QM2 Eastbound Crossing 7-14 September: Quick Notes

This isn't a formal review but instead some quick comments from my recent crossing. Thanks to everyone who helped as I asked questions prior to the trip (particularly the advice to keep all OBC information available and to confirm it on board - there was an issue and it was quickly resolved). My apologies for the length!

Background: Thetrip was somewhat last minute and was a present to myself for surviving thepast year. A serious health issuerequired that my husband and I cancel a different vacation planned earlier inthe summer. He’s recovered now but couldnot take more time off from work; I needed a break and he kept reminding methat my comment after a prior crossing was that I was never more relaxed thanwhen I was onboard. He and I did awestbound crossing in December 2014 and it was, indeed, one of my favoritevacations. We also were travelling inQueens Grill, something I would not be doing this trip, so I knew to expectsome differences. With his encouragement,I booked this trip during the 4th of July sale and got both prepaidgratuities (from Cunard) and some nice OBC from my travel agent.

Boarding: As noted in the separate thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2541773),the check in process at the Brooklyn terminal was a mess. Standing in line for 90 minutes was not fun,though I did meet a very nice couple with whom I spent a good amount of timeduring the week. The agent who did thecheck in was very friendly but there was no acknowledgement about the length ofthe lines or delays. One good thing fromthis, however, was that by the time I got to my stateroom, my bag as there –actually inside the room (not just in the hallway).

Sail away: Theweather turned perfect by mid-afternoon and I don’t think we could have askedfor anything more from the departure. Wewere delayed by a Royal Caribbean ship which was taking a very slow scenic tourof the Statue of Liberty on its way out (the captain seemed a bit miffed). However, once underway, we had a great, ifwindy, ride out to the bridge. Thanks toeveryone’s advice to be up top (I was all the way forward) going under thebridge.

Stateroom: I wasin a sheltered balcony on deck 6 (6097). I’d been in a similar cabin on deck 5 previously so I knew what toexpect. The updated furnishings(particularly the new “sofa” and the pillows) were very nice. I appreciated the kettle in the room (wouldhave preferred some sort of “brewed” coffee but I understand the spaceconstraint and the instant coffee worked for a first cup). The closet actually had hangers in bothsections (I’d read recently that many closets only had hangers in a singlesection). Everyone’s comments about thedrawer pulls is spot on: they look nicebut are difficult to grab and pull without hurting oneself. The bathroom hadn’t changed. Being on deck 6, I was a bit concerned about noise from 7, but it was rarely an issue. A few times I did hear loud "banging," likely someone moving a deck chair above, but only if I was actually on the balcony or had the door open. I never heard anything when I was in the room.

Stateroom Attendant: Myattendant, Tatiana, introduced herself to me within a few minutes of myarrival. She never stopped smiling andwas great at “directing” me on how to best take advantage of her. We chatted regularly in the hallways and Ithink she really appreciated that I was generally up and out of my room before9:00, allowing her to clean it early. One formal evening, she complimented me and stopped me to adjust my tie –a very nice touch. If I have anythingnegative to say about her is that I found it odd that she couldn’t keep trackof which side of the bed to “turn down.” I was travelling alone and always slept on the side of the bed closestto the window. It was obvious from howthe bed was slept in (all the pillows on that side) and the presence of mybooks and other personal items on that nightstand. Yet she seemed to alternate, night by night,which side was turned down. Not a bigdeal, but a minor little service miss.

Dinning: I hadsecond seating in Britannia (as requested) at a table for 10 (notrequested). Upon introducing ourselvesthe first night, ALL of my table mates commented that we’d requested a tablefor 6 and yet all got a table for 10. Did they not know what to do with us? The location of the table, lower level, along the left main aisle, just in from the door, was not ideal(too much traffic on the busy aisle) but we made the most of it. Overall, the table got along well. We did have one person join us on the 2ndnight stating that he had a bad fit on the first. However, we never felt he fit with us,either. In the end, we generally justlet him be and those of us who clicked stayed together. While we were at a 10-top, we only really had9 people (one half of a couple could not join at the last minute) and we onlyhad 9 people once.

Food/Service: Tobe honest, this was one area of “miss” for me. Our server was nice, but he often seemed to be going through themotions. The last formal night was acomplete miss for him. Several orderswere not correct and he just seemed disengaged. The assistant waiter was very nice and the head waiter for our sectionwas fantastic. One of the diners hadsevere food allergies and he worked with her nightly to ensure she could eatthe next day and followed up to make sure all was good. Beyond the service, I found the food to bejust “ok.” None of my meals blew me away(I did have some components that were very good, but never a completemeal). I realize that preparing dinnerfor so many people at once is an assembly line and that the food is not preparedindividually, but I could also tell when components were “rewarmed.” Additionally, I am not a big fan of “mushy”vegetables and I don’t think I had any that weren’t cooked beyond “well done.” One salad was made with a different blend ofgreens than listed on the menu and the greens were soaking wet (there was apuddle at the bottom of the bowl). Dessertswere generally good and I did have a good tuna sashimi starter one night.

