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I explore the 3 biggest concerns and fears people tell me they have about doing a Transatlantic Crossing on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 between Southampton and New York during my latest Crossing.
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Links mentioned in the video:
Cunard Queen Mary 2 Video: https://youtu.be/-qZ01XnoJ_U
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0:00
there are seven back-to-back sea days
0:02
crossing the atlantic on cunard queen
0:04
mary 2. not surprisingly many people
0:06
tell me one of the biggest fears they
0:08
have about doing a transatlantic is
0:11
getting bored with with not enough to
0:13
occupy them i must admit i too is
0:16
apprehensive heading off again on the
0:18
crossing that i've just done because
0:19
after doing many sea day heavy cruises
0:22
since cruising resumed
0:24
i too was getting rather bored on sea
0:27
days welcome aboard i'm gary bembridge
0:29
join me as i look at this and the two
0:32
other biggest fears people tell me they
0:34
have about doing a cunard queen mary 2
0:38
crossing
0:39
there's four things i quickly discovered
0:41
about getting bored first of all i saw
0:44
again that a cunard crossing has the
0:47
most packed daily program of any line
0:50
any ship and any itinerary i have ever
0:53
been on
0:54
qnart have been crossing the atlantic
0:56
for over 180 years
0:58
they definitely know how to keep us busy
1:01
on my crossing they were between four
1:04
and seven activities every single hour
1:07
starting from around nine o'clock in the
1:08
morning right through until midnight
1:11
however while the daily program is
1:14
packed full of activities they are very
1:16
classical cruising activities so while
1:19
they suit me i realize they may not suit
1:22
all of you let me explain
1:24
there are three signature and wildly
1:27
popular activities that i personally
1:29
absolutely love
1:31
the first are the cunard insight talks
1:33
lasting 45 minutes each these are held
1:36
three to four times a day now despite
1:39
being held in the huge illuminations
1:40
theater they were often standing room
1:44
only on the crossing there are usually
1:46
three speakers giving a series of four
1:48
talks each and one celebrity headline
1:51
guest speaker now on our cruise that was
1:53
lord and lady howard he's an ex-uk
1:55
government minister and she was a 1960s
1:58
supermodel
2:00
our experts were general simon male who
2:02
spoke about military history
2:04
susan barlow who was a astronomer andrew
2:08
killigan who was an ex-stage manager and
2:10
spoke about musicals and captain rick
2:13
reynolds an ex-conquer pilot now i've
2:15
also been on transatlantics where we've
2:18
had experts on skyscrapers broadway and
2:22
maritime history all the speakers really
2:24
know how to keep passengers engaged
2:27
because they've spoken on the crossings
2:28
many times they know exactly what to do
2:31
the next event attended every day by
2:33
hundreds and hundreds is afternoon tea
2:37
now something regular viewers will know
2:39
is a passion and weak spot for me
2:41
afternoon tea now on qnad afternoon tea
2:44
is a really big deal and even more so on
2:47
the crossings the main event is held in
2:49
the grand queens room here classes of
2:52
sandwiches cakes and scones are
2:54
constantly whistled around by white
2:57
gloved waiters
2:59
but afternoon tea is also available in
3:01
king's court the buffet or by room
3:03
service both of those are free
3:05
if you're cruising in queens or princess
3:07
grill suites you can also have it served
3:10
in the grill's lounge or you can have
3:12
itself served in the grills concierge
3:14
lounge you can also pay by the way to
3:17
have champagne afternoon tea in the
3:19
champagne bar or you can have a godiva
3:22
chocolate afternoon tea into samuel's
3:24
coffee shop the other
3:26
signature event are the planetarium
3:29
shows in illuminations now queen mary 2
3:31
is the only ship that has a fully active
3:34
planetarium and they run a series of
3:35
shows every single day so those were the
3:39
three main activities that certainly
3:40
stopped me getting bored but there was a
3:42
lot more to do that may actually appeal
3:44
much more to you there were four quizzes
3:47
and trivia held every day along with
3:49
daily bingo i was amazed just how pat
3:52
these events were also always packed
3:55
with the three to four dance classes
3:57
every day including zumba line dancing
3:59
and various types of ballroom less busy
4:02
by the way with the various paddle
4:04
tennis table tennis deck coits and dart
4:06
