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Queen Elizabeth Review

4.0 / 5.0
623 reviews

San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale via Panama Canal: Beautiful Ship, but Surprisingly Low Standards

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Queen Elizabeth
tomship
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Aug 2023
Cabin: Deluxe Inside

I chose this voyage because I wanted to go through the Panama Canal, and also sail on the Queen Elizabeth for the first time. I am a solo traveler. I had already sailed on the Queen Victoria once, and the Queen Mary 2 three times. I have been fascinated by ocean liners since I was ten years old, and this is why I am drawn to Cunard ships. Cunard has always taken pride in carrying on the customs of the 20th century era of the great ocean liners. It appears, however, that they are now starting to end their attachment to the Cunard ocean liner customs of their seagoing heritage.

I loved the ship. It is beautiful throughout. It was a pleasure to sail on it. The Grand Lobby is impressive. The library is beautiful by any standard. The Britannia Restaurant is magnificent. The gym is well-equipped. The ballroom is exquisite, as is the Royal Court Theater. I ate in the Britannia every evening, assigned to a table for six. All of my tablemates were nice people, and we enjoyed good conversation as well as good food. Eating there for dinner was a pleasure. The food was always delicious, the wines were fine, and table service was excellent. Our waiter, dining steward, and wine steward were attentive to our requests at all times. They were cheerful, and acted like they enjoyed their work.

Daily Afternoon Tea was a great pleasure. Very classy, elegant, and special. The waiters were always attentive in making sure I got all the tea, sandwiches, and desserts I wanted. They were a class act. The live music was wonderful. Every day it was always impressive to see the waiters/waitresses neatly marching into the ballroom for this traditional ritual.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Inside

My Deluxe Interior stateroom on Deck 1 was very nice; quiet, spacious, with a comfortable bed. It was conveniently located between the Grand Lobby and the Theater. The only thing wrong was that I could not get channel 52 on the TV. I had wanted to watch the movie "Chevalier" in my room because I was unable to see it the previous day in the theater. It was scheduled to be shown on channel 52. My stateroom steward, Luel, was very thorough in his upkeep of the room. Thank you, Luel! Several days into the cruise the water in the shower became scalding hot even with the cold lever turned up. I reported it to Luel. He got it fixed in good time. Again, thank you, Luel! The chocolates placed on my bed at night were changed to those round chocolate mints wrapped in gold foil that you can buy at Dollar Tree. Come on, Cunard. I also noticed that the Voyage Guide is now inserted into an incredibly cheap-looking floppy plastic holder.

I remember when Cunard bound these in a beautiful leather binder! All things considered, I definitely liked my stateroom!

Port Reviews

Aruba

I simply walked around the port/commercial district for about 3 hours. The weather was very hot.

5 Helpful Votes
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