Queen Elizabeth Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our sixth cruise on Cunard, but the first time we tried the Princess Grill category. We had the promotion that offered pre-paid gratuities, $800 on board spending money,and free drinks (under $12). When you deduct the value of these benefits from the price of a P1 category cabin, it wasn't all that much more than a regular balcony cabin For some reason, this category on this cruise was several thousand dollars less than later cruises on basically the same itinerary. And it was considerably less than the next lower grade - Britannia Club, which makes no sense but that's what it was.
Overall I would say this was perhaps the best cruise we have ever been on. The service was fantastic, and so was the food in the Princess Grill. The weather was also great, and the Cunard shore excursions were all good and reasonably priced. This was our first time in the Canaries so we found the islands, and the two stops on the mainland very interesting.The ship was in very good shape overall, despite being scheduled for a major refit in November. Some of the carpeting was tired but otherwise everything was in good repair. There are some shortcomings in the bathroom, detailed below. The temperature control in the room was excellent.
Our waiter in the Princess Grill was Ravi, assisted by Vish, and the service was top notch, for three meals a day. I really appreciated being able to come to each meal when I wanted and always having the same table, which was very nicely located (after the Maitre D' kindly changed for us from a less desirable one the first day). We had afternoon tea several times which is served in the Queens Grill for all Grill guests, and it was so much better than the experience in the Queens Room for Britannia Class passengers.
Cabin Review
Princess Suite
The cabin itself is not much bigger than a regular balcony cabin. It appears to be the same width but is longer, so you have a bigger sitting area and a full size bathtub. It was in pretty good shape, considering the carpeting and I suspect most of the furniture will be replaced in the refit next month. The balcony is the same size as a regular cabin. The bathroom had some shortcomings. First of all, the lighting is terrible. I couldn't tell if I needed a shave, except by feel. The shower head is way too low (due to the low ceiling) and on two occasions around 5 pm the water was only lukewarm for a shower. The shampoo and conditioner were poor, and I found the special towels given the Grill cabins to be very unabsorbent. I should note that our Cabin Steward Rojan was excellent and was very prompt to deal with special requests.
Port Reviews
Tenerife
The coach was awful - leaked water over several passengers from overhead and my wife's seatbelt didn't work. We didn't see what was described in the tour brochure.
La Coruna
Very nice city.