This Cunard Regular Puts Their Brand-New Ship To The Test

I believe I can bring a unique take on Cunard's new Queen Anne as I’ve been on 23 Cunard cruises and spent 210 nights across all their fleet, including most recently 14 nights on board Queen Anne, which gave me ample time to fully test out their latest cruise ship. I was keen to discover if, as some believe, Cunard is trying to chase people like me away from Cunard with their new ship and replace me with new and younger cruisers, or whether they're just trying to offer another ship for me as a regular Cunard cruiser to experience.

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00:00 Start
00:57 A Reinvention?
06:57 Cunard Queen Anne Class System
09:22 Cunard Queen Anne Differences
15:38 Tips For Travellers Patrons
16:09 Cunard Queen Anne On-board Program
17:53 Who is Cunard Queen Anne For?

[lescook]

Every so often I binge watch this gentleman's videos on cruising.
Not exactly unusual, except that I don't take cruises and actually, after watching these videos, I'm not sure I want to.
But for some reason, I find his videos interesting and his voice somehow calming.

[sheilaathay]

I want the old fashioned. Polished wood, , crystal chandeliers, . Yes Agatha Christie for sure. And i want to dance with Inspector Poirot .And I'm not old❤🎉

[AA-dbcb]

Yeah that's one ship I'm not setting a foot on. If I sail with Cunard, I want Art Deco. Art Deco looks more luxurious than contemporary.

[Zombie-Tog]

This is so spot on Gary...gone is the Agatha Christie feel ...it's like any other vanilla cruise ship. No character ...almost like an upmarket P&O with furnishings that lack sumptuousness . That theatre is hideous ...think of the sense of occasion in the other Cunard ships have. Welcome to the world of generic, "safe" globalisation.

[aircal]

You always do such fair and balanced reviews. We just love them and thank you.

[scottread]

I think I'll stick with the art deco gorgeousness of QM2.

[ScottRae]

Having been on exactly 1 cruise, on Holland America Konningsdam, I was watching this and thinking "ooo recognise that, that looks familiar"

Which strikes me as missing the point for Cunard.

[TonyLon]

We've just returned from the QA trip after yours (down in the Med, where the sundecks were heavily used) and think you've given a very fair & balanced review of the new ship.
A couple of observations:
Most of the passengers seemed to be long term Cunarders (and also in the older age bracket. I'm early 60s and was definitely in the younger demographic on this cruise). I think the proof of the pudding will come in maybe 6 months time when Cunard will be hoping to attract new customers (either from other lines or new to cruising altogether) to fill the Winter & Spring sailings. Cunard have to tread a very fine line in offering the new innovations to attract those new customers (the Bright Lights cabaret venue and the Wellness café are two of the new features I think worked very well) but also keeping enough of the Cunard traditional things that are really their USP. For example the dressing up on the Formal evenings (and indeed the overall smartness of passengers on all the other evenings) is the one thing that separates Cunard from all the other lines and is widely appreciated by most of their clientele.
Secondly. Even though I thought the decor & design in general was good, , I think that the overall passenger flow of the ship could have been better implemented. I know you were in Grills, but for us lowly Britannia passengers, getting from one end of the ship to the other on the upper decks (without sneaking through the Grill Terrace ) was a real trek (involving dropping down a couple of decks and coming back up). The cabins (and especially the bathrooms) are a step up from the other Queens, but as mentioned elsewhere, the wardrobe space has been decreased (and with no drawers except in the bedside cabinets) and why won't Cunard trust it's customers (who've paid thousands to sail) not to pinch the coat hangers!
QM2 is still our favourite, but wouldn't dismiss another trip on Queen Anne if the itinerary (and price) was right.

[marcusnz]

We just spent a couple of weeks on her.
We’ve sailed on Queen Mary and Queen Victoria.
We disliked the environment on Anne finding it very unCunard. The central Pavilion pool area is noisy and unpleasant, the Grills location makes getting around the ship difficult unless you have Grills access.
The venues are like corridors with no walls closing them off from the corridors.
New cabins were lovely. However we will be avoiding her from now on in favour of the older ships.
We even found the things we wanted to eat on the Room Service menus were extra costs as opposed to being included like normal.
The buffet just didn’t work well at all - too crowded, not enough space to walk past the queues caused by waiting to be served etc.
The lifts seemed slower and more crowded than the other ships too.

