Cunard Queen Mary 2 Honest Ship Review
Here’s my full review of Cunard Line’s ocean liner Queen Mary 2.
As someone who loves both books and cruising, I’m a big fan of Cunard Line.
During a time when many cruise companies are removing literary spaces from their ships, Cunard continues to feature show stopping libraries housing thousands of individual titles. So when I saw that the Queen Mary 2 was setting off on a two night summer Jurassic Coast sailing, I jumped at the chance to get onboard this iconic ship.
In this article I share my honest thoughts about the Queen Mary 2, including how well she has been maintained, what I thought of the food, and whether I will sail on her again.
Queen Mary 2 Essential Facts
Year launched: 2003
No of public decks: 14
Total passengers: 2691
Total crew: 1173
Length of ship: 1132 ft
About the Queen mary 2 Ocean Liner
The Queen Mary 2 is one of the world’s most famous ships. Designed to traverse the Atlantic Ocean in all seasons, she’s the largest ocean liner ever built - and the last.
First launched in 2003 and christened by her godmother, Queen Elizabeth the Second in 2004, the QM2 completed her 400th transatlantic crossing in 2024. To date she’s transported many thousands of passengers to locations around the world, both on her Atlantic and world cruise sailings.
What’s the Difference Between a cruse ship and an ocean liner?
While liners were built primarily as a method of transportation, moving passengers from one destination to another, modern cruise ships are designed for leisure.
As air travel became more popular towards the end of the 20th century, liners started to become redundant and ceased in production. That makes the Queen Mary 2 a part of history.
Ocean liners don’t just have a different purpose, they’re built differently too. Liners sit lower in the water and have thicker hulls to help them withstand the Atlantic winter. Cruise ships tend to be more top heavy, and while modern vessels are very robust, their structure is fundamentally different from an ocean liner.
Embarking the Queen Mary 2
My journey started in Southampton’s Mayflower Terminal, which is located in the Western Docks. It was a blisteringly hot day and I couldn’t wait to board the ship and start our journey down the Jurassic Coast. I was lucky and had a late boarding time, which meant that I missed an earlier delay caused by issues with the air bridge, moving through the terminal and onto the ship in less than an hour.
Embarking a new ship is always one of my favourite parts of any cruise. I find such a thrill in exploring for the first time, and as this was just a two day voyage, I didn’t want to miss a thing.
My first impression of the Queen Mary 2 was positive. The crew were very friendly and the aircon was amazing. As I walked through the grand lobby and headed to my stateroom, I was excited to find out whether the QM2 was still the elegant ship that she was known to be, or whether she had become tired over the last 20+ years of service.
Dining and Restaurants
The ship has some stunning dining areas and operates on a class system that aligns to the category of your cabin. As I was staying in a Britannia Balcony cabin, I was assigned to the QM2’s stunning Britannia Restaurant.
This is the ship’s main dining room and is available to all guests. It’s a spectacular space that spans three decks and features a sweeping central staircase. This is where I ate on my first evening, and I found that the service was excellent.
Unfortunately I happen to be a bit of a fussy eater, and I’m not particularly fond of traditional British cuisine. So while the general experience was good, I didn’t like the vegetarian options that they had available. My partner on the other hand loves this kind of food, and there were plenty of dishes for him to choose from.
The serving staff were very kind and asked me several times whether my food was ok, and if I would like them to bring me something else. I felt bad that I’m just a really picky eater!
Instead I found that the food in King’s Court, also known as the buffet, was delicious. There was lots to choose from, including a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the selection on offer changed each night.
On the second night I was delighted to find a selection of vegetarian curries, along with South Asian sides like onion bhajis and vegetable pakoras. They even had dosas, which were freshly prepared by a chef at a live cooking station. As far as buffets go, this was excellent!
While we were onboard we of course had to try Cunard’s famous afternoon tea, which is served in the elegant Queen’s Room. This is really popular and unfortunately we were unable to get a table on this occasion. Top tip: make sure you arrive early if you want to get in!
Fortunately we were able to make our way to King’s Court instead, where they were serving all of the same food. I saw the chefs unloading hundreds of delicious scones at one point, and the sandwiches and cream cakes were all on offer too.
What other Options Are There?
You won’t find many alternative dining venues on the Queen Mary 2, but there are a few.
Steakhouse at The Verandah is an additional cost restaurant serving steak, beef and seafood. It’s open for lunch and dinner on sea days, and even has a few vegetarian options.
The Golden Lion is the ship’s pub, and offers a mix of included and additional fee options. Here you can order classic British pub food including fish and chips, pies and burgers with chunky chips. This is definitely somewhere I would want to try if I was embarking on a longer voyage as the pub had a great atmosphere.
Small snacks are also available at Sir Samuels throughout the day, which is a coffee bar and lounge.
Finally, you can of course order room service. Breakfast can be pre-ordered the night before by filling out a card and hanging it outside your door. It’s included for all categories of stateroom for no extra cost, which is a nice treat, as this often requires an additional fee on other lines. Lunch and dinner are also available to order for a small cost, and is free for Britannia Club and Grill Suite guests.
If you like to order room service then this may be a good enough reason for you to upgrade to a higher category of cabin.
Entertainment
With only two nights onboard, I did my very best to sample as much entertainment as possible.
The photos below show the Illuminations, which was formerly the planetarium. I believe that the screen on the ceiling will be fully removed during next year’s refit, but I actually don’t mind as I think this space makes a lovely cinema. They were playing the new Wuthering Heights movie in here when I walked by one afternoon, and it’s definitley somewhere I can see myself spending time on a sea day.
