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Queen Victoria

Queen Elizabeth

Tortola

We decided to do a short cruise on the recently refurbished Queen Victoria to see if the additions had improved things. They had. We had one of the club balcony staterooms and were able to dine in the Brittania club restaurant which allowed us to chose when we dined instead of having to chose an early or late sitting. The stateroom was adequate in size with a slightly larger balcony although we didn't spend a lot of time in our room. The only negative point regarding the room was the air conditioning. It was fixed on one temperature and we were unable to control the temperature with the thermostat. We did report it and it was alleged to have been fixed but nothing changed. The fixed temperature was bearable as we didn't spend much time in the room. The club restaurant was lovely. The food was good and the staff their usual friendly selves. Like others have commented on, the wines are very expensive and in my opinion unjustifiably so. There really is no reason to charge such high prices for drinks. The ports we visited were OK if unremarkable other than Venice which, despite the hordes of cruise liner tourists, is still lovely. Purchases on the ship, should anyone wished to have availed themselves of this opportunity had an additional 24% tax added to the existing surcharge Cunard already impose. This was apparently due to a Greek law ( we started from Athens ) that the ship had to comply with and would not be released from until the ship visited a non EU country! No attempt was made however, to call at Albania or Montenegro for instance to release this tax as we made our way up the Adriatic. Overall, we enjoyed Queen Victoria and will most likely book a cruise on her again some time in the future.

A lovely way to travel

When originally booked cruise was going to spend 2 nights in Istanbul; after the problems in Turkey last year the itinerary was changed with Sarande, Albania and Heraklion,  reteadded.  After research into Sarande, decided to stick wit hothead reservation.

From the moment I stepped on board I got the feeling that the QV was a good ship.  Crew were friendly and the whole embarkation process was handled smoothly and efficiently; certainly more so than when boarding the QM for the Christmas cruise.   There were even shuttle buses to take us from the terminal building to the ship.

The Victoria recently came out of a refit and my cabin was immaculate.  I had booked a deck 4 guarantee obstructed view cabin and was pleased to be assigned a cabin on deck 5 and the only obstruction was when looking down.

I was concerned about the quality of the food given some of the reviews I had read but was very pleased with the quality and quantity of the food.  I am lactose intolerant and got to chose my meals the night before and have them cooked without dairy.  Lots of choice so no complaints there.  Lunches were taken in the Lido except in Crete and Rhodes when I ate ashore.  Lots of choices and even a few lactose free sandwiches.  The salad bar was particularly good and there was no wilting lettuce.  Breakfast was also usually in the Lido, usually lox and bagels and scrambled eggs on one day when a new pan appeared in front of me.  The bread and rolls were freshly baked and far too tempting!

I took one course on using an IPad for photography.  I wish it had been offered on one of the sea days before our first excursion as it had lots of good advice and was worth the $15 charge.

I did not attend the shows, nor did I attend any of the lectures.  Neither interested me.  I had hoped there would be something on the history and culture of the area in which we were sailing rather than an ex White House staffer from the “W” era or some one talking about pop music.

Enjoyed listenening to the string quartet, and the hardest on a couple of occasions and watching the ballroom dancers.  Most passengers were from UK and man, many of themcould dance!

Only did one shore excursion in Sarande.  An interesting stop and tour of Butrint.

Eastern Med 7th October

We chose this cruise because of itinerary,the ship was visiting some places we had not been to before. Cunard is our chosen favourite line for elegance,excellent food and service.Passengers are mainly Brits of a certain age so only a few children,there were however 42 different nationalities on board so it was interesting to meet and speak to people of other countries.

My only adverse comments would be that the prices charged for wine and excursions are excessive. 

The evening entertainment is varied and the resident Cunard singers and dancers put on some good shows. Lectures during the day are interesting ,Jennie Bond the former Royal correspondent was well worth listening to and my husband found the art talks very good.

We were lucky with some wonderful weather and the ship coped well with a force 8 gale,this might be of interest to those who are not good sailors. If you haven't cruised before try it ,you will get hooked!

Another wonderful Cunard cruise.

We went to try Cunard again after a cruise 8 years ago .

