QM2 - My Review....

I have recently returned back from my 2nt trip onboard the QM2, leaving Southampton on Monday and cruising over to Cherbourg. So, what were my honest thoughts of this extremely popular Cunard Ship?



Well having been on the launch of the brand new QE only a couple of weeks ago I thought I knew what to expect of the Queen Mary but I have to say she did feel very different in many ways to the QE, which I thought was brilliant.


The trip did start off a bit rocky, I drove down with 4 of my colleagues and as soon as we hit Southampton we were greeted by pretty much bumper to bumper traffic. What we hadn't realised was that not only was the Mary sailing that day but as were the QE and the Independence of the Seas!

We arrived at the Oceans Terminal where the QM2 was supposed to be leaving from only to find out that she was actually docked in the QE terminal which was about a 15minute walk. I would like to add that although this was obviously a pain it was in no way Cunard’s fault and they did provide shuttle buses for us. It turned out it was because the Artemis, that was supposed to leave the night before, could not due to adverse weather conditions. Cunard’s staff had been working through the night to ensure check in was done as quickly and efficiently as possible but it seemed most passengers did not take this into consideration as there were quite a few moans! I think as it was only a 2nt mini cruise it made the whole thing worse because it did feel like you lost most of the first day, and we were all very hungry!

Anyway enough about the problems at check in, let’s get down to my thoughts on the ship....

My initial thought was how huge she looked when I saw her in port - quite a beaut! I was not disappointed when I stepped onboard either. The decor was classic Cunard with the Reds, Creams and Blues and the staff were dressed in full Cunard strip with white gloves and all.

Our cabin was a B1 sheltered balcony, which I will be doing a separate blog on later, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised about. The cabin was very neutral in decor and rather spacey, we were greeted by a bottle of Champagne on ice which was obviously a warm welcome! The bathroom was again a good size but the shower was a bit feeble I do have to say. One of the things I did notice is that the plugs also catered for British 3 pin which is a bonus.


We dined in the Britannia Restaurant of an evening, we did try to book into the Todd English but you have to be quick folks as it gets booked up! The Britannia was a magnificent looking dining the room and the food was lovely, I would not say it was amazing but it was of a very good standard. I would like to mention also that our waiters were very attentive and could literally not do enough for us even using the phrase "don’t be afraid to ask for anything" I thought this was brilliant of them and really made us feel at ease about ordering anything we desired, and we did! :)



I did manage to sneak into the Todd English restaurant to take a few pics though and it does look very intimate and the menu looked well worth the $30 surcharge. Hopefully next time I will get to sample the delights!
               
We boogied the night away in G32 - this was a fantastic place that had a real club feel to it with a large dance floor. It also had a smoking area at the top on the mezzanine so the smokers did not have to brave the cold. They had a live band playing who I have to say I thought were brilliant! They were playing lots of modern mixed with old classics and really gave it a party feel.

The Queens room was a large ballroom where I did see couples taking full advantage of the large dance floor and live music playing. It is where they served the afternoon tea which I was desperate to sample but it seemed like everyone else had the same idea as we could not get in :(


The one thing I was slightly disappointed with was the Atrium, I did not actually realise it was the Atrium at first, for me it was too small and didn’t have that WOW factor that most do but with that said it was still lovely.


My overall experience you will be pleased to know was a very good one. In comparison to the QE I felt the Mary had a bit more character to her and more of a wow factor. Even down to the real teak decks rather than the plastic style decks that the QE had. Considering the Mary is a few years old now you would not really know it at all as she is still looking in pristine condition. The staff was some of the friendliest I have come across and I would certainly say I would like cruise on her again.



Well done Cunard!