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Queen Victoria

Saint-Tropez

Chose Cunard because we wanted a small ship, the dress code was what we were looking for, we knew we would be having a good time but it went above expectations! Cunard booked us a flight to Rome which was perfect, spend a couple  of nights there, then boarded and from the very first minute all was flowing perfectly. Embarkation was perfect, I have mobility issues, they were so helpful, from our cabin Stewart Arthur, the Maitre D' Luca, Sommelier Sojen, Abi & Romeo,  the whole staff who gave us attention and treated us like queens. I thought maybe (as I had read something along those lines) staff would be more attentious to people in the Grills (higher class booking) but with our balcony we ere treated wonderfully, every one we crossed has a smile, had great lunch and dinner companions, despite being open dining we were placed in the same 2 tables every time, the food variety and quality marvellous! Fell in love with Queen Victoria so much, we booked a slightly longer trip for next year, this time Southampton to Southampton which makes things far easier.

We learned that next time we will take a soft drinks package, but payed for our drinks and wine, cocktails and all extras with total pleasure. The gratuities (service charge in the general bill) proved lower than we thought would be, so we handed some cash tips to all staff who looked after us the entire week so wonderfully.

We only got to the theatre (absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!) once to see a couple of acrobats, it was a nice show, didn't get to see much more of anything else asa this was my 65th birthday and after lunch and dinner with wonderful wines, I was ready for bed, but my daughter enjoyed the folk duo and all in general.

Next trip would love to make it to the quiz!

Another FABULOUS experience was the Mareel Spa : we had massages that were the best I had in years, shame we couldn't go back as we mis calculated the time we needed in the last  couple of days, but we know now, will get back in the next sailing. We didn't get an accessible cabin but the size and comfort were perfect for my transit , small collapsible wheelchair,  had this idea that accessible would be a lot more expensive, its isn't. we are booked in an accessible for next trip, the price is the same we would have payed for the non accessible in that level. thank you so so much to Julietta who guided us through the choosing our next sailing (and here to the Cruise Critic people who alerted us too the advantages to booking on board!!!) 

Room service is fabulous, every corner we turned to was beautiful, the art pieces in exhibition gorgeous, the music all over the ship also wonderful, seeing couples ballroom dancing in the Queen's Room was heart warming, excellent, the tea time another super fabulous experience.

I was a but worried my daughter who is 27 would get a bit bored.....absolutely not! she has a wonderful time, we made amazing friendships, the whole experience (once again) beyond perfect.

The only thing we could fault was regarding the air conditioning that was full on, but had such nice weather all through, we know now for next time to get a bit more clothing to del with it.

Only thing I would suggest is take covid precautions all through your trip. I was doing it the first 4 days, then relaxed as I saw everyone was so well, on the way home today was feeling temperature rising, tested positive but managed to lower temperature with Paracetamol Fast Action +, will take it easy this weekend.

One BIG THANK YOU to all people on the Cunard Line forum, our sailing and time in Rome has been perfect thanks to all info and recommendations so many people here (and in the Rome Port of Call and Southampton transfers area of Cruise. Critic too!) I found cruise critic without looking for anything specific, what. blessing!

A beyond perfect experience!

We booked a guarantee obstructed view cabin. Never again. We were allocated cabin 4076. This was right over the state of the Queen's ballroom. The noise started every night at eight and continued till half twelve. Loud base beat and music vibrated wall and floor. Only suitable if you like to stay up late.

Food was very good and plenty of choice.

Entertainment was excellent particularly on sea days.enrichment lectures were excellent.

Staff very polite and efficient.

Drinks are very expensive and also have 15% service charge added making a beer around £7 and a soft drink £3. Wine was even more expensive with a large glass of wine costing over £10.

A very traditional cruise ship with an art deco feel throughout. No covered pool or hot tubs.

There is a definite class system on board this ship. Money talks!!!!

Excursions similar to other cruise lines. Quite expensive but generally well organized

Cabin to avoid

I went on this ship with my grandmother as she loves cruising.

First impressions were good. The cabin was nice and the food was good. 

I enjoyed the stops at Barcelona and Gibraltar.

Time on the ship however was where it slipped.

There was barely any activities or anything to do on the ship. The entertainment wasn't worth watching. This made days at sea unbearable. We spent most of the time sitting around in our cabin or the lounges.

Worse of all there was a banging noise somewhere near our cabin (we had a window cabin). We went to complain and offered a new cabin, inside. We chose to stay where we were. We were also offered a refund in cruise credit but there was nothing worth spending it on. My Grandmother has since complained again and has been partially refunded some of the cruise.

