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I Cruised from Dubai to Southampton on Queen Mary II and I was treated like a king, the staff were were friendly and helpful and I met some wonderful people on board. I can't understand why some people write such bad reviews. It is inevitable that on a large cruise ship that not every thing will be hunky-dory, some passengers will be a pain, there will be the occasional queues in the restaurants and the entertainment will not always meet every ones expectations. But am I complaining, no, not at all. I had a wonderful time. I always try and go for late deals and save some money. This generally means I get an inside cabin and not the space I'd like, and some times I don't get the my 1st choice destination. Friends of mine always book a suit well in advance, but they cruise once every other year while I'll cruise twice a year. We end up spending the same amount of money. 'You pays your money and takes your choice'. Cunard offer a particular style of cruising, there's a lot of dressing up, evening suits and Dicky bows and men are always are expected to wear a jacket for the evening meal in the dinning room, a bit too heavy for me every night, but Hey-ho, there's always the self-service restaurant if you want to eat casual. The entertainment was excellent, a mixture classical singers and musicians as well as music from the shows. There were some outstanding comedians. And if I didn't fancy a show, there was always a film to watch. Comparing cruise lines is all about give and take, some things are good on one and other things better on a different boat. I have yet to have a bad cruise experience, but I have enjoyed some cruses better than others, This cruise rates as on of the best. My pet gripe is the automatic gratuities of $11 per person per day, so loved by many cruise companies and following the advice received from other Cruise Critic readers, I trotted down to the Purser's desk and asked them not to deduct gratuities from my account. This they did without any trouble or comment. I do give tips, and I believe I tip quite generously, but I give it to the staff who gave me excellent service. I have little confidence that if I allowed the $320 to be deducted that it would all go to the staff. A fellow passenger said he'd heard that some people had received less favourable treatment when they approached the Purser's desk. I have found no evidence of this. This was an excellent cruise, it ticked all the boxes.
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