A Cruise That Had the Blues

This is a luxury cruise? Much of the food was too cold, and many of the rooms too hot. Three out of four swimming pools had no water, while 50 flooded cabins had far too much. All in all, the maiden voyage of the newly refurbished Queen Elizabeth 2 offered 1,300 transatlantic passengers more than a night to remember. For many, it was a five-day odyssey they hope to forget. Sniffed Detroit Lawyer Dennis Aaron: "It was certainly not what I expected on the Queen."

The basic problems stemmed from a six-month, $162 million overhaul that gave the QE2 modern diesel engines and revamped its accommodations. An official of the Cunard Line, which owns the 18-year-old ocean liner, said it was assumed that the renovated ship would suffer "teething problems." But their unexpected magnitude will take a $1 million bite out of Cunard's revenues in partial refunds offered to customers.

Not everyone on board felt the trip was a complete loss. Many passengers liked the new shops hawking the goods of Gucci, Dior and Dunhill. Others praised the polite crew, understaffed by a last-minute union squabble. But it was not like the old days when Cunard boasted that "getting there is half the fun." Last week jetting there might have been half the hassle.