Greetings all,

Yes, I recently returned from 24 days aboard QM2, roundtrip Rio for Carnival. Unfortunately, I, along with many other passengers with whom I am in touch, have neen laid low by severe colds, bronchitis, strep throat, etc. I'm feeling better now, and so will scribble off some lines about the ship and our cruise...

Firstly, I am NOT a reviewer, and will undoubtedly forget many important and juicy details. Therefore, if you have any specific questions about QM2, feel free to ask away.

I will say from the start that the ship is WAY TOO BIG for our taste, but we knew that going in. I wanted to experience the largest vessel ever built, and the opportunity of having 4 full days and nights in Rio at Carnival was simply a dream come true...

Our taste in cruising is much more on the smaller ships of RSSC, Windstar, Oceania, etc., and we're booked for next October on the final sailing of Cunard's Caronia (650 pax).

Now, some of the salient points:

Embarkation, and disembarkation, in Ft. Lauderdale was a nightmare, just total chaos, but I guess that should be expected when we're talking about 2400 passengers... (altho from what I hear Royal Caribbean is able to pull it off without a hitch...)

Our cabin southbound was a "hull balcony," which I didn't use except occasionally as a private railing. My feeing about this is: if you want a balcony on QM2, spend the extra money and get a "true" balcony. Our stewardess on this leg for 12 days was worthless!!! She hated her job, and it showed! Had to ask repeatedly (3 days) for a small bottle of shampoo, altho she always kept us well-stocked with conditioner and body lotion... Cabin was made up on her schedule, not ours, sometimes as late as 3 PM. Ugh... And the cabin wasn't made up at all our last nite in Rio before our move to:

Cabin number 2, which was a HUGE standard outside cabin with a BIG window. Highly recommended, and a very well-kept secret. Would take the large outside any day, especially on a transatlantic. Cabin could comfortably handle a standup cocktail party for 8 or more... Our stewardess here was a treasure, and beyond superb! Cabin was always ready by the time we returned from breakfast, etc. Sherwin (her name) would easily be a good fit on RSSC, and anticipated our needs before we had to ask... She gets a gold star!

We had 2nd seating, table for 2, per our request.
While we are not by nature anti-social, we do enjoy our 2-tops, and I thank Cunard for getting this right!... Service and food quality in the Britannia dining room was hit and miss. Both our waiter and assistant had boarded with us in Ft. Lauderdale, so were still learning their way around. With 24 days aboard, we all got into a groove together, and while the service may at times have been lacking, their good humor made up for some of it! We were told that a lot of the service problems were actually galley problems; perhaps... Clearly, this is an area that Cunard needs to address, and soon! Kay and I ate all our breakfasts and lunches in Britannia, so cannot speak to King's Court, the casual "lido" type eatery. Had 2 dinners in the Todd English restaurant. All I can say is that the food and service were fabulous, altho too rich for our taste, and portions way too big...
We did not have to pay the $30 pp supplement which has since gone into effect at Todd English. Would we pay it now? Probably not...
Had one dinner at Lotus, Asian fusion. Not good. Had one dinner at La Piazza: extraordinary lamb rack on my plate, mediocre beef on Kay's...

Entertainment: we saw both production shows which were really rather good. Passed on comedians, magicicians, vocalists, etc.

Lectures: from brilliant to dismal... FYI, there were at least 3 lectures a day in Illuminations, the finest lecture venue I have ever experienced on a cruise ship!

Patricia Neal was on board for the first leg; we enjoyed her talk and good company. What an amazing lady and life story!!!

Illuminations also hosts the only planetarium at sea. There are 3 shows in rotation, and we saw the 2 more popular ones. Very nicely done, and recommended.

Public rooms and ship design: well layed out once you get your bearings straight. (We are talking about 150,000 tons, here.) Many reviewers have said that the ship never feels crowded. I respectfully disagree. There were often crowds, depending on room and function...

Ports: we could care less about any port in the Caribbean, so I won't even mention them. We did enjoy our day in Salvador da Bahia, which is easily done without a paid shore excursion. But the star attraction was Rio, and it is truly amazing, and gorgeous. Our nite at the Sambadrome is one we will never forget, and I thank Cunard for our reserved seat tickets. We could have gone back for a 2nd nite but we were done in from the nite before: 9:30 PM to 7:00 AM, and it was still going on.... and on....
We had a private guide/driver for 2 full days in Rio: Pedro Novak who is highly recommended, and not expensive at all. We would use his services again in a heart beat... If you're interested I can give you his email address.

That's about it. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise, and made lots of new friends. We probably will never sail QM2 again, it's just too big. But all-in-all an unforgettable cruise experience. And Rio is Rio...

Respectfully submitted,

Donald