cruise critic reviews queen victoria

Cunard Line

A few thoughts on [QG] Queen Victoria May'23

By Victoria2 , June 7, 2023 in Cunard Line

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Aloha. Loved your review and thoughts. Thank you for sharing. We have been blessed to sail in the QE2, QM2, QV amongst other Cunarders. Also, in various categories including PG and QG. Your impressions equal ours and we love the gala nights and I enjoy wearing a tuxedo which sad to say is a disappearing custom. We are phasing out the mega ships with thousands of passengers and glad that some ships still maintain the bygone era of cruising. All the best!

Windsurfboy

I think our experience in April was similiar to yours, glad Cheese has risen from ABYSMAL to OK. Apart from that happy with food , but the Dover sole and rack of lamb relied on heavily .

Agree wandering round ship on smart nights , things weren't as expected much more casual verging on scruffy than smart.

Off on QM2 on Friday, may be our last Cunard except to use as plane alternative back from Capetown unless it improves. As we found Saga better and once outside grills a less mass market more refined experience.

Some additional points, also from a QG passenger.

Obviously, for me, catching Covid was the main thing I shall remember about this cruise. This meant I was confined to my cabin for six of the twelve days. As I suffer quite badly from claustrophobia, I am very grateful we had a large cabin with balcony. Everyone was assiduous and kind. The medical centre rang daily to check how I was, the Purser people quite frequently, and the lovely Concierge, Sandra, rang every day, and sent me crosswords. Above all the butler, Romil, was brilliant, serving us three QG meals a day, and keeping us well supplied with the essentials of wine and tonic water. One thing that did seem slightly odd was that my husband never had Covid and was not confined, but could not eat or drink in the bars or restaurants. I’m not sure of the logic behind this.

Fortunately, in view of my confinement, the internet worked pretty well, and I was never cut off from emails or Safari, which was all I needed.

Ports and Tendering

I think there were too many tender ports, and perhaps seven (reduced to six) ports in twelve days was too many altogether. I was sad to miss Stornaway and Belfast, and really pleased to be released for Liverpool, where I attended a moving service to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic. Holyhead was a bit a a shambles, but definitely has potential if they can get disembarkation arrangements and shuttling sorted.

Our food in the restaurant was always hot and always enjoyable. But, some of the menus were strange. Do two out of five vegetarian dishes of the day really reflect the tastes of QG passengers? And there was poor planning. I adore tandoori lamb, but it was on the lunch and dinner menu on the same day. (Incidentally the QG dinner menu of the day is different from Britannia, and not necessarily nicer.) In contrast to V2, we found the portions almost invariably too large. This was even more the case with our lovely meal in La Piazza.

I thought the lecture programme was very strong for such a port intensive cruise. We enjoyed Mr. Flounders’ thoughts on Cunard History. There were also Jan Etherington and Fiona Armstrong, who I gather are well known, though not to me. Also a professor talking about the Battle of the Atlantic.

And finally…

The staff were absolutely outstanding. Our cabin staff and restaurant stewards were brillliant, not only efficient and helpful, but smiling and kind. It would have been so nice to bring them home with us.

Splice the mainbrace

I was on this cruise it was our first with Cunard for 4 years but have cruised with Princess and P&O since.

We were in a non Grill stateroom so dined in the MDR in the evening, my pros and cons are:

There was more space and places to sit than the other cruise lines that we have travelled with recently.

Nice relaxed peaceful atmosphere, it was easy to find a quiet place.

Interesting lectures

Comfortable bed and pillows

Cabin was kept in good order by the steward

Friendly efficient staff

No problems taking wine on board at each port (1 bottle for me and my wife each)

The overall cruise and experience was very good

Drinks prices + 15% service charge

The evening MDR dining experience was more rushed than I remember previously on Cunard. Before we had settled and got our reading glasses out the menu was thrust in front of us, then shortly afterwards the bread rolls and coming back for for our order when we were still choosing after a brief chat with our table companions. We did tell the waiters early in the cruise and they slowed a bit but it was still had the feeling of bring rushed. We were on the 2nd sitting and the seats for the waiters to cover was only at 50 to 75% so being over worked was not an issue. Lunch and breakfast was different and was a more relaxed experience.

