Boarded for the first leg of the World cruise, Southampton to Dubai. Embarkation was 2 1/2 hours; very poor. Ship was tired and dirty. Carpets were threadbare and stained. Entertainment was generally poor. Drummer was brilliant as was the trumpeter soloist and the juggler. Opera Boys did too much silly talking and not enough singing. Singers and dancers were far too loud; many left the theatre Food was very disappointing especially evening meal in Brittania. Tiny portions of tough meat and virtually no vegetables. Overall, food was monotonous and tasteless. Managing the guests for excursions was shambolic. The Entertainment Manager did not keep guests informed. I complained to the Hotel Manager who agreed with most of what I said and gave me a $150 credit. On return home I emailed Mr Palethorpe, Cunard Vice president, who did not reply. So I emailed Customer Services who also failed to reply. Cunard are trading on the past and have lost the plot. Read Less

If you have a Disability like me with wearing an Air-Cast Boot and partly blind with a cane the staff won't help you and not even at the terminal in Brooklyn, NY. This was for embarkation and I was alone traveling. The cabin was very nice and the Cabin boy I had was wonderful. He made sure everything was well stocked. The Britannia Restaurant is very nice and my dinner companiens are wonderful and glad they sat with me at the table. I each gave them a box of Fudge to say Thank You. However QM2 knew I was a vegan and they did not bother to get products for me. The Chef did not even know what yams are.! Makes you wonder.? Staff in the Britannia very stuffy as they did not want to smile most of the time. The Entertainment was fantastic and the Dancers amazing. Went to afternoon Tea and they served products with Nuts in and had an allergic reaction and medical and staff did not care and took me 2 days to recover. One day I asked for toast and on the side I had mold on. Service from the staff very Rude and talked about guests behind your back in own language that I can understand. No Ports of shore as went right to Southampton from Brooklyn, NY As for Disembarkation was the same problem as staff did not care if you have a Disability. After I got off my bags went on the floor and yes I cried. The security in Southampton are wonderful and they helped me since QM2 staff could not care. In my opinion I would never go back on the QM2 due to the problems and staff. Read Less

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 up for a wedding where we met so I felt like I was in the way. One of the ladies told us about the books written by the bar waiter, so I bought them and look forward to reading them. He graciously signed them for me. We didn't stay up for NYE, so were interested in what was reported in a blog by one of the other passengers. We were in the Princess Grill which was wonderful. I booked the Veranda Steakhouse for my birthday, the last evening. Should have stayed in the Princess Grill, it is much nicer, less hectic and has better food, although we did have a couple of kids in PG who let loose once in awhile. Did not expect that. Cunard overbooked the PG and offered us and some others a free cruise if we would downgrade. We refused the offer. We had sailed on the QM2 once before in the sheltered balcony they offered us which was okay, but I wanted to see how the PG was in comparison with when we were upgraded to PG on the QE2. I am glad that we did it, but don't think we will do it again. Been there, done that. We had been to all of the ports before, so didn't take any excursions even though we had quite a bit of on board credit. Our port schedule was changed when it was too rough to go to Antigua and St. Kitts replaced it. This was on Boxing Day which is the start of their Carnival celebration. Stores were closed except the port shops and there was a big parade and crowds of people. We had to tender there and in St. Lucia. The weather was pretty good except for rain off and on in St. Maarten. The ship is very nice but sometimes difficult to navigate. The Queen's Room was very crowded at times. The entertainment was great but we had to get there early to get a decent seat. This happens on other ships though. Having some free internet time was nice but it was so slow that I couldn't do much. Missed seeing the American football games, particularly the Rose Bowl, only British soccer was shown. The water in the outdoor pool was cool even in the Caribbean, so I went to the hot tub on the Grill deck. They even served tea and scones up there which was very nice. I was surprised that even though the children seemed to have their own pool, they were still in the pool that said it was only for age 18 and over. The warmer indoor pool was full of kids, so I only went there once. We received two lovely cups and saucers with the Cunard ship logos on them, wondered if everyone else had. We had discarded some of the luggage tags that we put on prior to boarding and then found out we were supposed to use them again for disembarkation. Have never done this before on any of our cruises. I still had one on my larger bag, but it was placed in the wrong area in NY, as was my other bag with a new, handwritten tag they gave me. It took me awhile to find my bags and the people there didn't seem to know what was going on. Not sure if we will ever go on a World Cruise, but if we do, it will not be on this line. I am getting used to the other lines which don't make me dress up. We did like formals in our younger days. My number of cruises is about to pass my age, so I guess that's why my tastes are not what they used to be. Read Less

