Best cruise ever, our review of QE 7 day cruise.

Cunard Queen Elizabeth 7 Day Iberia cruise October 2016

We are experienced cruisers, but have been ‘resting’ since 2012. It a bit long and rambling I’m afraid.

This was our second Cunard cruise, but were classed as first timers as there are no records of our first cruise on QE2 in 1991, a 2-day voyage to nowhere, a prize in a competition. Been lucky in competitions, Paris and Vienna and 2 luxury hotel breaks in the UK as well!

As always we travelled down the day before and stay in a hotel near Southampton, in this case the Holiday Inn near Winchester, a modern clean hotel with good service we have used before.

As we had a 12.30 check in, so we had a little retail therapy at M&S at Hedge End, which we managed to squeeze in the cases, before we set off for the Mayflower terminal. We arrived around 11.20, the car was quickly unloaded and we made our way to check in. We were in a Princess Grill suite, and were directed to the Suite check where we were quickly checked in, and directed straight on board, passing through security on the way. Up to our suite on deck 6, no cases, but I wasn’t surprised considering how fast we boarded.

Loved the room, we had seen one on a ship visit, and viewed some videos online,

And it was just right for us, doubt we will ever bother to go up to Queens Grill grade one. The dreaded Pol Acker was there, and put in the fridge for safety. We bought it home to use when we have unwanted guests!

Lunch was at one o’clock, so we went to the Queens Lounge for a soft drink (my wife cannot tolerate alcohol), and started wondering what sort of table we would be getting, we had requested a ‘quite’ table for two, and had suggested one we had seen in photo’s of the restaurant.

The Princess grill opened, the Maitre' d greeted us and showed us to the table we had asked for, what a result! We soon met the rest of the team, and we were ready to enjoy the service!

All I can say that the food and service we received that week for far superior to any we have received on our other cruises. As new comers to Cunard, we did not notice the menu cuts, and always found some thing to please us, although the menus in the suite sometimes did not coincide with the restaurant! Although I tend to go for vegetarian options, I do appreciate a well-cooked meal, and the tenderloin beef was the best I have ever had, the vegetarian scotches egg and stuffed pepper were also excellent. The whole team in the restaurant were excellent, the only problem I had was a vegetarian spring roll that nearly set my mouth on fire, and it was so hot, a change was quickly offered, but I carried on! My wife prefers small portions of food and Tio our waiter and the chefs really catered for her requests.

As for the entertainment, the dance show was OK, but not really our scene, on the other hand Allan Stewart was fantastic, we had seen him before, but it was either new material, or we had forgotten his act!

Seeing comments on some reviews about the condition of QE, she looked OK to us, yes, there is rust in places, but it must be a nightmare to keep her ship shape. The bay was a bit bumpy, so we took a Sturgeon when we got up, and it was no problem. And so to the ports, we have done all the tours we want to do, so it’s just DIY these days. First port was Vigo, on a Sunday! A quick walk round, a few shops were open and a few Euros spent on presents for our grand children, then back to the ship.

Lisbon the next day, and although we were fairly close, it was to far for us to walk as we both have slight mobility problems, so as we had been before, decided to enjoy the ship instead. Lunch in the Courtyard was memorable that day. Then Porto, a shuttle in, but it dropped us in a completely different area from where we had been before, so we did a little exploring and shopping, then back to the ship for lunch. We often used to dine ashore for lunch, but no way were we going to miss the PG for lunch!

Back across the bay and on to our last port, Cherbourg, which was new to us. Again a shuttle in, and it was market day which we found quite interesting, and we had made quite a few purchases there, its somewhere we would like to go to again sometime. The shuttle bus also called at a shopping centre, which we had a look in. There was a Carrefour there, so a few food purchase were made there as well.

Disembarkation like boarding was a dream. We had an 8.15 time, and had to assemble in the Britannia restaurant deck 3. A full breakfast was served in PG, our waiter would not believe that on our last cruise on Celebrity we were given paper plates and cups in the disembarkation lounge.

