Queen Mary 2 Ship Tour: Every Deck, Every Space, Before Her Refit

Queen Mary 2 is one of the most iconic ships in the world, the flagship of Cunard, a true ocean liner in a world of cruise ships. This is a full tour of her grandest spaces, from the Queens Room to the Britannia Restaurant, along the wrap-around promenade deck and into the corners most passengers overlook, captured just before she undergoes a major transformation. Along the way, we cover what's actually changing and what it means for the future of this one of a kind liner.

Crossing onto Queen Mary 2, the scale is obvious immediately in the Grand Lobby, classic Cunard bellhops on hand and a two to one guest to crew ratio, roughly 2,690 guests to 1,250 crew, that explains why the service feels so attentive. The lobby spans three levels with sweeping, symmetrical staircases, the best spot for formal night photos and for resetting your bearings in a ship full of corridors. Deck 2 houses the Purser's Desk, a relaxed live music seating area, and Mary's casino. Deck 3 is where the ship opens up properly, most of the main shops, and access to bars and restaurants including the Champagne Bar.

The Britannia Restaurant, just off the Grand Lobby, is the ship's primary dining room for anyone not in a Grills Suite, grand and electric on Gala evenings, more relaxed for an afternoon bite. Britannia Club guests dine here too, in their own private section. For something more casual, Kings Court on Deck 7 is a sprawling all-day buffet, and tucked at the end of the buffet line, the Chef's Galley serves hot dogs and burgers by day, made to order pizza and pasta with no dress code by night, one of our absolute favourite spots on board.

The Golden Lion Pub on Deck 3 serves British classics, fish and chips, cheese toasties, scotch eggs, most included in the fare. The Carinthia Lounge offers small platters through the day, and the Verandah steakhouse delivers a speciality dining upgrade for an extra charge. Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room, white glove service and a live orchestra, is one of the finest versions of the ritual anywhere, on land or at sea, and an absolute must alongside a formal night in Britannia.

Stepping onto Deck 7's wide, sweeping teak decks makes clear you're on a genuine ocean liner, not a standard cruise ship. Walking the full perimeter, stopping at the stern for panoramic ocean views or forward between the massive propeller blades mounted on deck to look out over the bow, this is one of the essential Cunard experiences, alongside afternoon tea and formal night. On our Norwegian Fjords voyage, this deck was the star of the whole trip, waterfalls and glaciers gliding past a traditional teak lounger.

Deck 8 holds the Terrace Pool and Terrace Bar, a sheltered, relaxed spot at the stern. Higher up, the Observation Deck on Deck 11 was a hotspot for fjord views, alongside outdoor sports facilities, shuffleboard, pickleball, golf driving nets. These upper decks are one of the areas facing the biggest changes in the upcoming refit.

The Queens Room shifts from daytime lectures and art talks into something far more glamorous after dark, live big band music, traditional ballroom dancing, and cocktails, the clearest expression of Cunard's nod to the golden age of travel anywhere on the ship. The Royal Court Theatre hosts production shows, guest speakers, and live concerts. The Golden Lion offers an authentic British pub vibe, live sport, a folk duo, and daily quizzes, while the Chart Room provides a more sophisticated nightcap with a live jazz band. The Commodore Club is a favourite, a place to work or read by day, a piano or string quartet by night. For those still going, G32 is the ship's late night club with resident DJs and a dance floor.

Illuminations sits at a genuine crossroads. Home to the only planetarium at sea, the dome was completely out of action during our voyage, and we were told the planetarium feature is being retired for good, though the auditorium continues as a lecture hall by day and cinema by night.

The ship's library, at the front of Deck 8, holds one of the biggest book collections at sea, a quiet spot for reading or working with a view over the bow. The bookstore next door won't be around much longer, scrapped in the upcoming refit to make way for a penthouse suite, a real shame for a ship like this, and we made sure to see it one last time before it goes. For switching off entirely, the Mareel Spa, pool, sauna, and loungers, remains a longstanding favourite of ours.

Queen Mary 2's cabins range from basic inside rooms to high end Grills Suites. We stayed in a sheltered balcony room, a balcony built directly into the ship's steel hull. The room itself is a practical layout, sofa, table, plenty of storage, mini fridge, kettle, hairdryer. The bathroom shows Mary's age a little, fairly tight with a traditional fabric shower curtain, but the balcony is the reason to book this room, sheltered rather than fully glass, which keeps you covered on rougher transatlantic crossings, and watching the fjords glide past from it was pure magic.

Queen Mary 2 is changing in the months ahead, but she remains a genuine maritime legend. The Queens Room, the promenade deck, the grand dining rooms are still essential for any traveller. Losing the bookstore alongside the closure of the planetarium means the original layout is being lost piece by piece, and the addition of new cabins on Deck 11's open deck space is a real point of contention for longtime fans. Even so, she remains steeped in a nostalgia and grandeur modern cruise ships simply cannot match, an experience worth trying at least once for a completely different way of ocean travel. With more than 100 nights on board across 15 years, this recent Norwegian Fjords voyage was just the latest chapter, and we're already looking forward to the next one.