My Mother, may she rest in peace, use to have a saying, "Some people would complain if they were hung with a new rope"... it must be because new ropes would be scratchy on your neck - a problem that wouldn't be worth complaining about for very long.

My wife and I just completed our 45th overall cruise on the Queen Victoria. It was our 7th on Cunard. Our theory about all the complaints we always read about in cruise reviews and hear occasionally around the ships has always been simple. People have expectations that are unreachable. That coupled with "they paid too much" for the cruise, spent too much, drank too much and toured too much on the ship's tours. You can also ad in ate too much, exercised too little and you have a recipe for complaints and discontent. See... that's pretty simple.

Oh... I almost forgot the review! We sailed on Queen Victoria from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on Dec. 6, 2011, heading to a number of places on my all time wish list. I'm 64 and my wife 56 are both retired and have been for 15 years. We flew in the morning of the cruise from Atlanta for $49.00 each on Airtran. The cab ride to Port Everglades is 3 miles and cost $14. No hotel, no lost bags, no hassles! We knew NOT to get to the ship before 3:00 pm for a 9:30 pm departure. We dropped our bags in the front receiving area and were on the ship in less than 10 min. If you get there at 11:00 am you'll wait 2-3 hours to get on the ship... but you learn a few basics after 45 cruises. When was "not knowing" a benefit? Be a traveler... not a tourist! Read more