POST CRUISE WRAP UP
Well, I am now back in the real world and it was a big shock to have to get up at 6 a.m. this morning for work. No butler to serve us coffee and toast, no-one to make my bed and clean my bathroom and replenish supplies and NO MORE ALCOHOL for at least a week!
Well, as you know by now, we all made it off the ship at approx 12.30 p.m. on Sunday. Cunard were excellent and provided lunch for those that wanted it (although having had a good cooked breakfast that morning this was one meal we decided to pass on). We swapped email addresses with a few of the people on board – including a few bar men who gave us excellent service and it was with regret we disembarked the QM2 for the Hilton hotel at JFK and an early morning flight to Bermuda on the Monday. Walking into the Hilton was a shock to the system, no porter to take our bags and put them in the room (and there were a lot of bags), the room was tiny and dark and no view from the window overlooking the Atlantic. Still, we slept well that night and made our way back to Bermuda on the Monday morning and I personally was filling my washing machine at 1 on Monday afternoon.
So as promised I’d like to share my post cruise thoughts with you all. As you may recall, we were in the PG at Christmas and this time we were in the QG.
Dining
I have to admit that I do prefer dining in the PG. I believe that the PG is smaller than the QG and seems a lot cosier and more intimate and the tables are not so cramped together as they seem to be in the QG. In the PG we had excellent wait staff who knew our names (from the Maitre ‘D down to the wait staff) from day one. The Sommelier (Rakesh) [ sp? ] in the QG was excellent, gave us some very good recommendations and left us a lot poorer to boot! But well worth the choices, no more Yellow Tail for us!! Sitting by the waiter’s station was also quite distracting as there is quite a bit of noise emanating from there and also we did overhear some conflict when things may have got a bit overheated. If you get the opportunity to ask for a table when booking your cruise, I would suggest asking for one AWAY from the waiter’s station.
The food this time around was not as good as I remembered it being in the PG at Christmas. Although I realise that the kitchen serves both the QG and the PG, for some reason the quality was not as good as I remembered it. Some meats (particularly pork and chicken) were overdone, I realise that they have to take all necessary precautions to make sure white meats are well cooked but I think these may have been sitting for a while before serving, hence they were dry. The red meats served (with the exception of one day) were excellent, chateaubriand; beef Wellington and venison were all to die for.
Dress Code
I noted a big difference in the dress code from our last Christmas cruise to the current one. I’m pretty sure that this was because it wasn’t a “special occasion” cruise. At Christmas everyone without exception was dressed to the nines and there were some gorgeous dresses (and men in tux’s). This time was not so dressy. We saw everything from tracksuits (in the Kings Court of an evening), to shirt and tie (on formal nights in the QG) right through to the full finery of ball gown and tux. This is not a bad thing though it is nice to have the option if one is not comfortable dressing up each night (especially if like me you put on a few extra pounds and bellies)
On Board Entertainment
We just couldn’t keep up with everything that was on board, if you’re interested in something, there’s a pretty good chance that some class or other will be there to keep you entertained - so much to do, so little time to do it. You may recall we attended both the Martini Mixology and the Vodka tasting classes (would also account for the quality of writing post drinking!) without a doubt the Vodka tasting was our favourite – and, if I may be so bold, comes highly recommended by both hubby and I – definitely money well spent.
I also treated myself to a few treatments in the Canyon Ranch spa – I don’t think anyone could fail not to enjoy these treatments, although quite pricey, they were worth every dollar (to my mind) and actually the prices were on a par with the spa’s in Bermuda. Whilst I did enjoy a few treatments, I did not use the spa facilities as when I went to sit in there all the chairs were reserved (although only about five people sitting) so I had nowhere to put my feet up and read between swims. I’m not sure I would recommend a spa pass unless you are actually located on an inside cabin as although advertised as a very large spa, I preferred to sit outside on the deck (weather permitting) and read/chill/use the hot tub. If you are considering a spa pass perhaps a one day to start with to see if you would really enjoy the facilities on offer, or better still, ask for a look around and judge for yourself if you think a 1, 2 or 3 day pass is what you would like to do.
At the end of the day, to be honest, our favourite way of passing the time was to either sit in the Commodore club or on the balcony of our suite and read books, write and of course the odd 40 winks now and then! Because our cruise was quite port heavy we didn’t have as much time on board to do all the things we would have liked to have done – we didn’t make it to the Golden Lion once during our trip, nor did we make it for afternoon tea – there was just too much going on elsewhere. I defy anyone to be bored on one of these cruises.
Rooms
Well, it goes without saying that the rooms in the Queens Grill are absolutely fab. We were in a Q5. It was very spacious indeed and I absolutely loved the separate make up area. In the PG there was only one area where both the computer (a necessity for hubby) and the make up area (a necessity for me). There was of course the walk in wardrobe (same as with PG) and a bigger bar area and of course more floor space and a bigger balcony.
