QE Vancouver to Barcelona - July/August 2022

[Palmeat]

In response to a separate post requesting more Britannia reviews, here goes! (hopefully not too boring for the casual reader). By way of background we're in our early/mid 60's; fit and healthy; enjoy the sunshine rather than lectures and have cruised with many lines over the past 30 years. Currently we have over 300 days with Cunard (relevant re Diamond loyalty benefits later)

Ahead of our 32 night cruise and having 'done' Alaska previously, we elected to skip that element and stayed for a week in Vancouver with friends prior to embarkation. We have only visited the city briefly previously - it's a great place and a week offers so much more to see and enjoy in both Vancouver and its environs.

It was a pain to complete all the pre-flight/entry/embarkation covid 'stuff' - including testing, ArriveCan, Verifly etc etc. So much faff.

Itinerary : Vancouver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Cabo San Lucas, Puntarenas, Panama Canal, Aruba, Fort Lauderdale, Ponta Delgada, Madeira, Cadiz, Barcelona

Embarkation : was 22 July - we arrived an hour earlier than our allocated slot but it was very quiet and despite all the paperwork we cleared the Cunard check-in briskly. However we then queued for 1.5 hours to process through Canadian 'goodbye' force and American 'welcome' force (which we had to do again when we arrived in San Francisco 48 hours later - the full 'clear ship' nonsense - and yet again in Fort Lauderdale).

Eventually onboard. We were never told numbers but believed there were around 1400 pax aboard. Felt comfortable at all times in public areas and sun deck. Plenty of space. Don't know crew numbers but expect proportionate.

Stateroom : Inside Deluxe cabin 1068 (pre-retirement we've travelled in Grills and on higher-end lines, but these 'deluxe' cabins are really spacious - 200 sq ft - low down in the ship, comfortable, handy for dining/bars and deck 3 prom for fresh air.......and affordable!) Baggage arrived within 30 mins.Penhaligon toiletries (large size to prevent attrition we suspect) - replenished regularly.

Stewardess was fine and did a good job for us (we like to think we're tidy and self-sufficient).

Dining : We find 2nd sitting too late. On the immediately prior Alaska cruise, first sitting started at 5.30pm (gulp!) That's seriously early. For our cruise start time returned to 'normal' 6pm (although later on it changed to 5.45pm. No communication so difficult to understand why.) We had a very nice table for 2 on Deck 2 at the stern overlooking the wake. Perfect. Our Waiters/wine waiter were excellent throughout and always responsive to our needs. Maybe they could have been more pro-active and anticipated our requirements better, but if we asked, they delivered. Food in Britannia was very good throughout. Not a single 'miss'. Wine choice was good but frequently way over-priced - but we found excellent and affordable Italian red wines which were very drinkable. We only dined in Britannia in the evenings (we had a couple of breakfasts there which were OK rather than memorable.) We only used the Lido buffet for a sandwich at lunchtime......and ice cream (daily!)

As Diamond loyalty benefits we dined twice in the evening in Verandah. $25 each instead of $45 - suited us better that the 'free' Verandah lunch. Food was very good and plentiful. Service/theatricals (eg choice of steak knives) a bit OTT. We also dined in the Lido speciality area - Coriander (Indian). We were the only couple there which was sad as both food and service were outstanding. We think the problem is they've increased the price to $25 pp which is greedy. Also, not well marketed. Equally, they only offered Bamboo and Coriander as sequential menus rather than the Italian, Mexican and American we'd also enjoyed on previous cruises. We used the Commodore and Gin & Fizz bars. All good. Also used the Carinthia lounge for pre-dinner drinks but they struggle with complex cocktail requests. Throughout, bar prices are expensive, apart from the occasional special offer out on deck.

Dress code : quite well observed on gala nights, but less so around the ship and in the dining room on informal nights. We're not that fussed, and quite enjoy dressing up. For others it seems less important/unimportant.

Gym : we used daily. Fine for what we needed. No weighing scales available on our voyage. Fitness classes are available (wife attended a few Zumba classes). Not all complimentary. Didn't use the spa.

Service : Whilst we regard ourselves as well travelled, we are simple folk who accept that you get what you pay for. Service isn't as engaging as it is on Seabourn, Regent, Silversea, Crystal or Oceania.....but you're paying half the price and the staff/passenger ratio is quite different. Viewed from that perspective the service in all areas was very good.

