Back on Queen Victoria

[Victoria2]

14 minutes ago, techteach said:

@Victoria2 Sorry to hear the party was a flop. Thanks for letting everyone know. Alas, Sashenka didn’t arrive in time for the beach trip, but it was here last night and I could barely put it down. China also arrived and it was difficult to decide which to read first. Some problems are good problems. 🙂 I’ll save it for the September cruise.

Flop is probably too strong as I’m sure lots of people enjoyed it. It just wasn’t our idea of fun.

Glad you’ve got the books. I look forward to your thoughts. Add ‘London' and 'Sarum' to your library. That should see you through a couple of cruises.🙂

[Victoria2]

4 hours ago, MrsPeel55 said:

@Victoria2 sorry about the eczema thing, great to know you were able to get meds, even if not the same as yours, hope you carry on enjoying 🙂

 

Thanks. We’re thoroughly enjoying ourselves doing very little.

Marvellous show tonight. The last time I saw the theatre  full was years ago.
Rave on starring The Blue Jays.

It's a must see show, best we’ve seen for many years on QV.

 

[Victoria2]

I know we still have the rest of the day and the sea day tomorrow , ugh, packing, or as I call it ‘throwing everything into the suitcases and hope it all goes in' day, but wanted to share some thoughts.
One or two teeny disappointments last August. NONE this July. None.

 

The staff are still wonderful, as they were last time ( and always) but the food has been much better. The choices seem more to our liking although we have Dover Sole'd ( him) and Asian style ( me) off menu quite a few nights. The food has been hot and delicious and as usual, the Head Waiters have asked every evening if we wanted to order anything special for the following night.

 

We have assistance onto the ship and that has changed somewhat and apparently, will change more in August. It’s still there but I get the distinct impression they are trying to weed out those who just turn up and decide it’s a quicker way onto the ship.

Our cabin number wasn’t on their manifesto although the name was and I had to take the  manifesto and point out our cabin name. Fair do's, the number was incorrect. Not his fault I know but I knew we were on the list. 
Moral here, make sure your data is up to date Cunard as we certainly didn’t need the added stress when trying to get on the ship with help.

The disabled 'pen' had far less passengers in than I would call normal. Could be a coincidence but I’ll wait and see what Sunday morning brings.

Bottom line, need assistance, FILL OUT THE FORM. Cunard are understandably wanting confirmation on who will need help if we strike an iceberg!🙂

Our cabin is gorgeous but more of that when I get home.

 

Any Questions, you have less than two days in which to ask.

 

By the way, a postcard in the past would read-

 

Having a fabulous time, wish you were here

x

Edited August 4, 2023 by Victoria2

[Victoria2]

It’s a 'bit' bumpy so we’ve chosen to retreat and cabin up this evening. It’s supposed to be more lively tomorrow.

 

Might make throwing things in a suitcase interesting!😄

[Host Hattie]

Enjoy your last day onboard, I hope it's not too bumpy !

[LargeNegroni]

Thank you for taking us on your travels. It will keep us going until our trip in November.

Perhaps setting you mini challenges to find things onboard could be a regular feature.

Similar to Challenge Anneka form the old UK TV show 😁

Safe journey

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Enjoy your last day onboard, I hope it's not too bumpy !

Even our butler said it was rough last night. The seas are fine today. Usual North Sea waves but not the danger to limbs for some, last nights seas threw at us.

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, LargeNegroni said:

Thank you for taking us on your travels. It will keep us going until our trip in November.

Perhaps setting you mini challenges to find things onboard could be a regular feature.

Similar to Challenge Anneka form the old UK TV show 😁

Safe journey

Hmmmm

Anneka's outfits wouldn’t fit, especially after this holiday. Blowout dinner tonight then thin gruel and water for the next week or so! I dread to think how many lbs have piled on and most def. not the single one gained on  the last cruise!☹️

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Hmmmm

Anneka's outfits wouldn’t fit, especially after this holiday. Blowout dinner tonight then thin gruel and water for the next week or so! I dread to think how many lbs have piled on and most def. not the single one gained on  the last cruise!☹️

Would you say the QGs menus were better than in May?

[DaisyUK]

Sounds like you've had a great cruise despite the eczema and bumpy ride.  Look forward to reading any further thoughts once you're home. As for the extra lbs - they'll soon disappear, ready for next time!!

