Review of Queen Victoria, Cunard’s brand new ocean liner

I was extremely lucky to be invited, along with fifteen hundred other guests and members of the international press, to preview Queen Victoria, Cunards brand new ocean liner, in Southampton for an exclusive preview and overnight stay.

Thankfully Cunard prefers travel agents and the travel press to promote its brand rather than the usual ‘hit’ parade of celebrities, however I did spot Sir Jimmy Saville enjoying a fat Havana in ‘Churchills’ cigar lounge.

What a luxurious, opulent and thoroughly modern cruise ship she is, a more appropriate description would be a floating, five star hotel and spa . At 90,000 tonnes she is bigger than the QE2 but smaller than Queen Mary 2. She has 13 bars and clubs, seven restaurants, a cigar lounge, a casino, three swimming pools, an impressive two storey library and a West-End style theatre with exclusive boxes for guests paying top dollar for their cruise (or Voyage as Cunard likes to put it). In my short time on board I only managed to experience a few of these.

If you have ever been on a cruise you will appreciate the very high standards of service offered by the well trained crew with a passenger to staff ratio of two to one. It is estimated that 351,000 bottles of wine and champagne will be consumed in a year by the ship’s passengers, however, a massive dent in that number was made this weekend as the champagne was flowing freely prior to the black tie dinner and evenings entertainment.

Breakfast and lunch are more casual, buffet style affairs, however dinner is served in the luxuriously comfortable two storey Britannia restaurant at the ships stern resplendent with with floor to ceiling glass walls, wood paneling and deep carpets. Again passengers staying in the fabulously appointed suites enjoy exclusive dining in the Grills area, up on deck eleven, as well as access to the unique ‘boxes’ in the ‘Royal Court Theatre’. This is a small reminder that Cunard likes to uphold the class system on board its liners with only the highest fare paying passengers allowed to enjoy these exclusive facilities.
There’s also an on board pub called the Golden Lion serving bangers and mash if you just can’t face the top-level cuisine.

The cabins are extremely comfortable with clever design features allowing a lot to be crammed into a small space especially the bathrooms where it would be difficult to swing your arms let alone a cat. My cabin had an extra long ‘corner’ balcony offering views both outwards and along the ship. Some of the larger suites feature multiple rooms, kitchen and dining facilities and a sunken bath!

With all that food and drink on offer it is good to see a well appointed gym overlooking the bow, jogging on a treadmill will be a surreal experience when the ship is traveling at its top speed of 25mph out to sea. The gym is backed up with a luxurious spa area with treatment rooms, plunge pool and relaxation area.

If you enjoy a more formal cruise, luxury and exclusivity with a British feel but with American standards of personal service then you will need to dig deep to enjoy a Queen Victoria Voyage. Prices for its inaugural world cruise sailing in January start at £10,000 however this cruise is already fully booked!

Gills Cruise Centre has some of the best cruise deals for Queen Victoria voyages many with on board spending money thrown in or you can even haggle a free car parking place if you need it. Its best to give them a call as this is how you can negotiate a lower fare for yourselves - never pay the brochure price, there’s all sorts of offers available.

What’s this got to do with Barry I hear you ask. Well nothing really except that unfortunately the builders of Barry Docks didn’t have the foresight to imagine that ships would ever be this size, so the capacity of Barry to welcome cruise ships like Queen Victoria is extremely limited. It needs a deep water port like Milford Haven or Southamton to accommodate modern cruise liners. I wonder how big the next cruise liner to be built will be?

Trackback URI | Comments RSS