Behind the Scenes on The Hotel and Restaurant Sides at Cunard

We have all heard the tale about the swan, moving gracefully above the water with furious paddling below the surface. Cunard delivers a consistently elegant experience that runs smoothly. How do they do it? How do they plan for the future? On our recent nine nights on Cunard’s Queen Victoria I sat down with the hotel manager and the food and beverage manager to learn more about what happens behind the scenes as the swan glides across …

Read more

Princess Grill vs. Britannia on Cunard: What’s the Difference?

After 20+ years and 18 voyages, we finally travelled in Princess Grill! On January 20 of this year my wife and I returned from our nine night transatlantic crossing on Cunard’s Queen Victoria. This was the first segment of Cunard’s 100th World Cruise. Although we were only onboard for nine nights, about 1,200 of the ship’s 2,000 passengers signed on for the full 98 nights. We paid for Britannia-class accommodations (plus our airfare) but Cunard generously upgraded …

Read more

10 Things I Learned About Cunard’s World Cruises

We recently returned home after nine nights on Cunard’s Queen Victoria.  We were onboard for the first segment, sailing from Southampton to New York.  This was the first segment or leg of Queen Victoria’s 98-night World Voyage.  Our ship and Queen Mary 2 sailed out of Southampton the same night, with the QM2 beginning its world cruise, sailing in the opposite direction!  We have done a leg of the voyage a few times.  We have learned a …

Read more

10 Reasons to Book a Cruise Immediately

Many people wait until the last moment to get things done. Why else would Super Saturday, the Saturday before Christmas and the Thursday before Christmas be #2 and #3 on the list of the ten busiest shopping days in the US? (1)  Let us make the case why now is the ideal time to book a cruise, regardless when you intend to sail. A cruise is a spectacular present. Years ago, my wife and I gave each …

Read more

Lifetime Goal Achieved: My Chat With Chief Sommelier at Cunard

I love wine. I dream about wine. My wife tolerates my enthusiasm for drinking and collecting wine. Yes, I am a wine fan. On our recent voyage on Cunard’s Queen Victoria, I had the opportunity to interview Vellen Mootoosamy, the Chief Sommelier. The Wine lists on Cunard are excellent. What is new for 2023?  What are you doing differently?  When we had our discussion, the Queen Victoria was starting the 98-night world cruise. As the ship circles …

Read more

The Case for Planning a City Break Before Your Cruise

Are you sailing on a cruise from a nearby homeport?  If not, you are likely flying to Europe or another distant destination to join your cruise ship. Why not extend your vacation for a couple of days and enjoy the city? If you are sailing from a homeport, you can drive (or be driven) to the pier on the day of your cruise. If you live in New York and are sailing from Southampton, you will be …

Read more

My Chat with Evans Hoyt, Captain of Cunard’s Queen Victoria

One of the really cool things about travel writing is you get to meet interesting people. During our nine-night segment of Cunard’s Queen Victoria 98 night world cruise, I had the opportunity to talk with Evans Hoyt, the ship’s Captain. What did I learn? Let’s start off with the fact my meeting did not take place as planned. There I was, ready and waiting on Monday, January 16th outside the ship’s library. I was promptly collected by …

Read more

The Romance of Valentine’s Day at Sea

Heart-shaped tropical island

Valentine’s Day is around the corner. This is a holiday you do not want to overlook. It’s a day to do something really special for your spouse or partner. According to an American Express report cited by inquisitr.com. six million couples are likely to get engaged on Valentine’s Day. It’s a day you do not want to overlook. Now suppose you are on a cruise on February 14th, how might you celebrate? Many of these ideas can …

Read more

Overall Review: Cunard’s Queen Victoria Transatlantic Voyage (~Excellent and Looking Forward to Next Time!)

Royal Court Theatre

We sailed for nine nights on the first leg of Queen Victoria’s world cruise comprising 98 nights in total. With a capacity of about 2,000 passengers 1,200 are booked for the full 98 nights. Wow! We paid for our cabin and airfare to London. Cunard upgraded us from Britannia class to Princess Grill accommodations. They provided free internet, a dinner in the specialty restaurant and spa passes. How did they score? Overall Score: 95/100 Although we were …

Read more

9 Great Days Crossing the Atlantic on Cunard’s Queen Victoria

We just returned from nine nights aboard Cunard’s Queen Victoria. This was the first segment of the ship’s 98-night world cruise. It’s probably our 18th Cunard voyage. Would we do it again?  Yes. The best way to explain why is to detail what we did each day. Here is a summary of the highlights of each day. Wednesday, January 11th:  Day One Our anxiety level lessened considerably on Tuesday after we got our negative Covid test results …

Read more

Trusted by over 1.5 million cruisers since 2003.
Get FREE access to members-only pricing.
There is a highly acclaimed way to receive multiple quotes from a site called CruiseCompete, where cruise specialists compete to offer you the best deal. The media sums it up for CruiseCompete:
Score Luxury Cruises at Bargain Prices” (The Street)
Best site for cruise deals” (The Wall Street Journal)
28 Best Travel Sites” (Kiplinger's) Multiple annual mentions
36 Web Addresses You Should Know” (The Washington Post)