Cunard Cruise Line – Queen Victoria

“We travel, not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.”

Anonymous

Elegant is the word I would use to describe the Queen Victoria Cruise Ship with Cunard Cruise Line. This is a beautiful ship with mahogany rails and walls, marble floors and pillars, hand woven rugs throughout, and amazing glittering chandeliers. Joe and I were blessed to be able to go on an amazing cruise that was paid for by the company I work for. What an amazing opportunity for us. We joined this cruise, that was already in progress at the Port of Rome. This ship was to stop at four great places in Europe that we were thrilled to be able to see. We went from Rome, to Livorno, Italy., Monte Carlo, Monaco, Marseille, France, Barcelona, Spain, and back to Rome.

The boarding was very smooth and easy and the crew were very welcoming. It was interesting as there were so many different accents we encountered as compared to the cruises we took in the United States. The porters took our luggage and we were told it would be at our stateroom later in the afternoon and to go enjoy some food and relax. As we walked around the ship, we greeted everyone and loved when they greeted us back in either English or their native language.

This ship was elegant as I said and because of that there was a strict dress code. One rule was you only wore bathing suits at the pool area and not to walk around the ship. At the evening meal, men wore jackets and ladies nice pants suits or dresses. No shorts or jeans were allowed in the dinning areas. There was two formal nights while we were on board. They had a Great Gatsby formal night that was a blast. How fun. We all got decked out in our clothing from that era and really enjoyed it. The other formal night many men wore tuxedos or black suits and the some of the ladies wore long glittering gowns. The waiters all served you with white gloves on and it was very posh.

One night, we had a nice evening at my bosses suite on the ship which had a grand piano. She hired a piano player to play during our cocktail party as we toasted to a great cruise, great bosses, and wonderful co-workers. With an open bar, everyone was toasting just about everything before the evening was done. It was a fun time full of laughs and great conversations.

The Royal Arcade was majestic with its sweeping staircase and the custom built pillar clock built by Dent and Co. who also built Big Ben in London. So beautiful. Our group got together and had our picture taken on the grand staircase.

The shows were very good on board the ship in the very luxurious theater. We noticed there were balcony boxes at the theater and heard this is the only cruise ship that has that feature. Everywhere you looked you saw more and more amazing details.

This cruise seemed to cater to the mature cruisers over 40 as the night life ended early in comparison to some cruises. They did have a couple lounges that stayed open later. There was plenty of ballroom dancing through out the cruise which we loved to watch. We saw some excellent dancers who really impressed us as they danced so fluidly and looked like they were floating in the air. I noticed the ship only did one broadcast a day around noon to announce what was happening on the ship. That was a nice feature, not being interrupted all day from announcements. The cruise had a very intimate feel to it. There were lots of areas that you could find a private spot to sit and enjoy music, read a book, or just simply do nothing. There also were a couple pay restaurants that were for a more intimate affair.

This ship was named after Queen Victoria, the British Monarch and was build in 2007 in the Fincantieri Marghera Shipyard in Italy. Queen Victoria cost 350 million dollars to build and is owned by the Carnival Corporation. This ship is a vista-class cruise ship that is 954.5 feet long, has a 106 foot beam, and is 205 feet high with 16 decks. It can carry 2,081 passengers and has 900 crewman and is the smallest of the Cunard's three ships but is said to be the most luxurious ship. When this ship was first commissioned, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall hit a bottle of champagne on the hull to Christen the ship but the bottle didn't break. It did break on the second try but by nautical superstition, that was a bad omen. I pray not. The ship was refurbished in 2017 adding a bunch of new rooms and areas to the ship. It was out of commission for only a month to complete the renovation.

This was a fantastic ship and trip that will be etched in my mind forever. The grandeur of this ship was really something to see and they made everyone on board feel very special. I do recommend this ship. Check them out: www.cunard.com. Click on follow me on my blog and hear about all our European stops. Arrivederci.