We chose this cruise as the "cruise to get to the cruise" - as we sailed on another line on May 15. The fare was not too bad when you calculate in the savings from the 1st class airfare. We were in the Queens Grill - a must. This was the largest ship that my wife and I had ever been on with over 2500 people. It was great to have a large room to escape to as well as your own bar. Service was excellent (mostly) in the Queens restaurant and bar. The Queens lounge had a bartender that must have been an institution as everyone loved him. I would guess that the matriDee (I can't spell that) must have made a fortune in tips, but he did an excellent job. The butler was all but worthless compared to butlers from other cruise lines. He did very little and was hardly ever seen. My wife said he brought not much to the party. Personally, I enjoyed the larger ship as there was lots to explore. My wife didn't care for it. Bottom line - we are luxury cruise fans. This was a good way to get to England without an overnight flight. It was transportation, not a cruise to us. Good value, not great and we may do it again. Read Less

We just got off the Jade TA from NYC to Mediterranean. The ship was a bit small but good. kept very clean, great service. The cabin steward and bartenders were wonderful. Visit Domingo in the Whisky bar - makes the best drinks. Entertainment was ok but you were able to see all the shows. Ports were good. The biggest issue we had was the poor excursions booked thru the ship. Not organized, too expensive for what you got, late getting off the boat, wasted time waiting around. We did three and cancelled the rest after those experiences. Oh and just a note - if you have a terrible excursion you must complain that day or they will not do anything for you. (lesson learned) Of course Norwegian says they are not part of them so they cannot do anything for you. So future if you sail book excursions from outside companies you get a better experience for your money...or less money for that matter. And if you go into a port that your have to be ferried over to port from the boat don't expect to get off for a few hours. It took us three hours to get into port. The experiences from the excursions may have cost them a customer. Read Less

We booked this trip last minute got an excellent price. Sea was calm all the way. Nice ship overall plus great entertainment. Don't like the fact that room service has a fee. NCL app free to download but if u want to use it to text cruise mates each person is charged $9.95. This is free on HAL. Drinks are expensive food was ok. Wish offered more selection at the buffet same fare every day. Plus no theme nights can you believe they did not have any celebration for Cinco de Mayo! Also the TV channels had no MSNBC or CNN just FOX, whats the deal with that? So if you wan't real news you had to watch BBC, but even that was turned off toward the end. I think Holland America is better because they offer the NY Times online or printed copies for no charge.But being a captive audience on a transatlantic cruise with only FOX news! That aside we loved the cruise the price and itinerary was fantastic! Read Less

We will never cruise Norwegian Cruise Lines again. They were very expensive but low quality compared to any other cruise line we've sailed. Didn't even include water or coffee in their vert expensive drink package. Even their Specialty dining was terrible. They nichol and dime you to death....literally bill you for 20% gratuities. We were with a friend group of 7, and we all agreed we will never sail Norwegian again. The only thing good we have to say about Norwegian is they had the best on board Musicians we have seen on a cruise, and our room stuard was excellent. They had the most inconsistent mixed drinks I have ever had. They say they care about customers satisfaction, but it is apparent that their profit is their only true concern. We had a back to back transatlantic 24 day cruise and never saw a person win a decent prize at bingo even though they charged more for bingo than any other cruise line. Read Less

I like transatlantic cruises because I get to Europe in a comfortable, leisurely and entertaining way.and without jet lag. I was disappointed with the kitchen and the dining room servers. In my estimation they were understaffed, inefficient, and ill-trained. The manager tried very hard to correct the immediate issues, but because it was freestyle dining we got different servers every meal, and it seemed as if each server disappointed us in a different way. Just a few examples.. Mistakes causing delays which caused us to rush the end of the meal or miss our following event. Some vegetables, like onions and garlic often had the outside paper skin. Sloppy pouring of water, coffee and wine. Mostly it seemed they were slow and didn't pay attention. Many of the handrails were loose and many handrails were sticky (soiled). The entertainment was mediocre, the violinist and the aerial acts were excellent, the saxophonist was inaudible above the accompanying musicians, the escape artist and the tango dancers were boring, the comedians were somewhat entertaining. We did not go through passport control in Europe which means there is no entry stamp which could actually mean that I am illegally in Europe. The cabin and cabin steward were excellent. Overall, I would not recommend NCL. Read Less

Transatlantic cruise was wonderful, so smooth. Dining, as always was very good. We went to several specialty restaurants, they were all great. Carney’s Steak house was fantastic. Entertainment was a little disappointing after seeing “Blue Man Group”, “The Legends”, and Electric guitar group on our last Transatlantic cruise. Need to ramp up the talent! Activities that I enjoyed were the MJ Thriller dance class and cupcake class as well. Service in O’Sheehans was horrible, staff was not well trained. Shore excursions were great, we did a few on our own as well. Excursion that we really enjoyed included a lunch in a Tuscany Winery, it was fabulous. Our last night on board after 25 days was wonderful as we enjoyed music in the Atrium. We returned to our room to put our suitcases out in hall for pickup. However after turning over our luggage the nite before debarkation-13 pieces of my clothing was stolen from 2 cases. The thieves had plenty of time to find what they liked-they actually paired items to create outfits! 13 pieces would require a couple shopping bags to cart off. I believe they were taken overnite in NCL storage, where was the security?? Plenty of time for these thieves to steal from me! Very angry, and getting thru to NCL Cust. Service has proved fruitless. I have always been very comfortable turning over our bags to NCL the nite before debarking, that feeling of security isn’t there anymore. I have to provide receipts and more paperwork. Not to mention shop for a swimsuit, favorite jeans and other missing items. Very disappointed!! Where was NCL security?. This is a huge inconvience and lots of time spent on this. It doesn’t help that Customer service doesn’t have your back - they never answered phone call about this. It has been 2 weeks now and we have not heard from NCL with an apology, a security report or any communication regarding our loses. Read Less

