roscoe39

im more concerned about what happened to poor old Onslow and Rose

I have been asked to post the enclosed review on behalf of my friend Hyacinth on the WC for the QV.. Review of Queen Victoria World Cruise 2023 By H. Bucket 01 April 2023 We had decided to do a portion of Cunard’s World Centennial Voyage which was a celebration of the first World Cruise by the Laconia in 1923. We were disappointed on arriving at the cruise terminal to find that although it was meant to be a recreation of that particular world cruise the ship was in fact a new modern cruise ship - the “Queen Victoria” and instead of us being in a time period comparable to the 1920s we would in fact be surrounded by all the modern conveniences of a current Cruiseship and not in fact a recreation of the original Liner the Laconia. I had only packed costumes for the 1920s. We had heard that Cunard was a very class conscious shipping line and with each class strictly divided but we were disturbed that when we had arrived at the embarkation lounge to board the ship we were seated in amongst passengers who were traveling in Britannia Class and that we were not given our own lounge or seating arrangements. We also were disturbed that contrary to the photos on the advertising brochures, we had to carry our own hand luggage onboard to our suite and were not personally escorted by one of the crew - carrying our bags. We should have been alerted to these “slipping” standards when on booking our trip - last minute on a cut price internet site, that we were refused our first choice suite as “ apparently” it was in a higher category than we had booked and Cunard wanted us to pay extra to have the stateroom of our choice just because it was a Queens Suite, rather than Princess which we had booked and paid for. Our second choice Princess Suite 5002, was also not available because there was someone already in that cabin and the agent refused to move that person so that we could have our cabin of choice. Not acceptable. On arriving at our rooms after stopping by the Pursers office to enquire as why our requested free upgrade had not been granted we found that our luggage was already waiting for us. This was the first sign that things may be on the up so we left to have lunch expecting our butler to unpack for us. You can imagine our surprise when returning to our stateroom after lunch to find that our luggage was still where we had left it and still packed. Apparently the butlers are only provided for Queens Suites! A definite sign of a class distinction on the ship! We were therefore forced into unpacking ourselves…. certainly not what you would expect on a “luxury” line. The next day after leaving port the previous night we were subjected to the whole day with nothing to look at whatsoever except the sea! You would think that the Captain would have found something interesting for us to sail past to break the tedium. Another shortcoming and bad planning by Cunard. With the extortionate cost of drycleaning on board, I had decided to do some laundry and you can imagine my shock on hearing of the following 3 incidents from other passengers while I was waiting for the washing to be completed. Four people had just been removed from the ship for fighting in the laundry room. Two women were having an argument and had called their respective husbands - one of whom hit the other husband with an iron and the group was disembarked at the next port. In another incident a lady had a cocktail dress in the washing machine and when she returned it had been stolen. That night at a cocktail party she saw a woman wearing her dress and when she approached and challenged the lady she was told to “prove it” and Security was not interested in her complaint. In a third incident two ladies had an argument in the laundry room and when one returned she found that a chocolate bar had been placed in her dryer ruining all of her clothes. I think that this shows that there is a culture of aggression and entitlement on board and that the police should travel onboard permanently just to ensure the safety of its passengers. There was also a reported 55 people dying on board during the World Cruise. Surely they should have a coroner on board permanently to investigate these deaths and mitigate this unexplained pandemic. We were distraught when we decided one night to try out the Queens Grill Dining room and were turned away at the door by the Maitre “d” who told us that we were unable to dine there as we were in the Princess Grill Dining room - across the foyer. Another sign of Cunard's discriminatory policies. This was further exacerbated by one evening when a group of Britannia class passengers were stopped at the door to our Princess Grills Dining room. Fortunately they were turned away as they were obviously - by the way that they were dressed in Polo shirts and Jeans were not traveling Princess Grills. Why they thought that they could dine with us I do not know when they had only paid for a lower class. Such entitlement. This was an entirely unnecessary incident as they had been able to freely transit unchallenged up the exclusive stairs to our Grills deck. Surely there must be some sort of security system to keep these people out of the area. It was bad enough that we had to travel up to deck 11 in the same lift as some of these people but where will the loosening up of standards end? We kept swiping our cards in the key slot in the lift to make the point that any other passengers in the lift without the same card should feel a sense of shame. Sadly they did not seem to take any notice. The Brittania classes have plenty of dining rooms available to them, the MDR, the Steak House, the Lido and the Golden Lion. We only have the Princess Grills Dining room. The constant reiteration of the class separations was exhausting. On a further note, and as an example of Cunard's strange culture was that they had a “World Cruise Party” one night for those traveling on the World Cruise and we were denied entry as we were only on the ship for 22 days. Despite our arguing that we were also on “the World Cruise” and the length of time we were onboard should not matter. It was further exacerbated by later in the voyage they had a Diamond and Platinum party and we were also denied entry because this is our first cruise and supposedly this was for people who had been on the line for 75 days or longer. Once again Discriminatory! The longer World Cruise passengers even had an area in one of the lounges roped off for their sole use, this is meant to be an egalitarian world and this sort of discrimination should not be allowed! As a perfect example of the “cliquiness” of Cunard. There was a group on board called “the Anchor Group”. This group of passengers, numbering what seemed to be several hundred were constantly all over the ship in the middle of all of the activities, public rooms and bars drinking and laughing and creating general merriment.. They seemed to be enjoying themselves far to much for it to be acceptable in polite company and so much an extent that they made those of us who were not part of their group stand out and want to join in with them. Something I would not expect on our holiday. Cunard should either not allow these groups to form or alternatively organize the ship in such a way that people could create their own groups to be able to enjoy the facilities to the same extent rather than be left to fester on themselves. I find it very selfish of Cunard to not promote this sort of comradeship in such social media groups such as facebook. Very short sighted.. In Keeping up Appearances we invited the Captain one night to dine with us. It was unfortunate that the particular day in question was one where the ship was traveling through a force 11 gale - why the captain had chosen to do this I do not know, however just before dinner he had the cheek to send us “his regrets” as he was needed on the bridge. We found this insulting as we were paying guests and in fact paying his wages. I think that he should have had the courtesy to join us for dinner that night and the excuse of being “needed on the bridge” sounded like a “fob” and was offensive. There was no reason why he could not have joined us and left one of his subordinates in charge. On that note, whilst we were traversing so called “Pirate Alley” we were made to extinguish external lighting on our balconies and there was ugly Razor wire and Security Dishes established along the ships exterior making the ship appear ugly. This should not have been permitted as it spoilt all of our photos. It was during this particular period that one day I noticed that whilst sitting on my balcony - where I might mention there appeared to be some rust on the steel divider, that there was some black smog emanating from the ships funnel with the soot falling all around us and into my drink. I will be expecting a personal apology from the ship for this incident as it meant that I had to refill my glass and wait inside ten minutes until the incident past. I can not understand why the ship would schedule a port stop on an Island on a Sunday when most shops are closed or the residents are at church. You would think that these islands would forgo their religion so that they could entertain us and open their shops for us. Instead we were forced to visit their towns and islands and entertain ourselves. Bad planning on the part of Cunard. And while on the subject We were further shocked and extremely disappointed when the Ship canceled our call into Tonga. The only reason that we had booked this trip was to visit Tonga where my best friend's great aunt twice removed had once visited in the 1950s and I had always wanted to do the same. We shall be requesting a full refund from Cunard plus expenses and a free cruise for the inconvenience. I have sent my complaints to Cunard's head office but so far have had no response.

