8 Days From New York To England – Fun, But Never Again!

I’ve just disembarked a cruise that I would not choose to repeat – and this is the first time I’ve ever said that.

For years, I’ve wanted to try a transatlantic crossing, following in the footsteps of those travelling on the great Ocean Liners – but I’ve always been nervous. 

The glamour and the history is definitely something that I wanted to experience. But as somebody who gets seasick, I wasn’t sure if booking a trip that spent seven solid days at sea would be a good idea – especially as the Atlantic is known for bad weather.

When I saw a very cheap sailing from New York to Southampton onboard the World’s last Ocean Liner, the Queen Mary 2, I decided this would be the best way to make the crossing and probably my only chance of giving it a go. 

I knew that, in theory, there is no ship better equipped to handle bad weather. #

Although Cunard isn’t a cruise line that really suits me, I decided it would be worth the trade-off for potentially a calmer crossing.

My parents love cruising with Cunard, and this trip has always been on their bucket list, so I decided to bring them along. 

I knew that this cruise had the potential to go very wrong, if I didn’t like the food, the entertainment or the ship there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

If I felt unwell from being at sea, it’s not as if I could get off at the next port. The next port was in Southampton – thousands of miles away. 

We would end up having some of the worst luck, but I didn’t know that when we pulled up to board the ship at the Brooklyn terminal in New York. 

We boarded the ship a couple of hours later than our given embarkation time because of a norovirus outbreak onboard the ship on the cruise before ours. The CDC reported that 12% of guests had reported symptoms, so they were doing a deep clean. 

I was grateful for the extra cleaning. Norovirus on cruise ships is actually pretty rare, but as the ship can hold almost 2700 guests, it isn’t surprising that some people do get ill – especially in winter. That is the downside of hanging out with other humans. 

Embarkation itself took around 30 minutes, and it was such a relief to finally be stepping on board. 

When we embarked, we headed straight into the main atrium of the ship, this was an incredibly grand area, and the Cunard staff were dressed in their iconic red outfits. 

The atrium is split over multiple levels, and one of the little windows up above belonged to my cabin. 

Find out all about that unusual “atrium view” cabin here:

In the atrium, there was a piano, some seating and fresh flowers.

Cunard definitely are on the premium end of cruising, and it’s the little touches like real flowers that make it feel more luxurious. I definitely hadn’t paid a luxury cruise line price for this cruise though.

The Queen Mary 2 was originally launched in 2004, which does make her pretty old by cruise ship standards.

I’d read lots of reviews before this cruise about the ship being worn out and run down, but I hoped that wouldn’t be the case. I certainly couldn’t see any evidence of that. I loved the bright carpets and the stairs.

There were a few things that I really wanted to do on this cruise. I wanted to go to afternoon tea and watch the band play in the ballroom; I was hoping to go to a few lectures and go to the Planetarium, and my ultimate goal was to see a dog.

The Queen Mary 2 is the only ship in the world where you can bring your pets.

Find out more about that here:

I Took A Cruise That Allows Dogs (And Cats) Onboard!

This ship has completed this transatlantic route over 400 times, and we were basically recreating the Titanic’s route, but in reverse order. 

In many ways, the ship is very different to Titanic, but it is the closest you can get to the Titanic experience in the modern day. 

Just like the upper classes on Titanic, Queen Mary 2 has quite strict dress codes. They’ve definitely relaxed in recent years, but they are still in place, more so than any other cruise line.

I hoped that this wouldn’t be a problem, and I put this to the test straight away on the first day. 

After completing the safety drill, which was very easy, we headed to a venue onboard called the Carinthia Lounge.

The lounge felt modern and new but still had a very classic design. Here, we would often do things like trivia or listen to live music.

On this first day though, I was there for one thing and one thing only – doughnuts! They do serve food in here for lunch which was always really good and they serve afternoon tea too.

The Pepsi came by the pint, and that was amazing as I’d bought a soda package pre-cruise.