I went on a study abroad trip with my college for Theatre. I had never been on a crossing or any kind of other ship before much less an Ocean Liner. From the moment I walked onto the ship I felt like I was part of a movie where I was the star. Every guest is treated like royalty no matter what your room "class" is. We were greeted with an ice cold bottle of sparkling wine, godiva chocolates on our pillows everynight and the daily "news" deilvered everyday. I had never ordered room service before (which is included). If you want breakfast you do have to put your preferences out the night before. Although room service was nice, the menu was limited and I found I much preferred going to the Britannia for formal breakfast and getting to meet new people. Some of the best conversations I had were with strangers. I was a little disappointed in the entertainment. We specifically wanted to attend the workshops with RADA the resident theatre troupe who were sadly not on this specific voyage. There are multiple speakers you can see, and other workshops to attend. I found that most of what I wanted to do overlapped so I had to pick and choose my daily activities carefully. I loved the watercolor class, flower arranging class and mixology class. The food was so amazing on board. I loved eating lunch at the Lion Pub. I tried the formal lunch but the food was similar to dinner. The highlight of my food experience is Afternoon Tea. Everyday between 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm you are treated to formal afternoon tea. There are at least six different choices for each course! The scones with real Devonshire Cream can't be missed! We were on board for 7-days and I still felt like I didn't get to see everything on the ship. I loved this experience so much that I have already booked two more crossings! This time I will be sharing the voyage with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Each experience is magical. Read Less

We originally were looking into a 'fly - tour - sail home' trip, but decided against flying and booked the round trip Brooklyn - Southampton - Le Harve - Brooklyn. We did not know [was a pleasant surprise] that the eastbound crossing was the National Symphony Orchestra crossing. Has we known that in advance that would have been a real reason to prefer that date [the 2018 National Symphony crossing is October 18, westbound] Everything that Cunard could control seemed to go smoothly - this explicitly excludes a long pre boarding delay in Brooklyn [started late, ran slow]. We booked one of the deck 5 'sheltered' balconies, on the starboard side. We were greeted with a whole bottle of Pol Acker [ended up leaving it in the fridge at the end of the cruise, unopened. If you are in room 5215 - check your refrigerator :-) ] We selected Britannia late seating and a round table for 6 [table 200 for those keeping score]. We enjoyed all of our dinners there. Eastbound, my wife enjoyed rehearsing for the passenger chorus that 'backs up' the symphony on the last night. There were two other performances, including an afternoon performance by the string section. The NS director [Anthony Inglass] was also one of the more popular speakers - filling the main theater. There were other popular speakers, with a diverse set of subjects [astronomy to the British royal family]. We chose ship's excursions for Southampton [Winchester] and Le Harve [Normandy D-Day beaches]. I wil just say that the Winchester tour was too short - we returned in time for lunch, when we could have easily played tourist for s few more hours. An extremely nice part of a Southampton excursion is that all the Customs paperwork is completed on board, prior to arriving in Southampton [my passport got is first stamp on the second sea day]. Southampton should get bonus points for the pre-sailaway double rainbow, with one end of the rainbow on a parking lot full of Mini's waiting for export. The Normandy excursion was perfect. We had stops at the Museum of the Landing, Ponte LaHoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. The ship's tour included a nice lunch in an inn The security / passport control was glacially slow - only two screening stations and two passport officers. About an hours delay from the terminal door to passport stamp. [hard to imagine how all the passengers boarding at Le Harve were handled if four busloads took an hour] For things not under Cunard's control, the last sea day provided interesting weather [tropical storm Jose] The ships information displayed the wind as 'force 11' and sea state as 'rough'. While waiting for dinner time in the pub, the windows were frequently obscured by waves [30 feet or so above the waterline] Read Less

The ship was amazing. We were in a balcony cabin on deck 11 (both cruises). The cabins were roomy and tastefully decorated. Everyone from the people who took care of the rooms to the people in the shops were pleasant and helpful. I have a form of celiac disease and must adhere to a gluten free diet. They were wonderful. There is even a separate buffet section and GF items for Tea. It took a bit of investigating to find this out but well worth the effort. In the main dining room, I was given the menu for the following day and my selections were made gluten free. What I wasn't happy with was paying for water and soft drinks. I enjoy lattes and that can also add up quickly. You can make coffee and tea in your cabin. I loved that feature. There are free washers and driers.However, they are not on every deck and you must plan when you would like to use them. We returned to NY and left Southampton on July 21st, 2017. Again the GF accommodation was outstanding. Unfortunately, much of the entertainment was the same as the East Bound passage. Read Less

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This was our second TA on QM2 - we had previously travelled in Princess Grill but this was a treat so we splashed out on Queens Grill - expectations were high! Embarkation in Brooklyn was a mess - we were held in a packed "priority" room for ages whilst other passengers embarked before us. The staff then screeched at us. There was no order and no organisation. Needs more work! Remastered QM2 is rather nice - public areas are only slightly changed but are bright and clean looking. It's a shame they've taken out the glass elevators in the lobby - I presume to fit more cabins in above. Queens Grill restaurant is quite simply brilliant. Food and service were top class and we ordered off menu several times. Waiting staff get it just right. Formal but fun and not intrusive. The Maitre D was excellent and each day came to see if he could offer us anything special such as caviar, specially cooked rack of lamb etc. Fellow diners were interesting and chatty. Q6 stateroom was a let down and this is a real problem for me. The new decor is great and it is large and well laid out but our carpet was dirty and balled already. The sofa was stained and the bathroom had not been touched. Ours had grout missing from the tiles, the tap was broken in the bath and it stank of urine. Some of the furniture was scratched and wobbly already. I pointed out these problems to the butler but nothing was done. I'm afraid this isn't what I expect for nearly £800 a night. Entertainment was of mediocre quality. Singers and dancers are ok. There was a good Oprah act and a brilliant Whitney singer. Cunard insights were poor and I definitely noticed a decline in quality since the last time we were onboard. Shame. Service in general is excellent on Cunard - they really have got this right. Fellow passengers are as always an interesting mix. Lots of people had been on for 19 days before we joined them and some were just fed up and miserable. You have to ask yourself why they bothered? All in all a fun crossing and Cunard delivers well in most areas. They really need to pay some attention to small details that will let them down when it comes to offering quality and value for money. Read Less

