Eastbound crossing review

[jomf]

Embarkation in Brooklyn was a doddle, staff pleasant, security efficient, arrived at around noon and onboard by 12.30.

 

I was surprised that there are no welcome aboard drinks, just staff pointing you in the direction of the elevators.

 

Nice that the cabin was ready for occupation. We had a balcony cabin, 11th deck, forward, starboard side. The cabin was fine, not very upmarket, clean. We had to ask for a bed topper as the bed was far to hard for us. We also requested feather pillows, both things were sorted by our excellent attendant.

 

Plenty enough storage. Noisy, both from next door and along the corridor. Sound insulation is not good.

 

The cruise itself was as expected, seven sea days, some rough weather, some good days. We were always able to walk on deck ( even if coats were needed).

 

Food - Britannia Restaurant, second sitting. Food was not bad, worse than I expected, not as good as Celebrity Cruises. The service was fast, far to fast. Plates being cleared before others had finished, courses being served before the previous course had been eaten. Wine waiter was nowhere to be seen for the first couple of days, never had the offer of a second glass or dessert wine/ port etc. ( I know the UK was doing "Stay Sober for October" but that was supposed to be voluntary !!).

 

Golden Lion Pub - Great place, great staff, great atmosphere. Favourite place on the ship. Good quizzes to.

 

Lectures - Not bad, some interesting with a wide variety of subjects.

 

Disembarkation - Absolute shambles….

 

On the whole not a bad voyage BUT ( as you can see a big but), we found many of the passengers far to snooty. It might be that the ship is not one for us but I have never found so many people who don't smile in the corridors, no chit chat in the elevators. I go away to enjoy myself and on this ship it seemed as if people were judging others at all times. And don't for heavens sake wear unsuitable clothing at 5.50pm unless you want to be tutted at!!!

[lannp]

What caused the disembarkation to be such a shambles?

I've always found it to be the opposite while traversing the hallways and in elevators that people might not be overly friendly but they did smile and say hello.

If your waiter was clearing the plates before everyone had finished that course then he was giving poor service. The only time I have had a waiter do that was because a diner was too slow to finish that course and was at that point totally delaying and inconveniencing his fellow diners.

[balf]

Poor food and service seems to be trending.

 

Bad service has to be the result of poor training. What really annoys me is the coffee cups being set and filled while I am still eating pudding.

 

It's disapointing to here this happening on a crossing.

 

David.

[cunardaddict]

What really annoys me is the coffee cups being set and filled while I am still eating

David.

 

It is a German standard. Coffee comes with the pudding and not afterwards. But it tends to change now.

[cunardaddict]

Did you go to So'ton or Hamburg?

[jomf]

Southampton.

 

The waiter's always seemed to be rushing us, we were second sitting.

 

Disembarkation was a shambles because the cases were very slow to be unloaded, we had to stand and wait in the hall whilst they unloaded pallets of luggage. Some people were allowed to take their cases while others were told to wait. If the cases were not ready then no one should have been allowed off unless they were self disembarking.

[balf]

It is a German standard. Coffee comes with the pudding and not afterwards. But it tends to change now.

 

It's suppose to be a British ship.

 

David.

[Scrapnana]

jomf,

 

Sorry you had so many negatives, especially the snooty people.

[BlueRiband]

I'm sorry your experience was only "not bad" instead of "great". Others have mentioned the shortage of wind stewards in Britannia where the ratio is 1:17 tables.

 

The disappointment regarding the food is not what others reported. I didn't follow the pricing on your particular crossing but if it needed a lot of late price slashing it would explain the lower food budget. This is not an excuse but others have noted that food quality is affected by the average price paid on board.

 

Disappointment with the cabins is not something that we usually hear. People do complain that the showers are small and need a hand-held but this is the first time somebody posted that the accommodations are a bit downscale. Perhaps you've experienced something better on Celebrity?

 

I've always found people on board to be polite and friendly, but you may have just had a bad passenger mix. As for dress after 6PM - well, I usually tell people to book elsewhere if they don't care to dress for dinner.

[Underwatr]

Americans also expect their coffee/tea with dessert rather than after. A little calibration in the form of informing the waiter as to your preference sometimes goes a long way.

[balf]

 

The disappointment regarding the food is not what others reported. .[/quote

 

There have been others who have reported poor food, me included.

 

The OP did not think much of it nor did I.

 

Let's not get to the point of knocking the messenger, there is room here for both the "100% perfect" reviews as well the more critical.

 

This is "Cruise "Critic" after all.

 

David.

[BlueRiband]

There have been others who have reported poor food, me included. The OP did not think much of it nor did I. Let's not get to the point of knocking the messenger, there is room here for both the "100% perfect" reviews as well the more critical.

 

This is "Cruise "Critic" after all...

 

If my reply came across a "knocking the messenger" it wasn't meant to be, just acknowledging that the comments regarding Britannia food had been very, very, variable. If somebody describes the food as outstanding was it really so or are they somebody with low expectations?

 

The stateroom being described as "not very upmarket" is a first. The OP is seeing this from his/her previous experience on Celebrity, so this is something that should concern Cunard from the competitive viewpoint.

