We always felt that this was going to be a pigs ear of a cruise. It started somewhat inauspiciously when we headed through blinding torrential rain along the M27, heading for our usual Dock Gate 4. Suddenly my wife caught a fleeting glimpse of a roadside sign saying Queen Mary 2 was berthed at Dock Gate 8. As I glanced to my right I saw the ship so we made a hasty turn and headed for the correct berth. We subsequently found that the berth was changed at the last minute and details were posted on the personaliser but having filled in all the details weeks before sailing I saw no reason to check the night before. Now for the cruise - was it one cruise, two cruises or three? Various members of staff gave us varying answers. It was, to us, initially a nine-day cruise from Southampton to Hamburg, Elsinore, Oslo and back to Hamburg, before returning to Southampton. Simple? Hardly! Our first two days seemed to be in limbo but then we realised we were joining the ship at the end of a transatlantic crossing from New York to Hamburg. At Hamburg the majority of passengers disembarked and we took on many more Germans, making them the largest group on board. We then embarked on a five-day cruise proper. We were allocated our table for dinner - no surprise as it was the same one we were allocated at Southampton. The five day cruise ended and we then embarked on a two-cruise to Southanpton which also happened to be the start of a transatlantic crossing from Hamburg to New York.

The QM2 is our favourite ship and we have spent many happy days on board but for a variety of reasons (mainly the big C) we have been unable to take a voyage since the big refurbishment and we wanted to see the new-look ship. Verdict? Main difference is the Kings Court and the new Carinthia lounge. The former, we found even more of a works canteen, the latter we thought a big improvement.

Now for the nitty gritty. Food - we thought food in the Kings Court was superb, both quality and variety. Breakfast, as always, is a scramble but eventually you can find a table and it was worth the wait. Lunch was remarkable for the variety of dishes. Dinner in the Brittania was a big improvement on previous trips, mainly because the food was hot as opposed to lukewarm. The choice, we felt, was not great and there were nights when thrre was nothing on the menu to suit us. Read more