But I don't like Boats, she said. (Cunard Line)

Member Name: solamarie

Product:	Cunard Line
Date:	26/10/05 (814 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pure luxury

Disadvantages: A bit ancient now, and showing it

Picture this.
There he was, sitting at the computer, choosing a special holiday to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary. "A cruise" he said "But I don't like boats," she said, "You won't know you are on a ship" he said, "Oh well, if you insist" she said reluctantly. Funnily enough I had really thought that we were going to fly to America and cruise around in an open topped car. Oh well.

So what did he want out of a holiday cruise?

Firstly not to have to fly anywhere.

So that meant Southampton.

Secondly to go on a plush ship.

So that meant the Cunard line.

Thirdly to cruise the Med.

Easy that one, lots of ships do that.

Fourthly, to go in September.

Well, he looked, he pondered and suddenly he said "Hey there is a great offer on the QE2". "Oh no, she said, "that sounds terribly snobby, how can I tell anyone that I am going on that boat?"

But on looking further into it, this sounded the perfect cruise for us, so he booked it.

"I have gone for an upgraded cabin so we get a porthole," he said, "What on earth do we want on of those for?" she answered.

By this point I guess you are thinking what an ungrateful wretch I am, but to be honest I didn't really want to go on this ship and the last time I went on a ferry over the channel I felt so awful that it put me off for life.

To the holiday.

Some couple of months later, after wondering what on earth, out of my rather limited wardrobe, I could pack, after trying in the middle of summer to buy some reasonably priced long dresses, after telling everyone we were going on a boat and reluctantly naming her, we were ready to go.

So with our two cases we drove to Southampton and followed the map and signs to the Cunard Line part of the port. We drove through an underground car park and left our car with a very nice man in a very nice uniform with a very nice smile.

We wandered through to the terminal entrance. Once in the car park you can't miss it because the very large sign says QE2 terminal. We queued for about three minutes and then checked in.

Check in.

Hand in your tickets, smile at the camera, hand over your credit card for them to swipe, and collect some information leaflets and your card with your atrocious picture on it. Lastly you are given a letter and sent on your way.

Wander through to the waiting area. Here it is like an airport terminal, but with no choice of where to buy your tea and coffee. I went to get a drink and the first surprise came my way. The refreshments are complimentary, nice touch that. We went upstairs to the smoking lounge and to look out at the ship.

And there I stood with my mouth open "It is huge!" I could only see a bit of it, just the side with all these portholes. Painted black. I just couldn't see to one end of it or the other and stood like a mad woman swivelling my head from side to side.

After about half an hour, which was just long enough to have our drink and chat to some other people waiting, our letter was called.

We followed the crowd, not a large crowd I might add. As we passed through the doors a man looked at our cards with our photos on, and another man asked us to step to one side while they took our photo. Then we were on our way.

Up the gangplank and someone else called our cabin boy to come and show us to our cabin, his man looked after us all the time we were on board and answered any questions, although he wasn't English so his understanding and answers were somewhat limited.

Our cabin.

Small, compact, twin beds, a dressing table in-between them and on that a huge bouquet of flowers and a card from a friend who knew where we were going. The shower room and toilet were adequate, not large but who wants to spend that much money on a cruise and spend all their time in the shower?
The lighting was ok but not brilliant for applying makeup. The beds we found perfectly comfortable but rather too narrow to accommodate us both for long. The carpet was red, in fact red carpet seemed to be all over the place.

The porthole.

At this point I realised we did want a porthole and was very glad of it, we kneeled on the bed and craned our necks and looked out of it and saw the place we had recently been standing. We pushed and shoved each other so that we could get the best view and we laughed and generally felt very happy.

Were we moving already?

We raced up to the deck, there are six flights of stairs from our deck, and we couldn't wait for the lifts, and when we got there, out of breath and excited, yes we really were moving. Ah, now this is where I thought for the last time "I don't actually like boats". I vaguely thought I should eat a dry biscuit or something just in case but then forgot my hate/fear of boats and started to really enjoy myself.

We watched, transfixed, we raced round to the other side of the ship to see what was there; we raced back again and watched the coastline flowing past. We waved to anybody who waved to us, we ran once again round the other side to watch the Isle of Wight glide past, and then we were out to sea.