That meant that I could have unlimited soda at any point but I don’t think I got as good value out of it as I normally would just because of the rough seas.

Still, for £12 a day, it was a good deal for me, and not having to think about a drinks bill at all is great.

We made a decision at this point which was probably different from most people on the ship.

Cunard cruises are all about dressing up for dinner, the dress codes apply ship-wide, and it’s something that guests enjoy a lot.

I’m not really a fan of dress codes or formal nights but I figured it would be fine, it’s not as if I wouldn’t have the time to get changed for dinner.

On this first night though, we decided that we didn’t want to change. We were sailing away from New York and I knew that I couldn’t miss that sail away.

I didn’t fancy hanging around outside in my formal wear and honestly just couldn’t be bothered too, I think that’s a valid reason. It was freezing out on the deck, but I did warm my hands up in the hot tub, which was amazing. 

I’ve sailed out of New York before with Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival and this was a very different experience. On those cruise lines there was a big party, everybody was dancing and cheering as we sailed away, this was much more relaxed. 

I knew that there were places that we could go and things we could do without getting changed. It was not a formal night, but even the other nights on Cunard cruises are called ‘smart’ nights, and the dress codes are more strict than my day clothes.

I thought it’d be a good test on this first day though, to see how my evening would go if I didn’t want to get changed.

We decided to order room service in my parent’s cabin, which was amazing. We boarded too late for lunch because of the extra cleaning so we were so hungry. I had a burger and a chocolate brownie which was fantastic.

It came pretty quickly, and because my parents had a balcony cabin, we had plenty of space.

I’m not sure I would have ordered room service to my inside cabin, that wouldn’t have been as much fun, but it’s a real treat that room service is included. On most cruise lines now, there is a fee.

This is one of those more luxurious touches that would become apparent as the cruise went on. 

As we sailed away from New York, I thought about something. I knew that we would be passing through 5 different time zones on this cruise, but I wasn’t sure how that would work.

Usually, if you pass through a different time on a cruise at night, you put your clocks forward or backwards, I assumed that would be the same, but I saw in the daily schedule that that wouldn’t be the case.

At 12 pm, we would be flying forward in time to 1 pm. There wouldn’t be any time between 12 and 1.

That meant I wouldn’t miss any sleep, and lunch would just come an hour earlier than usual, which sounded great to me. 

Because we hadn’t got changed, we decided to go to one of the venues onboard where the dress code isn’t enforced, the pub.

Guests not dressing up is also allowed at the buffet.

I’m pretty sure that the dress code is in force in the theatre too, because that wasn’t on the okay list. I’m sure it would have been fine but I don’t like to break the rules so we didn’t go there!

I knew we would be on board for a long time, so I’d have plenty of time to go to the theatre. That was if I could ever find the theatre…

On Cunards website it says “she isn’t hard to get around” – and that is the biggest lie ever. I’ve been on 74 cruises, and there is no ship in the world more complicated than Queen Mary 2.

Why does she have such a weird layout? Well, it’s because she’s an Ocean Liner. On most cruise ships, the theatre is right at the front, the big dining rooms are at the back, and everything else, like bars and the casino, is in the middle.

On Queen Mary 2 though, they put all of the important parts down in the middle of the ship because the movement here is less. 

Even the buffet is down in the middle, which is pretty unheard of on a cruise ship.

It made her layout quirky, but I would be so, so grateful for this as the cruise went on when we hit bad weather. I can’t even imagine if we had been in these seas on another ship, I don’t want to think about that. 

Queen Mary 2 even has a deck 3L between decks 2 and 3, I think that sums up how bizarre she is. 

We listened to an Irish duo playing in the pub, and they were great. The pub itself was really quite busy with lots of people standing at the back because they couldn’t get a seat.

I knew that they did do lunch in here that was included in the cruise fare, so I was determined to try that one day of the cruise, even if I had to arrive an hour or two early I would do it. 

I cruised recently on Queen Anne the newest cruise ship for Cunard, and I’m happy to say that they made the pub on there much bigger.

