Queen Victoria - West Med review (Oct 2016)

Hello there,

I have just come back from my first Cunard cruise on Queen Victoria and kept a report of my daily activities. This will be like a review but it is concentrated more on the ports-of-call rather than on the ship itself.

I travelled with my parents and this was our first cruise with Cunard. Our previous cruising experience includes Celebrity Cruises (x5), Holland America Line (x2), Royal Caribbean (x2), Princess Cruises (x1), MSC Cruises (x1) and NCL (x1).

We booked this cruise about 4 weeks prior to sailing as we came across a great deal and it was on a Cunard, so we just had to go!

This particular cruise had 4 ports-of-call - Naples, Cagliari, Ajaccio and Genoa and two sea days. We'd been to Naples twice before, however, Cagliari, Ajaccio and Genoa were all new ports for us to explore.

Here is the map and itinerary for this 7-day Mediterranean voyage:

15 Oct 2016 Civitavecchia, Italy (Depart 22:00)

16 Oct 2016 AT SEA 1

17 Oct 2016 Naples, Italy (06:30-18:00)

18 Oct 2016 Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (09:00-17:00)

19 Oct 2016 Ajaccio, Corsica, France (09:00-17:00)

20 Oct 2016 Genoa, Italy (09:00-18:00)

21 Oct 2016 AT SEA 2

22 Oct 2016 Civitavecchia, Italy (Arrive 06:00)

Some notes before the review:

Excursions: Normally, we make our own arrangements independently in ports-of-call. This was the case in Naples, Cagliari and Genoa. In Ajaccio, we took a ship's excursion (more detail in daily log below).

Dining: We much prefer a casual dining experience, hence we did not use the Britannia Restaurant (except for lunch on sea days) or any speciality restaurants. We had breakfast at the Lido Buffet every morning and every evening for dinner.

Entertainment: Not hugely into entertainment. Didn't go to any shows etc. so cannot make any comments.

Activities: Did not take part in any activities.

It will take a few days for me to upload this report, so I do hope you enjoy!

Looking forward to review since we shall be boarding QV soon.

Did you enjoy your cruise?

Looking forward to review since we shall be boarding QV soon.

Did you enjoy your cruise?

Had a fantastic time - I've never had one bad experience on any cruise.

Day 1 (14 Oct 2016): Leaving Home, travelling to Rome

Weather: Hazy sunshine. Max temperature 13C / 55F

We arrived at Dublin Airport at 14:00. The airport was fairly quiet and check in was quick. Our flight to Rome left at 15:45 and it was a full flight with not one spare seat. The flight took 3 hours which is slightly longer than normal (due to thunderstorms), and after a rather turbulent approach and landing, we landed at Fiumicino Airport a little behind schedule.

After collecting our luggage, we took the train from the airport into the city. It was very slow buying the train tickets because the ticket office was closed and there was only one machine working which was really slow too.

In Rome, we had accommodation booked near the Vatican, so we took the train to the S. Pietro stop. The journey from FCO airport to S. Pietro train station took well over one hour because there was a delay on the train line. The train ticket cost €8 per person.

On arriving at S. Pietro station, we walked to our hotel - Fragrance Hotel St Peter - which was about 5 minutes walking up a cobble stoned street. It was 22:30 by the time we got there. This hotel was good value for money and located in a quiet and safe neighbourhood. I chose this hotel based on good reviews and close proximity to the train station. It is well located for visiting the St Peter's area and also near the train station for coming from Fiumicino Airport and going to Civitavecchia. We would definitely stay there again. We went straight to bed. Our plan was to get up early the following morning in order to visit St Peter's Basilica ahead of the crowds!

Hi TeDeKi.

I'm surprised you never ate one evening in the Britannia Restaurant, particularly as having read your review of Eurodam last year when you dined in the Rembrandt Dining Room on 13 nights.

By the way, I really liked your photographs on that review. It's always good to publish photos on this site.

Hi TeDeKi.

 

I'm surprised you never ate one evening in the Britannia Restaurant, particularly as having read your review of Eurodam last year when you dined in the Rembrandt Dining Room on 13 nights.

 

By the way, I really liked your photographs on that review. It's always good to publish photos on this site.

We chose not to dine at Britannia Restaurant in the evenings because it was slightly too formal for us! :o We did however dine there on two occasions - for lunch on both sea days. :)

Day 2 (15 Oct 2016): AM: Rome; PM: Embark Queen Victoria at Port of Civitavecchia (Set sail 22:00)

Weather: Sunny, Max temperature 23C / 73F

This morning, we got up at 07:00AM for breakfast. It was very sleepy around the hotel on this Saturday morning. In fact, we were the only people having breakfast. Afterwards, we checked out of the hotel and left our baggage at the hotel's reception for storage for the day.

Our first place to visit was St. Peter's Basilica.

We arrived at the security queue for the Basilica at around 9:00am and the queue took 20 minutes.

Queue forming behind us!

It wasn't too busy when we got in the Basilica at around 9:30am but as we were coming out about one hour later, it was getting busier.

We noticed that there was a noticeably a lot more security around the area in general, compared to when we were here two years ago.

