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Queen Elizabeth

Queen Mary 2 (QM2)

Queen Victoria

Kusadasi

We chose  this cruise for the unusual itinerary and the ship. We had been on the Queen Elizabeth  for the entire maiden World Cruise in 2011 , and were curious to discover the changes that had taken place in the recent refit , and to see whether Cunards high standards were being maintained. We were not disappointed. 

We flew Avianca Business Class from Fort Lauderdale via Bogota to London and it was a huge disappointment  in service and cuisine .

We stayed overnight at the hotel in Southampton used by Cunard , the Double Tree by Hilton. It is located in a suburb and there is nowhere to go or walk from the hotel.

Our waiter at dinner advised that of the 12 wines on the list, only 4 were available . 

As for service , there was none. He then told us that we were the first people that he had ever served. That was unnecessary as he obviously had never been given any training. 

A breakfast buffet is set up in a ante room to the kitchen where the staff would normally keep extra dishes and tablecloths , etc. it was a poor buffet and we could not imagine why Cunard would ever use this place for guests to stay who were embarking on a long expensive cruise

Cruise. Even worse is that Head  Office is here , so there is no excuse to  ever recommend such a place to Cunarders. The charge for the terrible buffet breakfast was removed on checkout.

As for changes , most are for the better , since the recent refit. They are, in our opinion, as follows: dinner is now available in the pub, large 42 inch TV screens in the cabin, much better TV programming, 8 music channels including a very good classical channel, a liquor store with lots of samples, beautiful flower arrangements and orchids in profusion, free shuttle buses between the dock and downtown in every port, and wonderful folkloric shows in every port prior to departure. 

A magnificent fireworks display took place in Southampton just prior to our departure. 

Our stewardess Margot was Austrian and quite simply the best we have ever encountered. Everything we needed appeared without asking.We never returned to our room to find it not made up. Not once did she ever knock on our door. She provided us with the utmost in privacy throughout  our voyage.  All bath towels provided to us were very white and fluffy.

There were 22 sommeliers aboard .Ours in Britannia Club was Paul. His recommendations were always spot on. We sat at two different tables for 2 and all of the waiters were polite . We were always referred to by name by all Dining Room staff. The maitre  dhotel  graciously took special orders. I had a different salad created for me every day at lunch. The food was much more British than on the World Cruise, but of course 95 per cent of the passengers on the first segment to Capetown were British. The cuisine however is neither creative nor innovative. There is not much dining anticipation.There were however a plethora of birds served on the way south to Capetown but not afterwards to the Australians.  There were 2 formal nights per week. The Verandah is now nothing but a not very good , over priced steak house and was mostly empty. There  were 3 lectures on each sea day . However the most amazing part was the variety and scope of the live musical entertainment. We saw Top Hat 4 times . There was an 8 piece dance band in the ballroom, with male and female vocalists, a 7 piece band for shows, 2 cocktail pianists, a classical trio, a harpist, a Dixie land jazz band, a guitarist in the pub ,and a classical pianist and violinist.

There was quite a bit of rust on the exterior and paint was constantly flaking off the sides and ended up on our balcony. As part of the casino was removed to make room for a new section of single cabins , many slot machines have been moved out into the lobby and elevator area outside of the pub which in our opinion detracts from the elegant on board experience. The interior of the ship, carpets ,walls furnishings etc.look the same or better than they did on the Maiden voyage.

All crew members were very polite, smiling , always gracious and accommodating.

Queen Elizabeth met all expectations 

I chose this cruise because it was taking the route which I did with my family  (husband and three daughters ) forty five years ago when we emigrated to Australia. A sentimental journey .I flew from Perth Australia, stayed two nights in London and then was driven to Southampton where I boarded the Queen Elizabeth. As a solo traveller this was done independently and paid for separately.

This beautiful liner took my breath away. My stateroom 4116 was  on Deck 4 . As all the single staterooms had been taken I opted for a double with an obstructed view. However I was able to see quite a lot from the large window. and appreciated the daylight. My cabin steward was remarkable and he kept my cabin spotless. I had a very comfortable "home" for five weeks.

 I enjoyed everything in this fabulously elegant ship from line dancing, chairobics, singing in a choir, playing shuffleboard., relaxing on deck or in one of the lounges, watching a show or a movie in the beautiful theatre or simply having a "flutter" in the casino.I particularly enjoyed the Gala Nights as I liked  having the opportunity to dress up for the occasion.

The  dining experience was fantastic with waiters who catered for every need.I enjoyed the variety of menus in the Britannia Restaurant . Frequently I had breakfast in the Lido Restaurant which is less formal and I did try a "pub lunch" in the Golden Lion which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I went on two organised tours where the guides did a wonderful job and were very knowledgeable . At other ports of call I tagged along with other solo travellers.

