THE maiden voyage of the Queen Mary 2, the world’s largest and most expensive cruise liner, was the chance to put its well-publicised difficulties behind it.

The floating palace had already been written off by some for its “Las Vegas casino” style and its pre-launch had been marred by the gangway collapse that killed 15 people in a French dockyard.

So when it docked in Fort Lauderdale last Monday, Cunard, its owner, was hoping for good feedback. It was not to be. The ship has developed a new problem: over-particular American passengers.

Voyage diaries and commentaries on American websites have slated the £550m vessel for slipping standards and shoddy service.

The passengers claim the staff were overworked, underpaid and inexperienced. One correspondent claimed there had been near mutiny with 250 disaffected staff jumping ship by the end of the transatlantic crossing. In fact, only a handful of the 1,200 crew have left, according to the company.

It was not just the staff that came in for criticism. Cruise regulars, such as Greg Straub from New York, were disappointed with their fellow passengers, who paid between £2,449 and £26,839 to join the historic voyage.

In an online diary, written from his cabin, Straub lamented the fact that there are just two evenings in which passengers were required to wear black tie. On its sister ship, Queen Elizabeth 2, there were four.

“I fear it will become a setting of proletarian squalor if the waiters are better dressed than the passengers,” notes Straub acidly. “Are Cunard running scared they cannot fill this ship with people who are willing to follow the traditional dress on a crossing?” Straub also claims to have heard “passengers complaining nightly about slow service”. Damning with faint praise, he said: “While the selection was ample and the portions appropriate, the service was unbelievably slow.”

Other passengers complained that the Veuve Clicquot bar was inadequately stocked with champagne glasses, forcing them to make do with freshly washed flutes.

This was nothing compared to the “scandal” of the Commodore Club which, according to one passenger from Atlanta, had been taken over by a gay touring party. He renamed it the “Commodorothy Club” and he and his friends avoided it.

Even the on-board entertainment was not good enough for some. One complained about an excited child ruining his enjoyment of the magic show and had expected more of a fanfare when the ship reached Barbados: “A brass band played a song then marched away,” he noted with disappointment.

The same passenger was also dissatisfied with the crew masseurs. He wrote: “My massage was rather lacklustre — all three of them have been. It seems that many of the ‘therapists’ were new hires and are timid about really kneading people, even if you ask.”

Cunard admits there were teething problems on the 14-day voyage. The hot water system failed at one point, two Filipino staff were sacked after fighting below decks and some passengers were delayed at the end of the voyage because the porters struggled to unload the luggage.

“It is worth bearing in mind that this was a first voyage,” said Eric Flounders, the Cunard spokesman. “Not only was the ship new and the crew new but a lot had not worked at sea before. There were occasional problems, but measured against other maiden voyages it went well.”

It was not helped by a storm in the Bay of Biscay that caused seasickness among the crew. Dame Shirley Bassey was forced to postpone a performance due to illness.

The inexperience of the crew was a common complaint. One Cunard regular said: “There were too many crew who needed more training and experience, and some were plainly in the wrong job. The stresses were evident but this is no excuse for bad attitude.”

A number of passengers said they had been told by crew that working conditions were very tough and staff were regularly working 16-hour, or longer, days.

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