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Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic with kids


steilkurve
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Hello all. Got two Princess Grills cabins booked for a July transatlantic on QM2. Cabins are next to each other but not connecting as those are sold out. My wife and I will be traveling with our 12 and 15 year-old kids. A few questions for experienced travelers on Cunard.

 

-Reservations put one adult and kid per cabin but they said once onboard adults could stay in one and kids in the other. Asked twice and got the same answer. Is this true? Won’t it be a problem onboard?

 

-Can Princess Grills balcony dividers be opened?

 

- Are kids common in grills? Ours are quiet and used to long dinners but will we feel out of place?

 

Any info appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

 

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Well, I certainly wish you and your family well. I think CUNARD is the very last cruise line I would choose if I were travelling with children. I've done a number of QE QV and QM2 trips and L O V E D them all. But I do not travel with kids. Very few kids are on "Q" ships. Maybe the summer is very different. If so----- others will point this out.

Again--- I wish you and your family the best.

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I have seen kids in the Grills, they where taken care of very nicely.

I have seen quite some families with children on some crossings. If the children enjoy dressing up as I did as a kid they are in the right place! Don' t be put off by the comments above. There are not so many children, but there are always a few, and certainly welcome.

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We did a transatlantic last summer with 14 & 16 year old boys. It was June so before the UK schools broke up so all the few children on board were American. There were a handful of teens and my kids did go down to the teen club a few times. They also took their x-box which was a good idea. They loved the crossing: we met them for some meals but otherwise they liked exploring, going to the gym, playing deck games. We were in Brittania dining room and as late sitting, I didn't see other children, but they liked dressing up and eating with us, and often went for second desert in the buffet afterwards.

 

We put them in one cabin and us in another and the only time it was an issue was when we had to get asked to get a new key cards made for us to access the boys cabin. But in reality it wasn't an issue although I did feel bad for their steward at times - trying to get in to clean when they slept late!

 

Our boys loved the experience and would do it again. You might check what age they are allowed to roam the ship. Would have been significantly less fun if they needed to be accompanied.

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Love the fact that the first two replies are so negative. I don't think I've ever done a Cunard cruise without seeing children on board, from toddlers to teenagers. They all looked happy enough to me.

 

Sorry can't help with your questions but I did just want to reassure you with regard to the family.

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Whenever I've been on a Cunard cruise in the school holidays, there has always been a reasonable number of children. I was once passed on the stairs by a gang of about twelve seven year old pirates, with hats and cutlasses. They seemed to be having a good time. The ship absorbs them very well, so the child averse are not inconvenienced. I have noticed older children seem, somewhat improbably, to enjoy the dancing classes!

 

There are usually a few in the grills. They are treated like honoured guests and behave accordingly, in my experience.

 

I think you'll have a lovely time. And your children may be hooked on Cunard for life.

 

Jane

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Children were in the Grills when we sailed last summer on a Northern Europe cruise. A little girl we spoke to was having great fun in the kids club. We saw older children/teens on treasure hunts.

 

 

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Well, I certainly wish you and your family well. I think CUNARD is the very last cruise line I would choose if I were travelling with children. I've done a number of QE QV and QM2 trips and L O V E D them all. But I do not travel with kids. Very few kids are on "Q" ships. Maybe the summer is very different. If so----- others will point this out.



Again--- I wish you and your family the best.





Rubbish. There will be plenty of children and teenagers on-board in August with plenty for them to do as listed above. The captain usually throws a "cocktail party" for them one afternoon with mocktails and I have seen part of Kings Court being prepared for a children's sit down afternoon tea. Also a barbecue one evening. I once tried to assist some children with a treasure hunt around the ship but they didn't want any interference from me.

They look lovely dressed up as well!

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The captain usually throws a "cocktail party" for them one afternoon with mocktails and I have seen part of Kings Court being prepared for a children's sit down afternoon tea. Also a barbecue one evening. I once tried to assist some children with a treasure hunt around the ship but they didn't want any interference from me.

They look lovely dressed up as well!

 

Yes, I've been on board a crossing when there were approx 350 under 18's and the captain had an afternoon cocktail party with soft drinks and plenty of sticky buns.

 

No problem with young people in the Grills, I've seen many over the years.

 

Stewart

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There have always been a few children in Princess Grill on our voyages. As others have said, there will probably be more in the summer season. We have all read "horror stories" of out-of-control children on some other lines, but I have never noticed any problem on a Cunard ship. There is a good programme for children and teens.

 

Yes, the balcony dividers can be opened.

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While there aren't many teens on board the QM2 crossings, there are some. And there is plenty to do on board, fitness center, walking on deck, the pool, movies, board games, etc. At night, darts in the pub and probably the disco. Not many young people in Princess Grill, a few if any at all. But your kids will be treated well, doted on. Lots of room in the stateroom, the kids should cope well in a room by themselves. It will be a terrific adventure for them. Their friends will envious. It's not Disney, but the QM2 crossing is a special experience. What other teens do this? Have them create a blog and impress their land-lubbing friends. A teen project!

