You were right!

Disembarked from the QM2 this morning - what a wonderful time we had. Will write a review later but thank you to all those of you who provided me with information about the ship.....Whitemarsh, Cap'n Pugwash, Peppern, Salacia et al. It really helped us to have some "inside information" before we went and I think we covered everything we wanted to.

I now think it will be Cunard all the way for us when we voyage/cruise again.......

Disembarked from the QM2 this morning - what a wonderful time we had. Will write a review later but thank you to all those of you who provided me with information about the ship.....Whitemarsh, Cap'n Pugwash, Peppern, Salacia et al. It really helped us to have some "inside information" before we went and I think we covered everything we wanted to.

 

I now think it will be Cunard all the way for us when we voyage/cruise again.......

So pleased that you enjoyed your trip. It is a fairly special ship.:):)

It is a fairly special ship.:):)

Except for the Kings Court buffet area - which IMO is the worst laid out and worst managed of the 9 cruiseships we have experienced.

Barry

Except for the Kings Court buffet area - which IMO is the worst laid out and worst managed of the 9 cruiseships we have experienced.

 

Barry

I agree with you totally regarding the layout but not sure about the management of it being poor.

Disembarked from the QM2 this morning - what a wonderful time we had. Will write a review later but thank you to all those of you who provided me with information about the ship.....Whitemarsh, Cap'n Pugwash, Peppern, Salacia et al. It really helped us to have some "inside information" before we went and I think we covered everything we wanted to. I now think it will be Cunard all the way for us when we voyage/cruise again.......

I am so pleased that you had a wonderful time, looking forward to reading your thoughts on QM2 and TA.

Very best wishes :) :) :) .

I like the title of your thread.

Those are my three favorite words.

Maybe someday someone will actually say them to me.:)

Except for the Kings Court buffet area - which IMO is the worst laid out and worst managed of the 9 cruiseships we have experienced.

 

Barry

Really??

I never had any problems. :confused:

I agree with you totally regarding the layout but not sure about the management of it being poor.

Without going into specifics - we thought that the buffets in QE and QV (14 nights each) were quite good (for buffets :) ) -- but there was a substantial come down for the short 5 nights on QM2.

Overall, a lot of more experienced (than us) QM2 cruisers commented that they thought that the overall standard of almost every aspect of the cruise on QM2 for this short cruise was below the usual standard that they get on QM2 during longer cruises. It felt to me that this 5 night cruise was not taken 'seriously" by Cunard. The staff in the Kings Court were definitely struggling. Perhaps they had a reduced staffing?? Don't know - but it did not work well at all. Actually, compared to our experience on QE and QV, QM2 did not seem to me to be a "happy" ship for this cruise..

Barry

Without going into specifics - we thought that the buffets in QE and QV (14 nights each) were quite good (for buffets :) ) -- but there was a substantial come down for the short 5 nights on QM2.

 

Overall, a lot of more experienced (than us) QM2 cruisers commented that they thought that the overall standard of almost every aspect of the cruise on QM2 for this short cruise was below the usual standard that they get on QM2 during longer cruises. It felt to me that this 5 night cruise was not taken 'seriously" by Cunard. The staff in the Kings Court were definitely struggling. Perhaps they had a reduced staffing?? Don't know - but it did not work well at all. Actually, compared to our experience on QE and QV, QM2 did not seem to me to be a "happy" ship for this cruise..

 

Barry

I have always thought that the QE & QV buffets were better than QM2 in the layout and design although the majority of my experiences have been early in the mornings and only once quite late on one evening for dinner. It is often said on here that the 2 to 5 day trips are handled differently by staff, I doubt that they would have fewer staff in King's Court but anything is possible I suppose. I was on QM2 in May and didn't notice any "unhappiness" in the staff that I encountered. Strange isn't it.

Without going into specifics - we thought that the buffets in QE and QV (14 nights each) were quite good (for buffets :) ) -- but there was a substantial come down for the short 5 nights on QM2.

