ClaireRuss

3 hours ago, Fox trotter said:

We have enjoyed four previous Cunard cruises, two which were on QM2. Our main reason for choosing Cunard, is that we are keen ballroom dancers who enjoy, ballroom, Latin and sequence dancing and love to dance each evening in the Queens room.

 

On previous cruises we have enjoyed pre dinner dancing to recorded music, a dedicated hosted sequence session and dancing to the Queen's room dance band from 9 pm until late.

 

On our recent cruise to Norway on QM2, we were very disappointed with the dance events. Pre dinner dancing was available most nights, but the unannounced recorded music left a lot to be desired. Whoever chose the music obviously had little knowledge of ballroom and Latin music. Sometimes it was impossible to determine exactly which dance the music related to. Often we would see experienced dancers attempting to dance to a track, but finding it impossible.

 

There were no sequence dance sessions.

 

After dinner on the first night, we made our way to the Queens room hoping to dance to the dance band, but surprised to find it was 'party night' with a female singer and a guitarist. After a while we felt there wasn't going to be any ballroom dancing and retreated to the theatre.

 

During the seven night cruise I think we had three ballroom dance nights and four party nights. The ballroom dance nights would have been ok, but the female singer insisted on singing to every song and even when the band had a short break she carried on singing to her own recorded music. I'm sure she was a good singer, but perhaps not suited to ballroom music, and she was extremely loud. The male singer had a habit of strolling around the dance floor with a wireless microphone.

 

On all our previous cruises there had been an afternoon tea dance usually on the last sea day, and we looked forward to this. However when the days program arrived, there was no tea dance to be seen.

 

So overall, a very disappointing cruise for dancing. I wonder if this is now the norm for Cunard, or maybe just QM2. If this is the case, then I think we will need to think twice before booking again with Cunard. 

 

Would love to hear other dancers experiences on recent cruises on any of the ships.

 

 

This is indeed disappointing. We are keen ballroom dancers and had a fanastic voyage last year on QV and we're booked on QV later this year too. Ballroom dancing in the Queens Room is very much my reason for booking with Cunard. If they diminish it then there's really no reason for me to book again.

Just now, BellaAnna said:

Excuse my ignorance…. How do you get the My Cunard app? I’ve searched my App Store and cannot locate it. 

Its not an app, you will be able to access the My Voyage web page when onboard and connected to their Wifi. You won't need a wifi package to view this page.

Thank you for the clarification. Hope you are having a wonderful voyage!

Was there a cost for this show. I recall seeing somewhere that is was bookable for an extra charge. How does that work?

I was on QV's northern lights voyage in November 2023. In Alesund we booked a walking tour through Viator with a local company - Uniktur. We met them in the square just across from the dock. The tour was good and they leave you at the park entrance where you can climb on your own up to the Aksla viewpoint which is worth doing. 

In Tromso we got the cunard shuttle into town, then a local bus to the cable car station. Going early meant we missed the queues and were straight onto the next car. We even witnessed a proposal on the way up! After coming back down it was a short walk to the arctic cathedral, then a 10 or 15 minute walk over the bridge back to town where there are several museums etc. All of this was on snow covered ground but it wasn't slippy. At night we took a cunard northern lights chase tour. I know others who took local tours with no issues. The ship actually asked folks to declare if they were taking aurora private tours, presumably so they could check times etc with the operators.

Hope that helps.

I second the advice from @Photo Andy above. That is my recollection from November past on QV. 

Its worth noting that the ceiling height is rather low, hence probably the reason for no squat rack or chin up bars. I'm just under 6ft and would occasionally hit my head on the ceiling when running on the treadmill 🤣

I did some cardio then used one of the two weight benches for dumbell exercises and dumbbell squats.

Fair play to you for keeping the routine. I'm 49 and went almost every day on a 12 day cruise. Came home to my gyms In-Body machine scan to find I'd put on a kilo of muscle rather than fat! Result!

Enjoy your trip!

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

There are photos of the QV fitness center found here in the Reviews section of this site. Here's a link to one of the photos there which may show a few machines which qualify as recumbent stationary bikes. You can scroll through other photos of the fitness center to see other views which might be helpful as well. One caveat is that I don't know how recent these photos are.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruise/cunard/queen-victoria/fitness-center-371638/fitness-center--v16925914

I don't think the photos are recent unfortunately, as there are several differences to what I saw there a few weeks ago. Had I known I would have taken a few new photos 🙂

Ah, found it on my confirmation letter and was able to add it to my profile. Strange that their IT systems don't talk to each other and do this automatically! Thanks for the replies folks.

