Queen Victoria Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I was revisiting Victoria as she had a recent major makeover which I wanted to see as I was gathering material for my new book High Tea on the Cunard Queens which tells the story of my life spent on every Cunard Queen ever built and the changes seen over the last 55 years. The book will be released by History Press in July 2019

Cunard has gone downhill since our last cruise with them and to be quite honest is poorer than many 3 or 4 star ships that we have been on. The QV is a dark ship inside. So much so that we both felt that we were starting to suffer from the SAD syndrome after a few days on the Atlantic crossing, so we had to make a point of going outside on the sea days, regardless of the fact that the first few were rather cool and windy. The lifts actually reminded us of our visit to the Titanic Experience in Belfast, where you are taken up in a virtual lift with dark wood panelling. Many people commented on the lack of decent amounts of light. The itinerary was OK, but could have been a lot better. Between Southampton and San Francisco, we passed by some ports that we knew were better than the ones we visited!

Cunard Queen Victoria is quite the same as Cunard Queen Elizabeth, less Art Deco than QE, the QV is more victorian style, and more classic. The Cruise was excellent, due to the calm sea in January 2019, a very rare situation. I loved the daily program, which offer everyone something, and you are not boring at all. Only about 6 children were aboard, so be advised that for this World Cruise (and I think also for others) you will meet more mature passengers.

Unable to go as husband Was ill but better now so will be looking to book a world trip Again in the future for us both as we're very disappointed to miss this trip

Great cruise, couple of ordinary ports, but the good ones were very good, on board service, especially Room Steward and Bar Service exceptional. Overall love the elegance of the Ship

Just come back from 11 night cruise, and have to say that the general standards of service is most definitely down on my previous Cunard experiences. Entertainment was also quite poor and the general good feel factor that I previously experienced was most definitely lacking. Having also been on other cruise line companies I do feel that others also offer higher mark on other elements, enough to loose Cunard customers

Returned last week from Queen Victoria's Iberian Adventure and have to say how superb this trip was. The atmosphere and wonderful staff along with outstanding Captain Simon Love made this a very special cruise. Also the guest speakers were fantastic and we loved the Walk Like A Man entertainment. Thanks to Sandro and all staff who made us feel so special.

On QV at present lucky enough to be in queens grill... but the ship is awesome Shows are entertaining, food great, and generally a relaxing holiday and a fantastic cruise line

Overall we found the cruise enjoyable. The main restaurant,service and food was on a par with most cruise lines. The lido buffet was better than most. The speciality restaurant was well below par and not worth the charge. Drinks were very expensive. No alcoholic drinks package was available. The entertainment and speakers were better than most. The afternoon tea was a big plus. Bridge card competition was a plus. The ship is well designed for cold crises/sea days a big plus. The library was well stocked. Overall the cleanliness and service was better than most.

Going back on board for Christmas and New Year 2019, once you do a Cunard Cruise it’s hard to go elsewhere now!

The spa on the ship was overpriced and the shellac Manicure lasted only two days.

I am a big Cunard fan and have sailed many times with them. Sad to say, I feel that some of their standards may have dropped. Food in the MDR not great, waiters not overly friendly, just going through the motions, very disappointing. The drinks and wine on board have become very expensive and there is some hard sell going on as well. Anybody thinking of booking an obstructed view cabin, just to save a small amount, do not do it. When they say obstructed they mean it, you cannot see anything, along with the fact that you are woken up early nearly every morning by work being carried out on the lifeboats. This entails men walking right up against and past your window, followed by crashing and banging! This does go on during the day as well, so no afternoon snooze either. If tenders are required it is even earlier and noisier. Having said all that we had a very good time, the crew are generally friendly and the service is good. The food in the self service restaurant is also good, we thought better than the MDR. There were some good shows on in the the theatre and it is great that the back deck pool area is adults only.

