Cunard's Queen Mary 2
I was pleasantly surprised…
I arrived at the port just after 11am and waited briefly to drop my suitcase off at the bag drop point. I then had to queue to enter the terminal building, just after 11:30 – something I had not experienced with any other cruise line. Check in was smooth however and we were told where to sit. Around 12:30 they started calling passengers according to their booking status (Queens Grill guests first, then Princess Grill, and then everybody else). I was on the ship not long after 1pm and my stateroom was ready so I went straight to it.
My stateroom was a Britannia balcony stateroom, which had 2 single beds (I could have requested a double if I had wanted) and a sofa and coffee table. There was also a desk and area for making tea and coffees (they even give you biscuits!). Underneath that was the fridge, and to my delight, a full size bottle of sparkling wine! This is complementary for all guests no matter what loyalty status you are. Also in my stateroom was a bathrobe, slippers, hairdryer, plenty of hangars in the large wardrobe, and a safe. The plug sockets are UK 3-pin so no need for adaptors.
My balcony was what they call a ‘sheltered’ balcony. It is designed so that you can still sit outside when you are crossing the Atlantic without being windswept. Two chairs and a table were on the balcony and it was spacious.
In my bathroom was a shower which was good, with full sized Penhaligon’s toiletries – Shower gel, shampoo and body lotion.
I spent a while exploring the ship and I found the top deck is full of activities. They have a golf simulator, you can play shuffleboard, paddle tennis, there is an indoor pool with jacuzzi’s, then at the back of the ship on two different levels you have two pools, a splash pad for kids and a couple of hot tubs on each level.
There is a beautiful spa and the pool in there is actually very big. There is a regular sauna plus a thermal steam room. You can get all of the usual treatments like massages, manicures, pedicures etc.
There is a huge library with thousands of books, and computers for you to use if you need to.
Moving on to eating, I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Kings Court buffet restaurant a few times. There was plenty of choice and it was all very nice. I also ate breakfast and dinner in the Britannia restaurant – we had the same table each evening and the same servers. They were fantastic, they remembered who had dietary requirements (and that person was given the next day’s menu to choose what she wanted so that the chef could make it to her needs). They also remembered who was drinking what, who liked to eat double portions (yes you can do that!) and the food was delicious. I had the nicest beef wellington that I have ever eaten. One evening we had complimentary prosecco.
I also ate in ‘Steakhouse at the Verandah’ which was delicious. Again the service was amazing, and the food was absolutely fantastic. It was a 3 course meal and you do pay a supplement of about £25 for lunch in here but it is most definitely worth it. Just for the sticky bread with bbq butter!
There is another restaurant on board which is different on each sailing depending on the destination. So I was on a Norwegian Fjords cruise so this restaurant was temporarily called Nordly’s and you could try things like seafood and reindeer.
There is plenty of entertainment on board the Queen Mary 2. Most evenings we stopped in The Golden Lion (the pub) or The Chart Room (the cocktail bar) for pre-dinner drinks. When you order drinks here they bring out snacks – a bowl of crisps, olives, mixed nuts etc. which is a lovely tough. Every evening there was live music – a young female singer with a young male guitarist who were absolutely fantastic and played a huge range of songs to suit all ages.
Other options include trivia or dance classes. There was dancing every evening in the Queens Room (the ballroom), and there was even a nightclub, where you could do karaoke or a silent disco.
One thing I really enjoyed was the signature Cunard afternoon tea. This was held every day in the Queens Room at 3:30pm. The waiters all file in accompanied by piano music, carrying their pots of tea and coffee! Then they bring you round little sandwiches, cakes and scones with jam and cream. It was definitely an experience! They do also serve afternoon tea in the buffet restaurant as well which of course I tested and it was just as delicious. The afternoon tea is also complimentary.
You can also have room service delivered to your stateroom and this is also free. I had breakfast one morning, and lunch another day. It came quickly, and it was very good. Another thing to do on this ship is go to the Planetarium. There are several showings each day and you sit under the dome and they project the stars and the planets while they talk about it. There are different options to watch but one of them is narrated by Sigourney Weaver, and the other is narrated by Morgan Freeman.
And then obviously you’ve got the actual destinations to visit as well. On this sailing I visited Stavanger, Olden, Andalsnes, and Bergen. Most of them you can just get off and wonder around but it is definitely worthwhile doing a shore experience. We did a scenic coach tour in Olden where we took in the beautiful scenery. The fjords are beautiful and I would definitely recommend a cruise here. It was June but there was still snow on the tops of the mountains.
There were 2 formal nights on this 7 night sailing. The first one happened on the 2nd night, and it was ‘black and white’. You don’t have to take part, they just encourage it, and they are not strict about enforcing it. However most of the people we saw did make an effort to dress up. The second formal night was ‘Masquerade’ which was a lot of fun.
All in all it was a great trip with lots going on, amazing food, and amazing service. I would definitely recommend.