Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Review
Rating by category
Additional details
In 2009 I returned to travelling with Cunard after a break of 7 years; previously I had travelled with my mother on the QE2 (7 trips) and most recently the Caronia (1 cruise). This time I was celebrating a special birthday and travelling with my partner who had never cruised before. I had been slightly concerned as to whether he would enjoy the experience, particularly the formal evenings but we both returned from last year's voyage raving to family and friends about the whole experience (apart from the coffee, of which more later...)
I was therefore looking forward to the same voyage twelve months later (we enjoyed the first one so much we decided to do the same one again).
We travelled by car to Southampton and arrived less than 90 minutes after leaving our home in Berkshire. We booked a car parking space through Cunard's normal provider and we were very pleased to be able to drive straight up to the Ocean Terminal. As I am a platinum member of the Cunard World Club we were given a priority check-in of midday which meant we were in our cabin by 12.30 -only two hours after leaving home. The only point to note about the check-in is that I had to advise the customer service agent I was a platinum member in order to be directed to a priority line - the agent simply made the assumption I was an "ordinary" passenger and was about to offer me a card for the normal queue. Last year I made the mistake of not speaking up and thus ended up queueing rather using the benefit of CWC membership.
Cabin Review
Balcony
8004 is situated close to the Spa at the bow end of the ship and a slightly weird "wooshing" noise can be heard from early-ish in the mornings - we think this is the spa's elevator. It is not too intrusive however. Part of the bridge is visible and we saw the Captain intently observing a crew boat drill one morning - he gave us a wave! We found this cabin quieter than 8076 which we were in last year - I think being at either end of the ship is useful in that respect.
The bathroom is small but even so there was plenty of space for all my toiletries (and there are a lot of them!)
The cabin was still in a good state of repair (apart from the bedspread mentioned in my review). You can see signs of wear and tear if you look but there was nothing significant.
I wish Cunard would sort out the problems with the electrical sockets as noted in my review - most passengers must experience the same problems we did.