QV Hawaii Musings Feb 17 - Mar 3

[Sauer-kraut]

Mom & Dad got back and I gleaned some information from Mom about the trip to Hawaii and the ship.

 

They had a balcony cabin and although it was nice in the islands the sea days were so cool that they couldn't really enjoy it 'in transit'.

 

The food was very good (according to Mom who was in the catering industry for several years) as well as their waitstaff in the Britannia Restaurant. They enjoyed every meal there and never felt the need to visit Todd English.

 

The stateroom was 8007 and was under the gym area. They never heard any noise at all, no barbells rolling or bike machines. Mom seemed to think they were actually more under the heated lounge chairs in the spa area so there were no complaints about the actual stateroom.

 

She loved the theater, 'very victorian' looking with boxes, the Queen's Room was smaller than the QM2 but then the whole ship is smaller...;) Enjoyed the cultural presentations with lei making, children's hula dancing troupe, and other things going on. Dad was happy doing his word search puzzles and reading which is good becase I was worried he'd be walking the decks in boredom.

 

One complaint was the DECKING. They had some heavy weather and the decks were very slick. Mom even wrote up her feelings about the decking in the comment card, it was that much of a problem for her.

 

All in all they had a great time, saw some whales breeching from right off their balcony, enjoyed the sunshine and then had to come home to cold and miserable weather back in Chicago.

[Sauer-kraut]

Just a bit more to mention about food. The sauces and custards were fantastic, delicious and well prepared. The plate presentation was also very well done.

 

One lunchtime in the Lido buffet, with no advertising, lunch was all fish. Smoked salmon, grilled salmon, big shrimp, little shrimp, lobster pieces, and many other selctions. The vegetable carving and ice carving from the day before demonstration made their way up there as well to decorate the area. Had they not missed the Britianna lunch seating they would have never known about the fish lunch and again, everything was delicious.

 

Luau/BBQ on the pool deck one night for dinner, raved about it. I guess they got there early as everything was hot and good, later there was a crush of people and things were not as pleasant.

[Bigmike911]

Saur, Your mother came to the meet and greet and it was nice to meet her. I think her comments were spot on. The weather in the pacific was dreadful, wet, cloudy and just plain cold. A disappointment for me, but certainly not Cunards fault.

 

This is my second time on the ship, and I have a much improved opinion of her, even though she is substantially smaller than QM2 she grows on you.

 

The team this trip was outstanding, among the best I have experience on any Cunard voyage. Having Osman Pinaroglu as maitre'd made the Queens Grill a much more positive experience. They have gotten over their fear of table side cooking and were anxious to do it.

 

We attended two of the champagne nights in the boxes in Royal Court theatre, which is as your mother points out an excellent venue. I thought the day speakers were interesting, though the much anticipated Rona Barret presentation, left much to be desired, including substandard production problems, which cut often cut her off mid speech.

 

The two excursions I went on to Waimea Canyon and Kilaeua volcano were interesting with excellent narrations by the bus drivers on the current state of farming in Hawaii.

 

One comment I will make is that Cunard uses the term "usually docks along side" for Lahaina, and there is no physical way that could happen as the dock will barely handle two tenders at one time. Other than that it was a great trip.

 

Mike

[smoothsailors]

Mike, thank you for posting about your positive experience in QG...and sorry to hear about the nasty weather. Just no way to predict.

 

Do you happen to know if Osman Pinaroglu will still be aboard the QV for the March 28th sailing back to Southampton...sounds like we should hope so!

[Underwatr]

We're currently aboard QV and I agree about the slick decking. I felt like my feet could go out from under me walking on a wet deck on the Promenade. A poor substitute for genuine wood..

[Bigmike911]

I asked Osman what his plans are and he will go as far as Ft. Lauderdale on the QV and then back to he QM2 for a couple of months before his leave. Hopefully his replacement will benefit from his organization skills.

 

Andrew Nelder is due back in the Fall, and will be on my Venice to Ft.L return, He also runs a tight ship.

 

Mike

[Salacia]

We're currently aboard QV and I agree about the slick decking. I felt like my feet could go out from under me walking on a wet deck on the Promenade. A poor substitute for genuine wood..

 

Ah hah! Try walking on a wet wood deck in heels! :eek:

Sorry, just had to mention that. Hope your voyage is going well otherwise :) -S.

[Conte Di Savoia]

We were also on the February 17 cruise. Here are a few of my observations:

 

First of all I’ll start off with a complaint, but not one over which Cunard had any control. The weather was not cooperative and certainly not what I expected. The Pacific transits were more reminiscent of crossings of the North Atlantic in October, rather cool with intermittent showers especially on the return to LA. I expected a climate more like the Caribbean as we sailed toward the Tropic of Cancer.