Dinner time.

Ah, well I am not that bothered about food, so wasn't too excited. We showered in the small shower and dressed in our formal evening clothes, I sat in front of the mirror and dried my hair and applied a bit of makeup, and although I felt I looked quite nice, I really wasn't over dressed in a long red dress, some of the evening gowns were beautiful.

We already had been allocated "our" table for the 12 nights in the Mauretania Restaurant, although we could also go and eat buffet style in The Lido. There are five restaurants including the Lido, each waiter service restaurant serves a deck, which segregates the higher decks from the lower. I thought this smacked of class distinction a bit, but once that thought came it was gone again and I didn't think about it again.

The other four restaurants:
Queens Grill
Princess Grill
Britannia Grill
Caronia Restaurant

There are also plenty of places to go and have an evening drink, a day time drink, afternoon tea, or just to sit around watching the world go by and saying hello to people.

The Bars:

Grand Lounge
Queens Room
Theatre/Cinema
Yacht Club
Chart Room



So, there we sat, amongst all that finery, and a couple of strangers joined us, so we stood up and shook hands all round and sat in silence. I must give credit to my husband who did try to start a conversation a couple of times but monosyllabic answers didn't exactly help it flow. I will say here that that couple became good friends later in the cruise but that first night made us all pretty shy.

The food.

How can I describe the food? I am not a gourmet, I just eat whatever is around generally, but I do enjoy cooking and I will say it was perfectly cooked and beautifully served.

The starter: A choice of starters, which to me looked more like a main meal. I had avocado and my husband had melon, the other couple had the same.

The main course: After my starter I completely missed out the main course and started to think it was a waste taking me because I don't really eat much, but the rest had delicious looking fillet steaks with sauté potatoes and a side salad.

Dessert: There was such choice; berry crumble, chocolate fudge cake and cream are two that I remember well.

And finally: Not sure what to call this, but we had after dinner coffee, small mint thins, crispy sweet things, and then the waiter came round with a tray of delicious chocolate dipped strawberries, pieces of pastry dipped in chocolate and such delights.

I was already very glad my dress didn't have a waistband.

We wandered round the deck, stopped for a drink or two, yawned a lot and went to bed.

In the middle of the night:

I awoke, what on earth was going on? My head was swaying, oh no it wasn't it was the ship. I climbed out of my bed, and peered out the porthole, The moon lit up the boiling sea, the waves were huge, they crashed around us and past the porthole and were a wondrous sight. "What on earth are you up to?" my husband mumbled from underneath me, I had carefully climbed over him to see out but woke him all the same. "I am watching the sea, the waves are huge." "It's only the entrance to the Bay of Biscay" he muttered and went back to sleep. So I climbed back into my bed and thought what a relaxing feeling it was and slept soundly til morning. The next morning I videoed for ages the huge waves.

We went and had breakfast and explored some more, the wind was terrific and the decks were empty. I went below to find the inside gym and swimming pool only to be told the pool was shut due to the storm we were having. There is a spa, which I had seen pictures of so I went and found that. It was open but was one of the things that you pay extra for. I was so impressed I signed up for the whole cruise, this is easy because you just give your cabin number and the cost is debited off of your husbands credit card.

The spa pool is really warm, like a hot bath, really salty, that is the minerals, and round the edges are places to stand while gushing water massages your body in different places. Afterwards you lay and relax on loungers and have a time in the steam room. Oh what luxury.

After that first day our days fell into a bit of a routine, we walked the deck, sat and watched the sea, seeing first dolphins and then whales, we ate, and ate and ate, and got bigger and bigger, there is a saying about cruising the seas on the QE2. "It isn't so much a cruise but a way of eating your way from country to country."

We had breakfast in the Lido, self service buffet with almost all you could think of in variety and quality of food. Lunched there once again, we could have afternoon tea in any of the lounges or the Lido, that consisted of thin sandwiches with their crusts cut off and delivered by waiters with a smile. We had dinner with friends either in the restaurant or the Lido and of course, I had to go back up to the Lido for the midnight snacks which were a lovely treat in the middle of the night. If you feel like a quiet time and don't want to go to one of the restaurants you can just pick up the phone and order many different sorts of sandwiches, my favourite was a club sandwich whci came with a huge pile of crisps and salad.

