We chose this cruise to visit Vietnam and Hong Kong and finish with a stint in Singapore. this segment was 22 days. - we were medically disembarked on day 18. Please read on to the Cunard Cough Embarkation was so smooth and took just minutes. The Cabin 8114 was clean, comfortable and the steward wonderful. Dining in the Lido Buffet offered a wide variety of choices of excellent food. Unfortunately the furniture in the Lido needs a very good clean and the chairs were very grubby and the salt and pepper shakers were the main source of germs. The main restaurant was very disappointing. The offerings were average at best and the service was not up to the food and service standard that we experienced on the Queen Elizabeth a few years ago. Mock cream was offered with desserts. MOCK Cream!!!!! when you can get fresh whipped in the Lido buffet - that was not logical, fine dining Vs buffet and we got mock cream. Might sound picky, but the rest of the food followed suit. The entertainment nightly and offerings during the day were very good. Excursions were well managed, Tender ports took forever to get off, so get down early if you are doing a self-tour as these leave after the excursions. MEDICAL CENTRE - excellent service for all those who became sick, and those with the dreaded CUNARD COUGH. Yes, it has a name, This cough is a virus and was rampant on our cruise. It put too many passengers in sick bay and resulted with us getting pneumonia and having to leave the cruise early to get specialised hospitalisation and treatment. Many passengers didn't like getting treatment on the ship as their travel insurance was not top notch and they didn't want to pay, therefore they coughed and coughed and gave it to many others. The doctors and medical staff we give 1000%, we would not be here writing this without them. Yes our travel insurance paid up but we were very honest with them and took out extra and got their approval to cover pre-existing conditions. Would we go again - no, we felt the overall standard on this cruise was not what we enjoyed a few years ago, and on review we will not take the health risks. Read Less

We have sailed with several companies and overall decided as we were going to be on board for 52 nights on P&O because it is less formal than some, although the food choice is more limited than others. We had a fabulous time and generally everyone on board was extremely helpful and polite. The entertainment was excellent with very interesting lectures and port reviews. We found that the excursions offered something for everyone. Just a few words of warning! If you are embarking in Brisbane, be warned that their are 2 ports and if you get it wrong, it will cost you over £100 in taxi fares! No one seems to know this and several of the P&O staff told us that everybody goes to the wrong port!!!! Well, having paid £100 to get to the right port, we did not see the funny side. Having got over this, the staff were so helpful and friendly, but our rating will be low. Our cabin balcony, D117, left a lot to be desired. Not only was it not clean on our arrival and nor did it get cleaned for our trip, but on several days, it smelt so badly that we could not open the door. We complained several times but were given different stories, such as, it depended which way the wind was blowing/the life boats smelt etc. Finally, we investigated ourselves, found a vent on Deck 3 from an 'engine' room, asked a passing engineer and found that this was the problem. We then reported this back and were given £100 off our bill! We do not get the feeling that this will be investigated anytime soon. And finally and this actually upset us the most! Having had a fabulous relationship with our cabin steward, on the last night of our trip, he took it upon himself to remove our remaining personal items from the cupboards so he could clean the cabin for the next passengers who would be joining the following day. Now on several levels this cannot be right. 1. We paid for that night. 2. That doesn't seem very hygienic as we are still using the cabin and 3. We do not appreciate our toiletries etc. being placed in our bags. We have complained, twice about this, but have heard nothing back, hence our comments here. Not good enough. P&O, we can forgive certain things and we do think you are brilliant overall, but PLEASE LISTEN when we report a problem. Sometimes, it's not what goes wrong that causes anxiety, it's the way it's dealt with. Hence rating underneath. Read Less