Initially we were pleased with arrangements for the end of cruise disembarkation by waiting in your stateroom but we expected for announcements to be made calling your luggage tag colour for when to disembark but there were no announcements. Our disembarkation time was 9.50 but by 9.00 when we hadn't heard any announcements I went to the exit point and asked and was told 'we are well ahead of the schedule, you can get off when you want'!!

The lack of enforced hand hygiene early in the cruise, there were no staff with hand sanitiser at the entrances to the Lido or MDR. After Norovirus was announced onboard after 4 days there were staff everywhere at the entrances and serving food from the buffet, surely they could have found staff in the early days to stand at the eating places entrances. I know that hand sanitiser is not 100% effective and it may not have prevented the outbreak but to have no staff in place is asking for problems.

Related to the hygiene item about is that QV still use the old hand signing for drinks bought rather than auto systems that I have recently experienced on Princess and P&O. The problem that this is that after hand sanitising when entering a bar you have to handle the receipt folder and pen used by many others and often nibbles come with your drinks. I didn't sign the receipt until after finishing but expect many don't.

The change for 'free' internet access from hours that countdown to $ towards internet plans. On my Platinum grade the previous 40 hours access is of more use to me than $80 which would buy me 3 days of standard access or 2 days of fast access.

Very interesting reading these reviews as a relative newcomer to Cunard. We are on QM2 later this week (and very much hoping the food will be up to par) and then our first QV in November. Hopefully the wrinkles will be ironed out - although I don't think we've ever been on a cruise which hasn't had a few minor irritations. I can empathise with exlondoner as both my husband and I caught Covid on our last cruise (on QE) and Norovirus on our last Regent cruise. Such a frustrating (and expensive) experience...

Two other points.

Passenger information service: I have already ranted about its direness on another thread.

Maintenance: I thought the ship was well looked after, and there were lots of people doing routine cosmetic maintenance in different places on the ship, including a few people painting the hull at Liverpool. Don’t know whether we’d hit an iceberg without my noticing.

Thanks for the positive and informative reviews.

Looking forward to our similar QV sailing in August.

How was the musical entertainment around the ship?

9 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said: Thanks for the positive and informative reviews. Looking forward to our similar QV sailing in August. How was the musical entertainment around the ship?

No real change. The string trio alternated between decks 2 and 3, pianist in the atrium and a guitarist deck 3. Don't know abut the Commodore as we never go there for some reason.

Winter Garden was a popular venue for the Newfoundland Duo and the Queens Room hosted a couple of evening concerts too.

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said: No real change. The string trio alternated between decks 2 and 3, pianist in the atrium and a guitarist deck 3. Don't know abut the Commodore as we never go there for some reason. Winter Garden was a popular venue for the Newfoundland Duo and the Queens Room hosted a couple of evening concerts too.

+ Fabulous pianist in Commodores and the Queen Victoria band and orchestra were really good, their big band night in the Queens Room was just like listening to the originals.

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Cunard Line

Review of Queen Victoria

By dc-farer , February 11, 2008 in Cunard Line

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As promised, I've submitted a full review of the Queen Victoria for posting on the Ship Reviews page, but will post it here as well. It's quite lengthy, but hopefully, it will be of interest. If you have any specific questions, I will do my best to answer them.

REVIEW OF QUEEN VICTORIA

(Jan. 6 – Jan. 30, 2008 Southampton to L.A.)

I should preface this review by saying that I have always chosen Cunard for three basic reasons: its elegance, its service, and its onboard educational programs. That said, I can attest that, for the most part, Cunard’s new ship, Queen Victoria, met or exceeded my expectations in all three areas.

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION

Embarkation in Southampton at the City Cruise Terminal was a bit trying. As I understand it, the delays in boarding guests may have been due to the ship’s sanitizing/clean-up operations, which were required following the outbreak of the Norovirus on the previous maiden cruises.

Nevertheless, when I boarded at about 1:30 PM, there was approximately a 2 hour wait to actually get onboard. I didn’t mind the delay itself so much. The real problem was that we were forced to wait standing up for most of that time and there were no chairs available (in the immediate area of the queue) where the people could rest their feet…if only for just a moment. Being in pretty good shape myself, I was able to manage this wait without any real problems, but I did have concerns for how some of the more elderly passengers were holding up. Apparently, there was insufficient seating in the cruise terminal to accommodate all the passengers who were awaiting embarkation, so they would call the boarding groups to line up well before they were actually permitted to embark (just to clear the waiting room). I’d never encountered this problem before when boarding the QM2, so was disappointed in the boarding process for the Queen Victoria. I don’t know that I can blame the ship itself for this problem…it seemed to be more a product of the City Cruise Terminal’s inability to accommodate so many passengers.

