Cunard’s latest addition to the fleet is Queen Anne. Many loyal Cunard passengers have their favorite ship. They can be very loyal. When Queen Mary 2 entered service, some passengers sang the praises of QE2. When the sister ships Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth came into service, others professed their loyalty to Queen Mary 2. Where does Queen Anne fit into the fleet?
Characteristic: Ship dimensions
Queen Anne: The ship is 1,058 feet, carries 2,996 passengers and weighs 113,000 tons. Pavillion pool area, a large event space covered with a retractable roof, is a great feature. It has a drive in sized movie screen.
Queen Victoria: The ship is 965 feet long, carries 2,061 passengers and displaces 90,000 tons.
Outcome: The Queen Anne is 100 feet longer and carries 1,000 more passengers, but it doesn’t feel crowded. I prefer Queen Victoria, yet the covered pool area on Queen Anne is a great feature.
Characteristic: Stateroom size
Queen Anne: Inside staterooms are 145 square feet. Oceanview are 205 square feet.(Deluxe 245) Balcony staterooms are 180 square feet. Doors are opened by touching your card to a metal plate. Showers have glass doors and are very nice.
Queen Victoria: Inside staterooms are 152 to 243 sq feet. Oceanview 133 to 201 square feet. Balcony staterooms 228 to 472 square feet. Doors are opened by inserting your card into a slot on the door. Showers have plastic curtains and feel small.
Outcome: We have sailed in various staterooms on Queen Victoria and an inside and balcony stateroom on Queen Anne. The Queen Anne inside stateroom felt very cramped. The Queen Vitoria staterooms have been better.
Characteristic: Entertainment
Queen Anne: One unique feature is the Bright Lights Society. This is a nightclub venue currently showing two shows, Noir and Fizz. If you saw Cabaret of Victor Victoria, it has that intimate feel. Very well done. The creative writing workshop and the Improv group presenting both shows and a workshop were excellent.
Queen Victoria: This ship has the standard entertainment venues you find on most Cunard ships. Both ships are bringing in theater companies to present dramatic performances.
Outcome: Queen Victoria has some new ideas.
Characteristic: Steward service
Queen Anne: In our stateroom there was no card indicating the name of our steward or a phone number to reach them. It appears steward service is transitioning similar to a hotel where your bed is made up and turned down each day.
Queen Victoria: On our recent voyage our steward introduced themselves. There was a card with their name in the stateroom. The phone has a button to call your room steward.
Outcome: Steward access was better on Queen Victoria.
Characteristic: Bars and cocktail lounges
Queen Anne: The ship has the famous lounges you would expect, like the Chart Room and the Commodore Club. It also features the Carpathia Bar serving oysters (additional charge) and excellent open faced sandwiches in the afternoon. They have an excellent by the glass wine list, different from the other lounges. There are two open air bars on the top deck, one fore and another aft.
Queen Victoria: In addition to the Chart Room and Commodore Club, they have the Gin and Fizz Bar. They carry 46 different gins and about eight different tonics.
Outcome: Queen Anne has innovative additions not found on Queen Victoria.
Characteristic: Television
Queen Anne: They have an enhanced program selection on the TV. This is similar to what you find on long airplane flights. You have hundreds of movies organized by genre. Many live Tv stations too
Queen Victoria: The ship has the familiar, but old technology. On our recent voyage, there might be 20 stations half being live broadcast news or sports programs. The others are scheduled movies which are also listed in a separate TV movie guide. Unfortunately the guide and the programs shown did not seem to align. There were often weak or no signal problems.
Outcome: Queen Anne does a better job with TV program selection and signal strength.
Characteristic: Internet service
Queen Anne: The service seemed to be stronger and more consistent on Queen Anne.
Queen Victoria: On our recent voyage, it appears you needed to sign in every day. Images embedded into e-mails would not load. The connection would occasionally drop.
Outcome: In both cases, internet access is expensive. It is better on Queen Anne.
Characteristic: Theater
Queen Anne: The theater is large and one level, gently sloping up towards the rear.
Queen Victoria: The theater is an impressive reproduction of a London West End theater, including boxes. The theater is on two levels.
Outcome: Although not as visually attractive, the theater on Queen Anne is easier to access and navigate.
Characteristic: Queens Room
Queen Anne: The Queens Room is a classic feature of Cunard ships. This version is much too small.
Queen Victoria: Although not as large as the Queens Room on Queen Mary 2, the Queens Room is large enough and well designed.
Outcome: The Queen Victoria has a better Queens Room.
Characteristic: Alternative dining
Queen Anne: The ship has four alternative dining venues. This includes the steakhouse, Asian, Indian and Mediterranean.
Queen Victoria: The ship has one main alternative venue, the Veranda Steakhouse. It has a pop up restaurant in the Lido area on deck 9 that changes on a weekly basis.
Outcome: Queen Anne offers more selection.
Characteristic: Stability at sea
Queen Anne: On our January voyage at the start of the World Cruise, we ran into severe storms. The ship creaks a lot. Tiles in the Artesian Food Hall broke. There was significant motion, especially our stateroom close to the ship’s bow.
Queen Victoria: We had 14 days of calm seas when we crossed the Atlantic in March. On other voyages we have found Queen Victoria very stable.
Outcome: Queen Victoria is the better ship, but Queen Mary 2 is the best for stability at sea.
Characteristic: Morning TV program
Queen Anne: There is no morning program on TV.
Queen Victoria: There has always been a morning program. It highlights a few of the day’s activities in an interview format.
Outcome: Queen Victoria has a morning program.
Each ship has its pros and cons. At this point I prefer Queen Victoria.
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Cover photo Queen Anne credit Cunard