This time we chose the much vaunted Queens grill penthouse suite .

The Flight out was ok with BA though putting people who have paid top whack in the tail of the aircraft by the toilets was a bit of a surprise.

When we arrived in Athens it was all very efficient and with a very quick transfer we were in our room in no time ,our bags arrived 10 mins later brought by our really hardworking and lovely Butler Elvie.

Elvie was our room steward on our first cruise and not only did she remember us, she made sure that everything that was needed in our room or by us was catered for seamlessly.  She is a real credit to Cunard.

The Room itself was a nice space with everything that you could want well kept with plenty of storage.

There was a crooked picture above the bed though which as it is fixed in place could not be moved ,drove me mad !!

The Queens Grill had really great waiting staff Aurica our waitress was again a credit to Cunard and made our dining a nice experience, However the food in the restaurant varied sometimes great ,sometimes average many times lukewarm.

I think Oceania offer better Menus with much less pre preperation than Queens Grill and this should be looked at by Cunard.

Cunard can not choose its passengers and some of them in the Queens Grill were really nice but you also get those difficult elderly snobs  who seemed to enjoy making the waiting staffs, life impossible remember the people that serve you are human too guys.

Our deck area was clean well arranged and had nice touches with tea and snacks provided it lacked a whirlpool though.

overall Queen Vic is a lovely ship with very little movement even in bad weather.

Disembarkation was well organized  again for me, However the big letdown for me, is that on a B A flight charted by Cunard we got split up and we and many other Queens Grill passengers got shoved in the back of the aircraft provision of catering would also have been a nice touch.

Cunard needs to realise that when people pay top dollar thats what they expect form start to finish.

Overall a nice week some good staff but needed to be a bit more special.

Nice week away bit average in some respects

Having cruised in April with an itinerary that included Dubrovnik and not being physically mobile to alight the ship we thought why not try Cunard  with an itinerary including Dubrovnik. Unfortunately not the best start with a seven and a half hour flight delay from Manchester. Boarding the ship in Piraeus at nearly midnight we were finally settled into cabin 8093 . We had booked a 'guarantee' balcony BB cabin and were given  BF grade which is a roomy disabled cabin. Tea and coffee making facilities are included complete with biscuits. Although the cabin was sheltered from direct sunshine it was still one of the best cabins we have been in.

The ship was full but you would never think so.

The dining experience is definitely for traditionalists with formal wear definitely the norm for the two formal nights and  a jacket for non formal nights complete with shirt but not a tie.

It may seem stuffy but if you know in advance then there is no chance of feeling uncomfortable. The Lido buffet is the choice for passengers who don't like the formal approach.

Our third time on Queen Victoria and the best .Cabin - great, food - good, staff- friendly and destinations - well chosen.

Fantastic cruise for those who appreciate tradition

Having cruised many times with Princess Cruises, we decided to try Cunard's Queen Victoria because the itinerary included Dubrovnik, Montenegro and overnight in Venice. The ship had just undergone a £34 million refit in May and looked splendid, especially the Queens Room, Garden Room and theatre. That said, the new Grand suites and the additions like the Britannia Club restaurant are of no benefit to the majority of passengers.

The ship was filled to capacity (around 2,000 passengers) with 1,300 Brits and several hundred Australians but, surprisingly, it seldom felt crowded.

PROS

•	Good itinerary and we had sufficient time to explore independently at each port.

•	Efficient embarkation, disembarkation and port tenders.

•	Splendid decor with elegant Queen's Room, Garden Room and good theatre.

•	Excellent afternoon tea in Queen's Room and good pub lunch in the Golden Lion.

•	We enjoyed Jenny Bond's lectures, talks on forensics and the piano and guitar recitals.

•	Cunard is not constantly trying to sell passengers photos, art works, spa treatments etc.

CONS

•	Food in the Britannia restaurant was a major disappointment.

•	Service was generally mediocre, especially in the Lido but our cabin steward was good.

•	Drinks were very over priced.

•	Ship can be unpleasantly cold, especially in the Queen's Room and Britannia restaurant.

•	Too restrained - nothing resembled "fun" and no sail away gatherings on deck.

