My husband and I returned to the USA, on the Queen Mary II,after a visit to the UK. We had travelled to the UK on a repostitioning cruise and the Queen Mary was our only choice for returning by sea. We cannot say we were disappointed. That would not be fair. However, we were not overly impressed, either. We are very seasoned cruisers and feel that we are well qualified to make a judgement of the ship. The entertainment we cannot fault. We both enjoyed the RADA troup and their story telling workshop along with the various productions that they did. They were a very talented group of young people and the whole experience with them was one of the two highlights of the crossing. The other highlight was the talk given by P.D. James who was most entertaining, and amazing, given her age. We attended several of the shows, namely the concert pianist, the two production shows, comedian, and the trumpet player. All were very entertaining.

Our cabin was pleasant with nice bedding and a inconspicuous cabin steward was kept everything immaculate. The balcony was redundant as the weather was not for sitting out in. As it was the type of balcony we had made it impossible to see out when seated on the chairs provided. It was really a "standing only" balcony.

The down side of the crossing for us was the food. We only ate two nights in the Britannia restaurant and we were amazed on the first night that the waiter did not introduce himself nor even say "Hello." Our water glasses were never re-filled. As we are British by birth we know that water with a meal is not usual, but it is very usual for Americans and a large percentage of the passenger base was American. Two nights we ate in the King's Court and the food was exceptionally mediocre and service non-existent. On Royal Caribbean ,if you eat in the casual restaurant for dinner, some effort is made to make the experience a little special with the wait staff bringing drinks to your table. On Princess they set the table with mats and cutlery. No extra effort was made on Queen Mary II. In fact, the wait staff were conspicuous by their absence and many tables were left uncleared. The meats were overcooked and the potatoes undercooked. (Should it not be the other way around?) We did, however, eat in two of the $10.00 per person eateries and the food was very good in both of them. The Carvery, however, suffered from inexperienced service and, again, no water refills. However, the Lotus restaurant could not be faulted. The food was excellent(we ate there twice), and the service was charming and very efficient. Hats off to that area!. Would we travel on the Queen Mary again? Probably not, if there is another choice i.e. a repositioning cruise. Failing that we would certainly plan our trip around the pricing as currently the service and food do not justify the price that we paid for the experience.