For 799 USD on a balcony incl. 850 USD OBC you better go than staying home. Embarkation was "disappointing" since the weather was foggy and rainy. So not a real welcome feeling with a great farewell out of New York like we had in November 2014. Crew was fantastic - was mostly like reunion-party. Was NY Times Readers voyage incl. many lectures from NY Times. Wanted to join many but at first day many items canceled from my personal agenda and from second day never had a look again to daytime activities. Production shows were great. Violin-artist plus Diva of the Seas with Whitney Houston song fantastic. Only Opera Boys were a little weak compared to the level of the other shows. Food unchanged. But The Verandah. Too overpriced and too upscale compared to Todd English before. So only had one time but three times on last voyage. Alternative dining (Coriander and Smokehouse night) was nice. But the last Coriander food experience on QUEEN VICTORIA recently was better. Service experience as good as before. New King's Court with long ways to beverages. Best was fresh squeezed juices for breakfast. Cabin was fine. Nice balls and parties. Internet services better since it is no more MTN but Telenor. Better quality if it runs. But if it did not run it was terrible. Only regular debarkation deck by deck was too old-style. But friends with purser's office was helpful to get me off the ship at my time of convenience. Something they could do much better by asking the guests when they want to leave the ship. VERY NICE for Gays. Last transatlantic we were only 2 FODs. This time around 40. Read Less

t is not often that one can say that there is an experience that is of the highest quality but at an affordable price. However, the Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is such an example and exceeds expectations in all areas. We have just returned from New York on the trans-Atlantic voyage and cannot speak highly enough of the whole voyage from embarkation (quick and smooth) to disembarkation (ordered and civilised.) In between we were fed, treated and pampered in a way that reflects a bygone era. The staff were pleasant, polite and respectful and couldn't do enough for you. (Sadly, they were not always treated in the same way by some of the passengers. ) We had an internal cabin that was more than adequate for the amount of time we spent there. It was immaculate and well maintained. We had large white fluffy towels, comfortable beds and the softest of pillows. The steward ensured that we returned each evening to a pristine room. The public areas are spacious, elegant and beautiful. There is no chipped or scuffed paintwork anywhere. Everything gleams and sparkles. The catering is remarkable and I cannot understand how Cunard are able to offer such a fantastic range of food each day for the fares charged. You have a choice of a buffet or served breakfast, lunch and dinner. We chose the second option for breakfast and dinner and used the buffet for lunch. Wherever you eat the choice is amazing. Every evening was like going out to a smart restaurant but not having to worry about the bill at the end. We chose to have our pre-dinner drinks while watching one of the many superb and high quality shows or on the top deck Commodore club while listening to one of the many musicians on board. My one fear about a long voyage was that I would feel bored or claustrophobic, No chance. The range of activities on board are superb. I listened to some of the best and most stimulating talks ever. They didn't shy away from controversy either and a speaker from the New York Times on the future for business under Trump was particularly interesting. The drama workshops by RADA were also fun and the well stocked library kept me absorbed for hours. In the evening there was a choice of ballroom dancing to a live band or the disco with a DJ and another band. There are also other numerous bars around the ship with comfortable seating. Finally, the spa offered a range of treatments from botox to manicures. I can honestly say I had the best haircut ever in this salon with Claire from South Africa. The downside is that the extras are not cheap. Hair and manicures cost way more than at home and alcoholic drinks do cost an arm and a leg. Most annoying is the really, really, poor rate of exchange given against the pound. When we were on board they were giving 70 cents to the pound when we received 1.22 before boarding. For UK passengers this is particularly bad as all the extras are charged in dollars. Key tip then is to ensure that you take enough dollars to cover the extras. Putting these on your credit card is likely to remove the feel good factor. Read Less

We chose this cruise as an alternative way to get from the States to England. I am glad we did. Our cabin (sheltered balcony) was quite nice and more than adequate for a winter crossing of the North Atlantic. A few minor details, such as stained carpet and floor of the shower, kept the cabin from achieving an excellent rating. The food in all venues was excellent as was the dinner service in the Britannia Restaurant and and all meals in the King's Court buffet restaurant. Such excellence was, however, lacking in the single time we ate in the Britannia Restaurant for breakfast. The three shows we attended were very well done. Embarkation in Brooklyn was exceptionally smooth while the same could not be said of the disembarkation in Southampton. We received quite conflicting information, regarding procedures for disembarking, from the staff as to what was required to depart the ship early in order to meet our pre-arranged shore transportation. The person in the Tour Office gave us (what turned out to be) the correct information while the person coordinating the departure times and disembarking passengers seemed to not be on the same page as the Tour Office. On a positive note to all bridge players, the afternoon duplicate bridge games were well run and enjoyable. Kudos to the director. All in all, this was a wonderful trip and we would definitely cruise with Cunard again when we next cross the Atlantic. The atmosphere, service, food, and entertainment all add up to make this cruise a very pleasant experience. The very few and very minor complaints listed above are all that kept this review from receiving a rating of five (5). Read Less