I will give it a generous 2 for food and cleanliness but I couldn't go on a Cunard ship again. It's clearly aimed for senior people (but even my Grandmother who is 75 couldn't stand it) and I couldn't recommend for first time cruisers. Will stick with Royal Carribbean in future.

Nice Ship Really Bored Though

Departed 15 September 2018 - 15 nights.  We chose this cruise because of it's excellent itinerary and longer stays in ports.  Overnight in Venice was the icing on the cake. We were a little perturbed by some of the reviews and comments that life on Queen Victoria was 'boring' and the ship was 'full of old people'.  My husband didn't want to go as he thought he'd be bored.  The reality was that our cruise to be fairly even in age, although not many children.  

Embarkation was seamless - even though we turned up 2 hours before our allocated time.  We were unpacked and ready to go long before we cast off.

From the time we boarded, we realised that British punctuality reined supreme on the Queen - everything was perfectly on time, and no stragglers thank you.  From the Captain down to the cabin staff, there was always a friendlWe were allocated first sitting in the Brittania Restuarant - fine for sea days but not so good when in port and the ship sails late afternoon.  No time to dress for dinner, so we ate mostly in the Lido Buffet.  

The meals in both the Britannia and the Lido Buffet were excellent - especially the pasta chef in the Lido who made sauces to taste.  Delicious.  If portion control is important to you, better stick to the Britannia as it's very easy to go overboard at buffets.  We ate breakfast in the Lido every day as most days we had early starts while in ports.  I loved the fresh fruit and healthy options available.  My only adverse comment is about the behavior of some of the older male passengers at the coffee/juice machines on the Lido.  You'd swear it was the last supper as they pushed and jostled others out of the way.  Other than that - dining gets a big tick.

Our cabin was 4001 - right at the front of the ship and with a metal balcony.  Any further forward and you'd be over the bow!  I was disappointed at first, but the photo opportunities as you sail into ports like Kotor are exceptionally good.  The cabin was a good size, plenty of room under the bed to stow luggage, plenty of wardrobe space and excellent shampoo, conditioner etc.  The bed was extremely comfortable, as were the gorgeous pillows and bedding.  The sound of the anchor being dropped was an excellent early morning wakup call in ports.  You couldn't sleep through it!  The only complaint I had was the horrible hair dryer in the drawer.  You had to hold the button on to make it work and it took ages to dry my short hair.  A small issue though - another tick for the cabin.

The entertainment was varied and first class - we loved it!  There was lots of ballroom dancing and we even took a couple of classes.  We were terrible but at least we had a go.  It was wonderful watching those who could dance and now dancing classes are on our bucket list. 

The formal nights were wonderful for we Aussies who rarely dress up.  My husband took a tux, vests, bow ties and loved dressing up. We particularly loved the Captains Cocktail Party and the Masquerade Ball.  I wore long dresses for the first time in the 18 years that we'd been married (not a good look for someone as short as me).  For the ladies, trousers with evening tops are perfectly acceptable if you don't suit dresses (I don't and I'll never wear another one). 

I think Cunard recognises that it's demographic is changing and that we aging Baby Boomers who grew up on the Rolling Stones and Beatles aren't always ballroom dancers.  We had a reggae band and a very good DJ on board.  There was a good disco on Deck 10 next to the Commodores Lounge - complete with flashing lights and ABBA music.  Very popular!

The Golden Lion pub provided my darts-mad husband with something to do at sea - he even won two matches.  The trivia and Bingo were fun.  Laura with her quirky, Northern UK voice made me smile every time I heard her speak.  She's a lot of fun and so were the other two girls.  

The ports were the major selling point of the cruise for us - first stop Corfu, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Venice overnight, Korcula, Valetta, Messina, Naples and back to Rome.  Plenty of time in port except for Korcula where we had to leave early because of a pending storm.  We thought the captain was panicking until it hit.  Very interesting crossing to Malta and from Malta to Messina.

We didn't take any of the Cunard port tours - our experience is always to choose a local tour company and do our own thing.  It's worked before and worked perfectly this time (with the exception of Naples - choose a ship day tour in case you're running late).

The service on Cunard was exceptional - nothing was too much trouble.  Even when my cabin card kept demagnetising (mobile phone was to blame), they replaced it with a smile.

Disembarkment was a bit of a problem - we were given a time to disembark, only to be told to go 2 hours early and 3 hours before our transfer was booked.  There are no seats to sit on outside the Civitavecchia terminal so it was a long wait standing up.

