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

[Victoria2]



I quite realise this is a very subjective overview on our latest cruise [V314] experience but I hope it will be taken from one who is a total Cunard, QG cheerleader. If 'things' weren’t 100% OK, and I failed to include the glitches in my overview, it would make me very biased and therefore my thoughts could not be considered reliably accurate.

We book our holidays, through our fabulous agent, when itineraries are released so just keep our fingers crossed nothing gets in the way. We take a chance in order to bag the cabins we want and we have no idea what the ships or the experience will be like, almost two years hence. So far, apart from last October when we had to cancel after we'd paid in full [that was a bit ouch'ish] we've been lucky in our QG experiences, well apart from all the trips Cunard cancelled on us.

 

Pros 

Absolutely wonderful, WONDERFUL staff throughout the ship and fabulous cabin although it had its electrical issues, one of which was rectified immediately, the other is an ongoing ship issue. I’m just surprised no one raised the problems before us.

Cons

Apart from confused personal disembarkation advice and the internet of course, the rest is all to do with the food but I must say beforehand, our two wait staff and Head Waiter were lovely, professional and quite frankly, 'up there' with the very best of the best. Superb.

 

Food

Dinner entrees, on the whole were not to our taste for the first week and we ate ‘off' more than usual, but I caveat that by saying folk near us raved over the menus so food tastes are of course, all very subjective. Plus, nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Order off? Not a problem. Service with more than a smile.

The following day's menus were in our cabin at turn down so we knew if we wanted on, a la carte or off menu dining the following evening and we asked the butler at breakfast time, to order our evening entree for us if appropriate.

 

If you like mushrooms, you’d have been in mushroom heaven. I did ask if there was a part of the ship devoted to growing them! 🙂

 

Portion sizes were interesting.

First night for me is always a caviar starter. I could have fed the Western World fans with the serving but the fact the Head Waiter knew of my penchant for the stuff might have helped.

The Dover Soles looked slightly anorexic when presented in the pan but once 'finished', they were pronounced as delicious and as filling as pre-Covid so I had a happy husband. Dover Sole devotees, do not worry, QV has had the staff out fishing. 

The fillets mignons were definitely not as thick as p-C and on one occasion, pathetically small. My husband's surf and turf fillet was bigger. One look at my face and one or two minutes after the words 'what a pathetic offering' left my lips, another two [definite overkill there and that's the amount and not the fact a good vet could revive my steaks🙂]  fillet mignons were hurriedly added to my plate which as I eat excellent beef rare, almost blue, didn't take long at all.

Some of the food could have been [temperature] hotter on at least two occasions. Warm fries were immediately replaced but I couldn’t be bothered waiting for one entree [ off menu pasta dish] replacement as my husband would have finished before I got my meal.

None of it is earth shatteringly awful, I know but it’s never occurred before. Tableside finished food was of course, always hot.

 

Cheese trolley was OK rather than stunning but at least six or seven choices and after mentioning I didn't think Brie should be carved, the consistency improved and the Camembert was great but oh my, the fig chutney could have been served as a pud on its own. Must buy some.

 

The internet was inconsistent and kept logging me out which was frustrating. Don't know if that was because of cabin position [aft] or not but roll on any improvements.

 

Of an evening, and this is QG, most chaps wore Black Tie on Gala evenings and other evenings, jacket wearing was adhered to almost 100% with ties worn by many, but ties could have something to do with the general ship's age profile which was the highest I’ve seen for many a cruise.

Walking around the ship on a Smart Attire evening after dinner though would have given some of our fellow Cunard CC board members, apoplexy. I think the term Smart Attire had been casualised by a few. Noticeable but no one batted an eyelid.

 

A [very] few cases of Norovirus were confirmed and a letter to all asked for hygiene protocols to be observed [should do that on a regular basis throughout a cruise anyway] and informing us more precautions would be put in place, was sent round to passengers. Noticeable examples of  changes were we didn't exchange quiz answers to be marked so we self marked and the Lido became served instead of self service,

 

Served food in the Lido, to my mind, was a great idea as licking fingers before handling serving spoons isn't top of my hygiene method of hand sanitising! No problem at all although I overheard quite a few grumbles. The Lido heightened protocol had its moaners though and I actually said to one chap who was moaning because it was taking too much time [it wasn't at all ] to wait for a server to give him his cold meats, I'd rather have a few seconds longer waiting to be served than risk contracting a tummy bug. Some folk are so silly!

 

As we had such a lovely cabin, and also a bit precautionary because my husband is considered 'vulnerable' and it's a hike aft to stairway B, we ate both breakfast and lunch in cabin which mean he ate lunch off the room service menu most days and I went up to the Lido. The Lido, not being my usual lunch habitat in the past, really surprised me in its offerings.and I indulged in a bit of this and a bit of that and oh, some of that too, with of course, some sushi,  all on the same plate. Eclectic and messy. Yum yum.

 

My only problem really, re diligent hand sanitising, was I'd forgotten how badly my skin reacted [eczema] to sanitizer.  Last year I had a tube of Hand Balm on the dining table and carried one around with me. No problem. This time, it took a week as the skin on my hands began to break up, for it to sink in I need to use Hand Balm all the time. Ouch!

 

I know exlondoner caught Covid and although we were ready to mask up in lifts and the theatre etc and of course would have masked up if advised, we didn't. Luckily, it wasn’t an issue for us. No worries for those who do want to mask up though, you won't be alone as  more than a few people wore them anyway.

 

So my very superficial overview would be Queen Victoria is still as wonderful as ever but for the very first time, I would say the restaurant offerings weren't, in our opinion, up to the usual standard at times although it did improve. Last August, everything was hunky dory and as we are sailing on her later in the year, hopefully we will see this as an anomaly and things will be back up to par all the time. A big plus for me was only one lb gained and I put that down to the wine, and sushi overload! 😅

 

We have numerous cruises booked and the ultimate question is, will we book QV or Cunard [not QM2] again come the main '25 itinerary release.

 

Not even a millisecond of hesitation. Yes.

 

PS

Anyone else  on V314, do add your own recollections, good or bad especially as this has been about mainly QG rather than the rest of the ship, entertainment and excursions.

[LouChamp]

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. 

[exlondoner]

Some additional points, also from a QG passenger.

 

Covid

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.

 

Internet

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.

 

Food

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.

 

Lectures

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.

Edited June 7, 2023 by exlondoner

[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:

 

Pros

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

Good food

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

 

Cons

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.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Splice the mainbrace

[DaisyUK]

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...

[exlondoner]

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.

Edited June 7, 2023 by exlondoner

[foodsvcmgr]

Thanks for the positive and informative reviews.

Looking forward to our similar QV sailing in August.

How was the musical entertainment around the ship?

[Victoria2]

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.

 

[Splice the mainbrace]

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.