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10 day .Lisbon,Sardinia,Cannes,Barcelona,Gibraltar
Reviewed By: Marshall, Southampton on 25th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: Cunard Cruises	Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: Queen Elizabeth 2	Sailed: August, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 36-45

Living as I do on Southampton water I have watched the QE2 pass by on numerous occasions. I therefore decided to take a trip before she retires, to experience that famed style and service, and no doubt like hundreds of other first time QE2 passengers to be able to say " I did it". First of all one must acknowledge that the ship is 40 years old and inevitably "starting to creak a bit" (like most 40 year olds I suspect ! ) In fact it did, quite literally, creak quite a lot, a co-diner of mine had a cabin with 'something loose inside the wall' - according to the ships carpenter, who eventually materialised on the 5th day. This brings me to the main critisism of Cunard, ie that the much hyped customer care was not always in evidence to say the least. We found the barstaff and cabin stewards to be excellent, although there were not enough barstaff on duty at peak times. The waiters at our table were wonderful although I know that this was not everyones experience, indeed we did encounter one or two very surly attitudes during free-seating lunch. The front desk staff of the Pursers Office were awfull. They did not seem to have any idea of customer care, even to pay lipservice to. Small complaints became big issues for some people because of this seeming disregard. The lady I referred to above was so sleep-deprived that she looked ill, I went with her to the Pursers Office on her third visit and witnessed the totally off-hand way in which she was spoken to. The "Famous White Star Service" should at least have manifested itself in an expression of sympathy even if there were no free cabins for her to transfer to. They could have offered her a day pass to the spa area (normally $15), which would have actually cost them nothing, thus enabling her to rest in a quiet environment - AND SHOWN SOME GOODWILL ! A few weeks before sailing, in upsetting circumstances, I lost my travelling companion. I decided to go ahead with the trip, and called Cunard , trying to subude my distress, to tell them what had happened. My main worry was that there would be an empty space set at dinner as this would be very painful for me to cope with. I knew that it was too late to get any kind of refunfd. The girl I spoke to was more embarrassed than understanding and told me I would have to go through my agent. This I promptly did, confirmed by email. My agent, Sarah Eltham from Travel Counsellors was fantastic - so supportive and even put flowers in my cabin. Not so Cunard. At check in both names were still present on the documentation. The only time that my change of circumstanses was acknowledged was at the handover of ships identity cards when the supervisor interviened to make sure that a second card was not handed over with the curt words ' oh yes- not travelling' I was given my dining table plan, still with both names on it, so I went straight to the Pursors Office. Despite my obvious distress there was no interest shown at all, I was dissmissively told to speak to the Maitre D that evening. I spoke to someone in the resauraunt during the afternoon but they did not uderstand enough English nor nor did they offer to find someone who did! Consequently, at dinner I was still faced with the empty seat that had so tearfully attempted to avoid. The food was excellent for most, though not all, of the time. The Grand Showlounge was AWFULL - seats crammed in rows in the central well of a small shopping mall YUK YUK YUK! I have been on ships much smaller than QE2 (one of which was a 'budget' line - never again) which put this to shame. I'm told that the performers were actually very good. I couldn't bear to sit in that space myself, which is quite something as the after dinner shows are usually something I really look forward to. Stragely located (and rather a lot of) smoking areas were a bit of an issue too as they were virtually impossibe to avoid walking through, being midships. Also there did not seen to be any extraction fans so it all tended to drift into adjacent areas. Now, I'm not particularly evangelical in my dislike of smoke, but The Golden Lion Pub, which looked a hoot and had the olypmics on the sports screens (which I was desperate to watch) was rendered pretty much off limitsfor a lot of us because of this. Even some smokers who I spoke to said how choking the atmosphere was in there! Afternoon tea was lovely, I hope that they maintain this tradition. The enlightenment lecturers were superb. I particularly apreciated the repeats of lectures on the in-cabin TV in case of clashes with other activities. SUPER gym. Cheap and nasty sunbeds. Hygiene - hand disinfecting enforcement non existant! Overall : QE2 is lovelier to look at than be on - a bit like Joan Collins - still sleek and beautiful fron a distance, but up-close she's really showing her showing her age! Given the ships age, her place in history and in our hearts, most of us will forgive her physical shortcomings. after all she is only 3 months fron retirement and I for one am glad that I sailed on her. HOWEVER Cunard should be concerned that shortcommings relating to 'fair wear and tear' which are specific to the QE2 can not be written off so easily. For this reason I think carefully before booking with them again.
Quality of Food

Entertainment

Shore Excursions
Gaudis Barcelona Lisbon by tran was a total rip-off. 1/4 price to do it independently other passengers complained about 'Highlights of Barcelona' - which did not include Sagradia Familia ( a bit like London without Buck House)
Staff
Marco our waiter - we all wanted to adopt him
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities

Cabins

Overall Rating

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Comment by McFadyen, Johnstone (02 Sep 08 11:03) about this REVIEW.

We have just returned from a cruise on QE2 and do not agree with you that there were no hand disinfectants. There was one in the Lido restaurant and also one at the entrance to Princes Grill restaurant.

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Hother, Formby (26 Aug 08 11:14) about this REVIEW.

We have just returned from this cruise,having cruised on QE2 on 15 other occasions. We enjoyed every minute of our cruise. The staff where fantastic as usual, dealing with every whim of the passengers.On every cruise there are hard to please people,and I can only speak as we found. The staff at the pursers office dealt very efficiently with our queries. The only complaint we had was indeed the smoking in public areas. This was our last cruise on QE2 and will in future travel on QM2 or QV. Having travelled with other lines, Cunard comes out tops for us.

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Davies, Pontypridd (26 Aug 08 09:18) about this REVIEW.

I am sorry that this passenger did not enjoy the QE2 experience! We have had excellent cruises on the QE2 for the last 5 years. Although I agree with the smoking arrangements we managed to avoid the smoke by walking through on the other side of the ship (port side) which was smoke free! We had lovely cabins ( we did a back to back cruise from 31at July to the 22nd August 08) on both cruises. We were lucky enough to have been upgraded for the 2nd cruise and had an outside cabin! We found the Purser's office helpful if we had any queries. I did not enjoy some of the shows at the Grand Lounge but that would be according to people's taste anyway! We seldom do any of the excursions offered by Cunard and tend to do our own thing. As to the hygiene issue, there were disinfectant containers placed at all eating areas for our use. We disinfected our hands each time we entered the dining rooms!

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Comment by Kelly, Northants (06 Sep 08 11:26) about a COMMENT by Davies (26 Aug 08 09:18)

We met you on the first leg of your back-to-back cruise at the wine tasting and enjoyed your company at the cocktail party. Say hello to Elaine and Myra, from Tricia.

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Comment by Davies, Pontypridd (07 Sep 08 01:21) about a COMMENT by Kelly (06 Sep 08 11:26)

Hi there! How lovely of you to realise who sent the comment! Do you enjoy reading the comments by other cruisers too! Some of them are quite bizarre! Regards to you both! Elaine and David x

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Comment by Kelly, Northants (08 Sep 08 10:27) about a COMMENT by Davies (07 Sep 08 01:21)

Hello David and Elaine, yes we very much enjoy the varied opinions expressed in the reviews like the one above (we wish you well, Mr Marshall), and the regular contributors are very well informed and well worth reading. The more bizarre the better! I see from one of your comments elsewhere that you have another back-to-back booked. Hope you have a brilliant champagne-fuelled cruise. All the best, Tricia x

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