Absolutely Glorious! Queen Anne to Norway
Queen Anne Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 7
Helpful Votes: 158
7 Night The Norwegian Fjords (Southampton Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 23, 2024
Ship: Queen Anne
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 3 months ago
Review summary
My sister Jane and I (David), sailed on the brand new Cunard ship, Queen Anne. This was her first ever voyage to the Norwegian Fjords. The ship is unlike any other Cunard ship, it’s totally different. At first I was very unsure how I felt about it, however as the week went on I fell in love with it. I would sail on her again in a heartbeat.Embarkation
Embarkation was very quick and easy. Plenty of check-in staff.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Overall we were very impressed with the quality of the food. Plenty of options too.
The main dining room was beautiful and we had a lovely table for 2 by the window (table 347).
We were assigned late sitting at 8:30pm. I wouldn’t accept this again as it was just too late for us. By the time we finished it was 10pm or even 10:30pm.
I highly recommend afternoon tea in the queens room. It was a delight. Get there at least 30 minutes early though, or you might miss out.
Sir Samuels steakhouse is excellent. We enjoyed it so much, we went twice.
The Golden Lion pub is great for lunch. Shame the food isn’t available all day though.
Onboard Activities
There were lots of great activities, the usual ‘cruise ship stuff’. Lots of great quizzes in The Golden Lion Pub. We really wanted to try the Archery, but simply ran out of time!
The ship has 2 good size swimming pools and lots of great deck spaces.
We enjoyed the wrap-around promenade deck and although it’s not the best in terms of Cunard Promenades, it was still nice to have it onboard.
Entertainment
I found the shows and general entertainment to be excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed Pride and Prejudice (‘sort of’) in the main theatre (Royal Court Theatre). It was funny and something different.
The Overtures performance in the main theatre was also really good. I’m not such a fan of 60’s music, however they were clearly very talented and I was certainly entertained.
The Bright Lights Society venue was beautiful. It reminded me of an old supper club venue. The performance of ‘Noir’ was excellent. Again very funny and I loved the audience participation.
Other than that, I loved the Orchestra in the Queens Room and the many musicians playing around the ship. All very classy.
Service and Staff
The service on this ship stood out in a very good way.
Our room steward kept the room tidy and clean at all times. I had taken a pen onboard from another cruise line and after using it, I left it on the side…. Later that day, he called me in the corridor and gave me some lovely ‘Cunard’ pens and said “I saw your MSC pen on the side… so take these as a little gift! I thought that was a nice little touch.
The service from all the other staff members was great and yes, I think they did stand out above other lines. It was noticeable.
Ship Quality
The ship is brand new and so was absolutely spotless everywhere.
The design of the ship has a few frustrations though. The Grills (suites) sundeck is at the very top, middle of the ship and you cannot walk through. The Grills Lounge is one deck below it. This means you cannot walk from one end of the ship to the other. You have to drop down 2 decks, walk along and then back up to continue. It’s so annoying.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin location was a disaster because it was directly above the Queens Room. (Above the band actually).
The noise was pretty bad throughout the day and worse in the evenings.
We booked an Inside ‘Guarantee’ fare, so didn’t get to choose the cabin location. Yes the noise was terrible, however I had to keep reminding myself that I can’t have it both ways. I can’t expect a great fare and have a cabin in the best part of the ship!! I’ve booked ‘Guarantee’ fares before… some you win, some you don’t!
We didn’t let it spoil our trip at all…. We played lots of ‘Name that tune!’
I’m not sure I would book an Inside Guarantee fare again on this ship.
Ship tip
Make sure you go to afternoon tea in the Queens Room. Go 30-40 minutes early to get the best tables
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Ports of call
Olden is another stunning port. My advice is goto the Briksdalbreen Glacier.
You can take the local bus (number 115) from just off the dock. Stay on the side of the road where the ship is. The bus arrives at just gone 10am (as of June 2024) There is only 1 bus, so don’t miss it.
The cost each way is between £3-£4 per person. It’s an absolute bargain and I guarantee, it’s probably the most scenic bus ride you will take!!!
The bus takes you to the Briksdalbreen Visitor Centre. From here, you can hike up to the Glacier. It’s a steep climb up many stairs, although it does even out halfway up…. But you do need to have fairly good mobility.
The hike up is absolutely glorious. You will follow a thundering mountain stream/river, see countless waterfalls from the mountains all around and the Glacier lake at the top is amazing. Not forgetting the actual Briksdal Glacier at the top. It’s all breathtaking.
The hike up takes about an hour, depending on your fitness level and how many times you stop to take photo’s/video’s or just to pinch yourself, checking you are not dreaming!!
The bus leaves at 1:30pm. Again don’t miss it.
If you can’t manage the walk, you can take the Troll-Car up. It doesn’t get you to the very top, but certainly much closer. (You miss out the hardest part of the walk up)
I’ve done this trip twice now and would do it all again in the future. It’s quite unbelievable and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Wow this place is gorgeous!!! The scenery is breathtaking.
In Flam, we booked our own independent tours. We took the Flam Railway up the mountain, which was probably the most scenic train journey I’ve ever taken. For 2 Adults it was about £166 return.
After booking our train tickets we decided to be adventurous and take the Zip-Line back down the mountain and then mountain bike back to the ship, so we didn’t end up using the return train ticket.
We booked the Zip-Line and Bikes direct and it cost £267 for 2 adults.
It was an expensive day, but my goodness it was worth it and I would do it all again in a heartbeat! The train journey was about 1 hour, then we waited about another hour for our turn on the Zip-Line, which is the second longest in Europe. (Aprx 1381m long) It takes under 2 minutes to ‘fly’ down the mountain.
At the bottom, there is a cafe and basic toilets!
This is where you collect the Mountain bikes. The cycle back to Flam takes between 1-2 hours through the most magical, beautiful scenery you can imagine. Countless waterfalls, streams and thundering rivers. The good news is it’s almost all downhill!!! There are a few small inclines, but you can just walk if needed.
My advice is to book independently and save yourself a lot of money, compared to booking with the cruise line.
Cruise Nordfjord
This is a fabulous port to explore. Lots of lovely Norwegian buildings, cafes etc.
We walked the short distance from the cruise terminal to the foot of Mount Floyen. (Head for the Funicular) From there we walked up the mountain. It took us about an hour, with a few stops on the way up. The view from the top is amazing. There are a few shops/cafe/toilets at the top. If you want to walk further, there were several routes at the top. It’s all signposted.
We then took the Funicular cable car back down. You can buy tickets at the top which cost about £6.75 per person. If you don’t want to hike up, you can take the Funicular both ways…. Just buy your tickets at the bottom. It’s very cheap (Much cheaper than the cruise line) and easy to do.
After, we bought a coffee/pastry from a coffee shop and walked back to the ship via the local market, which is just off the harbour.
CRUISE INNVIKFJORDEN, NORWAY
CRUISE AURLANDSFJORD
Disembarkation
Very quick and easy disembarkation. Hassle free from start to finish.
Traveler Photos
