Queen Mary II Cruise Review

[nitad3 80]

Hello, 

 

I've received the news that my fiancee and puppy have landed this morning in NYC via Cunard's Queen Mary II cruise ship. Initially, when we were purchasing the tickets there was a limited surplus of information regarding both the cruise as well as the kennels. Therefore, I thought that it might be a good idea to post a little review with some information that my fiancee gave me regarding the whole journey, in case anyone is in the same situation where they want to take the crossing and are uncertain about it. 

 

The cruise terminal is located just south of Southampton's city centre, and it was really simple for us to reach it from the Midlands (approximately 2 hours on a Sunday, I believe all cruises leave on Sundays so there shouldn't be a huge amount of traffic). Their check in time was 3 pm for a 6 pm departure. The departure hall resembles an airport terminal, it's pretty huge and can fit a good amount of people. There is a baggage check first - you have an unlimited number of bags you can take with you (as long as you can fit them in your room haha!), however, Cunard's ask that they are all 20kg and under for consideration of the porters who will take them up to your cabin. You will need to put luggage tags on them, you can either print those out at home and stable them or they are happy to do it for you at arrivals - we decided to have everything printed out to speed up the process. The whole process was apparently very smooth, and people who are travelling with dog have a boarding priority, embarking the ship after wheelchair users and other individuals who require extra time and assistance to get on board. 

 

Once on the cruise they were able to take the dogs up to the kennel and allow them to become familiar with their new temporary home. We decided to pack my dog's bed, food and water bowls and lots of toys to make sure she felt like she was a little more at home. My dog is a little shy, so she was a little nervous about sharing a space with 20 other dogs on the cruise, but after the first night she was just fine. 

 

The biggest issue initially was for the pups to go and use the toilet on the deck, however, once it has been used a few times all the other dogs knew that they could use it. We bought some puppy training pads with us as a back up, and it actually came useful for one of the other doggies who had a really issue with using the bathroom. I would say that this was the biggest drawback of the kennel, there wasn't really anywhere for them to go, just the deck which was hosed down a few times per day and cleaned off, but unfortunately, this didn't help to get rid of the unpleasant pee smell. I would suggest bringing something you can wipe down your dog's feet with and something to dry wash them with (we had some spray shampoo in a bottle) because they will smell awful after a few days... and so will your shoes!! 

The deck is also unfortunately pretty small, meaning that a big dog like my lab struggled to run around, it's just a narrow C shaped deck which wraps the kennel. I'd suggest bringing plenty of toys and other fun stuff for them to play with to tire them out. 

 

The kennel staff were all really helpful and great with the dogs, they offered plenty of advice, going above and beyond to ensure that yourself and your dog will have a pleasant experience My fiance aid he connot fault them at all! 

 

Visiting time for dog are 8-10am, 11-12, 3-6pm and 8-8:30 pm, so you have plenty of time to go and do some stuff on the ship. However, my fiancee found that the cruise was definitely aimed at a slightly older demographic, so he struggled to find things to do. He enjoyed the planetarium (he ended up going 3 times!), the gym which was open 6am-8pm and the indoor swimming pool (it's unfortunate that the crossing was during such a cool time of the year, he was forced to only use the indoor pool, because it was far too cold to use the 4 other outside pools). The dinner venue and buffet were both very accommodating and served a large range of foods, he is lactose intolerant so it's always a struggle to find things which are not contaminated with some hidden dairy (but there were plenty of vegan options so yay!).  There are also other restaurants which you can pay for, but he didn't try any of those out. 

 

The ship arrived into Brooklyn in NYC around 6am, but it took them 2 hours before they could disembark the ship. Important to note, for a strange reason many of the major roads in Brooklyn were blocked off due to the arival of the cruise, so there is a possibility that you might have to walk a couple of blocks to catch an uber to your destination or one of the car rental offices (like my fiance had to do), so keep that in mind! There are a few car rental places nearby, he decided to go with Avis, and there was nothing wrong it was all smooth sailing!. 

 

I have included a few pictures of my pup because dog pictures make everything better, right? If anyone has any questions regarding the cruise, myself or my fiancee would be happy to answer them, hope this is useful for someone, because I wish there was a little more info regarding the cruise and its kennel when we were making our plans. 😃

 

 

Edited May 5, 2019 by nitad3

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

Hey @nitad3!

 

I came to your page to message you to ask how the trip went and saw this post! Some great pointers, thank you very much!

 

Our cruise actually leaves on a Tuesday, so I’m hoping traffic is kind to us too (coming from the East Midlands).