For those passengers not used to leaving large tips at the end of the voyage, or who prefer to leave tips for those special staff members, there is a system at the pursers office where you can opt out. The tips were in US dollars - and our exchange rate at the time of sailing was terrible - we preferred to tip in the Euros that we had at hand rather than charging our credit cards and awful exchange rates.  Cunard provide envelopes so that you can leave tips yourself.

My biggest bugbear were the deck chair hogs around the pool.  I'd see people go out, use large colourful plastic pegs to secure their towels to the chairs, walk away and not come back for hours - sometimes well into the afternoon.  This meant deck chairs were rarely available and hardly ever two next to each other.  I think there should be a system if the chair hasn't been used for over 3 hours, the towel should be removed.  

My final comments:  We'd sail with Cunard again in a heartbeat.  The service, the ship's facilities and the ports have changed the way we look at cruising.  I'm hooked and can't wait to sail with Cunard again.

Return to the Golden Era of Cruising

Travelling solo, I was nervous of cruising but this trip converted me. A wonderful time at sea and on shore, and a delicious atmosphere of restrained elegance. I loved it all - even my little inside cabin! The food was excellent, so much to do if one felt like it, or great days spent in an armchair reading. 

We had port calls two out of every three days so there were not so many quiet sea days - I found myself looking forward to the breaks! 

The onboard activities were generally great though I found the evening dancing geared rather towards the expert dancers rather than the “social foxtrotters” of which I am one. Lots of fancy steps required! Dance hosts were of variable enthusiasm at dancing with the non-expert. The evening shows were of a high standard - I wish I had organised better to get to the first few nights.

Activities for singles were appreciated especially the meeting before the Captain’s Cocktail Party do we could avoid wandering in alone.

 My favourite seat in The Commodore’s Lounge is calling!

Brilliant Intro to Cruising

We have sailed only with RCI before. We have been getting more and more disappointed with RCI standards and thought we would try Cunard. Being 51 years old, we were a little concerned that Cunard would be too formal and 'sedate' for us. We needn't have worried. We found the whole Cunard experience brilliant, and it put RCI to shame with the level of care and detail Cunard put in to ensure your cruise is as worry-free as possible.

Our cabin was spacious and very clean. We were well looked after by the steward, and, unlike RCI he wasn't constantly knocking on the door. The balcony was big as well (I think you get a bit of extra room on deck 4 as our balcony stuck out further than the ones above. Beware though that some of the balconies on deck 4 (those towards the bow) have metal fronts, not glass like ours). The ship is very well laid out and easy to get around. 

We found the food to be superb, both at the Lido and also thee main restaurant. In the Lido, there is a good choice and the quality is excellent. In the main restaurant there is a different choice every night. RCI always seem to have many of the same starters and desserts, whereas with Cunard each night is different, which we liked.

We really liked the stricter dress code on board. Every non-formal night a jacket was required, but ties were optional. We thought this was a really good policy as everyone looked so smart each night. On the formal nights i don't think i saw anyone without a dinner suit or lounge suit - so good after enduring 'formal' nights on RCI recently.

I must also comment on the general friendliness of the ship. We spoke to so many people over the course of the cruise.

At the end of our stay we also found it a nice touch that suitcases were taken to the airport and we collected them from the check-in desk.

We will definitely look to cruise with Cunard again.

Great Cruise on Cunard Queen Victoria

There's a lot to like about QV, but the food in the Britannia dining room, an important part of cruising, is not one of them. Tough steaks, dry roast pork, tasteless sea bass, endless steamed vegetables, in fact the only way to describe the meals is ordinary. Except perhaps for the deserts there was very little else that was delicious. Also strange combinations of ingredients e.g. a slice of cold tomato with roast veg. And how excited I was to see Rockefeller oysters on the menu one night. Expecting to see 3 oysters served in their shells on a large plate, well what I got was a large plate with 3 tiny oysters all crammed together on a small round slice of toast with a thick dressing on top. Awful !

OK you get a symphony of waiters, but the food in Britannia was so ordinary ( I understand the Exec. Chef was from Malaysia. Probably very good at Asian food, but not much of an idea about Western ) that we thought it was not worth getting dressed up for ( and yes, we'd bought new outfits before we left) that we often found ourselves eating in the Lido buffet where the food while not gourmet was always very tasty. Harsh comments I know, but really Cunard you can do better.