We enjoyed the 13-night, Brisbane to Kobe leg of Queen Elizabeth's 2017 world cruise. Embarkation at Brisbane's temporary international cruise terminal at Fisherman Island was smooth and we were quickly in our balcony cabin 6030. The cabin was quiet and comfortable although we initially found the air-conditioning to be cold and drafty even at the highest temperature setting, but after being adjusted by one of the ship's technicians it was fine. It's a beautiful, well-maintained ship. I particularly liked the Royal Court theatre, the Queens Room, the Golden Lion pub and the two-level library with its quirky spiral staircase. Almost all of the public areas of the ship are attractive, well laid-out and easy to navigate. I also liked the Pavilion Pool area and was able to swim laps in the pool late in the afternoon most days, at times when the pool was usually uncrowded. We had a table for two during the second (8:30 pm) dinner sitting in the lower level of the Britannia Restaurant. Although the portions were generally small the food was tasty, nicely presented and we had two fantastic waiters. However, we found the second sitting a bit too late and if we go with Cunard again we would try to get reservations for the first (6:00 pm) sitting or to upgrade to the Britannia Club, which has open seating from 6:30 pm. We had breakfast and lunch in the Lido Restaurant where the food was of reasonable quality although the service was, perhaps understandably, somewhat impersonal and definitely less friendly than the Britannia Restaurant. We particularly liked some of the guest performers in the theatre but were not so impressed with the Cunard in-house performances, where we found the singing in the Broadway and West End productions a bit repetitive and shrill. The theatre's resident band was, however, very impressive. The musicians in the ship's various lounges and nightspots were also very good. Being from Queensland we had visited Cairns several times before, so my wife elected to stay on board during the ship's first port of call, Yorkeys Knob. I made a quick return trip to shore, primarily to get some photos of the Queen Elizabeth at anchor, despite the inclement weather. The second port of call was a sunny, but very hot and steamy Alotou (Milne Bay), Papua New Guinea, where we both took the opportunity to have some cold drinks at the Alotou International Hotel located nearby, on the bay. The third port of call was Okinawa, Japan, where we just visited one of the main shopping streets on a fairly damp, overcast day. The final port on this sector was Kobe, Japan, where we dis-embarked and stayed at the Okura Hotel in a room having a great view of the harbour. From there we saw the Queen Elizabeth depart later that day. Overall, a great cruise on a beautiful ship with a friendly crew (and a very personable captain). Hopefully we'll get the opportunity to travel with Cunard again. Read Less

Queen Elizabeth. San Francisco to Auckland February 4th-21st, 2017 Specifications Launched: 2010 Refurbished: Minor refit 2014 GRT: 90,000 Length: 964 ft. Draft: 26 ft. Speed: 24 Knots Passengers: 1990 Berlitz Cruising and Cruise ship Guide 2015, rates Queen Elizabeth in top 10 medium large cruise ships Hi. I am a regular cruiser, principally on Princess and Celebrity Lines, but on this occasion re- tried Cunard, following our 2015 cruise on Queen Victoria. This time it was the Queen Elizabeth on a Pacific Ocean journey 17 nights from San Francisco to Auckland, with lots of sea days We are very experienced cruisers, so with this knowledge, my comments are only to add value, and be fair in my critique. Everyone’s values and bias is different, we are lazy cruisers, enjoy a bit of style, relative loners in approach, and don’t enjoy big groups of diners, while many onboard do. We flew Air NZ Auckland to San Francisco, staying at the pleasant Hotel Cova, Ellis Street, with a delightful on the hour free shuttle service to key destinations e.g. Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf and a boutique breakfast included in the price. This hotel was excellent value, recommended for all, especially families, and those looking for a value hotel, not 5 stars. We are “short dosage cruisers”, primarily go for the ship and enjoy sea days. Yes we enjoy the Ports and have the odd bus tour but on this trip shopped at Hawaii and walked Apia, a delightful Port. Lahaina in the Hawaiian Islands was a tender Port, loved the ride and this time by catching an early return, missed the more bouncy ride some returning passengers experienced later that day on returning to the ship. Our day at Tonga was aborted due to wind shear, the boat got to within 100 meters of the wharf, but conditions not safe, and so this was one port experience we all missed. Credit to Cunard, when we got to Auckland 10 hours early, an overnight stop was provided, so for most passengers a day and a half in our lovely city, one of the great Ports of the world with its wonderful downtown location. Along with Sydney, not too many better berthing locations than Auckland, though San Francisco also right up there. SUMMARY Queen Elizabeth is an elegant ship, with its guest lecturers and entertainment excellent. The formal approach adopted re dress standards after 6pm every evening is not really us, but it appears to have assisted