High expectations – what a let down!

We booked a 5 day mini cruise with friends, leaving on 11th December.
None of us had cruised with Cunard, but we had high expectations of a lovely break prior to Christmas.
What a let down!
The Queen Mary 2 from the outside is a magnificent, dare I say beautiful ship. Nothing like a block of flats like some big cruise ships.
Our outside cabins on decks 5 & 6 were of a good size and clean as you would expect.
The ships public rooms in the main were in very good order and reminiscent of the art deco style and the great age of the transatlantic liners.
However the public toilets were less than clean; smelled and were frequently out of service.
The food served in the Britannia restaurant and Kings food court was varied and very good.
Our main complaint was about the complete lack of service from our waiters. We felt that the service was cold and impersonal, lacking any interest and warmth from those people that were there to make sure that you enjoyed your cruise.
Such was our opinion regarding the lack of care, that we decided to opt out of the automatic $11.50 / day / person gratuity that Cunard would normally charge to our onboard account!
This is the first time we have ever opted out of paying these gratuities.
We have cruised 5 times previously; Princess being the top of our list, Cunard will languish near or at the bottom.
From our point of view, we pay a lot of money to enjoy the cruise and experience. Once bitten, twice shy as they say.