Disembarkation in Los Angeles was surprisingly smooth (considering how the lack of sufficient customs agents in the Port of Los Angeles frequently results in long delays getting off ships there). Everything went extremely smoothly for me, but from what I could tell just from observation, Non-U.S. citizens had a rougher time of getting through customs/immigration in a timely fashion.

QUEEN VICTORIA PUBLIC ROOMS

In my opinion, the ship itself is lovely. For the most part, there is a feeling of elegance throughout. Asthetically speaking, I was wowed in particular by the Royal Court Theater, the Commodore Club, and the Library – all of which, I think, are much more architecturally exciting than on the QM2.

Royal Court Theater

Sitting in the Royal Court Theater, you feel as though you’ve been transported to London’s West End. The sight lines are great as are the accoustics – all in all, a very comfortable and luxurious spot to take in a show in the evening or to listen to a lecture during the day. In fact, I haven’t seen such a grand theater on any other ship!

The Commodore Club

The Commodore Club on the Queen Victoria is larger (while still retaining a sense of intimacy and coziness), and in my opinion, even more elegant than the QM2’s lounge of the same name. The service there was fabulous and the entertainment offered enhanced the overall mood (rather like a high-class piano bar or jazz club in New York or London).

The Library

The library is wonderful to look at – stretching two stories with a spiral staircase – and the selection of books is vast and varied (was actually able to pick up a collection of Yeats’ poetry which I dipped into throughout the voyage!) Practically speaking, however, I don’t think the library works quite as well. Negotiating the wooden stairs of the spiral staircase was quite treacherous in high-heeled shoes (I also felt I was disturbing the readers there with each clackety-clack of my heels) and the rather limited space for just relaxing or reading made the library somewhat less inviting than the QM2’s library.

The Golden Lion

The Golden Lion Pub – another favorite spot of mine – is larger than the QM2’s, but has an equally authentic feel to it and serves great pub lunches (I particularly enjoyed the fish and chips). It offers lots of fun entertainment in the evenings (sing-alongs, karaoke, trivia contests, etc)…but I was disappointed that there were no dart board contests while I was onboard! I should note that the Pub did spring a couple of water leaks from the ceiling while I was there (which hopefully have been fixed by now) to the extent that one of the performers had to juggle an umbrella while he was singing and playing the piano (“singin’ in the rain” only added to the fun, however, and all of us did appreciate his “the show must go on” spirit !)

The Queen’s Room

The Queen’s room is a lovely setting with its crystal chandaliers and balconies overlooking the entire room, but probably should have been placed further forward (or aft) on the ship. It is the venue for all the Captain’s parties and its location creates a bit of a logistical problem. Since one has to pass through the area on the way to or from the casino or the pub, there is constant traffic of non-invitees going back and forth during some of the more restricted gatherings (e.g., the Senior Officer’s Party for Diamond and Platinum members). On one occasion, they tried blocking off the passageway on Deck 2 through the Queen’s room and I was directed to go back to the staircase B elevators, go up to Deck 3 to get past the Queen’s Room, than take the staircase A elevator back down to Deck 2 in order to get to the casino. Quite annoying!

The other thing about the Queen’s Room is that it is simply not large enough to accommodate all the guests invited to the Captain’s Welcome Party and even some of the smaller parties or World Club events that were hosted by the Captain and Senior Officers. It was so crowded on a few occasions that you literally could not move, and getting a drink was next to impossible, since the waiters had so much difficulty.

circulating (a friend who couldn’t get a drink at one of the parties commented one night that we must have stumbled into a Friend of Bill W’s party by mistake!) My recommendation to resolve this particular problem is that the ship make greater use of the atrium for the Captain’s Welcome parties (much as Princess Cruises does). As for the other parties, depending upon the numbers of invitees, I would suggest that they schedule more of them to allow for fewer guests at each party. I realize that this will make further social demands on the officers’ already busy schedules, but it may be the only way to reduce the unacceptable crush of humanity at these events.

