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Cunard's other ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2, is almost as famous as its new sibling. The 70,327-ton, 1791 passenger ship was launched in 1969. The Queen Elizabeth 2 is still doing what it was designed for, providing fast transatlantic crossings (it remains the only ship doing so on a regular schedule) and undertaking a series of short and long cruises to the Caribbean and Bermuda from both the United States and United Kingdom. Its high speed allows it to get from its homeport to the Caribbean quicker than nearly all other ships.
The ship has an intensely loyal following, with passengers coming back year after year. They'll even book the same cabin and dine in the same restaurant, often even at the same table. There are also those who come once to say they have done it, and may never come again. The the QE 2 Itineraries; Transatlantic, Bermuda, Caribbean, New England and Canada, South America, Europe, Africa and The Canary Islands.
Entertainment:
The QE2's Grand Lounge is not set up for big Vegas-style production shows, but the smaller shows performed there are decent. Throughout the ship are cabaret acts, singers, small bands, large bands, cocktail and classical pianists, a harpist, and karaoke. There's a great house band for dancing the fox-trot, jitterbug, tango, and waltz in the Queen's Room, a traditional ballroom. (And attention single ladies: There are always gentlemanly hosts sailing on board with whom you can dance and chat.) Throughout the ship there are nearly a dozen bars and entertainment lounges, and the Golden Lion Pub is always a favorite watering hole. The ship's library stocks videos for in-cabin viewing by suite passengers; there's a large movie theater as well, if the big screen serves you better.
Theme cruises are regularly planned for QE 2 crossings and cruises, ranging from the Britain's top society jazz band and themed balls in the Queen's Room, the culinary cooking, Murder At Sea.
Dance Class, pre-lunch jazz concert or mellow music with Bloody Marys, an art auction, post lunch bridge party, matinee movie showing old time and sometimes very new releases, afternoon table games (including Whist), a variety of quiz shows and games, an art class featuring water colors, Tea Dancing in the Queen' Room, and of course, bingo. Late afternoons have more work out classes, more cocktail music and of course, on sea days - the casino with its usual games of chance. There's also dancing in the Yacht Club, socializing in the sophisticated piano bar, Crystal Bar, or a more subdued setting in the Chart Room with a harpist or pianist for background music, depending on the hour. There's always the less formal Golden Lion Pub where a jazz jam session is spontaneous. The Yacht Club provides a mood change with a Caribbean band.
Public Areas:
Nearly all the public rooms range over two complete decks (Upper and Quarter Decks) and offer a great variety of venues for socializing and special functions, or for just sitting with a book. Every public room has been redone several times over, so the decor is now both traditional and up-to-date but not dated, using effects like burled wood paneling, royal-blue carpets, art-deco-style room dividers in the Mauretania Restaurant, a teak deck in the Yacht Club bar, and etched glass and wood partitions in the Golden Lion Pub, where you can choose from an impressive selection of international beers and ales. The Chart Room, a lovely two-part lounge bar, has a harpist alternating with a pianist who plays the room's centerpiece, the grand piano from the old Queen Mary. The boxy, convention-hall-like theater shows movies and is the venue for lectures. It's not one of the ship's loveliest spaces. (Not by a long shot.) The mahogany-walled Queens Room is the spot for formal afternoon tea and after-dinner dancing, while a mini-Harrods shop sells the ubiquitous green totes, stuffed bears, and cookies. Other shops sell Bally shoes, Wedgwood china, Waterford crystal, maritime antiques, and maritime collectibles (including an ornate pair of officer's epaulettes and a porthole).
