A few other touches that impressed me aboard the QM2 included dance hosts at the Queens Room, who serve as floor partners for those attending ballroom and other dance classes and functionssolo.Also,some of the passengers who partook in karaoke impressed me with their range (I, meanwhile, learned that I do NOT have the vocal range to tackle all of Adele’s “Skyfall,” for which I humbly apologized to anyone present).
I was thrilled with the scheduled ports, and had pored over the cruise’s optional land excursions and tours, and made several selections a few weeks prior through Cunard’s website, including a “Nagasaki Memorial Tour” ($90) and “Seoul On Your Own” ($71). Other Queen Mary 2 excursions in Busan, Nagasaki and Incheon/Seoul also include visits to Busan temples and a tea ceremony or a half-day “best of ” Busan swing through the Jagalchi Fish Market, Busan Cinema Center, Gwangalli Beach, lush Mount Yongdusan Park, and breathtakingly cinematic views while driving the Gwangan Bridge (it was featured during a key sequence in the movie Black Panther).
Bellboys
I will note that with the exception of Nagasaki, the QM2 was often docked rather inconveniently, far outside the city center in industrial, even obscure ports removed from public transport. In the case of Incheon, we landed in such a far-flung, remote area that it was accessed via a military checkpoint and taxis were completely unfamiliar with how to get there, resulting in a few Johnny-come-lately passengers being left behind (in these instances, Cunard helps arrange their meeting the ship in the next port of call). However, complimentary shuttles were available and made regular runs to and from a centralized access point. From Incheon, where we were greeted by an Incheon 2018 Olympics mascot.
My “Seoul On Your Own” excursion dropped me into a prime Seoul district, but rather than take it directly back to the ship, I elected to spend more time exploring local art galleries, dining on black pork barbecue (this breed of pig is raised on Jeju Island), and seeing a local friend. Afterward, I made my way to Incheon via the subway and met the complimentary shuttle before its final run back to the ship (alas, I arrived too late to grab a bucket of Korean fried chicken, which is delectable!).