tournaments though bridge was a really
4:09
big draw there were many informal
4:11
unhosted get-togethers arranged as well
4:13
by the way every day there were
4:15
christian fellowship twice daily solo
4:18
traveller get-togethers a late afternoon
4:19
lgbt meet-up friends of bill w and hobby
4:22
meet-ups every single day and then
4:24
occasionally you also would have women's
4:26
institute rotary masonic service clubs
4:29
and veteran get-togethers were also
4:31
listed live music was doctored around
4:34
the ship all throughout the day there
4:36
were for example a guitar duo playing
4:38
multiple sets in the lounge a pianist a
4:40
harpist a string trio and a party band
4:43
called changes every few days a full
4:46
classical piano concert also took place
4:50
if you're into crafts they were
4:51
watercolor classes twice a day these
4:54
were popular and also always packed
4:57
there were also ad hoc events every day
4:59
like
5:00
fruit carving flower arranging and of
5:02
course the inevitable spa and shop
5:04
seminars in the evening the main events
5:06
were twice nightly shows in the royal
5:09
court theatre now these were a mix of
5:12
very very standard cruise production
5:14
shows not especially strong or to my
5:16
liking supplemented on other nights by
5:18
the usual i think predictable guest
5:20
artists
5:22
on this crossing there was a 60s tribute
5:25
band a comedian and a flowertist cunard
5:28
in my view is weak in the theater
5:30
offering overall they're pretty dated
5:32
themes predated music predated staging
5:34
though they are trying to up it a bit
5:36
recently i still skipped many of the
5:38
shows the casino to be honest was a
5:39
bigger draw for me the other evening
5:42
focus is on
5:43
full balls on former nights and then
5:45
themed ballroom dancing in the
5:47
magnificent queens room on other nights
5:49
we had jazz big bad and dance party
5:52
evenings they were all well attended and
5:54
always packed the third evening activity
5:57
is for the party crowd with live band
5:59
and dj in the g32 nightclub it's a big
6:02
space behind the queen's room it kept
6:04
going until literally people left but as
6:06
a fairly early to bed person i was not
6:09
one of them if nothing appeals on the
6:11
daily program there is actually
6:14
even more to do queen mary 2 itself is
6:17
part of the entertainment it's the only
6:19
ocean liner in the world and there is no
6:22
other ship like it it's full of quirks
6:24
hidden spots and in fact lots of stories
6:27
to explore for example homer simpson is
6:29
hidden away in one of these art deco
6:32
style panels near the golden line pub
6:35
there's a much missed scenic lift
6:37
between deck 7 and deck 11 where there's
6:40
a magnificent open observation platform
6:43
there's also a maritime trail with the
6:45
history of crossings and all about
6:47
cunard and the stars that have been on
6:48
cunard to follow there's kennels up on
6:50
deck 12 which if you find you'll often
6:53
see the dogs out there being walked and
6:55
very importantly the wraparound
6:57
promenade deck which literally hundreds
6:59
of people walk every day three laps by
7:02
the way equals 1.1 miles the ship itself
7:04
is quirky in layouts and actually quite
7:07
hard to find your way around and
7:09
exploring the ship is part of the
7:10
entertainment as you discuss in another
7:12
video i've made about the ship another
7:15
thing i would say about getting bored is
7:16
many see this as an opportunity to
7:19
unwind my partner who works crazy hours
7:22
adore the crossing because it was a
7:24
chance to de-stress relax and recharge
7:27
the wi-fi is pretty rubbish even though
7:29
it's supposedly been upgraded and so
7:31
also means that he had to disconnect and
7:34
just relax i saw many people doing
7:36
exactly that creamery 2 is a massive
7:38
ship but actually doesn't carry that
7:40
many guests there are many nooks and
7:41
crannies and spots for passengers to sit
7:44
and read and relax this is helped by the
7:46
way by an enormous library with over 10
7:49
000 books once people i speak to about
7:52
doing a crossing a reassured are not
7:54
getting bored many though still worry
7:56
about not fitting in and it being a
7:58
stuffy experience there are three
8:00
concerns around this that i'd like to
8:02
talk about qnote has a reputation for
8:04
having a very formal and strictly
8:06
enforced dress code their ads make much
8:09
of people dressed up in black tie and
8:12
glamorous gowns however you don't need
8:14
to really stress about it as much as you
8:16
had to in the past because cue not have
8:18
dialed back a lot of the formality and
8:20
the number of formal dress nights during
