Background - My wife and I cruise two to three times per year. We are Cunard World Club Members as well as Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society Members. This was our eleventh cruise since 2004. My wife is 45 and I am 41. We have two boys ages 9 and 4. This cruise was our anniversary cruise without the children. We have cruised on the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) three times and obviously this was our first voyage on Queen Victoria.

Pre-Cruise Stay - We booked a pre-cruise hotel stay in London for two days through Cunard Line. They picked us up at Heathrow International Airport and took us directly to the Millennium Hotel at Mayfair. They transfer was on time and the driver was friendly and courteous. We had a wonderful time in London, even though it is very expensive. The exchange rate was two US Dollars to one Pound Sterling. That made the prices even worse!! We did alot of walking around the city and spend virtually all our money on food. Over $500 in two days for six meals. We had a great dinner at a Lebanese restaurant on Duke Street between the hotel on Grovesnor Square and Oxford Street. We did not buy any gifts in London. The food was very good and the hotel very nice. The room was a bit small and warm. It seemed the heat would not shut off, so the window stayed open. We loved Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Tower Bridge. We also went to Piccadilly Circus and Harrods, but they were very crowded and expensive. I thought the city was very clean and the people very friendly. Cunard had a liaison at the hotel and she gave us all of the necessary information for the transfer to the ship. Our baggage was picked up timely and the coach bus was comfortable and timely. We arrived in Southampton after a two-hour ride and the terminal was decked out for the Maiden Voyage and also for Christmas.

Embarkation - The trip through security and check-in was a breeze. The delay came when boarding the ship. For some reason, they decided to take your picture for your sea pass while getting on the ship. The line on the gangway back up quite a bit and the older folks had some trouble standing on uneven ground after a while. This seemed unnecessary. The pictures are usually done when getting your card at check-in. It was odd. Other than that, the embarkation process was smooth. Read more