Victoria2

Which comments would those be? I'm a prolific exponent of QG and have never and would never even think of equating Britannia as 'slumming' [your word] it. I don't think I'm alone either. Edit Anyone who does make disparaging comments on dress [yes, I hate those and some of the worst have come from those who do not travel in QG], level of travel or any similar comment should be ignored. We each have our own reasons for travelling and quite frankly, are of nobody else's business.

. I would have thought every single member of this board is quite capable of writing a review or helpful posts from a ship if they want to, irrespective of what cabin they're in but most choose not to which is absolutely fine so unless this board uses a 'write a review a year to keep up your membership' which of course is totally ridiculous, then contributions are down to those who either want to give helpful hints from their ship, want to write a blog or write a review once home and levels of cabins are a coincidence

I don't know about etiquette but after being seated, a smile and xxx tea please has always been our go to but unless I want a loose leaf cup of Jasmine tea, I don't think we'll be troubling the Grills afternoon tea staff too much in the future.

A culture of let's see how derogatory we can be about P. A. has been around for quite some time now...the nail varnish remover quip being just an example. It truly isn't that bad and I've drunk it many times when we're invited to friends for drinks, but unless we have guests in for drinks or we haven't 'gifted it on', we set it aside because as exlondoner said, it's not snobbery or disdain, we just happen to be lucky enough to have other cabin supplied bottles to have a go at. Hic

Thank you. I was hesitant at starting this as I have no desire bang on about QG in a sort of boastful kind of way or to let folk know my every move/photograph or post meal details etc as quite frankly, as was slightly referenced to, my ship board life isn't rivetingly interesting so I'll leave that to others but I truly thought I could give some on the spot basic information. I have been overwhelmed by the kindness shown to this thread and as I said before, I appreciate it. You pose another interesting question and the answer this time could have been so different if there had been many staff changes in our everyday f2f interaction with the staff. The hardware is basically the same if you ignore the décor, which is lighter on QE and having had the same cabins on both ships, it’s not the hardware. It’s the staff. Those who are well known through many nights on QE, will probably say the same about 'their' ship but add to the mix Victoria is known as a 'happy' ship, we are very happy to be part of her family every now and then. 🙂

Interesting question No serious slippages that we came across. Yes there were one or two 'lax' short sleeved shirts occasionally at dinner [QG...Oh My...what's the world coming to!!] but nothing which affected our enjoyment and yes, cabin accessories had to be requested rather than them being automatically provided as in the past but, not an issue. Grills afternoon tea could be considered down graded a bit but again, not a problem for us. You must take into account we weren't as ship wide as we have been in the past and we are very easy to please guests so my main observations are really limited to QG . The staff/ service was as good as ever if not better and the QG food was as good as ever too but then you have to take into account we're not gourmets and don't nit pick. No off menu request of mine was denied. Basically, as far as the restaurant was concerned, nothing was too much trouble. It was a real pleasure to be there. We were looked after so well in our cabin and again, nothing was too much trouble. Television reception wasn't brilliant at times and the internet was a bit fickle at times too' I wasn't impressed initially with the perceived down grading of Diamond internet allowance but on a short [ten nights] trip, it was great to have 24/7 access, even if you did have to keep logging in. Wasn't too impressed with the theatre offerings but the music around the ship was great and the speakers were OK. Front desk were a bit slow/ didn't answer the phone on two occasions but were fine face to face. I'm sure someone more picky than us would find a major slippage but as far as we're concerned, we were delighted with the ten nights we spent on Queen Victoria. 🙂

We [QG] had two half bottles of P.A. which we left, not because it was P.A. but because we had a surfeit of cabin alcohol. The champagne was Laurent- Perrier Rose.

I suppose we're used to specifying rather than waiting/accepting a pour but I'm glad your choice was available. Still think the routine will disappoint anyone expecting something special.

We went for a cup of tea once so maybe my experience wasn't the norm but I asked, as usual, for Earl Grey and my husband asked for 'Breakfast Tea so we had no problem with our choices. Forewarned from my fellow CC members, I asked what other teas were available. Silence. 'I'll go and find out'. The young waiter came back with a scribbled list, which I photographed. Not that I'm interested in timing my tea etc or straining the tea leaves but the whole palaver is nothing like the pre Covid routine. Doesn't bother us in the slightest but I can imagine those to whom 'the tea ritual' is important, the lack of the original finesse would be disappointing.

What a sensible post. I'm afraid I put 'what cabin are you in' in with the 'and what do you do for a living' and 'I paid such and such for this cruise' into the occasionally commented on category, just as in this thread for example,, but direct questions as such I have never experienced in thirty years of taking cruises. Edit Yes, the first two subjects might crop up in general conversation later as relationships between table companions progress but not as direct questions as such.

I don't think I was reading too much into your post but if you didn't really mean what you said, well that's fine. I don't dine 'down' but I will dine anywhere. I doubt very much that our paths will cross but I'm happy to dine with anyone who is happy to dine with me. I would say any senior member of staff, never mind a Maître 'd who chats about their passengers to another passenger in such a way as to appear even slightly disparaging, needs to go on a refresher course in discretion and tact.

Assuming those who ask questions about 'the expensive seats' on a site which is set up for informing others, are out of their depths because they're asking about others' experiences in order to help make an informed decision is frankly, rather sad.