8:23
the day people do not dress formally at
8:25
all years ago when i first went on a
8:27
crossing we were worried about that but
8:29
you can wear what you'd wear on any
8:31
other cruise shorts flip-flops jeans
8:34
whatever
8:36
in the evenings it is now no more formal
8:38
than any other uk-based line like capino
8:41
cruises or fred olsen though more formal
8:44
than american focus lines like celebrity
8:46
holland america and princess
8:48
there are two dress codes only now
8:51
first of all five out of the seven
8:53
nights is called smart attire all this
8:55
requires is for gentlemen a collared
8:57
shirt which can be short or long sleeved
9:00
and smart trousers for ladies blouses
9:03
skirts stylish dresses or trousers are
9:05
what they recommend in practice the vast
9:08
majority actually dress a little bit
9:09
more smartly than this i certainly wore
9:11
a jacket every one of these evenings as
9:13
i'd say about 60 or more of the other
9:15
men from what i could see
9:18
there are now just two gala evenings
9:20
they are no longer called formal nights
9:22
to get into the main restaurants the
9:24
theater and most bars men are asked to
9:26
wear a dinner jacket tuxedo or dark suit
9:29
and tie or bow tie ladies evening or
9:31
cocktail dresses those that didn't want
9:33
to dress up could eat in king's court go
9:36
to the casino and the corinthian lounge
9:38
though many ignored the rule about not
9:40
going to the theater unless in gala
9:42
dress code i estimate over 90 of guests
9:45
dressed up in line with a dress code on
9:46
golden lights and 90 of that 90
9:48
in black tie you could go on a crossing
9:51
and not dress up but however dressing up
9:53
for most including me is part of the
9:56
experience
9:57
i do wonder if these changes will
9:58
neither satisfy those that did the
10:00
crossing for the old-fashioned formality
10:03
nor those that don't want to dress up at
10:04
all on their vacation time will tell
10:07
another concern raised to me
10:10
by many people is a feeling that they
10:12
may not fit in and this is around the
10:14
perceived class system on cunard many
10:17
ask me if you're not in the grills
10:19
experience if you do feel and get
10:21
treated as a second class citizen now
10:23
the cunard class system is linked to the
10:25
main dining rooms if you're traveling in
10:28
queens grill which are the biggest
10:30
suites you eat in the queen's grill
10:32
restaurant if you're in princess grill
10:34
which are the smaller sized sweets you
10:36
eat in the princess grill and if you're
10:38
crossing in britannia which are the
10:40
balcony ocean view and inside cabins you
10:42
eat in britannia restaurant or if in the
10:45
upper grade britannia cabins balcony
10:47
cabins you eat in britannia club which
10:49
is a section within the main restaurant
10:51
i believe about 85 percent of the
10:53
passengers on board the ship are
10:55
actually britannia guests so while
10:57
cunard make a lot of noise about the
10:59
girls experience on board it is actually
11:01
no different and probably not as
11:04
segregated as on pretty much every other
11:07
mid to large sized ship that i've been
11:10
on in fact gross passengers have fewer
11:12
smaller and less spectacular facilities
11:15
and areas dedicated to them than i've
11:17
had when cruising in a suite on many
11:19
lines including celebrity norwegian
11:21
cruise line and msc cruises while other
11:25
lions are creating access controlled
11:27
ship within a ship for suites like msc
11:29
yacht club and norwegian haven on
11:31
creamery 2 there is only in addition to
11:34
the restaurants grills lounge which is
11:36
rather uninspiring and the public ones
11:38
are in fact much much nicer there's a
11:41
small concierge lounge which is a plus
11:43
because you do have someone who will
11:45
handle shore excursions and transfers
11:48
and a concierge who will help sort out
11:49
any problems and you then don't have to
11:51
queue at the purchase desk downstairs
11:53
which always has a long queue
11:55
there's also a small grylls deck on the
11:57
rear of the ship with a hot tub which
11:59
very few people use that deck on a
12:00
transatlantic crossing because the
12:01
weather isn't actually that great for
12:03
sitting out anyway at check-in while
12:06
there was a priority lane it covered
12:08
gross passengers as well as diamond and
12:11
platinum frequent travelers no matter
12:13
the cabin grade
12:14
i would say well into 90 or more of the
12:17
ship is open to everybody and i feel
12:19
that you get more perks and dedicated
12:21
spaces when cruising in a suite on other
12:23