Cunard's heritage is all over the ship. Most notable are huge oil paintings located in the central stairway, one of Queen Elizabeth (which the Queen Mother commissioned for the QE2's long-gone older sister, the original Queen Elizabeth) and another of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip that once hung in the main lounge of the old green-hulled world cruiser Caronia, which sailed from 1948 until early 1968. The 10-foot lighted scale model of the record-breaking Mauretania, the fastest ship on the Atlantic for over two decades, is a showstopper in the same foyer, and nearby is a large oil painting showing the same ship coming down the River Tyne near Newcastle, England, where it was built. The aft stairway is a two-deck gallery of original paintings, many by marine artist Stephen Card, showing Cunard ships from the line's 160-year history. Several museum-quality display cases throughout the ship hold table settings, old tickets, brochures, luggage tags, and other memorabilia, along with a nostalgic collection of photos of celebrities, politicians, and heads of state who sailed on the venerated Cunard ships over the course of the 20th century. Trophies and posters are also on display, as well as historical tidbits about the QE2's life as a troopship during the Falkland Islands War. To assure that you'll get the most out of the collection, take one of the staff directed "Heritage Trail" tours that are offered, and be sure to get one of the handouts they provide, which describe the collections.
Cuisine:
The QE2 has its own unique dining setup, like no other ship that exists today. Five reserved-seat restaurants are assigned according to the cabin accommodation you've chosen. The Queen's Grill, located high on the Boat Deck, is the crème de la crème. The virtually identical 100-seat Princess Grill and Britannia Grill are smaller, tiered, and facing port and starboard, respectively, while the large, high-ceiling Caronia Restaurant is designed in the style of an English country house, with mahogany paneling and crystal chandeliers. The sprawling but nicely partitioned, eat in the 235-seat super elegant two-sitting Mauretania Restaurant is reserved for the lowest-priced cabins. Menu choices are basically the same across all the restaurants, though the grill rooms offer finer presentation (since they serve fewer passengers) and are able to accommodate special orders you can request dishes you might have seen on earlier menus or something you've dreamed up on your own.
If you want to go more casual, the QE2's large and airy minty-green Lido buffet-style restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner from several well-laid-out stations offering lots of variety and attractive presentation. Lines are rarely long. The Pavilion, one deck below, is the venue for a light continental breakfast or a simple hamburger/hot-dog grill lunch. You are assigned to a restaurant based on your room category and each of the four dining rooms have a different menu and ambience. Drop dead gorgeous are QE 2's restaurants after the 1999 refurbishment. Those paying the top fares dine in either the single, open seating Queen's Grill or Princess Grill. I found the deep red fabrics of the Princess Grill combined with faux bronze statues to be stunning. Tables are widely spaced and there is ample sound-proofing. The Caronia Restaurant is similar to an elegant country house with mahogany trim and beautiful chandeliers while the Mauritania Restaurant and Britannia Grill, both with new carpeting and upholstered chairs, have a upscale atmosphere.
Service:
The hotel and dining staff are European and have years of service aboard. Overall, service is efficient and first-class; however, in that British way, it's quiet and not gushing. Waitstaff is very professional and very gracious. The QE2 is a hard ship to work because of the long distances to and from the galleys, so things can get a bit harried in the ship's two-sitting Mauretania Restaurant.
Accomodations:
With 22 categories of staterooms, there are so many variations in size and layout you’ll need a good travel agent to find the best cabin you can afford. Two new stunning 777 sq. ft. room suites the Carinthia and Caledonia Suites were added in the December, 1999 refurbishment. While they don't have private balconies, the two staterooms are among the most stunning I've seen, with elegant living room, bedroom and two enormous bathrooms. Other top accommodations are located on Signal and Sun Boat decks where you’ll find luxurious suites with verandas and butlers. With these and other staterooms, when you pay more, you get more. Cunard’s "deluxe" category staterooms have mini refrigerators. All cabins have television with CNN and movies. If you’re booking a minimum category stateroom, be sure to get the square footage to ensure it’s large enough to occupy for a crossing. There are four cabins with ramp access for wheelchairs.,br>Being an older ship originally designed for two classes, there's a huge range of cabin types (21 at last count), and size, layout, and decor can all vary within a single category. The smallest cabins are the insides singles (category MI), measuring about 75 to 95 square feet. Inside singles (category M3) run between about 100 and 150 square feet, while the category M1 and M2 outside cabins range between 120 and 200 square feet. The ship's refit in late 1999 resulted in the addition of two new QS-category Grand Suites, the 777-square-foot Aquitania Suite on Two Deck and the 575-square-foot, wheelchair- accessible Caledonia Suite far forward on Boat Deck, adjacent to the Queens Grill. (This latter suite was carved out of the radio room and, with its low windows facing right out onto the Boat Deck promenade, it feels a bit like an aquarium). Both have marble master bathrooms plus guest bathrooms, a dining area, and large picture windows. The largest, the Grand Suites, are 1,184 square feet.
