I just booked I can't wait to go 😊

It’s the same cost as a flight!

Why are there not a lot of passengers shown on these ships in these videos??

Good review! Thanks.

I sailed April 21 2024. 14 days to Barcelona Spain

My first time sailing ever and Oasis of the Sea was my first. I loved it the Jamaican Band, the food everything and everybody.

My sister and I cruised in July of 2023. She has early onset dementia and it was one of the vacations that we thought might be manageable. It was perfect she had a lot of autonomy walking around the ship on her own. There was plenty for us to do and in fact we loved it so much that we spent a couple of hours in Southampton and got right back on and cruise back to New York. It is Affordable and wonderful

Is there wifi?

Hard to do this ship in just 10 minutes but you managed to do this well. This class of ship is just well done and has a lot of features for a lot of different types of cruisers. There may be some areas that crowd but it's hard to predict how big a venue should be. Icon of the Seas builds on Oasis and adds a few things. I like the promenade parades. They're fun.

I have been to the Capilano Suspension bridge about 20 years ago. I had the same weather conditions; I definitely liked it. From what you have shown, the park has expanded with the cliff walk area; I do not remember that being there. Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks. Yes to 3 day non-Caribbean non-booze cruise like this one. I liked Vancouver a lot where I stayed before an Alaska cruise.

I'm from New York City. Glad you go to spend a day and enjoy a Broadway Show. You do really well detailed and strong videos and I get a good sense of what you favor in cruising. But I also sense you were with others and adjusted some to this particular sailing. I sailed the first cruise of my life with my Dad and a late one as well and I appreciate your personal message at the end of the video. It was heartwarming. I cruised early in life but not often, only once on a Holland AmericasShip, the what really is "iconic" and not in the current sense of the word, but old sense of the word, Rotterdam V. I joined a historical ship society to board ships when they're in NYC and spent several hours on a few Cunard ships. the Queen Mary 2 was the newest one I spent time aboard. I also was aboard the QE2 from the 1960s and that was incredible as well. Cunarders are different than many other present day cruisers. They're much more into history of sailing and want certain aspects of their traditional ships to stay that way. Yes, the Queen Mary is an oceanliner meant to battle the conditions of the Northern Atlantic on a consistent basis, so there are protected balconies and the lifeboats are placed much higher than they are on traditional ships. It also has decks with public access to the tiers below unlike most modern ships. And teak decks, real teak. And yes, you have early and late seating, not an offshoot of anytime dining that has become the norm on many cruise lines. It has a library that's disappearing from cruise ships. Business types say they aren't important. People that care about the quality and not just the profits of a business say that they are a staple and will be used on some sailings. So, they're gone from Celebrity and Princess new ships because business types think the new generation doesn't need them. That they can just see what's on their screens. But they are an atmosphere all their own and a quiet space. that's their appeal. Ship decor is more than furnishings. It's more creating a sense of a space that sets a mood, evokes or recalls a previous style in with modern touches, or is a modern space that is looking forward (opposed to trendy that's on NCL Prima, Sun Princess, Celebrity Edge, etc). This is one that has those traditional ship touches yet is still reasonably modern overall. Queen Mary did this well. There's a lot of ballroom dancing in the Queens Room and that room, that also has high tea (shown in the video), is a ballroom space. You can dance in a lobby or atrium, or in the Queens Room. It's the same dancing yet the setting just changes how it feels. It becomes more intimate and romantic in a ballroom. The ship has so many nice and elegant lounges and that's something, again, modern ships are moving away from. HAL and Cunard are still doing them but Princess and Celebrity are getting away from them. I think they are a staple of cruising and there should be more, not less, of them on ships and if there are less of anything, specialty restaurants IMO. I love dancing in the form of ballroom, swing and salsa especially. So if there are more venues for different styles of music and dance possibilities in the evening, that makes for a better experience. I don't even need to do it myself. Just have it around me. The ship has restaurant classes but doesn't seem to restrict passengers to many areas of the ship. So I don't mind the classes so much as what's going on with the NCL Haven, MSC Yacht Club and the like. I'm glad you found some of the magic, well felt it, in your cruise. Food and entertainment are part of all cruises and so are spas and pool activities. But some ships have a setting that stands out and lets you feel some of the better parts of previous eras. I don't romanticize previous eras. I lived through some of them and for me, this is the best era. But there were highlights that would be great to maintain in the cruise product. I wish Celebrity and Princess would get back to maintaining them in their post Edge and post Sphere class of ships. But I'm not holding my breath. Try Holland America. It's a wonderful line as well. Princess Royal class ships are wonderful and Celebrity Solstice, when maintained well, also have some modern traditional aspects that are wonderful.