maintaining elegance and standards. The Britannia dining room was elegant with superb service. The entertainment and guest lecturers were really good. Piano or String quartets, along with formal dance lessons were all done with a touch of class, the Queens room a heavenly experience for those who love ballroom dancing. I watched. The ship was nearly full, but queues were never an issue; the ship appeared to have so much space, the library and many lounges all conducive to relaxed elegance, dining facilities and options always available with virtually no wait. One small issue, the air conditioning in the Main dining rooms, Royal Court Theatre was too hot. In a ship demanding of suit and jacket after 6pm, at times it was sweltering. If air conditioning is cool, you can easily put something on to feel warmer, but not the reverse. JOINING THE QUEEN ELIZABETH We took a taxi from our Hotel ($17)to the docks. As this was just another sector of a world cruise that began for many in Southampton, not a huge crowd waiting to get on. 30 minutes and we were in our state room. One enters the ship straight into the Grand Lobby. This is a lovely central area, extending over 3 decks, and reminiscent of a film set of the impressive staircases of the old Ocean Liners. Our room was on Floor 5, Cabin 6191, and this time with a balcony. The Décor for the Queen Elizabeth is not my taste but lots of mahogany, as expected traditional, great ship paintings, a bronze bust of Queen Elizabeth, large photograph of the Queen and for most aboard right up there in ship interior expectation. Queen Elizabeth is simple to find ones way around, she has just three sets of lifts and stairs, labelled A, B and C. The rooms are numbered as if in a traditional hotel, with cabins on Decks 1, 4,5,6,7, and 8. Deck A, with the medical Centre, is below Deck 1, and then the decks continue upwards until the highest cabins on Deck 8 and the public areas on Decks 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 and 11. Main Dining room Floor 2/3, Buffet Level 9, and Gym also. Grill class on the 11th and 12 floors is private to those on that level, but apart from the dining, they join the rest of the ship passengers for most activities Our Cabin 6191 Stateroom #: 6191 was a BD Balcony stateroom near to the stern? It was nice, roomy, and having chilled Champagne sitting there on our arrival was a nice touch. A settee is included; a great addition to the normal 156 sq. feet of a standard interior cabin with twin beds converted to a king size, two bedside drawers, desk and chair plus a small table. There is a nice fridge, a safe and we fund ample wardroom space and place to put our luggage. A Large Flat screen TV. Not that impressed with either the range or current release movies on this ship, Cunard needs to look at its offerings and upgrade TV entertainment package. Offerings were mainly dated and repetitive content. The bathroom was small but functional and the shower pressure excellent. We found the quality of air conditioning also good, but you could not turn it off, only adjust temperature. Normally we find the air conditioning in stateroom is marginal, but not on the Queen Elizabeth. Nelson our Steward was excellent, nothing too much trouble. SHIP MOTION. This was a Pacific Ocean voyage, and the first 5 days was constant movement, twists and lumpy seas. Not impossible, but difficult for those not prepared for motion sickness. The Hawaiian Islands, smooth seas and the seas flattened for our remaining journey. This part of the world including Aussie/NZ is prone to light gales and lumpy seas. My advice is preparation, and don’t take the big ocean voyage if you are very sensitive. RESTAURANTS BRITANNIA RESTAURANT: We were allocated Table 389, a table for 2 on the Floor 2 level, the second only time in over 20 cruises that our pre cruise request was accepted, and we did not have to hassle the Maître a de, re table allocation. We prefer dining alone in the evening, and those tables for 2 are hard to obtain. I understand Cunard adopts the practice of allocating table requests based on booking date, and that seems fair. Many of course like sharing a table with 4/6/10 persons, but we prefer evening dining on our own. The main Dining Room, the Britannia Restaurant, seating 878 guests is one of the most remarkable rooms at sea, spanning two desks at the stern on Decks 2 and 3 at Stairway C. It evokes memories of classic ocean liner restaurants with sweeping staircases and art deco pillars and arches. The restaurant's Art Deco design is captured in its original artwork, wall scenes, and a combination of authentic finishes including polished wood, bronze, mirror and gold leaf. The service was impeccable and the quality of food excellent. I drank 3 bottles of wine on this trip for dinner, good service with excellent wine list. VERANDAH FRENCH RESTAURANT: This alternative Restaurant has a French flair, and