Victoria2

Depends. We have experienced S.O. Parties at lunchtime in the Queens Room and also in the Yacht club of an evening, all on QV.

It’s obvious really, in any of the restaurants. A large table has a relatively small footprint compared with well spaced two tops so if the majority of tables are two tops, then they are going to be 'close' as opposed to being spaced.

The banquettes are non negotiable. They are static features although I think the fact some passengers are disappointed with them has been noted. There are those though, who like them so it remains to be seen what happens to them in a future refit. The QA restaurant is growing on me, as is the ship in general, apart from its size and that too, is a static feature which can’t be changed even in a future refit 🥴.

Not quite sure what you mean. On the Vistas and now, presently on QA, there are no 'set' large tables as table layouts change with the request of passengers. If more passengers request large tables, then that’s what the layout shows. If two tops are more popular, then that also is shown in the restaurant configuration.

but copious amounts of unsalted butter on a hot cheese scone is heaven

It is and may I add, I doffed and curtsied even before being 'advised' to do so! 😄

Hang in there but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with a 2 if that’s what you have booked.

I agree. There are very few 1s and 2 s and on most itineraries, they get booked out quickly. However, they do occasionally become available, as we found out last May when we bagged a 1 up from our booked 2 after being told the previous year there wasn’t a chance we’d get one as the waitlist was already, long. Not to be discouraged, I looked almost every day to see if one became available, and it did and I booked it so wait lists, mean nothing. Chance it seems, does.

We think the age profile hasn’t changed that much from our May cruise. We still feel the average age is reasonably high which goes against your impression of the last cruise. What has changed are the number of wheelchairs. Def. not as many as in May. Still can’t navigate past the casino or opposite bar without asking folk to 'move please'. Crazy pinch points.

Welcome to The Orkneys on this fine, sunny ( not) morning. Luckily for us, this is our fourth visit so know how starkly beautiful, the islands look in brilliant sunshine. Hopefully, the slight mizzle will burn off as sunny intervals are forecast. We went to the theatre last night to see a double act called The MacDonald Bros. Very disappointed to find it was a short set. Only it wasn’t! They were so brilliant, the time passed in a flash. The most talented duo I’d never heard of. The pre show blurb indicated their music was ‘from Celtic anthems to pop classics they will have you singing and clapping along from beginning to the end in this high energy show!' OK, we'll give it a whirl. Wow. What a fabulous, high energy show and what a talented pair. Apparently they were on a programme called 'The X Factor' and although they didn’t win, it gave their entertainment careers a huge boost. The theatre was packed and rightly so. When they ended the evening with Loch Lomond ( only they had an encore, obvs.) three quarters of an hour had passed in a flash. They are on again in the Queens Room in a couple of days. Our dinner will be timed around their set. If they are ever on your cruise, go see. They are fantastic.

Well done Robin Hood of Queen Anne 😄

You’ve probably heard of car parks, well the The Cromarty Firth goes one better. It's an oil rig park! It's truly amazing to see these rigs close up and personal. They are huge and the one here is a baby one.

Glorious day onboard the good ship Annie. It's a port day - Invergorden- and the ship was quite deserted this morning. The clouds have dispersed and sitting out is a pleasure as the wind across deck 11 isn’t too bad either. Perfect.It’s almost like having your own ruddy great big super duper yacht! 👍

I won’t mention the more pressing issue of pronunciation in the church coffee shop I volunteer in sc-own v sc- on It too provokes lively discussion 😄 by the way, I’m a sc- own gal

We have had a few rocky days on Queen Victoria, mid Atlantic on the Northern route, a visit to the Faroes cancelled due to the weather and boy, the ship rocked and last year in the Baltic when we were all advised to find a cosy chair and have a lazy day- some green faces that day. I can confirm, aft cabins are not the place to be if you suffer from mal de mer. QV def. does 'mal' very well! 😲 but we've also done rocky, mid ships and that wasn’t too bad so position is certainly a consideration.

Decamped to Italy instead! Ironically, not being ‘into' wines, I’m not too bothered about the Cloudy Bays of this world have the wine we had in- cabin last year, as my table wine so I’m getting my Marlborough fix. 👌

No, and none last May either. It's enough to make me want to cancel all future bookings! 🤨

I agree which is why, once bitten twice aware, I hotfooted it up to deck 14 as soon as I could. For a larger ship ( too large in reality for us) the library stock could do with beefing up. Everyone looked lovely last night, a sea of black and white. Went to the 'matinée' of Pride and Predjudice …sort of. It was clever and well acted but not my cup of tea. I won’t be recommending it especially to Jane Austin fans.

This year's QG cabin selection

No chance of that Daisy but we have warmed to her as an alternative to The Vistas.

Now caviar and chips is something I haven’t tried. Sounds wonderfully non u and right up my street!😀 Thats one for later in the cruise. Thanks and the meal looks really good.

Shower fittings are Axor and I have a complaint. As a shortie, the top body jet could do with being able to be angled lower! 😅

I sat out up on deck 11 for a while this afternoon and it was very sparsely occupied. It could have had something to do with the wind across the deck and the drop in temp when the clouds came but there is definitely no issue with space. 🙂

Without pacing our cabin out to get an exact size, I would say the Q2s are smaller than the Vistas equivalents but as well as having up to the minute bathroom fittings (Grohe)in both the bathroom and shower room and Dyson hairdryer plus copious number of usb ports, they are vastly superior in layout. In fact, I think Cunard has made excellent use of space in their 2s. I will be able to give you Q1 comparisons next year. 🙂

Well we are only 24 hrs into it but the answer at the moment is a resounding YES. Had a discussion with a neighbouring diner and we all agreed she’s not a tradCunard ship but that’s not a minus, especially as 'things' have been tightened up. Lift doors are still out to catch you day dreaming though but no problem actually calling them ( and it’s not the bad words I called them in May). You just need to sprint to get there before the doors close! A bit nippy out of the sun though which is why I’m mooching around inside.