After a crazy 9 days in the USA, which we arrived at on the Carnival Vista, (my Review is “Loving The Vista Loca”) we were looking forward to joining Queen Mary 2 for a slightly more subdued crossing back to the UK. Firstly, who ever had the stupid idea to put the port all the way out in Red Hook, Brooklyn!! The roads around the port were full of taxis and cars and that meter kept creeping up, and with hardly any bus or subway access, it was a bit of an expensive trip. The Ship. QM2 halfway through her full Re:Mastering looks great. Kings Court is a 1000% better than the dingy original and the new Carpathia lounge is a very nice space, (but turned into a reading room on this voyage)..more about that later. We got a lovely upgrade from an outside to a restricted view balcony, which was great. As usual the room was clean and tidy with the most amazing pillows on the already comfy bed! Of course the ship sailed beautifully as usual, and the “parties” for all of us Platinum and Diamond card holders were very pleasant, with a good selection of drinks and canapés..(if you are quick!). Drinks! So far,so good. After a chilly but fantastic goodbye to NYC, we got ready for our first night. I don’t normally find the drinks expensive…(especially when the dollar was $1.60 to the pound), but the mark up on wines is extortionate. Most drink prices are around those of a London bar, (£5 ish for a pint £6.50 for a large G&T) but the wine is the price of an expensive restaurant, a whopping £13 for a medium sized glass of (bog standard) Zinfandel or Pinot Grigio!! I don’t mind paying in a posh restaurant, but I do not like being fleeced in a bar on a ship. At nearly £8 for a glass of Proscecco I thought the Champagne worked out better value. After having Drink Packages on all our recent cruises (including the Elizabeth last December), we found we had many fewer drinks and paid out more on this holiday. DINING. We were seated on a table for 2 right at the back of the Britannia on the top floor, in a corner, (horrible dark area), next to a French speaking couple, who spoke no English, and it was so hot, we asked if we could move and were told the air flow/conditioner in that area was faulty, and we quickly given a new table nearer to the entrance for the rest of the voyage. The food was good, but nowhere near as good as it used to be. Steaks were tiny, one was full of fat and gristle, the portions have also been cut down, my Sea Bass looked like an oversized spratt! Only one salad available too, no choice. Soups were ok, but nothing amazing. The roast chicken dinner was shocking, Half a breast on the bone and an undercooked (red near the bone) thigh!! And it was steam cooked, so flabby skin and soggy “roast” potatoes…it was like a bad wedding reception meal, and nowhere near Cunard’s past quality. Best meal of the cruise was the gala night, with Beef Wellington and/or Lobster. We usually had a late breakfast and light lunch so we were hungry and on most occasions had the whole five courses plus the fish served as a “fish course” (they don’t offer it, but if you ask!) Desserts have been reduced to what was really a lot of slightly posh “Angel Delight” type mousses, very little real cream, and made with a lot of gelatine, there were hardly any Brulees or anything wonderful. Even the Chocolate soufflé which was quite nice was overly sweet. A Pear tart with custard was like hospital food, bland with a soggu bottom (Mary Berry would not have approved)/ The “Cheeseboard” was the worst we have ever had on a ship..Tiny bit of Cheddar, (Postage stamp size), Danish blue mashed up to a Blue/purple paste and either a tiny squirt of cream cheese or a small slice of Port Salut…No Brie/Camembert/Stilton or Gorgonzola. The staff however were fantastic, as usual and could not apologise enough about the quality of the Steak. In fact our Head waiter took it to the kitchen to berate them for sending such a terrible piece of meat out. I would also say that the food in Kings Court was very good, always hot and great selection. We did not try “The Varandah” as the menu was far too fussy for us, but the room looks lovely, much nicer than the Todd English. Entertainment (or the lack of…) If you go on holiday to read and sleep in a bar, this voyage was for you. I can only say this from my point of view, as a young 54 year old who loves modern music and a lot of fun…I WAS BORED TO DEATH on some occasions. Cunard are definitely going all out for their target audience, the 65+ . Daytime FUN included “Adult Colouring In”…Plays about Shakespeare, “Lectures about the US presidential campaign” (as if we hadn’t had enough) and um.. other non thrilling activities. The Planetarium had one new show, which was ok. And one Lecture about Space Travel was very good. Fencing (which I would of liked to do) was at ridiculous time of 9am..I don’t go on holiday to get up early. The films they screened were not major new blockbusters, but “safe” films like “Dollys Parton’s Coat of Many Colours” (I don’t think that was a smash hit at the Vue!) and everything was aimed at the older generation, which I understand as the ship was full of “older guests” but surely they need to start to appeal to us younger 50’s (When my Mum and Dad were 50 they were old, but now we 50’s have a new fresh outlook and are not all pipe and slippers 50 is the new 40 etc!)… The band Vibz, the band (who I am sure have been on the ship forever) are still playing the same 20 songs, and a steel drum in a small enclosed swimming pool area has to be heard to be believed..IT WAS LOUD!! They are fair musicians but even they looked bored rigid. Don’t even start me on the “Rhythm Of The Night” show, which was unbelievably bad and looked and sounded like a BBC Saturday night show from the early 70’s. It was truly awful. I was laughing all the way through at the awful dance routines, so I enjoyed it, but for the wrong reasons. And somehow they managed to sanitise the songs like “She Bangs” and “Livin La Vida Loca” to such an extent that they lost any of the latin vibrance…do you remember those cheap 10shillings (50p) LPs from Woolworths with the “not by Original artists”…They were better than the songs in this show. Here is my main complaint though, and I know it really annoyed some of the other people on the ship. At lunch times “The Golden Lion” has become another restaurant ..OK the food is good, and very “English Pub Grub”, that finishes at 2.30, but then at 3pm it’s a Bingo Hall, then at 4pm it’s a Quiz show…If you want to watch any sport, tough, the TV is switched to bingo or quiz…even if the game/race wehatever is halfway through or near the end. This also means there is nowhere to just go and have a nice afternoon pint and a chat anymore. We ended up in the Casino bar..Which has limited bar seating. While the new Carinthia lounge has become a reading and snoozing room during the day (as is the Chart Bar/ The Commodore/etc) and is not really used for anything, Sir Samuels is still as empty as ever, and maybe should be made into a sports bar or Bingo/Quiz bar, you know something a bit more 2016 !!! OR…Put the Bingo back in the Queens Room or the Theatre where it belongs. The band in the Queens Room were very good, and this is where Cunard excel, if you like Ballroom/Sequence dancing you will not get any better ballrooms than this one. And it was packed every time. The G32 nightclub is still playing the same old Abba/ Village People type music..nothing wrong with a 70s hour, 80’s hour etc but it was every night..Then although it had about 40-50 people still in it..They closed!! Never seen that before, except on last nights. GOING BACKWARDS. The new TV’s don’t even have on demand movies or Account info anymore, its like they are regressing (QM2 was one of the first ships to have in room computer access and all the on demand films) so if I wanted to see a film you had to be in my cabin at the time they played it, rather than choosing when to have a cabin hour with a film. Maybe I have got used to the excellent facilities offered on other ships now, but I did not feel that the QM2 offered me anything special. It’s all so old fashioned. But this is an objective review, and if you want “Traditional” cruising like it used to be, you will love the QM2. If you are after a fun experience and want to be entertained , look elsewhere. I do understand, the Americans want a bit of “Downton Abbey”, and the QM2 is filling that slot. Also the “Strictly Fans” who love and fill up the fabulous Queens Room. The ship was full, but everywhere you looked there were people asleep. We have had many great times on board the QE2, QM2, Elizabeth and Victoria…but I don’t think we will be back for a while, I’m 54 not 84, Musically, I like Motown, The Beatles, Queen, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, Madonna but also modern new records by Sia, David Guetta, Timberlake, Beyonce etc..these do not exist on Cunard its all "classic pop". The funny thing is about people who say P&O and RCI “its like Butlins at Sea”..well this was like “Sunny Pines Rest Home at Sea”, give me the fun of Butlin’s any day.. Read Less

