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Cunard Line

Queen Mary 2

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Reviewed by: Chris Frame
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: July 11, 2004
Itinerary: Europe

Queen Mary 2 is an experience unto herself, nothing is quite like a voyage on this very special ship. She is beautiful externally - and stunning internally. She is the liner for the 21st century!

Queen Mary 2 has a walk around promenade which is all on one level. 3 times around is just over 1 mile, thus exercise is easy. The ships interior is fantastic - Cunard spared no expense in making her regal and visually stunning. The Queen's Room is especially pleasing (if not a little tricky to access), with a very tasteful design. Britannia dining room is one of the finest at sea - looking at it is to step back into a bygone era - there has been an obvious attempt to re create that which was found on the old Queens but to a new level. I did not like G-32; and neither did the other younger people I knew aboard. However, some did like it. It seems strange to have the nightclub accessible through the ballroom (Queens Room) as they cater to totally different dress codes and music tastes. The Commodore Club was my favorite bar, it is forward with a bow view and is quiet and relaxed with a sense of old world class. During the day the Chart Room is very nice but at night it becomes crowded and does not work well. The Golden Lion is nice, but not as well thought out in layout as its namesake. The Terrace pool and bar service was particularly nice and the bar service is friendly and quick.

BRITANNIA: Very nice indeed. It is a very large restaurant and thus food is slow coming out of the kitchen, however the staff on the floor are fantastic. Romolo and Edwin looked after us very well. We did hear complaints among other passengers but most were aimed at the slow delivery by the kitchen - However, I like to eat at a leisurely rate and thus no rush. One thing that lacks is "warming" stations, and thus main courses are delivered at different times and this results in one member of the table waiting for a main while others are finishing theirs - again, no fault of the wait-staff, but an overlook on the design of the restaurant. Otherwise, very pleasing.

KINGS COURT: Works well at night as four small "themed" dining facilities but fails during the day as there are two many entrances and it becomes very hectic. Thus, I ate mostly at the Britannia.

ROOM SERVICE: Morning Breakfast service was very good - on-time and tasty. Staff were friendly and polite. Drinks service during the day was slow.

I was in cabin 8.097 - a very nice room with balcony on Deck 8. There was a lot of space. The cabin was quiet, and comfortable with a touch screen climate control system. There was enough closet space for our 11 night cruise. The shower was large enough for me (6'5 tall) to fit under with room to spare. Water was strong and hot. Interactive QM2 TV worked well for room service and booking shore tours.

The Royal Court Theatre is a world class show lounge with large scale productions. The sound and lighting are fantastic but where it really shines is the stage; complete with sunken band stand, rotating floor, self moving backdrops and stairs that move out of the stage floor to form a pyramid. The Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers were fantastic, and the other entertainers which included comedians, ventriloquists, opera singers and a world renowned violinist were fantastic.

Illuminations - Planetarium - what can I say, AMAZING. The "search for life" show, narrated by Harrison Ford, was unbelievable. The planetarium also acts as an auditorium where I met and listened to Bill Miller (author) talk about cruise lines and liners of the past and present. There is also a movie screen which works as well as a dedicated cinema so all in all a fantastic room.

Cruise Director was enthusiastic and planned a well organised cruise with his staff.

Our voyage was all maiden ports - South Queensferry - Edinburgh was very interesting with a beautiful city that allows one to see the old city, not damaged during the war like those in England. We then headed to the Fjords of Norway which was an amazing experience. Norway embraced QM2 like she was their greatest guest but nothing prepared us for the greeting in Hamburg - around 1 mil lined the shores in the early morning to see Queen Mary 2. The whole day witnessed huge shore-side festivals and we were treated to a fireworks and laser light display. The ship remained in Hamburg overnight and the next morning we sailed out at 7:00am where another 600,000 lined the river as we sailed. We then sailed for Rotterdam where we got a quiet welcome, but a magnificent sen doff - hundreds of thousands again lined the shores as the great Queen Mary 2 moved away from her pier. We had a two fireboat escort and a flotilla of small boats follow us out to sea.

The health club aboard (to change the topic), really is state of the art. Canyon Ranch has gone to all ends to make this THE health club at sea - and it has worked. My sister used the beauty therapy facilities and told me they were exceptional.

Mainly the wealthy elderly - but there are some younger passengers aboard aswell. The average age would be 65 with a handful of people under 40. Most of the passengers are friendly and kind. Many have excellent stories and come from England, the USA and Canada.