Summary:
Queen Elizabeth
Dining:
The food on Queen Elizabeth was hands down the best food I've ever experienced on a cruise ship. There were very few items that I ate that I did not like and most were absolutely spectacular.
The dining room was open for lunch every day including port days which was a very nice option to have.
The Golden Lion Pub was available for lunch and dinner and everything I ate there was fantastic.
Not normally a buffet person but I even enjoyed the buffet even though it would still not be my first choice in most instances I did enjoy what I ate there and I enjoyed that they had sushi on the buffet. That was always a nice treat for this fresh fish lover.
Tea time was a wonderful experience that lived up to the hype and even exceeded my expectation.
The only weak spot I would say would be breakfast. I did not find the breakfast choices at the buffet to be very good and I never made it to the MDR but my mom wasn't crazy about it either and ended up switching to the buffet by the end of the cruise just to grab some pastries which were excellent by cruise ship standards.
Having been let down my Celebrity's hyped up food offerings, I went in with a fair amount of skepticism about the quality of food on Cunard, but I am happy to report that there is a lot of effort and expense involved in creating an amazing dining experience on Queen Elizabeth.
Compared to Carnival, it is no contest, Cunard is the clear winner.
Public Spaces and Cabin:
The ship's public spaces were very beautiful in a classically elegant sort of way. I believe she was out of dry dock a few months ago and it showed as everything looked fresh despite being an older ship. The crew were also constantly taking care to keep things clean and tidy. This was especially true in the buffet where tables were cleared in a timely manner to help with table turnover. Carnival did not do a great job keeping up with clearing the tables during busy meal times.
The cabin was reasonably sized for a cruise ship cabin. I would say about the same as a Carnival inside cabin. Not terribly spacious but it was spacious enough for two people. The only point I would deduct would be for the bathroom which was more cramped than Carnival but about the same as most cruise ship bathrooms - tiny.
The ship is basically a Spirt class ship which is already the best in Carnival's fleet for public space compared to capacity of the ship. This ship holds slightly less than Spirt class (less three and four person rooms) and was not full. She sailed with 1981 on the second leg and "a couple more" the first leg, which according to the crewmember I was speaking to, is about as full as she sails as they don't ever fully book every cabin (which is why I got such a great deal last minute). As a result, nothing was every crowded (except the buffet). Elevators were quick and usually private. It was nice never having to wait in a line. There was maybe a five minute line for dinner the first night and the crew were beside themselves apologizing for the wait.
Entertainment:
I struggled with the entertainment on Cunard. I think that is a me thing more than a Cunard thing. I never heard complaints onboard about the offerings. In fact I heard mostly rave reviews about all the shows and singers. They just were not really things that interested me. They certainly appealed to their core demographic though.
I thought Cunard offered on demand movies but that was not the case. The TV options were decent by cruise ship standards, and certainly better than what Carnival offers, but they were still pretty bad. There were only a couple channels geared towards English speaking audiences, and they were mostly news and sports. My mom found a German lego building competition that was slightly amusing especially since I don't speak German (and she has a very basic understanding at best). They did have movies on repeat, but no published start times so we did not always get to enjoy them.
The internet was great with the recent upgrade to Starlink. I was surprised to see that videos were not available with the lower package. I was surprised to see that even though they did say streaming would not be available. I always assumed that was a technical restriction, which would not apply with Starlink, and not an actual block. That may be standard though as I do usually purchase the full internet package.
Service:
Service was very professional. Any time I passed crew, they were cheerful and provided a greeting. It was clear that the crew from top to bottom had undergone training in high standards of hospitality.
But....it was very formal.
Few interactions of genuine personality and not formalities from the crew we interacted with. There was certainly nothing wrong, it was just not the same. Perhaps it is a European thing and I would certainly choose Cunard over MSC's idea of European hospitality which comes across as rude and uncaring. This was plesant and felt like being on Downton Abby at times, just lacked the personal touch you get on Carnival. I think, again, that this is just catering to their demographic who likely is used to a more formal approach than the familiarity you would expect on Carnival.
The exception I would say was the dining room. I already talked about my issues in the dining room so I won't rehash them again, but I was a bit put off by the service in the dining room. The formality was still place, napkins placed in our lap, silverware changed at each course etc, and that was a nice touch that added a little elegance to the dining experience.
I did not get a mint on my pillow. Isn't that a mark of a good cruise line with good service? It seems like it from reading these boards. I'm just kidding, of course, but I was surprised with so many aspects of a "traditional" cruise experience that I did not get a mint on my pillow.
Overall:
I was a bit apprehensive about Cunard going in. I expected it to be stuffy and I would have to hide in my room every evening and perhaps not even be allowed into the dining room. It was none of those things and as someone who doesn't always enjoy the louder aspects of a cruise, I enjoyed how quiet it was. I am a bit of a bargain shopper and mostly try to sail from Florida ports so I am not sure if I will make it onto one of the Queens again, but they are definitely on my radar now where I had never even given them a second thought prior. I would highly recommend Cunard to anyone who would be interested in a quieter experience and won't miss the deck parties and waterparks. It's a great experience and not nearly as stuffy as their reputation would have you think.