Other Lounges/Bars

I didn’t spend much time in the other lounges. The Hemisphere’s “night club” is a bit over-the-top in design (lose the chandalier!) and doesn’t really feel much like a night club. The Chart Room, in my opinion, isn’t quite as nice or intimate as the QM2’s, primarily because it opens off a main passageway and thus gets a lot of traffic walking by. Same problem with Veuve Cliquot Champagne Bar. The Casino bar is good for smokers, but it is probably something of an annoyance to non-smokers, because of its openness to passengers going to or from the Pub or from the forward part of the ship aft.

Quite elegant – not sure I care for the three-dimensional artistic rendering of the ship which serves as its centerpiece – but, nevertheless, it’s a lovely venue for some of the classical musicians to provide entertainment, and as indicated earlier, could really be utilized more for some of the social gatherings.

Internet Café

Relatively large and well-equipped – a welcome spot to catch up on things….when the computers are actually working. There were a lot of problems with Internet access – particularly early on -- during the Tandem crossing, but these glitches seemed to have been fixed as the voyage progressed.

Winter Garden

In my opinion, this is a much nicer room, asthetically speaking, than on the QM2. Only problem is that, in cold weather, the Winter Garden is much too cold to use (I wasn’t even able to view it during the Transatlantic crossing) and in Caribbean climates, it’s much too hot to be comfortable. I hope that something can be done about temperature control in the Winter Garden, since otherwise, this would be a lovely room in which to read or just relax.

Brittania Dining Room

I really loved the dining room with it’s revolving globe. Perhaps not as dramatic in design as the one on the QM2, but certainly lovely in its own way and a bit more homey.

Churchill Cigar Lounge

A wonderfully cozy, little room – with some great photos of Churchill -- hidden away next to the Commodore Club. Be sure to check it out…if you’re a non-smoker, best time is probably either in the morning or very late at night.

Far superior to the QM2 in this regard, as I see it, the Queen Victoria offers more shops with a wider selection of merchandise – from cosmetics to clothing to jewelry to souvenir items. The book shop was one of my favorite stops on my way around the ship offering an interesting selection of Maritime books, posters, greeting cards, best selling novels and various collectibles.

The gym is the best equipped I've seen on any ship with lots of female-friendly equipment/weights. There are also some great workout classes available to the passengers. My experience in the spa/salon was limited to getting my nails done...but was delighted with the service and workmanship.

Lido Buffet

I saved the worst for last. The Lido is pretty much a disaster in both design and execution. There was constant chaos here during the busy eating hours. People enter from both directions to each buffet section and there are constant problems with traffic flow (a lot of defensive driving is required in making your way through the Lido!) The service left much to be desired (see my comments about service later on in this review), the logistical arrangement of the food and condiments made little sense, and the quality of the food (at least for breakfast – which is about the only time I ate there) was pretty awful – cold eggs, burnt toast and very greasy bacon. If you’re just passing through to the aft decks, you are required to thread your way through either the food area itself or dodge the tables on the other side of the buffet. Either way, there is very little room for getting from point A to point B.

ENTERTAINMENT/ONBOARD LECTURES

You will never find yourself at a loss for something to do on the Queen Victoria – even during those back-to-back sea days on a transatlantic crossing. The daytime activities are non-stop and offer something for just about every taste and interest – fencing lessons, art auctions yoga, water color painting classes, bridge games, trivia and sports competitions, dancing instruction, and lectures by various experts in their fields. I particularly enjoyed the lectures onboard. We had two fabulous maritime historians lecturing during my journey – John Maxtone Graham and Bill Miller. Their presentations were absolutely suberb – extremely informative and humorous. I also enjoyed the art lectures and those given by a forensic crime expert/novelist.

As for the evening entertainment, there were several interesting entertainers offered in the Royal Court Theater ranging from singers and musicians to ventriloquists and comics. That said, while I’m not someone who’s particularly interested in production shows on cruise ships, I must say that, if I had been, I think I would have been rather disappointed. There were, I believe, only a handful of production shows presented during my 24 days onboard. Part of the problem, or so we were told, was that rough seas during the transatlantic crossing prevented rehearsals by the dancers/singers. Don’t know why there were so few production shows subsequently between NYC and L.A., but hopefully, whatever the problem was, it’s been remedied by now.

