Most Enjoyable
Queen Elizabeth Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 63
8 Night Japan Golden Week (Tokyo Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 28, 2023
Ship: Queen Elizabeth
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
The QE was an excellent ship and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We have previously sailed the QM2 and stayed in Long Beach on the original QM. Next we are booked for the QVic in 2024 with a short QAnne 2day trip to follow in 2025 (likely to be changed to something longer ITBK).Embarkation
We were on a back to back so the requirements were minimal (a bit of on board paperwork). Ship was leaving and returning to Japan with a single stop in Busan and so was predominantly Japanese cruisers.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We ate mostly in Queens Grill for lunch an dinners. Breakfasts in Lido and a few lunches and dinners there as well. Being Japan based their was a lot of local cuisine. Some we tried (sushi, sashimi, curries, etc.) and loved it all. Being west coast based we see and enjoy a lot of raw fish. Not everyone’s cup of tea but it works for us.
Overall the food was well seasoned and tasty. No complaints except for one Lido evening’s chocolate pudding which was incredibly bland. Food salting levels were much more significant in Lido restaurant offerings and we did notice slight water retention because of it.
Onboard Activities
We attended some presentation and information sessions but are not pool folks or fitness Center focused. We did do deck walk abouts on sea days but did get overcome by paint fumes on the nicer days. Some areas of the ship were worse for paint fumes than others.
We used the upper deck above Princess & Queens Grills a few times. It was quiet and mostly well protected from wind on all but one occasion. In that instance we went downstairs to use the Alfresco dining option.
Entertainment
Kind of hit and miss in our books. We liked some shows and some we skipped, especially the follow up / combo ones you get on longer cruises. We also watched a couple of presenters shows which were recorded for TV rebroadcasting. Really like the violin duo and cello recital along with harp music played often during our cruise.
Observed the huge turnout for line and ball room dancing instruction but we did not commit to that group effort.
Service and Staff
Queens Grill staff and those pretty well around the ship were excellent. If we had any complaints about staff it was that we were offered confusing directions as to when to exit and reboard on the boarding day of 2nd back-to-back cruise. Told to leave and return at a specific time but… had to sit in terminal for 55 minutes as times were not accurate. Some confusion as to which exit area we were to leave from ship as well and were sent back and forth to two areas, then finally on to a third area to exit the ship. It wasn’t very well coordinated!
Ship Quality
Ship is beautiful, shows some wear and tear but overall impressive decor and design.
Elevators had issues on first back to back and would stop running indicating they were falsely overloaded. Surprised a lot of folks but someone or a few people would step off and the journey would resume.
The second cruise seems to have had the elevators reset or fixed and there were no issues with people getting on and then forced to leave again. Happens across multiple elevator banks.
Cabin / Stateroom
Good cabin, quiet AC but we could hear voices occasionally from either side staterooms. Some cigarette smoke did make it up the side of the ship from smoking area 3 decks below. Not overpowering but we did retreat inside a couple of times during port stays.
Our shower drained slowly so you were standing in a two inch puddle by the end of it. Also the shower door does not close tightly and water would always be outside the door. Thank god for the bath mat provided. Towels are big, really oversized and do not fit well on towel racks with rungs. Just left them on the door or on robe hood provided.
Ship tip
Bring an approved extension cord if you want access to power on each side of Queen bed. We used USB battery packs over night to power a fan and charge phones. Only the desk sides have power supplies. A few over the door hooks are included for our next Cunard cruise as well.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We arrived and toured Tokyo 5 days ahead of our first cruise. Did a two day Tours- by-locals. The Toyko Metro was insanely busy, complex and had lots of stairs (some small lifts). So glad we had a guide. Saw local shrines and temples along with the imperial palace. First day was rainy but that kept the crowds to a minimum. Second day was broken cloud with some rain and cloudy periods. Crowded at some shrine and shop points. We missed the cherry blossom season by a couple of weeks as it was early this year. Azaleas were however on display.
Disembarkation
No issues we pre booked transfers with Cunard and were exited early for airport bus. One 4 persons family delayed the process by arriving 30+ minutes late. No apologies or reasons given.
Some mask-less passengers decided they had the best opportunity to cough and infect others on their delayed start and 1.5 hour transport time. And while I was wearing a mask on the bus I still ended up catching the bug and became sick 3 days later with a nasty cold virus.