Happy Chappie

It was our first cruise together on Cunard’s Queen Victoria. What a wonderful ship! Everything was as expected with this first class company. From embarkation on the 1st June 2013 to disembark on the 15th June was excellent. After leaving the car on the quay to arriving into our cabin took less than 40 minutes considering that the ship was ‘full’. Our baggage was already on board waiting for us. The outside cabin was spacious clean and well presented with a complimentary bottle of ‘bubbly’. The cabin steward immediately made himself known to us and he was very helpful throughout the trip.
The dinning arrangements was excellent and the choice of food could not be bettered and was well presented at all times. The morning tea could be hotter until we found out that we could have our own tea pot which was piping hot. The restaurant stewards were all helpful and throughout the voyage they exceeded my expectations of service. The sharing of dinner table with three other couples enhanced our enjoyment who were a joy to be in their presence.
The ships schedule of ports of call suited our requirements which we enjoyed. However visiting the Hermitage in St. Petersburg was a disaster. Our guide only had 40 sets of radio receivers and there were 44 people on the tour therefore my wife and I missed out on the explanations as we walked through the over congested building which did not have any control of how to lead visitors through the various rooms. It was worse than having to negotiate traffic on the M25! In hindsight it is better to visit during the evening where it is more controllable and a limit on the numbers.
There was plenty of activities on board ship to entertain everyone but there could be a better ‘Royal Court Theatre’ choice of entertainment.
Meeting the captain was also a pleasant experience – it was the first time we had met a ‘lady driver’! She did a good job even when parking!! The weather was excellent throughout apart from a slight drizzle in the last port of call and the sea was like a ‘ducks pond’ throughout the cruise. Certainly we will cruise again on this ship.