Queen Elizabeth Review

4.0 / 5.0
635 reviews

Fabulous Baltic Cruise May 2016

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Queen Elizabeth
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2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: May 2016
Cabin: Balcony
Queen Elizabeth docked in Copenhagen, Denmark
Our tablemates and servers......
Maggi and Chic - Formal Dinner
Captain's Cocktail Reception
Queen Elizabeth docked in Tallinn, Estonia

Overall, we were thrilled with our Baltic Cruise on the Queen Elizabeth. This is my third cruise with Cunard (my husband’s 2nd) – Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth.

Embarkation was handled in very professional way. I had to be in a wheelchair, and we were treated with respect and kindness.

SHIP OVERALL: We thought the common areas on the ship were beautiful. We did not spend any time out on deck except for talking a walk.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin BE

CABIN: Our cabin 5047 was ready and waiting for us. Jojo was our cabin steward. He took excellent care of us. There was nothing that we asked of him that he did not deliver with a smile. Waiting for us was a bottle of Lanson NV Champagne - a lovely welcome bathroom was well laid out – with plenty of space for all of our toiletries. The shower was perfect – great water pressure and always hot. The only complaint we had about our aboard. The bed and pillows were so comfortable that we slept like babies. The cabin was the TV – Cunard should provide a TV Guide and a Channel Guide. They should also offer movies. It would have been nice to know when shows were on. And, we would have liked to see them update the Ship’s Log on the TV when the route was changed and time for arrival was changed.

Port Reviews

Southampton

We arrived in Southampton early so that we could visit the Sea City Museum before setting sail on our Baltic Cruise. This museum tells the story of ocean liners from the early days to modern day ships. The exhibition has ship models, posters, photographs and ephemera from the great liners such as menu cards and souvenirs. You will see furniture and other items from some of the famous ships that called Southampton home such as the Mauretania, Queen Mary and QE2. You will learn about the people who traveled and worked on these ships. We were a little disappointed in the Titanic Exhibition, we were expecting more.

Hamburg

It was a cold and rainy day when we sailed into Hamburg. We took the shuttle into town, found a Starbucks and waited. The weather did not approve. We decided to cancel our plans to walk around the city.

Copenhagen

We took the shuttle bus provided by the ship into the town square. We then bought a bus and boat pass. We walked over to Nyhavn – a very famous canal street and caught the Netto boat for an hour tour around the harbor and canals of Copenhagen with Mort – a delightful young man who spoke excellent English. The boat tour takes you past many famous sights – the home of Hans Christian Andersen, some of the Royal palaces, churches, Opera House, Royal Library (called the Black Diamond) and the most famous sight –The Little Mermaid. The Little Mermaid has been decapitated twice, knocked into the canal several times – had a bikini painted on her and much more….amazing she has survived. The bus gave us the rest – The National Museum, Rosenborg Palace, Christiansborg Palace, Amalienborg Palace, The Radhus, etc. There is even a community that was built by hippies in the late 80’s – they have their own laws, schools, etc. Pot is freely available. There were lots of expensive boats docked along the canals in Christianhavn.

I had read about a place called The Copenhagen Street Food Project. They took an old warehouse on the other side of the canal near the Opera House and made it a street food vendor’s paradise. If you can imagine the cuisine, it was offered here. Unfortunately, the boat that normally goes right there does not run on Saturday or Sunday… go figure – they are open 7 days a week. We had to take a boat to the Opera House and then walk a very long distance to the warehouse – way too hot for me; but, we managed. Thank God, the place was cool and had ample seating. We found a nice spot and rested. We were not that hungry – so we got a steak sandwich with gorgonzola cream sauce to share – it would have been superb, but the meat was tough. We were told that they made the best sweet potato fries and they did. Beware if you go here - it is very expensive. We paid $25.00 for the one sandwich. Two bottles of water and 2 diet cokes costs $17.00.... After lunch, we headed out to find the bus – we went back to the ship because it was so hot. We were able to hear a concert being played in the town square while we waited for the bus.

Stockholm

The day we arrived in Stockholm was their National Day in Sweden holiday. We took the shuttle bus that Cunard provided into Stockholm. It is about a 20 minute ride from the port. Fortunately, for us, the drop off point was sort of close to where we wanted to go – The Nobel Prize Museum. We wanted to visit this museum as 6 individuals from my husband's small town (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY-8,000+ residents) have won the Nobel Prize. You can read my review on Trip Advisor.

