juneann Posted July 16, 2004 #1 Share Posted July 16, 2004 The QM2 is an amazing ship and experience. After reading so many negative comments on this board I didn’t know what to expect. If I had to give this crossing a rating it would be a “10”. Since we live in NYC and were so anxious to begin our journey, we ignored our boarding time of 2 PM and arrived at the dock at 12:30 PM. Lines were short and moving quickly and nobody questioned our early boarding. Since we have an Amex platinum we followed the signs for Grill and Platinum. We registered and boarded the ship where a steward was waiting, took our carry on and guided us to our cabin. This whole process took less than 30 minutes. Our luggage arrived 15 minutes later. Off to a great start. We were in a B1 (Britannia) cabin on deck 12 very near to the ‘B” elevators. We thought that this was a perfect, central location. The balcony cabin was great. The flowers I had ordered were waiting for us. We had 4 LARGE pieces of luggage and a wheeling carry on and were initially concerned as to where we would store these bags. Ana, our cabin steward introduced herself and assured us that there would be plenty of room under the bed and she would take anything that did not fit. Well, it all fit. There were enough drawers, hangers, 2 closets and a large under sink cabinet in the bathroom where I was able to store all our toiletries, makeup, etc. Everything fit comfortably. Before we unpacked my husband went to Todd English and I went to Canyon Ranch to make reservations. We arranged to meet at the Britannia to check out our table assignment as the note was missing from our room. My husband made 2 dinner reservations for Todd English and I made appts for us for a facial, a massage and a Rasual treatment. We also learned that we needed to come back in the morning to buy passport for day use of the spa pools. We did that the next morning. Our table assignment was as we requested, late seating at a table for 6. We were assigned to a table on level 2, by the rail, overlooking the captains table. This seemed fine and we went back to our cabin to unpack. Having finished our chores, we headed for Kings Court and lunch. I need to add that we constantly found the staff warm and gracious, always smiling and offering assistance as needed. At Kings Court, waiters came by to take drink orders which promptly arrived. Neither of us are buffet fans, so it was a very nice surprise to find the fresh selection of salads, fruits and of course cooked foods offered. Lunch was delicious. The remainder of the day consisted of a life boat drill at 5PM and slow exploration of the ship. At apx. 6PM we went back to deck 12 and watched as we sailed out of harbor. Our exit from the harbor was narrated by Bill Miller who was so knowledgeable and such a great speaker that we attended 3 lectures that he gave about ocean liners. Words are difficult to find to describe the sense of excitment in the air as we left the NY skyline behind. Dinner was at 8:30 PM in the Britannia dining room. What a magnificient room this is. I'll continue with our dinner story as it seems I am out of room. June Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKEinVA Posted July 16, 2004 #2 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Thanks for the report - great stuff! :) If you mind me asking, how much was the pass for use of the spa pools? For one day only or for your whole voyage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juneann Posted July 16, 2004 Author #3 Share Posted July 16, 2004 The pass was $25 per day or apx. $19 per day if you got a 5 day pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juneann Posted July 16, 2004 Author #4 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I asked for a copy of the dinner menu and will give you details on my next report. In any event, dinner was great as was the service. We dined on Wedgewood china and Waterford crystal. We brought along our own wine and the corkage fee, including tip, was $15.00 which we thought to be very reasonable. The wine list has a very broad range of wines and prices for every taste and pocketbook. During dinner the maitr'd came to our table and asked us if we would like to be reassigned (for the remainder of the crossing) to the staff captains table (#67) which is in the center on the main level. This was quite an unexpected treat and of course we agreed. Another couple at our table were also invited. After dinner we went with our new friends to the Verve Cliquot bar for champagne and then ended our magical first day in the Queens ballroom with music and dancing. The seas were remarkably calm and the bed was amazingly comfortable. As was suggested on this board, we asked Ana for a top sheet which she provided at turndown. She made the bed with a top sheet each day after that. The bed linens were extremely soft and comfortable as were the 4 pillows on the bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juneann Posted July 16, 2004 Author #5 Share Posted July 16, 2004 As there were every night, there was a Canyon Ranch Spa selection of an appetizer, entree and desert. Tonight I chose to start with Double Salmon dip with salmon caviar and celery hearts, then on to Soba noodle salad with sesame seed soy dressing. My entree was the Canyon Ranch selection of Duck Breast with fig butter, port wine glaze & roasted butternut squash (395 calories). Others at our table chose roasted strip sirloin with yorkshire pudding, medallions of pork with five peppercorn, spinach flan and pommery mustard sauce. Everyone was very pleased with their selections. Deciding on desert was another difficult choice...chocolate banana tart with mango sauce, iced red berry souiffle, warm apple strudle with brandy sauce, sugar free strawberry pie with vanilla sauce, cheese selections, ice cream parfait or the canyon ranch selection of lemon blackberry tart (140 calories) Service was elegant and the staff was well trained in the art of proper service. What a great first night dinner. During our crossing we had the opportunity to talk to many people and the word that we kept hearing was "amazing". At breakfast and lunch in the Britannia we sat at different tables in different locations, always with new people and except for one time when the waiter did not bring my ice tea, each meal was delicious, well served and shared with so many interesting people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pouchin Posted July 16, 2004 #6 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Loved your review , hope there's more coming! How was your experience at Canyon Ranch (Rasul Ceremony)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juneann Posted July 17, 2004 Author #7 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Canyon Ranch was facilities and services were wonderful and contrary to reports that I read, we had no problem booking any service..remember that we did that on day one. We used the bubble pool every day and met several other people who did the same. It was a great way to relax at the end of the day, before dressing for dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouton Posted July 17, 2004 #8 Share Posted July 17, 2004 It's just wonderful to hear your report, June. I'm so glad everything worked so smoothly. A bbbbbbbbig smile crossed my face as I read about your enjoyment of the bbbbbbbbubbbbbbbbbble pool. Abbbbout the only description which bbbbbegins to describbbbbbbbe the sensation is perhaps bbbbbbbbathing in a glass of champagne, or perhaps a Coke. bbbbbbbbbbut even then that Bbbbbbbbbbbarely captures it..... Crouton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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