I love live theatre, so of course I had to stop by the QM2’s impressive Royal Court Theatre one evening. This is a lovely space, spread across two floors with plush, comfortable seating. We turned up around 15 minutes before the second showing and managed to get decent seats, although it is popular and does fill up quickly.
The performance on our second night was a jukebox show called Broadway Rocks, and I was impressed by the versatility of the theatre company who performed songs and dance numbers from a variety of musicals. It was fast paced, with lots of costume changes, and is clearly a crowd pleaser.
A nice touch in here was the waiting staff, who roved around the theatre prior to the beginning of the show, taking drinks orders and delivering them to your seat.
Elsewhere in the ship, I found there was a buzzing evening atmosphere with musical performances taking place in many of the bars. The Commodore Club seems to be a ship favourite, with low lighting and a pianist tinkling away tunes like The Pink Panther and the James Bond theme.
The Carinthia Lounge had a lively atmosphere throughout the day, and seems to be the best spot for a quiz or trivia session. Other bars and nightlife venues available include the Chart Room, Laurent Perrier Champagne bar and G32, which is the ship’s designated nightclub. Additional bars are also located in the Casino, Cigar Lounge, and by some of the pools.
I’ve also included Sir Samuels here as, although it serves food, this is also a great place for a daytime coffee or an espresso martini in the evening.
Below Left: the Carinthia Lounge, Below Right: Sir Samuels
Above Left: the Golden Lion, Above Right: the Chart Room
Never let anyone tell you there’s nothing to do on a Cunard ship. I may have only been onboard for a few days but my experience was quite the opposite!
Swimming Pools
I was surprised to find that the Queen Mary 2 has a number of swimming pools for guests to choose from. My favourite was the indoor Pavilion Pool, which has a retractable roof, bar and two jacuzzis. This seemed like a chilled, quiet place to relax when compared to the deck 8 Terrace Pool, which is adults only and much more lively!
Families will find a generously sized family area available for them on deck 6, which comes with its own Minnow Pool, located just outside the kids club. I’ve heard that this might either be removed or reduced in size during the next refurbishment, which is a shame, as I was impressed by how large this area was.
Above Left: the Pavilion Pool, Above Right: the Terrace Pool
If that wasn’t enough, there’s also an indoor pool in the spa (payment required for access), and a splash pool for children on deck 12.
The Library
Of course, I had to dedicate a whole section to my favourite part of the ship - the library!
The Queen Mary 2 has a fantastic library with an extensive range of books, featuring a wide range of titles and genres. There’s definitely enough in here to occupy guests for a week long transatlantic cruise.
The physical space itself is also much larger than it looks from the photos. There’s multiple cosy seating areas where guests can relax, and lovely window seats where you can read while watching the ocean roll by. I love the whole vibe, with the dark wooden interiors and neatly stacked rows of books.
The library has set opening hours each day when you can check out books to read at your leisure. Outside of these times the bookcases are locked but the space itself is still accessible.
If you haven’t decided to splurge on the onboard internet, then you may wish to use one of the computers here which are located down one end of the library and are free to use. I actually like using cruises as an opportunity for a digital detox, and can imagine myself using one of these on the occasion that I need to contact someone at home.
My Favourite Hidden Gem
I wish I could take the credit for this but it was actually my partner who found the Queen Mary 2’s Scenic Elevator.
This elevator isn’t an actual secret, although there is limited signage and it made me wonder how many people actually discover it during their voyage. We used the elevator several times and it was always empty, which leads me to believe it may be relatively unknown!
The Scenic Elevator is located by the library, and handily for me ascended straight up to the forward end of deck 11, just moments from my cabin. Watch the video below to see just how close it was.
I’m not sure what the long term plan is for the Scenic Elevator with the renovation that’s coming up in 2027, so I’d advise you to make the most of it now. I hope that Cunard keep it as it was such a cool find!
Cabins
The Queen Mary 2 has a variety of staterooms, ranging from the cheapest inside cabins to the largest penthouse suite. I opted for a Britannia Balcony, which I found to be very comfortable, clean and well decorated.
These staterooms have clearly been well maintained over the years, and my cabin felt pleasingly comfortable. The only area that needs updating is the bathroom that, while it looks dated, works perfectly and was very clean. While I’d love to see a new bathroom in here, it definitely wasn’t a dealbreaker for me.
To read more about my cabin, with the exact location and additional photos, read my Queen Mary 2 cabin review here.
Final Thoughts
Did I enjoy sailing on the Queen Mary 2? The answer is absolutely, yes. There are so many things to love about the world’s last ocean liner.
The ship itself feels well maintained, retaining a sense of old fashioned elegance while still being comfortable for the modern day. I was pleased to find that my cabin was spacious and fresh, despite the dated bathroom, with a generously sized balcony and lots of storage space. It’s definitely somewhere that I can imagine spending my time during a long voyage.
Reading by a window in the library
Exploring the rest of what the Queen Mary 2 had to offer was a lot of fun, despite the limited time I had onboard. The ship felt roomy, with plenty of cosy nooks for me to while away my time during a transatlantic crossing. I found a corridor full of window seats and partially completed jigsaw puzzles, and explored the library with its several thousand books.
If you add the delicious scones, grand ballroom, and plenty of evening entertainment, this ship is definitely somewhere I plan to revisit in the future. Transatlantic voyage maybe?
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