All in all, I thought Alistar Greener was one of the best Cruise Directors (Cunard calls them Entertainment Directors, I think) I’ve encountered in all my 25 or so cruises. He and his staff were on the go constantly to ensure that the entertainment offerings were going well and that the passengers were enjoying themselves…and their morning show was always fun and informative.

Much has already been written about the lack of drawer space in the cabins, so I won’t take up more space here talking about that subject, other than to say that Cunard seems to be fully aware of the problem and hopefully, will be remedying the situation at their first opportunity. The Captain referred to the problem several times at his parties while I was onboard, so I’m sure it’s at the top of Cunard’s list of things to get done. As also pointed out in other reviews of the ship, there is a problem with shelf space in the bathrooms, but both this and the drawer problem should be quite easily fixed.

As for the cabins overall, I was in an inside cabin (traveling solo) and it was more than adequate – space-wise and otherwise – for me. Nothing really special about it in design, décor or functionality, but certainly comparable to any other inside cabin I’ve been in on other ships.

One small thing that was important to me, however. They do need to place the full-length mirror elsewhere. It is currently located on the inside of a closet door that won’t stay open, so I had to use my foot to prop it open while trying to grab a glance at myself in the mirror (this does not meet a woman’s mirror requirements!)

Yes, the shower stall is small…but is certainly adequate to the task…and maybe it will encourage people to eat less while they’re onboard!

Overall, the service on the Queen Victoria was exemplary and consistent with Cunard’s high standards. The Senior Officers and Entertainment staff were friendly, accessible and interacted in a very positive way with the passengers. In particular, Captain Wright, who is an extremely personable and humorous man, seemed always willing to go the extra mile with the passengers – agreeing to photos when asked and chatting with folks who would stop him as he made his way around the ship.

I found the Purser’s office to be consistently polite, competent and helpful. When I had a problem with my safe, they were on it immediately and they were always able to answer any questions that I had with professionalism and directness.

For me, the service in the Brittania dining room was excellent. The waiters were, for the most part, fast, friendly and professional. The food, I thought, was great – comparable to my QM2 experience and superior to the food I’ve had on Princess ships.

As for the room steward service, I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. On two occasions, my room wasn’t made up until late afternoon and I always felt a bit like I had to tailor my activities to my room stewardess’ schedule, rather than the other way around. My room stewardess came from the QE2, so it wasn’t as if she wasn’t already aware of Cunard standards, but I gathered from her that they were a bit short-staffed. She did mention that on the QE2, the stewards had someone to help them carry the dirty linens to be washed, whereas on the Queen Victoria, she was expected to do this herself, in addition to her regular duties. Of course, my somewhat negative experience may not reflect the overall standard of steward service elsewhere on the ship. I do know that the best room steward I ever had (who was with Princess) is now on the Queen Victoria, so apparently they have sought to draw some of their very best from elsewhere in the fleet.

Now to the Lido Buffet. The service there was, for the most part, unacceptable.

The staff were frequently quite slow in picking up the trays and dirty dishes. On several occasions, I would see them busily chatting with each other while dirty dishes lay around on tables.

The cream and milk for the coffee was rarely replaced according to the time listed (on a couple of occasions, I actually had to throw out the coffee, because the cream had gone bad and had left an unappetizing grime around the sides of the coffee cup).

Despite the Norovirus outbreak on the early cruises, there was never anyone stationed at the entry to ensure that passengers used the hand sanitizers (this was not the case in the Brittania restaurant, however). Most passengers I saw just walked by, ignoring the hand sanitizers.

All in all, there seemed to be a number of disgruntled workers up in the Lido…who never bothered to smile or speak to the passengers, but preferred to stand around and scowl. As mentioned earlier, the food there left a lot to be desired, as well. This is definitely one area that the ship needs to take a very close look at.

I didn’t mean to end this review on a negative note. Since I promised to do this evaluation of the ship for Cruise Critics, I found myself throughout the voyage actually looking for areas where I might provide some constructive criticism. But just because I’ve brought up some specific problem areas here does not in any way mean that I did not thoroughly enjoy my experience on the Queen Victoria. To the contrary, it was an exciting voyage and I do love the ship!