Edited November 16, 2014 by BlueRiband

[jomf]

jomf,

 

Sorry you had so many negatives, especially the snooty people.

 

Thnaks, it's a shame as we like trying different lines.

 

Not all the people were snooty, we had some great table companions and met others who were very friendly.

[jomf]

I'm sorry your experience was only "not bad" instead of "great". Others have mentioned the shortage of wind stewards in Britannia where the ratio is 1:17 tables.

 

The disappointment regarding the food is not what others reported. I didn't follow the pricing on your particular crossing but if it needed a lot of late price slashing it would explain the lower food budget. This is not an excuse but others have noted that food quality is affected by the average price paid on board.

 

Disappointment with the cabins is not something that we usually hear. People do complain that the showers are small and need a hand-held but this is the first time somebody posted that the accommodations are a bit downscale. Perhaps you've experienced something better on Celebrity?

 

I've always found people on board to be polite and friendly, but you may have just had a bad passenger mix. As for dress after 6PM - well, I usually tell people to book elsewhere if they don't care to dress for dinner.

 

The cruise was sold off cheaply at the last minute ( several people were bragging about this) but we paid normal price and expected normal standard of food, it's not our fault that Cunard had to lower the price.

 

The cabin was noisy and tired. The shower was fine, larger than other cruise lines we have been on, although I do prefer glass shower doors, much cleaner.

 

We were out at 5.50pm ( before the six o'clock deadline) looking for something in the shop. At that time the dress code is casual not semi formal or formal. Tutting people who are dressed casually at that time is not on. Even if we had been out after 6pm I would have found that attitude appalling.

We adhered to the dress code to the nth degree at the correct times. 10 mins before is 10 mins before....

[jomf]

There have been others who have reported poor food, me included. The OP did not think much of it nor did I. Let's not get to the point of knocking the messenger, there is room here for both the "100% perfect" reviews as well the more critical.

 

This is "Cruise "Critic" after all...

 

If my reply came across a "knocking the messenger" it wasn't meant to be, just acknowledging that the comments regarding Britannia food had been very, very, variable. If somebody describes the food as outstanding was it really so or are they somebody with low expectations?

 

The stateroom being described as "not very upmarket" is a first. The OP is seeing this from his/her previous experience on Celebrity, so this is something that should concern Cunard from the competitive viewpoint.

 

We have cruised on Thomson's, NCL, Princess,P & O and Celebrity before Cunard. All the previous rooms have been quiet and new. On QM2 the cabin was old and tired, the bed hard and the noise from other rooms and the corridor was annoying. Not once did we wake of own own accord and several times were woken early by people walking past talking.

Maybe we should have travelled Grills!

[cunardaddict]

It's suppose to be a British ship.

 

David.

 

It was a Hamburg to Hamburg TA. QM2 is not a British ship. She has been in better times.

[BlueRiband]

It was a Hamburg to Hamburg TA. QM2 is not a British ship. She has been in better times.

 

Indeed. After reading reports of how the ship changed passengers every two days with these short promotional cruises I've decided to avoid any sailings involving Hamburg. The completely different atmosphere is not one where I would choose to spend my money and limited vacation time.

[balf]

It was a Hamburg to Hamburg TA. QM2 is not a British ship. She has been in better times.

 

I agree about the better times but she is marketed as British. English is the language used aboard and pastich English food, sadly, is served at dinner. This is the reason most people take her voyages.

 

What she certainly is not is German.

 

David.

[Salacia]

It was a Hamburg to Hamburg TA. QM2 is not a British ship. She has been in better times.

 

Cunardaddict, if QM2 is not a British ship as you stated, then what country do you perceive the ship to be? From my understanding, the ship flag defines the country. No doubt, we've all see the flag QM2 flies.

 

The ship is registered in Bermuda (a British Overseas Territory), the majority of passengers on most QM2 voyagers are British, the ship is named after a Queen of England and the Royal Family seem to take a keen interest in the ship. Seems to me that just because QM2 does a TA from Hamburg to Hamburg doesn't make it less British, anymore that a back-to-back transatlantic from NY to NY makes it a New York ship. -S

[cunardaddict]

QM2 pretents to be a British ship. In fact it is a Carnival ship aimed at the US market - fake British like anything pseudo ethnic in the US.

 

There is almost no British influence in the ships management, even the Commodore originates from a prison island on the other end of the world.

[Thaxted]

QM2 pretents to be a British ship. In fact it is a Carnival ship aimed at the US market - fake British like anything pseudo ethnic in the US.

 

There is almost no British influence in the ships management, even the Commodore originates from a prison island on the other end of the world.

 

To what prison island are you referring? Your geography seems a bit confused, among other things.

[cunardaddict]

To what prison island are you referring? Your geography seems a bit confused, among other things.

 

The island with a virtual fence around it - Australia 😅

[Thaxted]

But Commodore Rynd is from New Zealand!

[cunardaddict]

But Commodore Rynd is from New Zealand!

 

Ah, his wife then...

 

Anyway, not Britan at all.

[balf]

Ah, his wife then...

 

Anyway, not Britan at all.

 

Are you still a Cunard addict?

 

David.