This short cruise was a getting to know Cunard and especially the Queen Victoria, with its white glove service, the queens grill restaurant and the queen level cabins. Would we like spending a longer time on her, like half a world cruise?
I'll start with the pros:
The food was of good quality and taste.
Liked the Queens Room and the ballroom dancing.
It is a bigger ship then we are used to, which gives multiple places to go to.
The daily programm gives an extensive choice of entertainment and activities.
good size balcony with nice,comfortable furniture
then the cons:
Service in the queens grill restaurant is inconsisted and at times unprofessional.
The Penthouse suite has an idiotic lay-out with a triangle bathroom jutting into the suite which gives it a cramped feeling instead of a spacious feeling a higher level cabin should have. One keeps unavoidably bumping into doors and corners.
One get's a fixed table for the whole duration of the cruise. A request for a window table was answered with NO, not possible.
On one evening I hadn't pre ordered my choice of food. Very politely I asked the maitre d' if I could maybe have one of the meat dishes from the special menu if any was left. The answer I got was: '...are you taking the mickey out of me !', I was so shocked I asked again. He went to ask the kitchen and came back with the following: there is chateau briand left, but it might take until midnight untill you get it ! Even the people sitting at the tables around us nearly fell of there seats. How inappropriate.
The ship is definitely understaffed.
Post covid times in all hospitality places are a struggle, I am well aware of that. But if you ask top prices you should make sure you can handle the demand to a good standard. Queens Grill level isn't cheap and one should expect first class service, experienced staff, good sized and comfortable cabins and that little bit of extra that makes a travel experience great.
To sum it up; no, we cannot imagine to be on the Queen Victoria for a longer period of time like the half of the world cruise we had in mind. We might consider an atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary2 in the future.
Wishing all of you happy sailings