•	Port lectures were poor and simply promoted the trips instead of giving useful information.

•	Shuttle bus charges were applied to selected passengers who had booked Early Saver fares.

FOOD AND DINING

There is no anytime dining in the Britannia restaurant, so we chose to eat at 8.30 pm. The service was variable and our table of 6 could finish eating at any time between 9.30 and 10.30 pm. We also went there for breakfast at 8 am and the service then was quite efficient.

Food in the Britannia restaurant was a major disappointment with dull menus, no seasoning and very little flavour. We normally prefer the fish dishes but found them to be poorly cooked and flabby with not even a slice of lemon. Carrots and pak choi were served most days as was rice and mashed potatoes. Half of the menu seemed to be vegetarian options and the gluten free soufflés were mainly egg white. We explained this to the restaurant manageress but nothing improved. Even regular Cunard passengers commented that the food standards had deteriorated significantly - but few people thought to complain and just said "it's fine" when asked. We were served a mushroom tart with pastry like concrete, a crab starter that was a spoonful of nothing much in a bun and several deserts that were swimming in ultra sweet golden syrup.

The menu on the four formal nights contained nothing special and lobster was only available once during our two weeks on board. Being presented with a set of menus on the last night only served as a grim reminder.

The lunch time menu was also very dull, so we often went to the Lido restaurant where we could be more selective. Service in the Lido restaurant was poor, with nobody offering to fetch drinks and disinterested waiters.

The Golden Lion pub served fish and chips, chicken curry, pies etc each day and we found this to be a really good alternative.

The daily highlight was afternoon tea, served each day in the elegant Queen's Room with a string quartet or harpist to create the right atmosphere. There was a nice choice of crustless sandwiches, followed by cakes and then scones with jam and cream. All were served nicely at a leisurely pace and with a choice of teas.

DRINKS

Cunard charged around 50 USD for a bottle of very ordinary wine, which is extortionate. We took a couple of bottles on board and, even with the excessive 20 USD corkage charge, it was OK. It was, however, noticeable that little wine was being consumed because it was over priced.

A half bottle of chilled bubbly awaited us on arrival which was a nice touch. One glass of wine and no canapés were served at the Commodores reception in the Queen's Room, which was a poor affair compared to the Princess's Captain's Circle. It reminded us of the P & O champagne waterfall, where they charged for every drink!

ENTERTAINMENT

The TV was small and there is no "on demand" capability, even after the recent refit.

The theatre is very comfortable and we enjoyed trying the boxes at the sides. Drinks are not served in the theatre and there are no tables in the arm rests, which are useful for taking notes during lectures.

Theatre entertainment ranged from excellent to poor but was perhaps a bit above average. We enjoyed Jenny Bond's lectures and talks about forensics. 

We enjoyed hearing a group called The Rewind Project presenting the music of The Moody Blues, The Hollies, 10cc and Cliff Richard. Another group (called the Overtures ?) also put on a good show of 60s and 70s music.  A comedian named Jon Courtney entertained us with some good jokes and piano playing. David Howes, a multi-instrumentalist played the piano and trumpet and put on quite a show. Ilia and Plexus provided an interesting gymnastic show but trying to fill an hour with such performances is difficult. There was also a grim comedian / ventriloquist one evening.  

The resident singers and dancers, who put on four shows, were OK but the singers were not very good. 

CONCLUSIONS

The Queen Victoria is a lovely ship but we were very disappointed with Cunard, who failed to come up to their quality image. Breakfast and afternoon tea were good, but, for most meals, menus were dull, food was poorly cooked and lacked flavour. Service was mediocre and the crew simply did their job. Drinks were over priced and the ship was unpleasantly cold in some main areas. 

No cruise line is perfect but, in our view, Princess provides a much better experience and we have no desire to cruise with Cunard (or P & O) again.

Cunard could do much better

This was our first time on Cunard. We had been wanting to try them for a while and the dates, itinerary and cost for a balcony cabin seemed just right. We were a little apprehensive about it, given some recent negative reviews. However, we were pleasantly surprised. Visually, the main public areas look elegant and stylish and we rather enjoyed the formality.

