We arrived in Southampton before lunch, to find longish check-in lines. However, the check-in process went smoothly as we had completed appropriate documentation on line. We were then held an embarkation louge for anout 45 minutes as staterooms were not all ready. We are more used to the Royal Caribbean/Celebrity procedure of being permitted to board immediately to explore and have lunch, while awaiting an announcement that staterooms are ready.

Queen Victoria is great. Unlike Queen Mary II which is very much the trans-Atlantic Liner - heavy woodwork and fairly sombre inside, with steel fronted balconies on lower decks and the buffet crammed into the Promenade Deck (7) amidships, Queen Victoria is a modern-style cruise ship. In fact she is very similar to P&O's Arcadia which we believe was originally ordered for Cunard until they then amended their specification. The main difference is that Queen Victoria has a very large public area - The Queen's Room - on deck 2 amidships Not only is this a very good focal point, it also is a great improvement. On Arcadia, the only space large enough for the Captain's cocktail party is around the indoor pool!

Queen Victoria is bright and airy and tastefully furnished. There is a lovely buffet at the stern near the pool deck area, and the ship is very easy to find your way around. We had a balcony cabin on deck 4 - immediately in front of the forward lifeboat on the starboard side - and the balcony was enormous. That is more than can be said of the cabin which was just about acceptable and lacking in storage space. The toilet/shower room was particularly cramped compared with RCI and Celebrity ships and had no space for storage of toilet bags, toothbrushes and other personal items. Read more