This was a superb and very informative review. Well photographed as well. Every cruiser has some area of the ship they'll use that is essential and other areas that are not. That tends to give a bias to what they like and how much they like the overall ship. The Ascent isn't dramatically different than the Beyond and isn't significantly different than the Apex or Edge that came before it. The pool area is indeed nicely done and the overall deck areas in sections, so this is.a very successful aspect of the Edge class ships. For me, the Rooftop Garden is fine, though a bit odd a space for pickle-ball. I think I like Sunset Bar better on the Edge or Apex, not a fan of the theming. But it is larger. The interior is another story. The thing is, this is a very new ship so it is sparkling and so forth like most new ships or hotels or whatever. However, if you are familiar with Celebrity over the years, they had a signature, a look that is of a particular character that was abandoned. So, that matters to some and not to others. Cruising is very personal. Overall, however you slice it, there aren't that many mix and mingle areas inside while there are a huge choice of restaurant atmospheres to enjoy, even if you pay for most of them. You don't have to pay for the four included ones so that's a good thing. Not such a good thing is that 3 of the specialty dinings are placed in the Grand Plaza, so whatever action/sounds/activities are clearly heard in them if you dine at a certain time. This is not the case on Celebrity's previous class Solstice class ships and therefore I think, a design that wasn't well chosen. If you want different bars, they have plenty on this ship. Different lounges, not a strong point of this class of ship (their previous and smaller classes not sailing with them anymore had more). Overall, new, high tech theater with sharp screens that enhance the shows, plenty of acrobats, Eden space has nice views aft and varied entertainment inside. Decor is trendy and pretty but not moody and romantic or modern nostalgic (except some areas in the dining rooms). Big thing is this is a 2 class ship. There is the front of the ship Retreat area only for suite passengers that is restricted in both deck and interior space to only suite passengers. The rest of the ship is accessible to all but the front is prime real estate. If you're used to accessing the front of the ship, this is an issue. In reviews, this comes up as an issue for some cruisers while for others, it is not. Overall for me, Celebrity has done better ships. 6 out of 10 for me because I miss libraries and card rooms and a large lounge in the front of the ship and other areas it doesn't have that are in their previous classes of ships. Also the decor doesn't have the same feel to it as previous Celebrity class ships (it's not a modern thing vs. a feel thing IMO). I think this is a successful class for them but some directions they're going in like up-charging and restricting areas of the ship for a suite class, is concerning for some cruisers and especially long-time Celebrity cruisers. You can have an extremely nice cruise on this ship or Beyond or Apex or Edge however and the crew, entertainers and fellow passengers often are what makes the cruise the most. Celebrity has improved their entertainment in the theater and is a more active, lively ship than it used to be.

A month ago I did a Westbound Transatlantic, via Le Harve. 8 nights in a Sheltered Balcony Stateroom. I didn't get time to do half the things I planned to do. We had Stephen Payne OBE, the designer of QM2 as one of our speakers. Did you find Homer Simpson?

Thanks for the info,my wife and me are going to Alaska first week of June.

Excellent review! I am doing a Mediterranean Cruise on RC in July 2025. I would love to do this tour. Your review was extremely helpful!

I agree with everything you said in your review. My first trip on the QM2 was in July of this year, Transatlantic. It had been a bucket list item of mine and it did not disappoint. The Queen is an elegant Lady indeed and I cannot wait to sail on her again which I will be doing for 31 days round trip from NY for the Fjords trip summer of 2025.

