We had a fantastic time sailing around the Greek Isles and Turkey on the Queen Elizabeth. The ship is on the subdued side, activity and decor-wise, which meant we enjoyed it much more than some other lines we've been on. We're youngish for cruising -- I'm in my early 30s. But we loved the classic nature of this ship with its large library, vintage photographs and mosaics, nautical themed paintings, and deco design. It was nice to hear the captain describe all his maneuvering whenever we left port, and we liked watching the dancing in the ballroom. We live in the US, although I'm from Australia, so we also enjoyed the British touches like the pub, real scones and cream, baked beans for breakfast, etc.. We also found the food overall to be better than expected based on other reviews.

We were traveling with a 22 month old, and while there was no child care for her, which was a shame, there was an area she could play in with toys, and books that we could take back to our cabin. We did not use the night nursery as we were diligent about wanting to keep her usual night time routine so she wouldn't wake in the night. The dining room staff were extremely friendly and accommodating, allowing us to order our meals a night in advance so we wouldn't have to be waiting with a restless toddler for the first course to arrive. She made an absolute disaster of the table every night, but the staff were all patient and never made us feel bad. Overall she was pretty well behaved and made friends with a couple of the other older passengers.

The itinerary was outstanding. We spent a week in Athens ahead of the cruise and recommend that general approach for anyone traveling across timezones with a toddler. It took her five nights to get over jetlag and sleep through the night, and if those five nights had been on the ship, with a port a day, we would have been exhausted. Instead we got to see Athens in a leisurely manner, which in of itself was lovely, and then could enjoy the cruise. Read more