The highlight of our October crossing was the selection of terrific jazz performances by Blue Note artists Gregory Porter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and their bands. Headline concerts in the Royal Theater, more informal concerts in the Carinthia Room, and jam sessions in the Chart Room were all fantastic and really made our experience enjoyable. Embarkation: We've had a number of bad experiences in this area on Cunard, so this time we decided to show up late, after 2:30. No line for Grills, so we walked on board, short line for Britannia class. The Captain later announced that there had been a problem with American immigration during the morning that caused a traffic jam for those leaving in Brooklyn that spilled over to long lines and delays for those boarding. But later in the afternoon all was resolved. Note to self: Always show up later in the afternoon. Queens Grill: This was our first time in Queens. We enjoyed the extra space in our stateroom (see review below). The Queens Grill dining room and food quality was underwhelming. The dinner dishes were mostly traditional cruise ship food, done well, but with no special or modern touches. They will try to make a special dinner for you, if you order in advance and they have the ingredients. There is a special menu available for those who order at lunch time, but it is confined to traditional dishes like Dover sole, rack of lamb, and Chateaubriand, nothing modern. They make a big deal of finishing the preparation on a trolley brought to your table. A bit too lah-dee-dah and old fashioned for our tastes. We were a bit shocked that the menu at breakfast and lunch matched the menu for Britannia and the food quality was often less than fabulous. Post Re-Imagining: We had crossed immediately after the renovations in June, and now found that things had settled down and actually improved a bit. No more balls on lint on the new carpets. The ship is truly beautiful, and much improved in the decor in the staterooms, the new Carinthia Room, and the re-design of Kings Court. Note that uneven and spongy flooring seems to be returning especially outside the Golden Lion Pub. Kings Court: While the re-design has improved visuals and traffic flow immensely, we still find Kings Court to be the weakest link on the ship. Re-imagining has not brought any improvement in food quality, and in fact, it seems as though the food is exactly the same as when we first sailed on the QM2 7 years ago. Tasteless cheeses, poor selection of fresh fruit, mediocre salad bar, blah pizza slices, and inexplicable pre-prepared hamburgers and hot dogs sitting under heat lamps It's a very mediocre buffet and we try to avoid it as much as possible. We dearly love the QM2 and will return in December, and again in June, 2017. It's not a perfect cruise experience, but remains a lovely way to cross the Atlantic. Read Less

First time on Cunard and it did not disappoint. Everything exceeded expectations. I especially loved the "rock"n"roll" of the ship during some rough sea days. Not everyone would agree. This was a jazz cruise and the headline entertainment was excellent-Gregory Porter and Deedee Bridgewater. The rest of the entertainers and lecturers were also top notch. As a musician and someone who works in Arts Administration, I have seen it all. Food was very good although I did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants. I understand the Verandah restaurant is well worth the visit. I booked at the last minute and my balcony suite was roomy and comfortable. I liked my location on the 6th deck-close to the Kings Court and the 7th floor outside deck for exercising. I rarely took the elevator and enjoyed poking around the corridors. Some frustration in that you would walk a particular deck and come to an obstacle where you couldn't move to the end. Not a problem for me as I could maneuver the different floors but I question the logic as I saw many passengers with mobility challenges who would either need to climb stairs or take elevators when they couldn't easily pass along a corridor. Service was excellent, dancing was superb and I would go again in a heart beat. Two thumbs up over all. Read Less

