ARRIVAL & EMBARKATION: We flew to New York and overnighted in Brooklyn the day before this cruise. The Brooklyn Car Service from La Guardia was a good recommendation by another Cruise Critic member but the Holiday Inn Express on Butler Avenue was a bit of a disappointment. We took a car service to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal at Red Hook around 1:00 p.m. the day of the cruise, cleared security and were on board the Queen Mary 2 in record time - less than 1/2 an hour this trip.

CABIN: Our inside cabin was ready but be warned that the bow location was noisy in the tender ports when they started lowering the anchor at 6:00 a.m. and was very rough sailing the day we encountered the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia and gale force 11 winds. Next time we will pick another cabin location - closer to the middle of the ship. Inside cabins are pretty small but there is lots of storage space.

DINING & ENTERTAINMENT: This was our 4th cruise on the Queen Mary 2 and it was nice to know our way around the ship. The downside of familiarity is that we had seen most of the shows held in the Royal Court Theatre and even the menus seemed similar to previous cruises. We went to the Chef's Galley one night as that is one of the things we especially enjoy. The food and presentation were good but despite the $10pp charge imposed this year, it seems that the number of courses have been reduced and we weren't in a hurry to book another night. Menu in the Golden Lion Pub hasn't changed and we really enjoy eating lunch there occasionally. Read more