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 disappointed to find the ginger bread village had been cut only a quarter of the village displayed and they didn’t bring it out until we continued onto the Caribbean. The Cunard guest choir was outstanding. The staff always serving at such high standards. The North Pole making connection to say Father Christmas arriving the children amazed .. perfect xmas voyage - finally I could switch off.. place my sun hat upon my head and relax as we headed towards the Caribbean feeling the warmth as my body began to tan. New Year’s Eve the 8 o’clock party to bring in the new year in the golden lion was absolutely one of the best parties I have been too for bringing everyone together. The veranda head waiter and his staff for me shone more than any one with exception to Clyde and Romas in the golden lion. The Britannia restaurant food was of a good standard Christmas Day was exceptional. The spa for once on a cruise ship had a hairdresser that actually could do your hair. Maya. The events planner deepsha was professional in organising my event to perfection. The itinerary packed with things to do what ever your day you desired to fill with. The water colour class was a great class as 35 dollars also the floristry class with mikey and jay lo absolutely outstanding 50 dollars for a two day course. You practiced with beautiful flowers and Cunard never cheated you to gain money , they gave an exceptional class to ensure you had a five star experience. I took myself off to the 9.am fencing club now able to use a sword beware this critic can now defend herself. Midge Ure was performing and also gave lectures this was received well with passengers, whilst I carried in the moves with his daughter Molly in the fabulous G32. Until Dawn broke. The queen Mary2 suffered a complete power failure through out the ship on New Year’s Eve late in the evening. Darkness hitting the ship no power for around 25 minutes. The ship drifting as the chief engineer and his colleagues desperately trying to find a solution, alongside the captain who took almost 10 mins to make his announcement try to get to grips with what was happening to the ship before trying to let passengers know the details, some passengers complained this was too long but for the captain safety being his first priority. Three times they tried and Queen was back under command. A ship where no panic hit due to the training given to ensure passengers were safe and not frightened at this time. Another negative the social hostess was the worst I have ever come across, dosnt interact with passengers is very off putting Thai I was shocked to see, but I didn’t downgrade a star because I know Cunard will deal with it . So yes Queen Mary2 as you as sail keep on making dreams a reality. Yes she is a little more pricey but if you pay peanuts you get monkeys. Cunard provide excellence I await to sail again Lady Kendal Jaggar Read Less

From the first of our 6 cruises with Cunard we have respected the dress,hand gel,guest conduct expected by Cunard that results in many guests returning,however!!! We wish to offer the following observations whilst on board for 26 nights recently over Christmas and new year. 1. Some Guests refusing to use the hand gel on entrances to food areas giving the following excuses. I washed my hands earlier in the cabin I take vit C tablets each day It makes my hands sticky It has an affect on my skin I washed my hands earlier in the toilet All these excuses even though they all used hand rails,buttons in lifts and handles on doors on the route to the food halls and restaurants. When the staff are asked why they did not insist the guests to use the gel,the staff said they were accused of harassment and did not get backing from their supervisors. 2. Guests using the beautiful coffee tables in lounges as foot rests with and without shoes. Again when staff asked guests not to do this they refused,claiming they paid the bill not the staff. 3.Guest wearing baseball caps,sporty tee shirts,torn jeans some looking like they have just come off a building site,around the ship and in the restaurants on formal nights sitting amongst smartly dress guests who had followed the issued instruction on dress code. Again when staff tried to insist on the code they were accused of harassment not getting support from their supervisors. 4. A guest walking around the ship and through the kings hall carrying a dog. Nobody stopped and challenge this action 5. Male and female guests in the kings hall wearing only swim wear and bath robes Again when staff tried to challenged this they were accused of harassment. No support given by supervisors. 6. Guests laying full length along the beautiful settles in the lounges with and with shoes on. Again when challenged by the staff the offenders claimed harassment ,without support from supervisors. 7. More and more guests failing to attend the compulsory safety drill claiming they did not care and having to do it the next day in the lounge disturbing other guests comfort. When questioned about the guests conduct,the officer just shrugged his shoulders. All in all this made the cruise quite disappointing and we will question wether we would want to go on Cunard in the future. What was great was the captain and staff,so friendly and polite,the serving waiters,excellent as always. Cunard please take note!! Many of these offending guests were not British, give it some thought. Read Less

