Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Demograph - Both my partner and I are in our mid 50's and consider ourselves fit and independent people - we enjoy life and socialising but are definitely not "in your face" people. We are happy and comfortable to mix with people of all ages but I have to say that our cruise from NY to Southampton felt like we were in a floating retirement home for a bigoted older generation that still believe that Britain rules an Empire (the British contingent) and the middle aged and older generation Americans also seem to adopt a similar attitude. One got the impression that they were retired CEO's or something like that and if you weren't the same then you weren't anything at all ! I think I'm trying to say that there is a definite "elitist" class system on board - promoted by both Cunard and those people I refer to. In my opinion Cunard need to review their demograph carefully because that which I refer to is a naturally dying breed and those of us now in our 50's and 60's - who are going to be the new demograph in the coming years are not prepared to put up with the outdated and bigoted attitudes of those that currently fill the Cunard ships.
Ship layout - Confusing to say the least. The spaces within the ship do not flow - you even find yourself having to walk through the dining area (Britannia Room) to get to other spaces on the opposite end of the dining room (Queens Room and G32 for example) - unless you take the lift up and walk over and down the other side. People were wandering through the Verandah restaurant to get to the Terrace Bar and pool area - albiet during the daytime this was - I should state in fairness that we didn't see this happening during the evening as staff had put up a notice asking for people to use the other side of the ship to access the Terrace Bar and pool. Try and find ConneXions up in the forward section of the ship, or the entrance to the Illuminations room - I believe this could have been part of the ships entertainment programme as you could have spent most of the Atlantic crossing wandering around trying to find them. The medical office should you wish to attend it is on deck 1 but they didn't mark where the morgue was - you might find more life there !
Who was commissioned to paint the pictures (art) hung on the walls in the Kings Court and other various public spaces around the ship. It was diabolical - I'll bet it cost Cunard a pretty penny for that lot - someone saw them coming and all I can say to them is "well done" you pulled that one off extremely well. I didn't see one piece of captivating art around the ship - everything just dated and more at home in a retirement home for the aged. Even the art on display in the art gallery was not that inspiring, the odd piece here and there was ok but nothing with that "Wow" factor - again perhaps it's still appealing to that older generation that I'm not privy to just yet - thank god.
Cabin Review
Balcony, sheltered
Our stateroom (cabin) was on the Port side, deck 11, outside with a balcony. It was very comfortable and suited both my partner and I. Our cabin steward (Ali) was great - always cheery, met you with a smile and nothing seemed to be too much for him - not that we asked for anything really but our room was always made up by the time we got back from breakfast, cleaned and tidied and our bed was always turned down in the evening with PJ's nicely folded just in front of the pillow for when we retired later that evening. The only complaint I'd have about the cabin is the outdated media system (TV) they have and the boring mid 1980's films and constant American News channels (there was BBC World but just like CNN you watch 20 minutes of it and then it repeats itself for the rest of the day - you may at this point have worked out that we're British !) - this was a big let down as with other cruise companies we have sailed with we often like to retire at various points in the day to our cabin to recharge our batteries and watch something on the TV - be it an episode from a box set or a film. QM2 media system schedules the film start times just as you would watch TV at home 20 years ago or more - i.e. if you miss the start you miss the start ! there's no "rewind" or "on demand" ! The picture quality wasn't very good and the sound awful - once the volume is up to about 10 anything beyond that doesn't seem to make a difference and the volume went up to 70 ! it might have gone further but what was the point in testing it as it just didn't do anything. The TV pronounced it was a "SMART" TV when you switched it on so it must have been quite a recent installation but it really was pathetic.
We had a well stocked mini bar fridge in our cabin but hasten to add that we didn't touch anything in it knowing that mini bar drinks are notoriously expensive whether you're on board a ship or in a hotel. We had a 2 litre bottle of still water in our cabin which we were disappointed to find you had to pay for. Bottled water should be complimentary on a cruise such as this as it is on other cruise lines and in many hotels around the world not even offering the standard of accommodation as that of the QM2 - Cunard should take note and correct.