Taking the Queen Mary 2 transatlantic had long been on my wish list, but I resisted as long as Cunard charged an outrageously high surcharge. I signed on the minute I heard about the new single cabins. My cabin on Deck 2 was roomy and comfortable. I enjoyed the chaise lounge in front of the window, where I could watch the ocean waves. Being so close to the waterline was especially thrilling on moonlit nights. The cabin is on a short, almost hidden, corridor near the casino and photo studio. The room's only downsides were a problem with getting hot water for showers in the early evening and a clothes closet in which the hanging bar was too high for me to reach. (I am about 5 ' and the hangers were the kind that are difficult to manipulate--and to steal. Tacky, tacky, Cunard.) The water problem remained unresolved; the closet problem was helped by my wonderful steward Lou getting me real hangers. But I could still only use one of the narrow closets. I lucked out in my table assignment on the mezzanine of the Britannia. Everyone at the six-person round table was a creative type (musicians, singer, writer, painter) and we had stimulating, often-fascinating conversations. With few exceptions, we all enjoyed the food at dinner and always looked forward to it. I opted for two appetizers and dessert. One of my favorite dishes, cold fruit soup, was served most nights. Heaven. I had breakfast in my room every morning it was offered. Lunch was problematical. The first time I chose the Britannia, the restaurant manager placed me at a large table without asking my preference. He seemed put out when I said I preferred to sit alone. The second time, I was placed at a table near a kind of staging area that was like being in the middle of Grand Central terminal. When I asked for a more quiet, less busy location, the manager said that none of the small tables were in good locations. Honest. That's what he said. I never returned to the Britannia for lunch. Even though the Kings Court was crowded, I found good food there and a table I liked. And no one argued with me. The weather was glorious; I was seduced by the deck chairs and spent many an hour in one when I should have been taking advantage of the wonderful promenade deck. I had lots of company when I did walk my way round the ship. Some of the walkers were in a huge hurry while others just sauntered. With the weather so wonderful, I resented any time spent indoors during the day, so I didn't go to many lectures. Actually, I only went to one. It was a talk by a former Concorde pilot. He was English and he blamed the French for all the events that ended the supersonic flights. Though his talk was fine, it could have been truly exciting if presented as a debate with a French counterpart. My favorite indoor spot was the library. It's all dark wood and hushed atmosphere. Two small lookout sections have cushy chairs that some people seemed to colonize. Maybe a two-hour limit could be suggested. Well, maybe not. I may just be jealous that I didn't get there first. I hope to return to the Queen Mary 2 one day. I worry that my next trip will not be as extraordinary as this first one was. But that's a chance I look forward to taking. Read Less

We choose QM2 over flying to Europe when the price becomes competitive. It did this Aug and we cancelled free tickets to take advantage. Although Cunard makes much ballyhoo over the remastering, it was confined principally to the Grill accommodations. The rest of the ship received new carpet. They did replace the disgraceful windows on deck 3 and they made significant improvements to the disastrous Kings Court buffet. Did not detect any change to standard cabins which were still quite nice. They also removed the elevator that went from decks 2-3 to 7. Never did understand why it was there. And a personal critique, they corrected the text on the photo of Ginger Rogers which was very wrong and which we had brought to their attention in the past. Sadly, the service which prior to dry dock had become worthy of Cunard, slipped a few notches and remains below that of other cruise lines, notably Princess which remains our favorite. This has been a shortcoming of Cunard since they abandoned the all British staff. Except for substituting for air fare, no reason to sail Cunard. Read Less

We chose this cruise due to an exceptional offer conveyed via our Travel Agent. Queens Grill Level, with almost-all additional charges that would be normally incurred "included" at no charge. These were Suite attendant, Dining Room servers, and any beverage (alcohol or special coffee) under $12.00. No charge. Plus, at the Queens level--Butler service; large stateroom; availability of Concierge Lounge; and separate Grills Lounge. What is not to like? So, yes. My wife and I have been cruising for 21 years, almost-always on smaller, "all inclusive" lines--Silversea, Seabourn, Regent, and Crystal. Our only previous Cunard experience was aboard the Queen Victoria in 2011 on an extended Atlantic crossing from Miami to the 'Med; then to Southampton. This was at the Britannia level. No concerns, given the size of that ship. But still, quite a change from a "cruise ship" concept with no more than 900 passengers (usually 450 to 700) to a real "ocean liner" accommodating 2600+ passengers. QM2 was the largest ship we have ever sailed on. Itinerary on Segments M614 and 615 began at New York (Brooklyn Terminal) on August 9th. We were in Suite 9007. On to Southampton; then Hamburg, Germany; stay for 12 more days cruising to various Norwegian ports; returning to Hamburg for disembarkation on August 30th for return home. First: the QM2 is the best "appointed" ship we have sailed on. Certainly, this ambience was enhanced due to a very-recent refit. Next: absolutely no issues with any onboard personnel. Everyone from suite attendants to dining room servers was professional and friendly. Suite 9007 was generous in size and appointments. Prompt response to any request(s) which were very-few. Our Concierge handled any questions promptly, and even repaired my broken eyeglass frame. However--Reality The reality is that it is difficult to maintain a consistently high level as to cuisine. Queens Grill lunch and dinner offerings were standard--nothing special. Also, we had to comment on more than one occasion that main courses were not sufficiently heated. Steaks were consistently sub-par. So, we stopped ordering steaks. Dining room managers acknowledged our concerns, but that situation was not addressed until more than half-way through the cruise. This was a disappointment, as Cunard keeps touting the quality of food service. Quality is average. Only utilized Kings Court on one occasion for a late lunch following a shore excursion. Totally chaotic. This dining venue may have been reconfigured, but it remained noisy and confusing. Room service for one breakfast was prompt and food quality good. Enrichment Activities, specifically guest lecturers were top-class. Classical pianists on both segments were gems. Same as to the Fitness Center. Everything worked! Major concern--which we expressed in a detailed letter to Cunard Guest Services following return to Redmond, WA--was the manner in which disembarkation at Hamburg Port to the Airport; and then use of Icelandair for flight(s) back to Seattle were handled, or mishandled. Really sub-par. Which will inform our decision as to whether to sail w/Cunard; and certainly confirm we will not fly again on Icelandair. This aspect is important, as Cunard put us on Icelandair. No Cunard representative stayed on the bus from Terminal to Airport; and no Cunard representative was at the Airport to guide guests to the proper check-in counters. The bus driver, who never spoke a word to us in either German or English, just stopped the bus at a parking level on the opposite side of a congested departure lane. Oh, BTW: our bus driver managed to close the luggage door, twice, at the Terminal. Result: shearing off a leg from one of my wife's suitcases. Thus, based on my 26+years' prior experience as an Army Officer--this would be classified as a combat loss. To cut to the chase: we were at the "Saga" level onboard Icelandair from Hamburg via Reykjavik, then on to Seattle. What a disappointment. Long waiting lines at Hamburg Airport; chaotic situation at Reykjavik and no use of Saga Lounge due to "construction"; diffident attitude of Icelandair gate personnel and flight attendants. What a waste of money. Food offerings were not even at the "Coach" level. Never again on this airline. To be fair: did receive a telephone call from a Cunard Customer Representative in response to our letter of concern(s). He acknowledged the situation at Hamburg Terminal-Airport should not have happened. But--it did. As to the destroyed suitcase--no comment. Probably not a repeat on Cunard in 2018 or beyond. We are already-booked on two extended Regent sailings in 2017. Look forward to being back aboard smaller, all-inclusive ships affording a consistent level of service. Read Less

