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Miscreant Lemmings and other Observations on QM2


Tonopah
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We anxiously awaited our eastbound crossing on the Queen Mary 2 from 3-10 August, 2018. This was our first ship holiday of any kind. I closely followed the threads on Cruise Critic and tried to glean any information. We ended up loving every minute of our time on the ship and are already planning another trip.

 

Things we were concerned about and what we discovered:

 

We had budgeted for a coffee card due to many critiques on the boards, but we never bought one. The coffee, while maybe not gourmet, was adequate and available. The coffee in the King’s Court was NOT vile. We enjoy good coffee but are not opposed to “coffee shop” coffee. This was what we would call “coffee shop” style, and it was fine. The same coffee was fresh and available all day at Connexions, as was juice and tea. If we wanted any coffee or tea, we could always find it.

 

We were very pleased with our stateroom. We had a balcony cabin on deck 8. The view forward and aft was a bit limited due to lifeboats, but it wasn’t bad, and we could see straight out perfectly. We were also right over the King’s Court and never heard any noises below us or in the corridor. We had no problem with the drawer pulls or anything else in our cabin. There was plenty of storage space. Our bags fit under the bed. There was a line in the shower on which we hung our bathing suits. There were plenty of plugs.

 

We never saw anyone improperly dressed in the dining rooms or other areas. Even in the “casual” areas, most people were dressed according to the daily requirement. The only true violation we saw was during the day. We went to the passenger talent show in the Queen’s Room. A young (late teens/early 20s?) man walked in with wet hair pulled up in pony tails and wearing a dressing gown and slippers! We decided someone very close to him must have been in the show and he must have cut his time at the pool too short. We could think of no other reason a person would attend a concert in a dressing gown. But we were thrilled that we had seen a miscreant lemming in the wild! It was like ticking a box from the Cruise Critic Thread Scavenger Hunt.

 

For those who were/are worried that the staff wouldn’t enforce the dress codes, we did see people turned away at dinner for not having a jacket and there was a sign at the door of the Commodore Club explaining that the dress requirements would be strictly enforced.

 

 

We purchased the full 6-day pass to the spa and we used it. Well worth the price for us. We used the therapy pool, hot tub, and saunas 5 days out of six. The relaxation area was one of our favorite places.

 

There were people of all ages on the ship. We danced in the Queen’s Room every night and a vast majority of the dancers were polite, friendly, and followed the rules of etiquette. Some folks danced free style in the middle while others danced ballroom around the outside. The most senior couple we saw regularly were probably in their 80s. The youngest couple were a boy and a girl, maybe 8-10 years old. Not formally trained but they followed the rules and were a pleasure to watch and share the dance floor with.

 

Despite posts on the thread that the level of service haas dropped, we found the service to be excellent. The staff were attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable. Because we were with a tour group, we were at different tables at dinner every night. The sommeliers never lost us. Our wine always found us. The different servers knew our preferences, even if they hadn’t been “our” server before. Our cabin steward was excellent and responsive, even when my husband once requested something during “off” hours.

 

I agree with the opinion that there just aren’t enough launderettes, or maybe they should be open longer hours? I looked out our door at 7 AM and no one was in the queue. I grabbed our clothes and headed out to find that, in the 30 seconds I was away, two ladies were already standing at the laundrette door. In the end we paid for laundry service (no specials for the service, sadly). We didn’t worry about it. As a wise poster once noted - who wants to do laundry during their holiday, anyway?

 

The only show we saw (Barricade Boys) was quite good, but I thought it was too short. The only speaker we heard was Sir Jackie Stewart (excellent). The live band in the Queen’s Room was excellent and the singer was quite good. They were especially good on Big Band night.

 

We bought a private dance lesson and attended most of the free dance lessons and were quite satisfied. The daily free classes were very popular but there was plenty of room for everyone. The professional couple who taught were funny, attentive, and engaging.

 

The price for drinks was comparable to night clubs in our area, so that was fine. We didn’t drink every night, and the expensive (to us) bottle of wine we bought for dinner stretched over three meals.

 

We had pictures taken every chance we got - at the Captain’s reception, with a bellboy, in front of a QM2 backdrop, on the stairs, at dinner, etc. Then on the second-to-last day we went to the photo area and just picked out a couple that we really liked. No pressure to purchase, and there was a special buy two pics get one free.

 

Embarkation and debarkation - This went very smoothly. We arrived at Red Hook after 1:30 PM, security was very quick and although the line for passport and ticket check was long, it moved constantly. From arrival at the port to stepping onto the ship took about 35 minutes. When we arrived in Southampton our group disembarkation time was 8:30 AM. We didn’t get called until 9:15, however, as the processors somehow skipped over our group. When it was brought to their attention, they processed us immediately and we were off the ship in minutes.

 

Last thread-inspired concern - We tried our Pol Acker with open minds. We are not sparkling wine fans, but we were willing to give it a go. Nope. It is...not good, just as many of you had said. We played the games in the Queen’s Room every night. On the two occasions we had a chance to win, we purposely lost because the “prize” was a full bottle of Pol Acker. Yikes! Better to let it go to someone who might enjoy it.

 

We did get to see the three Queens as we entered Southampton. That was amazing. Sadly, we left immediately for London and didn’t get to see the Red Arrows later in the day.

Edited by Tonopah
Lots of typos
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Thank you for such a beautifully written and informative review. Could you post it in the Reviews section so it can be easily found and helpful to others?

 

It also makes me happy that you enjoyed your experience so much - and gets me even more excited for our upcoming crossings in a few weeks.

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Great review Tonopah. My wife and I took our first ever cruise last summer and it was also on the QM2 doing a Crossing. We are in complete agreement with your observations and opinions with the exception of the Pol Acker. We absolutely loved it however I suspect that is more a reflection on our lack of wine sophistication then on the quality of the drink:) Much to our surprise we find ourselves leaving in a couple of weeks on another QM2 TA departing SH on Sept. 2nd. We will retest the Pol Acker and hopefully tryout the new menu at Veranda.

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Excellent review, Tonopah. So glad to hear you had such a marvelous time during your recent crossing. You've expressed many of the things I love so much about QM2 crossings far more eloquently than I could have done so myself.

 

As the thread starter of that infamous dress code thread, I should caution you though that your claim to have "seen a miscreant lemming in the wild" might end up being challenged. Since the dress code states "During the day, feel free to relax and dress as you please in all areas of the ship", one could make the case that miscreant lemmings only come out of hiding after 6:00pm. I'd suggest booking another crossing post-haste, just so that you can tick that box without any possibility of ambiguity! :D:D:D

 

All the best.

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Excellent review. Although DH and I have been more than fortunate to sail on the QM2 several times, reviews like this fill me with joy and expectations of further crossings which for us will be in December and January.

 

Can't wait.

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As the thread starter of that infamous dress code thread, I should caution you though that your claim to have "seen a miscreant lemming in the wild" might end up being challenged. Since the dress code states "During the day, feel free to relax and dress as you please in all areas of the ship", one could make the case that miscreant lemmings only come out of hiding after 6:00pm. I'd suggest booking another crossing post-haste, just so that you can tick that box without any possibility of ambiguity! :D:D:D.

 

Oh! Excellent point. As in golf, one must rely on one’s personal integrity in these matters. An appropriate asterisk has been placed next to this category, noting the time of sighting. As you suggest, we shall resume our hunt at the earliest available opportunity. :cool:

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