Towards the end of our Rotary Presidents year some members go on holiday to celebrate the year and this year 17 of us joined the 5 day cruise on the recently revamped Queen Victoria. We have sailed on the QM2 a number of times so were keen to see how it compared. We were indeed very impressed by the ship, it was lovely and light and had a very welcoming feel about it. It was definitely easier to navigate your way around the ship than the QM2. We were unlucky however that the itinerary had to be changed due to bad weather so only able to go to Amsterdam and had to miss out Zeebrugge. We knew that our cabin would not be the best i.e. did not have a balcony but other than that it was fine for 4 nights. However our biggest disappointment and criticism was off the food in the Lido restaurant, it was typical canteen food and something I certainly would not have expected from Cunard. The choice was uninteresting and the presentation left a lot to be desired. The food in the main Britannia restaurant was ok. The first night though the service was awful but glad to say it did improve. Some of the staff I did not feel were particularly helpful, others were great. I feel that Cunard are not moving with the times, I think people nowadays want choice and more flexibility for main dining rather than 2 sittings. We loved the options on QM2 where there were speciality nights which you paid extra for but they were great and well worth it.

So come on Cunard, things need to change and improvements in your Lido restaurant, as otherwise I will probably not choose the vessel again.