On board there are theatres, shops, a cinema, a dance floor with shows and musicians every night, live music on the open deck and a casino which my husband spent a little time in, there is a library so that you can find a book to read while lounging in the sun and wherever you go there always seems to be someone to take your photo. These photos are displayed in the gallery and if you like them you can choose and buy at a rather inflated price.

One evening each deck has cocktails with the captain and he then comes to the restaurant and chats to people while eating with the guests.

I thought this was a bit pretentious but no matter, lots of people seemed to think this was the highlight of the cruise.

One night the Lido put on a special show with the most beautiful food I have ever seen and ice carvings, the time we were there the carvings were dragon themed and very beautiful.

We docked at various different ports most days and enjoyed a day on shore exploring. We had a wonderful time in Lisbon, great fun in Malaga, never got of the ship in Cannes, due to high winds we never actually docked in Palma and then cruised back to Gibraltar and spent 24 hours buying duty free items before cruising back to Southampton.

We had a daily ships newspaper delivered under out cabin door first thing in the morning, we had early morning tea and home made biscuits delivered in bed each morning. Each evening when we retired, our beds were turned back and chocolates left for us to munch in bed, one each. My nightdress was folded into a different shape or flower every night, which made me smile.

The gift shop carried a wide selection of QE2 labelled gifts which cost the earth, we bought some playing cards for $25 and were a bit shocked, but as we still use them a couple of years later I guess they were worth it.

On board you pay for nothing, apart from shopping and drinks everything is included in the price. Your personal shopping and any drinks you have at any of the bars or restaurants are charged to your room and either they take it straight off your credit card or you settle the bill at the end.

There is a really good medical service which I visited only once, I didn't have real need of doctors or nurses but they do have a fully equipped operating theatre which is reassuring when at sea for a long time.

All the staff were friendly and helpful, our cabin was kept reasonably clean and room service which is also included, was quick and good. A pot of tea with biscuits first thing in the morning went down very well.

The pools, one on deck and one in the gym are adequate although not large, the spa and steam room which is extra, is wonderful, there are various deck games played every day which I didn't do, but would be fun for anyone wanting to join in.

There is enough entertainment to keep anyone busy all day and half the night if that is what they enjoy, although it isn't really a young persons cruise ship, and a lot of the entertainment was geared towards the older generation. the shows put on were really good quality and the sound system good.

The ship is old but very plush, in places it is showing it's age and is getting a little shabby, but mostly it is just beautiful. The paintings on various walls are beautiful and some of the old advertisements that are framed and hung are really interesting.

We spent one full day at sea, so I thought it would be a good time to visit the laundry room, washing machines and tumble dryers and in the next room a row of ironing boards. One American lady who had cruised from New York said that she was sure we had one day at sea to give us ladies a chance to iron the mens dress shirts.

All the facts on this ship are on the Cunard website, so if you are interest in all the technical stuff then follow the link below.

http://www.cunard.com/OnBoard/default.asp?OB=QE2& amp;sub=sp

The last morning.

We had a newsletter about disembarking the evening before we docked back at Southampton. Each deck would disembark one at a time, starting at the top, our cabin boy, who served three cabins, would carry our luggage out for us if we left it outside our cabin before retiring to bed on the last night and then we were to wait until our letter was called over the tannoy. Or…if we could carry our own luggage off the ship we could leave at 8am. Well, of course, that was the option we took and boy was the luggage heavy. We dragged it up the stairs and wandered along corridors with it and eventually greeted the outside early morning air. My husband went and found where our car had been parked and we loaded it in and drove home. We talked all the way, told our family and friends what a wonderful time we had had, watched the video, put the photos on the computer and went back to work.

We have wonderful memories of this cruise and my husband is once again looking at the website and seeing what offers they have, thinking already that it is time we booked another luxury cruise and wanting to go back on the QE2.

Would I recommend it?

With reservations yes! Not if you are young and lively,. Not if you don't like walking miles along the decks or fit enough to climb lots of stairs, the lifts were slow and busy. But for a middle aged couple then yes, we had a great time and so did the other people we became quite friendly with while on board.

Thanks for reading, Sue:o)

Summary: Luxury cruising with a feeling of being back in the past somewhere.