We are celebrating 25 years together this year & decided on an extra special holiday. After 6 nights in New York we returned to the UK in style. We booked 3 of the nights in New York with Cunard, which I have reviewed elsewhere (DoubleTree Hilton on Lexington Ave) and given a very good review for. Cunard arranged the transfer from the hotel to the Docks. Unfortunately this was not so good. There were 2 staff that attended the hotel in the days before the transfer who gave conflicting information about how the 3 coaches were going to be organised. This lead the a crowded reception area with a very long wait by most of the passengers from that hotel. One of the staff quite rightly told us that the 3 coaches had set times and which coach we would be assigned to. The other male staff wrongly told us all to be in reception an hour before the first coach was due and he would just pile everyone on the coach until it was full & then send them off. This was incorrect. If we had all turned up at the times that the first member of staff had told us, then most people wouldn't have left there rooms until later, reception wouldn't have been so crowded and less people would have been annoyed at their long wait (we were on 12:30 coach that didn't get there until 13:15. We were waiting from 11:00). Once on the coach, everything went more smoothly. The transfer from coach to dock to ship went without any issues. The ship has had a major refit recently and it shows. The whole ship is beautifully decorated. The ship is also enormous so, it takes some walking from one end to the other. All of the public areas are very well decorated. The room was amazing. It was everything we hoped for and more. It was beautifully decorated, with plenty of storage/wardrobe space and perfectly designed to maximise comfort. The cabin had an outside balcony that had a couple of seats and a small table to put drinks on. Our cabin steward Annalise was excellent and she would get us anything we asked for. She never appeared to be annoyed at us, despite the fact that several times she came to do the room, we were sat on the balcony and she said she would come back later, when we were out. Despite us being in our room until late morning, she managed to keep the room immaculate. My only criticism is that our cabin was near the front of the ship & the Brittania Restaurant was at the back, so we got a LOT of exercise before & after meals. The ship is really big. Dining, the food aboard the ship is amazing. The Starters, main courses and salads are cooked fresh and to a very high standard. Some of the deserts & cakes were either frozen & defrosted or not to as high a standard as the rest of the food. Certainly, the Afternoon Tea had frozen & defrosted scones. Maybe the pastry chef was having a bad week? That said, I cannot criticise any of the food that I had aboard the ship. We were assigned a table for all of our evening meals in the Brittania Restaurant. There were 2 sittings and we chose the later one. Our waiters Ramil, Kenneth and Luka were excellent. Their timing was perfect and Ramil in particular had an uncanny ability to know exactly how much black pepper to put on, which was particularly handy for me, as when I am talking I forget to pay attention. Although many people ate their breakfast & lunch in the Kings Court buffet style dining area, we found it almost impossible to find an empty table there. Not sure if it was because the design of the Kings Court was not designed with enough tables, or the particular group of passengers we were on with ate in there in unexpected numbers. Because of this we ended up having all our meals in the Brittania, which worked out for the better anyway by preventing too much snacking or adding an extra scoop. We did have a few issues with our wine waiter, and consequently purchased less wine than we otherwise might have done. The prices of drinks are also quite high, at our local restaurant we pay £18 for a particular bottle of wine, on board ship, the same bottle was $75 more than 3 times the price. Entertainment. All the time we on board there were things to do, all day long. Most of the activities we did, took an amount of time, we then had 30-45 minutes before the next activity, so we didn't have to rush from one thing to another, yet we never had a point where we were bored waiting for the next thing to start. The evening shows were amazing. 3 of the nights there were 4 singers and a group of dancers in the Royal Court Theatre. They were excellent, in fact one of the singers, Mandy, sang "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" which was the best version I have heard since Dusty Springfield sang it. The Royal Court Theatre also featured the incredibly talented singing voice of Jordan Bennett and the very funny John Joseph. The G52 bar at the front of the ship had a disco going quite late into the night, which featured a band most nights. During the day there all sorts of activities to meet most sedate tastes, although there is also a gym aboard and a couple of swimming pools. We did make use of the on deck Jacuzzi on one of the foggy days and managed to sunburnt at that time. One activity that I would have liked to have done which I didn't was use the Planetarium. To go to the Planetarium you needed to get tickets. for 2 days we went to the ticket desk, waited in a massive queue only to be told the tickets had run out. On the 3rd day we went extra early, waited for over 30 minutes (15 of those minutes after the 9am opening of the ticket office) and no one turned up. We went to the pursers desk to ask if there was anyone going to open the ticket desk, the purser rang up and said there will be someone there. when we got back, we had to go the back of the queue again and didn't get tickets again. We didn't try to go to the Planetarium after that. The only port that we stopped at was Halifax in Nova Scotia. Prior to visiting it, we have never considered Canada as a holiday destination. Now that we have been to Halifax, we would consider going back and exploring more of Canada. Halifax is a very nice place with a Beautiful Public Gardens. The experience as a whole was fantastic and I am very glad we chose to go on that cruise. My main criticisms are minor (couldn't get a ticket to the Planetarium, not enough tables in the Kings Court Dining Room and the Wine prices were astronomically high, as was the additional 15% surcharge on everything) and I would still recommend the experience to others. Read Less