looked enticing. Surcharge was $20pp at lunch and $25 pp at night. We did not utilize on this trip, but comments from other passengers were favorable, and it looked exquisite. THE LIDO is an airy self-service buffet restaurant which extends between Staircases B and C across Deck 9. It is open 24 hours, serving breakfast from 0400, followed by lunch from 1130, then afternoon snacks, dinner from 1800 until 2300 and finally evening snacks until breakfast begins. At breakfast there is the usual cereals, fruit including an endless supply of grapes and fresh pineapple, cold meats and cheese and traditional cooked breakfast with omelet’s cooked to order. The Lunch Buffet was solid, and at night the buffet always provided the option of having a fish or meat steak cooked to your liking, along with many other selections. Overall the Lido is very good and we often choose to eat lunch there; the variety is good and being self-service it is quick on the days in port. It was always possible to find a seat. At night the buffet also offered for $17.50 surcharge an alternative theme based buffet. Surcharge too high in my view for the offering,($10 perhaps) and it appeared to be not well utilised THE GOLDEN LION PUB on Deck 2 also does food. It is styled as a typical British pub with classic pub grub: fish and chips, chicken korma, steak and ale pie etc. Also shows live sport. Meals only provided 12pm-2pm. thoroughly enjoyed the fish and chips. CAFÉ CARINTHIA To me very disappointing . Serving at a charge a range of teas and coffees only, with a very limited snack range. This needs to change and follow the Princess Cruise option of having a nice 24 café, with a selection of finger foods, cakes and light meals available . ROYAL COURT THEATRE, THE PRODUCTION SHOWS AND THE PRIVATE THEATRE BOXES ROYAL COURT THEATRE The theatre is where all the lectures, films and many of the demonstrations take place as well as the evening shows. It is very large, with capacity for over 800 people. The gallery and the two rows of private boxes on each side, 16 in all, give the impression of a nice traditional theatre on shore. Most of the private boxes are for two although there are some for four. Imposing. We sat free of charge in the boxes for matinee performances, made one feel grand. Cunard does this area very well. Top class entertainment, and excellent speakers on various topics. For example the speakers among others included Professor George Losey “Future of the Coral Reefs” Paul Stickler “The Paddington Place Murders”, he did an excellent series of crime lectures, and Ambassador Chase Untermeyer “The Muslim Hand, and not forgetting Clare Balding, talking of her Olympic and Royalty and Horse racing experiences. Entertainment wise Marcus Winter with his Sand and light painting show, Zac Winningham (Country) Clare Langham (Flutist), Ben Mills (Joe Cocker style) and the wonder NZ Tenor Ben Makisa all wowed the crowds. These are top class entertainers The Royal Court Theatre Company and Dancers (4 lead singers) and Dancers (8) were excellent. Cunard offers a very good standard in production shows. I went to everyone offered, both early and late a total of 8 shows. Great!!!! THE QUEEN'S ROOM Afternoon tea is served in the Queen's Room, and this is the typical Cunard White Star and white gloved service. Served between 3.30-4.30pm each day, High tea at its best. During the day the room is used for a variety of activities. On our cruise there were fencing classes, lunchtime concerts, dancing classes and Bingo. In the evening there is an orchestra for dancing, and it is lively and busy on the special themed evenings, with Balls and Ballroom Latin Dancing common. THE WINTER GARDEN, YACHT CLUB ETC The Winter Garden is between the Lido restaurant and the Deck 9 pool area and has a roof which can be opened in good weather and has a lot of very comfortable seats and tinted picture windows the whole length on both sides. This is an impressive area, a very interesting feature of the Queen Elizabeth. Up on the 10th is the Yacht Club and Corinthian room. Great spaces to relax and read! Disco at night POOLS/SPA There are two outdoor pools and the other is aft of the Lido restaurant, also on 9 Deck. Ample deck space for sunbathing and sitting, and table tennis, and other recreation facilities on upper deck. CLASSICAL CONCERTS AND RECITALS There are a number of locations round the Queen Elizabeth where you can hear classical music, and string quartette. Grab a book and listen to music is very relaxing. LIBRARY I always read a couple of books on a voyage. The library is a two story copy of a private library from Victorian days, with a spiral internal staircase. INTERNET AND WIFI Internet access is very good on the Queen Elizabeth, not always reliable in the areas of the world we reached on this trip. There are twenty computers available in the Internet Centre and there is also Wi-Fi available over