Elanor Brand

Cunard 9/2/13 – 9/10/13

Transatlantic Southampton – New York

Tip 1

We travelled on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York in early September. Our party was made up of myself, my husband, our two children ages 8 and 15, my mother, and his mother. On a voyage as long as this one we spent a lot of time eating.

We were in the Britannia restaurant and had late dining. This suited the older people in our party but my 8 year old son always ended up being fed earlier and going to the kids club while we ate. He liked eating at the buffet and couldn’t wait until 8:30 for dinner. The Kings Court buffet is open all the time and provides a casual alternative to the dining room.

The rest of us ate late and enjoyed our meals. The menu changed every night and always included some Canyon Ranch food. My daughter is a pescatarian and had no trouble finding food she enjoyed. Once she liked her meal so much the waiter brought her seconds without her even asking. Dining was very elegant as four of the nights were formal nights and the others were dressy. This is taken seriously on the ship and I suggest you pack accordingly. The food and service was very good.

We did try lunch at the Todd English restaurant which was excellent. This is a lovely space with really good food and service. At lunch time it is quiet and fairly empty. We did not take our 8 year old but did take our 15 year old who loved it. She went twice – once with each grandmother!

The English Pub also had good food at lunch. It was typical pub food (including some Indian food) and we did enjoy it for a change one afternoon. We also liked the specialty coffee from the coffee bar. The regular coffee is not very good by American standards.

Tea was lovely with tea sandwiches, pastries, scones and of course tea. There was live music playing which made it very special and elegant feeling. The days we had tea we were glad we had a late dinner! There is a lot of food available on the ship at all hours. You do not need to worry about going hungry.

I highly recommend the Queen Mary 2 for the food and service on a crossing. They do an outstanding job.