Although this was our tenth cruise it was our first with Cunard. Our expectations at the outset were high due to Cunard's reputation and for the most part were fully justified. The expectations that were not met were due to a bizarre mix of Cunard and Carnival cultures or perhaps it was American vv British cultures. Either way I suspect neither group of passengers were completely happy.

Embarkation was fast an efficient and the whole process took less than half an hour. We arrived at the port five minutes after our scheduled time of 12.30 and walked into our cabin 30 minutes later. Bags took a further two hours during which time we had lunch in the Lido restaurant. Full marks to all concerned. Disembarkation at the end of the cruise was chaos as there was a delay due to mechanical failure of port equipment, after which everyone left at once! Finding 4 cases out of circa 2000 was not an easy matter.

Queen Victoria is fabulous in every respect. Our cabin (8116) was comfortable and sufficiently spacious with ample room under the beds for all cases and sufficient drawers and cupboards for clothing. The only downside was the air conditioning which was difficult to control and was either very cold or warm. All of the public areas were exceptionally well designed, very comfortable and exactly what we expected of a Cunard ship, tasteful and sophisticated with lots of polished teak and brass, thick tasteful carpets and a touch of elegance. One of the ships real plusses is it's stability and we only felt slight motion on one day out of twenty four and that was with a force 9 gale blowing. Read more