WE had 5 days in New York b4 embarking on the cruise. Checking in & embarking at the NY terminal was not great & the staff pretty offhand. Not what I expect of Cunard. It sells itself high so it needs to "deliver" to those standards We chose a Princess Grill suite which was lovely. The food & service in the Princess Grill restaurant was excellent. Maître D Stanley runs a tight & efficient staff. Some of the stateroom corridors look a bit tired & dull but the main lounges etc are very nice & very clean. Theatre is the best we 've known of all the ships we've been on & the evening shows/entertainment were pretty good apart from one young & very personable guy who seemed to be Jack of all trades but master of none We noticed a fair bit of vibration on the ship even though the seas were calm. Have never experienced this on any other ship we've cruised on. Have to admit that some days the vibration in the cabin really started to get me down. I felt as if I was a shaken up bottle of coca cola!! About 150 kids on board which we didn't expect & frankly I don't know why on earth the QM2 accepts children. This is a luxury liner & not a Disney type ship. Sometimes they were a complete pain especially as most parents don't seem to control their children & don't mind them annoying the majority. Management need to be trained to step in & point out to parents that unruly, noisy young children need to be quietened down in public areas. We didn't pay all that money to listen to other peoples noisy kids We didn't take any shore excursions as we only ported in Halifax, Nova Scotia b4 departing for the UK. WE just disembarked in Halifax & took a stroll along the Boardwalk which was very nice. Read Less

We recently completed both a Westbound and Eastbound Transatlantic on Queen Mary, the first of which was immediately after the refit and the second was a month later. Here is a comparison of both crossings and my overall opinion . OUR CABIN We had a sheltered balcony on Deck 5 on both crossings, Westbound mid-ship on Portside and our Eastbound cabin was starboard towards the aft. Both cabins were noisy. The port side balcony had a drain on it and this make a constant banging sound which made the balcony very annoying. Maintenance came along and stuffed fabric into the drain and although it reduced the noise it resulted in a flood on our balcony – as they predicted. Although we had no drain on our balcony on the Eastbound we could hear the constant noise so it wasn’t far away. There was also a vibration all the time which our friends in a mid-ship cabin actually found intolerable and requested a move. We wouldn’t have a sheltered balcony again as when you were sitting you could see nothing except the white metal. FOOD The food in the Britannia restaurant was very good on both crossings and we enjoyed the company of our table companions. We had some concerns about returning to Club Dining but certainly on the Westbound crossing in particular we made lovely friends but in the Kings Court it seemed better on the Westbound. For example on this crossing there was a fruit bar which fruit was personally prepared according to choice by a chef. On the Eastbound this choice wasn’t available so there were no strawberries or mango for example. Also on the Westbound there was Granola and accompaniments as a breakfast choice but this had disappeared by the Eastbound. A final comment about the Kings Court was that the later you went to breakfast the more burnt and overcooked the food would be. Other than that we enjoyed the food and would recommend the Carinthia (aft, Deck 7 for lunch. This is a new venue and it offered a different selection. We really need to see more of this sort of relaxed dining. ENTERTAINMENT Why does Cunard think that everybody wants to listen to piano music in the evening? On some evenings there were 3 lounges with pianists entertaining. Because we choose second sitting we don’t always want to go to the theatre after dinner so it would have been good to have artistes in the lounges who could interact better with the audience. We enjoyed the Overtones and Allan Stewart (Westbound) and also the shows by the company but we didn’t like the production shows on the way back and we didn’t enjoy Jordan Bennett either. Sorry!! As far as the Cunard Insights speakers were concerned, we think it was money for old rope!! They would read their ‘speech’ and add a video for a few minutes at the end- job done, 30 minutes and the speakers from the New York Times were especially guilty of this. OVERALL The ship is beautiful and with so much space - amazing. The cabin is very comfortable and well organised. The staff are extremely polite, helpful and friendly. We know what the dress code is and we conformed without quibble. However it is very much a journey rather than a cruise and as such the ship feels very restrained. We cruise with various lines and have cruised many time (including QM2 previously) but overall we appreciate Queen Mary 2 but just don’t enjoy it Read Less

We chose this voyage having sailed on the QM2 in September 2014 from Southampton to New York, spending 4 nights there and flying back to Heathrow. On this occasion, we flew to New York, spent another 4 nights there and sailed on the QM2 on the 4th August back to Southampton, with a stop in Nova Scotia for the day. The remastered ship is beautiful. The carpets throughout are sumptuous, the seating is very comfortable and the beds were so cosy, as was the stateroom. The entertainment in the theatre was first class, especially the resident singers and dancers. We didn't find any problems with the food in any area, in fact it was great. All the staff were friendly and helpful. The only low note was disembarkation. The passenger gangway moved so, after some considerable time, as it was not secured, we were ushered to deck two, the crews gangway, where we were let off five at a time. Regardless of this, we plan another visit to New York next year, returning on the QM2 - best holiday ever. , Read Less