Just back from crossing...any QM2 questions?

We are just back from our NY to Southampton crossing. I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have.

June

Yes, please - my questions relates only to the grills,

If you were accommodated in PG/QG, please advise if

the QG lounge has now been opened to both QG

AND PG.

thank you.

Curls

Hi June

I will be on the Sept 29th New England Canada cruise and was wondering since it will be cool that time of year is there an indoor pool that everyone can use. Also what are some not to be missed features on the ship. I know about the library and planaterium.

Thanks

Michelle

Regarding the QG lounge..there is a sign at the entrance that reads for Princess and Queens Grill guests only.

There is a lovely indoor (covered) pool on deck 12 along with hot tubs and many lounging chairs. Canyon Ranch Spa also has an indoor bubble, therapy pool but that is only for use if you are having a spa service or pay a daily fee.

There seem to be an endless number of great spots on the ship and people found there favorite. The library is beautiful as is the planetarium which is the Royal Court theater. There are many lectures and shows at this venue.The promenade on deck 7 is a wonderful place to sit in the sun, if there is any or to take walks around the deck...three times around equals 1.1 mile. There seemed to be music everywhere which was wonderful, so take your pick...or find a quiet game table and enjoy scrabble, etc.

I hope this was helpful.

June

June, what was the weather like on your crossing and how were the seas? Did you really feel like the ship was moving or not really? I'm not at all prone to sea sickness, but the largest ship I've ever been a passenger on was a ferry *laugh*.

The weather was cool,I believe that 72 was the highest temp. reached, and of course breezy. It was also mostly cloudy with periods of sun peeking through. The seas were remarkedly calm and the captain announced that this was a "super smooth" crossing. After the first day, I never even saw a white cap and forget about waves. I loved it.

We are just back from our NY to Southampton crossing. I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have.

June

Did you remember to sign the Cruise Critic log?

Hi June:

We are sailing on QM2 Oct. 30. This time we are Queen's Grill. Having never been higher than Caronia on the QE2, I asked in a thread about formal dress in Queen's for dinner. I only got one response which seemed to answer the question by stating dress is 2 formal, 2 informal, and 2 choice on QM2 crossing that applies to all dining venues (except buffets). However, my travel agent said that the higher the grill, the more "formal" passengers seemed to dress. Did it seem to you that Queen's Grill passengers dressed in tuxes on "informal" nights, or did they just wear suit and tie (or jacket and tie)? Also, before booking I had called Cunard and asked if Princess could use Queen's Grill lounge (we were going to sail Princess) and they stated "No, only Queen's Grill may use the lounge." (I had read somewhere before even the launching of QM2 that both were going to be able to.) Looks like what I read was correct and Cunard rep was wrong. Does Queen's grill lounge have any special cocktail hour where drinks are free? And how is the refrigerator in Queen's cabin stocked? Thank you for putting this thread up.

On June 25th, the 'higher the grill' had nothing to do with the more formal the dress. Many male grill passengers threw on a jacket on casual nights and a neck tie on informal nights. The most impressive was the jewelry...real pearls instead of paste.

The dress on the June 25th crossing was 2 casual, 2 formal, 1 informal and 1 switch [informal/formal], not what you posted.

Again, despite what you may have read, the Queens Lounge had a sign posted saying "for Queen's Grill Passengers Only."

I was also told that there were 2 formal, 2 informal and 2 casual nights. I was very surprised to find that, on our crossing that there were 2 formal nights and 1 night called for optional formal or informal, 1 informal and 2 casual. Thus, there were really 3 formal nights and it seemed that the majority of people dressed formal for 3 nights. On the informal nights we saw some formal attire, mostly suits for men and dressy outfits for women. The casual nights were a variety. My husband wore a blazer and slacks and I wore a knit suit. My overall impression was that people were not as dressed up as I had expected, although, for the most part, everyone looked great and well dressed. You know that for ladies there are degrees of formal and I think I expected to see more evening gowns and while the majority of men wore a tux on formal nights, I did see some men with grey suits which surprised me.

Also, the second formal night,which was also the black and white ball, seemed to have brought out the dressier outfits for the ladies.

My husband and I dined in the Britannia dining room. We were always passing the Queens and Princess Grill and saw no difference in attire. People are going to dinner at all hours so you are always passing folks dressed for dinner even if you are dining later. People dining in the grills are not confined to those areas on the ship so that they too are frequenting the bars, lounges, shows, Todd English, etc.

Regarding the Queens grill lounge, there is tea there every afternoon and I did see the sign at the door that stated for Princess and Queens Grill guests only.

I hope this is somewhat helpful. Let me know if I can be more specific.