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Thanks all. This is quite reassuring. Any more feedback on having the kids in a separate cabin that’s not connecting?

 

 

Our first TA on QM2 was in 2007, when our children were 15 and 11. We booked rooms next to each other and put them in a room on their own. There were never any problems. The rooms were not connecting, but we did open the balcony dividers (if the weather allowed).

We have done this on all trips we have been on with them.

 

Our daughter (the eldest) had a ball. She cried when we arrived in Southampton as she didn't want to get off. She is still friends with some of the people she met and has even met them again on other trips. Our son was a little shy (he soon grew out of it!) and didn't settle in the kids club, so he spent time with us and we went to lectures, played cards, played darts in the Golden Lion etc. We allowed them to do as they wished during the day but always insisted that they joined us for dinner and dressed accordingly. We have never seen any unruly children on Cunard (unlike some other cruise lines that we have been on).

 

We did at least one TA a year for the next three years and they now have 10 Cunard trips under their belts, have been on all three Queens and have loved every one of them. They never say no when we ask if they want to join us on a trip.

 

Hope that helps

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Hello

 

I have done countless summer crossings on the QE2 and QM2. I can assure you that there are always a lot off kids from babies in strollers to teenagers. They are very well behaved and seem to enjoy themselves immensely. Do not listen to those who say children are rarely on Cunard ships because is it not true and are trying to mislead you for their own reasons.

 

Deck Chair

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In almost all cases the partitions between adjacent balconies can be opened (the exception is when two staterooms/suites are separated by a fire barrier, I think). I would not rely on the partitions between balconies to offer suitable security; the balcony doors should be locked at night and when the suites are unoccupied.

 

We cruise mostly at Christmas (always in Britannia) when it's natural to assume there would be more children onboard. Almost always it hasn't been any disruption at all (this past Christmas an extended family at a nearby table had young children who did not do well with a 1.5-2 hour dinner). Maybe there's a correlation between the people who would consider a Cunard cruise with their children and the care they put into parenting.

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I did my first crossing on the original Queen Elizabeth as a 9 year old in 1962. It started my addiction - and now we have taken our own children on several Cunard voyages, and they also loved every minute of it.

 

I am sure you will all have a wonderful time, and will be forming memories to last a life time.

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Congratulations and I salute you for including your children on this great adventure. I don't speak for Cunard but I can't imagine that placing the children in one room and adults in the adjacent (not adjoining) room will be problem. I will always remember the wonderful trips, domestic and international, that my parents took my brother and me on. Our children have also commented many times on how much they enjoyed traveling with Mom and Dad. Now we are just a couple of years from being able to travel with our grand kids and can't wait. Travel is not just the great educator but is also a time to build family memories. The QM2 has so much to offer. Please post a trip summery.

 

Harold

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Give them the option to opt out of dining with you every night. They might have fun doing dinner in the buffet and meeting up with other young people. On my crossing there was a couple with 2 children and we only saw them on the formal nights dressed up nicely, otherwise I think the children dined in the buffet while the parents enjoyed dinner "alone" in Britannia.

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I did my first crossing on the original Queen Elizabeth as a 9 year old in 1962. It started my addiction - and now we have taken our own children on several Cunard voyages, and they also loved every minute of it.

 

I am sure you will all have a wonderful time, and will be forming memories to last a life time.

 

 

I couldn't agree more. My first crossing was in 1968, also on the original Queen Elizabeth. I was 15 - and the memories remain clear and strong. It began my lifelong addiction to ships and Cunard. You'll be giving your children a priceless gift. And rest assured - based on my experience - there will be other children on board as well.

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I am amazed when I hear stories of my great-nieces and -nephews on cruises. They seem to very quickly develop a responsible attitude. This was not on a Cunard cruise but another line, but I heard of the times that a group of 10-year-old boys would take themselves off to the main dining room for lunch and sit there with aplomb ordering from the menu and behaving themselves.

 

Your children should enjoy themselves and if they are well-brought-up they will be a joy to the other passengers.

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Your children should enjoy themselves and if they are well-brought-up they will be a joy to the other passengers.

 

 

Thanks for your message. I totally agree. We’ve brought our kids on many cruises and other trips where they joined us as we enjoyed long dinners. They’ve actually learned to appreciate these moments and now even enjoy dressing up for special occasions. Therefore, I doubt they’ll want to skip those nice meals and will stay with us. My initial question was more around how we’d fit it in with kids on Cunard than concerns about how they’d appreciate. Thanks to those informative replies, my concerns have been put aside.

 

 

 

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We've done a few summer crossings and always see children on board. They look great all dressed-up for dinner.

I admit that I get a little sad seeing them in that mother changed our reservations on the Queen Mary back when I was a kid and we flew home from Europe instead. At the time I didn't know what I had missed, as I was one of the only kids at my school having flown in a jet. But now I realize how special a crossing can be.

 

And just think, 50 years from now on the QM4 they will get to go to the special cocktail party for those sailed on the QM2.

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