Bars/Drinks: Muchof my “social” time was in the Commodore Club (my favorite place on theship). Our table met for pre-dinnerdrinks and we were recognized nightly and servers knew our regularrequests. Everyone was very nice,keeping snacks coming and we enjoyed the canapes (warm and cold). The prices were reasonable (to an Americanfrom Chicago - $12 for a martini was more than fair). I wasn’t bothered by the built in gratuityand mostly did not add anything additional. We also spent a good amount of time in G32. This was a great late night spot and the band(Purple Haze) and DJ both knew how to keep the dance floor hopping.

Daytime: I onlyattended one official lecture and it was fine. Most of my days were spent reading. The noon-time clock change really played a game on what to do when. My normal routine was breakfast in KingsCourt followed by a good amount of walking. By 10:30 or 11:00, I’d be in the Commodore Club with my book and mycoffee and I’d stay there through at least the noon announcements (and timechange). Lunch followed (a few differentvenues but fish and chips called me regularly!), then some morewalking/relaxing until it was time to start getting ready for dinner. My group met for cocktails at 7:00 so the daywent quickly.

Entertainment: Isaw the Cunard Singers and Dances do one show, I saw the guest magician and Isaw the final performance of the National Symphony. Others enjoyed the shows more than I did (Ifreely admit I am not a magician fan) but the Symphony was very good and I amsorry I didn’t see more performances. Ialso watched a bit of the ballroom dancing for the Black and White Ball as wellas the Mask Parade. A glass of Champagnemakes these enjoyable.

Weather: Thefirst sea day was gorgeous and decks and pools were in full use. Then we had 2very foggy days plus a few days of iffy weather. The sun came out at the endfor the final afternoon of the crossing. The seas themselves were generally mild (a bit of rocking, but almostdisappointingly calm!).

Disembarking: Iwas not quite sure what to expect as I was trying to do a hybrid process. Being on deck 6, my assigned disembarkingtime was 10:30 and that wouldn’t work with my arranged pick up of 9:30. When I asked about getting a prioritydisembarking slot, I was told I could be in the early group but that was goingto be about 8:15 and would mean too much time waiting for my ride. In the end, I went with self-helpdisembarking with the confirmation that I did not have to be among the firstoff and could get off when I wanted as long as I took my bags AND was out of myroom by 8:30. I ate an early breakfastand returned to my room a bit after 8:00 to get my bags. I decided that I would hang out in the ChartRoom with my bags until about 9:00 and then go through disembarking. This generally worked (though I did feel thatI was in the “wrong room” waiting with all of the PG guests). I just did not want to have to deal withelevators any more than necessary and the Chart Room was the closest publicspace to the exit. The line to get offthe ship never got small, however. A bitbefore 9:00, I joined it. We were usingthe exit next to the Champagne bar; the line did a full circle of the deck 3lobby and then doubled back on itself and then down the corridor. It was a bit confusing trying to find the endof the line and then circling through the switchbacks with luggage. I was not alone with my bags and we werestruggling to stay in some form of order. There was also a guest who was in transit but trying to get off the shipwith his bicycle adding the confusion. In the end, however, I was through the line and out the door in under 15minutes.

Final Comments: Ihad a very good time on board and am very glad that I took this trip. It was a different experience from my priorcrossing (alone, not in QG), but I found new ways to enjoy the ship. I met some very interesting people with whomI hope to keep in touch and will definitely talk up a crossing to my friends. The formal atmosphere is something I enjoyand sought out but it’s something that I wouldn’t want on every vacation. I do hope another crossing is in my future (and I hope the seas give us a bit more of ride, too!).

Howard

Thank you for posting your comments. One question: were there abridged plays performed by members of RADA? I had read a review of an earlier crossing in which it was mentioned that there were no RADA presentations.

I don't remember seeing any mention of RADA performances in the programs. I can check them later to see if I just missed them. However, no one I spoke with mentioned going to one.

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Thanks for reporting back, it's nice to hear that you had a very good time.

No RADA, probably because the NSO were on board.

We were on that crossing as well. We requested a table for 8 and were at a table for 10, though two of the 10 were a mother and son - the mother ate with us without the son for the first 2-3 nights, then the mother and son ate with us one night, and then neither ate with us for the rest of the crossing. The trouble with a table for 10 is that the table is sort of an elongated oval rather than round and it’s very hard to talk to anyone who isn’t on your half of the table.

Both of the evening NSO concerts were fantastic! I enjoyed the American one more than the British one, though. The afternoon strings concert was underwhelming. We went to see the first night’s show and did not return for any of the other Royal Cunard shows. We heard from our tablemates that the tribute to Sting was new but the rest of the first night’s show was old. The magician was ok, others enjoyed it more than me. I enjoyed Bryan Batt’s cabaret show and Q&A and we saw him the day of disembarkation at the Boots on Piccadilly Circus!

Speaking of disembarkation, it started 30 minutes late because the ship wasn’t quite where it needed to be in order for the gangway to line up and they needed to move the ship. We were towards the front of the line for self-disembarkation and happened to overhear this.

The food was good but repetitive and it was clear that the dishes for the last sea day were comprised of everything that hadn’t gone bad yet.

Overall a great experience!

I don't remember seeing any mention of RADA performances in the programs. I can check them later to see if I just missed them. However, no one I spoke with mentioned going to one.

 

 

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No RADA on our crossings this summer, either. Have they given up on that program?

Thanks for reporting back abefroman329, it's always good to hear back from people who have asked questions before their trips.