I have just returned from a 3-night mini cruise to Bruges on the Queen Victoria. To put this into context this was my 8th cruise with Cunard and second on QV. Queen Elizabeth is my favourite ship (5 previous voyages), but I wanted to see what QV is like now it has had its’ refit.

This was a short cruise originally consisting of one sea day; one day in Zeebrugge then a return to Southampton. Shortly after embarkation we were informed that we would be visiting Zeebrugge the next day then be at sea the following day due to the weather. I was very impressed with the Commodore in how he kept us updated, and also on the navigation along the south coast on the sea day to see 3 iconic lighthouses with a commentary and passing very close to the coast at Portland Bill and Start Point. This added something extra to the sea day and was a nice thought.

We had the Princess Grill stateroom 5094 on this cruise. The balcony is on a corner and it essentially facing forward meaning it is heavily exposed to the weather; as a result it was very dirty with salt and the railing in need of varnishing. The room itself was clean and pleasant. However one of the televisions was old; the other was new but both are low resolution. The new shower curtain in the bathroom is thicker than before and more luxurious. However there is no light over the bath therefore, when the curtain is drawn, one has to shower in the dark; not thought through very well! The bed, as always was extremely comfortable and the fruit bowl, strawberries and sparkling wine neatly arranged and well presented on embarkation was a nice touch. Read more