We had previously sailed on the Queen Victoria for a 7 night Norwegian Fjords cruise 15 months before and we were very impressed then, so we knew what to expect. This time, on a cruise twice the length, it all seemed even better. Embarkation was well organised. The restricted view cabin was better than expected, including the view! The service and attention of the staff was quite excellent and, in some cases exceptional. As the previous post reviewed the same cruise, we can keep ours brief by saying that we agree with just about everything. Yes, the theatre was impressive and there was a good variety of entertainment, the exceptions were the Beatles tribute act and the two comedians using many of the same 'cruise' gags (although they weren't to know!). Our impression of the food was stronger - the Britannia Restaurant had great and ambitious menus, good service and all the food on the ship we found to be consistently of a high quality. On recommendation, we tried the 'Coriander' Indian restaurant section in the Lido Buffet for an extra $10 and were very pleased we did (this rotates between Prime (Steaks) and Bamboo (Chinese)- see the daily programme).

As regards the pricing of drinks, maybe we have grown a little immune to this after several cruises, but we didn't think they were priced any more excessively than many pubs in the UK (before the 15% gratuity). What we did react to was the ridiculous pricing of on-board photos at $25 each, with no apparent discounts for multiple purchases. Perhaps Cunard could explore more favourable business models such as exploring how business might increase when they are priced at $15. Another pricing issue was the Cunard water shuttle to St Mark's Square in Venice at $24, given that there's a monorail from the port to the Railway station, where the sightseeing action starts, for 1 euro and, as we discovered on our return, a free transfer bus from the port round to the Railway station (saving 10 mins walk). Cunard didn't mention those, so we happily walked both ways and saw more of Venice!

We thought the previous reviewer was a bit hard on Argostoli in Cephalonia. We enjoyed it! One highlight was seeing huge water turtles swimming around the fishing boats by the quayside. We also relied on euros in Croatia with no problem, but don't forget than any change will come in Krona. Read more