This is my second cruise review – my first being exactly one year ago on Costa.

We have booked a 7 night cruise on Queen Victoria on an itinerary that takes us to Liverno (Pisa/Florence), Monte Carlo, Marseilles, and Barcelona.

The ship is huge – 11 decks, 900 crew, a couple of thousand (elderly) passengers, restaurants, bars, theatres, clubs, pools, spa & fitness centre – everything you need to keep you occupied 24/7.

Overall I find the cruise hit and miss – the food in the fine dining Britannica restaurant and Lido Buffet is generally good with an interesting selection each day. 

NB. The pics above are of the specialty restaurant – ‘The Verandah’ – a fine dining French restaurant at an additional $15 (lunch)/$24 (dinner) charge per person. Well worth it.

The service though doesn’t quite live up to my pre-boarding expectations. Something is missing and I can’t quite pinpoint what it is.

The entertainment is below average – when compared to Costa the is a stark difference. Perhaps Cunard is catering to an older crowd and the entertainment is toned down a notch or two?

The time spent in the ports we visit average 10 hours which is ample time to explore the local area and offerings. Getting on and off the ship is a breeze and when required free shuttle buses are provided. 

Onboard the prices of things not included such as specialty restaurants and alcoholic drinks are reasonably priced, as are the tours which we don’t book except a transfer and panoramic tour of Rome before being dropped off at the airport.

Would I book another Cunard cruise? Probably not. The demographic wasn’t quite the right fit for me.