Our room was fitted out with a very comfortable king bed, a love seat, desk, coffee table, two night-stands, excellent closet space, a safe, and an efficient bathroom with shower, sink and toilet.  Missing was a vase to put flowers.  Upon boarding the ship, the women were given a rose, but we had nowhere to put this rose anywhere in the stateroom.  In the days of the trans-Atlantic liners, it was common to have a vase in the staterooms because flowers were often given to passengers from friends and family wishing a bon voyage.   The color scheme had light woods, and black trim, and soft beige colors for the bed spread and the carpet.  Curtains were white and beige.  A television was on the desk in the corner of the room, and doubled as a computer terminal to check email.  A wireless keyboard was conveniently stashed in a drawer on the desk.  A TV “clicker” or remote was handy to be able to browse through the channels from bed.  The lighting in the room was pleasant, not too bright, and plenty of light when needed.  I think the choice of light-bulbs and the positioning of the lights in the ceiling, created a rich ambiance in the room.  On a long trip, say a World cruise, the room would be comfortable, but it might get a bit cramped with more clothes, and with purchases in the ports piling up. The size of the room is perfect, however, for the 6 day trans-Atlantic crossings, or shorter cruises.  The bed was a “Beautyrest” and was very soft and comfortable, especially with the soft linens and comforter.  The pillows were fluffy & soft and were easy to conform to fit the most comfortable position. One of the new amenities with Cunard, and aboard the QM2, is a “pillow concierge” service, where guests can choose the type of pillow they prefer.    We never once saw our steward, but then it was only a short two-night cruise.  The one feature that I was most looking forward to was having a balcony.  In all my cruising, never once did I have a private balcony.  There was teak decking on our balcony with two chairs to lounge on and watch the lifeboats.  From a sitting position it would be tough to see the ocean because of the boats right outside of the room, but it would still be a great vantage point to sit in the sun.  The one particular thing I wanted to do was leave the door to the balcony open all night long and bath in the sounds of the ocean passing at least eight decks below us.  There was a gentle ocean breeze through out the night with our balcony door open, and the combination of the sound and the light breeze was relaxing, soothing and just plain refreshing.  I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to experience that sea air in the middle of the Atlantic.  It might get a little old leaving the door open every night.  When the door was closed, however, it was very quiet in the room.  We ordered breakfast in bed, which was the one and only time we would be able to do that.  You can either order breakfast from the interactive TV in the room, or you can fill out the card and place it on the door before you go to bed.  Our breakfast was delivered right on time. The eggs and sausages were hot, the milk & juices were cold, and the pastries were tasty.  I also ordered cereal, but there was no bowl to put the cereal, so I didn’t eat it.  This was no continental breakfast…and it was more than adequate to start the day fresh.  Our invisible room steward of course turned down the bed for us, and there was a delicious chocolate on the nightstand.  I only wish we weren’t so busy trying to explore the ship, so we could have spent more time relaxing in our stateroom, but there was so much to do and see, and so little time, with only two nights on the ship.

            

Dining

Before I left for this trip to the QM2 I planned out what I'd like to do onboard, and I also had a "dining" wish list, which included a lunch in Todd English and dinner in one of the other specialty restaurants.  When I called ahead to inquire about what to expect regarding our dining options, I was told that we would be eating in the Britannia Restaurant, but Todd English, and the specialty dinning areas in the Kings Court were not going to be open or available to us.  When we arrived in our stateroom, there was a letter waiting for us with incredible news!  Because our invitation was as a member of the media, we were given the exclusive opportunity to dine in the Queen's Grill for the two nights and in Todd English for lunch during our one day at sea.  To put the dining aboard QM2 in perspective, this ship has carried over the Cunard tradition of a class system surviving only in the choice of dinning and stateroom options.  The ship has two main dining options, the Britannia Restaurant, which is closer to the mass-market style of dinning on many other cruise ships and then there's the exclusive Grill Restaurants for only a small number of passengers in deluxe and suite accomodations.  Your stateroom category determines if you will be in the Britannia, or Grill restaurants, but of course you pay more for the higher category staterooms.  The grill restaurants are also divided into two categories, the Princess Grill and what is perceived to be the ultimate in five star dinning, the exquisite Queen's Grill. On the Queen Elizabeth 2 there is more distinction between the Princess Grill and Queens Grill, but on QM2 both dining rooms are nearly identical.  It would be interesting to know if there are more amenities than Princess Grill, when dining in the Queens Grill, other than the exclusive Queens Grill lounge adjacent to the entrance of the Queens Grill Restaurant.