There are a total of 30 high-up cabins with balconies located in a separate penthouse location on the Signal Deck, effectively cut off from the rest of the ship. The midships Deck 1 and 2 Q3 Grades were the top accommodations when the ship was new, and they remain the preferred choice for traditionalists who want an authentic steamship-type cabin. They have wood paneling, satin-padded walls, a large elliptical window or three elliptical portholes, walk-in closets/dressing rooms, a corner for a standing steamer trunk (we all have one of those, right?), and a large marble bathroom with full-size tub and bidet.
The midprice Princess and Caronia Grade cabins are roomy, while the lowest priced are deep in the ship and tight. Many lack windows, and some have upper and lower berths instead of side-by-side beds. However, they provide moderately priced accommodations for those who couldn't otherwise afford the ship. During rough weather conditions, metal covers called "deadlights" may seal the portholes on Five Deck.
Spa/Fitness:
The QE2 has four hot tubs and two pools, one indoors (a rarity these days) and the other located on the ship's classic tiered aft decks, which fill up quickly (as do the limited deck chairs) during sunny days at sea, when they provide a wonderful view of the sea and the ship's wake. The best location for a deck chair is on the Sun Deck because it's sheltered from the wind by a surrounding glass enclosure and is somewhat off the beaten track.
Steiner runs the spa and fitness facilities (as they do on most ships), and although it offers a complete range of treatments, they're waaaaaayyy down in the hull, with the spa on Six Deck and the gymnasium and indoor pool on Seven Deck. Think of it this way: You'll get a workout just by walking there. The spa offers a 10-station AquaSpa as well as treatment rooms, sauna, and massage. The gym, positioned alongside the glassed-in pool, has the typical range of treadmills, cycles, and weight machines, and there are aerobics classes and daily walks out on deck. Deck facilities include a putting green and golf driving net, a combo basketball (ha! don't expect this one to get much use) and paddle-tennis court, and shuffleboard
Gratuities:
Depending on cabin accommodations, gratuities are automatically added to passengers' accounts. Grill Room passengers are charged $ 13 per day, per person. All others are charged $10 per day per person. Gratuities are included in cruise rates for passengers sailing for 92 days or longer on World Cruises. An automatic gratuity of 15 percent is added to all bar and service tabs, including the spa.
Children's Program:
While you're not likely to encounter hordes of kids, it's not uncommon to see a handful of them, mostly grandkids, on board for Cunard's Caribbean itineraries. The Christmas cruise in particular attracts lots of children.
The QE2 is large enough that exploring it would keep kids entertained and busy even without a lot of organized activities, but there are also supervised programs and an excellent nursery for ages 1 to 7 (open 8am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 6pm daily, and yes, they do diapers) with cute tiny furniture and games, staffed by two well-trained British nannies. It's right next to the pet kennels, although you'll only find pets on transatlantic, not Caribbean cruises. There's also a children's center for ages 7 to 17, open sea days and sometimes on port days and staffed by one kids' counselor. Activities in the centers and out include a captain's Coketail party, kids' talent show, a costume party in the Grand Lounge (with lots of prizes), magic shows, tea parties, and tours of the ship. On the Caronia, supervised children's programs are offered only on summer and winter holiday cruises, at which times there is one kids' counselor on hand.
On the QE2, baby-sitting can be arranged privately with a staff member for $10 per hour between 7pm and midnight and for $15 an hour after midnight. On the Caronia, private babysitting by a crewmember is $14. Note that since this is a private matter between passengers and crew, baby-sitting might not always be available
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