[Victoria2]

9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Would you say the QGs menus were better than in May?

Definitely more to our taste so I would say yes, most definitely as far as we’re concerned

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, DaisyUK said:

Sounds like you've had a great cruise despite the eczema and bumpy ride.  Look forward to reading any further thoughts once you're home. As for the extra lbs - they'll soon disappear, ready for next time!!

Thx. Always payback in order for 'having' to sample the menus. I have missed lunch out a few times so I’m trying! 🙂

 I do have a couple of comparisons to make re our cabins but I’ll leave that for later.

 

Sea is a bit lumpy again so making the most of the remaining wine and the comfort of our beautiful cabin.

[MrsPeel55]

Like @DaisyUK well said : the extra weight will go away & we'll be ready for the next!  glad you are having a great time ❤️

[techteach]

@Victoria2 What page are on you on in Sashenka?

[Victoria2]

On 8/5/2023 at 3:16 PM, Victoria2 said:

Hmmmm

Anneka's outfits wouldn’t fit, especially after this holiday. Blowout dinner tonight then thin gruel and water for the next week or so! I dread to think how many lbs have piled on and most def. not the single one gained on  the last cruise!☹️

The bad news is, I put on some weight.

 

The good news is, for some unfathomable reason, it's only 2 lbs!! TWO 👍

 

The gruel wasn't so thin last night but it was definitely water and not wine. Detox week or two ahead.

[Victoria2]

6 hours ago, techteach said:

@Victoria2 What page are on you on in Sashenka?

Only got half the way through so far as I also had easy read/lightweight books from the ship's library.

New author for me but I will be reading more of his work.

[Victoria2]

In the interests of being objective when it counts, here's hoping this information might be relevant to someone.

I'll drip feed other observations when they come to me.

 

Having the same category cabin booked for two '23 cruises ( we have had to cancel the third due to a family occasion but luckily, only lost the deposit as there was nothing we could transfer it to having already booked '24) I assumed the different deck cabins would be the same, apart from this one being a little narrower in depth and thus having a different bedroom layout.

Think again!

Having waxed lyrical about the usb ports in the revamped deck seven cabin, I left my usb adapters at home. Not needed on voyage and all that. Big mistake.

Wrong.

There are no usb ports in the aft deck six cabins.

It’s  amazing how the same category revamped  cabins on a Cunard ship, can have usb ports on one deck and yet the same category cabins don’t on the deck below.  

Major panic. Luckily, the butler lent us two usb plugs of her own and saved me having a total meltdown or having to go and try and buy a couple.

 

The basic configuration of the cabins is the same on both decks 6 and 7 although the six's are slightly smaller in sq ft [inside] than the sevens which is probably why the sevens are more desirable. Apart from the cabin having less depth [hence less sq feet], the main difference is the fact the bedroom layouts definitely differ. What you see in seemingly all the Q1 photos or plans, are of the deck seven bedrooms but as far as we're concerned, we prefer the six layout because it's more a traditional layout and is easier to get around as it's not cramped by the half bed wall which takes up floor space.

Bedroom creaked though in the rough seas but then so did my knees trying to keep my balance so even Stevens's there.

 

Whoever designed the peripheral lighting system in the bedrooms needs a short lesson in the reality of style over substance. The overly large bedside lights took over quite a bit of the surface of the bedside cabinet. Dressing table lamps, again large, were in front of the the plug sockets and made it a bit  fiddly to access them. This may be aesthetically pleasing [to some] but not very practical, and I've got small hands. All 21stC problems but still thought I'd point them out.

 

The balconies are the same so no difference there. Would we stay in this cabin again? Yes. Most definitely Q1 first choice, second being deck seven...but I'd bring some ear plugs for rough weather creaks!🙂

Oh and be prepared to  walk like a drunken sailor when the ship rocks and rolls. I can confirm it's much more pronounced aft than mid ships.

Edited August 7, 2023 by Victoria2

[DaisyUK]

Thanks for these observations Victoria2. Sounds like it's swings and roundabouts between the deck 6 and 7 aft suites. We're on deck 7 for our upcoming cruise and I hadn't noticed that rather strange bedroom layout until just now when I went back and checked it on a youtube video. As you say very strange that Cunard would install usb ports on one deck and not the other in the same category of suite.  

 

Hoping the seas won't be quite so rough when we sail!