I was on QV in November and went to the gym most days. If memory serves me correctly there was one recumbent at the far end of the treadmills. Also several upright exercise bike too. Sorry I don't have any pics.

Just curious as to how long it takes to receive your world club membership number after completing your first cruise?

We disembarked Queen Victoria on 24th November after the fantastic Northern Lights cruise. But nothing received yet and no number in my Cunard.com account details page.

Thanks

Thanks for all the replies folks! 

Just wondering what would be customary for a tip to the person bringing you some room service food, e.g. for breakfast or snacks? I know the ship runs on dollars, but would euros be acceptable to give for a cruise in european waters?

Floorcraft to me is about reading the floor at that moment in time and adjusting accordingly.

If its a crowded floor dancing cha cha, then an experienced dancer should curtail the arm placement accordingly, but conversely a floor full of experienced dancers doing the quickstep, is probably not the right time for a much less experienced dancer to take to the floor.

We all want to have the chance to dance to the best of our ability. However the floor is rarely our own, so we all have to pick our moments and be considerate to the other couples. 

My dance teacher talks about  'levels' of exuberance! L1 being first few lessons to L10 professional competition. Its up to each dancer to balance their ability with what is appropriate at the time on the floor.

Dont forget, even the most serious dancers started somewhere too, so do enjoy giving it a go 💃🕺

A kind person has posted a daily for today on his blog - https://blog.rakkor.uk/blog/daily-programme/queen-victoria-v327-greek-islands-oct-2023/  Just noticed a waltz lesson from "dance instructors" Yevgen and Daria. Does this mean the dance professionals are back?

I shall be an avid follower of your blog, as I too love to see a daily programme, many thanks!

5 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Most people would say you are being extremely charitable. Never mind, they are much better at ships.

Glad to hear it 😃

Thank you for all the replies guys. I'll keep the email to hand.

I work in Tech and just find the Cunard website(s) a little disjointed. Perhaps my expectations are too high!

Forgive me if this has been asked before, I did try a search.

Where can I see our OBC balance online? I've looked through both cunard.com and my.cunard.com and theres no sign. It is listed in my original booking confirmation.

I'll be on QV later this year and it will be our first Cunard cruise. We're keen ballroom dancers and the dancing in the Queens Room was one of the main reasons we chose to cruise with Cunard for our honeymoon. I'm really looking forward to dancing to the live band. Appreciate they have to cater for everyone, but fingers crossed there will be plenty of variety that includes good dancing numbers.

9 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Brill! Thank you very much

Just wondering if anyone has any photos of a recent daily programme for Queen Victoria? A sea day would be ideal. I know there will be plenty to do but just curious. The most recent one I vould find online was from 2018.

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Much appreciated. I think we will just go with the Full fare as we are slightly "quids in" on that. 

As for the drinks package, I think we'll skip that but might consider one of the wine collections. 

Cheers for the tips 🙂

Hey folks

I'm looking at the 12 night Norway and Northern Lights cruise on the QV in November for our honeymoon. We've had a couple of cruises before on RC and NCL. We've chosen this QV cruise as we like the more formal approach for our honeymoon and we are also keen ballroom dancers (we're 48 and 54).

There is an early saver option at the moment which works out at £280 cheaper than the full Cunard Fare. Though the Cunard Fare does give you $350 onboard credit. I'm just curious if the full Cunard fare other benefits are really worth it? i.e. guaranteed dining preference, free in port shuttles (there are only 4 ports on this cruise) and higher priority for cabin upgrades. Is it that likely that we would be upgraded?

Also, whats the thoughts on the drinks package? $70 per person per day just seems like an awful lot of money. We're not big drinkers and I'm guessing the seas may be rough at times on that route given the time of year.

Grateful if anyone would share their thoughts on the questions above.

Thanks

Hi

We are on board at present and they just had the laundry special today while docked at Civitavecchia (Rome). Not sure if that applies to all, but it is the midpoint of our cruise having boarded at Barcelona.

Regards

Claire and Russ

Thanks for your reply. Fingers crossed I'll get to see it. :-)