We wanted to do something different for the holidays but after being a bit disappointed by the high passenger loads and reduced staffing and services on some recent cruises, our expectations were a bit muted. Also we were not enthused about flying during such a busy time of year.
As it turned out, the QM2's cruise to the Caribbean over Christmas and New Years was a very pleasant surprise. We ...
The boat looked splendid as she was recently refreshed. She was freshly painted on the exterior and looked amazing. The interior refresh included some new soft goods such as carpets and upholstery, however as expected there are still some areas that need repair.
Embarkation was smooth. We arrived at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal around 11:30am. Our assigned check in time was 3:00 pm. We stood in ...
The itinerary seemed both exciting and romantic. Plus, there was no overseas travel involved for us (from Chicago). We were also looking to sail on the Queen Elizabeth. An unexpected bonus was successfully bidding on a Princess Grills cabin. Everything came together even better than we had hoped. We loved the QE and being in the Grills for 14 days was just amazing. The value is clearly there. The ...
I boarded queen elizabeth in san francisco for a 36 night cruise on sunday 24 july 2022.
This is my first cruise on this ship and i suspect that it will be my last unless significant changes are made.
The check-in at san francisco was the worst i have experienced in almost 50 cruises.
I arrived at 10.30 anticipating 11.00 boarding. i was told that boarding would commence at 11.30. A ...
We returned home yesterday from QE voyage Southampton to San Francisco and had a wonderful time aboard.
On arriving in Southampton at 12.15 as requested we were surprised by the number of passengers waiting for Covid testing. Obvious the stated time was not adhered to. However we were onboard and having lunch in the restaurant by 1.45pm.
We were in Grills and had a lovely suite, plenty of ...
Just before Christmas we returned to the Queen Mary 2, doing our very favorite itinerary, a Westbound Crossing. As this was a somewhat last-minute “live for today” splurge, we booked into the Queens Grill experience.
Yes, we’ve enjoyed trips on the QM2 six times before and have done eight crossings (counting roundtrips as two) with more scheduled in May 2020 and 2021. Yes indeed, we love the ...
I was on this cruise to celebrate my birthday. The ship was nicely decorated for the Holidays with even a small Christmas tree in our suite. We got lots of chocolate in the suite, at tea, and in the Princess Grill. Only 4 other people showed up for the Cruise Critic gathering on the first sea day. This lack of interest has happened on the past few cruises, no matter what line. They were setting ...
Overall, it is difficult to imagine anyone who is executing the overall shipboard experience better than Cunard and their flagship Queen Mary 2. From the big pieces, ship design and maintenance, to the fine details, cool towels and ice water waiting for guests returning from ashore, everything was executed brilliantly.
We were on the Christmas holiday sailing roundtrip from New York in a ...
As a critic, it becomes a nightmare to fulfil your dreams, as you are always on duty you never switch of. I choose Queen Mary2 because I still believe she is the most elegant ocean liner that’s sails, awaiting the new queen, many whispers on what she will be called “Queen Anne” is my answer now to wait and see, the cruise set sail and began its magnificent voyage to New York seven sea days. I was ...
Having last sailed the TransAtlantic crossing on the Old Girl the QE2 in 1993, our trip to Europe from NYC coincided with the QM2's early November sailing date, so we decided to take the ship instead of flying. The Old Girl was just so amazing, and she was missed.
And we decided that the only way to go was the Queen's Grill, as we had done before on our last Cunard cruise in 2008 just before ...