 

 

[Victoria2]

11 minutes ago, DaisyUK said:

Thanks for these observations Victoria2. Sounds like it's swings and roundabouts between the deck 6 and 7 aft suites. We're on deck 7 for our upcoming cruise and I hadn't noticed that rather strange bedroom layout until just now when I went back and checked it on a youtube video. As you say very strange that Cunard would install usb ports on one deck and not the other in the same category of suite.  

 

Hoping the seas won't be quite so rough when we sail!

 

 

We didn't have any night time sea swell to reckon with in May/June so no creaks but belt and braces, take some ear plugs just in case.

 

The sevens' bedroom layout is absolutely fine, just not for us now. You'll have more storage space to lose things in than the six and even then in the six, I was pootling around trying to remember what I'd stored and  where 😄.

You'll love it. 🙂 We did and it is definitely on the cards if deck six goes before we can book.

[DaisyUK]

Yes, I'm sure we'll love it. Thanks again for the advice/observations. This will be our first sailing on the QV, and then we will have done all 3 Queens, and have QA coming up in 2024. Happy days! 😊

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, DaisyUK said:

Yes, I'm sure we'll love it. Thanks again for the advice/observations. This will be our first sailing on the QV, and then we will have done all 3 Queens, and have QA coming up in 2024. Happy days! 😊

I'm pleased you have QV first. We have two booked on QA next year and putting the actual ship aside for the moment, it will be very interesting to make comparisons with our beloved QV, as far as experience is concerned.

[Victoria2]

More musings.

 

Menus and food, impeccable. 🙂

 

Restaurant staff are wonderful and for info., we were asked every day, sometimes twice a day if we'd like anything 'different'.🙂

Great table for two in the restaurant. Very pleasant fellow passengers near to chat to if we wanted conversation.

 

Our butler was new to us but not to QV. She was excellent, really mothered us and was generally  fantastic. We knew our assistant butler from a few trips and he was, as usual, great.🙂

 

When we could be bothered going to the theatre, the entertainment was brilliant and as I have previously said, a full theatre for The Blue Jays with a standing ovation at the end of their set. Mike Doyle was, as usual very entertaining too. Didn't bother with ship's productions.

 

The Gala nights were elegant and well supported with formal attire [and fancy dress too for some on the Masquerade night] for the majority of passengers [not all, I admit].

 

There were children and teens on the ship. Wonderful to see them thoroughly enjoying the cruise and a credit to all.👍

 

I am REALLY trying to find a negative here to appear non partisan, but in truth, it's very difficult as I can't but if I was being picky, I'd say the atmosphere around the ship had an added an element of party 'ishness when three hundred passengers disembarked and the same number embarked at Kiel. Interesting as the S'ton/H/burg shortie wasn't shortie'ish at all, if you can understand my garbled point.

 

Disembarkation was great and on deck one. Cunard have finally got it into their heads [heavens above I've mentioned it often enough to the suits] stairwell B lifts are nightmares on disembarkation days  for wheelchairs users and why not have 'the pen' on the same deck as the gangway.

Well this time, 'the pen' was in Connexions on deck one. Quick up to go down in Lift C to arrive into 'the pen' by the gangway. Sorted. It's only taken years to figure that one out unless it's just on our cruises the added frisson of 'hell, no lift space' was just for our exasperation.

 

Disembarkation looked pretty well sorted. No storming of  security or huge queues. Just orderly disembarkation.

 

All in all, another cracking cruise on Queen Victoria. Bring her back to Southampton for Summer  '25 please and that is the sentiment of many of the staff too

Pretty please?  🙂.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks again for your reports and welcome home !

[MrsPeel55]

thanks so much for the thread @Victoria2 , so glad you had a marvellous sailing!

 

Can't wait for our time, exactly in a month....we started last week with our shopping list, booked the salon on board already... really looking forward since we booked, and more and more with every post telling us about the ship, thanks again!!!!

[Victoria2]

31 minutes ago, MrsPeel55 said:

thanks so much for the thread @Victoria2 , so glad you had a marvellous sailing!

 

Can't wait for our time, exactly in a month....we started last week with our shopping list, booked the salon on board already... really looking forward since we booked, and more and more with every post telling us about the ship, thanks again!!!!

A tip.

If the lifts are busy, go up to go down and down to go up if an empty lift comes your way, and remember, it's ding dong down and ding for up. 🙂