 

Overall, a lot of more experienced (than us) QM2 cruisers commented that they thought that the overall standard of almost every aspect of the cruise on QM2 for this short cruise was below the usual standard that they get on QM2 during longer cruises. It felt to me that this 5 night cruise was not taken 'seriously" by Cunard. The staff in the Kings Court were definitely struggling. Perhaps they had a reduced staffing?? Don't know - but it did not work well at all. Actually, compared to our experience on QE and QV, QM2 did not seem to me to be a "happy" ship for this cruise..

 

Barry

From 2004 - 2008 the only trips on I had on Cunard were 4 or 5 days. In the summer of 2008 I did my first transatlantic btb. I noticed the difference immediately. I don't know what it was but definately the "feel" was different. Until the transatlantic I was never offered the petit fours (sp) or ginger after dinner and I had been at a hosted table. That's just one example of a little something that may not always be offered. I did write on my comment card a couple of times since then that I think it's a shame that short voyages may not always be as special as they could be.

Now, having said that, the 2011 5 day 4th of July cruise was superb! Can't remember what we were offered at the end of dinner but the food, service, activities were top notch. Surely hope that is repeated this year.

Regards, Katherine. :)

I can only say the King's Court was running in a substantially different way on the 5.6 trip, from my previous experiences. Three of the four stations offered exactly the same food as each other at breakfast and lunch whereas previously they have offered different menus, especially at lunch, more in keeping with their different names. More seriously, the standard of what was on offer was markedly poorer in quality than I have ever experienced before - I would describe it as basic works canteen type food, pasta and rice and one meat, generally chicken or ham. The salads were sparse and unimaginative. We also ate there on two evenings, having had (again, unusually) very poor experiences in Britiannia; once in the pay extra Lotus and once in the buffet. The food in Lotus was good, although the overall service a mess - at times inattentive (we waited 10 minutes to be seated,despite a timed booking) and at times over intrusive. I am a previous 'cheer-leader' but there was no pretending that the food and service in any of the standard dining areas was remotely up to scratch on that short cruise. I have wondered if the changes we saw are permanent or just for the short cruise.

I was forturnate to met the Captain Pugwash on my April T/A and at one point we discussed the Kings Court layout. I told him I had Steven Payne's answer written down at home about its layout and I would post it sometime - so here goes - remember Mr. Payne designed several cruise ships for Cunard so he understands the typical layout many people prefer. This is not verbatim but his reply to this question went something like this: The QM2 hull and superstructure was built primarily from a strength perspective to withstand the rigors of the North Atlantic. The QM2 needed a very strong backbone which forced the Kings Court area to be long and slender . There was no option for a wide cavvernous buffet as it would compromise the ship's strength...............I found no problem with the food or service on the April voyage or for that matter, the December 12th T/A.

Disembarked from the QM2 this morning - what a wonderful time we had....

We look forward to your review! I'm happy you had a great time especially after you put so much research and anticipation into your voyage. I had a great time on my first QM2 voyage but for some reason it wasn't until the second time that she had me hooked.

Keuka Lake Sailor, thank you for mentioning your conversation with Stephen Payne. He designed a stong ship and sometimes asthetics had to come second to strength and durability.

I love people who say they heard from seasoned QM2 cruisers that standards have fallen, I'm ready for my 13 th sailing on her and always have had a great time. The staff loves QM2, in fact many of my friends onboard hated QE and QV and return year after year to work on QM2. For me the worse buffet eattery at sea are the larger Prncess ships, pack hundred of passengers in a tiny area to get their food. The Grand Princess layout was awful!

[it felt to me that this 5 night cruise was not taken 'seriously" by Cunard.]

It seems like they don't take the short ones seriously - try getting the much vaunted 'sublime experience' in Q1 on the QE just for 2 nights. I would consider it in breach of trading and advertising standards!!

I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip. I would love to go TA on the QM2. Our short voyage on the QE Jubilee was wonderful - it was just the butler and the rather poor quality of service that left us feeling that there was little care for those on a short hop - even if you have paid the top rate!