most of the ship. Personally we go on vacation to get away from the routines of home, and avoid e-mail and phone communications unless an emergency but observation would suggest we are a dwindling minority. Package costs for internet use are available and reduce costs. GYM We are Gym users on a regular daily basis. The Queen Elizabeth Gym was reasonably equipped, functional and pleasant to use, but some equipment was starting to look weary. Again the issue of background music sometimes dominated the listening devices one brings to the Gym, when listening to the equipment TV’s or monitors. Why do Gyms have taped music, now that the ability to listen to music on your own device is so readily available? This is an area which most cruise lines have yet to come to terms with. Queen Elizabeth is a refined and quiet ship with solid standards, and yet the Gym music is poorly selected, controlled at the whim of staff, often too loud and not suited to the audience Gym is right at the front of the ship and there is a special magic in watching dolphins playing, the sun rising or a port approach as you are working on the cross trainer or treadmills before breakfast of fresh fruit in the Lido. LAUNDRY From the sublime to the essential. There are five self-service passenger laundry rooms, near cabins 4068, 5070, 6068, 7042 and 8060. Between them there are 14 standard Maytag machines and tumble driers, and each has one iron and ironing board. The laundries are open from 0730 to 2100. Laundries can be noisy, so it is best not to have a cabin opposite. Much to our surprise and pleasure use is free, and detergent powder is provided. ITINERARY • February 4th Board Queen Elizabeth at Pier 36 San Francisco • Hawaii Oahu( Good berth, shopping facilities within 500 meters, and transfer spot to Aloha Mall • Hawaii Lahaina (tender) • Apia (Lovely Port access) • Tonga (Good Port access to town , but we were unable to berth due to wind issues) • February 21 Auckland. A Great Port in the center of City. Lovely location Read Less

Lovely ports of call made us choose this itinerary and adult medium ship. Dining was excellent, lectures varied and interesting, the evening entertainment was on the whole very good but the Headliners on ship singers and dancers were absolutely excellent. All very talented and ranked as good as any west end show. The cabin was the problem A86 mid aft four down from midships on port side. See cabin review and beware! Not worth the money. Excursions were varied and we took advantage of many in countries as Australia, New Zealand, Papa New Guinea, Japan, South Korea and China all well organised on time and educational. The dining area was well laid out although our table 48 was over the top of the propellor shafts and not only noisy but juddered from the vibrations. Most ships seem to think that rear ship for dining front for theatre and entertaining all at low level. Better if higher up, less shaking and stick the night club and gyms down the rear. Conversation had to be raised when ship moving above 17 knots, obviously designers never take a holiday on cruise ships. Still did not spoil a wonderful holiday (except cabin) see below. Read Less

After many cruises we decided to try a Cunard luxury cruise (from their advertising blurb) on Queen Vic. First impression Arrive up the gangway & be security checked. Find your own way to your cabin (you have been given a ships map) Other ships at least have staff to direct you to your cabin, not Cunard 2nd impression 1st night in dining room. No breads on table, waiter serves you one bread roll & one portion of butter. Other ships have plates of ass. rolls on table & plenty of butter, you don't have to ask for a second roll. Hardly a luxury approach to dining. 3rd impression When ordering the main meal (entrée) I asked for a Caesar salad & told it was not available I could only have that which is on the menu. A little off-putting when Cunard tell you that you may have anything. It was available upstairs in the Lido bistro not in the dining room. At this time my idea of luxury travel has suffered a major set back. 3rd impression 1st morning breakfast in Lido, asked for grapefruit & told it was only available in the dining room, asked for smoked salmon, "sorry it is only available in dining room" So next day we ventured to the dining room for breakfast & had grapefruit & smoked salmon with an omelette which had been in a Bain maree for a considerable time, underdone toast & one portion of butter with cold coffee. So much for the luxury breakfast experience. Upstairs, hot coffee, stale bread rolls & yesterdays croissants but made to order omelettes, whoopee. The sad food experience goes on with a very poor selection in the bistro compared to Princess or Celebrity. Entertainment in my opinion was one step short of a disaster with English "comedians juggler, magician" & other guest entertainers of very ordinary