lines i get asked often if a cunard
12:26
crossing is only for older travellers
12:28
and if it's full of snooty stuffy posh
12:32
people this is not my experience
12:35
at all
12:36
absolutely the vast majority are couples
12:39
and they're in their 50s 60s and 70s
12:41
there are many groups of 40-something
12:43
friends traveling together always
12:45
multi-generational families are on board
12:47
too plenty of solar travelers too helped
12:50
a little bit more by the solar cabins
12:52
that canard have added to the ship
12:54
there's also many lgbt travelers
12:57
particularly gay
12:58
male couples i get contacted frequently
13:01
by gay travelers worry that cunard
13:03
passengers will be very traditional and
13:05
very conservative and not at all
13:07
welcoming
13:09
i have never seen this there will often
13:11
be for example same sex couples dancing
13:14
ballroom in the queen's room and in fact
13:16
their dance skill will be of more
13:18
interest than anything else
13:20
most travelers by the way are british
13:22
american canadian and australians
13:25
though you do get a smattering of course
13:26
of all nationalities many people also
13:28
ask me if kids fit in my answer is no
13:31
not really there will be very few on
13:33
board and while there are kids and teen
13:36
clubs they pale into the insignificance
13:39
versus the much more family orientated
13:42
lines the program as i've covered is not
13:45
geared towards kids and teens and they
13:47
probably will not meet many other kids
13:49
to have fun with while it's not an adult
13:52
only line i get the real strong sense
13:54
that travellers expect their crossing to
13:56
be very much an adult experience and
13:58
i've probably even seen eyes roll a
14:00
little bit when they see the few kids
14:02
that are on board coming into the dining
14:03
rooms not surprisingly and i'm sure you
14:06
are thinking this too one huge concern
14:08
about the crossing is the weather
14:11
and seasickness both are without any
14:13
doubt risks no matter what time of the
14:16
year you go but there are a few things
14:18
that you need to know that will help you
14:20
queen mary 2 is a liner it's
14:23
specifically designed to cross the
14:24
atlantic it's designed to be incredibly
14:27
stable through the whole shape with
14:29
powerful stabilizers as well
14:32
i find queen mary 2 is definitely much
14:35
more stable than any other regular
14:37
cruise ship the other really critical
14:39
thing about the ship being designed to
14:41
cross the atlantic is the key public
14:43
venues and the restaurants are first of
14:45
all much lower down in the ship and
14:48
often much more midship than you
14:49
generally find on traditional cruise
14:51
ships if you want to know more i cover
14:53
this in much more detail in my video
14:55
about queen mary 2.
14:57
but
14:58
the north atlantic is unpredictable and
15:01
it's very varied
15:03
but if you want a high chance of a
15:04
smoother crossing then of course go
15:06
mid-summer and if you want big waves
15:08
then go in winter now my partner for
15:10
example mark is very prone to
15:12
seasickness but he has only ever got
15:14
seasick on winter crossings and never in
15:17
any summer crossing despite some days
15:20
inevitably where there's quite a bit of
15:21
movement personally i like may june time
15:24
as it's less costly than peak summer and
15:26
have had some of the smoothest crossings
15:28
i've ever had then every time i go i
15:31
will be honest with you i do meet people
15:33
who got seasick
15:35
so
15:36
i always recommend taking these
15:39
precautions
15:40
first of all
15:41
pack motion sickness medicine or patches
15:44
have those at the ready second if you're
15:46
worried about it book a cabin midship i
15:49
always always always book a midship
15:52
cabin even though touchwood i've never
15:54
been seasick go on really low decks too
15:57
if you are really concerned like deck
15:59
four five or six
16:01
thirdly remember that if you do feel
16:04
seasick you can go to the medical center
16:06
and get a jab it knocks you out for a
16:08
couple of hours but then will make you
16:10
feel fantastic so that's your kind of
16:12
fallback insurance also by the way pack
16:15
layers as it's going to be windy and
16:16
often chilly out on the deck no matter
16:18
what time of the year that you go if you
16:20
find this interesting i want to know
16:21
more
16:22
about queen mary 2 and what to expect
16:25
watch my video here about the ship where
16:27
i also discuss if critics are right to
16:30
say the ship is now well past her prime
16:33
see you over there
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