Yesterday was a day at sea. We had lots of activities, but I thought I would recap this cruise. I was on the Queen Elizabeth in 2019. We enjoyed it so much, we booked for 2020. Because of COVID, we didn't sail until this year. We are noticing some changes since 2019. The good thing is we are getting our room serviced twice a day! We have a wonderful cabin steward that is not only keeping our room clean but leaving chocolates on our bed every night. We haven't seen that on the other cruise lines and it's a nice treat. He doesn't have an assistant; he does everything himself.
The food has been hit and miss. Most of it good, two beef meals debatable. The first night we had a steak that was very tough. 5 out of 6 of us had it and everyone said the same thing. We went to the pub for fish and chips and the malt vinegar was so "watered down", we stopped using it. Very weak, I mean watery. I will say the rest of the days and the food has been from good to excellent. We have open seating but asked for the same waiter and table every night and have had wonderful service.
The first time on a cruise we heard this: Fire in stateroom 5066! Our room is 6069! We were docked in Sitka so no need to panic. It was put out and hopefully everything is okay.
I want to be honest about this cruise and we are really enjoying it. I've seen so many changes since COVID on the other lines I've sailed since COVID and the changes on Cunard are much fewer!
- The dress code has changed. Before COVID men had to wear jackets in the dining room every night. Two nights now are formal, and jackets are required, the rest of the cruise is smart attire. Dress code is never enforced, and people wear everything to dinner, but most respect the code.
- Theatre performances are from 45 minutes to 60 minutes. If there is a guest entertainer onboard, they don't sell their CD's or books at the exit of the theatre.
- There is no Cruise Director, but an Entertainment Director. She introduces the shows from backstage. After the performance, she comes on stage, thanks them, and tells us to have a wonderful night and cheerio! No jokes, no chitter chatter. You always get a seat in the theatre, unlike other lines that have fewer seats than passenger capacity.
- Blankets available on deck for glacier viewing, no charge. They don't ask for your room number.
- Limited announcements. You never hear "bingo in 5 minutes", "sale of t-shirts on the top deck" or "hairy chest contest about to begin". One announcement at noon from the captain. They don't have a "hairy chest contest".
- They don't take pictures of you before you board, in the dining room when you are eating or just casually as you walk the decks. They do portraits on some nights, but you are never approached to get one. No hard selling!
- The smallest casino at sea with no smoking!
- Two tier library, always staffed. You can take out books, get a newspaper synopsis of your country's news and a crossword puzzle or sudoku for you to complete every day.
- More activities and staff than most cruise lines and they aren't selling you anything. Prizes are stickers and at the end you turn them in for quality prizes depending on how many stickers you've won.
- A beautiful ballroom you can see from two levels with professional dancers and dance lessons in the daytime. If you aren't a dancer, you don't dance in the evening. It's for those who are excellent dancers. It's great to watch them if you aren't a dancer. There are also gentlemen hosts for women travelling alone who want to dance.
- This cruise line doesn't have an app, but there is a website you can reach that gives you all the information you need. On board dining times, including menus, on board account, voyage calendar, spa appointments, shore excursions, medical assistance, children's clubs, and the daily program. You don't need the internet package to access this site. The printed copy of the daily program is always in your room the night before, you don't need to request it.
- Good speed internet. They don't have Starlink, but the download speed is 15.2 Mbps, upload speed 0.9 Mbps. I bought a cheaper package that lets you access social media, email, and the internet. If you wanted to stream it was another US$ 60.00. However, there were areas where we didn't get internet and didn't get TV either, so the satellite wasn't in range. There were lots of warnings about the satellite unreliability.
- There hasn't been a cooking demonstration, a kitchen tour, or the sale of cookbooks.
- Free shuttle bus in Victoria to the Empress Hotel. Princess charges US$15.00
- No art auctions
- In your room, a fridge that's very cold unlike the other lines that are just cool.
- A kettle, cups, tea bags, coffee, sugar, creamers, and cookies in your room.
Today we arrive in Victoria at 1 PM and depart at 8:30 PM. Tomorrow this fabulous cruise is over. We really enjoyed it. I will cruise Cunard again.
I've never had this in my stateroom on any other cruise line!
