QV ... Sharing My Cruise Experience as a Cunard Newbie

[KeithErnest]

This was our first cruise and we chose Cunard for the Norway North Cape itinerary offered. We were both very happy with our Cunard experience and would have no hesitation booking another cruise with Cunard.

 

The cruise did start off on a sad note.  Shortly after departing Southampton and just off the Isle of Wight a passenger had to be evacuated by helicopter for a medical emergency.  I hope all went well for the passenger.

Boarding time.  
Our assigned boarding time at Southampton was 15:15.  We arrived @14:55 and dropped off suitcases, then we proceeded directly to check-in, cleared security and were on board the ship by  15:10 

 

Inside Cabin.

We booked an inside cabin and we found the room to be nice size.  Being newbies, we did not realize that our suitcases could be stored under the bed and our room attendant did not bring this to our attention.  No biggie, but we will know better the next time.
 

Dining Britannia Restaurant.  

We chose the early seating and requested a table for two.  However, another table for 2 was only 6 inches (15 centimetres) away from our table.  This appeared to be the setup in the dinning room for the majority of the tables for two.

 

Lido Restaurant.

We found the breakfast and lunch buffet selections to be plentiful.  My only complaint is that there is TOO much food to select from. 😉

 

Afternoon Tea.

Nice touch.  Good to experience at least once in the Queen's Room, FYI the same food is served in the Lido buffet at 3pm. 

 

Food Allergies.

My wife has food allergies (gluten, dairy and soy), this was not a problem because the dining room meals were separately prepared for her.   One is given the menu a day in advance to select for lunch and dinner. My wife did enjoy her meals in the dining room.  The buffet had a few gluten free options, but it was hard to exclude dairy or soy as soy is often mixed with gluten free products.

 

After several days into the cruise there was an increase in the number of reported gastrointestinal illnesses which suggested Norovirus.  The ship switched to an elevated level of sanitation.   Crew members ensured that all guests entering any of the restaurants sanitized their hands before entering.  The crew members also served the food and drinks in the buffet.  This was a good thing.

 

We found that the level of service provided by the crew to be excellent.

 

Dress code.   

I feel that the dress code of smart attire and elevated attire after 18:00 hours to be a good balance between smart and casual attire.

All guests wore elevated attire for the Gala Evening but I would say that only 5% of the guests participated in the Masquerade Gala Evening and 10% participated in the Roaring 20's Gala Evening.

 

Entertainment. 

Overall a good variety offered.  The Silent Disco was pretty cool to experience and it was a hit with guests.  For those who have not experienced a silent disco you wear headphones and select a channel as two different songs are played at the same time.  

 

Shore Excursions.

The shore excursion staff are very helpful.  Not the staff's fault, but communication between Cunard and the Ships's Agent could be better in my opinion.

First port call required a shuttle bus into Stavanger.  The shuttle was prompt but we were dropped off in the wrong location.  Imagine our surprise when we returned to the location where we were dropped off expecting to be picked up.  Luckily we were not alone and a few other guests had already arranged for pickup back to the cruise ship.

 

Second excursion to the Village of Reine.  The excursion description indicated 30 to 40 minutes in Reine.  Upon arriving in Reine the tour guide told us we had 15 minutes.  Not much time if one was hoping to get a few pictures of the village.  This was disappointing.

 

My Voyager app.

Sorry,  but I had no luck getting into my account (android phone).  I was able to connect to the Cunard_Guest_WIFI and my stateroom number displayed on the app screen, but no My Voyager menu appeared.

 

 

 

 

[sogne]

1 hour ago, KeithErnest said:

This was our first cruise and we chose Cunard for the Norway North Cape itinerary offered. We were both very happy with our Cunard experience and would have no hesitation booking another cruise with Cunard.

 

The cruise did start off on a sad note.  Shortly after departing Southampton and just off the Isle of Wight a passenger had to be evacuated by helicopter for a medical emergency.  I hope all went well for the passenger.

Boarding time.  
Our assigned boarding time at Southampton was 15:15.  We arrived @14:55 and dropped off suitcases, then we proceeded directly to check-in, cleared security and were on board the ship by  15:10 

 

Inside Cabin.

We booked an inside cabin and we found the room to be nice size.  Being newbies, we did not realize that our suitcases could be stored under the bed and our room attendant did not bring this to our attention.  No biggie, but we will know better the next time.
 

Dining Britannia Restaurant.  

We chose the early seating and requested a table for two.  However, another table for 2 was only 6 inches (15 centimetres) away from our table.  This appeared to be the setup in the dinning room for the majority of the tables for two.

 

Lido Restaurant.

We found the breakfast and lunch buffet selections to be plentiful.  My only complaint is that there is TOO much food to select from. 😉

 

Afternoon Tea.

Nice touch.  Good to experience at least once in the Queen's Room, FYI the same food is served in the Lido buffet at 3pm. 

 

Food Allergies.

My wife has food allergies (gluten, dairy and soy), this was not a problem because the dining room meals were separately prepared for her.   One is given the menu a day in advance to select for lunch and dinner. My wife did enjoy her meals in the dining room.  The buffet had a few gluten free options, but it was hard to exclude dairy or soy as soy is often mixed with gluten free products.

 

After several days into the cruise there was an increase in the number of reported gastrointestinal illnesses which suggested Norovirus.  The ship switched to an elevated level of sanitation.   Crew members ensured that all guests entering any of the restaurants sanitized their hands before entering.  The crew members also served the food and drinks in the buffet.  This was a good thing.

 

We found that the level of service provided by the crew to be excellent.

 

Dress code.   

I feel that the dress code of smart attire and elevated attire after 18:00 hours to be a good balance between smart and casual attire.