All things considered, the Queen Victoria is a truly elegant lady and I stand by my initial assessment of her. I feel confident in saying that, once she gets through some of these inevitable growing pains, she may very well become the real jewel in Cunard’s crown!

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Thank you, obviously you have spent quite a bit of effort to relay to all of us your onboard Queen Victoria experience in great detail. Your time is indeed sincerely appreciated. It appears to be repetitious from yourself, and others on this board, that Cunard need to invest a few more $'s and expand their staff in all on-board departments. Perhaps Ms. Marlow ( when she is not in her 'counting house' counting all her money ) may get the hint after being repeatedly bombarded from all sides about this ongoing QV crew shortage and the service that is now not up to par - at least in the way we Cunarder's are accustomed.

guernseyguy

Thanks for an informative and thoughtful review - in some senses its not surprising that the rooms that work well on the QM2 - like the Commodore Club - which has been staffed from the QM2, work well on the QV, while other that work less well - like the Lido/Kings Court, don't work so well.......

Thanks, dc-farer for an extremely informative review.

It was of particular interest to me as we will be on the ship in June this year. My main concern continues to be the lack of drawer space. Can you confirm that there is still adequate storage space beneath the beds for suitcases. If they haven't managed to sort out the drawer issue before we go, my plan is to use our suitcases as "proxy drawers".

having just come back from princess panama canal

a rep who is closly linked assured me that although slightly tacky cunard had gone out and bought thousands of plastic storage stacking boxes as a protem measure

A very interesting read. I was fortunate enough to be on the maiden christmas cruise on the QV and would mirror many of your statements. The Lido restaurant did leave a lot to be desired and was not up to Cunard standards. I, fortunately, had a good steward who looked after my room and could not fault his performance. I will certainly be travelling on the QV again when time and funds permit, probably 2009.

A very thoughtful review, and one that I agree with nearly 100%. The Lido buffet is pretty poor. They should take some lessons from Holland America on how to organize that. I considered writing a letter suggesting some changes, like having ice water already poured for people to just pick up rather than wait in line to get ice and then water out of a machine. A machine that broke soon after leaving NYC so that ice was in a container next to the glasses.

I will say that we had a very good room steward and had no complaints about that aspect of the service.

Thanks for the great review - really informative and well-written. It appears the QV attracts the most articulate group of reviewers!

Thanks, dc-farer for an extremely informative review. It was of particular interest to me as we will be on the ship in June this year. My main concern continues to be the lack of drawer space. Can you confirm that there is still adequate storage space beneath the beds for suitcases. If they haven't managed to sort out the drawer issue before we go, my plan is to use our suitcases as "proxy drawers". Jimmy

Thanks everyone for all the positive feedback -- I tried to be as thorough as possible...but, of course, my review just represents my take on things and your experience/impressions may differ a great deal from mine. I do understand that Cunard's intent is to hire more people for the Lido and that may help not only with the service level, but may also improve the overall attitude of the staff who are working there.

As for storage space under the beds, I was able to fit one very large suitcase, a medium-sized suitcase and a carry-on bag under one side of the bed and could easily have fit an equal number under the other side. There is also (limited) shelf space in the closets. I should add that I think it would be relatively simple for Cunard to add two small drawers to each bedside table (there is a large open area beneath the single drawers on each side) and probably three more drawers or shelves in the closet that contains the safe, since there is about 2 1/2 to 3 feet of open (and really unusable) space in the area below the safe.

To be honest, the drawer problem turned out not to be a practical issue for me, as I was traveling alone and was able to fit everything that couldn't go on hangers onto the shelves in the closet. I did have to ask the room stewardess for another dozen hangers, though to accomodate some of the clothing that I would have normally just folded up and put in a drawer.

Hope this helps, Jimmy.

Great review of Victoria!

BTW, love your Avatar :p

Thank you for the review: it certainly makes me look forward to going on QV, perhaps in 2009.

Great review many thanks .....

Will be joining QV This Friday 15 JULY in Auckland travelling to Singapore

so I am more excited having read your review

Thanks for interesting and balanced review. I was pleased to read that a number of public areas are better than on QM2 - I might have to give Victoria a try, if I can ever find a cruise with a reasonable single supplement - I don't consider Cunard's usual 75 to 100% reasonable, when Crystal only charges me 25%.

