Cunard Luxury

I and two friends booked this one week cruise to Copenhagen and Hamburg mainly as a post Christmas luxury relaxation, though it also enabled me to tick the “Little Mermaid” and “Hamlet’s Castle” off my bucket list. Our ‘Cunard Experience’ was even further enhanced by a last minute upgrade from a Penthouse Suite to a Grand Suite, a once in a lifetime experience that hadn’t even appeared on my bucket list! It was a shame that we could not make much use of the fantastic terrace at this time of the year in the North Sea.

We traveled from the North West by coach, much less strain than driving at this time of the year; the journey was comfortable but tedious. Check in at the Mayflower Terminal was very quick and we were on board and escorted to our suite within 20 minutes.

We have sailed with Cunard many times, including QV on several occasions; the level of service on board was, as always, first class as was the standard of food, whether in the Queens Grill or in the Golden Lion (fish and chips in the Golden Lion are to die for). We are not ones for going to shows but the pianist in the Commodore Club was very good, as was the classical pianist.

The weather conditions across the North Sea were quite stormy and we had some concerns about being at the stern as we usually try to locate our cabins in the middle of the ship but we need not have worried, there was very little movement and the whole ship is very stable in rough seas.

Our arrival in Copenhagen was delayed by an hour due to the adverse weather, so it was getting dark as I strolled into the city, limiting any photo opportunities. The following day was bright and cold and a trip to visit Kronborg (Hamlet’s) Castle and Frederiksborg Castle had been booked. Kronborg is impressive from the outside but there is nothing to see inside as it was stripped by the Swedes on one of their many raids and now all the contents are on display in Stockholm (shades of the Elgin Marbles!). Frederiksborg is a very ornate Renaissance style castle that was restored after a disastrous fire by, and is now owned by, the Carlsberg Foundation. We saw only a fraction of the rooms on display.

Woke up in Hamburg to find the River Elbe covered in ice flows and wondered if we were going to be frozen in! The weather was cold and wet and though we took the shuttle bus into the City we didn’t stay long as the weather was too miserable to wander around in a strange City that we didn’t know; decided the comfort of our suite was much more enticing.

Queen Elizabeth had joined us in Hamburg, both ships picking up German passengers for their respective world cruises before returning to Southampton. The ships sailed together in the late evening with a firework display on shore.

The final day back across the North Sea was uneventful and I was able to sit out (well wrapped up) on the suite terrace on one of the luxurious loungers for half an hour.

Disembarkation at Southampton City Terminal was smooth and we quickly found our luggage. There was some confusion however as to which coach we were on, but having at last been directed to the correct coach we then sat on it for over an hour waiting for passengers from the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 to join us. Coach travel may take the strain out of long distance driving, particularly in the winter, but you have to be prepared for tedium and not be in a hurry!

Overall the cruise was everything we had expected and more. With two land based holidays booked for 2016 we are now awaiting the arrival of Cunard’s 2017 brochures to decide where to next.