I have always thought that the QE & QV buffets were better than QM2 in the layout and design although the majority of my experiences have been early in the mornings and only once quite late on one evening for dinner. It is often said on here that the 2 to 5 day trips are handled differently by staff, I doubt that they would have fewer staff in King's Court but anything is possible I suppose. I was on QM2 in May and didn't notice any "unhappiness" in the staff that I encountered. Strange isn't it.

I did a 20-day leg of the 2012 World Cruise on QM2, Sydney to Hong Kong. I didn't eat in King's Court (apart from a couple of quick tea breaks when I was in the area) so I can't comment on the quality of the food or the managment of the area - I prefer to eat in a restaurant rather than a buffet. However I did gather that some staff, at least, seem not to enjoy working in King's Court.

On my last night on the ship I wished my assistant waiter a happy birthday but he was quite gloomy in his response. He said it wasn't a happy day for him as he had been reassigned to King's Court for a month from the next day as 'punishment' (his term) for being back one hour late from shore leave. My waiter confirmed that the 'most likely' reason the assistant had been reassigned was his late return.

Whether all staff view King's Court that way, of course I have no idea. But here were two who certainly viewed it as not such a good thing!

I would think on any ship assignment to the buffet venue would be the least desirable

Disembarked from the QM2 this morning - what a wonderful time we had. Will write a review later but thank you to all those of you who provided me with information about the ship.....Whitemarsh, Cap'n Pugwash, Peppern, Salacia et al. It really helped us to have some "inside information" before we went and I think we covered everything we wanted to.

 

I now think it will be Cunard all the way for us when we voyage/cruise again.......

I'm so glad you had a good time, and I'm looking forward to reading your review.

On my last night on the ship I wished my assistant waiter a happy birthday but he was quite gloomy in his response. He said it wasn't a happy day for him as he had been reassigned to King's Court for a month from the next day as 'punishment' (his term) for being back one hour late from shore leave. My waiter confirmed that the 'most likely' reason the assistant had been reassigned was his late return.

 

Whether all staff view King's Court that way, of course I have no idea. But here were two who certainly viewed it as not such a good thing!

I'm wagering the staff dislike of being assigned Kings Court comes down to two issues:

1. It must be awful during peak periods, made worse by the shift work being constant rather than enjoying some quiet, lull times between meals in the main dining halls.

2. No tipping opportunities in Kings Court.

I'm wagering the staff dislike of being assigned Kings Court comes down to two issues:

 

1. It must be awful during peak periods, made worse by the shift work being constant rather than enjoying some quiet, lull times between meals in the main dining halls.

 

2. No tipping opportunities in Kings Court.

These aspects would apply to all cruiseships. No - in my IMO , something was wrong in the QM2 Kings Court during our 5 day cruise on her - something that did not apply to the buffets on QE and QV during our longer preceding cruises on them.

Barry

I found an easy solution to the King's Court problem....I avoided it completely as I did not want a high school; cafeteria experience on my crossings.

We only used Kings Court for drinks and snacks, in it's favour there was plenty of choice, few queues and plenty of seating but it could not compare to the Britannia for me.

Horses for courses I guess.

It hadn't occurred to me until reading the above posts about the waiting staff but I guess they cannot build up the same relationships with passesngers that the staff in the other restaurants do. There was a lady with red hair who seemed to be a supervisor of some sort in Kings Court who was very brusque with the staff too

I tended to use Kings Court for breakfast, Chefs Galley for lunch (yummy sandwiches) or Golden Lion (fabulous fish and chips), and always Britannia for dinner. I had a fabulous time on both legs of my voyage, met some lovely people, and managed to keep the weight gain down to 2 kilos :rolleyes::eek::D

My review is now posted

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=104879.

Then read the post underneath - you would think it was a different ship? Must get Cunard to order better weather in the Atlantic next time! (I thought the weather was actually very good,the sea barely rippled and the fact we could sit out in bathing suits at all on a transatlantic has to be a bonus doesn't it?)

It's another sign of falling standards where the North Atlantic is grey and dull, the theatre and cinema are used for shows and lectures and the gym is a bit sweaty. Where will it all end.