We fist traveled in her maiden year, 2004 and have completed a total of 4 transatlantic trips, 3 east bound, one west bound..
We always like 8 th deck but you have to review your stateroom to make sure it is not obstructed by lifeboats. Many people were upset by that and I just told them they should have done their homework! Our room had a clear and open view from the verandah.
This trip it just seemed that everything was tired. The breakfast buffet was terrible! I remember a much larger and fresher breakfast buffet. They did not even offer Eggs Benedict! Really? The captains reception was not impressive and he did not circulate at all. There were no horse racing on Ascot day. The activities were boring as well as not well advertised. It was not the Queen Mary we know.
The staterooms are the same as always, could use a new look! As I mentioned above, we like a certain area of the ship but you have to do your homework. Some less expensive rooms have the sheltered balcony and you will not get the panoramic view as with the glass balcony. Also our deck had the life boats. They did not obstruct our view as we chose a room with a clear view but there were many times I over heard people asking why they had a boat off their verandah. You have to check each stateroom to see what is has or does not have! This can be a tricky ship!Good sized rooms with a nice couch, same closet space..could be bigger...nice bathrooms but small. It is all you really need however.