A couple of your unfavorable comments that particularly interested me:

Embarkation problem: when I boarded QM2 on one of her early cruises (my first and last) we had a similar situation in Ft. Lauderdale, and even bigger disembarkation problems in Rio. You'd think Cunard would be able to solve this, even if they have to get some advice from sister companies P&O/Princess, Carnival, etc. all of which have large ships.

Drawer space: I had seen this same comment a number of times, and I had a similar comment on my first experience with a Holland America Vista Class Ship, on which Victoria is based. I'm doing a transatlantic on the oldest Vista Class, Zuiderdam , in March and will be interested to see if it is any better, or if they are planning any improvements during her scheduled April dry docking.

Lido: find this surprising, as the Lido on Vista Class Noordam works about the best of any I have experienced on large ships. Certainly a lot better than the Kings Court abomination on QM2 .

Winter Garden: hopefully they will resolve the temperature control problems, but just important, does Winter Garden have real live plants, or the tacky plastic ones on QM2 ?

Thanks for interesting and balanced review. I was pleased to read that a number of public areas are better than on QM2 - I might have to give Victoria a try, if I can ever find a cruise with a reasonable single supplement - I don't consider Cunard's usual 75 to 100% reasonable, when Crystal only charges me 25%. A couple of your unfavorable comments that particularly interested me: Embarkation problem: when I boarded QM2 on one of her early cruises (my first and last) we had a similar situation in Ft. Lauderdale, and even bigger disembarkation problems in Rio. You'd think Cunard would be able to solve this, even if they have to get some advice from sister companies P&O/Princess, Carnival, etc. all of which have large ships. Drawer space: I had seen this same comment a number of times, and I had a similar comment on my first experience with a Holland America Vista Class Ship, on which Victoria is based. I'm doing a transatlantic on the oldest Vista Class, Zuiderdam , in March and will be interested to see if it is any better, or if they are planning any improvements during her scheduled April dry docking. Lido: find this surprising, as the Lido on Vista Class Noordam works about the best of any I have experienced on large ships. Certainly a lot better than the Kings Court abomination on QM2 . Winter Garden: hopefully they will resolve the temperature control problems, but just important, does Winter Garden have real live plants, or the tacky plastic ones on QM2 ?

Sorry, Bob, given the temperature problems, I didn't really spend enough time in the Winter Garden to notice whether the plants were live or plastic.

As for the embarkation problems, I agree that Cunard could benefit from some advice from their sister companies. I've traveled quite a bit on Princess, and their embarkation process always seems to run quite smoothly, with plenty of staff on hand to assist and monitor the process. Of course, a lot may have to do with the size of the port.

Betsy [/quote

Thanks, Betsy. I see you worked aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I have to confess that I really do love that ship...and stop by to see her whenever I get the chance. In fact, since I was in the area, couldn't resist a little side trip to Long Beach right after I disembarked the Queen Victoria in San Pedro. The lady is still looking good!

I really do love that ship

She is quite loveable isn't she :D

Don't forget that she wasn't embarking from the usual Cunard pier - as we on RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 were berthed there. When at the Queen Elizabeth II terminal the process is normally fine. However after we embarked there was a computer problem which led to the queues being horrendous. Was this a problem for MV Queen Victoria?

Don't forget that she wasn't embarking from the usual Cunard pier - as we on RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 were berthed there. When at the Queen Elizabeth II terminal the process is normally fine. However after we embarked there was a computer problem which led to the queues being horrendous. Was this a problem for MV Queen Victoria? Matthew

Didn't hear about any computer glitch, but it's quite possible. Of course, that was part of the problem...during that seemingly endless wait, nobody told us anything about what the hang-up was.

travel-to-go

Drawer space: I had seen this same comment a number of times, and I had a similar comment on my first experience with a Holland America Vista Class Ship, on which Victoria is based. I'm doing a transatlantic on the oldest Vista Class, Zuiderdam , in March and will be interested to see if it is any better, or if they are planning any improvements during her scheduled April dry docking. ?