We chose this ship because we wanted to return from the USA after visiting Florida, San Diego and finally New York. - we were staying for 8 weeks in the USA and we have used a cruise ship to go over and back before and it was great to avoid the long haul flights. For a disabled cabin 7002 was on the small size with just enough room for a disabled user and that is all. The room did have a roll in shower but only just enough room to get my small mobility scooter in and close the door. Having seen another review for this cabin 7002 on line here we did what they suggested and asked for the twin beds option or l would not have been able to get close enough to the bed to get in!! So we re-arranged the room and moved the small table over to the end of my husbands bed and managed that way. However no way as a disabled user would l want to be in this size cabin for longer than a week. Think a standard size cabin where they have taken the extra space out to enlarge the bathroom for a walk in shower and you pretty much have it. You can manage but some of the larger cruise lines outshine Cunard on the size of this disabled cabin. The ship was lovely and quiet compared to some other lines......lovely food and fair entertainment. Have to say that having been on many other lines and sailed with Cunard before that l was slightly disappointed with the standard of their theatre shows this time. Their own shows with their dancers and singers were not to the standard of other ship casts. The only other negative point is that the spar pool no longer has a disabled lift in it to be able to use the pool. We had taken a week spar package on a previous sailing and l enjoyed using the pool. So that was a no to a swimming for a whole week because the one on the upper decks was not possible to access. So for a line such as Cunard that was a great disappointment. However the rest of the cruise was very relaxing and laid back we enjoyed the meals and the good service and the ship looked lovely as she was completely dressed ready for Xmas - so had a lovely atmosphere. Read Less

On boarding the QM2 we were once again struck by it's elegance. We were anxious to return once again to sailing on her. Boarding was very easy once we finally got through the traffic back up at Red Hook. The 4 of us went to the English pub for fish and chips and when finished found our balcony cabins and saw our luggage already there! Our cabin was beautifully furnished and our cabin attendant anxious to help us in any way. We quickly went on to the best equipped library we have seen. Plenty of best sellers were available. While one couple went to the Veranda restaurant, we proceeded to a beautiful table next to the window and enjoyed our first dinner.Unfortunately, when the 4 of us went to the Veranda restaurant, our steaks were so tough we couldn't eat them!Such a disappointment after a 5 minute talk by waiter on how great they were.I would not go there again. All through the trip the service was outstanding, the wine steward in particular went out of his way to be of service. Our only complaint was the food was a lower standard such as chicken, pork etc. Food was tasty but on a 13 night trip lobster was served once. This was quite different from our last trip that served high quality meats and fish. Entertainment was very good but the guest lectures were outstanding! We had tenders on several of the ports of call, making it impossible for some guests to go as they had mobility problems. On the whole the guests were a mix of different nationalities and blended nicely with each other. We would definitely return to the QM2-hope the food returns to excellence. Read Less

There is ONLY 1 Oceanliner in the world like it,and its not to be confused with a cruise ship. Every day was an Event and it wasnt the locations or destinations that made the cruise special it was the the cruise it self, even the crew loved sea days . Its smooth even in the Atlantic, there is a sense of occasion and dining at the princess grill was nothing short of exceptional and with a cellar of over 400,000 bottles on board the choices are plentiful and and fruitful.Every dinner was a dinner party nobody could wait to talk about the day and enjoy the evening .The rooms are spacious the staff is exceptional. I was so impressed that i booked another cruise Now before you think this is a retired persons ship, you are almost correct most have retired in there 40s or semi retired. I have travelled on other lines however if you like a more serene cruise with a sense of occasion with out screaming children this is it .sailing out of New York Harbour has history and probably the most iconic entry/ departure port in the world. The rooms are great , I have say they are better insulated than other liners so you dont hear almost anyone, the downside of this insulation is internet, it is best used in public areas or leave the door ajar. I personally can't wait for the next one, for me and probably more 80% of the passengers on board the only question is "when can we do this again.?" Read Less