After our visit to St. Peter's Basilica, we walked down Via della Conciliazione towards Castel Sant’Angelo.

We could see the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II in the distance:

Castel Sant’Angelo:

We then made our way to Piazza Navona:

After spending a short while strolling around Piazza Navona, we continued our walking tour to the Pantheon, which is located on Piazza della Rotonda.

Not too far from the Pantheon is the Trevi Fountain. And it was crowded with people.

Look at all the people there!

Eventually we got back to St Peter's and we went back to the hotel to collect our luggage at about 14:00.

We walked back to S. Pietro train station and bought train tickets for Civitavecchia. The train ticket from Roma S. Pietro to Civitavecchia cost €4.60 per person. We took the 14:32 train and arrived at Civitavecchia train station around 40 minutes later.

When we got to Civitavecchia train station at around 15:15, we took a shuttle bus from the train station to the cruise terminal shuttle bus stop. This shuttle bus cost €2 per person, it departs every 10 minutes and takes about 5 minutes. When we got to the cruise terminal shuttle bus stop, we had to get on a different bus which took us directly to the specific cruise terminal where Queen Victoria was berthed. When we eventually got to the cruise terminal at 15:45, we got off the bus and dropped our luggage with the porters.

Check in was the fastest we have ever experienced when embarking on a ship. We were the only people checking in - there was no body in front of us and no body behind us. It only took 7-10 minutes to go through security, check in and get on the ship. For the 7-10 minutes we were at the cruise terminal, we were the only passengers there!

Embarking the Queen Victoria in Civitavecchia:

Once we got on board, we went straight to our stateroom - 1093 - an oceanview located on Deck 1.

Oceanview stateroom 1093:

There were three of us in this room and this is the upper berth lowered in position:

Soon after getting onboard, we went up to the Lido Buffet for some snacks and then the Muster Drill was held at 17:00. I thought it was unusual that the muster drill was held at 17:00 even though Queen Victoria wasn't departing Civitavecchia until 22:00. After the drill, we had a walk around exploring the beautiful ship was watching other ships leaving port.

This evening, we had dinner at the Britannia Restaurant. We decided to only eat there tonight because the dress code was the least formal/informal/casual - no jacket required! We don't really like dressing up anymore because it is a lot more luggage to bring. Dinner was nice at the Britannia Restaurant. For the rest of the cruise, we chose to dine at the Lido Buffet for evening dinner and we were happy with that.

All during the evening around the ship, it seemed extremely quiet around. There wasn't much going on. There weren't many people around - perhaps people were tired from travelling, or people visiting Rome etc. After walking around the ship, relaxing in the lounges and taking photos of the beautiful decor, we were in bed by midnight.

The Grand Foyer was really very nice.

Day 3 (16 Oct 2016): Cruising at Sea

Weather: Sunny, Max Temperature 26C / 79F

Very smooth sea all during last night and all throughout the day. We didn't get up until 09:30am and we took it easy for the day.

I was really tired after all the walking around Rome yesterday. I always find Mediterranean cruises quite tiring because they are usually port intensive with lots of walking involved, so for me, sea days are always welcome.

The distance from Civitavecchia to Naples is not that far so our route took us near the coast of Sardinia and we were cruising at a speed of about 9 knots all during the day.

The weather was beautifully sunny and lots of passengers were outside soaking up the good sunshine.

Queen's Room:

The Grand Foyer (again!) from another angle:

Tonight was the Black and White Ball, but as we had no formal wear, we dined at the Lido Buffet and had an early night.

Tomorrow we'll be docked in Naples and we plan on going to the island of Capri.

I could not have put up with all that humping of my cases on trains and shuttle buses. And Mrs Toad would have divorced me anyway if I had even suggested such a thing.

I do question why you think a jacket is "Dressing up". Over the last 2 or 3 years, jackets have become very on trend for men. I now tend to wear a jacket when just popping into the town to do some shopping or going to the pub.

Am I impressed with your pictures !

I could not have put up with all that humping of my cases on trains and shuttle buses. And Mrs Toad would have divorced me anyway if I had even suggested such a thing.

:D It was bit of a trek alright! We had little luggage so it wasn't too bad.

I do question why you think a jacket is "Dressing up". Over the last 2 or 3 years, jackets have become very on trend for men. I now tend to wear a jacket when just popping into the town to do some shopping or going to the pub.

As a 24 year old, I much prefer sticking with casual clothing!

Am I impressed with your pictures !

Thanks! Glad you like them ... lots more to come!

As a 24 year old, I much prefer sticking with casual clothing!

I'm not 24 I will admit, but I've not yet reached 50 (but it's not far off).

But jeans, jacket and brogues (normally brown) for the young gent around town !

:D It was bit of a trek alright! We had little luggage so it wasn't too bad.

 

 

 

As a 24 year old, I much prefer sticking with casual clothing!