We also had made lunch reservations before leaving the USA to eat at the oldest restaurant in Stockholm - Den Glydene Freden. We both ordered the Zorn’s Meatballs – explained as the legacy of a previous owner: classic Swedish meatballs with potato puree, cream sauce, and pickled cucumbers with lingonberries. Oh my, it was really good!

Tallinn

We took the shuttle bus into Tallinn. They dropped us off on a main road. We started to walk towards the Old Town of Tallinn. It is quite a picturesque town – lots of lovely old buildings and some modern new ones as well. There is an old town and a new town. It was quite precarious walking in the Old Town – most of the streets were under construction. We were struck by how much construction is going on in every town we have visited. The town square was very lovely – lots of restaurants and shops. The air was very crisp when we got off the ship – the sun was shining. It seems that they have been having unusually warm weather for several weeks. It was glorious to walk about in the sun. I had made reservations for lunch at Karja Kelder – the oldest pub in Tallinn, and it was underground. Again , you can read my review on Trip Advisor. We had a delightful lunch.

St. Petersburg

To all cruise ship passengers, please do not let your cruise ship tell you that you have to book all of your shore excursions for St. Petersburg thru them. They will tell you that it will be very expensive for you to book because you need to apply for a Russian visa. This is simply not true. My husband and I did some research before our Baltic cruise on the Queen Elizabeth in June 2016. We interviewed 3 local tour companies for St. Petersburg with high ratings on Trip Advisor. We sent them each a list of the sights that we wanted to see and asked for quotes. We wanted a tour customized for the two of us with our own guide and driver. I knew that I did not want to be on a bus with 20 to 30 people or even on semi-private tour with 16 people.

All 3 of the companies that responded were excellent and gave us very similar quotes. Each would handle all the details, including getting the visas/permits for entry into Russia. We went with SPB tours because they were rated #1 on Trip Advisor and also because they said they would provide a wheelchair for me in case I needed it (which I did). We knew we had a limited amount of time ashore (2 days - June 8 & 9) and wanted to make the most of it.

We went ashore each day at 8:00 AM. Our guide, Katryn, an art history major, was waiting for us. She has worked for SPB Tours for 6 years. Our driver, Alex, was also very nice. He has been driving tourists around the city for 15 years. They had a Mercedes van for us. Even though we were told by Cunard that the day would be sunny and lovely, it was not. We had sunshine for about 3 hours, and then it poured rain. SPB provided us with lovely orange rain slickers and umbrellas.

I have written reviews of all the places we visited on Trip Advisor. We were with Katryn and Alex for 9-1/2 hours each day. The total cost for this tour including all entrance fees, etc. was $1,150.00 for the two of us, plus tips for the guide and driver. We saw so much more of St. Petersburg than we would have with a cruise ship tour and at our own pace.

We went into the following sights: Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, State Hermitage Museum & the Winter Palace, St. Isaac’s Cathedral State Museum & Memorial, State Russian Museum, Faberge Museum, Peter & Paul Fortress, Peter & Paul Cathedral, Yusupov Palace on Moika, Eliseyev Emporium, the local Harley-Davidson dealership, Singer Building (it was the American Embassy during World War I), Malaya Sadovaya Ulitsa (Small Garden Street), Fountain Ball, Nevsky Prospekt street, Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria (oldest Catholic Church), Singer Café, Sadko Restaurant, Ploshchad Vosstaniya (St. Petersburg Metro), Moscow Rail Station, Vitebsky Rail Station, Rostral Columns, the University Embankment, and an hour cruise on the Neva River with great commentary. We never waited in a line anywhere. Our guide, Katyrn, was quite knowledgeable and explained everything as we drove by the different sights.

We were able to see the following places on our sightseeing tour: Palace Bridge, Palace Square, Alexander Column, Kazan Cathedral, Neva Embankments, Anichkov Bridge, Bronze Horseman, Trinity Bridge, Monument to Catherine the Great, Monument to Nicholas I, Egyptian Sphinxes, Senate Square, Egyptian Bridge, Annunciation Bridge, Blue Bridge, Bridge of Kisses, Red Bridge, Senate and Synod Building, The Moscow Gate, Academy of Fine Arts, The Stock Exchange, Hero City Obelisk, Lions on Palace Pier, The Hare Escaping Flooding, Bolshop Gostiny Dvor (famous shopping center), The Summer Garden, The Summer Palace, River Fontanka Embankment, and the Zimnyaya Kanavka Canal. So as you can see, we had an extensive tour of St. Petersburg.

We highly recommend SPB Tours to everyone. They are professional, courteous, and provide a wealth of knowledge. Customize your own tour and treat yourself - you will be thrilled.

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