Cunard Line, Queen Elizabeth, Mediterranean Review

Queen Elizabeth, Mediterranean

The cruise was excellent, but, unfortunately, the weather was not.The first day of the cruise was spent in Southampton harbour because the weather was too bad for the pilot to board/disembark the ship. Once we did get underway, rough seas and high winds were still a problem. As a result of the delay, we did miss the first port of call, Lanzarote, and our first two stops were Fuerteventura and Tenerife. We went walking in Fuerteventura and in Tenerife went by local bus to Oratava, where it rained quite heavily. The passengers who stayed in Puerto de la Cruz fared much better. Madeira was next, where the weather finally was very good - hot and sunny and we visited gardens. The botanic gardens are well publicised, but the gardens of the Monte Palace are much more interesting and a must to visit. We went by local bus to Monte to see the basilica and the gardens. The bus ride itself was an experience. We then stopped at Gibraltar, which was also very sunny and went to Europa point and the lighthouse. The post cards which I sent from Gibraltar arrived much earlier than the ones from the Canaries and Madeira, so if your cruise calls in at Gib. send your cards from there. The last port of call was Cadiz where we did a ship's excursion to Medina Sidonia, Arcos de la Frontera and Jerez. A very good excursion and guide, but it did involve a lot of walking, After that, there was a gala night for my birthday (or possibly not) and back to Southampton. We were late back to Southampton as there had been a medical emergency on board which necessitated calling into port in the middle of the night. On board Queen Elizabeth the usual Cunard excellence and service was on view, except perhaps for dinner on the first night on board when everybody had been given the same time to arrive at the restaurant, and it was somewhat chaotic. Once in the restaurant, the food and service was excellent. For second sitting, there was an open dining arrangement which meant we sat with different people each night - a good way to meet other people. The entertainment on board was generally very good. The in-house troop of dancers and singers were among the best we have seen on board any ship. The other guest artists were of a more variable standard from very good to O.K. The best shows were those by the in-house troop and also by a very good husband and wife acrobatic duo. All in all, a very good cruise, despite the weather. I was only able to sunbathe on one day for about fifteen minutes.