From the moment we embarked in Brooklyn, this trip on the Queen Mary 2 was everything we hoped and imagined it would be. The ship is beautiful inside and out, and very well-maintained. We had gotten upgraded to a sheltered balcony cabin from an ocean view on the same deck (5, forward), and were extremely pleased with the size, layout, cleanliness and ambiance of our cabin. We had a great cabin steward, and also a great waiter and assistant waiter in Britannia. Our assigned table mates for dinner were very congenial, which I think helps a lot. We liked the food a good deal, and with the exception of a few pasta dishes my husband had, we thought everything was well-prepared, given the volume of people that were being served. We chose to eat in the Britannia for almost all breakfasts and lunches as well, as we really liked the atmosphere and enjoy6ed having the opportunity to met a great variety of people. We did not pay to eat in any of the other available venues, and we only had a few breakfasts and lunches in the King's Court buffet, which was OK but we preferred the atmosphere of the main dining room.

We enjoyed the evening entertainment put on by the ship's company, and especially the two shows out on by RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts): Canterbury Tales and an abbreviated, but excellent, production of "The Merchant of Venice." We also were very impressed by a young Russian classical pianist, who gave several concerts; my husband was so impressed he bought one of her CDs. There was a lot of other good music around the ship as well, with musicians of various types performing in one or another of the public areas, lounges, or bars at almost any hour in the evening.

We had a very relaxing trip, and did not actually end up doing or trying as much as we thought we would we would. We loved walking around the promenade deck, sitting in deck chairs, and just finding quiet nooks to read. Loved the library! I did read the book club book and participated in the book club discussion, which was excellent. One thing we found to be underwhelming was the planetarium, which is basically just a dome with films projected; the effects are interesting, but the particular film we saw wasn't very interesting or edifying, and not even all that great visually. Read more