Queen Mary 2
View Ship Itineraries

148,528 tons
1,132 feet in length
135 feet at beam
236 feet high
14 passenger decks
Passengers: 2,620 (3,090 all berths)
Crew: 1,300
Mostly British Officers
International crew
Registry: British
Entered service: January 12, 2004

Best for People Who Want
The largest passenger ship ever built; as elegant an atmosphere as exists on any ship today; a traditional transatlantic crossing with three formal nights; extra-spacious cabins; onboard enrichment programs, classes and programs.

Should Be Avoided By People Who Prefer
To dress down at all times, a good spa experience, alternative dining. This ship isn’t recommended on Caribbean or Mediterranean cruises because of the need to tender into ports instead of docking.

Onboard Experience
Queen Mary 2 has my vote for the most stunning vessel afloat.  Cunard has designed a ship to continue company traditions that date back to 1840, and while owned by Carnival Corp., operated by Princess Cruises and built in France, the ship retains her Old England feel of past Cunard vessels with its British officers and atmosphere. The QM2 is a more than worthy replacement for the venerable 35-year-old QE2, offering similar itineraries, Atlantic crossings and cruise service, but on a vastly larger scale and with all the bells and whistles passengers expect on a brand-new ship.  With a few exceptions I found a very professional, seasoned staff who worked hard to please passengers.   

The onboard atmosphere varies more than most ships because of the dual nature of the QM2's role. On Atlantic crossings, the ship is the sole destination for six nights and the social life becomes rhythmic and highly developed.  Passengers dress up on the three scheduled formal nights and take participate in the grand ocean liner experience of high tea, on-board lectures and perusing books in the magnificent library.

The two side promenade decks, with the lifeboats stored above, offer the longest double row of wooden steamer chairs on the high seas, making a delightful setting for reading and dozing in warm weather.  One can still transport their dogs between Europe and the U.S. in the ship’s well-appointed kennels ($500 each way) and this is the only vessel on earth with a gift shop selling Cunard Line logo dog coats and full-size Queen Mary 2 life rings. Queen Mary 2 shines like the brightest star on transatlantic crossings between Europe and Brooklyn, NY. 

While Queen Mary 2 is beautiful inside, she is not a luxury vessel, with the exception of Queen’s Room staterooms.  Passengers aren’t escorted to their cabins at embarkation. On my April, 2006 transatlantic crossing the food was generally good but far from gourmet in all the dining rooms except the lofty Queen’s Grill. While the staff is generally very good, I encountered less than outstanding food and service in my restaurant, the Princess Grill.

But even with glitches, my transatlantic voyage was one of the best seagoing experiences I’ve had in many years. If you take only one ship in your life, I hope it is Queen Mary 2 transatlantic or on a world cruise. In the Caribbean however, the ship is too large to dock in ports; taking tenders back and forth to the islands’ piers involves long lines and is a much bigger hassle when going ashore.

Decor
Queen Mary 2 is a stunning modern version of Art Deco from her gracious public rooms to the large cabins.  A magnificent central corridor, akin to an indoor boulevard, links various public rooms and affords a long-range view through the atrium to an ingenious portrait of Sir Samuel Cunard made up of 7,000 tiny depictions of the historic company's vast fleet. Dramatic bas relief panels lining the passage feature the four seasons and four elements. The elevator foyers are equally grand spaces, and the efficient lifts, some glass enclosed, connect the dozen decks.

Walls are wood gain veneers in various tones and look-alike materials to create the spacious surroundings of a pre-war Atlantic liner and the lounges and bars from a grand European hotel. The effect is gracious yet not stuffy.  Throughout this ship are beautiful carpets and enormous bouquets of fresh flowers.  The furniture varies by public room while keeping

Public Rooms
My pick for the most stunning room aboard any ship is the dramatic Queen's Room, an elegant, columned, two-deck-high space that is reminiscent of an Art Deco liner or a magnificent hotel lounge with large windows looking out to sea. A white-glove afternoon tea takes place here in the company of a harpist, piano player or trio, and later in the day it becomes a grand ballroom for serious dancing.  On three formal nights I felt I’d wandered onto a movie set as tuxedoed and gowned passengers danced.  Gentlemen hosts in white dinner coats danced the rumba and cha-cha with single female passengers as the orchestra played music from the 30’s and 40’s.  