Entertainment : Cruise ships have a captive audience, frequently with nothing better to do than fill their time visiting the theatre. The Cunard strolling players put on some half-decent 'hoofing' shows, but when asked to extend their repertoire theatrically to semi-plays (eg Top Hat and the one about the Lavender fields which I've forgotten the name of), they find the material stretching. On a plus, securing a box made the whole theatre experience better from a social distancing perspective. Guest entertainers were mixed - some brilliant, some less so. You pays your money and you takes your choice. There was an Irish/Scottish 'resident' duo aboard who played fiddle, banjo and guitar in the Golden Lion and on deck. Fantastic.

Galas/parties - none. On a couple of Gala nights we were presented with a glass of fizz at our table (from Cunard's 'affordable' range) - but not on every formal night and we felt that whilst we understood parties might be a no-no, Cunard might have used the party £/$ corporate savings to better effect.

A couple of 'dancing on deck' parties took place, but not well patronised from what we could see.

Dancing - we don't dance but will watch others. Busy at times, even when masks were introduced for dancers as covid cases started increasing. Those participating seemed to have fun.

We didn't attend any lectures (but watched some of the recorded port lectures on cabin TV). We can't comment on art classes, bridge, the library or otherwise. Sorry.

Outdoors : there was plenty of sunbathing space. Loungers were in good condition but not very comfortable - no cushions - often taking several towels to 'make a bed'. We used the Lido Pool but mourned the lack of shady areas or pods as on Victoria. Pavillion pool busier. There were a few children aboard (it was August!) but no kids facilities on offer and we thought we'd read somewhere that the Lido pool was adults only. If correct, this wasn't policed.

Covid : There might have been a moment in the first 24 hours where mask wearing was 'advisory' but it quickly became 'mandatory' when moving about the ship indoors. As sun worshippers we spent all day outdoors so for us it wasn't the end of the world. There was inevitably the occasional idiot who didn't believe the rules appled to him (or frequently her) but otherwise generally respected. We had 3 covid tests (free) which were handled smoothly (for us) but we heard more disappointing tales from others (re 'false positives' and unnecessary isolation). Interestingly when we were in Madeira we berthed alongside a MSC mega ship with 5,500 passengers. No mask wearing there! In a conversation with our Captain (fortuitous as perhaps understandably he and other officers kept a low profile throughout) he explained that this was because the MSC itinerary was short and ours was longer. Not sure I understood. That said, plenty of passengers isolating and lots of empty tables at dinner (deck 3 Britannia dining not in use as far as I could see).

Launderettes were open for the first half of the cruise but were then closed as a covid precaution, substituted with 50% off laundry price which we used to good effect (especially after an additional 20% off Diamond discount).

Communication : Maybe it's just our curiosity, but we learned little by way of announcements. We missed Bermuda (announced reasoning was obscure); never a mention of covid specifics onboard other than 'keep wearing masks/wash hands etc'; no idea of passenger or crew numbers etc. We thought a bit more info might assist guest understanding/compliance.

Technology : the onboard 'My Voyage' thingy worked well for us. Allowed us to keep an eye on our spending and access the internet. A hot potato, but the internet generally worked OK for us - as long as we didn't expect it to work well in our cabin and/or there was no need to do much or do it urgently. Our view biased as it didn't cost us anything (loyalty again) - I'm sure there were plenty of complaints from those passengers who had paid $20+ per day.. Television was poor - only worked in the latter part of our voyage. Captain apologised and explained there was a technician aboard who was fixing. Hmmm.

Tipping : appreciate this is a 'tiger by the tail' topic, but Cunard should simply increase fares and eliminate the need for additional gratuities. We're British, so our expectation is we tip when someone goes 'above and beyond'. Wages should cover the basics. We contributed $650 to the pot via the on-board gratuities yet we sensed our waiters and stewardess expected more. We heard a lot of stories of guests visiting the pursers desk to have 'hotel and dining charges' reversed - and also tales that much of this money is snaffled by Cunard rather than distributed to staff (a crew member told us that, so may not be correct). All round it's time for a refresh.

