cruise critic reviews 2023

Cunard Line

Review World Cruise Queen Victoria 2023

By roscoe39 , April 20, 2023 in Cunard Line

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I have been asked to post the enclosed review on behalf of my friend Hyacinth on the WC for the QV..

Review of Queen Victoria World Cruise 2023

By H. Bucket 01 April 2023

We had decided to do a portion of Cunard’s World Centennial Voyage which was a celebration of the first World Cruise by the Laconia in 1923.

We were disappointed on arriving at the cruise terminal to find that although it was meant to be a recreation of that particular world cruise the ship was in fact a new modern cruise ship - the “Queen Victoria” and instead of us being in a time period comparable to the 1920s we would in fact be surrounded by all the modern conveniences of a current Cruiseship and not in fact a recreation of the original Liner the Laconia.

I had only packed costumes for the 1920s.

We had heard that Cunard was a very class conscious shipping line and with each class strictly divided but we were disturbed that when we had arrived at the embarkation lounge to board the ship we were seated in amongst passengers who were traveling in Britannia Class and that we were not given our own lounge or seating arrangements. We also were disturbed that contrary to the photos on the advertising brochures, we had to carry our own hand luggage onboard to our suite and were not personally escorted by one of the crew - carrying our bags.

We should have been alerted to these “slipping” standards when on booking our trip - last minute on a cut price internet site, that we were refused our first choice suite as “ apparently” it was in a higher category than we had booked and Cunard wanted us to pay extra to have the stateroom of our choice just because it was a Queens Suite, rather than Princess which we had booked and paid for. Our second choice Princess Suite 5002, was also not available because there was someone already in that cabin and the agent refused to move that person so that we could have our cabin of choice. Not acceptable.

On arriving at our rooms after stopping by the Pursers office to enquire as why our requested free upgrade had not been granted we found that our luggage was already waiting for us. This was the first sign that things may be on the up so we left to have lunch expecting our butler to unpack for us. You can imagine our surprise when returning to our stateroom after lunch to find that our luggage was still where we had left it and still packed. Apparently the butlers are only provided for Queens Suites! A definite sign of a class distinction on the ship! We were therefore forced into unpacking ourselves…. certainly not what you would expect on a “luxury” line.

The next day after leaving port the previous night we were subjected to the whole day with nothing to look at whatsoever except the sea! You would think that the Captain would have found something interesting for us to sail past to break the tedium. Another shortcoming and bad planning by Cunard.

With the extortionate cost of drycleaning on board, I had decided to do some laundry and you can imagine my shock on hearing of the following 3 incidents from other passengers while I was waiting for the washing to be completed.

Four people had just been removed from the ship for fighting in the laundry room. Two women were having an argument and had called their respective husbands - one of whom hit the other husband with an iron and the group was disembarked at the next port.

In another incident a lady had a cocktail dress in the washing machine and when she returned it had been stolen. That night at a cocktail party she saw a woman wearing her dress and when she approached and challenged the lady she was told to “prove it” and Security was not interested in her complaint.

In a third incident two ladies had an argument in the laundry room and when one returned she found that a chocolate bar had been placed in her dryer ruining all of her clothes.

I think that this shows that there is a culture of aggression and entitlement on board and that the police should travel onboard permanently just to ensure the safety of its passengers.

There was also a reported 55 people dying on board during the World Cruise. Surely they should have a coroner on board permanently to investigate these deaths and mitigate this unexplained pandemic.

We were distraught when we decided one night to try out the Queens Grill Dining room and were turned away at the door by the Maitre “d” who told us that we were unable to dine there as we were in the Princess Grill Dining room - across the foyer. Another sign of Cunard's discriminatory policies.

This was further exacerbated by one evening when a group of Britannia class passengers were stopped at the door to our Princess Grills Dining room. Fortunately they were turned away as they were obviously - by the way that they were dressed in Polo shirts and Jeans were not traveling Princess Grills. Why they thought that they could dine with us I do not know when they had only paid for a lower class. Such entitlement.

This was an entirely unnecessary incident as they had been able to freely transit unchallenged up the exclusive stairs to our Grills deck. Surely there must be some sort of security system to keep these people out of the area. It was bad enough that we had to travel up to deck 11 in the same lift as some of these people but where will the loosening up of standards end? We kept swiping our cards in the key slot in the lift to make the point that any other passengers in the lift without the same card should feel a sense of shame. Sadly they did not seem to take any notice.