Thank you for drawing a distinction between an ocean liner and a cruise ship. I really enjoyed your video. Can't wait until I do this transatlantic crossing! Omg, so wonderful for you to do this as a family. So glad you got to experience this.

My niece just booked a Alaskan cruise for the end August 2025 on NCL. I will be sending your video on NCL so she can be fully informed. Thank you for this information.

Great video!! DD

Very informative, thank you

fully agree with your review we went on 12 day in November 2024!

I'll be on here in a few weeks. I cannot wait!

I did a TA to Southampton and LOVED every second. Thanks for yr review. It bought back many great memories.

I found black mold in my room, on paintings down the hall ways and in the Windjammer. :/ This as of 11/21/24.

Thank you

We sailed on her May 23. It was our first cruise and Cunard and all the crew made us feel like royalty. The food was fantastic as was the service right down to our cabin steward. After seeing other cruise lines videos Cunard will always be our first choice. Thanks for the great Video

I find it incredible that Queen Mary still has shower curtains in some cabins. What are you thinking, cunard?

It was not mentioned but I am sure it would have happened during the cruise is UK Border Force doing the passport checks and immigration over a number of days during the daytime in the theatre. This allows the rapid disembarkation when the ship arrives in Southampton. This is a very good video review of a QM2 Transatlantic. Thank You.

Thank you for this review, I’m going on Oasis October of 2025 , I just got off Wonder of the seas last week and just wanna see what are the differences in the two ships , I do see a few things that are not on Wonder, Oasis is an older ship but still beautiful

The ship looks so deserted in so many of these shots! Where is everybody? Were the outside decks too cold? (What time of year was this?)

In my opinion . this is a fair review. Having sailed this Norwegian cruise in July 2024 and the Atlantic in June 2023, some of my party felt there was slight lowering in food choice and/or quality but I didn't notice. My only gripe was that the coffee from the big machines in the buffet was better in 2023. Highlights included relaxing to the music in the Queens room late at night with a cocktail or two, a pre dinner pint of beer in the bar and 7am the the gym.

I totally agree with all you said. I cannot wait till I board again soon.

Beautifully presented!

Look forward to te Norway video

Did you bring the raw chicken to the chef's attention? This might have corrected the problem for others!

What a charming review ~ thank you for sharing 😊

The spas were not. Hot

Absolutely. Thanks for sharing.

very well presented and informative video. I am going to sail on her next summer to Alaska and this helped a lot and will help set my expectations.

Very interestering - essential of ship & Hope to Cruise on Ascent Soon ! ☆♡♧

I just booked a cruise on this ship and we can't wait! Thanks for the tour! It actually looks a lot like Wonder of the Seas which we did earlier this year.

No mention of the pool. Heated? Chlorinated or salt water? Pool or pools? Any string quartet playing? Classical music?

You did an amazing job of reviewing and describing this cruise. Wow! The Queen Mart II is beautiful. Great video!

Great video, thanks. We’ve sailed her before and will be back in a few weeks!

We've moved from Carnival to Celebrity, and for the last 6 years, Holland America. I just booked 7 nights on Royal Princess for the Mexican Riviera. We prefer entry level suites, and Princess was half the cost, so perfect time to give them a try. The shows look better than anything we've seen. Not sure if this is true for Princess, but on HAL, you can ask for an Indian Menu. Each night had an additional vegetarian option, and you have to request your meal the night before. It is geared for foreigners, so 3/5 spicy.

Im going in January, i went on freedom my last cruise, definetely getting the drink package again, i had 10-20 drinks everyday, so worth it

is it good for kids?

Wow Kelly!! I think that’s the kind of water vessel I could spend time on. Not too mention all the great sights you saw. So much yummy food including that yummy dessert. Also wow all of the things to see and different areas. That thing is huge. Was curious though, on a cruise like that how much extra should you expect to spend. Just approximate dint need specifics