 

Still we had a very good time and met lots of interesting people aboard the new Cunard Line. Queen Victoria is a state of the art vessel, highly technological and designed to be operated efficiently. It is an accurate representation of the image that Cunard is promoting of itself. The suits who run the line like to project the history of Cunard Line and claim to be carrying on the Golden Age of luxury travel and the interior design of the vessel seeks to create a stage setting for that image in which we were all asked to participate. The passengers were eager to please and play the part. For example, there was near 100% compliance when it came to observing the evening’s dress code. There was not a single casual evening, not even for the one with the on deck barbeque! The formal nights were among the dressiest I’ve experienced aboard a cruise ship in many years. Long gowns were usual and tuxedos/dinner jackets far outnumbered cocktail dresses and dark suits. Improperly dressed diners (the very few who tried to enter the dining room in T-shirts or jeans) were turned away and directed elsewhere. The occasional rebel walking around in casual clothes stood out as if they were wearing their skivvies in public! Many of the ladies from the UK wore fascinators on their heads. I had often seen these in pictures. I finally asked one of our new British friends what they were called. They aren’t seen in the US.

 

Very well attended classical music recitals were held nearly every sea day afternoon in the Queens Room. We attended all of these except for one which overlapped with the CruiseCritic get-together. It was a great touch and very well received by the attendees. Overall, the entertainment was about the best we’ve seen on a cruise ship. The ship’s singers (mostly from the UK) and dancers (Russian and Ukranian) gave spot on performances and the programs were creative, not the usual tribute to Broadway and Hollywood musicals….what a relief! One of the big production numbers was based on various famous paintings which the performers brought to life through song and dance. While I could make some critical remarks about particular aspects of the production, overall it was very cleverly performed. Their last big show was “Victoriana” which was based on British music hall productions with some modern twists. Queen Victoria’s theater has all the bells and whistles and lighting effects that you might find in a theater ashore. I think it is the best I have seen aboard any ship, even surpassing Queen Mary 2, which also has a great showroom.

 

Other topics to cover: Food (always a difficult area); service; overall ambiance.

[oldidr]

My wife and I were on that voyage, and while we've sailed on Celebrity at least a half dozen times previously this particular cruise was by comparison mediocre at best. Celebrity's known for fine cuisine ... this trip had us leave the dining room on two occasions without dinner having sent two different entrees back. In the buffet there were times that coffee cups weren't available, the coffee urns were empty, silverware wasn't available ... utterly unacceptable. The kitchens lost electrical power one night. Toilets malfunctioned, but only briefly. Cabins on the lower decks were flooded. The ship is due for a refurbishing in 2014 ... two years too late, IMO. If this had been our first Celebrity cruise we'd never go back, but we've had excellent experiences in all previous cruises so we'll give them another chance.

[Sauer-kraut]

My wife and I were on that voyage, and while we've sailed on Celebrity at least a half dozen times previously this particular cruise was by comparison mediocre at best. Celebrity's known for fine cuisine ... this trip had us leave the dining room on two occasions without dinner having sent two different entrees back. In the buffet there were times that coffee cups weren't available, the coffee urns were empty, silverware wasn't available ... utterly unacceptable. The kitchens lost electrical power one night. Toilets malfunctioned, but only briefly. Cabins on the lower decks were flooded. The ship is due for a refurbishing in 2014 ... two years too late, IMO. If this had been our first Celebrity cruise we'd never go back, but we've had excellent experiences in all previous cruises so we'll give them another chance.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!

Kind of shaking my head at this one.

Did the poster put this on the wrong forum? Does he realize this is a review from 2 years ago about the Queen Victoria?

 

Sorry to hear that which ever cruise you are talking about it wasn't very good. I hope that your next one will be much better! :)

[deck chair]

Hello

 

I greatly agree about the horrible outside decking on the Queen Victoria. Not only does it look cheap and fake but it is VERY SLIPPERY when moist and you really have to be careful not to slip and fall. What was Cunard thinking about? I hope in the future this decking is replaced with real wood.

 

Deck Chair

[glojo]

Hello

 

I greatly agree about the horrible outside decking on the Queen Victoria. Not only does it look cheap and fake but it is VERY SLIPPERY when moist and you really have to be careful not to slip and fall. What was Cunard thinking about? I hope in the future this decking is replaced with real wood.

 

Deck Chair

This is a major concern and hopefully folks are writing to Cunard to complain about this issue. Is this 'wood' actually a type of plastic? :(:(

 

I can walk short distances with the aid of crutches but reading these comments about this decking is giving me cause to be concerned. I am hoping that in warmer climates this plastic will quickly dry but what about heat? Does this 'plastic' get hot when the sun is glaring down onto it? :o:mad:

[oldidr]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!!

Kind of shaking my head at this one.

Did the poster put this on the wrong forum? Does he realize this is a review from 2 years ago about the Queen Victoria?

 

Sorry to hear that which ever cruise you are talking about it wasn't very good. I hope that your next one will be much better! :)

 

I thought I had logged into a thread on Celebrity, the Century ... San Diego to Hawaii and back 2/17 - 3/4 ... and was commenting on THAT cruise. You can stop shaking your head ... now it's my turn!

 

Oldidr

[deck chair]

Hello

 

On Queen Victoria the crew would put these orange caution cones when the deck was moist. I imagine CUNARD saved money with the cheap decking. Too bad.

 

Deck Chair

[Sauer-kraut]

I thought I had logged into a thread on Celebrity, the Century ... San Diego to Hawaii and back 2/17 - 3/4 ... and was commenting on THAT cruise. You can stop shaking your head ... now it's my turn!

 

Oldidr

 

Cheers :) So glad you came back and thanks for clarifying!

 

Smooth sailing in the future!