talent performing 9 nights with the exception of the ship's singers & dancers; they were great but after 4 night in 18 they got a bit boring. You would see better shows at the local hall not on a 5 star luxury ship. Credit where credit is due; the ship was beautifully maintained, bar staff were top class, wait staff did a good but not spectacular job. Segregation of world cruisers & the hop on hop off crowd (1000 Aussies) was annoying; if Cunard want to segregate them & us they should go back to the 30'es & not run a hop on hop off boat The dress code didn't seem to be enforced very well as there were people around the ship in the evening not dressed according to the ship's rules. Many people ignored the hand sanitizers in the Lido & I'm surprised that there wasn't an outbreak of norovirus. On the health issue the ship was full of people with a cold or flu, we avoided the dreaded lurg by keeping clear of the cougher crowd & spray disinfecting our room every time we went in after a theatre or lounge visit. Another evergreen is the criticism of ship's tours & transfers, Cunard didn't let us down with their overpricing, e.g Hong Kong airport transfer US$35 (HK $ 280 pp) local taxi HK $ 230 for 2 pax incl luggage & a 34 minute ride door to door with no waiting for Cunard to fill the bus before departing. In Bali we hired a car with driver for the day cost was A$76 for 6 pax not A$ 75 per person on Cunard bus I wouldn't consider going on another hop on hop off cruise if it was free. The Cunard experience was not what I expected compared Princess, Celebrity or Holland America Read Less

Boarded Brisbane 24th Feb at Grain Terminal !st port of call Cairns Went ashore in large catamaran excellent transport compared to ships tenders 2nd port of call Rabaul We decided to do a shore tour What a disaster Cost US$119 each for a 4 hr ride to hell and back , decided to go and have some acupuncture to ships acupuncturist to relive some of the aches and pains ) Debbie Ai knows her stuff and her treatment helped tremendously (cost us$ 1500) for 5 treatments each Temperature 36 degrees C hi humidity .We boarded our minibus to find a very shabby interior no air conditioner working/shock absorbers at 20% working/dirty/non operating seat belts and multiple cracks thru windscreen. Our tour visited 3 places 1st War museum which consisted of a 1 acre of well mowed grass a couple of buildings and all these war machines almost totally rusted away and still deteriorating due to no overhead protection and a crocodile in a enclosed pond at back of display. Next ,visited war cemetry which is financed by the Australian Government which is very well maintained and worth seeing. (beautiful setting) At no stage did the tour operator commissioned by the ship (PAIVU TOURS) offer to stop for a drink or a pit stop for the ladies. We could have hired a local taxi and had airconditioned comfort at a fraction of the price the ship charged. Next stop Japanese tunnels (very interesting if you could see I had to turn my Iphone torch to see where i was going ) Poorly presented with only 3 x10 watt fluros distributed along the entire tunnel (80 metres) system driven by a petrol generator at the entrance and extension leads to the floors causing a trip hazard to the visitors . Roads are full of very large pot holes which do not seem to get much maintence making the trip a back ache/cramped leg nightmare As expected we did not go on anymore paid shore tours Next stop CEBU but this was cancelled during trip in favour of Puerto Princesa a beautiful town in an great location. Dis embarkation in Hong Kong was another nightmare which was totally cunards fault. They had a plan but- it totally got stuffed up .Luggage was collected the night before and arranged by deck number to be off loaded with the passengers from that deck. Guess what they unloaded half the luggage from deck 8 then released luggage from deck 7 then 6 while the people from deck 8 were still in the collection area looking for the other half of their luggage , In the meantime the people from lower deck 7 -6 were released into baggage collection pickup area (very small) were people could not move. It was so crushed that a person could have easily had a heart attack in this environment which was also very cold 12 degrees C and wet The average age of the passengers on the QE was 71 years old and very few children all of who were well behaved The off loading point at Ocean terminal was not appropriate for this size of vessel or the number of people getting off for tours and disembarkation. Another fiasco was the organization of emigration documentation (held on board) which was compounded by late arrival of officials and the route to and from the imigration officials set up by QE staff to get the people thru. Apart from the above I would highly recommend the Ship and the crew excluding the people responsible for the above fiascoes Read Less