Queen Elizabeth

I had the amazing opportunity to experience Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth this weekend (Oct 10) and had dinner and an overnight stay on board. As you would expect from Cunard, this ship takes you back to traditional cruising, lots of art deco and romance mixed in with Hollywood glamour. The epitome of grandeur and elegance. There is a stunning atrium which is reminiscent of the ‘Titantic’ style décor – just beautiful In keeping with the tone of the ship there is a new sports area where you will find croquet, tennis and lawn bowling. There is a Garden Lounge with a glass top which is a large conservatory with a harp in the corner – you get the picture. The 3-tier Royal Court Theatre features private boxes and the Queens Room can host Gala Balls for dancing. With the Casino, Yacht Club and Golden Lion bar there is something to suit most tastes. Although Cunard is not normally the first choice when cruising with children – children and teens are well catered for. Teens and pre-teens have separate rooms with dedicate staff to take care of their needs and keeping them well occupied while the adults can relax and enjoy the ship. The gym and spa deserve a mention for those looking to maintain the body beautiful. The Royal Spa has a separate plunge pool and all the treatments on offer that you would expect from a cruise ship of this calibre. The gym was well stocked with all the latest equipment. Dinner was in the Britannia Restaurant and excellent it was too. You would dine in the Princess Grill for stateroom categories P1-P4 or the Queens Grill for Q1-Q7. In the Princess Grill there is a table for 6 by the window (table 104) and in the Queens Grill the equivalent is table 4 in case you wish to request these. There is also an open air area for al fresco dining in warmer climes. The Lido buffet was well laid out and tastefully decorated. It spans half the length of deck 9. You can also dine in the Cafe Carinthia, Golden Lion, The Pavilion or the Verandah Restaurant (cover charge applies) – so there is plenty of variety. I stayed in cabin 6103 which is a P2 Princess Suite with verandah. This was spacious with separate living area (no curtain to divide the areas though). I found the bathroom a reasonable size with bathtub. There was also separate dressing area/walk in wardrobe. We managed to view several other grades of cabins including my favourite, the Q2 Master Suite on Deck 7. This featured a long balcony, bathtub and double sinks and very large separate shower/wet room. They were also in a great mid-ship position. The Queens suites were similar layout but on smaller scale and are aft of the ship. Strangely the Q1 Grand Suite had a smaller shower and single sink but much larger balcony and living areas. Again these are aft of the ship on deck 6 and 7. Standard balcony cabins are smaller than the Princess Suites but perfectly adequate. Inside and outside cabins are what you would expect, fairly small at 159 sq ft. The furnishings and décor is all creams and camel colours which I liked. This ship will suit cruisers looking for a more traditional sailing experience and enjoy a more formal atmosphere on the most famous Ocean Liner in the world. For more information on this or any other cruises please feel to contact me.