Travelling Solo

We booked this cruise to facilitate our onward journey to Victoria falls hence the title. It was the poshest ferry we've ever been on. Embarking was a doodle, on board within 30 minutes. Lovely cabin (wheelchair adapted) very spacious and with a large balcony, our cabin steward was one of the best we've had  nothing was too much trouble. Getting around the ship was much easier than the Queen Mary and the decor was better. My wife enjoyed the craft class and the painting class and I enjoyed the peace and quiet to read which brings me to the library one of the best at sea. Not so keen on the Brittania restaurant food but the other venues were good especially the Golden Lion. The on board show company put on good shows slightly spoiled by the two girl singers who seemed to clash. The guest artists were excellent a wonderful flautist and an opera singer I nicknamed the pocket rocket. All in all an excellent trip. As for Victoria falls well that's another story.

Ferry to Cape Town 

ON the face of it not a lot seemed to have changed on the Queen Elizabeth since we last sailed on her seven years ago…and vowed never to do so again after the ship’s truly unforgettable inaugural voyage to the Caribbean.

Roy Walker, star of the “Comedians” and “Catchphrase,” was still the biggest name performing in the Royal Court Theatre at night, a retired law enforcement officer was giving witty lectures during the day and there was still karaoke of very dubious quality in the Golden Lion pub.

The entertainment on that Caribbean cruise had to been seen and heard to be believed. One of the highlights was a gentleman playing tunes on a vacuum cleaner. It’s true.

Another was the comedian who started a stampede for the exits when he announced he was going to do a medley of Engelbert Humperdinck songs after half an hour of insulting the audience. The biggest laugh of his show was one of the stampeders sneaking back into the theatre to collect his wife’s forgotten handbag.

What changed our mind to give the Queen Elizabeth another go was, quite simply, Cape Town. The first major stopping point, where we disembarked, is one of our favourite cities … and this was almost certainly the last time we will go there.

We’re getting too old for 17 hours of flights … Cape Town to Dubai (nine hours) and Dubai to Manchester, eight hours.

But, we discovered, to be scrupulously fair, quite a lot had changed for the better on the Queen Elizabeth after the much-heralded £ multi-million refit.

We were late bookers so we had a very limited choice of balcony cabins ... just one with an uninterrupted view on Deck Four. The accommodation itself was OK, even though the metal-fronted balcony itself did rather resemble grubby old paint-strewn 1930s tanker or the local tip on windy day. Might be worth spending a few bob more, Mr Cunard.

And the pleasant young steward had to be reminded gently and occasionally that we were the guests.

There were only three stops … Vigo in Northern Spain (sunny, breezy and busy), Funchal in Madeira (warm, sunny and welcoming) and Walvis Bay, Namibia, where such a mullock was made of the disembarkation procedure for the day that many people elected to stay on board.

Even the dear old Garden Lounge seemed to have changed its image to reading marathons, occasional live music and quizzes.

Whatever happened to those superbly-named seminars?

We can still imagine the late, great Tommy Cooper saying: “A friend of mine said ‘You want to go to the Garden Lounge today. They’re having a seminar on puffy legs. So I did. And I got ‘em!’

The Lido now seems to stretch the length of the ship and is quite the best we have seen on 20-plus cruises for quality, quantity and variety.

But, perhaps the biggest change was the quality of the entertainment and the musicianship.

It was unfortunate that the two girl singers with the Royal Court Theatre Group had severe colds and some shows were cancelled. 

The huge band split up to play various venues around the ship but got together for one memorable evening in the Queen’s Theatre. And a spin-off group played a couple of excellent evenings of Dixieland Jazz in the Golden Lion.

Plus another fair lady ... Captain Inger Thorhauge.

And, oh yes, Roy Walker, aged 78, was just as funny as ever.

My Fair Ladies!

Took easiest and most comfortable way to meet Oceania Nautica in Cape Town. Excellent port calls. Better than flying. 5* Art Deco furnishings. 3* service. Staff does not smile and does not greet guests unless guest talks first. Service seemed to be a burden on crew. Our cabin steward was the exception. Smaller than Phone booth size showers drove many to use showers in the fitness center. Balcony ok for two. Glass and rails were cleaned twice. Entertainment and lecture series outstanding. Am now on Oceania Nautica where food quality and presentation are far superior. The Brits seemed to like and praise the food but we could not. Stewards pushed guests aside with service carts in the buffet line. They had no other path to transport clean or used tableware. Paper napkins in the buffet at night are not in step with the smart dress code requested. 