 

 

 

Thanks! Glad you like them ... lots more to come!

great pics and review keep it coming please - am on QV 5th Nov from Rome back to SOU in Q4

Day 4 (17 Oct 2016): Naples, Italy (Docked 06:30-18:30)

Weather: Sunny, Max temperature 23C / 73F

We got up early at 06:00am this morning and when we looked out of our stateroom window, Queen Victoria was just arriving into Naples. After breakfast at Lido, we were off the ship by 07:30am and we took the free shuttle bus to the Maritime Station. Today, Queen Victoria was docked at a less favourable berth in Naples (there were 3 ships in port today), so we had to take a shuttle bus to the Maritime Station (this was free and provided by the port authority).

We'd been to Naples twice on a cruise ship before and on those two occasions, we were able to dock right at the Maritime Station. Though, taking the shuttle bus today wasn't too much of an inconvenience.

Once we got to the Maritime Station, we bought ferry tickets for Capri which cost less than €40 return. We took the 08:35am ferry and arrived in Capri about 50 minutes later, just before 09:30am.

We'd been to Capri once before in 2013, however we didn't get to spend much time there because the weather was very bad at the time (very rough seas) and the ferries were delayed. We had the ferries pre-booked in advance, so we had to go. Because the sea was so rough, we felt so sick when we got to Capri and we didn't enjoy it (and it was raining too, so it didn't look as nice as it should on a sunny day).

However, today we were hoping for a much more positive experience!

Once we arrived at Capri today, we had a leisurely walk around Marina Grande looking around the shops. It was nice and quiet at this early hour of the morning.

From this beach on Capri, you can see Naples and Mt Vesuvius:

Then after a while, we took the funicular up to Capri town. The ticket for the funicular cost €1.80 per person each way. There was a long queue for the funicular but we got through it quite quickly.

There is a beautiful view from the top of the funicular.

We strolled around the town for a while walking along some narrow streets.

We took the funicular back down to Marina Grande, and we sat watching the boats in the marina while waiting for our 13:40 ferry back to Naples.

We got back to Naples at 14:30 and decided to walk into town.

Some people advise against walking into Naples saying it is not nice and dangerous with pickpockets. The two previous times we were docked at Naples (2013 and 2014), we've always had a brief stroll around the centre of town and on both occasions, we thought it was alright and had no problems, though there isn't that much to see there.

This time was just like the last two times and we encountered no problems. Actually, what we did notice was that there were a lot more tourists walking around this time compared to the last two times we were there, in 2013 and 2014.

Castel Nuovo:

Piazza del Plebiscito:

We walked back to the Maritime Station and got the free shuttle back to Queen Victoria at 16:15. We set sail at 18:30.

This evening, Queen Victoria was cruising at high speed to Cagliari, average of 21 knots. The sea was very smooth all throughout the night.

Great review. I am really enjoying your pics.

Had a fantastic time - I've never had one bad experience on any cruise.

You are the sort of person I like to meet on a cruise. No complaining!

And I commend you for enjoying a Cunard cruise 'your way' - even if it does baffle some of the regulars.

Naples has always had a bad reputation, but it has been cleaned up a lot and on our last visit 2 years ago it was almost clear of rubbish. Sure there is lots of poverty and squalor, but it has an edge like no other and I love it. There really is lots to explore if you do your research, but always be aware of pickpockets, but that also goes for Rome, Barcelona etc. leave your valuables on the ship !

Enjoying your report and looking forward to our Med. cruise on QV next July.

Day 5 (18 Oct 2016): Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (Docked 09:00-17:00)

Weather: Sunny AM, cloudy PM, max temperature 22C / 72F

We woke up at 08:00am to a lovely sunny morning and Queen Victoria was soon arriving at Cagliari. After breakfast at the Lido, we made our way into Cagliari.

We had to take a free shuttle bus from the ship to the Maritime Station as you are not allowed to walk yourself. The first shuttle bus left at 09:30am and took about 4-5 minutes. This bus was free and provided by the port authority. Once we got to the drop off point, tour vendors were selling tours there, however we had decided beforehand that we would do our own walking tour.

We made our way up to the Cathedral of Cagliari which is located up the hill. It was quite a steep slope up to the top.

The Cathedral is located in a square (Piazza Palazzo), which also houses the Royal Palace.

Royal Palace:

We then started making our way back down to the main town. On the way down, we stopped by the Torre dell'Elefante.

Just beside this tower, there was a nice panoramic view of the city of Cagliari.

We then passed by the Bastione di Saint Remy.

We noticed that there were few tourists around at this early hour of the morning, mostly locals.

We finished our sightseeing by 11:00am and just shopped for the rest of our time in Cagliari. The main shopping streets are Via Giuseppe Manno and Via Roma, and located between these two streets are lots of narrow streets with tourist shops, coffee shops etc.

Via Giuseppe Manno:

We finished up at around 14:30 after taking a brief walk around the marina.

We took the shuttle bus back to the ship and we were back onboard by 14:45.

Just as we were getting back onboard, it started to rain, but it was only a passing shower and only lasted for a few minutes.

At 16:45, Queen Victoria dropped her lines and we were soon on our way to Ajaccio.

During sailaway, there was a great view of Cagliari.

Bye bye Cagliari, next port-of-call: Ajaccio!

This evening and night, we were cruising to Ajaccio at an average speed of 18 knots and the sea was once again very smooth.