The Brittania classes have plenty of dining rooms available to them, the MDR, the Steak House, the Lido and the Golden Lion. We only have the Princess Grills Dining room. The constant reiteration of the class separations was exhausting.

On a further note, and as an example of Cunard's strange culture was that they had a “World Cruise Party” one night for those traveling on the World Cruise and we were denied entry as we were only on the ship for 22 days. Despite our arguing that we were also on “the World Cruise” and the length of time we were onboard should not matter. It was further exacerbated by later in the voyage they had a Diamond and Platinum party and we were also denied entry because this is our first cruise and supposedly this was for people who had been on the line for 75 days or longer.

Once again Discriminatory!

The longer World Cruise passengers even had an area in one of the lounges roped off for their sole use, this is meant to be an egalitarian world and this sort of discrimination should not be allowed!

As a perfect example of the “cliquiness” of Cunard. There was a group on board called “the Anchor Group”. This group of passengers, numbering what seemed to be several hundred were constantly all over the ship in the middle of all of the activities, public rooms and bars drinking and laughing and creating general merriment.. They seemed to be enjoying themselves far to much for it to be acceptable in polite company and so much an extent that they made those of us who were not part of their group stand out and want to join in with them.

Something I would not expect on our holiday. Cunard should either not allow these groups to form or alternatively organize the ship in such a way that people could create their own groups to be able to enjoy the facilities to the same extent rather than be left to fester on themselves. I find it very selfish of Cunard to not promote this sort of comradeship in such social media groups such as facebook. Very short sighted..

In Keeping up Appearances we invited the Captain one night to dine with us. It was unfortunate that the particular day in question was one where the ship was traveling through a force 11 gale - why the captain had chosen to do this I do not know, however just before dinner he had the cheek to send us “his regrets” as he was needed on the bridge. We found this insulting as we were paying guests and in fact paying his wages. I think that he should have had the courtesy to join us for dinner that night and the excuse of being “needed on the bridge” sounded like a “fob” and was offensive. There was no reason why he could not have joined us and left one of his subordinates in charge. On that note, whilst we were traversing so called “Pirate Alley” we were made to extinguish external lighting on our balconies and there was ugly Razor wire and Security Dishes established along the ships exterior making the ship appear ugly. This should not have been permitted as it spoilt all of our photos.

It was during this particular period that one day I noticed that whilst sitting on my balcony - where I might mention there appeared to be some rust on the steel divider, that there was some black smog emanating from the ships funnel with the soot falling all around us and into my drink. I will be expecting a personal apology from the ship for this incident as it meant that I had to refill my glass and wait inside ten minutes until the incident past.

I can not understand why the ship would schedule a port stop on an Island on a Sunday when most shops are closed or the residents are at church. You would think that these islands would forgo their religion so that they could entertain us and open their shops for us. Instead we were forced to visit their towns and islands and entertain ourselves. Bad planning on the part of Cunard. And while on the subject We were further shocked and extremely disappointed when the Ship canceled our call into Tonga. The only reason that we had booked this trip was to visit Tonga where my best friend's great aunt twice removed had once visited in the 1950s and I had always wanted to do the same. We shall be requesting a full refund from Cunard plus expenses and a free cruise for the inconvenience.

I have sent my complaints to Cunard's head office but so far have had no response.

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Poor Richard!

46 minutes ago, NE John said: Poor Richard!

im more concerned about what happened to poor old Onslow and Rose

Hyacinth and Elizabeth

naturelovergirl

I’m sure Sheridan Bucket would never stand for this treatment to his darling mother

56 minutes ago, roscoe39 said: im more concerned about what happened to poor old Onslow and Rose

Daisy too… But at least Onslow looked good in a tuxedo.

ballroom-cruisers

Lovely tongue-in-cheek review, roscoe39 - took me a few intakes of breath before I realised - though the ultra large font had me moving back away from the screen, as well as the content!

Was Onslow in Britannia class wearing his string vests on Gala nights?

Brilliant - sure there may be some red faces reading this. Keep it up!

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!

Love spoof reviews although I would have thought Mrs B had had a bucket full of Cunard on QE2! 😄

alibabacruisers

Love that episode! I say the same thing Poor Richard while watching every episode! LOL

Roscoe, you are too much! I love this - I'm so hoping you will be on QV again next year to break up the tedium of us mere mortals :). What is winter without reading your blog?

