The Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of the Cunard fleet and is steeped in the tradition of famous trans-Atlantic liners.
It was stressed that this trip to Norway and the Arctic Circle was a “voyage,” not a cruise, but there was nothing to differentiate this from other trips with other lines.
Make no mistake, the QM2 is a magnificent vessel.
The rich red carpet in the wide hallway to the Grand Lobby provided a warming environment on embarkation, but the ship lacked a real central focal point like on its sisters, the Queens Elizabeth and Victoria.
The magnificent Queen’s ballroom was tucked away behind the classic two-level Britannia Restaurant and one needed map to be able to find it without going through the dining area.
It was a shame, but was used daily for that tradition of transatlantic liners, the Afternoon Tea Dance.
Hugely popular – and fattening! The layout didn’take some getting used to.
You had to walk through the Queens Room to get to the Night Club, and it was particularly confusing around “Illusions,” the Planetarium Theatre, and Connexions, and the superb parade of pictures of the stars who have sailed on previous Cunard ships.
The big disappointment was the buffet area which we found unwelcoming.
There were dark nooks and crannies of seating where you had to stare at the walls in dim lighting and it was often difficult to find a table, a clean one at that.
Areas were opened and closed like a revolving door meaning you had to walk to different sections at certain times to fetch a new dish for your next course, when your original serving area was shut down.
We found that too often things were missing, tea spoons, particularly, and items not replenished quickly.
Tables often remain for long periods with dirty plates before being cleared.
In comparison the Britannia Restaurant was excellent for breakfast, (although service a little slow and often incomplete) for lunch and for dinner.
The food was superb and our waiter top notch and always ready to please.
We liked the English pub lunch on occasions for a change and their Ploughman’s Lunch and Fish and (five chunky) Chips very enjoyable.
Entertainment was generally very good but they had an annoying habit of changing the times of some of the shows, particularly on the two visits to Hamburg.
These visits were hugely unsettling as they let off and embarked hundreds of passengers and disrupted life for those like us in mid-cruise.
We were not used to that.
The state rooms (and room service) were fine but I would have liked to have been warned that the balcony cabins on decks 4 & 5 didn’t allow you to see the sea when sitting down because of their metal sides.
If so I would have chosen those higher in the ship which had glass to the outside.
There were things that could have done with an upgrade, like the windows in the hallway on deck 2 leading to Connexions and the Planetarium area, which were all shot and frosted, such that you couldn’t sit and watch the sea go by.
I tried to practice my golf swing in the nets one grey sea-day only to find the mat ripped, an antique collection of mainly left-handed clubs (there were two right-handed ones) and just two range balls.
The library and bookshop, on the other hand were superb, as were the onboard shops and the musical interludes of all kinds around the ship.
The port itinerary was good and varied and the port talks helpful.
It was our first time on the QM2 and a first for all ports, and it proved a lovely cruise, but for the flagship of the Cunard fleet and all the hype, it fell a little below our expectations.
For us, the Regal Princess cruise earlier in the summer took the crown !
