Queen Mary 2: Once-In-A-Lifetime Or Annual Commuter Run To Europe?

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is the last of the true ocean liners, purpose-built for comfortably crossing the North Atlantic in notoriously fickle seas. It's half-sisters, the Queen Victoria and the Queen Elizabeth, along with every other "cruise ship" are designed as resort hotels that motor from port to port, not as efficient transportation between continents.

Anything But Utilitarian

Yet the QM2 is anything but utilitarian, combining a premium or perhaps luxury experience with its "real ship" credentials.  This combination or, if you like, contradiction has attracted:

• Cunard regulars who mob the World Club champagne party on every crossing (we couldn't even get in the door last time because a huge line overflowed the lobby leading to the entrance), and 
• People who seek to fulfill their dream of reliving the legendary Golden Age of Ocean Liners with a one-off investment in an Atlantic crossing.

Ironically, our own use of the QM2 has been its original purpose-- transportation across the Atlantic. Why? Off season, it can be less expensive than business class and some economy air fares and save passengers from the indignities of airports and airplanes, from security lines to in-flight "food."

We have completed four crossings, the most recent last year. Since the launch of QM2 in 2004, Cunard has managed to maintain the ambiance, enhanced by a refurbishment in 2016. We found dining and entertainment adequate but variable from cruise to cruise.

The cost of a week in a balcony cabin on QM2 can be small, below $1000 per person during off-season promotions, with on-board credits for military and veterans as well as Carnival stockholders. Or it can be high during summer months or if you are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a suite.

Hierarchical Class Society

Cunard enforces a hierarchical class society from another century. First class passengers dine in private sanctuaries, and even they are divided into two royal categories based on the cost of their suite. Cunard calls its suite categories The Grills, which conflates two different levels.

First Class

The Queens Grill tops the price chart with the largest cabins with complimentary bar, butler, and exclusive dining room with a culinary promise to "create whatever takes your fancy."

First Class Minus

Princess Grill suites are second in price and have their own dining room isolated from the Queens Grill.

A Relative Bargain For The Rest Of Us

Leave behind your pinky ring and that blazer with the family coat of arms and you will save the price of a week at a Four Seasons resort.

Second Class Plus

Britannia Club offers more-or-less standard balcony cabins with some extra amenities and a separate dining area with eat when you wish hours and "boasting the same grandeur as the neighbouring Britannia Restaurant, but with an intimate dining club atmosphere." Between the lines, that means you are eating the same food as Second Class.

Second Class

The vast majority of guests are booked in Britannia, the base cabin class, which includes king-size beds. Here balcony cabins are about the same size as Britannia Club though you may consider them less-well located. There are also interior and ocean view cabins. Formal dining is in the main Britannia Restaurant.

The last refit added the Carinthia, a "second class" lounge behind the buffet where not formally dressed passengers can still buy a drink after the 6 p.m. dress-up code is strictly enforced in every other public venue of the ship except the buffet.

Best Value

Even though 985 of the ship's 1360 cabins have balconies, there is little value in a veranda when crossing the Atlantic. And the spectacular departure or arrival at New York harbor is best viewed from topside with crowds of your fellow passengers. Our first choice is a balcony cabin with obstructed view; your view of a lifeboat will save you a few hundred dollars and still provide a spot of fresh air if you venture onto the veranda. Crossing the Atlantic, the distinction is irrelevant between a balcony with all glass railing and one with a steel railing.

We do not recommend ever requesting a "guarantee" cabin on the QM2 to save a few dollars or to bet on an upgrade. Every time we did this we were stuck with a cabin next to an elevator lobby, a very high traffic location. Even with a towel stuffed under our door, we could hear the 24x7 elevator chimes and the conversations of every passerby heading further down the passageway to their much quieter cabin. 

Sample Pricing

The Cunard website today offers a July 20 seven-day eastbound transatlantic crossing from these minimum prices per person (plus taxes, fees and port expenses of $77.03). Some promotions are included, including free gratuities for past guests and free drinks in Grill Suites.

Queens Grill $5199
Princess Grill $5199 promo upgrade to Queens Grill
Club Balcony $2699
Balcony $1699
Oceanview $1699 promo upgrade to Balcony
Inside $1249

Dining Options: British 

Our first choice for lunch is the Golden Lion pub, if you can get a seat and fancy well-prepared curry, shepherds pie, or fish and chips. There seems to be only one deep fryer in the pub, so be prepared to wait 30 to 45 minutes for your order. Arrive early and lurk if necessary to flush from their tables those who have finished eating. Avoid days when important sports matches are playing on the big screen television, leading to further crowding.

Dining in the King's Court buffet or the main Britannia Restaurant has proven adequate, although we remember somewhat better food in past years. The buffet was redesigned in the 2016 refurbishment and presents a fresher appearance and good range of options, once you learn to navigate the changes.

For dinner, an area of the buffet is converted to regional menus, including Asian, Indian, Italian, and American "smokehouse." At some hours, lighter fare is offered in the Carinthia Lounge.

When Cunard announced with great fanfare the refurbishment included a new French restaurant, we immediately booked in advance two nights on our 2017 sailing despite the $50 per person surcharge. The dramatic marketing continues today on the Cunard website:

The Verandah restaurant offers contemporary French cuisine that makes use of seasonal ingredients of real provenance. Designed to create a genuine dining experience, The Verandah takes design inspiration from the original Verandah Grill on board Queen Mary.

The Verandah is a handsome setting, but in our experience it is not a French restaurant. We struggled to find even a single French dish on the menu. Management was gracious and reversed the charge.

You may have a completely different experience, particularly if you value the theatrical aspects of dining above the precision with which the food is created and presented. The Verandah is similar to the "fine dining" option many cruise lines seek to offer-- upgraded decor, more elaborate menu items, and a staff that understands their performance is essential to the customers' complete satisfaction with the ceremony of "fine dining."

Entertainment

QM2 Masquerade Ball May 30 2013

Among distractions on QM2 are lounges, some with a singer or instrumentalist in the evenings, a planetarium, spa, casino, theater with lectures and musical productions, and the Queens Room, a venue for afternoon tea, evening dancing, and more than once on each crossing a ball. Recent balls have been labeled Black & White or Masquerade, such as the one we obviously enjoyed, judging by this photo.

Some crossings feature themed music or lecture series, including New York Times journalists. We once paid for a jazz crossing featuring faculty and students from the Julliard School, but were disappointed to find only one teacher embarked and he only performed a couple times in public, although he may have appeared more often in First Class. No explanation was ever provided by Cunard.

QM2 Commodore Club May 14 2017

Our favorite space is the Commodore Club on Deck 9, the classic forward bar with views of what's ahead. Claim a space early on the port side of the bar. The starboard side adjoins the Churchill Cigar Lounge and often shares its cigar and pipe smoke.

Cruising Grade

An Atlantic crossing on the QM2 is a unique experience well worth a try. Also worth a try is a read of Dwight Garner's charming New York Times account of his January crossing in which he is transformed into a Cunardist.

Flashback

MSgt. Al Polich, 8th Air Force

The QM2 holds special meaning for me. During World War II her predecessor, the Queen Mary, was converted to a troop ship and carried my father to England from New York. 

He was one of the lucky thousands of GIs who went to war on a ship that could make more than 28 knots and outrun German submarines. One of QM2's attractions is the WWII and other historic memorabilia displayed throughout the ship, although much of it is consigned to out of the way locations.

RMS Queen Mary June 20 1945 New York Harbor