On a very positive note the beautiful and elegant ship was well presented even if the air con was constantly on cold no make that freezing.The Chart room, the Commodores Club, the Winter Garden were always a joy to be in especially when the Imprezza Strings, an all female string quartette were playing. The afternoon tea was always a treat and so very civilised. Well done Cunard ! The service by the extremely friendly and accommodating waiters was outstanding . I understand there were 190 on board all Professional polite with nothing being too much trouble. My wife's Gluten Free intolerance was always well looked after. Joel serviced our stateroom twice a day and kept it spotless. Absolutely no complaints in that area.

Departing from Civitavecchia  we chose the 14 day Med. cruise with the Queen Victoria for the great itinerary. Some places we had visited before, but also several we had not.

Malta.Having previously visited the Co-Cathederal we chose the ship's tour of Mdina and the hidden gem Palazzo. An excellent tour with a very competent guide.

Kotor. Our second visit so we just wandered the interesting old town.

Zadar. A free shuttle to the old town which was new to us.Not really much to see, but the Octopus salad I had for lunch was fabulous.

Venice.Paid $35 pp of OBC for 2 day unlimited travel on a motor launch from the port to near San Marco, well 4 bridges away. A bargain even if the departure from the ship to the launch was a 10 min. walk in sweltering heat.

There were 8 cruise ships in Marritima, the port of Venice, during our overnight stay. Ridiculous. Venice is so overcrowded with tourists in the San Marco area that it is spoilt for everyone and the authorities are doing nothing about it. Having visited Venice many times we stayed well clear of San Marco and after lunch at the excellent Pensione Wildner ( €25 for 3 courses, very good value for Venice) we visited the Venice Biennale and being from Melbourne, the Australian Pavilion and Tracey Moffat's fantastic photography. On the second day we crossed the Accademia bridge to our favourite sestiere and one we have previously stayed in, Dorsoduro where you will find the Accademia museum, the Peggy Guggenheim museum, Ca Rezzonica, great little shops, terrific trattorias in Campo San Barnaba and away from the bridge area, virtually no tourists ! Oh, and 2 ATMs for money even if the exchange rate was terrible.

Dubrovnik. Our third visit so boarded the ship's free shuttle for the walled old town to visit on our own. Again Octopus salad for lunch, not quite as good as Zadar, but still delicious .

Corfu. Having read many of their books and enjoyed the TV series we chose the ship's tour of "In the footsteps of the Durrells" An excellent tour with a wonderful guide. The tour ended with lunch at the White House, the family home of the Durrells. 

Katakolon. At the large orange building on the corner of town you can buy a return ticket to Olympia for €10 pp, yes  €10 ! So we did that.  The air conditioned bus departs at 9:30am returns a t 1:00pm. The Olympia Museum is excellent and well worth the €12 admission fee.

Heraklion . A €5 taxi ride from the port is the Venetian Fort and Harbour. Many shops, many Taverna and not that many tourists.

Athens. Disembarked.

Having previously sailed with Celebrity I certainly did miss the fun of the ship, 

the delicious French onion soup and the specialty restaurants, however I did not miss the aggressive on selling, something mercifully non existent on Cunard. We only attended two shows and they seemed more suitable for an English music hall rather than a Royal Court theatre. The three guest speakers that we attended were very good with the former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia being outstanding.

Overall despite the disappointment of Britannia, we had a most enjoyable cruise to some wonderful places. The weather while hot, was otherwise perfect and the Med. for all 14 days was like a lagoon.

There's a lot to like about Queen Victoria, but.......

We are first time cruisers and were looking for a good first impression. The Queen Victoria didn't let us down.  The cabin was superb (Deck 8 forward balcony), the food also well prepared and presented (the wait staff were excellent) and the overall service was faultless.

We declined the automatic gratuities (tips) and a simple request at the Pursers Office had these taken from our onboard account.  In lieu of this, we gave each of the wait staff a personal tip at the end of the voyage, which they kindly accepted. We took the Cunard organised tour of Valletta (our first port), but got off the bus before we got back to the ship and explored the Grand Harbour by foot. Realising that we could probably get better value for money by doing our own thing, we elected to negotiate our way around each port and this was a fantastic experience.  It is hard to find fault with this ship, and although we had a table of six in the restaurant each night, we also went to the Lido Restaurant for lunch if we were at sea.  The food in the Lido was great.  Our breakfast was served in the room each morning and this suited us as we like to start the day at our own pace.  Overall a very enjoyable cruise and highly recommended by us.  The only downside was the extremely hot weather in the Med and this meant we had to be careful to carry enough water in our backpack.  Next time we will go in the shoulder season (Spring or Autumn).

Hard to fault this ship and the service

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