After reading reviews that this ship was boring and full of old people, we didn’t know what to expect on our 15 September cruise Rome to Rome. What we found was a beautiful ship with crew trained in service excellence, with a good balance between relaxed and formal. Yes there was ballroom dancing which was beautiful to watch (we even took a couple of classes) but there was also a DJ and reggae band and a disco. If dancing isn’t your thing, you can always have fun in the Golden Lion Pub or chill out in the cocktail bar on Deck 10 at the front of the ship. The shows were mostly excellent and designed to appeal to all ages. The girls in the entertainment crew were fun and always made us smile. Especially Laura with the quirky accent from the north of England. The food in the Britannia restaurant was excellent (good portion control) as were the meals in the Lido deck buffet. Especially good pasta made by the pasta chef - choose your own ingredients. We never made afternoon tea but we heard the scones with jam and cream were delicious. We experienced all the style of the golden age of cruising with a fantastic itinerary and plenty of time ashore. We only had 2 sea days and the rest were in ports. We went to Corfu, Dubrovnik, Montenegro, Korcula, Messina, overnight in Venice, Valletta, Naples and back to Rome. We could have done with an additional sea day before we disembarked at Rome on 29th September. Dressing up was a treat - I’ve never seen my husband in a tux and he’s never seen me in a dress. It was lovely meeting the Captain at the cocktail party and we found the entire group of officers always ready to smile and say hello throughout the cruise. Unlike P&O where they avoided eye contact at all costs. As Aussies with our low dollar, we were a bit perturbed to find prices in US$ and between Venice Croatia and Malta there was also an added Italian tax which made things like photographs and bottles of wine quite expensive. It was easier not to think about it! I found the soft drink package quite good, we bought wine etc as we needed it, the coffee card is good if you remember to take it with you and not leave it in the cabin. We chose not to go with the ship taking gratuities our at the end of the voyage, rather opting to give to those who were outstanding. I think Cunard recognises that it needs to accommodate a larger range of age groups - the crew told us that our cruise had a younger cross section of passengers. While not a lot of kids on the ship - they had fantastic facilities on board for those who were there. The Queen Victoria is probably not for those who want fast paced entertainment 24/7 - it’s not Carnival. But if you enjoy dressing up for dinner (or more relaxed dining in the Lido) good entertainment, the finer things in life, great ports and good old fashioned British service and punctuality - this is the ship for you. My only bugbear is that I wish Cunard could put a system in place to stop the deckchair hogs with their towels attached with giant plastic pegs - and no where to be seen. It was almost impossible to find 2 deck chairs together after 10am - and only one or two people in the actual pool.

Had a fantastic 2 weeks round the Baltic Great ship Great crew Great time Cunard are great Food was gorgeous already booked again Really can't wait

The Queen Victoria is a beautiful ship and the fjords were gorgeous! Waitstaff in the restaurants was outstanding. Our cabin steward was good but there were a few misses (didn't provide replacement conditioner, didn't change very wet towels). We had one mix-up with a transfer back to the airport, and onboard staff was friendly, but not helpful. Activities onboard are minimal with very small casino with only one table running, a few slots - there are a few trivia games during the day, and entertainment like harpists, string quartets, and pianists. One more lively band plays for 2 sets each day. You're there for the scenery and it is a great itinerary.

Just got back off Queen Victoria, and can't fault her at all, the whole experience was amazing. Having previously travelled with P&O the switch to Cunard has wowed us with all the little extras they offer. Food was of a very high standard, and the staff were fantastic; nothing was too much trouble for them. The sounding of the fog horn at 12 noon every day really made us chuckle (and jump), and our 6yr old was kept suitably entertained the whole cruise. Great ship, great staff, and a fab family holiday.

Cabin number :1038 For an inside cabin it was a good deal there was lots of space food could have been better though,but all the staff were great and the food in the lido was ok

Thi was our 30. cruise, the 6. with Cunard. So we know all 3 Cunards and our Impression is, this is the best of all 3 Cunards: great places to sit and relax, wonderful outfit, very kindly and helpfully staff, Excellent foods in Restaurant as well as in Lido Buffet-Restaurant. We are shure to cruise again with this ship. Also the Afternoon-Tea-Time was excellent! More choise, better Quality, excellent Sandwiches and sweets. All is excellent ! And we must not wait before. Just in time, we could find a Tablet for four passengers. So If you want to make a pleasure or fun to you or to everybody of your friends, take this ship for the next cruise or book a cruise to have a nice and wonderful cruise, or to see what it means to cruise with a beautiful ocean-liner!

Cabin was shabby, Handrails in corridors were sticky underneath to touch. Food was varied some good some bad.

My wife is disabled so at La Rochelle we had to pay for a taxi Euros 42 round trip, fit people went free on coach.