Pubs are always very popular on cruises. It wasn’t always as busy in the day, but when music or lunch was on it was always full. 

The buffet for breakfast was open until 10:30 am, which was amazing. I’m not an early bird by any stretch of the imagination – and certainly not on a sea day.

I was really impressed with the breakfast options, and there was always lots of fresh fruit available.

At this stage, the crew were serving everything to us because of the enhanced cleaning measures, but around halfway into the cruise, this would change, and it would go back to self-service like normal.

We never struggled to get a seat in here and the buffet is absolutely massive.

There is the possibility of great views from here, depending on the weather, of course, and I love the overall design.

This buffet is definitely one of my favourites, it seemed to very rarely be closed and the staff were always at the entrances making sure guests sanitised their hands. 

I’d love to tell you how I got to “Illuminations” next – but I honestly have no idea. Somehow, I did, and I’m glad I did because we went to watch a lecture in the theatre.

It was by a great man called Richard Howells, and he told us all about the myths of the Titanic. We learnt about the real J.Dawson and so much more.

It was clear just how much Richard loved the subject and loved giving these talks. I’m always very impressed by people who are good at public speaking, and it was great to just focus completely on one thing for a while.

A transatlantic cruise is a great chance to really disconnect. If you don’t want to see the news or anything for a week or so, you don’t have to. 

Lectures are a very popular thing to do on Cunard cruises and this venue was the most amazing place for it.

This is actually a Planetarium where you can lay back and look at the stars; I knew that was something I’d have to come back to do during the cruise.

Cunard does have an app where you can book the planetarium shows, so I did do that.

Nothing else onboarded required booked so I didn’t use the app a whole lot, I used it to check the daily schedule though and to see how much money I was spending on my onboard account.

I booked this cruise because it was very cheap, and I wasn’t planning to spend a lot extra onboard. 

During one lecture about the Tudors, I actually entered a competition to win a book. I love history and the Tudors, so I found them very interesting. Thank you, Carol Anne Lloyd, for picking me out of that hat. 

My mum had to collect my prize for me later in the cruise because I was in bed feeling so seasick.

At this point all was well with the weather, it wasn’t nice by any stretch but the ship wasn’t rocking around, it felt totally fine. 

We were able to walk around the outside decks and the promenade deck. Later in the cruise, we would see snow on the promenade deck, actually, but for now, all felt fine. 

Queen Mary 2’s promenade deck goes all the way around, and there is even an area at the front where you can look up at the ship.

Areas like this are usually reserved for the crew, so that was very interesting. There are also spare propellers here too, which are giant.

Up on the top deck, there is an inside pool area, and there are two more pools at the back. I imagine that this would be the most amazing area if it was sunny. This really is a cruise ship feature that isn’t very common on cruise ships anymore but I like it. 

Find out more about this feature here:

My Favourite Cruise Ship Design Feature Isn’t Being Built Anymore – Here’s Why

I did manage to find the Kennels up on the top deck, but you can only go in there if you have a dog, and I’d left my dog Rolo at home with my cat Hudson.

The kennels onboard can hold up to 24 pets and you buy them a ticket in the same way as you would a human. I paid such a good price for this cruise that it would have been more for a cat to make the crossing, but the kennels are much more limited than the cabins of course. They often sell out very far in advance. 

I didn’t see any dogs at this point, but I did see a lamp post for the British dogs and a fire hydrant for the US dogs. I assume they can use whatever one they want. They don’t have to stick to their assigned post. 

On Queen Mary 2, there is a mix of fixed dining and more flexible dining. We had a table booked every day for 6 pm, and it was in the most amazing grand restaurant.

This is everything I love about cruise ship restaurants, the big windows, the art – I love it all.

There is another main dining room for guests who are staying in the more luxurious area called the Queens Grill, but I think the restaurant for the regular passengers is actually nicer. 

