the Masquerade Ball event. We chose the ball, and so missed that show.

I wanted to say a word about our fellow passengers on our trip. This voyage had a majority of passengers from the UK, with the next largest contingent from France. Also, there were many Americans and Canadians as well. We met many people from the UK, as well as some from France and Switzerland. Of course we ran into some Americans as well. I have to say we were very impressed with the people we met on this trip. Our table mates at dinner were wonderful, and included a British mountaineer, as well as a veteran American couple who had travelled more than twenty times on the QM2 and twenty more on the QE2. We also dined with a lovely young American lady and her wonderful mother who had travelled extensively. Like many others we met on the ship, they were all very well travelled people, but they were also very nice. We did not find any overbearing, pretentious or braggy passengers. We only met people who were very interesting and very nice. I am sure there may have been some bad eggs on board, but we surely did not meet anyone who really fit into that category.

In conclusion, I really thought our voyage on the QM2 was special, and as I was hoping for, it was a trip not to be missed. Our experiences with Cunard personnel on the ship were positive and we were impressed with overall quality of the ship and the service provided.

Thanks for the report. I am glad you enjoyed your first cruise on QM2. Have you started planning your next one yet?

We were on the same cruise, and at the meet and greet, and concur with most of the review--only part I disagree on is the Cunard dancers and singers. Dancers were good, but we were underwhelmed with the singers, some of whom seemed flat much of the time, and all appeared to be over-mic'd most of the time. We aren't dancers, and wish we were, as it sounds like great fun. Next time maybe we'll take dance lessons. Several other highlights of the trip for me were the excellent performances by RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts); the Margaret Atwood talks (one of my favorite authors-what a thrill); and the wide variety of talented musical presentations around the ship, ranging from harp, classical guitar and string quartet to jazz and piano. This was our second transatlantic on the QM 2, and second ocean voyage period. We'll be back for more!

How wonderful to read such a thorough and positive review. Hope you will continue to travel on Cunard and perhaps try one of their other beautiful ships.

Thank you for your thoughtful and enthusiastic review. I'm delighted that you enjoyed your voyage on QM2 and hope that it will prove to be the first of many.

Thank you for the positive review. Cunard is a special experience - all the interesting and well-traveled people you meet and the unique venues and activities like the Queen's Room and afternoon tea. On no other ships can you enjoy ballroom dancing (or just watching) every night to a live band with vocalist.

Every time I travel Cunard I re-realize why I like them so much.

I recall when you visited the forum with planning questions--it is so great to hear back from you on your experience, and even more delightful to hear you and your wife had such a positive voyage! Thanks for sharing your well-written review.

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What a refreshing and detailed review, thank you so much. It is good to hear from someone who isn't as negative as many on here.

I enjoyed reading your review.

Keith

A pleasure to read your excellent review, thank you so very much for taking the time to write it, and post it here for us all to enjoy :) .

I hope to read soon that you've booked another crossing on QM2 :)

Sincere best wishes and happy sailings for the future.

Having read your excellent review I can't wait for our crossing in December!

We are fortunate in that it will be our 2nd time on the QM2, but our DD is travelling with us for her very first cruise/crossing. I'm looking forward to seeing how she reacts to everything and trying hard to stay neutral in our conversations so that I don't spoil the whole thing.

Somehow I don't think she'll be disappointed :D

A very nice review, and you certainly described QM2 as the great ship she is.

Thank you for the wonderful review. Enjoyed it very much. :)

Enjoyed your review.

We probably won't be going on Cunard again for quite a while -- but only because -- "so many cruiselines - so many cruiseships - so little time"

But - come the day that the Doctor says to me - "Sorry Barry - but you only have one more", there will be no need for any further choice. It could only be QM2 -- I just hope she is still around :)

Barry

Thanks to all for the kind words. I am looking forward to the chance to give Cunard some more business in the future. I think I would like to try one of the other ships, but li will definitely want to visit QM2 again someday.

Thank you for taking the time to write your review which I really enjoyed.

We are booked on our very first Cunard cruise on the QM2 next year and are really looking forward to it.

Susan