We cruised for the first time two years ago and have caught the bug. Accuse us of lacking in imagination if you must, but based now on two experiences with Cunard, we’d need a good reason to go elsewhere. As last time, we sailed with the Queen Victoria (chosen for timings and itinerary, rather than the ship). The only poor aspect of the cruise was embarkation at Southampton. We had priority check-in, which worked perfectly, but then queued for what must have been almost an hour to get through the security x-rays and on board. Even Heathrow at holiday time does it better than this.

The Cunard experience is a gloriously willing suspension of normality. Diets were put on hold and the excellent cuisine embraced. The only time something wasn’t up to standard (Steak Diane), it was whisked away and replaced. My partner had two very good pub lunches during the cruise, but I was happy to stay in the Queen's Grill restaurant which served just about everything my greedy palate desired. Shirred eggs with caviar had disappeared from the breakfast menu, but were provided when I asked. Caviar was off the dinner menu, but one of our fellow diners requested it, and forth it came.

Last time we had an aft suite (4191) which was fabulously spacious with a huge balcony. This time we opted for 8163, aft starboard corner, which gave an even bigger wrap-around balcony, although less internal space. There are always pros and cons. This layout didn’t have the split bathroom of most QG suites, but it did have two basins. The wardrobe space seemed a bit smaller too, although we did pack rather heavily... Read more