QM2 Mixed Review: Some deferred maintenance, poor food, but a delight otherwise

[gphb]

Having recently completed a seven-day transatlantic voyage aboard the Queen Mary 2, our first Cunard experience post-pandemic pause and just after a couple of recent cruises on Holland America Line and Celebrity X, and we felt it useful to share a quick review. Our oceanic résumé is not devoid of experience with Cunard; we first sailed on the QE2 back in the early 1970s in tourist class and have enjoyed QE2 and QM2 since. Our opinions are subjective and your experiences may be different.
 

Ship's Condition and Ambiance

No surprise, the Queen Mary 2 exudes grace, with her public spaces and Britannia class staterooms still manifesting a timeless elegance. Despite the weather-beaten hull courtesy of the North Atlantic, the ship has maintained her lustre, particularly the spaces rejuvenated during the 2016 refit, such as the Corinthia Lounge and Kings Court. Classic venues like the Commodore's Club and the Library continue to enchant. As for The Verandah, it may not rival Celebrity's Edge-class dining experiences but offers a congenial atmosphere, apparently even attracting senior officers for the meals.
 

Crowding and Capacity

The ship's additional staterooms and trimmed public spaces render her a tad more crowded than originally designed. The feeling of congestion particularly manifests in the Corinthia Lounge and Kings Court, possibly exacerbated by the ship sailing near full capacity.
 

Day-Time Programming

The roster of daytime activities remains robust, if not improved. The insight lectures and guest speakers, particularly those focused on arts and culture, were engaging and well-selected, despite not always boasting A-list credentials.
 

Guest Demographics

Our voyage was predominantly comprised of first-time or novice Cunard travelers, along with a ~20% sprinkling of gold, platinum, and diamond tier guests. With 700 passengers extending their journey in Southampton, the voyage skewed toward an older demographic, which we found less diverse than previous Cunard experiences in terms of age, nationality, and lifestyle, impacting our enjoyment to a degree.
 

Dining Experience

The culinary offerings in Britannia and Kings Court were underwhelming. The menus were reminiscent of lackluster British school meals, brimming with comfort food slathered in uninspired gravy and custard. While the nostalgia is palpable, the execution leaves much to be desired. Breakfast in Britannia lacked options like waffles and French toast, and the versions served in Kings Court were unrecognizable.  In the past we would place HAL or Celebrity in similar overall quality, but would now rank Cunard a distinct third by comparison on this trip.  We actually couldn't wait to get off the ship for better food.  It can't all be about cost, as Cunard are the only line we've been on in 2023 that routinely still serves steak in the main restaurants, but unfortunately even this they managed to make un-tasty. 
 

Alternative Dining and Atmosphere

The Corinthia Lounge provided a decent lunchtime alternative, although some dishes were served lukewarm. Golden Lion Pub, however, remained consistent in its food quality. Britannia restaurant was sparsely populated during the second seating, resulting in a somewhat drab atmosphere.
 

Traditions and Social Events

Certain cherished rituals like the chef's parade have been discontinued, although it would have been hard to genuinely express the same awe that we used to given the current product;  the once universal Captain's reception has been replaced by a modest half-glass of sparkling wine left at your table on first gala night. Yet, World Club Party, Senior Officers' invitationals, and other events are still in full swing.
 

Boarding and Immigration

Boarding was fast with no health checks and no paperwork or pictures assuming one did these online.   Immigration onboard was rapid, its certainly the easiest way to get into the UK we've ever seen assuming you can pass the electronic background checks, as they didn't even match passports to what had been submitted online or even to stateroom cards just a quick glance at whatever photo you show them and wave you on.
 

Onboard Technology

The Wi-Fi service, fast and reliable in public areas, was surprisingly unavailable in staterooms, a point clarified only after speaking with the Hotel/Guest Services director as the official policy. Technical issues were addressed with ambivalence by the staff but ultimately resolved after some persistence.  Satellite service appears to already be using Elon Musk's Starlink Maritime service by SpaceX, but is let down by poorly maintained access points in the corridors.
 

