I was lucky enough to go to Southampton and visit the newest addition to the Cunard Fleet Queen Anne. Embarkation was extremely straight forward, and parking was opposite the terminal. Whilst on board I can truly say I was blown away; it is light and airy and has plenty of space for all customers on board in the communal areas. The ship has a more modern feel to the other Cunard ships yet remaining luxurious. The decorations are stunning!
Our first stop on our ship tour was the Queens Room, this is an area where lots of things go on during the day from entertainment to afternoon tea. Above the Queens Room there is a second tier where guests can sit and relax yet still hear what is going on. In this area the shops are situated. We heard that the Cunard branded shop is extremely popular with guests. After pausing in this area to look around we headed off to the pub, The Golden Lion. This venue has a British pub feel with more casual dining serving well known and loved pub food.
The Royal Court Theatre was our next stop, this venue brings world class entertainment, Broadway style musical shows and new in-house productions. The Theatre can sit around 800 people in one show. They have two sittings for shows to accommodate guests. The Royal court Theatre is not only used in the evening but also in the daytime for insight talks. On average there are two guest speakers per week on a sailing. The speakers come from a wealth of backgrounds such as from the world of sport, music and many more. Making our way back from the Theatre we passed the Bright Light Society, which is a smaller venue, a more immersive experience. This venue was decorated in darker colours which were beautiful, I can imagine it would be a great late-night venue.
My favourite area on the Queen Anne was the Pavilion, this is an idyllic area which has a beautiful pool area with hot tubs. There is plenty of varied seating options ranging from loungers to sofa type seats. The Pavilion is covered with a glass roof. This area also has a large screen where films can be watched. Sail away parties also take place in this area plus in the evening you can slip on your party shoes ready for the silent disco. Again, like the Queens Room, the Pavilion has two tiers which means there is plenty of space for everyone. At the Pavilion there is Grill and Gelateria, great to get a bite to eat whilst relaxing.
For casual dining the Artisans food hall was another option, the food hall has large maps showing where the different foods are served. Towards the back of the food hall were two of the speciality restaurants, there is an extra charge for these restaurants. My personal favourite was Tramonto which served Mediterranean style dishes, beautifully decorated. Other speciality restaurants were the Aranya restaurant serving Indian flavours, Aji Wa restaurant serving signature tastes of Japan and Sir Samuel’s steak restaurant. We were treated to a beautiful three course lunch in the dining room, the food was excellent, well presented and the staff were most attentive.
When visiting the staterooms, we were able to visit Britannia inside staterooms which were surprisingly spacious with lots of storage that included bath robes for guests which was a nice touch. We saw Britannia Balcony stateroom; the furnishings were calming blue tones with gold touches the staterooms all had luxurious amenities. My personal favourite was the Princess Grill Suites, all situated in a prime central location, the rooms were decorated in a sumptuous red and gold colour scheme. These suites give guests exclusive access to the Princess Grill restaurant where you can dine anytime at your reserved table. It also gives you exclusive access to the Grills lounge and outside Grills Terrace. There is a Concierge service for on board reservations and shore experiences. Princess Grill suite guests also have priority embarkation and disembarkation. The other suite option was the Queens Grill suites, staying in these suites would bring a wealth of extras to you including a butler to customise your voyage experience.
Other facilities on board are the gym, spa which has a sauna, indoor pool and massage room offering various types of massage, also hair salon and manicure stations. There is an art gallery on board plus a range of different kids clubs. The Queen Anne has a beautiful, decorated Library which holds a staggering 6000 books. The Library also has a book club on board. The last space that we had chance to spend some time in was the Commodore Club which had huge windows and comfortable seating where you can enjoy the views. You could easily while away a few hours enjoying the view with your favourite cocktail in hand!
I can truly say I thoroughly enjoyed my day on Queen Anne, she is a stunning ship, beautifully designed with luxurious furnishings yet feels modern and light. If you have any questions about my time on board Queen Anne, you can get in contact with via email, [email protected], call me on 01285 659611 or come in and see me in our Cirencester store.
