My wife and I joined Cunard's Queen Elizabeth for her 'Maiden Festive Debut': a 22 night Caribbean. Check-in was relatively swift though there was a short wait of some thirty minutes, once through the check-in desks, while some final onboard procedures were cleared. As with most Cunard embarkations, Staterooms were ready at the time of embarkation.

Our accommodation, a P1 Princess Grill stateroom on 8 Deck had a reasonably large balcony, two comfortable fully reclining chairs, matching foot stools and table. Inside was ample storage space, a good bar area with fridge and more than adequate shelving. Additional drawer space was available under the king size bed. Our luggage arrived at the stateroom at the same time as we did which, on balance, justified the small tip I passed to the porter on arrival at the terminal.

Though experienced Cunarders this was our first time onboard the Queen Elizabeth. Our immediate impression was one of considerable style, elegance, traditional decor and quality. Being so very quintessentially British is what Cunard is all about and we were not to be disappointed: indeed, it was interesting to hear the Entertainment Director promising passengers at the first nights show a memorable cruise, as opposed to the usual banter of rival lines repeating the well worn mantra of how good they are; he wasn't wrong either. Read more