Dinner usually took around an hour and a half, and we never had any complaints about the food, unlike a lady who had posted on Cruise Critic that the food was:

Absolutely abysmal, not fit for human consumption; tasteless, vile, overcooked, small portions & worse

Cruise Critic Queen Mary 2 Food Review

I’d like to go to her house to see what she eats at home because it certainly wasn’t the best food I’ve ever had on a cruise, but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

I personally think I preferred the food choices in the buffet but being waited on and getting things like the fresh bread and the chocolates at the end is really lovely. 

The Britannia restaurant is actually named after Cunard’s first ship, Britannia.

Britannia was so small that she could fit into this restaurant, which is crazy to think about. That’s a fact I learned from my fabulous friend Chris, who lectures on maritime history onboard Cunard ships.

Every time I was on this cruise, and I called it a cruise, I could hear Chris in my head saying, “It’s a crossing, not a cruise” – and yes, technically, that is true. I do accept it.

There is nothing about cruising with Cunard that Chris doesn’t know, so make sure you’re subscribed to him. It’s my dream to watch Chris lecture on a ship, but I won’t be on this cruise again, so he’ll have to come on another trip.

We headed to the theatre next and watched a show called “Let’s Dance”. It was bright and colourful, and the dancers and the singers were incredibly talented.

Really really, good. It was what I expected from Cunard’s theatre entertainment, something that could cater to all ages. We also watched a couple more shows as the cruise went on.

The theatre itself is very impressive. It’s split over two levels and does feel very grand. The newer ship, Queen Anne, has the longest theatre I’ve ever seen, but this one seemed a normal length.

When I left the theatre I noticed something, something nobody likes to see on cruise ships. Sick bags by the elevators. These are actually quite common to see as I’m sure the cruise line always thinks its better to be safe than sorry, I don’t like seeing them empty though that is not a good sign. 

The next day, in the Captain’s daily announcement, he explained that there was a storm that we would be going a little bit south to try to avoid.

The Captain said that he would keep the ship as “comfortable as possible” during the bad weather, which I appreciated – but it did sound a bit scary.

Cruise ships always try to avoid bad weather if they can, but because we had no ports, it’s not as if we could just cancel one and change the route.

Find out what would normally happen when bad weather is forecast here:

5 Ways Cruise Ships Avoid Bad Weather – and How It’ll Affect Your Cruise

We were also making the crossing in just 8 days, so we couldn’t really delay that. A ship going the other way through the same storm got delayed by a day, but our ship just ploughed straight through.

I was looking at the maps of the wave height and the wind every single day of the cruise, and I watched as our ship headed straight into this red storm.

Only one day of our cruise was classified as “rough,” – but that’s because we were higher than rough every other day on the scale.

The rough day we had was at the end of the cruise when the sun came out. It was the calmest day. I had a great time out on the top decks in the blue skies.

Every day, the Captain kept us up to date with our progress and the weather, which was much appreciated. It always happened at 12 pm, when most days we time-travelled forward to 1pm.

He’d tell us there if we were time travelling or not because we only did so 5 out of the 8 days. It was mentioned in the daily schedule and in the app. 

I have been asked quite a lot why I didn’t cruise the other way to gain an extra 5 hours of cruise – but to be honest, I really loved the idea of getting home without jet lag. The flights were cheaper going across and cruising back too, so that confirmed to me which way I should go. 

I was really hoping I wouldn’t feel too unwell. I do get seasick on occasion, and there were so many things I wanted to do on this cruise.

I couldn’t take a Cunard cruise without going to afternoon tea. That would be crazy. I wanted to see the big band play, maybe go to an exercise class and not forgetting the most important goal… to see a dog!

As the seas got rougher the outside decks were closed. Because I had an inside cabin, I didn’t have any way to get fresh air, which was a shame. It’s weird not to feel fresh air for multiple days. 

The priority of the ship has got to be everybody’s safety, though, and with these winds, it just wasn’t safe to go outside. 

I was so, so happy to find sausage rolls and digestive biscuits in the buffet. I tried to eat little and often to avoid making myself feel unwell.