Just a little history ,this was our 41st Cruise and our 3 rd on The QM2 , we've cruised all the major Cruise lines ,from inside cabins to Owners suites ,So we pretty much know what to expect . We choose this cruise because it seemed like a good value and according to all the printed material we viewed online ,they were staying to 10 PM on 2 of our favorite Islands , St Maarten and Barbados . [ see attached pics] At the time In May when we decided to book on Cunard we already had a Cruise booked at the same time [RCCL Anthem] so we had to pay 200.00 to re-book the RCCL cruise to a later date and booked on the QM2 . All went fairly smooth as we live on long Island ,and had car service to the Pier . Embarkation was a little slow ,But we were on the ship within one hour . The ship itself is a very elegant, But showing wear in both the staterooms and common area's ,Like in many places there are "soft spots " in the floor ,where you step down and get the feeling that the Carpet is all thats supporting you ,some were actually marked with cones . The Good Here's some of the good, Nice Gym ,no problem with crowding ,excellent Library , The Kings Court was OK for breakfast ,good omelets, breads etc. Stateroom was adequate ,by no means spacious ,with enough storage for a 13 day cruise . My wife seemed to enjoy the Puzzles that were available on deck 2 forward ,she and a group of people she met onboard spent hours on these 1000 piece puzzles, [ I have no interest in this] My sea days started with a visit to the gym , which was never really crowded, I guess because a good portion of the passengers were in there 70 and 80s , then head up to the Buffet for breakfast , Had my omelet chef trained how I like my omelet by the second day , He was good as I'm picky about any oil in my omelet, I spent at lease 2 hours a day in the casino at the black jack table ,the first night one of my table mates hit it big ,had 5.00 chip on the Lucky Ladies , he was dealt 2 queen of hearts and the dealer had black-jack payoff ,I believe he walked away with 6,250.00 nice on a 5.00 bet , first time I ever saw that in my 10 years of playing blackjack The Bad After a few visits to, the Kings Court for lunch which was always crowded, the lunch selection were only OK limited sandwiches, Sushi was available on certain days and was fresh . Tried dinner [to avoid formal nights] a couple of times and it was not good , seems like they put the better quality cuts out first , but if you show up at 7.30-8.00 it's gone and what was left was either over cooked or Luke warm at best , I decided to rename the Kings Court the Canine Court ,as most of the food I tried was only suitable for a Canine , Instead of thinking what can I choose today ,it turned into what can I possibly stand to try today , most choices were either cold or overcooked . We expected the Britannia Restaurant to be much better ,but we soon found out that it's not much better than the Buffet, although the service was good the waiters tried there best to satisfy us ,but you can't blame the waiter if the steak is tough or the fist is cooked to death , . . Our last QM2 cruise was in 2010 and it was excellent ,overall both service and food has declined considerably since 2010 Our room Horrible pillows , use a Duvet instead of a top sheet , How to cook in the Caribbean, this might be OK for an Alaska Cruise ,but not for the Caribbean .Even with the room temp all the way cold its still way to hot . No interactive TV system ,But did have a nice flat screen TV Overall it appears Cunard is trying to Cut Costs and relying on its past reputation ,to target 1st time cruisers ,that don't have any history to compare more modern newer ships . The Deceptive On about the 3rd sea day we went to the Pursers office to check times in Port as they claimed to have changed the Itinerary , This is when we found out that they were not staying to 10.00 pm in either St Maarten or Barbados , we were told that they never stay past 5.30 and that our travel agent had printed the wrong times . Very Unhappy ,we talked to about 6 other couples that had viewed the same info from different travel agency's, one couple offered to let us make copy's of the Itinerary they had with them ,we brought that to the pursers office ,but they claimed it didn't have enough info . the next day were in St Thomas ,we called out travel agent and had them email a copy of the Itinerary to the ship. Sure enough St Maarten and Barbados were listed as staying to 10.00 PM . They claimed they had to contact Corporate office , a few days later we were contacted by the person in charge of the Pursers claiming that even though we proved them wrong they had the option of changing ports and times at there digression. I kind of expected this ,but they offered to write a letter stating that the itinerary was changed and we might get some compensation from our trip insurance . Right Good luck with that . I feel like we got scammed , these are tricks that you might expect from a used car dealer ,not a claimed 5 star cruise line . We paid for 10 extra hrs as advertised [ bait] and than got zero with no compensation [switch] I would have been satisfied for the 200.00 it cost us to change cruises . I Can't recommend this cruise or ship when they pull stunts like this ,avoid them, even if this was listed by mistake ,they should have offered a retraction ,before we made the final payment ,Not while we had started out cruise. We won't set foot on this ship ever again . Read Less

This was my first cruise and I was not looking forward to it! However, the transatlantic crossing was high on my husband’s bucket list, so I booked a Princess Grill cabin for the 7 night cruise to New York. Embarkation from Southampton was fast, greetings from the crew as we boarded were lacklustre and we could have had some help as we wandered around looking for our cabin. However, on entering our cabin we were spellbound! It was large, luxurious, inviting (champagne and chocolates awaiting) and the big wall of windows looking out onto the balcony was perfect. Our cabin was so nice we spent a lot of time in it with room service breakfast and occasional lunch and dinner. The Stewards and waiting staff were excellent. The Queens Grill lounge was lovely for afternoon tea and the the Princess Grill dining room was very elegant. The meals were small but very tasty, the service was unobtrusive but friendly. We sat at a table of six and the other four guests were fascinating. The art work around the ship was fabulous. The theatres were spectacular. We loved the lectures especially those on the Titanic and the Concord. We did not go to any of the musical shows or balls but they seemed popular. The Kings Court buffet restaurant we avoided as it always seemed impossibly crowded. The Verandah Restaurant was very nice but it was just a steakhouse and frankly a steak is rather ordinary fare and not a gourmet experience. We enjoyed the dress code I loved ‘checking out’ the other ladies! It was very cold as to be expected in November and it snowed one night. However, that was exciting to us, our cabin 1067 was very stable. My husband caught a cold, as did many others on board but this often happens when traveling. HINT the ship is run at a cool temperature so take a shawl for a little extra warmth. It was too cold to be out on deck for long so I didn’t use the pool, etc. Overall, very few complaints, it was an unforgettable experience. My first cruise will not be my last - we have already booked a six night cruise on Queen Elizabeth in March. Read Less