Back to back Transatlantic- QM2 October incl. the New York incident

Just back from a wonderful Transatlantic back to back voyage, overall a terrific experience!

Embarkation:

The flight from Germany to London Heathrow went well, also the privately organized transport to Southampton. (South Coast Chauffeurs- highly recommend) I arrived in Southampton at about the exact time which was given me by Cunard! There was a quite a long queue in front of the Queen Elisabeth2 Terminal. I was prepared for a long wait but it turned out to be a very fast moving queue- very well organized – the English know how to queue- aside from the occasional shouts : “ THE QUEUE STARTS THERE” – it went rather well. I was on board the QM2 after about 40 minutes time. So no complaints there!

As it was my fifth time on board the Mary there were no big surprises- it felt almost as a sort of a coming home! It is hard to describe- but as soon as I boarded I already felt relaxed. The bellboys are always a nice touch and make one feel really welcome- they even greeted me with a “Welcome back” – I suppose they recognized the color of the Voyage Card ( Silver, Gold …) - I have no idea how they otherwise would know that one was already on board the Mary- they hardly can remember all those thousands of faces they see every single week.

My first stop was – as usual – my stateroom. I was particularly curious this time since I booked one of them newly installed single cabins on Deck 3- the former photo gallery! I saw quite a few pictures online of these cabins on deck three- in reality they even looked better and are much more spacious then I suspected them to be! I especially asked about the singles on Deck three because of the layout of these cabins. The have two large portholes- and that absolutely great easy chair! The bathroom was the nicest and most luxurious bathroom I ever got in more than 20 years of cruising! All done in marble, not a single item of the bathroom was of plastic or Formica! The shower head was from a well known German company. I am not sure- but telling the name would count as advertise, which is a big “ No no” ! None of those ugly shower curtains as are used on board the other two Cunard Queens! Instead a spacious shower cabin surrounded by glass.

This glass cabin – as nice as it is- turned out to be the only design flaw in the bathroom. The doors just did not close properly so after every shower the whole bathroom was literally flooded. It took all towels in the bathroom to get everything dry again. They should get that fixed. I talked to the wonderful stewardess about the problem and she mentioned that all those bathrooms have that particular problem. Nothing really serious. We even joked about that problem and came up with the great idea to hang the life west in the bathroom.

The storage space was just amazing and for one person more than adequate! The décor very tasteful and really “Art Deco”! The two big portholes gave the room and spacious and light feel!

I enjoyed quite a few hours of reading and having a cup to tea while doing so in this very comfy armchair directly in front of one of the portholes. In my opinion those cabins could easily go as a Grill or Princess accommodation.

The public rooms are well known, so I will skip that part. My personal favorites are the Chart Room Bar – Lounge- and the Champagne Bar- that is the former Veuve Clicquot Bar- Cunard now caters Laurent Perrier Champagne. I don´t fancy champagne at all – so I usualy get my soda or diet coke there. Not so this time. The very friendly waitress told me in no uncertain terms that in the evening all one could get there now was- Champagne. Strange- but I tried one of their Champagne Cocktails- so the waitress did a great job in selling…! During the day getting a Soda wasn´t a problem at all!

The ship itself is kept extremely clean at all times. There is always someone at hand to clean this or that! I have no idea when the QM2 is going into dry dock again since it refit was only last year.

Anyway, Cunard should take very, very close look at their public restrooms. Although they are kept very clean at all times, they are disgrace for Cunard- I already recognized that on my last voyage in July last year- so I thought the problem would have been taken care of- no such thing! Broken door handle´s, Dividers rotten and filthy, broken faucets, they tried hard to patch those things up but not too much avail- I must add! The absolutely worst was the constant savage smell in them. That should be taken care of pretty soon! It can´t be too hard to fix them. I know that is a very delicate matter, but I thought I should mention it! I also wrote it in my cruise statement!

The voyage went from Southampton to New York in visa vera- so for me the whole journey was about a nice relaxing, worry free time on board my favorite ship. Those expectations were satisfied and more so! The crew is always friendly, approachable and helpful.

The weather was as expected for a crossing in October. On the westbound leg of the journey we experienced force nine winds and rough seas. I loved it and so did most of the passenger I talked to. Queen Mary2 is the only true ocean liner at this time and she was built for exactly that- the rough north Atlantic! She took the rough seas and high winds in stride! A day before our arrival in New York “ the tide changed”- so to speak- and we got perfect sunny and warm weather. I counted that as bonus in late October!

I read a lot about the problems when doing a back to back in New York due to the immigration process. We were told that all returning passengers and disembarking passengers should be off the ship by 10 am. Before that no one could embark or return to the ship. As I was to take full advantage of my only port of call, I went through immigration at the earliest possible time- which was at about 7.30 am.

The immigration process went flawless and I managed to catch the ferry from Red Hook to Wall Street at once. Again – I have to thank Cruise Critic- or better the many helpful members for all the information they provided- especially about that new installed ferry service into Manhattan. The cost is 2.75 Dollars- one way- and it is such a wonderful way to get into Manhattan. I was in Wall Street at about 8 am and enjoyed a great time at the south tip of Manhattan.