My favourite snack of all was putting marshmallows on a fruit bowl, they’re meant to go on the ice cream really but hey, I enjoyed it this way. 

Your Britshism of the week is digestive biscuit. They’re usually enjoyed with a cup of tea, and many people do dunk them, I don’t like soggy biscuits so don’t do that but I do love biscuits of all kinds.

Biscuits of course being what you guys in the US would call a cookie, not to be confused with what we call cookies, it’s all very confusing but all you need to know is the digestive biscuits were much appreciated. 

My cabin was on deck 6, which meant that I was just one down from the buffet. Usually, the buffet is up on decks 12 or 13 or 14 or 15 – or I’ve even been on a ship where it was up on decks 18 and 19.

As we couldn’t go outside, I decided I’d try to learn my way around the ship. Because the restaurant is right in the middle that means that you have to go down a half level to walk around it.

There were quite a few places onboard where we had to walk through areas like the spa or the art gallery to get to venues. 

I’d always stumble upon interesting things without even really trying. Queen Mary 2 has the largest library at sea and that was the most amazing area.

Modern cruise ships have more space in the lifeboats than people onboard, they have safety drills that they never had in Titanic’s time, and the systems they use for detective icebergs are so much better.

It’s like comparing cars from 1912 to today, they’re so, so different, you just wouldn’t do it.

I can’t even imagine how rough it would have felt onboard Titanic. I’d have been sick for sure.

When we were allowed outside again, I did walk around the promenade deck. Usually just in a t-shirt because that made me feel less sick, the cold air really helped.

This is the first cruise I’ve ever taken where I would have got off if I was given the option on day 4 or 5. That wasn’t an option, though. 

Wandering around the ship, it felt as though I was drunk or had superpowers. You’d be walking up the stairs and for one second feel really light, then you’d feel really heavy.

It was always fun to watch everybody walking at an angle or leaning to the side as they walked.

I meet a lot of people when I cruise now, and I’m always interested in finding out other people’s opinions. I’m sorry if you met me on this cruise. I was not my normal self. I was taking quite a lot of seasickness medicine and doing my best to stay awake.

I’ve tried every seasickness remedy over the years but I’ve never found anything as good as just sleeping it off. When you’re lying down, and your eyes are closed, it’s so much better. I did sleep on the floor at one point because we were rocking up and down the bed and going side to side felt better.

I do want to say though, this is not a normal cruise. On most cruises you don’t feel the ship moving hardly at all. You can play pool on a normal cruise and the ball won’t roll, they have ice skating shows and all kinds of entertainment that you wouldn’t be able to do if the ship was rocking.

I chose to cruise through the Atlantic Ocean in January. Bad weather was always a risk – and I’m glad I took that risk.

There was a massive difference between the movement in my cabin in the middle of deck 6 and my parent’s cabin at the front of deck 11.

My dad is the one who gave me the seasickness gene if that is a thing, so he did spend some time in my room just for a chance to lie down without feeling the movement so much. 

Find out more about their cabin here:

Why I Wouldn’t Recommend This Balcony Cabin on Queen Mary 2 (Full Cabin Review)

The only time any of the entertainment was changed was when one of the lecturers had to cancel because she was feeling seasick, apart from that it was business as usual onboard the ship. 

My mum and my brother don’t ever get travel sick at all, and I’m so envious of that. Around half the people I met onboard said they were having the best time of their lives. They loved the movement and rough seas because they didn’t get seasick. The other half said to me “never again”. 

I’d always recommend a mid-ship low-down cabin if you are worried about movement. That idea is basically what the whole Queen Mary 2 is designed around. 

Find out more about that here:

What is The Best Cabin Location on a Cruise For Avoiding Seasickness? (I’ve Tried Them All!)

We spent quite a bit of time in areas like the pub and the chart room. Here, we were close to the sea, and the movement was felt less. The views out of the windows were quite dramatic at times but I never felt scared at all.

This is exactly what this ship is designed for and she’s been making this journey for over 20 years. 

