This cruise was a treat for a special occasion. All of Cunard's advertising exudes 'Luxury and Glamour'. We did not know that we had paid all that money to join the last leg of around the world cruise for a 'don't care home'!! Our checkin and boarding was a disaster as we were checked into the room I had booked, but in some one else's name! We subsequently were hawked about a couple of floors to find the right cabin and then spent the afternoon dodging wheelchairs and aged people with walking sticks etc.. The only luxury in evidence were pictures and marquetry decorating the walls in public areas. Subsequently the bars were empty and no audiences for the brilliant musicians. It was like a ghost ship with no ambience.

The so called 'glitzy gala balls' were no more than Hammersmith Palais on a bad day with 5 employed male and 1 female dancers to get people on the floor and guests turning up in casual clothes, one woman near me in my evening finery was wearing a fleece and track suit trousers!

We ate a mere twice in the main dining room, first night the steak was like shoe leather, second night we had to suffer an unacceptable being. This was fixed dining and no other tables were available so we had to eat in the Lido everyday. Read more