5 Nights Rotterdam And Zeebrugge Short Break Cruise

60th birthday cruise

Thoroughly enjoyed our second cruise on Queen Anne. Embarkation took two hours but this was due to some of the international passengers not having completed their ETA before travel. The port agent should have had a separate queue in place for UK passport holders. The embarkation issues were not Cunard's fault and we forgot the unfortunate start to our cruise as soon as we were on the ship. Our spacious balcony cabin was kept clean and tidy by our friendly steward. Good choice and quality of food in Artisans and Britannia restaurants and also enjoyed a couple of breakfasts at the Wellness cafe. Excellent speakers and we enjoyed all the evening entertainment, which was varied. Service was excellent throughout the ship and staff were helpful and friendly. We did self disembarkation and this was well organised and went smoothly. Queen Anne is a beautiful ship, easy to navigate. It was great to finally do the British Isles cruise, even the weather was mostly kind to us.

Our Wonderful Cruise on Queen Anne

I have started with things we felt need improving or were just not that good as no cruise ship is perfect. Cons : There is not enough full length hanging space in the wardrobes . The biggest flaw in the Queen Anne design is the Grills terrace and restaurants being full width of the ship . This makes for the extra footfall in the artisans foodhall as you cannot journey from forward to aft on the higher decks without going through the artisans foodhall or “buffet restaurant” as it is more commonly called . The layout of the artisans foodhall adds to the congestion by having all the food stations facing onto the main corridor which is also where the drinks stations are . This all results in an unpleasant experience when you want to eat in here as you get bumped into frequently as there isn’t enough space in the corridor for all the extra people . The food quality and is good but it’s very loud and crowded due to the amount of extra people using it to transit from forward to aft or vice versa . Consequently we only used it a couple of times for light bites or ice cream . The salad and pasta stations are busy but worth the wait which we would have used more often but for congestion. The pavilion grill served what I can only describe as the most average burger I’ve had . The first one I ordered was served cold so I had to wait for another which was the very average burger. Afternoon tea was underwhelming as the scones were dry and crumbly . The amount of clotted cream was nice but a very small portion. The Queens room is not for us as neither of us ballroom dance or like watching others dance . The music was quite average at best even though we only heard it when passing through. Personally Cunard missed an opportunity to have this as a music venue like the Rolling Stone venue on Holland America ships but that is only my opinion. Pros: To be honest there are too many to list so I’ve only highlighted the ones that really stood out for us . The overall food quality was excellent as far as we were concerned except the pavilion grill.The Golden Lion pub is neither a pro or a con as we didn’t use it enough but Aileen and Sticks the Irish duo who played in there were brilliant . The fish and chips on embarkation day was also very good as was the Cunard Gold beer. The Bright lights society was such a good experience so vibrant and a wonderful space . The 2 shows we saw “ FIZZ” and “ NOIR” were both funny and brilliant to watch. The cast are all exceptional from they he singing to the dancing and the interaction was outstanding in both shows. The only downside is that it comes at an extra charge of $20 pp where as it used to be free but it is still worth the cover charge , a better included cocktail would be better . The Kings Court Theatre is brilliant as the seats are very comfortable with plenty of legroom and the arm rests are wide enough for 2 elbows . I know they are comfortable as I had a 15 minute nap during one of the Cunard insight talks ( it was about geology) The Chart room is such a lovely space with plenty of seating somewhere we will use more next time we’re on the ship. Corinthia lounge is another great space again underused by us but a wonderful place for a coffee or cocktail especially with a bit of jazz in the background. The Commodore Club is truly outstanding such a bright and calm place to sit and look out to sea whilst sipping a gin and tonic. We saw some good jazz one evening which was “Nice

Queen Anne world voyage

Queen Anne layout is a bit different to the other Queens, but still fabulous. Service was outstanding, even checking every dish for my wife who has alergies. In 33 nights we never had an average meal, all were fabulous, especially dinner, pheasant, halibut, you name it and it was on the menue, n cooked to perfection. Our room was very comfortable, with many tv channels n films to choose from. We had a large restricted balcony, restrictions r minimal in this category. The theatre is large, comfortable n high tech. Entertainment n activities follow the usual Cunard set up but with focus also on cabaret. Plenty of ballroom n general dancing. The wellness cafe was a great addition, as was the burger bar and atrium cinema. Possibly the downside of the ship design was a simple promenade deck with no seating, functional enough. Also upper decks are split in two seperate areas and don't connect. We were not hit by any severe gales so the ships ride was fine albeit only the Mary is in the ocean liner category. Overall this cruise equalled or even surpassed previous Cunard cruises we've had. As Arnold says - we'll be back.