Maintenance Issues

In five decades of sailing with Cunard, we've never encountered a ship-wide plumbing issue until now. Shockingly, the vacuum pumps that power the toilets failed, leading to a total outage. What's more, there was no official communication or updates regarding this pressing issue, making it especially inconvenient for those cabins housing three or four occupants. The problem was eventually resolved, but the lack of an apology or even acknowledgment from the ship’s staff was an oversight.   The engine maintenance issues earlier this year are already well documented.
 

Final Thoughts

Compared to recent voyages on Holland America and Celebrity, this Cunard experience lagged in culinary and technological standards while maintaining par in service quality. The removal of "White Star Service" from their website is perhaps a silent admission of limitations. While transatlantic crossings hold an irreplaceable allure, based on this experience, we’re inclined to explore other options unless opting for Cunard's Grills class, which we believe still holds promise.

 

[Host Hattie]

Thank you for your review.

We didn't make it to Britannia for breakfast on our latest cruise but I thought French toast was still on offer. 

Can someone @bluemarble post the latest breakfast menu !?

[Winifred 22]

I don’t know where you went to school but there is no way I could compare my school dinners nor the school meals I ate during my 33 years as a teacher, to the enjoyable and perfectly delicious meals I experienced every where on board during the  last 14 night T A  I did in August and more recently a 3 night short break. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Winifred 22

[gphb]

11 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Thank you for your review.

We didn't make it to Britannia for breakfast on our latest cruise but I thought French toast was still on offer. 

Can someone @bluemarble post the latest breakfast menu !?

Latest breakfast menu attached.   No french toast.   It may be different for Britannia Club.   

There is something called French Toast served daily in Kings Court but it looked a bit more like a fruit cake/mincemeat pudding.

[exlondoner]

14 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I don’t know where you went to school but there is no way I could compare my school dinners nor the school meals I ate during my 33 years as a teacher, to the enjoyable and perfectly delicious meals I experienced every where on board during the  last 14 night T A  I did in August and more recently a 3 night short break. 

I don't eat the stuff, because it has eggs in, which I find repulsive, not an allergy, but a strong dislike, but I must say the school I used to teach in did bread and butter pudding as well as Cunard. Maybe that is the nature of bread and butter pud.

[Host Hattie]

10 minutes ago, gphb said:

Latest breakfast menu attached.   No french toast.   It may be different for Britannia Club.   

There is something called French Toast served daily in Kings Court but it looked a bit more like a fruit cake/mincemeat pudding.

Thanks, possibly replaced by the Avocado on toast.

I could usually only manage it once a cruise anyway, far too sweet. 

[Winifred 22]

56 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I don't eat the stuff, because it has eggs in, which I find repulsive, not an allergy, but a strong dislike, but I must say the school I used to teach in did bread and butter pudding as well as Cunard. Maybe that is the nature of bread and butter pud.

Oh I love bread and butter pudding. Cunard’s lemon one is one of my favourites . Can’t remember bread and butter pudding at school. I suppose we must have had it. I make a short cut one in the slow cooker with hot cross buns and fresh custard from M &S. Real cheats recipe.

[Pushpit]

Stewed fruit is my abiding memory of school desserts - with the fruit concerned being unspecific in every sense. I went to a boarding school which was also a state comprehensive (due to living too far from a school) and so I had more school meals than most. All I say is I look forward to my Cunard meals considerably more than those provided by the county council.

[exlondoner]

The toilet issue sounds a complete nightmare. Horrible. But how do you know it was throughout the ship if there was no acknowledgement?

[gphb]

11 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Oh I love bread and butter pudding. Cunard’s lemon one is one of my favourites . Can’t remember bread and butter pudding at school. I suppose we must have had it. I make a short cut one in the slow cooker with hot cross buns and fresh custard from M &S. Real cheats recipe.

I think my case rests.   If you love bread and butter pudding with custard (which certainly was served at my school if not the 29 years of yours), pigs in blankets (UK version meaning sausage in bacon, not puff pastry) with your turkey-gravy-mash served twice daily and if you generally favor large portion sizes over quality, then you are probably the target consumer of Britannia Restaurant's current offering.    Nostalgic comfort food is still to be found here;  its not reliably executed it seems, but then school meals and nursing home dinners never were meant to be. 

I rather like to the think that classic ocean liners would strive to serve the best contemporary food of the day;  somehow CCL's competitors and even its other premium brands are better managing to do this.   

