QM2 is a seven day wonder and quite a magnificent ship. I was far more impressed than I thought I would ever be.

The first person I saw on boarding was my twenty year buddy, Maureen Ryan, the ship's hostess. She and I go back to QE2 in the early 80s when she was hostess and I was cruises sales manager. She and I can talk down and dirty about everything behind the scenes...and we did. She remarked that this ship was ready to deliver, without any significant hitch, two weeks before delivery date. And that is fairly unprecedented in Cunard's shipbuilding history. Clearly the design and construction team in St. Nazaire did a fine job and it is evident in the superb fittings, lighting, attention to signage details, the "secret" passageways under the Britannia to access the Queens Room and G32 Club, and so on. She rides beautifully even though I did not get to experience her at full throttle (we were on a 3 night Nowhere Cruise from New York.) The outdoor deck space is wonderful...loads of it. Ample deck chairs and pools everywhere it seems. Finally a Cunarder with a real observation lounge, the Commodore Lounge, and what a nice one to boot.

The B category cabins are just fine...not huge (especially the bathroom) but very adequate. I was not put out by the hull "carve out" for my balcony, but perhaps in a warm climate cruise, I might want to upgrade to the glass railed balcony cabin. The grill suites are lovely...worth the price increase? Maybe/maybe not. I was really uninspired by the location and decor of both Princess and Queens Grills. They look out onto a narrow covered section of the Promenade Deck. Once leaving the Princess Grill, presumably after a 5-star dining event, you walk straight into the King's Court (see below) and, trust me, not a pretty transition. The menus are identical in the grill rooms and Britannia, hence the need for you to order off the menu in the grills, which according to one maitre d', they do not wholly encourage in Princess Grill. I am certain they will comply to some degree, however, and you will not get tableside service in Britannia at all. Britannia is a glorified "hall-o-food", a pretty one though. Choose your table very carefully...there are four or five "Siberias" in that restaurant. Tables for two on the second level by the rails are quite acceptable. The long, large tables elsewhere in the room are pretty dreadful and remind one of Cabin Class on a lesser Cunarder in the old days. The food in Britannia is quite fine, portions clearly adjusted to the robust American demand (I spotted about four or five women onboard who must have tipped the scales at 350+, God love 'em). Read more