We were in a balcony cabin on deck 5. The lifeboats are situated on the deck below and so, when seated on the balcony, we could see the roof of the lifeboat below. On other lines, this cabin would have been described as partially obstructed, but that was not the case with Cunard. That said, it didn't really bother us but I do think that Cunard should more accurately describe the cabin. In addition, the cabin seemed smaller than ones we've experienced on other cruise ships and the bathroom was especially tight. Wardrobe space was plentiful though, with much more hanging space than we've been used to.

Food, on the whole, was good although lunch options in the buffet were disappointingly limited. Nonetheless, there was always something to eat and it's impossible to go hungry. Afternoon tea was especially impressive and beautifully served.

On the whole, the main shows were on par with other cruise lines but the range of other entertainment around the ship felt very limited.

We were concerned that on embarkation day, we had a Cunard arranged flight which didn't land at Athens until, around 7pm. This meant we didn't get on the ship until about 9pm. On other cruises, we had been used to boarding by early afternoon and so it felt as though we had lost a significant part of our first day. However, on disembarkation day we had an 8pm flight home and were able to remain on the ship until 4pm which compensated for the late arrival. It would have been helpful if Cunard had informed us of this arrangement in advance as we were concerned at the start of the cruise that we would be transferred to the airport in the morning or that we would have to do a tour with an airport drop off.

Despite a few gripes, outlined above, the overall experience was a good one and the ports met our expectations. We would cruise on Cunard again if dates, itinerary and price are right.

Elegant and Stylish

My wife and I chose this 3 week cruise on Queen Victoria because of the itinerary which included many of the Greek Islands that we had not previously visited.  Return visits to Venice, Dubrovnik and Istanbul was also an attraction.  The Turkish ports were taken from the itinerary due to security concerns which we fully appreciated with Heraklion in Crete added.

The extensive menus presented in the Britannia Restaurant at all meals was a highlight and we could not agree with previous reviews as to the presentation and quality of the meals.  Occassionally we had lunch in the Lido Bistro and found the food on offer also to be of a high quality.

Afternoon tea with the white gloved waiters was most enjoyable.

All the crew that we came into contact with were very professional and really went out of their way to provide us with a very memorable cruise.

Cunard's arrangemeents for us on disembarkation in Athens with an evening flight were really appreciated as we were permitted to remain on board until early afternoon before being transported to the airport.  Great consideration.

Queen Victoria excels

We chose this cruise because it ticked all our boxes.  It went from Athens to Venice.  It stopped at Dubrovnik and Split.  For me it meant seeing the Croatian coast.  This cruise was everything we expected it to be.  We were first time cruisers.  I had to ask the cleaner if we paid for meals.  I was a complete newbie.  For me the Lido was fine.  It was fantastic to us.  We had just completed touring Eastern Europe with carry on luggage.  What a wonderful time too.  We had see south western England, Berlin and Dussledorf and then Prague and Budapest so this just fitted in fine.  We did not go into the flash restaurant as our given time was 8.30 pm and that was too late for us.  We also saw the menu on offer and decided that the buffet was just fine and it was.  I really enjoyed both the swimming pool and spa.  It was all good.  I thought that the excursions were expensive and perhaps not worth it.   Yet we had a wonderful experience at Dubrovnik on tuk tuks going around there.  Worth it

We were on this for a week and it worked well for us.  Our first experience and it was all positive.  Thank you

Athens to Venice

Have traveled on other cruise lines and for what we were paying - I had expected more.  The embarkation was a mess.  The ship was at Terminal C at Athens, where we got dropped but we then had to walk over to Terminal B to actually check in (not a short walk).  Instructions and signs poor.

Ship - good, cabin - clean although steward had to be asked to replace shampoo etc when we run out!  Food bland and had expected from dishes from the countries we were in.  Entertainment average - some of the acts really didn't appeal to most on board. Service - good and 2 of the Ports, I'm not sure why we went there.  Not much to see or do except the ship tours for megabucks and not sure they did much either.

We wouldn't choose Cunard again unless it was the only option for the time and ports.

Expected more from Cunard

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