Despite being so old, I didn’t feel as though the ship looked dated or run down. Her design is meant to be classic but it always has been, she was never designed to be a modern shiny ship, not even in 2004. 

A lot has changed in that time, and all the parts you interact with, like the carpets, have been changed out countless times.

When the ship was launched, guests could smoke pretty much anywhere. Now it’s limited to smoking areas. Guests used to be able to smoke in their cabins too, if you can believe it.

That’s why there is an ashtray in the bathrooms of the cabin. It is an ashtray, not a soap dish, you can see the cigarette indents here, and you can’t even buy this exact ashtray online still. 

If you still don’t believe this is an ashtray, read this article next:

I Found an Ash Tray in My Cruise Cabin (Hundreds Told Me I Was Wrong)

The rough seas did make a few things harder but I figured I might as well give some things on the schedule a go, if I felt unwell I could just go back to my cabin, no problem. 

One which was particularly hard was an exercise class. I don’t have the best balance in the world anyway but on a ship where you are moving, that was tricky.

I’m so glad that we got up early and went to the exercise class though, it was great fun and it was really nice to get moving. Up until this point, I hadn’t done a lot. I’d walked around and around the promenade deck when it was open but I really wasn’t used to being on a ship for so long.

I’ve avoided booking cruises with more than two sea days in the past, so this jump to seven days at sea was quite extreme.

I imagine it would be very different if we did have glorious blue skies but I was feeling a little bit of cabin fever. Yes, I could have gone to the gym – and no, I did not. 

After the class, I went to the buffet to get some eggs, and because the table was a little bit wet, my eggs actually slid across the table. The eggs were what my insides felt like – Wobbly. 

While all this was going on, my non-seasick Mum and brother were having a great time. They went to more lectures about all kinds of things, they did lots of trivia and even went to afternoon tea one day without me.

I did manage to get to afternoon tea later in the cruise and I’m so glad that I did. It’s such a grand affair, and you get tea, sandwiches, cakes, and scones, all while classical music is playing.

Afternoon tea is held in the Queens Room which is the most grand venue. It’s also one of the trickiest places to get to on the ship, but it seemed as though most people figured it out. Here they would have lots of dancing, and the big band would play. 

They even have dance hosts onboard who are there just to dance with the guests. 

The service was always good, and we never had to wait very long to get a drink.

It was lovely to see everybody dressed up, and we came back here again for the Masquerade Ball. On Cunard cruises there are two formal nights per week, and they have dress code themes. 

I have heard rumours that Cunard is getting rid of the themes, but I think that would be a shame. It doesn’t cost Cunard anything to put them on, and people seem to enjoy them. Maybe we could suggest some new themes for them? 

Our first was black and white night, and the second was Masquerade. I’d borrowed my masks from a couple of friends and had listened to the bells jingling in my cabin for days. It was great to finally be able to wear the mask.

We took them to dinner, and that was a fun novelty. I did see a group who not only had masks but the most amazing feathered capes, that was very cool. Whoever you are, I loved you – you looked like ravens.

They were all the kinds of things on the schedule that I was used to seeing on a cruise, but one thing I’d never seen before was a mid-day show of the Importance of being Ernest. I’ve got to be honest, I thought that sounded boring when I first heard about it, but it wasn’t at all, it was so funny. 

It was a real highlight of the entertainment for me as they substituted actors from the play with audience members as it went on. They all had to improvise, and it was very funny.

If you know me, you’ll know that audience participation is my worst nightmare, but I’m happy to say that it had the word “interactive” on the daily schedule, so I sat far to the side where I was safe.

Everybody who was picked seemed really happy to be part of it, which is why it was so fun to watch. 

The guests on the cruise were mostly Americans and British people, as you would expect from the itinerary. Amazingly, I met a lot of people onboard who had been on the ship for almost a month!

They went across to New York, down to the Caribbean and back across again. Everybody I spoke to said that the crossing across wasn’t as rough but they did have the Norovirus to contend with.

I do wonder if some of those people with norovirus symptoms were actually seasick instead since the symptoms are the same. It’s just impossible to know.