[gphb]

6 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

The toilet issue sounds a complete nightmare. Horrible. But how do you know it was throughout the ship if there was no acknowledgement?

It was the talk of the corridors and Kings Court; at first people were worried they had clogged it only in their cabin somehow.

[Winifred 22]

43 minutes ago, gphb said:

I think my case rests.   If you love bread and butter pudding with custard (which certainly was served at my school if not the 29 years of yours), pigs in blankets (UK version meaning sausage in bacon, not puff pastry) with your turkey-gravy-mash served twice daily and if you generally favor large portion sizes over quality, then you are probably the target consumer of Britannia Restaurant's current offering.    Nostalgic comfort food is still to be found here;  its not reliably executed it seems, but then school meals and nursing home dinners never were meant to be. 

I rather like to the think that classic ocean liners would strive to serve the best contemporary food of the day;  somehow CCL's competitors and even its other premium brands are better managing to do this.   

I never said I liked custard, that was a reference to a main ingredient of the dish not an accompaniment. So I also don’t eat big portions I have never have mash with any of my meals on my numerous Cunard sailings across the fleet.  Actually been around schools for many more than 29 years and as I said never  have been served the type of meals I eat on Cunard but hey ho happy to be Cunard’s target customer / demographic for Britannia and proud of it. Cunard’s competitors are welcome to their contemporary offerings they certainly won’t be sampled by myself. P &O are the most rogue I would go as regards sailing either another line. Roll on November and December and being back onboard. 

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Winifred 22

[foodsvcmgr]

I prefer a classic ship that serves classic and traditional versions of somewhat British themed cruise cuisine.

Having worked in F&B for many years pre-retirement I’ve had my fill of pretentious trends, deconstructed vegan Wellingtons and the like put forth by celebrity chefs (in their own hype).

Three cheers for Cunard attempting within their budget to offer traditional dishes in regular portion sizes.

[delgirl]

3 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

I don’t know where you went to school but there is no way I could compare my school dinners nor the school meals I ate during my 33 years as a teacher, to the enjoyable and perfectly delicious meals I experienced every where on board during the  last 14 night T A  I did in August and more recently a 3 night short break. 

We did the 3 nighter to le havre. We found the food delicious. We were with our daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandchildren. They loved it also. My grandaughter was the one in the long red dress on red and gold evening.

[gphb]

47 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Roll on November and December and being back onboard. 

Sounds wonderful, enjoy!   

[Winifred 22]

13 minutes ago, delgirl said:

We did the 3 nighter to le havre. We found the food delicious. We were with our daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandchildren. They loved it also. My grandaughter was the one in the long red dress on red and gold evening.

Glad you all enjoyed it. I thought it was a lovely mini break and with great weather  thought there was a lovely atmosphere onboard. Hopefully lots of the new cruisers enjoyed themselves and will come back again. 

[TowandaUK]

6 hours ago, gphb said:

Dining Experience

The culinary offerings in Britannia and Kings Court were underwhelming. The menus were reminiscent of lackluster British school meals, brimming with comfort food slathered in uninspired gravy and custard. While the nostalgia is palpable, the execution leaves much to be desired. Breakfast in Britannia lacked options like waffles and French toast, and the versions served in Kings Court were unrecognizable.  In the past we would place HAL or Celebrity in similar overall quality, but would now rank Cunard a distinct third by comparison on this trip.  We actually couldn't wait to get off the ship for better food.  It can't all be about cost, as Cunard are the only line we've been on in 2023 that routinely still serves steak in the main restaurants, but unfortunately even this they managed to make un-tasty. 

I’m not sure how recently you sailed with celebrity?  We sailed on Celebrity Silhouette in June this year and also July/August 2022. We saw a marked deterioration in food between the two cruises. It was part of the reason for us deciding to change to Cunard for our next cruise. On X we found the choice greatly curtailed and quality dipped in the main dining room. Choice in the buffet was extremely limited in the evening. We booked extra speciality dining to ensure better meals. I have seen few complaints on these Cunard threads about food, whereas there are multiple remarks on the X board about poor food. Our first Cunard cruise is next spring, and I am hopeful that we shall not be disappointed in the dining. 

