We couldn't wait to get off.

Queen Elizabeth Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

GarethMorgan

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Sail date: October 21, 2015

Ship: Queen Elizabeth

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 4032

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

We booked a seventeen night cruise on "Queen Elizabeth".

Cunard claim that the ship has WiFi, an essential prerequisite as I need to keep in contact with my business, much of which nowadays is done on line.

Once the 120 minutes of 'free' time have been used you can purchase further I.T. time at the eye-watering price of $.65 per minute.

Briefly, the connection is a poor one. It may break half way through an email, or freeze on an open page.The only solution is to log of and then back in again, whereupon the whole sorry saga may well be repeated..

Cunard peddle the corporate lie that is you, perhaps your inexpertise, which is the cause of the problem.

Having run up a staggering additional bill of several hundred dollars, I appealed to the Ship's 'Hotel Service Manager", the corpulent and complacent Basil Fawlty of Cunard, expecting recompense.

Far from it.

I was barred from further use of the Internet by this individual, resulting in the loss of a a £2500 time sensitive export deal.

Thanks a lot , Cunard, never again!

Gareth Morgan

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Poky little cabin. We were unable to regulate the heating. We have seen better bathrooms in some caravans. Thoroughly nasty little shower with plastic shower curtain that clings to your back. We cruised on "Ventura" to Amsterdam earlier this year. A far superior cabin for less outlay !

Ship tip

Do not attempt to use the ships appalling Wi-Fi connection if you value your sanity. Also avoid buying any "extras", they do not represent value for money.

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13 Comments

steve1141 8 years ago

The wifi on QE was absolutely fine but expensive. I thought it was only children who ran up large bills without thought?

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bigdave1946 8 years ago

Take your tablet or laptop ashore and watch where the crew go, as they usually find the free WiFi spots.

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plodus 9 years ago

There are no "pokey" cabins on the QE and I've no doubt from the tone of your review that "Basil" treated you in the same manner as you were treating him,there is no pleasing some people,stay shoreside you will be much happier.

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skipton 9 years ago

No need to be so rude. Thank goodness you said never again and leave the rest of us to enjoy Cunard.

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DJI 9 years ago

Wifi on QE and QM2 is fine, I imagine the QV is no different. I require it for my business also, yes it's costs a bit more but please consider how technically difficult it is to achieve, using satellites and gimballed transmitting equipment on board. I wouldn't be able to travel on Cunard without the internet being available.

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elcoatmattandjo 9 years ago

thay say in the program wifi not the best it tells you the price so you think it's cunard in the wrong.so when you say never again that's good because cunard don't need people like you

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Somersetagent 9 years ago

If you are doing the Transatlantic round trip you get two bites of the Apple as they give you the same free time on the return crossing. I have learnt also to log in then go off line and back on again when you are ready to send your mail. Saves a fortune.

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F1Steve 9 years ago

The whole point of a cruise is to get away from work. As other people have said, say at home if you need internet. Everyone knows its a) a rip off & b) connection is crap. Ever thought of free wifi on shore, cafes/bars are great

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TeresaC1963 9 years ago

One question for you Gareth. If you had 120 minutes of free time, why didn't you notice in that 2 hours how bad the connection was and why did you continue to use it when you were paying by the minute. Didn't you notice by then how much time it was going to take and how expensive it would be? And why on earth would you take a 17 day out of country vacation if the deal was that important?

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terry115 9 years ago

I love the peace at sea with no outside contact. The cruise will end no more peace real life again

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TeresaC1963 9 years ago

Next time take that break or as Terry suggested, stay on land.

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TeresaC1963 9 years ago

That is the one problem with wifi at sea, the connections are not the greatest and if you think about it, you would expect it. Even wifi takes it signal for something that is wired, where do you have that on a ship? So the only other option is satellite which is not nearly as reliable even on ground much less on a moving vessel. The point of vacation is to get away from work....take a break.

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terry115 9 years ago

sounds like you need to stay on land for vacation not sea

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