Cunard QE2

This is the first Cunard ship I've ever been on, so I have no experience or memory of QE2 or Cunard from 'the good old days';- it's therefore all the more shocking that US owners Cunard have run it down, apart from milking the Cunard heritage to death.

This great ship, the last passenger liner to be built on the Clyde, has been 'vandalised' by cheap foreign refits. For example, the toilet seat in my cabin wouldn't stay up & the plumber couldn't fix it, because there wasn't enough room between seat & bulkhead!

'Service' (with the notable exception of the formal dining rooms) was awful. Ask for toast in the 'self-service' (where you couldn't serve yourself) & you'd be offered untoasted bread. Brown/ wholemeal bread was usually unavailable.

It became interesting to see how close you could get to a waiter/waitress & try to attract their attention without them seeing you. They were either in a trance-like world of their own, or were too busy chatting up female passengers.

Sit on deck in blazing sun & 32C/ 90F & it won't occur to the lazy bar staff to walk around & ask if you'd like a drink (don't they get commission/ incentives?).

In Quebec City the ramp to from shore to ship broke on both days (overnight visit). How can Cunard (Carnival) get caught out by tides in the St.Lawrence? ...Didn't they help discover it? ...To think we get annoyed by railway excuses like leaves on the line & the wrong kind of snow!

On the positive side, entertainment was mostly very good. Even the juggler, ventriloqiust & magician had fresh & entertaining material.

Crew were very unprofessional;- announcements were made by poorly-spoken people who didn't have the commonsense & courtesy to repeat their messages. Officers stood around in large groups on deck with their hands in their pockets when leaving ports.

No courtesy buses in New York City;- foot passengers had to walk through rough areas where locals stared at them to get to the touristy bits.