Never have been on Cunard

Never have been on Cunard We have never taken a Cunard cruise . We are looking at a Queen Victoria fiords cruise . What would we not get on there that we would experience on the Queen Mary 2?

TIA!

Never have been on Cunard We have never taken a Cunard cruise . We are looking at a Queen Victoria fiords cruise . What would we not get on there that we would experience on the Queen Mary 2?

TIA!

Not a lot of difference, to worry about when doing the FIords, BUT I would only use the QM2 if I was crossing the Atlantic. I personally find the QV a very friendly ship, but what ever you choose I am sure you will enjoy the trip.😄

Queen Victoria public spaces are beautiful but Queen Mary 2 public spaces are grand.

Queen Mary 2 has the classic stepped stern. So did Queen Victoria - once.

One difference in the venues that comes to mind is that QM2 has a second theater-style venue called Illuminations in addition to the Royal Court Theatre. Illuminations serves as the movie theatre and is the venue for most of the enrichment lectures as well as hosting the only planetarium at sea. On QV, the Queens Room often serves as the second performance venue in addition to the Royal Court Theatre. Having Illuminations as an additional entertainment venue is very useful on a transatlantic crossing with lots of sea days, but not as important on a port-intensive cruise.

In terms of cabins, one difference is that QM2 has a separate category of cabins known as "sheltered" balconies not found on QV. These are the balcony cabins found on decks 4, 5, and 6 of QM2. They are great for transatlantic crossings, but may not be quite as attractive a cabin choice compared to glass-fronted balconies on a port-intensive cruise.

FYI

Viking Orion has the newest most advanced planetarium at sea. Not that this would be most people’s first reason to book a ship.

FYI

Viking Orion has the newest most advanced planetarium at sea. Not that this would be most people’s first reason to book a ship.

Thanks for that correction. I obviously haven't kept up. Calling it a planetarium on QM2 has always seemed to be a bit of a misnomer to me anyway. More like an IMAX style theater that shows astronomy-related films rather than what I would consider a traditional planetarium. But perhaps I'm just nitpicking.

FYI

Viking Orion has the newest most advanced planetarium at sea. Not that this would be most people’s first reason to book a ship.

It looks tiny. It seats maybe 24.

https://www.space.com/41185-planetarium-opens-on-cruise-ship.html

High-definition, sure.

What exactly is a sheltered balcony?

What exactly is a sheltered balcony?

Instead of being on the outside of the ship hull and having a glass wall out towards the sea, a sheltered cabin is nestled inside the hull like a pocket. There is a large hole cut in the hull that you see the ocean through, but it’s better suited to standing while looking out as only the tallest can view the ocean. While seated. It is my preferred balcony for the transatlantic voyage, especially in winter. It provides, as the name suggests, outdoor space while providing shelter from wind and spray.

Thanks for that correction. I obviously haven't kept up. Calling it a planetarium on QM2 has always seemed to be a bit of a misnomer to me anyway. More like an IMAX style theater that shows astronomy-related films rather than what I would consider a traditional planetarium. But perhaps I'm just nitpicking.

This may be a sad truth but the mechanical projection in planetariums is largely gone by now. The digital projection used on QM2 is the new normal. In some planetariums they will run more traditional shows, but I know some planetariums who do exactly what Cunard does.