Were my expectations too high or reality too much of a disappointment?

Have you ever been on a cruise or even a holiday where your expectations are so high (maybe from reading articles, other peoples opinions, recommendations or having done that particular ship or holiday before) that when you decide to experience it for yourself/again it just falls flat and you are left disappointed?

I hate to say this but this is how my recent cruise on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 left me feeling. I always thought Cunard was a 5 star luxury liner with the White star service, with superb food, and overall an upmarket product with a more formal dress code and luxurious surroundings.

I was on a 4 night mini cruise which departed Southampton on the 26th November with my partner and after a nightmare journey trying to get to the ship as most of Southampton was at a gridlock, we were welcomed on board and even welcomed home, and advised our cabin was ready (this was at 12:45!) So first impressions started well as we knew the ship had been late getting in and saw people still waiting for taxis outside the terminal building as we pulled up, and on other cruises lines you have to wait until after 2/3pm before your cabins are ready. We went to our cabin and as this was a short cruise we decided for an inside cabin (normally would not even consider anything less than an obstructed Ocean View cabin). On arrival our bag was already at the cabin and Our Bon Voyage wine was chilling in the cooler. So after dropping our bags and coats off we went for lunch at the Kings Court.

This was our first time on Cunard and on Queen Mary 2 so spent the afternoon exploring , taking photos and getting lost whilst we waited for life boat drill. On our walk round we both purchased the non alcoholic drinks package as this was a little extra cruise we fitted in so decided this would be a good way of keeping our bill down. We spoke to the maitre D’ and after a lot of persuasion and him looking down at us he agreed we could have a table for 2 for dinner in the Britannia restaurant.

We had a lovely waiter – the problems we had was the food was coming out luke warm and he often got my partners dessert order wrong (not sure how difficult vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce was to remember but he forgot) We found the meals had vegetables on the plates that matched with the meal you were having ( we experienced some very odd things on P&O) However I have to say the food was good but have had better on Celebrity Cruises (and even on my ship tour on Oceania) and many people were saying they have had better on other cruise lines.

The other major disappointment we had is the bar service – the first night in the pub the bar just forgot to bring my partner his drink and even came back half an hour later and asked if he wanted a drink. In the Queens room whilst we waiting for the Beatles experience to start (we had left our cards on he table which the waiter saw) we were then ignored for 50 minutes and the waiter served everyone around us but wouldn’t serve us as we had the drinks package, and in the Sir Samuels Coffee ship (you can have soft drinks also) after waiting 25 minutes for a coke and lemonade I was then advised it would be quicker for me to walk to the Chart Room opposite and get one over the bar.

We did have some highlights so not to focus completely on the negative and these included – afternoon tea in the Queens Room, seeing the Planetarium show (only on sea days and would advise you to queue early – my partner got there at 08.45 and was already about 16th in the queue) We were pleased with our cabin, and as an inside this was bigger than our ocean view we had on Oceana last month – and obviously the Bon Voyage wine. We also enjoyed the ships own productions and made a nice change to have singers who can sing (the 4 main ship singers all had been in Broadway Musicals or been backing singers to major artists) Seeing the ship over the 4 days being transformed for Christmas was lovely to see. We also loved the library which has 8000 books available to borrow.

Many people are aware that Cunard have a stricter dress code with blue denim only allowed in the Kings Court and Winter Garden after 6pm. So was surprised to see people in other areas of the ship such as the pub, casino and the nightclub wearing jeans and someone was even wearing a tracksuit and the staff didn’t even bat an eyelid.

So would I travel with Cunard again? – Never say never – if the itinerary was right and at a good price then yes we would give them another try.

Have you ever had a similar experience where your cruise/holiday just doesn’t meet the expectations and anticipation? What was disappointing for you and would you try them again. Would love to hear your thoughts

More photos of my cruise are below: