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Why Go?
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 First passenger liner purpose-built for trans-Atlantic service in 35 years
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Elegant ambience with high ceilings and fabulous art on Decks 2 and 3
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Large number of private balconies
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Todd English -- the ship's much ballyhooed alternative restaurant
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Cunard Insights -- an extensive enrichment programme
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Itineraries and Ports of Call: Canada & New England • Caribbean - Southern • Europe - Western Mediterranean • Transatlantic
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Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Review
The superlatives speak for themselves.
Queen Mary 2 is the first passenger liner purpose-built for trans-Atlantic service in 35 years. That's quite a stretch when you consider that its predecessor, the half-the-size Queen Elizabeth 2, started service at about the same time the first jumbo jet took to the skies. To further the sea-air scenario comparing the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2 to the new Queen Mary 2 is like contrasting an early Pan Am Boeing 747 with today's oh-so-forward new Airbus A380 (like QM2, it will be the largest and most expensive of its kind ever to be built).
Indeed, perhaps Queen Mary 2 would never have been built if Carnival Corporation had not acquired Cunard Line from the Norwegian Kvaerner group in 1998. In the years prior to Carnival's acquisition, Cunard had been steered with a lack of clear course and imagination -- resulting in a fleet of rather mismatched vessels -- while still trying to hang on to its hallowed reputation.
What interested Carnival Corporation wasn't Cunard's past as much as its future. While the concept of a splashy (and is it ever!) new ship to be called Queen Mary 2 was well beyond drawing-board stages at Cunard prior to the acquisition, it was Carnival's interest and -- finally -- support, that made the $780 million investment a reality.
The construction of Queen Mary 2 took place in the French shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique. The same yard had previously built other famous liners, such as the Normandie and the France (today known as Norway) -- not to mention more contemporary vessels like Coral Princess and Celebrity Millennium. The ship was built in almost record time and was delivered to Carnival Corporation just prior to Christmas of 2003. She was christened with ultimate hype and fanfare on January 8, 2004, by Queen Elizabeth II, and four days later the brand-new Queen Mary 2 embarked on her maiden
voyage.
Passenger experiences aboard Queen Mary 2 in the first year after its overheated launch were quite mixed, however. Reasons varied; certainly Cunard's own hype machine created high expectations. And as a prototype ship -- the only one of its kind, ever -- a shakedown period should have been anticipated. There were many
passenger complaints about service and staffing, though few about the ship
itself.
But now that Queen Mary 2 has gathered two years of sea miles (can you believe it?) we wanted to take a new look at the ship -- particularly since it recently emerged from its first major dry-docking where improvements were slated to be made in the Britannia Restaurant, as well as in other eateries.
Sailing on her first cruise following the refit, most changes seemed nice -- but minor. Aside from some small cosmetic work the ship's interior is the same as I remember from her maiden voyage. The Atrium has been re-carpeted and has new furniture. The velour chairs in the Queen's Grill that stained with every drop of water have been reupholstered in a smart striped fabric. The sculpture on the forward atrium wall now changes colors on a 24-hour schedule. (This was the artist's original concept, but it had not worked until now.) Indeed, much of the refit was taken up with inspections of QM2's propulsion gear, as required by the manufacturer. She passed with flying colors.
The biggest changes I noticed aboard, ironically, had nothing at all to do with the refit and everything to do with Cunard's change of management between its launch, when it was, in effect, part of Seabourn; today, Cunard falls under the umbrella of Princess as a result of the Carnival Corporation merger with P&O Princess Cruises.
Indeed, there is little Cunard left in QM2. In losing its distinctiveness Cunard has become little more than a logo. For example, most of the senior officers trained with P&O (Princess' former owner) or served on Princess ships. Several Princess touches have been imported into QM2, like the Champagne waterfall and the custom of introducing the behind-the-scenes restaurant personnel at dinner on the last night. (This happens only in the Britannia Restaurant in which most passengers dine; the grill rooms are blessedly free of this innovation.)
One of my complaints on the maiden voyage had been the slow dinner service in the Britannia Restaurant. Princess has taken this in hand by assigning veterans from their Princess Class ships as maitre d's. The result is an efficient dining room. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of gracious touches like vegetables being passed, rolling cheese
trolleys and selections of petits fours. Now, everything arrives at the table plated up, a la Princess. And the number of choices is more limited now than formerly. This way is more efficient, but quality gets lost in the translation.
Another complaint I had about the Britannia Restaurant during the maiden voyage was the maitre d's insistence that individual diners fill in large tables at open seating breakfast and lunch. True to the Princess scheme of Personal Choice Dining, this is no longer the case. The maitre d' seated me by myself from the first lunch with no hesitation, knew by my second visit that I preferred to lunch alone and had a table waiting for me. (When I
arrived with a friend for the final breakfast, he still gave me a table for one!)
When Carnival Corp. bought Cunard, they bought more than a couple of ships. They bought a heritage of over 150 years sailing the Atlantic Ocean. Because of Carnival's track record in keeping Holland America and Costa separate and distinct divisions, I had great expectations for their ownership of Cunard. I only hope Carnival understands what it is doing by blurring the distinction between Princess and Cunard.
Read Complete Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Review
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Cunard Ships: Queen Elizabeth • Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) • Queen Mary 2 (QM2) • Queen Victoria
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