Queen Victoria Singapore to Cape Town: My Review

[Solent Richard]

Good afternoon Cunarders.

 

On March 24th my wife and I joined Queen Victoria at Singapore for a 19 night cruise across the Indian Ocean as far as Cape Town.

 

We had spent 3 days in Singapore prior and on this occasion sailed in a Princess Grill stateroom...

 

 

We had booked this cruise entirely based on its itinerary...

 

 

...which originally offered five ports that we had not previously visited.

 

The reason we chose the Princess Grill for this cruise was simply that with 12 sea days we fancied the access offered to the Grills Upper Terrace...

 

 

...and the freedom to dine whenever we wanted rather than be restricted to set dining times.

 

 

We certainly have some interesting tales to tell and, while there were a number of disappointments,  suffice to say for the moment  that we were both very pleasantly surprised at the quality and standard of food and service in the Princess Grill. Indeed, the food quality and variety exceeded our expectations by a fair margin.

 

I have recently completed a full review which has been published on my cruise blog.

 

Anyone that is interested in reading it, here is the link...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2019/05/06/queen-victoria-singapore-to-cape-town/

 

It is very much a subjective review and covers both our time on the ship and the itinerary in a degree of detail...

 

 

The review includes over 70 photographs. I hope you enjoy it and, as usual, I will be delighted to answer any questions.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by Solent Richard

[jimdee3636]

Richard:

Another wonderfully-informative review. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Jim

[NavyPanda]

Hi Richard,

 

Thank you for this really excellent and detailed review / guide.

 

I've been 'following' your blog for a little while and I know you've have always been a big Cunard 'fan', so it's a bit sad to read that you now feel that the QE/QV have now lost their sparkle and you no longer see the ships as a destination in their own right.

 

I would agree with you that is very disappointing that the dress code, isn't what it once was and the formal nights don't seem as numerous at they used to be. Sadly, Cunard foolishly weakened their dress code requirements in some of the public rooms, such as the Golden Lion, possibly in part, because the code was already been flouted there. However, this has just encouraged the offenders to push the boundaries in the theatre and in other locations leading to an overall decline in the experience.

 

I have a lot of sympathy for the crew on board after witnessing last year, someone being reminded when entering the Britannia Restaurant on QE, that he should be wearing his jacket. This prompted a very loud vocal outburst, which I have to say the waiter and Maître D handled extremely well. However, such behaviour will no doubt discourage further challenges in the future.

 

I'm not sure if this is a societal thing or not, I see on here that most of the dress code queries relate to 'what someone can get away with' rather than 'Is this too much?', however Cunard seem to be able to consistently fill their ships, despite prices rising steadily over the past 5-6 years and with far less aggressive discounting taking place, so the argument that Cunard has to change because people don't wish to dine as formally anymore seems a bit hollow. Regardless, of this I don't see why Cunard is trying to weaken a Unique Selling Point of theirs which is the formality of the experience, likewise, I don't know why people choose Cunard, despite not liking formality / lacking the willingness to abide by a dress code when there are plenty of other cruise lines out there which are more suitable for them.

 

On the plus side it was good to read you report back that the quality of the food is as good as ever, that is reassuring to know. It was also interesting to note, that you were able to sample the full menu at the Steakhouse/Verandah. Although, I haven't benefitted from the 'free' lunch yet, as I'm only Platinum, I believe that in the past, that this perk only extended to the Tasting Menu at the Verandah, has this now changed or am I misinterpreted things?

[Jack E Dawson]

Richard,

What a GREAT review of a GREAT voyage. Thanks for taking the time to cover so many aspects of the trip that will be helpful on future bookings.

I do have one question. I recently booked a 17 night cruise on the QV for 2021 going from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco via the Panama Canal. There will only be 5 port days so we are looking forward to all of the warm sunny sea days. We are currently in Britannia Club (for the anytime dining) but wonder if we need to try and upgrade to Princess Grills for access to the Grills outside deck? Lounging in deck chairs and watching the ocean go by is our favorite onboard activity. I don't think we will be interested in the Grills alfresco dining since it didn't look like there was a view of the ocean. Your advice on this will be greatly appreciated as well as from anyone else who wants to weigh in.

 

Jack

[Summergee]

Thank you for the review.

[Solent Richard]

14 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Richard,

What a GREAT review of a GREAT voyage. Thanks for taking the time to cover so many aspects of the trip that will be helpful on future bookings.

I do have one question. I recently booked a 17 night cruise on the QV for 2021 going from Ft. Lauderdale to San Francisco via the Panama Canal. There will only be 5 port days so we are looking forward to all of the warm sunny sea days. We are currently in Britannia Club (for the anytime dining) but wonder if we need to try and upgrade to Princess Grills for access to the Grills outside deck? Lounging in deck chairs and watching the ocean go by is our favorite onboard activity. I don't think we will be interested in the Grills alfresco dining since it didn't look like there was a view of the ocean. Your advice on this will be greatly appreciated as well as from anyone else who wants to weigh in.

 

Jack

 

Good morning Jack and thank you for your kind comments.

 

I am of course delighted to answer your question. There is certainly a big advantage to having use of the Grills Upper Deck, particularly now since the refit there is so much additional space: and of course the deck furniture and service is also considerably superior.

 

Having said that of course I am always on the lookout for additional areas that may be of interest to my readers. While the Lido Deck is of course perfectly acceptable...

 

 

...I think a better more secluded place would have been that circular area above the yacht Club...

