QM2 NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO
Review of Cunard QM2 by MarineBoy (06 Aug 06)
Viewed 1060 times

Overall Rating


I was thrilled to be leaving London in February and heading towards an exotic South American destination. I had arranged this holiday for myself and two friends, (one of whom I had met on QE2 in 1992 in my 20's) and we were to be sharing a "hull balcony" cabin. We arrived in New York late afternoon to freezing and windy weather, boarding the ship the following day after spending a night in the JFK Holiday Inn (avoid if possible, service appallingly slow at breakfast and hotel itself tired and run down). The ship looked splendid with ice jewels hanging down from every ledge. It was my third time on QM2 (previously the Maiden Voyage and a separate Caribbean cruise) and I have always been pleased with the style, service and ambience afforded by the ship and her crew. We sailed from New York on a clear crisp day and headed at full speed to collect passengers from Fort Lauderdale, so the weather quickly warmed up. Dinner the first night out was a splendid affair as we slowly became acqainted with our other nine dining companions. I have never been disappointed with the food on Cunard ships, consistency and quality can be relied upon. Whilst leaving Fort Lauderdale one of the 4 ships propellers struck a rock and we were forced to turn back whilst investigations were carried out. We left the following evening but were not able to call into scheduled stops of St. Kitts, St. Thomas or Salvador de Bahia but instead went direct to Rio de Janeiro for a sea passage of nine days non-stop. I was concerned about how one of my guests would feel about being "trapped" on a ship for 9 days but he was delighted ! So much to do and so many people to meet. Some passengers were very disappoined, but the reason for going on a cruise is really to enjoy the ship and this ship is very much to be enjoyed. Our cabin, a standard balcony with twin beds and a sofa bed was quite crampt for three adults, a great pity with these new ships is that no single berths are available and the single supplement often makes the trip unaffordable. We were pleased to be offered a 50% refund due to the change in itinery, but this was later increased to 100% which also included our additional 3 day stopover in Rio so we were absolutely thrilled - well done Cunard !

Quality of Food	Service	Entertainement	Childrens' Facilities
Cabins	Spa / Fitness Facilities	Shore Excursions

« Back to all QM2 ship reviews

View Cruises on this ship

Add a ship review