 

Also loving the mention of vegan foods...I already told Cunard I’m vegan, so I just hope I get cake. I always really hope I get cake 😆😆.

 

Do they have plants milks and yogurt and stuff available?

 

So, your fiancé and your pup were off by 10am? I’ve booked our car hire from 12pm, so hope we can disembark a little later, or we’ll be loitering! 😆 Though I guess it’ll take me longer, cause I’ll have to have the POE interview...

 

How’s your dog settling in? Has he been swimming in the lake yet?

[nitad3 80]

On 5/9/2019 at 10:17 PM, Zoeeeeeee said:

Hey @nitad3!

 

I came to your page to message you to ask how the trip went and saw this post! Some great pointers, thank you very much!

 

Our cruise actually leaves on a Tuesday, so I’m hoping traffic is kind to us too (coming from the East Midlands).

 

Also loving the mention of vegan foods...I already told Cunard I’m vegan, so I just hope I get cake. I always really hope I get cake 😆😆.

 

Do they have plants milks and yogurt and stuff available?

 

So, your fiancé and your pup were off by 10am? I’ve booked our car hire from 12pm, so hope we can disembark a little later, or we’ll be loitering! 😆 Though I guess it’ll take me longer, cause I’ll have to have the POE interview...

 

How’s your dog settling in? Has he been swimming in the lake yet?

Hopefully it should be okay, just make sure to leave after the traffick dies down a little 😊

 

Yes, they had almond and soy milk, and alpro yoghurts and those chocolate puddings too, so there is definitely stuff to have for breakfast etc! Even at the buffets they're pretty accommodating, and will make side vegetables from scratch for you which are plain or with olive oil. 

 

I think they were off the ship by 9:30 and customs took maybe 10 minutes, it was all very quick! All they needed to see were their passports, and my dog's pet passport. I'm sure you can always go into the car rental office and pick up your car a little earlier, maybe even give them a call and find out! 😁

 

Yes, she's been settling in very well! She's swam twice so far, once the day after the cruise and then again right before my future in laws were about to come 😂. She loves her new vet and the doggie park nearby!! 

 

Your November date is also fast approaching, not long left!!! 

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

2 hours ago, nitad3 said:

Hopefully it should be okay, just make sure to leave after the traffick dies down a little 😊

 

Yes, they had almond and soy milk, and alpro yoghurts and those chocolate puddings too, so there is definitely stuff to have for breakfast etc! Even at the buffets they're pretty accommodating, and will make side vegetables from scratch for you which are plain or with olive oil. 

 

I think they were off the ship by 9:30 and customs took maybe 10 minutes, it was all very quick! All they needed to see were their passports, and my dog's pet passport. I'm sure you can always go into the car rental office and pick up your car a little earlier, maybe even give them a call and find out! 😁

 

Yes, she's been settling in very well! She's swam twice so far, once the day after the cruise and then again right before my future in laws were about to come 😂. She loves her new vet and the doggie park nearby!! 

 

Your November date is also fast approaching, not long left!!! 

They have Alpro chocolate puddings? Oh man, now I’m going to be forced to eat chocolate for breakfast everyday (you can’t not eat them if they’re there) 😂😂😂

 

I think it’ll probably take longer for me, because I’ll have to do the K1 interview and they’ll look through the legendary brown envelope etc...I also wonder if it might take them some extra time, because they probably don’t deal with many K1s at that port, so might not be familiar with them...

 

I think the car rental should be ok - whenever I’ve hired them in the past, I’ve just turned up and they’ve always had available cars, just may need to wait a little for them to clean one or something. Plus, when we get off, we’ll definitely want to take Gunner for a little walk to stretch his legs and then take a taxi with all my luggage to the rental place (hired one from Hertz who are pretty nearby, but too far with luggage)...so may not be too far off 12 by the time we get there.

 

Love the pics of her on the boat - she’s so cute!

 

Yep, it’s only just over 6 months until the planned leave date! Time is going so quickly! 

 

How about you? You’ve not had your interview yet, is that right? But I guess you’re having it soon if you want to go in June? X

[TBoneTX 45,319]

13 hours ago, Zoeeeeeee said:

Alpro chocolate puddings

I initially read this as Alpo (dog food).  

[Zoeeeeeee 797]

5 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I initially read this as Alpo (dog food).  

It’s delicious, meaty and crunchy and keeps my coat shiny 😂😂😂

 

Haha! Alpro is a soy-based company over here, similar to Silk over there 🙃.