This was our 11th cruise and our second with Cunard, having been on the QE2 in 2006. We had been with several different cruise lines since, mainly P&O. We had liked the QE2 so much that we were really looking forward to having 20 nights on what is billed as a 5* ship. P&O are 4*, likewise RCI. We thought we would be just that notch further up the scale.

Oh dear. We found our cabin and went out onto the balcony - a sheltered one which is carved out of the hull of the ship. One word described the furniture, the floor and the window in the patio door - dirty. The window had still not been cleaned when we were getting off the ship. The balcony is a good size but on reflection we would not have chosen it as it was not condusive to sitting out, say in the evening with a drink as once you were in your seat you could not see anything of what was going on outside. We had been in the cabin about 30 minutes when the toilet overflowed so had to call the plumber. This happened again about 2 days later but this time in the middle of the night. Again, the plumber was called. The cabin was a reasonable size and the bathroom probably bigger than normal, especially the shower area. The shower was OK but not the best we have had. The toiletries were replaced in a haphazard fashion. Also if you wanted to used the hair conditioner, you had to wait ages for it to come out of the bottle. Fortunately we had taken our own. The bath towels were replaced twice a day but on occasion, it was like trying to dry yourself with a sheet of cardboard - not what I expected from a 5* ship. There was a reasonable amount of drawer storage space and the safe was a really good size and at eye level so you didn't need to grovel around on the floor to use it. The hanging space however, was a totally different story. 2 sections, one with those silly fixed coathangers that have no hook but to make things worse,these were grouped in 2s. The other section had a line of hooks that could be pulled out of the cupboard. Neither section was tall enough to take my long evening dresses without them dragging on the floor. Also no hangers in section 2. Fortunately, again we had taken our own. Also, take your own hair dryer unless you want to use one of those silly ones where you have to keep your finger on the button - might be OK for the men but not for women with hair to style!! The beds were comfy. The inside of the cabin was kept clean by our steward. There was a flat screen TV but no way of calling up your on board account to view in your cabin. Very old fashioned.

We were assigned to the Britannia restaurant - deck 3 right at the top. A table for 6, all of us having got on in Dubai but 2 were leaving at Singapore whilst the remaining 4 were going on to Honk Kong. We got on fine although my husband would have liked some other male company, being the only man out of the 6 of us!! Our waiters were good and attentive. Food was fine although the portions were found wanting on several occasions, especially if you had the vegetarian main course and the soup had to go back on occasion as it was only luke warm. The ambience in the restaurant was missing something - perhaps it was to do with the classical music we were subjected to by a string quartet who no doubt were very talented but we wanted more than funeral dirge music over dinner. We ate breakfast in the Kings Court. This was OK but somewhat disjointed - not as slick as the buffet restaurants on the P&O ships. One thing that was good was the fruit and I ate tons of it. Also the 24/7 availability of tea, coffee, juice and water/ice was excellent. At each place of major take on of passengers, the ship operated a 2 - 3 day norovirus lock down in the restaurants. This made for very slow progress in the Kings Court. Read more