You know, Try as we may, neither Marc nor I can particularly remember the drawer situation on either the Zuiderdam or the Westerdam! I don't seem to have pictures that show the drawers. Actually, on the Westerdam we were in a deluxe Verandah Suite. The bathroom was the same type of shelf under the sink, but did not seem to present a problem. I seem to remember there being a lip on it, so to us, it was no different than a drawer. There were plenty of shelves and closets, along with a couple of cabinets (dishes/glasses sort of things) I don't seem to remember drawers, but I also don't remember it being a problem. I suspect it was shelves and those worked out fine for us.

I simply don't remember having any complaints about it!

And I'm afraid I REALLY don't remember what the facilities were like on the Volendam. But then that's not a Vista class ship.

I was so happy to read your very thorough review. I am a new cruiser sailing on the Oosterdam 2/23 and Qv Sept 6-30.

I have friends on the QV round the world cruise now and they were initially very upset but have calmed down quite a bit.

What really surprises me is that Cunard is not new in this business and many of the problems should not have taken place, e.g. lack of cabin drawer space in a ship on a 3 month cruise!

Thanks, again.

Lido: find this surprising, as the Lido on Vista Class Noordam works about the best of any I have experienced on large ships. Certainly a lot better than the Kings Court abomination on QM2 .[/i]?

The Lido on the QV is set up quite a bit differently than on the HAL ships. And I didn't see anything that was better except the spacing between tables. Where HAL has a line like a typical cafeteria, the QV has people coming from both directions and there is food on both sides of the line. If you are facing the hot food, the cold food is behind you. It means people are moving in all directions in the relatively small area between the cold and the hot food. Chaos.

You know, Try as we may, neither Marc nor I can particularly remember the drawer situation on either the Zuiderdam or the Westerdam! I don't seem to have pictures that show the drawers. Actually, on the Westerdam we were in a deluxe Verandah Suite. The bathroom was the same type of shelf under the sink, but did not seem to present a problem. I seem to remember there being a lip on it, so to us, it was no different than a drawer. There were plenty of shelves and closets, along with a couple of cabinets (dishes/glasses sort of things) I don't seem to remember drawers, but I also don't remember it being a problem. I suspect it was shelves and those worked out fine for us. I simply don't remember having any complaints about it! Karie

Interested to see your comments, from the perspective of a couple. I'll also be interested to see how Zuiderdam standard cabin compares with my experience on Noordam, about which I wrote:

Closet hanging space appears to be adequate, even for a couple, on a longer cruise. What is seriously lacking, however, is drawer space, with just two small drawers in each night stand; not even a shallow drawer in the desk/dressing table in which to keep small items. Yes, there is a larger drawer at the foot of each bed, but it is hard to get to and used partially by steward to store spare bed linens.

Bathrooms are very basic, with only a small corner cabinet. Adequate for a single male traveler like me, but inadequate for the toiletries my late wife always carried. A small annoyance: toilet paper holder mounted on face of sink cabinet, so any splashing at sink ends up on the toilet paper roll. Very nice shower head and constant water temperature control. However. I would have gladly traded the tub/shower for a stall shower, but that's personal opinion.

None of this is a big deal - my biggest complaint about Vista Class ships is the minimal dance floor area, especially with 1900 on board for a big band cruise, but of course those of us who have experienced Cunard's ballrooms and Crystal's Starlite/Stardust dance clubs are completely spoiled in this respect. Glad that Cunard has continued this tradition on Victoria , and I'm looking forward to the the day when I can find another Cunard cruise with a reasonable single supplement! Of course what I would really like would be some single cabins like on Caronia and QE2 , but it ain't gonna happen in today's cruise market!

so you are joining her im auckland, i waas hoping to see her there and australia but was not possible. what grade cabin are you in? iam on her in may on a short cruise from the uk. am in princess grill, really looking forward to trying her out.

so you are joining her im auckland, i waas hoping to see her there and australia but was not possible. what grade cabin are you in? iam on her in may on a short cruise from the uk . am in princess grill, really looking forward to trying her out. dave

Unless, of course, "something comes up......"

Re-boarding in Southampton. The QV left for her Maiden Voyage from Berth 101 (City ) but we came back to the Mayflower. I did not think either of them were as good as the Queen Elizabeth 11 Terminal. Fred Olsen was using that one! There is supposed to be a new terminal to be built specifically for Carnival UK.

At the City Terminal, there was really no advantage in having preferential boarding.

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