Positives were few and stated above. This ship was driven through very rough seas at one point almost hurricane force. My wife was terrified, sick, and crying so often. The last 2 nights she was unable to eat or sleep. I will have a tough time ever getting her to sail again. If winter is this rough you should know this and not schedule cruises from these ports. Our money and time was wasted.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Not too bad, very orderly for the most part.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
Dinning room service and food was excellent, however other options including lido and hamburgers grill left much to be desired. Open times were limited and the food was very bland unless you enjoy a steady diet of Indian and Asian foods. The wait staff in the lido were unfriendly and unengaging. No eye contact or friendliness was observed. To buy a soft drink package required you to flag down a bar waiter or inconvenience one of the wait staff to get one for you. No drinks were ever offered to be brought to you. They did not offer ginger ale on fountain and so those of us who are helped with motion sickness by a ginger ale were required to purchase a tiny bottle of it for almost $4.00!! So much for a soft drink package! I have never been on any cruise line where wait staff (except in the assigned dinning room) were so oblivious to the presence of guests who they treated as part of the mechanical process of maintaining a functioning dining room and nothing more. I assume higher paying passengers were treated much better as it seems the cruise line prides itself in the old style of cruising and the classification of passengers. We knew we were third class passengers on this voyage and Cunard did an excellent job of making us feel that way.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Limited an geared to European/British passengers
Entertainment
5 out of 5
When the ship wasn't bouncing all over the place we took in one show which was mostly well done.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
I give it a Two because the wait staff in Britannia our assigned dining room were excellent. Also our cabin steward Teddy was 5 star. The rest of them all over the ship were 2 star at best.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The Queen Victoria is the most beautiful well appointed, elegantly decorated, well maintained, and clean ship I have ever been on. This is the only area where I was very impressed.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Nicest cabin in this class I have ever been in.
Ship tip
Don't get the soft drink package, they make it hard to get these drinks because only bar waiters can bring them.
Windy and they can't dock the ship in the same place they left from when winds are high. This will leave you very inconvenienced when trying to get your car parked across town or screwing up taxi arrangements made prior to sailing.
Beautiful city but filled with vice and a breathable atmosphere of marijuana. They say it's a short walk to town but it's not especially in cold rainy weather. Cunard should have provided a free shuttle but instead left us to get soaked in the rain during a 15 minute walk. If you enjoy breathing marijuana instead of oxygen this port is for you!
Nice town and free transport provided into town which was nice. Nothing to complain about except that the Normandy beaches were an hour drive and Cunard offered not 1 shore excursion to see the beaches or visitor centers surrounding this once in a lifetime historic site. Cunard staff dismissed our interest by saying it was winter and everything was closed. We got a cab for 4 hours at 250 euros and saw The beaches, the cemetery, the visitors centers, and gift shops. It was an awe inspiring experience that Cunard couldn't be bothered with so it cost us a fortune but a higher price was paid over 70 years ago and I wasn't leaving Cherbourg without paying respect and reflecting on this sacrifice and the battlefields that are the hallmarks of our free world today. Shame Cunard didn't see it that way.
They dropped us at another terminal with no facilities to wait for our cab. They cited weather again. Maybe you shouldn't schedule cruises if weather is this bad. We sat outside in the freezing cold whipping wind for almost 2 hours and only made the connection thanks to a couple of dock workers who let us use their cell phone after watching my wife shivering uncontrollably in the wind. My wife was in tears yet another day thanks to Cunard and felt lingering ill effects for days after.
If you don't like rough seas YOU should know this and not go in winter ! , do you know of any travel agent who would tell you not to travel because they think the weather is not going to be very good , get a grip it's your responsibility .
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