You beat me to it. Butlers do not hover. You can make use of their services as much or as in our case this year, as little as you want. They are at the end of a pager though should you have need of them which is very handy when you forget to tick the butter for the morning breakfast toast! 😄

Hell of an opening line! Yes we travel big cabins, no 'you' wouldn't know unless 'you' dined in the same restaurant or we share our cabin stuff with 'you'.

Thank you. An unexpected bonus of all the deck walking and beautiful food and salads, I ventured onto the scales to see what programme to follow in order to lose the weight I've put on. I have NO idea how I've done it as the wine consumption alone has put me to shame [not really but it sounds good 🙂] but I have put on minus 2lbs! Icing on the cake, which I can eat as I lost 2lbs! 😄 I love Cunard!

Up and ready for action, early! Sadly. There’s a 50% chance you’ll be in 'our' cabin. Take care of it for us.🙂 You’ll be extremely well looked after. I have, by the way, found a fault. Standards are definitely slipping. The wake up call thingy 'has technical difficulties ' at times and as the Purser’s desk wasn’t answering the telephone, I had to actually go down to arrange a wake up call. All cabined up and I had to get dressed again. I shall of course, be writing a strong letter of complaint to Carnival House! 😄

No spoilers. but I thought I was the only one in the whole world who hadn’t seen the film. Enjoy. It’s 124 mins well spent.🙂

Well. I’ve tried. I really have. I'll hold my hands up and say we have been rather insular this trip and haven’t been as out and about as usual and so have not had the run of the ship to seek out the slipping standards but apart from rust spots, bird poop on our immediate restaurant window, definitely dodgy satellite TV reception at times and an internet battle to start with, I cannot find fault with our return to our beloved Queen Victoria. The Deputy Captain has done a good job and not run us aground or rear ended any passing boat; the food in QG has been up to par, too par 'ish if my jeans are anything to go by; my evening heels haven’t landed me on my backside or worse, with a sprained ankle after three years in their box in my wardrobe at home; the much vaunted lowering of dress standards seems to have, by and large, passed me by eg, has had no effect on us whatsoever…I could go on. I had a lovely snivelling/ snuffling afternoon in the theatre, along with many other female passengers and more than a few chaps ( except chaps don’t do three hanky weepies as well as us ladies) watching Downton The New Era. Rather appropriate really ( not the weepie end bit) as we’ve been looked after so well and we had a butler too. Back to reality tomorrow. I love my home so not bothered in the slightest but knowing we have so many cruises booked on QV ( did I mention I booked a couple more today!) in the great line from The Terminator, I'll be back! Thanks for reading and all the reactions. I appreciate it. Victoria2 xx

Thank you We've been quite a few times before when walking around was no problem so gave this one a miss and anyway, I love the ship when it’s deserted. Beautiful weather; a lovely cabin and balcony; a new James Patterson to read in a few hours; staff who can’t do enough for you ( never EVER mention you like something nibbles wise as you’ll be snowed under with it ); enough just about drinkable Sauvignon blanc on tap…what more could I wish for under the circumstances. Sadly, we started packing as the ship is stable when in port and my husband doesn’t trust me with his packing. I almost had to strong arm our butler out of the cabin as he insisted he could pack for us tomorrow. No chance mate. It’s one thing being spoilt rotten by extra cabin assistance but there isn’t a cat in hell’s chance I’d expect someone to pack our cases for us. Ordered off for starter and pud tonight and had a Bamboo main last night. I am hoping for wheelbarrow assistance for disembarkation on Wednesday.

Sorry folks. Our next four booked trips are QG so can’t help with any balancing, apart from helping my husband in lumpy seas. I will refrain from commenting though if that might help.🙂

Most chaps wore the usual Gala garb but there were one or two who had made an effort to 'roar'. Some more successfully than others. However I would say ladies came up trumps. Not too much of an exaggeration to say over a quarter gave some sort of nod to the theme, be it a head band/ piece, stonking long string of pearls or a flapper dress. Nice to see. Must add, the Queens Room was full, as was the dance floor. Some great dancers and good to see some who were not so proficient getting up and joining in too.

Anglicised to ‘ Julia', she is wonderful. Yet another superlative of an adjective!

What Cunard App? 😀 I do think in the greater scheme of things, as long as I’m not paying for another’s round of expensive drinks, the CC bill isn’t going to cause us angst. As for staff interaction, I have felt like crying ( again) at the recognition and care we’ve received throughout the ship. This thread maybe one of the more boring of reported Cunard experiences ( apparently 🙂, but I did give fair warning it wouldn’t be a riveting blog) but I cannot reiterate enough how wonderful the staff are on Cunard's Queen Victoria. I am still desperately trying to find a fault to report but might have to resort to the slight rust on the joint where balcony meets the deck; the Irish duo were too loud in the Winter Gardens last night and the TV satellite signal can be a bit dodgy. I have two days to find a ‘real’ fault.

Stopped by to look down on the Queens room after the lecture. An old fashioned tea dance was under way. Looked really lovely.

Bit of a music day for me once we get going. Lecture on 3 great Scandinavian Composers after lunch; the Irish duo Cula after dinner and ( classical) guitarist Andrew Scott to fit in before dinner. We didn’t get to Michael Howard’s lecture so that will be a repeat on the television.