Yes, I misstated the response I had gotten as to dress.:o I even told my wife wrong!! Dont know why that 2,2,2 was stuck in my head. Senior moment. The only reason I picked Queen's over Princess was Cunard telling me lounge was for Queen's only and the supposedly daily stocked refrigerator in cabin . Thanks June and Iknick. Guess in the big picture it doesn't matter who uses Queen's Grill lounge (it just cost me about $2000 more than necessary if Princess can use it too :D)

I can certainly appreciate what you are saying. I know that the price differential is great between categories. I did meet people traveling in the princess grill and got to visit their junior suite. It was lovely and a bit larger than our cabin. We had a B1 cabin, mid ship on deck 12, with a balcony and it was very comfortable and in a fabulous, central location. We were on a wait list for a Princess or queens grill cabin for 4 months but it never became available. When we checked in there was a sign at each attendant stating that the ship was filled and no changes could be made. We were very pleasantly surprised with our cabin and especially its location. In addition, because we were a B1 cabin in the Britannia dining room, apparently we were given an excellent table, and in addition to that, on our first night we were invited to change tables and for the duration of the crossing we dined at the staff captains table. It was a fabulous experience. We had such interesting people at our table, including a British author who was a NY Times bestselling author. Needless to say dinner conversations were very stimulating. We never left the dining room before 11 each night. Also, because we were at the staff captains table, we were invited to an invitation only cocktail party by the Captain and senior staff. So, as it turned out, we were quite pleased that our upgrade did not come through. It was quite a trip and I guess we ended up saving a good bit of money.

We were on the June Caribbean cruise and found the Britania Dining Room, a disaster in service....any improvements or were you in different DR

I was on the same crossing and agree that the seas were very calm. It was almost like being on a pond. As for the temps, there were comfortable. I don't really like heat, so I had no problems at all. Even those who like it hot would find that a sweater or sweatshirt was all that they needed. It's a great ship, enjoy it.

I was in the QG and found the service to be great. The meal options the first night out were limited to the standard fare, but they would prepare anything that you wanted, with advance notice, from that point on. We ordered from the A La Carte menu and asked for a few non-menu items. All were prepared very well and delivered with a smile. At lunch they would provide the dinner menu and ask if there were anything special that we wanted. We tried Todd English and were a little disappointed. The food and service were better in Boston. QG was so good that there really isn't a need to pay extra money and go to TE. We did eat in the pub one afternoon and enjoyed the fish & chips. The QG Lounge was nice and the Commodore was terrific. Also, it was right down the hall from our cabin. We tried a couple of other bars as well and enjoyed them all. Also, wine and liquor prices were very reasonable. We spent almost 3 weeks in Europe after the crossing and were taken aback at the prices this year. The dollar is really at rock bottom.And this is after many trips to the continent.

I was wondering if you could give us a sampling of the menu choices on your voyage. How are the portions? They weren't anything to write home about on my crossing ( except that I was starving ) and am hoping they have improved. Are they still rationing bread and water during meals? On my voyage, you had to beg the staff for more water and another roll. It wasn''t just my table either.

We ordered from the menu one or two nights and the food was good, if not exciting. We ordered Dover Sole from the A La Carte menu as well as Chateaubriand. Both were excellent. The main menu had duck, lobster, grilled prawns, beef tournedo, lamb, pork and crab. They also had a variety of pasta and fish. Each evening they had a Canyon Ranch selection, six or seven entrees, five or six appetizers, salads and five or six desserts. We often ordered a listed appetizer or dessert and ordered an entree from the A La Carte menu or something not listed. We also ordered caviar and got our own individual jars, a Grand Marnier souflee and Bananas Foster. Basically, you could get whatever you wanted in QG. We didn't eat in Britannia, but the restaurant looked very attractive. We never had a problem getting bread, coffee, wine or anything else that we wanted. Our captain was Jonathan and he kept the servers(3) on task. They were all pleasant and were efficient. I didn't pick up a hint of discontent or annoyance on their part. The Sommelier was also very good. I don't know what the service was like in Britannia, but the portions and the service were fine in QG (I'm 6'1" and weigh 220, so I'm not a light eater). Maybe I was lucky, but the experience was terrific-and with no jet lag. BTW, my wife and I are both originally from R.I.

Hello Amuld!

Glad to meet someone else from 'Little Rhody.' We were preparing for the TS/Hurricane at our house in Misquamicut, but it seems like it has gone out to sea. Thank goodness, as a Rhode Islander, you know how bad that area got hit in previous storms ( '38 ).

Thanks so much for the review of the food. Oh, if only that had that kind of selection on my crossing. It sounds like the kind of cuisine that I usually find on Celebrity. I suppose, little by little, those kinks are being worked out.

I am travelling QM2 next year ( not by choice, but out of necessity ), so it

looks like I won't go hungry this time.

There was no problem getting bread, rolls or water. In fact, we never had to ask as the waiter kept filling water glasses and coming around with the bread basket.