Short factual summary before my opinions: Queen Victoria was in good nick post-refurb with much outside painting going on. Passengers aboard numbered around 1550, and though there were definite problems with staff numbers – those at work were running around like the proverbial – there were no problems at all with staff helpfulness or courtesy. ALL staff at ALL TIMES were masked, passengers not so much, even when asked. By the end of the cruise Room Service reported over 100 cabins isolating with covid. Some obvious cost-cutting here and there, some equally obvious moves in the other direction, so maybe a redistribution rather than actually cutting anything. None of those ‘meet the driver’ parties or similar, and no ship’s photographers. Types and range of entertainment and activities were offered just as they were when last we cruised, 2019.

Right, now for the juicy stuff. We live in North Yorkshire, so home to Southampton is a five-hour drive. We usually book a cruise and stay package at a Southampton hotel and go down the day before, so were very happy when Cunard changed their Covid test requirement from ‘within 24hrs of departure’ to ‘the day before departure’ because that meant arriving at the hotel in the afternoon instead of evening, and that meant we’d have time to relax and enjoy the stay instead of it being a dormitory experience.

But only if the pre-cruise test was negative…. Read more