Down-Unders

Richard@sea.

DEAREST ROSCOE -

with great pain I read about the passing of DAME EDNA -

I thought if anyone would of known & CRUISED with her - it would be Roscoe....

So I send my condolences to all Aussies & Brits - a sad loss of one of the GRAND DAMES of THE & SEAS!!!

32 minutes ago, RICHARD@SEA said: DEAREST ROSCOE - with great pain I read about the passing of DAME EDNA - I thought if anyone would of known & CRUISED with her - it would be Roscoe.... So I send my condolences to all Aussies & Brits - a sad loss of one of the GRAND DAMES of THE & SEAS!!!

Am I the only person in the universe who didn’t find him/her terribly funny, no more than mildly at best?

45 minutes ago, exlondoner said: Am I the only person in the universe who didn’t find him/her terribly funny, no more than mildly at best?

No. I had great respect for his ability to make a living from the character, but I never found him remotely funny.

5 hours ago, RICHARD@SEA said: DEAREST ROSCOE - with great pain I read about the passing of DAME EDNA - I thought if anyone would of known & CRUISED with her - it would be Roscoe.... So I send my condolences to all Aussies & Brits - a sad loss of one of the GRAND DAMES of THE & SEAS!!!

thank you for your thoughts.

The entire Australasian population is in mourning for our fellow country woman and megastar. The loss of her bridesmaid from our very own dear country Madge a few years ago is still a trauma that we are only just now beginning to come out of and now sadly we are plunged back into a period of deep depression once again that is only equal to that felt by the passing of our late Queen who incidentally was also a great fan.

Never again to hear her greeting of "Hello Possum" or be hit in the head by a errant bunch of gladiolus thrown from the stage, the World (and Moonie Ponds) is sadly a little less bright, a little less cheerful and a damned sight less funny.

RIP Dame Edna - you will be sadly missed

(and incidentally, I did meet her character Barry H once - a great friend of a dear friend of mine - a terrific raconteur and wit around the dinner table and not only an entertainer on stage)

On 4/22/2023 at 8:06 PM, safarigal said: Roscoe, you are too much! I love this - I'm so hoping you will be on QV again next year to break up the tedium of us mere mortals :). What is winter without reading your blog?

just sent you an email, hope you re both all sorted and will not be stranded in 'old Blighty. keep up updated and see you next year on the QV? (seriously thought that after your last to trips on the QM2 that you would have learnt that there is no better ship in the fleet than the QV!

tmacktravels

Brilliant Roscoe. 🤣 👏

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MSC Cruises

Musica Review October 2023

By Beamafar , October 15, 2023 in MSC Cruises

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We didn’t have a transfer arrangement from airport to port, but I was convinced that I’d read somewhere that there was a fixed taxi fare. However, our taxi driver insisted that the fare was a metered one so we had no choice but to accede. The fare was €105, which seemed very steep to us.

We arrived at the port at 12.55pm and were in our cabin by 1.05pm. 😁 Lunch in the MDR was between 12.30pm and 1.30pm so we hurried down to dine. Now, on MED cruises, embarkees are “encouraged” to lunch in the buffet (in other words, they’re turned away from the MDR). For years, now, we have often politely requested access and it has always been granted and today was no exception.

During this week, I hope to pass on information regarding this ship to those who have an interest. I’ll try to point out the things that may be of relevance.

For now, to me, one of the most important things that those of you will need to know is that there are no USB ports in the cabin. Only American and European sockets. (Fortunately I came prepared).

There are no surface areas to put bits and pieces in the cabin, such as sunglasses, caps, clutch bags, etc; no shelving around the tv or dressing table areas. It won’t be easy to keep the place looking neat and tidy (I like to make the steward’s job as easy as possible. Yeah - I forgot to bring my wall hanger magnets for the caps 🙄 ).

It looks like we’re going to have to chase our steward down as there are no towelling robes or slippers in the cabin (which we should have, being at Diamond level in VC).

Norwegian Cruiser 73

Thank you very much @Beamafar for doing a live review from your cruise on the MSC Musica. It will be very interesting to follow along on your cruise. Have a wonderful cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

@Beamafar thanks for taking the time to do this - will be following along.

Are you able to request the Take Home Laundry forms from your room steward and post the cost for 20 and 40 pieces?