Maybe the Queen is intended as transportation rather than cruising. It does that well at 22+ knots.

Beautiful ship. Clean and well maintained. Crew needs to learn how to smile

We chose this cruise as an opportunity to visit some places we’d never seen and get away from a grey British winter.

Cunard has a problem. They seem to be massively popular with the over 75s but leave the ‘younger pensioner’ wondering whether they really care. The entertainment is poor, comedians that have struggled to leave 1973 behind, lectures about the lives of singers my Nan adored (and I’m 61!), the Golden Lion pianist did what he had to do for the money - an endless stream of 50s classics (he did slip in a Radiohead number at one point which, I suspect, was as refreshing to him as it was to me), jugglers, magicians etc. etc. I understand that Cunard don’t wish to turn their older base away but at sometime they will have to cater for us newer retirees. We’ve been brought up on Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Ben Elton and Steve Coogan. OK, so I don’t expect to see Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend belting out ‘My Generation’ on the Queen Elizabeth but maybe a tribute band or two would go a long way. The funniest comedian on this trip was one of the Entertainment Team, Laura, a brilliantly humorous lady who, when she’s on a roll, had her audiences crying with laughter. Learn from her Cunard, we won’t be happy with beige offerings going forward.

The food was average compared to other cruises and the Britannia Restuarant lacked character. We didn’t like the 2 set dining times of 6 (too early) or 8.30 (too late), anytime dining would have suited us better. The staff, though, at all times were professional, attentive and friendly.

Drinks were crazily overpriced which, I guess, was good for our livers but left us wondering how much more they would sell if prices were taken down a notch or two (other cruise lines prices are cheaper). We didn’t take any excursions as they looked over priced but, to be fair, that apples to all cruise companies. We did have a couple of bad experiences with their shuttle service in particular in Cape Town - the last shuttle back to the boat was scheduled for 8pm so we got to the pick up area at 7.30. By 8.10 pm no bus arrived so we were forced to walk at great speed back to the boat just making the 8.30 ‘all aboard’ time. We complained heavily to the customer service desk who said they would talk to the shuttle company and come back to us. Of course no one ever did get back to us.

Are Cunard terrible? No, that would be unfair, but they are distinctly mediocre. In insisting on several formal nights and high tea in the Queens Room they give a veneer of ‘higher quality’ but, beneath this, it doesn’t really have that much to make you want to come back. But, their problem is that some of their older established customers clearly believe that they are sailing with the creme de la creme whilst the rest are a bit uninspired by the overall experience. How do they change to attract us younger oldies? Or do they even want to? Until they do change we’ll pass on Cunard.

Complacent Cunard

This cruise was a fun way to get to our holiday in South Africa as it went from Southampton to Cape Town. The cabin, public rooms, lectures and art gallery were all great. 

We were travelling in Queens Grill and were presented with wonderful menus but the food that came from the kitchen (as opposed to being cooked at the table) arrived dry. We complained twice but nothing changed, I suspect that the chef did a good job but the food was left too long on the pass.

We like wine and had been assured that we could do WSET Course Level 2 on the trip. That was not available. We attended a wine pairing lunch which was hugely disappointing because of the poor presentation by the head sommelier.

We were irritated by how little was included in the price and that we were constantly signing chits to pay for things. The coffee available free was poor quality so one had to pay for premium coffee. Even when going on excursions small bottles of water were sold for $3.90.

Not as good as it should be

I rated the cruise good because it took us where we wanted to go; the ship itself is good; the public areas, including the pool areas not at all crowded; the restaurants and staff were good and friendly BUT all this is let down by the most abysmal administration and organisation. 

From first boarding nothing that required any kind of intelligent organisation was done well. Some examples follow:-

1. The staff in the Pursers Office were unable to answer any questions on any subject. When information was finally given eg on immigration arrangements, it proved incorrect. 

2. Immigration arrangements were dreadful. On our trip they had three opportunities to get it right and failed each time resulting in long queues blocking corridors, disabled people standing in line for long periods of time and passengers shouting at each other for queue jumping because some had been given incorrect advice. 

3. Disembarkation was a disgrace. Hundreds of people, with hand luggage, were told to present to a tiered theatre to wait. Has the ship’s management ever tried to get into a theatre seat with hand luggage? It isn’t possible. Consequently most passengers were standing in the aisles. The purpose of this mass assembly was simply to be told which deck could leave the ship. Passengers then had to leave the theatre to disembark. Those leaving earliest were asked to arrive earlier and therefore filled the front of the theatre. They had to exit via the back, through the throngs - with luggage - advised to arrive later and therefore standing at the back. A simple arrangement asking people to wait in any public area and announce decks for departure over the PA system would have worked SO MUCH BETTER. 

