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Queen Victoria - Norwegian Fjords, July 2008 |
| Reviewed By: Jones, Lyme Regis on 22nd Jul 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Cunard Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Queen Victoria |
Sailed:
July,
2008 |
| Destination: Norwegian Fjords |
Age: 56-65 |
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We set sail on the beautifully appointed Queen Victoria for a voyage to the Norwegian Fjords and North Cape. Our outside cabin on deck 1 was quite spacious, probably the largest cabin of it's class we have had so far. The only slight critisism we had was the shortage of drawer space but the wardrobes were spacious with lots of hanging space for all your formal dress requirements (there were 5 formal nights in the 11 night cruise). Our stewardess, Anna from Latvia was very pleasant and helpful and even though she was obviously hoping for a good tip at the end of the cruise we felt she genuinely wanted to provide a good service, which she did.
The ship is very well decorated in the style of her predecessors, QE2, Queen Mary etc and you had a real feeling that you were onboard a classic liner. The Art Deco style was repeated throughout all of the public rooms of the ship, with lots of wood panelling and even pictures depicting long gone stars who had sailed on Cunard. We really enjoyed her interior. On the top deck there were a good selection of activities available but not thankfully for us, climbing walls, ice rinks etc. She has two heated swimming pools, but both are outside. Not too inviting in the cooler weather of the Norwegian Sea but I'm sure lovely in the Med.
We had a table for 6 in the Brittania Restaurant. The food was reasonable but not the best we've had. The starters were really nice. However the waiters seemed stressed at times as they seemed to have too many tables to look after. There was not the level of personal service that we have experienced on other cruise lines. The Lido Self Service restaurant was good and you usually had little trouble finding a table. We actually chose to eat our evening meal here on two nights whilst we cruised down the fjords and thought the food just as good or better than in the Brittania Restaurant. The staff in the Lido were pleasant and the tables were quickly cleared as soon as you had finished the meal.
The entertainment in the superb Royal Theatre was excellent. The ship's talented singers and dancers put on 4 excellent shows which were of West End standard. The theatre on the ship is huge and comes complete with boxes and it's really nice to not be continually bugged by waiters trying to sell you drinks as we've had on previous ships.
So all in all, I think this was an excellent ship and as long as you stay clear of the photographers and the spa with their extortionate prices it was good value.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| The Brittania Restaurant. The starters and desserts were very good. | | Entertainment |  |
| The shows put on by the ship's singers and dancers were excellent. The other shows were good too. | | Shore Excursions | |
| We only did two excursions because they were expensive. The first one was around the island which North Cape is on. It was a very good trip and we especially enjoyed seeing reindeer and the rugged treeless terrain. The second trip was in Geiranger and we enjoyed superb views of the fjord below. | | Staff |  |
| Our stewardess Anna was excellent and was continually checking that we had everything we needed. H | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Yes, for us there were. I joined in the onboard computer lessons on Photoshop and learnt a lot. | | Cabins | |
| Best cabin we've had in all of the cruises we've done. | | Overall Rating | |
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