The Chart Room, is an enormous lounge with softly elegant décor, roomy seating, a sit-up bar, large ocean view windows and a wonderfully cool jazz band that plays during pre-dinner cocktail hours. Next door,the Veuve Clicquot Bar, intimate and open to the atrium, draws patrons before dinner for a glass of champagne and caviar, pate and smoked salmon. The understated atrium rises five decks, off of which are the purser's and tour desks; shops including H. Stern, Hermes, and Dunhill; and three decks of atrium view cabins.  The ship’s logo shop was always mobbed with passengers buying Cunard and Queen Mary 2 dog bowls, mugs, sweatshirts and dozens of other items.

Additional venues, these with terrific views over the bow, are the large library and bookstore; the delightful, dark-paneled piano bar Commodore Club; the Atlantic Room for cards; an open observation deck below the bridge; and a glass-enclosed Lookout on the highest deck. For gamblers, the Empire Casino has the standard gaming tables and slots and the Golden Lion Pub, a rather barn-like place, keeps the British happy with a terrific selection of beers and ales on tap and in bottles, sports TVs and entertainment.

Cuisine
While the important areas of food and service have improved since Queen Mary 2 entered service, I thought the ship still had a ways to go. Keep in mind that the price of your ticket determines which restaurant you'll dine in, although on this ship menus are the same in all dining room.  In theory, the food improves in the smaller and more exclusive Princess and Queen’s Grills.  However, during my April, 2006 transatlantic crossing I dined in the Princess Grill and found the food so-so.  However passengers who dined in the Brittania restaurant reported better food.  The most beautiful restaurant is Britannia (the minimum category restaurant) Todd English's restaurant has mouth-watering food and make a reservation the moment you board the ship. Those paying higher fares to dine in the intimate Queen's Grill and Princess Grill should be quite satisfied at the more elaborate fare, served in single-seating dining.

Caviar, jumbo shrimp and smoked salmon are available in the grills for the asking, but not in Britannia. Portions can be on the small side, but larger ones can be ordered. Also, special ordering is limited to grill passengers. Todd English, the alternative restaurant, features a Mediterranean-style menu designed by the Boston restaurateur, and it is well worth the effort to secure a reservation. The lobster and baby corn soup is delicious and the Duck breasts in ginger sauce received raves.

The King's Court, a multi-section buffet restaurant, has slightly different selections at breakfast catering to the tastes of Americans (bacon, waffles, pancakes), British (English bacon, black pudding) and Continental Europeans (herring and cheese), less variation at lunch and a completion transformation at dinner. Reservations are taken (no charge), and the brightly lit buffet sections are partitioned off in two of the three theme eateries, and the lights subdued. Lotus features an excellent Asian sampler menu; The Carvery has prime ribs, chicken and fish; and La Trattoria offers an Italian menu with the antipasto course from the self-service buffet.

The Chef's Galley ($35 per person) gives cooking demonstrations after which the 26 participants enjoy the prepared meal. The Golden Lion Pub has an English pub menu including fish and chips, bangers and mash, steak and mushroom pie. The Boardwalk Cafe on Deck 12 serves a grill menu with tables out on deck.

Service
It took Cunard Line a while to get service up to par, but you'll find good waiters and stewards today in all classes of service. There is no health and beauty facility at sea with the outstanding staff found at Canyon Ranch spa, where the list of massage and beautifying treatments can keep you glowing every moment. Bar service can also be slow at peak pre-dinner hours.

Restaurants
On the Queen Mary 2, the Britannia Restaurant truly sets the grand hotel tone with its lighted dome arcing over a nearly three-deck-high space bracketed by three distinctive upper tiers connected to the main level via a sweeping double staircase. A huge vertical tapestry is the richly colorful centerpiece, depicting a giant liner set against the New York skyline. The dining room has two sittings for 1,350 each, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., yet the room is far more elegant than the single-sitting Caronia or two-sitting Mauretania on the Queen Elizabeth 2. On the QM2 no one should ever feel like a second-class passenger.

Passengers in the higher category cabins and suites have access to the 180-seat Princess Grill and 206-seat Queen's Grill, two single-level rooms and mirror images of each other on Deck 7 aft. While attractive spaces, they do not have the individual character of the Queen's, Princess and Britannia Grills on the QE2. A Queen's Grill Lounge and piano bar serves both.

The big name restaurant, Todd English, supervised by the popular Boston restaurateur, features his creative take on Mediterranean cooking. The meals are terrific and the service generally very good. Reservations are hard to come by for the 220 seats, hence head there straight away upon boarding. The restaurant carries a charge of $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner.