It would be great toklnow the costs so I can compare with buying in advance.

I pre booked the 10 items Take Home for €28. Here’s the packages available onboard:

We booked a Bella balcony cabin and took our chances. We were assigned 10009, which we’re very satisfied with. It’s smaller than the cabins with sofa (there’s just a chair and very small table, plus the footstool under the dressing table). The bathroom is fine with a shower curtain in the shower.

We checked out the buffet after we finished lunch and Mr B decided to try the biryani, which he reported was very nice. There is outdoor seating at the aft, so he enjoyed it there. The buffet was not busy at all.

We’ve been assigned late dining, which is 9pm (early is 6.30pm). We decided not to dine in the MDR as the buffet offerings were more or less the same, with the added Ethnic station (disappointing) and roast veal on the carvery. The place was almost empty; as a result, food was cold as it was lying out.

On the subject of the buffet, I had read somewhere that a section becomes a Speciality steak and fish restaurant at night and would not be covered by the Diamond perk. However, this is not true - the only SR onboard is Kaito.

perakcruiser

17 hours ago, Beamafar said: Now, on MED cruises, embarkees are “encouraged” to lunch in the buffet (in other words, they’re turned away from the MDR). For years, now, we have often politely requested access and it has always been granted and today was no exception.

Love to hear that. I was thinking already about it as we will board very early. Was the Sunday lunch menu in the MDR good, did it have something I should not miss? 😉

Not surprised to hear that the taxi scam in Athens is still as used to.

I’ll post the other menus throughout the week if you like. There isn’t a whole lot of interest in this as this is one of the last sailings of this itinerary.

Thank you, so the answer for me is yes. Starting the cruise with a nice steak is preferred, even I am not a fan of MSCs lasagna and canneloni.

2 minutes ago, Beamafar said: I’ll post the other menus throughout the week if you like.

No need from my side, the only other thing I am interested about food is you visit to Kaito as it will be my first cruise as Diamond finally 😄

Last night’s dinner menu

Oh a new pasta dish! With Gragnano pasta! Excitement is building up 😄

CruisingFox27

Looking forward to reading your review. Thank you for taking the time. Wishing you both a wonderful time.

1 hour ago, CruisingFox27 said: Looking forward to reading your review. Thank you for taking the time. Wishing you both a wonderful time.

Thanks Foxy.

It’s taking a little time to re-adjust to the old MSC vibe which isn’t the same on the newer ships. Very few English speaking onboard. Lounges were practically empty by 10pm last night and it wasn’t due to some at late dining while others are in the theatre as there was only one show on and that was at 10.30pm. Nor was it because of people disembarking today as it’s not an embarkation port.

Speaking of the show, it was ‘Back to the Musicals’ and was very enjoyable.

Captain-John

Thanks for your review Bea and look forward to following along. Sorry about the taxi!

I have to say those MDR menus look better than the current Celebrity menus (a line I've been following closely as we are booked on Millenium in Japan next May). A real surprise for me as I have always embarked on an MSC cruise 'despite' the food and always held Celebrity to a higher standard but things have slipped there lately.

Like you we are not MSC loyal. We were on NCL Joy in Haven earlier this year and we are booked on World Europa YC in November (I hope to post a review also). I'm looking forward to contrasting the two experiences given their similarities (ship-within-a-ship etc.).

We have fond memories of Musica's sister Orchestra and (even although it was many years ago now) I remember reflecting on how well maintened the ship was despite her age at the time. Is this the case for Musica these days?

I have discovered that the menus for the week are available on the app. However, the app is not very navigateable (I know it’s not a word, but you get the drift).

@Captain-John we were on Lirica in April, and although the decor is more traditional and less glitzy than the new ships, there were absolutely no issues with how she was maintained.

Oh that's useful to know regarding the menus Bea. I'll test that next week. I'm loving reading yours, I've been living on salad for 2 months in preparation for our repo 😂

Hi Cap’n. Musica is in fantastic condition. Crew are wonderful - very friendly and chatty.

I will be very interested in reading about your Europa experience.

Personally, the X menus suit me better. The buffet (well, certainly on The Edge last year) is far superior to MSC’s one. We were very disappointed in the one on Europa, considering the size of the ship. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it more.

Today’s lunch menu

You can also scan the menu at the table. It will give you the offerings for that day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.