often at the end of the world cruise voyages they offer an excursion to Windsor or Stonehenge or such like and drop off at Heathrow. Somebody may have recent experience, my last one was about 6 years ago...

aaaah yes,,,,,I remember.......

Offence?? certainly not but you know that I,m the understated one on board....I bow to those far more sartorially attired than myself. though I am hiding something in my wardrobe for later.....

GOOD TO KNOW!!!! Not that I have received a letter or email but that is something worth bearing in mind!

both men and women were on the World Voyage and it was my understanding that they were permanent - however I could be wrong. I was wrong once....it was in 1972.....or was that 1973? if anyone is interested, the QV is currently transmitting the Suez.

Hi Richard, we are not going to Manaus on the SA trip in 2025 unfortunately...but going to the Opera house is my dream one day and certainly to see a performance. as to what does a gentleman of a certain age wear....I have no idea what you mean........but I am probably not an example of whatever it is that you do mean.... however....

wooohoooo! Off to read now hope you guys have a fantastic trip regards to B

if there is a bar onboard serving Pisco Sours - Ill be there!

sorry but that is a really hard decision only you can make. BA has dancing in the streets and its a beautiful Parisian style city with lots of cosmopolitan history around Evita etc . The clothes shopping is fantastic, the men dress spectacularly and the women are stunning, The atmosphere in the city when you are just walking down a street round a corner and find a couple doing the tango is unforgettable. Santiago on the other hand - I fell in love with in 2020 when I spent 3 days there and wished I had spent more.Most other years I had fled and headed straight to Valparaiso where we used to pick up the cruises and the only reason I stayed this time was because the new berth is San Antonio and its pretty dire. There are too numerous things to do in the city and envorons to list however A hike in the Andes and sitting in the hot pools on the edge of the cliff off set by a walking tour around the city where the architecture and european style restaurants and cafes was a welcome surprise. The architecture and churches, the slightly run down magnificent parks and the colours and smiles from the locals........all priceless. The South Americans are very passionate about life I can't wait to go back. Latam flies direct to Santiago if you are leaving from Melbourne the flight starts in Sydney and you can either bounce and fly to Rio or Ba and then fly down to Ushuaia to catch the antarctic cruises although some leave from Santiago or BA. It just depends. Latam is a great airline, its 11 hours from here but if you are sitting on the starboard side you get to view the andes as you fly in to Santiago and it makes up for it. Cunard started doing the SA circuit for the QV in 2017 I think, Ive done it or parts of it each time they have done it, the last time was 2020 and I hope as the QA will probably do the WC for a few years they may return after 2025. I noticed this next trip they are not doing the Amazon which is a shame.