[NE John]

8 hours ago, gphb said:

Latest breakfast menu attached.   No french toast.   It may be different for Britannia Club.   

There is something called French Toast served daily in Kings Court but it looked a bit more like a fruit cake/mincemeat pudding.

The pancakes served in PG tasted like they were full of cornmeal: dry and not good. Most other breakfast offerings were good, especially the fish. 

[BklynBoy8]

32 minutes ago, NE John said:

The pancakes served in PG tasted like they were full of cornmeal: dry and not good. Most other breakfast offerings were good, especially the fish. 

Good Evening John,

We wonder reading reviews online and the differences other passengers experience, did we sail on the same name ship? Being on the QM2 twice in less than a year, and experiencing both BC and PG, except for that one mechanical situation on the last sailing, we had a wonderful trip on both sailings. With entertainment, food in all the venues and wonderful staff that served us. We do have to admit that we too expect certain needs and experiences we can be critical to notice. But the Queen serves us well and happy to be able to sail on her and always looking forward to the next booked sailing in about 500+ days.

 

Our guest that accompanied us also enjoyed her experience on the QM2 and could compare it to the other lines out there now including so call Mega Ships. QM2 is now on her considering list in the future.

 

PS. we did not have a posted French Toast last sailing but they did make for us in BC and was delightful. We are not waffle people. But fully happy with filling breakfast last September. 

[NE John]

42 minutes ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Good Evening John,

We wonder reading reviews online and the differences other passengers experience, did we sail on the same name ship? Being on the QM2 twice in less than a year, and experiencing both BC and PG, except for that one mechanical situation on the last sailing, we had a wonderful trip on both sailings. With entertainment, food in all the venues and wonderful staff that served us. We do have to admit that we too expect certain needs and experiences we can be critical to notice. But the Queen serves us well and happy to be able to sail on her and always looking forward to the next booked sailing in about 500+ days.

 

Our guest that accompanied us also enjoyed her experience on the QM2 and could compare it to the other lines out there now including so call Mega Ships. QM2 is now on her considering list in the future.

 

PS. we did not have a posted French Toast last sailing but they did make for us in BC and was delightful. We are not waffle people. But fully happy with filling breakfast last September. 
 

[NE John]

I believe the biggest problem Cunard has is raising expectations via its marketing so much creating a gap between those set high expectations and some of the reality some pax realize. 
I certainly believe sailing on PG was worth the premium but we have to manage our there expectations too. 
Hearing that the OP had subpar food in Britannia is a bummer. We snuck away for one lunch in Britannia to check it out and it wasn’t good at all and felt good about our choice to pay the premium for PG. 

[Victoria2]

5 hours ago, BklynBoy8 said:

Good Evening John,

We wonder reading reviews online and the differences other passengers experience, did we sail on the same name ship? Being on the QM2 twice in less than a year, and experiencing both BC and PG, except for that one mechanical situation on the last sailing, we had a wonderful trip on both sailings. With entertainment, food in all the venues and wonderful staff that served us. We do have to admit that we too expect certain needs and experiences we can be critical to notice. But the Queen serves us well and happy to be able to sail on her and always looking forward to the next booked sailing in about 500+ days...

 

 

I think future Cunard cruisers who read these boards will do well to read past contributions from those who offer opinions, good and/or bad.

Cunard, like all companies, will have their [perceived at times] glitches, be it sub-par food for some or the lack of staff attention for others and these will mar an experience if let but it's those who have extensive experience of Cunard, like yourselves, and who acknowledge glitches if they appear, who will be able to give an objective view of the company.

 

I know whose opinions I take notice of, yours being one of them. 🙂

[bluemarble]

For the record, this is what the French Toast looks like in Kings Court on QM2. I tried it for the first time this morning (with syrup added after taking the photo) and found it a different interpretation compared to what I'm used to for French Toast as an American.

 

[Host Hattie]

Thank you for the photograph, it doesn't look very appetising. Did it taste better than it looks ?

[bluemarble]

3 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Thank you for the photograph, it doesn't look very appetising. Did it taste better than it looks ?

 

I thought it tasted OK. My main reaction was I found it spongier than French Toast I'm used to. I suppose the larger Texas Toast size of the bread had a lot to do with why I thought it was different as well.