We docked exactly on time, self disembark was scheduled for 7.15, but I saw people walking off at 7.05. We went to the Britannia about 7.45 and newspapers, snacks and drinks were available, we were called at 8.05 and soon located our cases and collected our car, and were well on our way home by 8.30.

Children, dress code and smoking, those emotive subjects! We only saw 2 children on board, both under fives I would guess. Smoking, never saw it or smelt it. The dress code was well followed, just the odd person who think the rules don’t apply to them, but that goes on any line or ship!

After 2 disappointing trips on Celebrity, this cruise really restored our faith in cruising. One or two small niggles, but they can’t have been that bad, as I can’t remember what they were!

We will return soon I hope …. To Cunard of course.

Great review, thank you so much for posting.

One of the great things about this board is seeing newcomers asking questions before they sail and then hearing what they thought afterwards - especially when the experience is as positive as yours.

So glad you enjoyed your trip and in the Grills too. Thanks for sharing your experince with us.

Thanks for sharing your review. It is nice to read ones that are positive and not nit-picking every little detail!

We were on the same cruise as you and I agree it was good one. Wish we had booked a Princess Grill too. One day we will!

Alan Stewart was excellent. We have seen him on Cunard before. The first show he did was what we have seen before but his second show was new material for us. I thought all the shows were good and they got almost full houses.

As we had done Vigo and Lisbon twice before we took the ship's excursion to Bayona from Vigo and it was excellent. We had tapas and coffee and wine on the terrace of a lovely hotel. And then some free time. The excursion to Estoril was also very good. We did Porto on our own (with thanks to Solent Richard's website). And we stayed on the ship in Cherbourg as we have also been there twice before.

We did very well with the weather and, like you, we also took some Stugeron tablets.

The only complaint we had is that there aren't enough tables for two in Britannia. When we went down to the restaurant in the afternoon we were told the table assigned to us was for ten and the maitre d' said he had a long list for requests for tables for two so we went to the Lido each evening. But we still stuck to the dress code.

I do wish Cunard would put the kind of table you have been assigned on the card that is left in your cabin with the number on. This would save everyone having to traipse down to Britannia in the afternoon to see their assigned table.

There was a large contingent of Japanese people on board. May have been as many as 25%. I see from my World Club voyage history that instead of saying Europe for this cruise, it says "Charter".

Ray - why didn't you want to have a few meals at least in Brittania? I've requested a table for two but really if we get four, six or eight I really don't mind.

I just hate "set times" - Oceania did not have set times at all for dining and you could sit with whoever you wanted, at any time. I wonder why Cunard still sticks to the set dining times?

Adammarra - thank you for sharing this, I enjoyed reading about your experiences. We've yet to try the QE but surely will

Scottygirl, I think one of Cunard's best assets is it's set dining in the Britannia.

I love the formality of it, and if you share a table, getting to know your table mates.....the conversation and camaraderie develops as the cruise goes on . Similarly the waiting staff.

Personally I think the Britannia would lose much of its charm if people were coming and going all evening .

We were also on this cruise and concur wholeheartedly with the above comments. A lovely cruise, our eighth on Elizabeth. We booked quite early on Cunard fare and were allocated a table for two in Britannia as requested.The table was in a run of three placed quite close together.With delightful neighbours, our table for two quite happily became "six" by the third evening. Both my husband and I remarked the quality of food was superb at both dinner and lunch. In fact for the first time I occasionally chose from the Spa menu and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and flavours.Our stateroom was kept really well by our "invisible" steward. All in all a lovely cruise helped along quite nicely in Commodore with extra OBC due to hubbys military service!! Hic !

Scottygirl, I think one of Cunard's best assets is it's set dining in the Britannia.

I love the formality of it, and if you share a table, getting to know your table mates.....the conversation and camaraderie develops as the cruise goes on . Similarly the waiting staff.

Personally I think the Britannia would lose much of its charm if people were coming and going all evening .