All guests wore elevated attire for the Gala Evening but I would say that only 5% of the guests participated in the Masquerade Gala Evening and 10% participated in the Roaring 20's Gala Evening.

 

Entertainment. 

Overall a good variety offered.  The Silent Disco was pretty cool to experience and it was a hit with guests.  For those who have not experienced a silent disco you wear headphones and select a channel as two different songs are played at the same time.  

 

Shore Excursions.

The shore excursion staff are very helpful.  Not the staff's fault, but communication between Cunard and the Ships's Agent could be better in my opinion.

First port call required a shuttle bus into Stavanger.  The shuttle was prompt but we were dropped off in the wrong location.  Imagine our surprise when we returned to the location where we were dropped off expecting to be picked up.  Luckily we were not alone and a few other guests had already arranged for pickup back to the cruise ship.

 

Second excursion to the Village of Reine.  The excursion description indicated 30 to 40 minutes in Reine.  Upon arriving in Reine the tour guide told us we had 15 minutes.  Not much time if one was hoping to get a few pictures of the village.  This was disappointing.

 

My Voyager app.

Sorry,  but I had no luck getting into my account (android phone).  I was able to connect to the Cunard_Guest_WIFI and my stateroom number displayed on the app screen, but no My Voyager menu appeared.

 

 

 

 

We did the Reine excursion and had 30 minutes.

[Pear Carr]

So glad you enjoyed your first cruise with Cunard. We were also on board and enjoyed excellent service in all areas - we opt not to dine in the lido and took all our meals in Britannia (late sitting). Agree with the adherence to dress code, particularly on gala nights, with majority dressing up and only 5/10% opting into the ‘theme’ of the night - except for black and white gala evening which is generally well supported. We were disappointed with the change in itinerary and opted for a full day cruise from Alesund to Geiranger with an independent company - tiring but spectacular - Cunard are missing a trick by not offering this as a trip into a deep fjord. Excellent musicians entertained throughout the ship - particularly loved the string trio and Roy.G.Hemings. I personally dislike the silent disco and would rather the DJ did their job and entertained everyone with a range of music - I am sorry Cunard have bought into this fad and no doubt have spent a pretty penny on the headsets. We found the tender at Lofoten islands to be a bit chaotic but glad we opted into the Cunard panoramic tour as there appeared to be limited options for this port. As always we had the best time on board, although have both tested positive for covid on our return!

[KeithErnest]

14 minutes ago, Pear Carr said:

We were disappointed with the change in itinerary and opted for a full day cruise from Alesund to Geiranger with an independent company - tiring but spectacular - Cunard are missing a trick by not offering this as a trip into a deep fjord.

 

I personally dislike the silent disco and would rather the DJ did their job and entertained everyone with a range of music - I am sorry Cunard have bought into this fad and no doubt have spent a pretty penny on the headsets.

 

We found the tender at Lofoten islands to be a bit chaotic but glad we opted into the Cunard panoramic tour as there appeared to be limited options for this port.

 

As always we had the best time on board, although have both tested positive for covid on our return!

Good to hear your trip to Geiranger and back was spectacular.  You lucked out with the weather.  🙂 

 

Agree silent disco is personal thing but I did find it fun to watch the crowd.

 

The tender process to Leknes was a bit chaotic I think they wanted to wait for the coaches to arrive and control the excursion group on the ship and not dockside.

 

Sorry to hear you caught COVID.  The couple next to our dinner table became sick the last few days of the cruise and missed three dinner nights.  We saw them during disembarkation.  They did not look or sound well.  We wondered if they might have caught COVID.

 

 

[exlondoner]

9 hours ago, Pear Carr said:

So glad you enjoyed your first cruise with Cunard. We were also on board and enjoyed excellent service in all areas - we opt not to dine in the lido and took all our meals in Britannia (late sitting). Agree with the adherence to dress code, particularly on gala nights, with majority dressing up and only 5/10% opting into the ‘theme’ of the night - except for black and white gala evening which is generally well supported. We were disappointed with the change in itinerary and opted for a full day cruise from Alesund to Geiranger with an independent company - tiring but spectacular - Cunard are missing a trick by not offering this as a trip into a deep fjord. Excellent musicians entertained throughout the ship - particularly loved the string trio and Roy.G.Hemings. I personally dislike the silent disco and would rather the DJ did their job and entertained everyone with a range of music - I am sorry Cunard have bought into this fad and no doubt have spent a pretty penny on the headsets. We found the tender at Lofoten islands to be a bit chaotic but glad we opted into the Cunard panoramic tour as there appeared to be limited options for this port. As always we had the best time on board, although have both tested positive for covid on our return!

Commiserations on the Covid. I still feel weak, though I only felt remotely ill for a couple of days. Hope you rapidly recover.

[Pear Carr]

Thank you - just grateful we didn’t become unwell whilst on board.  Both now picking up after a couple of days with cold symptoms.  

[Pear Carr]

Sorry to hear you are still not fully recovered and hope you continue to improve.  

[Camgirl]

20 hours ago, sogne said:

We did the Reine excursion and had 30 minutes.

Our trip to Reine was good. However, our tour to Sommaroy from Tromso was awful. We drove for a long time, then turned round without stopping and went back to a tiny beach. We had 18 mins there, and were told we could walk into the hills(?!?). There was a loo, but it was locked! We then returned back to Tromso on the same long drive.

Thanks for the great report KeithErnest. You should have been able to store your cases under the bed in your cabin. But only in the top half. If the steward had stored some stuff there, which happens sometimes, they should remove it for you. We thought the silent disco was good fun to watch, but should be confined to the night club, and not put on in the queens room.