Summary : setting aside the covid stuff, - which needs to be achieved sooner rather than later - and we understand that rules are now much more relaxed for Mediterranean itineraries - we had a very enjoyable cruise. In our view Cunard offers excellent value for money in Britannia class. Compared to luxury lines we've sailed however, and our own Grills experiences, we think Grills is overpriced. Just sayin'. We cancelled our 2023 QV World Cruise just prior to this trip as we were concerned regarding the onboard experience and potential for missed ports - and are glad we did. That said, we're booked on a 26 night QMS Caribbean trip in November '23 - this time in Club as we haven't experienced that aboard QM2. Happy sailing!

So, if you're still awake, what have we missed? Pleased to try and answer any questions not covered above.

 

 

[mcloaked]

Nice review

[Host Hattie]

Great report, thanks for posting.

[steve4031]

This was helpful.   Do you recall what the always available items were in the dining room?

[sfred]

3 hours ago, Palmeat said:

As Diamond loyalty benefits we dined twice in the evening in Verandah. $25 each instead of $45 - suited us better that the 'free' Verandah lunch.

 

Thanks very much @Palmeat.  Appreciate your thoughts on the voyage. 

 

I didn't know that you could apply the Diamond free Verandah lunch benefit to a discounted dinner.  Do you know if that was unique to your voyage, or a general change in benefits?  Also, did your Diamond benefit renew at some port in your voyage to get the two Verandah dinners, and did that apply for your $135 internet benefit also ($135 * 2 segments)?

[carlmm]

Thank you for your review. 

Some points are sad (Re no parties, dress on informal nights etc.) others makes one looking forward to a QE cruise (food  etc.)

Interesting reading.

[ClefsDor]

Thanks for the detailed and very useful review. Happy to hear especially that you were pleased with the food in the Britannia dining room. Did you do a drinks package? Also, what is the price for booking a box in the theatre and how far in advance does one need to book? Are there any other benefits when you book a box? TIA

[Palmeat]

12 hours ago, steve4031 said:

This was helpful.   Do you recall what the always available items were in the dining room?

I think it's the usual steak, salmon or chicken + we had a Caesar salad most nights which was 'off' menu.

[Palmeat]

11 hours ago, sfred said:

 

Thanks very much @Palmeat.  Appreciate your thoughts on the voyage. 

 

I didn't know that you could apply the Diamond free Verandah lunch benefit to a discounted dinner.  Do you know if that was unique to your voyage, or a general change in benefits?  Also, did your Diamond benefit renew at some port in your voyage to get the two Verandah dinners, and did that apply for your $135 internet benefit also ($135 * 2 segments)?

Yes, the Diamond discount applied to Verandah dinner (I'm guessing this is now standard) or the Lido speciality dining - and was available for both legs of our cruise (Van-FLL/FLL-Barcelona). Same for Internet. I recall we received a letter in our stateroom at embarkation advising the benefits for the first leg and confirming these would be repeated on leg 2. 

[Palmeat]

8 hours ago, ClefsDor said:

Thanks for the detailed and very useful review. Happy to hear especially that you were pleased with the food in the Britannia dining room. Did you do a drinks package? Also, what is the price for booking a box in the theatre and how far in advance does one need to book? Are there any other benefits when you book a box? TIA

We didn't do a drinks package - very expensive (relative to our consumption) and the $12 per drink limit restrictive, i.e. limited cocktails. No charge for the boxes - just rock up at 7.30 when the theatre doors open (for the 8pm show - presumably 9.30pm for the second show). Take a book! High demand so you have to be nimble. Our preferred route to enter the theatre on deck 1 port, down the corridor and then up the stairs.

[nadge]

Thanks for the review - very interesting and well-written. Especially so since there aren't that many reviews from the QE.

 

We are booked on the Tokyo-Vancouver crossing via Alaska in May 23 on the QE.

First Cunard cruise after 3 Crystal cruises a number of years ago. 

Very much looking forward to it but unfortunately the impression I have got from reading these boards over the last few months is that Cunard is not what it was.

 

I'm hoping that things will improve post covid over the next 6-8 months.

 

Interestingly, I came back last week from a short 4-nighter on RCL out of Haifa, and there are no covid restrictions at all. RCL are also taking unvaccinated passengers. The only thing you need is a negative test 2 days before embarkation.

BTW - service was fine on RCL. Everyone very friendly and only too willing to help.

 

 

[deck chair]

Hi!  Thanki you for taking the time to report on your cruise.

Deck Chair