For informal dining, the multi-sectioned King's Court offers several serving stations, with minimal queuing, for breakfast and lunch. At lunch, the buffets had a typical range of good food, and fresh sandwiches can be ordered at a deli counter. The many bay window tables facing the side promenades provide the best seating and are well out of the main traffic flow.

At night the King's Court gets transformed, using subdued lighting and panels to wall off the buffet tables, into four dining sections by reservation only with no extra charge for three of them. I sampled The Carvery twice, dining on succulent American cut roast beef as requested; Lotus, for a highly successful Asian sampler menu; and La Piazza, with a typical Italian menu but without the same atmosphere because the brightly lit buffet section was used for the self-service antipasto. The fourth section, the 26-seat Chef's Galley, is set up as a food demonstration kitchen at $35 a head. The Golden Lion Pub, popular with British passengers, serves good pub grub, and the Boardwalk Cafe serves grills, salads and light desserts for those who want to remain out on deck.

Gratuities of $11 per day for the Britannia Restaurant and $13 per day in the Queen's and Princess Grills are automatically added to shipboard accounts for both dining and cabin staff. Passengers may add or reduce the amounts as they choose, and of course, tip extra individually as many are wont to do.

Entertainment
Daytime activities featured a successful lecture and classroom-style seminar program put together by Oxford University on subjects such as history, politics, fashion and watercolor painting. The theater Illuminations, attractively recalling a smallish Radio City Music Hall, becomes a planetarium for three hours a day offering three different shows, and also serves as a movie theater and lecture hall. The plush red, bi-level, 1,105-seat Royal Court Theater hosts students from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, some big-name entertainment, cabaret acts and dance teams.

Deck space is far more generous than aboard the QE2, making the QM2 a much better warm weather cruise ship. The wraparound promenade is the longest at sea, with three circuits equaling just over a mile. Wooden deck chairs and handsome green cushions line the rails and may be shifted into the alcoves between the bay windows. There are five pools, one for kids and one under a Magrodome, plus whirlpools. Children's facilities are excellent, and babysitting received high marks for professionalism.

Cabins
Of the 1,310 cabins, 78 per cent have ocean views and 94 per cent of these balconies. The smallest (categories C1-C4 and D1-D5) are uniformly 194 sq. ft., with light wood-grained paneling and furnishings, adequate storage space, small sitting area with pop-up table, a chair and a vanity cum desk. Bathrooms have a shower, good counter and limited shelf space. An interactive TV shows films, documentaries, CNN, BBC and local programming when available, and is a repository of information about ship services, checking one's bill, tour information, menus, maintenance requests and sending e-mails using an infrared keyboard. Charges for outgoing and incoming e-mails are a flat $1.50, much cheaper than composing a letter with the clock ticking at the Internet centers.

The standard outside cabin is considerably larger than the indoor portion of the cabins with balconies enclosed in the hull. Some found these latter cabins to be dark, and the outer solid bulkhead prevents views of the sea when seated. Above the lifeboats, the balcony cabins (B1-B7, 248 sq. ft.) are more typical with Plexiglas instead of steel on the outer side, and larger interior sitting areas. Cabin sizes then increase to junior suites (P1-P2, 381 sq. ft.) with the largest (Q1-Q6, 506 to 2,249sq.ft.) including aft facing duplexes. Those on Deck 8 have access to a concierge lounge.

Fitness/Spa
Canyon Ranch operates the spa, located on two levels with 20,000 square feet, the largest afloat with a staff of 50. Facilities include a Fitness Center, Aqua Therapy and a Beauty and Skin Care Center. Services include a long list of massages, exercise for weight loss, back care, educational workshops, thermal therapies, scrubs, cocoon, and beauty services. There is a gym, weight room, juice bar, Thalassotherapy pool, whirlpool, Finnish sauna, herbal sauna, and steam room. Appointments are taken and charges include gratuities.

Attire
During a six-night Atlantic crossing or a week's cruise, two formal nights will be the norm, and most men, especially on a crossing, will wear tuxedos rather than dark suits; other nights are either listed informal (jacket for men) or casual; casual always during the day.

Tipping
Gratuities are automatically charged to your shipboard account for dining room waiter, cabin steward and other personnel. The per person (including children) per day rates are $13 for QE2 and QM2 accommodation with Grill dining; $11 for QE2 and QM2 accommodation with Restaurant dining. Visit the front desk to adjust the amount.

For bar and salon services onboard QE2 and QM2, a 15% gratuity is automatically added to your bill. Other gratuities are at the passenger's discretion.

Copyright Anne Campbell, 2008.  All rights reserved.