 

I was thrilled to know that we would be dining in the Queens Grill, both nights of which were formal…what a treat!  It was the perfect opportunity for me to bring my bride out for two nights of fine dining in what I expected to be the finest cuisine and service available on the sea or on land.  I was not disappointed, but I do have some observations about the level of service.  Perhaps it was the fact that some of the waiters were new to working on a ship, or were still in training. Maybe because this was only a two night cruise for travel agents and the media, but there were some notable areas where the service fell short only slightly.  There was no connection to our waiter.  Our waiter seemed to be very mechanical as he served us, with little finesse or personality.  We experienced the same type of service from several different waiters the two nights we ate in the Queens Grill. It was difficult to know who our waiter was, because it seemed the waiter staff used a tag-team effort to serve us.  There was a lack of attention to detail among the waiters we had, for example, our imported Norwegian water was not refilled in a timely manner, one night we didn't get bread and had to ask for it twice.  More attention was given to keeping our wine glasses full than our water glasses.  The waiters were friendly, but the pageantry of dining in a five star restaurant fell short because the waiters lacked that personal touch, the finesse and joy that should be present.   The cuisine was excellent, however, it did take a long time for the main entrée to arrive.  The presentation on the plate was excellent and the choices on the menu were numerous.  One night my wife ordered the  “Slow Roasted Beef Rib, Braised Onion Confit & Fondant Potato”, while I had “Grilled Seafood, Courgette & Sweet Corn Risotto”. The ambiance in the dinning room was pleasant, with mostly soft tones, and candle-lit in the evening.

 

I’m certain that the level of service and the quality of the food was greater in the Grill restaurant, than what was offered in the Britannia Restaurant, because of the many comments I heard from the travel agents who dined there.  I did not have first-hand experience with the dinning in the Britannia Restaurant, but the scuttlebutt was that the service was very slow, and the food was not memorable.  The Britannia Restaurant is an absolutely beautiful room, however, with tall white columns, an enormous tapestry as the centerpiece, and a back-lit, domed ceiling, similar to the rooms from ocean liners of the past.  Indirect lighting sconces reminiscent of the original Queen Mary adorned the grand staircase that swept down to the main floor from the second level.  The three deck high Britannia Restaurant is the first multi-leveled dinning room ever to be built into a Cunard liner.  This restaurant was seemingly the most photographed room on the ship, because of it’s grand proportions, nostalgic wood paneling, and art deco décor.

 

The Britannia Restaurant and the Grill Restaurants were not the only choices for dining, however, which leads me to describing the various alternative dining options onboard the QM2.  In addition to our exclusive opportunity to dine in the Queens Grill, we were also given, as a member of the media, an invitation to experience the cuisine of Todd English.  Similar to the Verandah Grill aboard the original Queen Mary, located aft on Deck 8, and overlooking a pool deck terrace, Todd English is a specialty restaurant for those passengers wishing to try something new, in a more intimate environment than their usual designated dining room.  It was said that passengers crossing on the Queen Mary, in the early days, had to make reservations months in advance to dine in the chic Verandah Grill.  The Verandah Grill had room for a small ensemble, a piano, and a dance floor, with windows overlooking the Sun Deck, and was the most sought after place to dine on the north Atlantic.  Todd English, was recognized in People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” list.  His gourmet Mediterranean cuisine has amazed people in a Boston restaurant called Olives, and now his award-winning food can be experienced aboard the QM2.  My wife and I enjoyed the “Todd English” experience.  People who wanted to just take a look were turned away, because only the few members of the media onboard were given the privilege of trying out the Todd English restaurant.  I ordered two entrees, so I could better sample the options on the menu.  I ordered a squash-filled ravioli main course and Brown Butter Saute Turbot Filet, as my second entrée, both choices of which were exquisite.  My wife had the rotisserie chicken with French fries cooked with rosemary.  We sat at a window with a sea-view, but the majority of diners opted for the tables looking out to the pool terrace.  The celebrity chef himself, Todd English, whom we had an opportunity to meet, was present on this voyage, and we were told that he actually created our entrees personally in the galley.  Originally, Todd English was intended to be included in the passenger’s fare, as an alternative dining option and by reservations only, but demand was so high during the maiden voyage and first couple of cruises, and the restaurant proved to be so popular, that Cunard Line will now add a supplemental fee for passengers wishing to dine in this exclusive restaurant.  Passengers will also be restricted to dining in Todd English only one time during any voyage, to let everyone have an opportunity to experience this alternative dining venue.

 

Other dining options include the King’s Court area with numerous dining outlets, similar to an upscale mall food court.  There’s a chefs gallery where passengers can watch their food being prepared by a chef through windows and a multi-media presentation involving cameras and monitors.  There’s an Asian food venue and several buffet areas.  Bar-food’s like fish & chips, can also be ordered at the Golden Lion Pub.  Room service provides an excellent breakfast-in-bed experience.  Finally hamburgers and hotdogs among other foods are available at the Boardwalk Café, high up on Deck 12.  There’s no shortage of food aboard the QM2.

 

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