Good point :) I think if you are lucky enough to meet good friends over dinner that's good - especially on a longer cruise.

Hello adammara. Thanks for taking the time to share your review and i'm pleased you enjoyed the Cruise. Happy cruising. :)

With the comments so far. it looks like it was a good cruise for most!

Ray, we had done both those tours previously and enjoyed them, unlike some we had done. I will never forget our first ever tour 'The gardens of Madeira' we were bused to the gardens, the courier gave us a voucher for a cup of tea and told be back in 2 hours time, and we were left to our own devices! I do like the idea of putting the table size on the card, its always a gamble.

We had a similar experience on Celebrity with freedom dining, which you could pre book online a table for 2 and a time. What a joke, when we arrived we were told the only way to get a table for 2 was to come early. We did, and for 3 nights in a row we were put on our own on a table for six, having walked past empty tables for two on the way. Like you, we ended up in the buffet, hot food, and often cooked while you waited, and a window table for 2. One of the many reasons we quit Celebrity!

Our choice of PG was supposed to be a one off, but following our experience, would rather do 1 cruise in PG rather than 2 cruises in a balcony cabin.

Quite a few Japanese in the PG and QG grills, and there was a courier / translator on duty in the lobby. Our Maitre' d greeted them in Japanese with a bow, and some of the ladies were in traditional dress on formal night, very impressive!

We had a 'real' table for 2 near the entrance in PG, one with rounded corners, most 2's are square so they can be combined. We were near a table for 8, the most we ever saw on it was 4, but most of the time it was empty!

Still trying to decide what to do next year, with family, work and our love of gardening we tend to cruise early May or after mid September.

The good news is that the weight gain from all that lovely food has been worked off already!

Ray - why didn't you want to have a few meals at least in Brittania? I've requested a table for two but really if we get four, six or eight I really don't mind.

 

I just hate "set times" - Oceania did not have set times at all for dining and you could sit with whoever you wanted, at any time. I wonder why Cunard still sticks to the set dining times?

I would never want Cunard to go down the route of 'Any time dining' or 'open sitting' with their 'Britannia brand', I experienced this on Holland & America earlier this year. As a solo traveller the experience was a disaster, no evening interaction with the waiter or their helper ( very much like the breakfast/Lunch dining experience we already have in the Britannia restaurant) Waiters who are unaware of the guest's preferences, for example, I enjoy green tea after an evening meal,having a dedicated waiter on Cunard I don't have to keep requesting it. Tables adjacent to us and around us continually being cleared, re-laid and cleared again for the next group, who've been kept waiting holding a bleeper ;)

Cunard guests already have the opportunity to book something similar to open dining times, by booking the 'Club Dining' product or 'Grills', the difference is, the guest has a dedicated table and same wait staff for all three meals for the entire voyage/cruise. Ample time to build up a relationship, and for the waiter and his team to get to know one's preferences.

Good point :) I think if you are lucky enough to meet good friends over dinner that's good - especially on a longer cruise.

We used to be confirmed table for twoers but decided to risk a table for 8 a couple of cruises ago and never looked back. We've had some great table mates, some I was very wary of on the first night but ended up good fun

I'm glad you all such a good time, would you mind writing something in the formal review section of the site ?

Poor QE is lagging behind her sisters in the member ratings so every little helps.

Thanks Bellboy for posting your reasoning for keeping set dining times - great points made! We have requested a table for two but I'm now thinking that we will change this :)

Thanx for sharing, AD

Ira

We were on the cruise as well, the weather was wonderful. My only issue was the tour of Sintra. I could have spent all day in this beautiful town. Instead we got a 45 minute stopover and the rest of the tour was spent in Cascais which has all the charm and history of Fort Lauderdale. Very disappointing. I would advise anyone stopping in Lisbon to look into public transportation to Sintra there are trains leaving hourly and bask in the beauty of a unique artsy mountain with lovely cafes and public art installations.

Cherbourg gave u the chance to tour the beaches of Normandy. Extreme moving, a very special chance to share this with my Father.