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Login Queen Mary 2 is a remarkable flagship, and her style and elegance are legendary. Above all, it‘s the space she offers and the luxury for you to do as little or as much as you wish which set her apart.
Welcome to a true icon. Our flagship is a truly astonishing liner and you’ll find an incredible sense of freedom from the space she offers. Whether you’re in the mood for complete relaxation or something more active, you can find it. Immerse yourself in enthralling entertainment, be indulged in the on board spa, or simply relax with a book in her vast library. You’ll discover remarkable craftsmanship in the elegant staterooms and suites and savouring her many sumptuous restaurants and bars is always a pleasure.
This review is an account of our trip in a Queen’s Grill cabin on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York in June 2026. First, why take a ship across the Atlantic? Well, it seemed like something we should try after years of jet travel. We took the Trans-Siberian across Russia years ago (another long, slow journey), why not try the Queen Mary? We also have the time for a week-long voyage now that we are retired, so 'why not'? Embarkation in Southampton was not as chaotic as we'd feared, and read in these pages, but checking in and handing over our luggage was done in a huge shed. There's probably a better name for the shed (departure terminal?) but 'shed' seems to describe the structure well. Strangely, we didn't get a good view of the ship before we boarded. It was raining heavily as we scuttled from the taxi into the shed, and once inside the shed we couldn't see outside. We only had a good view of the QM2 when we disembarked in New York. The QM2 carries about 2,500 passengers and 1,250 crew. The passengers can choose from various levels of accommodation. We chose the Queen’s Grill as we thought we might never do the crossing again. We had a cabin on the 9th deck fairly near the front of the ship. It was the QM2 equivalent of Business Class rather than the Economy cabins on the lower decks. Once onboard (after zig zagging up a long gangplank), I thought I was being clever by heading directly to one of the laundry rooms to do a load of dirty laundry before the other passengers arrived. Wrong! The laundry rooms were already busy with other 'smart' people having the same idea. In fact, the rooms were busy with people washing, drying, and ironing clothes for the first few days. Oh, well, off to the cabin then. Our cabin was excellent with loads of storage space and dozens of hangers for shirts and jackets. Once everything was unpacked and hung up we had lots of space and didn't trip over suitcases and other clutter. We even had a good sized balcony. There was a coffee maker (one of those pod things), a kettle, cups and glasses, a mini-bar, and two bottles of our chosen tipple. There was also a bottle of champagne on ice waiting for us and a plate of strawberries dipped in chocolate. All this made up for my failure with the laundry. The ship set sail at about 4 o'clock and we opened the champagne and took our glasses up to the 11th deck to watch the departure. It was fun to see the dock and piers slowly move away. We were off! The QM2 is pretty big, and some passengers find it confusing, but I found it quite easy to get around. On most of the decks there is a long corridor running from front to back (forward to aft, rather) with doors to cabins. Walk one way to get to the bow or the other way to the stern. As you walk along the corridors you meet stairways A, B, C and D. These, obviously, take you up or down from the deck you're on. There are elevators/lifts too but we didn’t use them. Deck 7 is the promenade deck with a wooden deck lined (rather optimistically) with deckchairs. One circuit of this deck is 620 metres and 3 laps equals 1 mile. We made the mistake on the first day of using deck 7 (inside) to walk from the stern to the front. While outside on the promenade deck is fine, inside on deck 7 is not. There is the King's Court buffet which was packed with people munching away when we walked through. It was a typical high-volume cafeteria/buffet. Not pretty. The Queen’s Grill dining room is also on deck 7, towards the stern. How was the food? Good, but not great is the answer. The kitchen was obviously better at some dishes than others. Meat dishes were always very good, desserts were great, but some of the other offerings were rather 'ho-hum'. The lobster thermidor was particularly disappointing as it appeared to have been cooked several hours before and then warmed up slightly before serving. Not recommended. We were allowed to order 'off menu' and one night we decided to order Indian food to spice things up a little. We ordered at lunch time for dinner expecting a feast of Indian food but what arrived, although tasty, was little more than 3 different curries with the same basic sauce. Ah, well. One of Cunard's specialities, at least in the Queen’s Grill, is 'table side' food preparation. It's not only a good way to ensure that your meal arrives hot (one of our pet peeves is warmish food) but provides a little 'dinner theatre' as you watch your meal being cooked. I ordered sole meuniere and crepe suzettes this way and both were delicious and piping hot. Another speciality is afternoon tea in the Grill’s Lounge (deck 7 again) with cakes and scones, jam and clotted cream. More calories. We enjoyed this every day and chatted to several of the friendly waiters. Many were from the Philippines, of course, (what would the world do without the Philippines?) but several were from Zimbabwe. In addition to all the free booze in our cabin we also had a 'drinks package' meaning all drinks (alcohol, coffee, juice, etc.) under $13 were included. We are not heavy drinkers and usually only have a glass of wine with dinner but having the drinks package meant we didn't need to worry about ordering or signing chits. Other passengers, however, might take more advantage of the package than we did. It would be easy for the trip to pass in an alcoholic haze, and combined with all the food available at the buffet a trip on the QM2 may not be good for your health or waistline. One oddity in the Queen’s Grill is that passengers can only order drinks from one of the sommeliers, not from a waiter. This can be inconvenient as the sommeliers are busy and it is often difficult to flag one down. We avoided this by pre-ordering our evening drinks at lunchtime. This worked quite well but does require some forward planning. We are a fairly active pair and it was easy to follow our morning gym routine on the QM2 as there is a large gym with treadmills etc. on deck 7. Is everything useful on deck 7? Swimming