[dbirch]

Gary - Another excellent video. I probably watch more of your videos than anyone else's -- so professional and balanced.

I recently sailed on the Queen Anne from Southampton to Norway, my first cruise in 25 years. 7 days. Your general tips on packing, embarkation, cabins, etc. from other videos were super helpful, and your description of the Queen Anne is spot on.

I will offer a different point of view on one point you make: I found the food in the specialty restaurants *significantly* better than the food in the main Britannia restaurant. I had dinner in the Britannia Dining Room twice, and found the food okay, maybe three stars, and the portions quite small, e.g. a small teacup of weak beef consomme for a starter was disappointing. I thought the food in all four of the specialty restaurants was absolutely four stars, and the portions more generous. The spicy scallop starter in Tramonto was one of the best scallop dishes I've ever had, and the lobster main in Aranya was spectacular. Just a matter of preferences I guess.

Two positives I would add: the Cunard bathrobes are the most comfortable things I have ever worn. It's like they are made of clouds and unicorn fur. And the doughnuts at breakfast were heavenly, (but you have to know where to find them, as they are off to the side).

[monkeyb]

we did a princess ship (caribbean princess) that also had those annoying siteline issues. Iirc, in the second section, certain seats had good views and we made sure to sit in the latter seats. This is an important thing for everyone to observe early (maybe even during muster time on day 1).

[christinelloyd-kgow]

I’m sorry you had this experience I watch all your superb videos
I’ve just returned from Queen Ann and had wonderful time she is not Queen Mary
Im a solo traveler maybe I just got lucky
Thank you for all your valuable info

[dianacarragher]

Gary we have just returned from a short sector of Queen Anne's woorld cruise Alk/Syd i was excited but knew what to expect no wow factor at all. I love Cunard tradition our cabin was small but well appointed and fine for our short voyage. The Queens room a disaster the carpet is like a RSL club and the Theatre is badly raked so you have a head blocking your view of the stage. The food could have been better the Artisan food hall had little choice they took on huge amount of stores in Sydney. I would not have missed it though the sail up Sydney harbour was spectacular with water cannon we were late 10am arrival and lovely sunny welcome.I was proud of my home town.

[GlasshouseandGarden]

On a recent non-Cunard cruise, some below passengers recommended I watch your videos to help with future planning, so here I am! This is a great video and very helpful to one so new to this form of holiday. I am considering a cruise on Queen Anne next year - is this ship/Cunard largely child-free? I won't be taking children on holiday with me and am keen for a holiday away from children and the entertainment that they want.

[joanfreestone]

We had actually booked a cruise on Queen Anne from Sydney but when we saw pictures of the interior and that awful promenade deck, we cancelled. It looks nothing like a Cunard ship.

[jfmezei]

My image of Cunard is that of luxury trans-atlantic ocean liners. Since carnoval has plenty of brands, it is interesting that they are extending Cunard to include "cruising" on a modern "vanilla" ship that just includes some of the true Cunard image. Curious to see how their marleting manages to keep the 2 different Cunards different.

[shirleysmith]

Great video. I sailed on Queen Anne last year and found it quite dark and dismal. One disappointing aspect was the promenade deck which had the backs of shops on one side the lifeboats on the other so you couldn't see the sea. This made the inside dark. It also felt crowded and the dining room almost claustraphobic.

[katcalico]

Oh no Gary! No one could possibly want to replace you! I wouldn’t do Cunard solo, but would consider going with my Mother if I can convince her. She is more of a Seabourn lady - I am still trying to convince her to try the Retreat on an Edge class ship. 😂

[colin]

If they have increased the covers in the Princess Grills have the staff ratio’s also increased in the restaurant to keep the service up to par? We have always enjoyed excellent table service in both Princess and Queens Grills on Victoria and Q Elizabeth, from your review I think we will be sticking to those ships. Keep up the excellent reviews Gary

[suave-rider]

Correct me if I'm wrong. The ceilings are very ow which means tall people will feel very claustrophobic. Look at 4:38 to 5:00