yayyyayyy Tracey, someone else to introduce Pisco Sours too!

two completely different trips, although if you only travel down as far as Rio you are missing the most exciting part of the east coast of SA, which is down around the horn to Santiago which has lots to see. Can you stretch it to Santiago and fly home from there? The last half from Santiago to the Panama and back to UK - the path less travelled and in my mind more interesting if you are less interested in the cosmopolitan side of life and more in rural life and ancient ruins and pre Inca life.. There are some interesting pre Inca cities in the desert, the pryloglyths , Peru, Lima, the Coral Valley with its city older than the Giza Pryimids... http://butarewethereyet.blogspot.com/2020/03/they-are-not-just-pile-of-rocks-you-know.html it is all less tourist and I found fascinating. Santiago is also a great city and worth spending some time in at the beginning or the end of your trip. If it was a choice of finishing in Rio or starting in Santiago I would take the second option. But South America is a great trip you will have a great time either way. Personally, I would take your second option.

Hi Alibaba - look forward to seeing you in 2025 - South America is a great cruise. If you are interested, I did indeed blog on a couple of my blogs, (thank you guys for the acknowledgement -very flattering) https://roscoesseafever.blogspot.com if you scroll back to Jan 26 2014 you will get the first blog from Rio that goes down around the horn and up to Valparaiso and then across past Pitcairn easter Island and then bouncing back from Australia and NZ to San Francisco and also on http://butarewethereyet.blogspot.com if you scroll back to feb 1st 2020 its the start of the South American trip from Santiago up to Southampton and the journey through COVID.. Interesting enough you might find the next story after Feb 1st on there is about the fate of the Laconia which was the first World Cruise ship and the one being celebrated with this years world cruise. (I also have a thing for shipwrecks!) You are going to love the South American Circumnavigation. It's a terrific trip. Looking forward to seeing you in the bar.

in past???? well considering that there hasn't been a coronation since 1953.....there probably isn't anyone on here that can remember! I will be landlubbered that day but I will certainly be celebrating with champagne and cheers to "Long live the new king!" with eyes peeled into the audience for any recently emigrated interlopers...

lolol ouch! that was veiled! I love it for a sly comment...I want to remember that one

LadyL is quite correct, it is a Diamond club perk, it can be used in full for one passenger to have lunch in the verandah, or dinner with an extra supplement or for one dinner in the alternate dining. If more than one person is dining the other diners whoa re not diamond are on their own. I agree that it's time for a revamp.....especially the internet portion of the perks!

I just got off the QV and was a bit unimpressed with the supplied toiletries and will take my own next time. The hand soap and the shampoo were both watered down to the point of being mainly water and I only found the conditioner by looking under my bed one day to find a sock.(not found) .....( and it was a favourite)...... There was nothing in the stateroom to advise that bars or conditioner were available upon asking, but in my opinion if that is the price we have to pay to keep sailing, it s a price im prepared to pay.

I find there is little advantage in having a Britannia Club stateroom as long as Cunard continues with the open dining option. Why would one pay all the extra to have a room that has a slightly different interior decor than the lower grade plus be higher on the ship where it is less stable all for the sake of being able to dine at a more casual time which you can do in the normal Britannia grade, Having said that however, the QV is the best ship afloat so as long as you are onboard and can afford it....why not. hope you have a great trip.

Hi Canon I hope apart from that you are enjoying our trip. I have also noticed the thin patronage of the Opne seating and how full and lively we are on deck three. I do hope that Cunard reconsiders the open seating as I can not see that those paying the extra premium to dine "club" are that impressed with the same benefit being available to those having paid a lot less. The menu is pretty well restricted especially from the old days when it covered several pages, Klaus told me the other night that one of the reasons for the reduced menu was the broken supply chains and that any number of ingrediants are now unavailable in amounts that we require. The 2023 World Cruise was always going to be an experiment. Already there has been 7 ports cancelled and the usual parties (alebit returning on a reduced capacity and presentation) there are a lot of things that were or are, never going to be the same again. The reported WC party for the QM2 is not a surprise to me or anyone else watching the situation from onboard a ship. The good thing and I don't know if you agree but the good thing is that we are back and the feel of the trip is basically the same and I am confident that the World Cruise hopefully will be back to its previous glory next year.

just updated the blog for anyone interested in the continuing saga of the ships flasher and the crossdressers on board, which may particularly interest those following the dress codes thread.

well in addition to my young friends sartorial statement the other day of ripped jeans "large enough to drive a Bentley through" last night he wore a magnificent designer frock which could only be described as ........................................................magnificent. Although not quite to my taste, I envy and enjoy his hutzpah. Pics about to be loaded on my blog ....... any minute......

you have oft told me Paul that I have good genes......

I am shocked and sorry to read of your experience. To be honest Singapore has suffered from the customs process for a couple of years now its almost as bad as trying to get into the states but I'm more disappointed on your behalf of the WC dinner as reported and that must have been a big let down for you. Hopefully you are correct and it was a concern to Mr Struthers and the situation is rectified by the time the WC 2024 cruises begin and they find a way of making it up to you on your continued journey..............