Looking at the maps it looked as though we weren’t past the red stormy part on the map, but that the stormy part was splitting in two for us. I hoped that meant things would brighten up a little, but I was prepared for the idea that they might not.

I set my sights on things on the ship, like finding the Homer Simpson that is hiding in one of the pieces of art onboard. He’s right outside the pub.

I had the fish and chips with a pint of Pepsi Max, of course.

It’s a bit disappointing to see that a few items on here do now have a price next to them, but as soon as I see items on a menu with prices and some without, I don’t even register the priced ones. I wasn’t here to spend more money. 

I wanted to try all of the included food onboard, so for dinner, I went to what is basically a part of the buffet where you can order pizza and pasta.

In the daytime, they have this food just available, but it’s more of a normal restaurant in the evening.

Our food took around 45 minutes which was a long time for a pizza, it was nice don’t get me wrong but I’m not sure it was worth the sit down restaurant experience. I could just get the same thing from the buffet. Then again, I didn’t exactly have a shortage of time on this cruise. 

There was one bar onboard called the Commodore Club that I’d been avoiding up until now, not for any reason other than its location.

This bar is right at the top of the ship and I knew that the movement here would be worse. We took the scenic elevator up and I’m afraid you’ll just have to use your imagination here, imagine a nice blue sky with a yellow sun.

The elevators took us up close to my parent’s cabin, and you can see just how close they were to the bridge at the front.

I liked looking down at the people walking around the promenade deck when it was open. Under the bridge is a viewing area where we could look back at the ship.

It was a lovely lounge that was very in keeping with the traditional Cunard style. It hasn’t changed much since 2004, but it hasn’t needed to. 

When the ship was launched one of the heavily advertised features was the planetarium. She was the first ship to have one at sea, and it was such a unique experience.

The seats in red are the ones you have to sit in for the show and you lean back to look up at the dome. All of the seats do recline, but if you do have somebody behind you with average adult length or longer legs, it does feel like you have your head in somebody’s lap – which is a bit weird.

I didn’t recline and just looked up, the show wasn’t long and it was very relaxing. It’s definitely a “must do” if cruising on the ship. 

The shops and little casino haven’t changed much either. I did win $20 on this cruise in the casino, which is great. It won’t quite pay for my drinks or WiFi, but still, every little helps.

For my cruise fare, I paid £709, which is $880. That’s an 8-night cruise based on two people sharing an inside cabin. That price included all the food that I ate and the entertainment that we watched.

I paid an extra $224 for WiFi, but because of my onboard credit, this only cost me $79.

I paid $113 for the soda package. The daily tips or gratuities that Cunard automatically added were $128 – which brings my total to $1200. That’s £959 In total.

For a 8 night cruise with a premium cruise line I think that’s pretty good.

I don’t think Cunard is a line that suits me personally, and a transatlantic isn’t a cruise that I would do again, but Cunard does what they do very well. I hope that they keep doing it for a long time.

Being part of this historical voyage is something I’m so glad that I’ve done.

Another thing I’m glad that I did was I braved the outside decks on the last day and I got the chance to see a dog going for a walk.

They did a poo on the deck and it rolled away from the dog and from their owner, it was so windy out there. You could say it was bringing new meaning to the Poop deck. 

Find out all about Poop decks on ships here:

Poop Decks: What Are They, and Why Are They Called That?

When the ship had a big refit in 2016, they changed a few things like removing the lifts from the atrium.

I do see why they did that as they were in the way, but because my cabin was up here, I would have liked to have had somebody to wave at. 

Find out more about this memorable cruise on Queen Mary 2 here:

Before You Go

Find out about the things you can do on Queen Mary 2 that you can’t do on regular cruise ships here:

10 Things You Can Do on the Queen Mary 2 That You Can’t on Most Cruise Ships

Find out the differences between cruise ships and Ocean Liners here:

Cruise Ships vs Ocean Liners – Measurable Differences You Need to Know