I walked around the 9/ 11 Memorial and was surprised to see that “ The Spere” was relocated in the new Liberty Park just across the Memorial! So after her “sojourn” in Battery Park, Koenigs Sculpture is back in front of World Trade One! Almost! That was a great idea. For more than three decades she graced the old Plaza in front of the old towers and now she´ s back where she belongs – in front of one of the tallest buildings in the world- battered form the falling towers- but still awesome to look at! The new Liberty Park is a great place to sit down- have a drink and relax. I spend over an hour there just sitting and enjoying the view. The weather could not have been better -so I could say- what a wonderful day in New York.

I made my way back to the Mary again with the ferry and was back on board in no time at all! When I got back to my cabin saw a lot of work going on at the pier- workers in heavy security suits – fully covered, worked at what seemed to be a big mess. In the middle of all a totally oily, messed up truck. Some wire or hose must have burst and managed to spill oil all over the dock, the Queen Mary and even worse- into the water! It was a big commotion so I thought that we maybe would be stuck in New York for a few extra hours!

Captain Wells came on over the public system and told us exactly that- and that we were stuck for a few more hours until the oil mess would be cleaned up and we get the “ all clear “ by the coast guard!

We left New York three hours later than scheduled and had to stop in front of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge for further investigation/ cleaning through the coast guard. That took them an hour to accomplish and so were on our way late that night. As Captain Wells so aptly said- because of that “New York Incident” we were able to enjoy a wonderful sailing out of the Port of New York with all of Manhattan´s Skyline ablaze with lights – almost magical!

The eastbound crossing was about the same, weather wise, as the westbound crossing. We enjoyed warm weather and sunshine at our first day out at sea – along the American coastline. At the cocktail Party of Captain Wells he asked his guests if they signed up for that kind of weather and were we not all very happy. YES was the answer of his guests- NO was his answer- when you sign up for a late October crossing you also can expect the rough and windy North Atlantic we experienced after our one and only day of sunshine. The winds were a force 10 at most and very rough seas.

Again Queen Mary took it gracefully- anyway- we felt the movement of the Mary more than the previous week.

The Cunard Insights lectures were also great and very carefully selected- well done Cunard. As the ship- buff I am, I took advantage of all the ship related lectures given by Kenneth Vard! Time just flow by when he did is lectures. He has a wonderful way of telling stories about ships! I might compare him to the late John Maxton Graham also a great ship enthusiast!

The other lectures were very interesting as well!

The German lecturer about ships did is job also very well- but on the danger of being a smartypants – the guy should get his facts straight! His lecture was about White Star Lines Olympic Class and he told the Titanic story in a great and spellbinding way, even though he got the Olympic and the Carpathia a bit mixed up. LOL!

I will end my review with a few reasons why I choose Cunard over the other options we have nowadays! I sailed RCI, Celebrity- a very loyal customer, I might add. Once with Costa (never again) and once with Holland America (they were great)

Well Cunard provides a voyage experience with little extra´s the other cruise lines have long forgotten! A few examples- the great choice of music selection one has on board a Cunard Liner! The String Quartet- the guitarist and so on- in every Bar and Lounge a separate Entertainer- so there is something for everyone!

It´s those little things that sets Cunard above all other mass market lines! Petit Fours every evening along with one´s tea or coffee! The wonderful British traditions: the eight bells at noon every day, tea time in the Queens Room every day, the biggest Ballrooms on the high seas. Their “Theme nights”, the lecturers…

The wrap around promenade deck – seldom to find anymore- most of the time the promenade decks have no longer a view- all blocked from life boats!

Even though Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth both pose as ocean liners, when they are in realty cruise ships, the décor and the feeling is more “Ocean Liner” than on any other ships! All three Cunard Queens are elegant and stunning- but Queen Mary 2 is my favorite, there is no other ship like her- well she is not the last Ocean Liner for nothing and not to compare to any other BIG SHIP!

Ships the same size as QM2, sailing for other cruise lines, carry sometimes over a thousand guests more than the Mary! That fact alone speaks for itself!

Queen Mary 2 is certainly not a ship for everyone- but with those many choices- there is also a ship for everones taste!

Mb.

Great report, thank you very much for reporting back.

I really enjoyed reading your report and glad you enjoyed the cruise.

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

Keith

Thank you! I got so many wonderful information here on the boards- so I thought I should give something back!

Thanks for the terrific account of your trip. We're doing a round trip in 4 weeks, and you've really helped build the anticipation.

Phil

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Thanks for the report. I know how I am getting to Manhattan when I do a back to back TA next November.

I am sure you have a great back to back- I would do it again in a heartbeat- some called me grazy- to just join a ship to have just one port of call. LOL. I did not care- the best way to relax!

A really enjoyable read. Thank you.

Great read. Thanks

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Outstanding and detailed review about that wonderful ship. Thank you for taking so much time to write your views and opinions. Sounds like the deck 3 single cabins are real winners!

A friend just sent me a picture of the QM2’s TV screen advice for Oct 29- Force 11-Violent Storm - Sea State Very Rough- looks like it was a seriously great experience-a Woo Hoo!!!! ;p

The only way to cross!.

Issue-she says they’re now charging separately for the gin and the tonic. That strike me as very un-Cunard and very cheesy . :confused:

Great report. Thank you!

Thank you germancruiser. We are very loyal with holland america but think about trying the QM2 for a TA next year. Your report is a big help in getting an idea of the experience. Big THANK YOU!

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Thanks for your kind words. Wouw Force 11 and very rough seas. Oh I wish I would have been on board. LOL! I return to the Mary next year for a Fjord cruise in June! Can´t wait to board her again! Happy sailings to all!