4. A cruise with lots of sea days and some poor weather requires reasonable in cabin entertainment. This cruise offered the poorest and worst organised. The information left in the staterooms on TV films and entertainment was incorrect and became more incorrect as the journey progressed because whoever compiled it was clearly unaware of the regular time changes. 

The cruise - Southampton to Perth - was almost 100% English speaking so why did they dedicate four tv channels to showing English and American films dubbed in French German and Spanish but didn’t show the same films in English?

Similarly a cruise mainly with elderly passengers hardly needed a dedicated children’s channel. 

The sound on the only English speaking film channel was too low to hear. 

Brenda Blethyn May be good in ‘Vera’ but to have the same episode repeated almost daily for over a month was a bit too much to bear. 

5. Gin and tonic $14.38. Drinks costs were a rip off. All included an automatic 15% service charge (non optional) and a gratuity was expected as well.

Think again Cunard. You are not as good as you like to think. 

we chose this cruise because even though we have done many shorter cruises on other cruise lines we were excited to cruise across the Atlantic ocean, down to the Caribbean, through the panama canal and home to Australia.  Both our embarkation and disembarkation involved minimum waiting, and luggage collection went smoothly too. Our cabin 6068 was midships, had a lovely balcony, and was kept impeccably by out steward John. He provided outstanding service, even washing down our balconies and cleaning all the exterior glass well after 8pm.

The Britannia dining room was terrific. we could have found fault with the occasional meal but the service was fantastic, our table companions were a merry bunch, and overall the food was 5 star quality. the Lido buffet provided food of great standard too.

The ports of call were all interesting, were well covered before arrival with different speakers giving history, activities ashore etc. there were many organised trips ashore, these however ranged from expensive to very expensive so we generally organised our own when we were ashore.

Internet although slow was free for world cruises(up to 135 min each per sector each). the do it yourself laundry was free, the library was fantastic with 7000+ books. The entertainment was extensive and very varied.

I only wrote this report to counter the many complainers we had on board who treated the crew abominably, and generally complained about everything. it was a wonderful cruise and very good value overall.

Specialist, Public Relations at Cunard North America

Very Impressive Cruise

Having cruised 34 times before Cunard's Queen Elizabeth, I can offer a perspective on how QE compares to other lines. 

Our embarkation at Southampton was smooth.  No issues with luggage or transport to pier. The layout of the ship is great. 

Seating in the dining room for the evening is by table assignment at an assigned time.  Cunard requires a dark suit or tux for formal nights for the men or a sports jacket for the casual nights.  As we had about 17 formal nights, this was far too many nights to dress up on vacation.

Menu is lacking in the dining room.  Each night the menu has four entrees to choose from and small in size with hardly any vegetables.  For a 42 night cruise, the menu repeats itself and with only four items to select again, it didn't meet our expectations for white star service.

QE had many activities going on everyday and their evening entertainment was superb. In fact, it was the best entertainment we have had in all our cruising.

Our Cabin was adequate for a veranda stateroom, but our cabin steward was the worst we have ever had.  For the first three days of our cruise our room was never ready until 1:30 pm and we would leave our stateroom in the morning at 830am.  We have never experienced such poor service. We were told that the stewards have 18 rooms to clean every day seems like too many rooms. Our steward kept forgetting to change the used glasses in our room, providing fresh face cloths, laundry slips, no ice in the ice bucket.

Charging $20 to our dining companions to unscrew a wine bottle that had been given to them. I understand previously ships charge for corkage fees, but really to unscrew the bottle...quite insane in today's environment. Also charging for bottled water is another grievance I have.  If you don't buy the bottled water, then you have to drink desalinated water from the tap??? Is this any way to treat your passengers with white star service?

This particular cruise catered to English guests...many of the guest lecturers were about events in England along with the entertainment.

Shore excursions are rated like many other cruise lines, some are good and some are very bad.

Disembarkation was great!  Very smooth.

Fitness and spa were adequate. Excessive costs for pedicure and manicures without the newest equipment?  Had a treatment from the doctor on board and they charged me a gratuity fee?? Since when do you pay a doctor a gratuity fee...another way for Cunard to make more money off their passengers.

We had the neurovirus on our ship. I believe Cunard could have avoided this issue if they instituted a better sanitation process with their oncoming guests at Cape Town. While traveling with  Azamara when we board the ship the first 24 hours, they serve the guests in the buffet restaurant to avoid any virus issues and we never incurred a problem.

Not sure we would travel on Cunard again given the disappointments that we incurred.

Southampton to Sydney

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