The Butler and his assistant (Andres and Edouard) were brilliant and couldn’t do enough for us. I found it really hard at first to get used to asking for things and rather than having to call up for sandwich for lunch quite often popped down to the Concierge lounge for their delicious beef croissant’s (that were to die for). I found myself clearing up our breakfast things each morning as there was no way I could leave it all out for someone else to clear up after me. I did though get used to having my bed made each morning, the bathroom cleaned and fresh towels laid out and of course having coffee and toast delivered to our room each morning.
The laundry and dry cleaning service was excellent (all clothes came back with an ironed on label and not a staple) and beautifully pressed. Each laundry load was sent down on a 2 day service, but invariably it was back within 12 – 18 hours. On the penultimate day, they did do a special for laundry. One bag of washing for $30 which would be returned for your last day – as long as you delivered by 9 a.m. – alas, we failed to get out of our bed early enough to take advantage but at that point anyway, I still had plenty of clothes to wear so was not desperately in need of the services.
As you may be aware, the QG guests are entitled to two bottles of their choice for the bar. We chose a bottle of Vodka and a bottle of Rum (we were not permitted to choose anything else – although the people sitting next to us in the dining room did have extra) As it was anyway, we didn’t consume all the alcohol in our room (you may be very surprised to hear!) and left a bit behind. Soft drinks were as many as you wanted, coke, tonic, lemonade, ginger beer etc and would be restocked as and when used.
Overall
It was a real treat to stay in the QG for us – a belated honeymoon, ten years of marriage and my birthday so we really did splash out this time. We only have one big holiday a year and this for us was it. We don’t regret one single $ that we spent and will look back on this as a holiday of a lifetime.
When we go on Cunard again I will happily opt for the Brittania grill/accommodation, we really would like to experience it all. IF we did run to a grill again, we would go PG. It is still a luxury holiday and as stated previously I much prefer the PG to the QG dining experience (ambience).
Alas, we will not be on the QM2 (or any of the sister ships) next year. My husband will be celebrating a big birthday and his choice of holiday is to cruise the Norfolk Broads for two weeks which we have already booked up for next June. Alas cruise critic does not extend to cruising the Norfolk Broads so we will make do with blogging on the Norfolk Broads critic board instead.
A big thank you to all of you who have encouraged and supported me in my first ever efforts at a blog. I have received lots of private emails and of course lots of comments on this site. It has been a rewarding experience for me and has got me thinking that I may actually set up my own blog site to record my musings, although of course my blog site will be better phrased/constructed as I won’t have the benefit of a vodka or martini class to muddle my brain cells.
Cheers again everyone.
Well, I am now back in the real world and it was a big shock to have to get up at 6 a.m. this morning for work. No butler to serve us coffee and toast, no-one to make my bed and clean my bathroom and replenish supplies and NO MORE ALCOHOL for at least a week!
Well, as you know by now, we all made it off the ship at approx 12.30 p.m. on Sunday. Cunard were excellent and provided lunch for those that wanted it (although having had a good cooked breakfast that morning this was one meal we decided to pass on). We swapped email addresses with a few of the people on board – including a few bar men who gave us excellent service and it was with regret we disembarked the QM2 for the Hilton hotel at JFK and an early morning flight to Bermuda on the Monday. Walking into the Hilton was a shock to the system, no porter to take our bags and put them in the room (and there were a lot of bags), the room was tiny and dark and no view from the window overlooking the Atlantic. Still, we slept well that night and made our way back to Bermuda on the Monday morning and I personally was filling my washing machine at 1 on Monday afternoon.
So as promised I’d like to share my post cruise thoughts with you all. As you may recall, we were in the PG at Christmas and this time we were in the QG.
Dining
I have to admit that I do prefer dining in the PG. I believe that the PG is smaller than the QG and seems a lot cosier and more intimate and the tables are not so cramped together as they seem to be in the QG. In the PG we had excellent wait staff who knew our names (from the Maitre ‘D down to the wait staff) from day one. The Sommelier (Rakesh) [ sp? ] in the QG was excellent, gave us some very good recommendations and left us a lot poorer to boot! But well worth the choices, no more Yellow Tail for us!! Sitting by the waiter’s station was also quite distracting as there is quite a bit of noise emanating from there and also we did overhear some conflict when things may have got a bit overheated. If you get the opportunity to ask for a table when booking your cruise, I would suggest asking for one AWAY from the waiter’s station.
The food this time around was not as good as I remembered it being in the PG at Christmas. Although I realise that the kitchen serves both the QG and the PG, for some reason the quality was not as good as I remembered it. Some meats (particularly pork and chicken) were overdone, I realise that they have to take all necessary precautions to make sure white meats are well cooked but I think these may have been sitting for a while before serving, hence they were dry. The red meats served (with the exception of one day) were excellent, chateaubriand; beef Wellington and venison were all to die for.