was more difficult though. There are 3 pools on the QM2, two outside at the stern (decks 6 and 8) and one inside midship on deck 12. The pools were heated but the outside pools required a speedy dash through the chilly North Atlantic air–and we travelled in June, remember. We saw very few people in the outdoor pools, however, the indoor pool was popular. Well, the pool wasn't that popular but the hot tubs and loungers around the pool were popular. We were surprised that some people seemed to spend hours soaking and chatting in the hot tub. During the crossing there were daily talks (mostly politics and art) and several performances of a “Whodunnit” style show. The speakers were okay but some of the talks were linked to shopping outlets onboard and people were encouraged to visit the outlet if they were interested in shopping. Passengers also received flyers promoting the products in their mailboxes outside their cabins. For us, the information in the talks was interesting but we did not buy any of the products. We realize that other passengers may have taken advantage of this shopping opportunity. On this topic, before our departure date we received multiple emails from Cunard mostly about upgrading or booking extra services such as spa appointments. We understand that Cunard needs to maximize the revenue it gets from passengers but we had already paid for our Queen’s Grill cabin and a drinks package and had no intention of using the spa. It would be useful, in our opinion, for passengers to be able to ‘opt out’ of receiving these emails. There were some noticeable differences between the passengers. This was one of the surprises for us although it shouldn't have been. On previous trips on ships (Antarctic, Galapagos) everyone had been fairly similar. They were interested in the same thing (going to Antarctica or seeing the wildlife in the Galapagos) and although there were different types of cabins, everybody seemed to be roughly similar. On the QM2, however, there were bigger differences. Some people seemed to want to eat and drink their way across the Atlantic, others wanted to gamble in the Casino, and some just wanted to sit quietly in the library and read a book. We belonged to the 'active' group and walked multiple laps around the promenade deck (windy and cool in June), and took ballroom dance classes, in addition to our regular gym and swim routines. The passengers were mostly American with a good percentage of Brits and some Europeans thrown in. Maybe 40% American, 30% British, 15% European, 15% other. It may be different sailing west to east. We didn't see any Chinese groups. Was it boring? No, there was always something to do but the 7 days on the ship seemed like a long time to me, longer than the 7 days on the Trans-Siberian. Why is that? Not sure, but it could be that there wasn't anything to look at. On the train there were always trees, small towns, bridges, stations and lakes to see, but on the ship there was ... the sea. It didn't help that we had fog for 3 or 4 days and couldn't see the horizon. It was quite exciting when the fog cleared and we saw the horizon, and even more exciting when the sun came out and we saw another ship! So, you can imagine what it was like to sail into New York after 7 days of fog and nothing much else. It was worth getting up at 4:30am to see the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of Manhattan as the sun came up. I probably enjoyed it more than my wife did but I have better 'sea legs' than she does. It wasn't as rough as the Drake Passage but don't believe any reports of the QM2 that say you will hardly notice the ship is moving. Not true. Even on days when the sea looked fairly calm we could still feel the ship rolling, and people walking along the corridors from stern to forward never walked in a perfectly straight line. There was always a little movement that kept the walkers snaking down the corridor. On rougher days the handrails along the corridors were useful. My wife did enjoy the ballroom dancing classes (even with me as a partner, poor thing!) and, on gala nights, the opportunity to wear some of the fancier clothes she rarely wears. Will we do it again? Doubtful, but if we did we would choose one of the Literary Festival crossings when authors read from and discuss their new books. Unfortunately, Cunard has these crossings in November (colder weather and lumpier seas) and only from west to east which means you lose an hour a day instead of gaining an hour as we did. Overall, it was a good experience and worth doing at least once. Is the Queen’s Grill worth it? If you can afford it, yes. Could the Queen’s Grill be better? Yes, especially some of the less successful menu items. And Cunard could give passengers a chance to ‘opt out’ of receiving promotional emails before setting sail.
From parties of one to families of four, you’ll find a variety of spacious staterooms and suites on board our ships to make your voyage as comfortable as possible.
A range of complimentary and speciality dining restaurants are available, with menus created by Jean-Marie Zimmermann, Cunard’s Global Culinary Ambassador. Tables for 4-8 are typical, with seating allocated prior to cruising. Limited numbers of tables for two are available on request.
If you're sailing on Queen Mary 2 and wish for a lively evening dancing to the sounds of a live DJ and resident band, head to G32.
This vibrant nightclub, found only on Queen Mary 2, offers the chance to let your hair down in a dazzling space full of like-minded guests, with a party atmosphere that inspires a genuine good time.
When what you feel like is a few drinks and a chance to show off your moves, this is the ideal place to end the night. G32 is a dual-level venue, so you’ll always be able to find a quieter spot if you’d like to sit down for a breather or chat with friends.
The bar menu offers an impressive range of drinks to suit every taste, including champagne and our signature cocktails as well as the usual favourites such as beer, wine, spirits and mixers.
G32’s resident band and live DJ are on hand to keep you dancing and make your night one to remember.
Our ships are ideal family holiday destinations, with plenty to keep our younger guests entertained.
Children of all ages are welcome on our ships, and our dedicated clubs offer activities and entertainment. These include arts and crafts, sporting activities, play areas, computer games and much more. They can make friends with other children at The Play Zone, for two- to seven-year-olds, and The Zone which is ideal for eight- to 17-year-olds. Our youth staff will supervise your children and organise events, activities and competitions.
Access to the children's clubs is included in your fare.