 

 

On balance, and not having a clue of the price differentials, I'd say possibly a Princess Grill offers great value for money and worth consideration.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Richard 

PS. Here's a couple of photographs I took of Britannia Club Restaurant, the Maitre 'd kindly gave me access just prior to a meal-time opening...

 

 

*****

[Solent Richard]

16 hours ago, NavyPanda said:

Hi Richard,

 

Thank you for this really excellent and detailed review / guide.

 

I've been 'following' your blog for a little while and I know you've have always been a big Cunard 'fan', so it's a bit sad to read that you now feel that the QE/QV have now lost their sparkle and you no longer see the ships as a destination in their own right.

 

I would agree with you that is very disappointing that the dress code, isn't what it once was and the formal nights don't seem as numerous at they used to be. Sadly, Cunard foolishly weakened their dress code requirements in some of the public rooms, such as the Golden Lion, possibly in part, because the code was already been flouted there. However, this has just encouraged the offenders to push the boundaries in the theatre and in other locations leading to an overall decline in the experience.

 

I have a lot of sympathy for the crew on board after witnessing last year, someone being reminded when entering the Britannia Restaurant on QE, that he should be wearing his jacket. This prompted a very loud vocal outburst, which I have to say the waiter and Maître D handled extremely well. However, such behaviour will no doubt discourage further challenges in the future.

 

I'm not sure if this is a societal thing or not, I see on here that most of the dress code queries relate to 'what someone can get away with' rather than 'Is this too much?', however Cunard seem to be able to consistently fill their ships, despite prices rising steadily over the past 5-6 years and with far less aggressive discounting taking place, so the argument that Cunard has to change because people don't wish to dine as formally anymore seems a bit hollow. Regardless, of this I don't see why Cunard is trying to weaken a Unique Selling Point of theirs which is the formality of the experience, likewise, I don't know why people choose Cunard, despite not liking formality / lacking the willingness to abide by a dress code when there are plenty of other cruise lines out there which are more suitable for them.

 

On the plus side it was good to read you report back that the quality of the food is as good as ever, that is reassuring to know. It was also interesting to note, that you were able to sample the full menu at the Steakhouse/Verandah. Although, I haven't benefitted from the 'free' lunch yet, as I'm only Platinum, I believe that in the past, that this perk only extended to the Tasting Menu at the Verandah, has this now changed or am I misinterpreted things?

 

Good morning Navy Panda.

 

Thank you both for your contribution to this thread and your following of my blog.

 

I have to say I am entirely in line with your views and fully agree with everything you say. In particular regarding the pushing of boundaries at the first sign of a lack of resolve on Cunard's part.

 

I did agonise over recording my conclusions due to my wondering whether or not the ambiance - or in this case lack of it - onboard this particular cruise had anything to do with t being the penultimate leg of the World cruise.

 

Eventually though, having consulted some figures I had obtained, I decided not as for this particular leg there were 460 new passengers embarking and 5 days previously,  at Hong Kong,  516 new passengers arrived.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write such a comprehensive response.

 

 

[BigMac1953]

Hi Richard

 

Enjoyed the read. Keep up the good work!

 

My only comment is regarding the deck immediately in front of the Grill Lounge. Whereas this was originally open to everyone, after complaints, they restricted it as people were going to the deck just to peer into the lounge, but the change was quite a few years ago, probably about 5 years ago?

 

Stewart

[Glenndale]

17 hours ago, NavyPanda said:

.......Regardless, of this I don't see why Cunard is trying to weaken a Unique Selling Point of theirs which is the formality of the experience, likewise, I don't know why people choose Cunard, despite not liking formality / lacking the willingness to abide by a dress code when there are plenty of other cruise lines out there which are more suitable for them.

 

The problem is that many of the more suitable cruise lines, in our case Oceania, are not sailing from the UK and returning to the UK. If we want to sail from and return to Southampton the choices are limited, especially if you don't want to cruise on the mega liners (I include Ventura and Azura in that description).

We will always follow the dress code, but often I feel that the dining room offerings on some formal nights are not special, better to have fewer formal nights in my opinion.

 

 

On the plus side it was good to read you report back that the quality of the food is as good as ever, that is reassuring to know. It was also interesting to note, that you were able to sample the full menu at the Steakhouse/Verandah. Although, I haven't benefitted from the 'free' lunch yet, as I'm only Platinum, I believe that in the past, that this perk only extended to the Tasting Menu at the Verandah, has this now changed or am I misinterpreted things?

 

It is possible to convert your lunch time Verandah voucher to dine in the evening for an extra $10 pp and of course you can always choose the extra charge items from the menu.

The Tasting menu was never available on QV as far as I can recall.

 

[Solent Richard]

33 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Hi Richard

 

Enjoyed the read. Keep up the good work!

 

My only comment is regarding the deck immediately in front of the Grill Lounge. Whereas this was originally open to everyone, after complaints, they restricted it as people were going to the deck just to peer into the lounge, but the change was quite a few years ago, probably about 5 years ago?

 

Stewart

Hi Stewart.

 

Good to hear from you.

 

This is the lower area for Grills passengers...

 

 

It will feature in one of my 'sagas' later on, suffice to say there were those that complained that there was no shade down there. 

[Jack E Dawson]

Richard,

Thank you for responding to my question and for the excellent information. 

The pictures of the Britannia Club dining room are very interesting. I had not realized that it is quite a bit nicer then the area allocated for BC dining on the QM2.

 

Jack