Dress Code
I noted a big difference in the dress code from our last Christmas cruise to the current one. I’m pretty sure that this was because it wasn’t a “special occasion” cruise. At Christmas everyone without exception was dressed to the nines and there were some gorgeous dresses (and men in tux’s). This time was not so dressy. We saw everything from tracksuits (in the Kings Court of an evening), to shirt and tie (on formal nights in the QG) right through to the full finery of ball gown and tux. This is not a bad thing though it is nice to have the option if one is not comfortable dressing up each night (especially if like me you put on a few extra pounds and bellies)
On Board Entertainment
We just couldn’t keep up with everything that was on board, if you’re interested in something, there’s a pretty good chance that some class or other will be there to keep you entertained - so much to do, so little time to do it. You may recall we attended both the Martini Mixology and the Vodka tasting classes (would also account for the quality of writing post drinking!) without a doubt the Vodka tasting was our favourite – and, if I may be so bold, comes highly recommended by both hubby and I – definitely money well spent.
I also treated myself to a few treatments in the Canyon Ranch spa – I don’t think anyone could fail not to enjoy these treatments, although quite pricey, they were worth every dollar (to my mind) and actually the prices were on a par with the spa’s in Bermuda. Whilst I did enjoy a few treatments, I did not use the spa facilities as when I went to sit in there all the chairs were reserved (although only about five people sitting) so I had nowhere to put my feet up and read between swims. I’m not sure I would recommend a spa pass unless you are actually located on an inside cabin as although advertised as a very large spa, I preferred to sit outside on the deck (weather permitting) and read/chill/use the hot tub. If you are considering a spa pass perhaps a one day to start with to see if you would really enjoy the facilities on offer, or better still, ask for a look around and judge for yourself if you think a 1, 2 or 3 day pass is what you would like to do.
At the end of the day, to be honest, our favourite way of passing the time was to either sit in the Commodore club or on the balcony of our suite and read books, write and of course the odd 40 winks now and then! Because our cruise was quite port heavy we didn’t have as much time on board to do all the things we would have liked to have done – we didn’t make it to the Golden Lion once during our trip, nor did we make it for afternoon tea – there was just too much going on elsewhere. I defy anyone to be bored on one of these cruises.
Rooms
Well, it goes without saying that the rooms in the Queens Grill are absolutely fab. We were in a Q5. It was very spacious indeed and I absolutely loved the separate make up area. In the PG there was only one area where both the computer (a necessity for hubby) and the make up area (a necessity for me). There was of course the walk in wardrobe (same as with PG) and a bigger bar area and of course more floor space and a bigger balcony.
The Butler and his assistant (Andres and Edouard) were brilliant and couldn’t do enough for us. I found it really hard at first to get used to asking for things and rather than having to call up for sandwich for lunch quite often popped down to the Concierge lounge for their delicious beef croissant’s (that were to die for). I found myself clearing up our breakfast things each morning as there was no way I could leave it all out for someone else to clear up after me. I did though get used to having my bed made each morning, the bathroom cleaned and fresh towels laid out and of course having coffee and toast delivered to our room each morning.
The laundry and dry cleaning service was excellent (all clothes came back with an ironed on label and not a staple) and beautifully pressed. Each laundry load was sent down on a 2 day service, but invariably it was back within 12 – 18 hours. On the penultimate day, they did do a special for laundry. One bag of washing for $30 which would be returned for your last day – as long as you delivered by 9 a.m. – alas, we failed to get out of our bed early enough to take advantage but at that point anyway, I still had plenty of clothes to wear so was not desperately in need of the services.
As you may be aware, the QG guests are entitled to two bottles of their choice for the bar. We chose a bottle of Vodka and a bottle of Rum (we were not permitted to choose anything else – although the people sitting next to us in the dining room did have extra) As it was anyway, we didn’t consume all the alcohol in our room (you may be very surprised to hear!) and left a bit behind. Soft drinks were as many as you wanted, coke, tonic, lemonade, ginger beer etc and would be restocked as and when used.
Overall
It was a real treat to stay in the QG for us – a belated honeymoon, ten years of marriage and my birthday so we really did splash out this time. We only have one big holiday a year and this for us was it. We don’t regret one single $ that we spent and will look back on this as a holiday of a lifetime.
When we go on Cunard again I will happily opt for the Brittania grill/accommodation, we really would like to experience it all. IF we did run to a grill again, we would go PG. It is still a luxury holiday and as stated previously I much prefer the PG to the QG dining experience (ambience).
Alas, we will not be on the QM2 (or any of the sister ships) next year. My husband will be celebrating a big birthday and his choice of holiday is to cruise the Norfolk Broads for two weeks which we have already booked up for next June. Alas cruise critic does not extend to cruising the Norfolk Broads so we will make do with blogging on the Norfolk Broads critic board instead.
A big thank you to all of you who have encouraged and supported me in my first ever efforts at a blog. I have received lots of private emails and of course lots of comments on this site. It has been a rewarding experience for me and has got me thinking that I may actually set up my own blog site to record my musings, although of course my blog site will be better phrased/constructed as I won’t have the benefit of a vodka or martini class to muddle my brain cells.
Cheers again everyone.
He'd do anything to get out of going away with us again - even going so far as to have a kidney removed 
Last time we were on the QM2 was at christmas and they were in the room next to us and don't tell them I told you this but they were blooming marvelous ships companions and kinda wish they were here with us now (but again, don't tell them I told you that)