I recently experienced a week aboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth cruise ship on a trip from Sydney to Tasmania, Melbourne and return. It was a themed cruise called “Sporting Greats and Wellness Voyage”. It was a journey aboard a luxurious ship that I’ve always wanted to experience. There is a lot to be said about cruising aboard such a grand cruise ship.
My Queen Elizabeth cruise ship review was awarded 4 out of 5 stars. There was a lot to crow about but there were also some things on the ship that did not live up to their famous name.
As the name denotes, the Queen Elizabeth ship has a lot to live up to, just on its name alone. This medium sized cruise ship was built in 2010 and can accommodate 2,081 passengers. It is a grand ship with superior interiors that take you back to a bygone era of a cruising. The dining and lounge areas are spacious and luxuriously decorated. You definitely feel like there is plenty of room on this ship.
However, the downside was the size of the cabins or staterooms. They were on the small side and did not compare with cabins on other cruise ship competitors. I found the cabin to be extremely restrictive and crammed.
We also found that service was a little lacking on the ship and definitely expected so much better on such a luxurious cruise ship. We got the impression that staff were not sufficiently trained and that some places on the ship were understaffed.
The things I really enjoyed on the ship were the fabulous lounge areas, the daily high teas, the spacious and chic coffee shop, the outdoor bar area at the aft of the ship, the Commodore bar at the front of the ship and the very formal dining room. It really was a touch of class.
After we departed the scenic harbour of Sydney and navigated our way out through the heads to the open ocean, we sailed southwards. The following morning was an at sea day, so my friend and I perused the daily activities schedule and made a plan of what we wanted to do.
After a leisurely breakfast, we made our way to the ballroom where we did a very energetic Zumba class. With a total lack of coordination, we managed to get through the hour long class with many giggles and some unsteadiness underfoot as the ship lolled in the ocean.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a frothy cappuccino in the adjacent coffee shop. We both laughed about our Zumba dance moves and decided it definitely was not for us.
Next on our busy agenda, was a sports trivia challenge, with the likes of sporting legends such as Brett Lee, Adam Goodes, Karrie Webb, Mark Beretta and Amanda McLaren. We enjoyed answering some trivia questions about Australian sport for a change.
Following this we were treated to a talk by Physician Scientist, Professor Luigi Fontana about longevity and what scientific research has divulged about how to age well. It was a fascinating insight into how to live longer, but also dismissed some of our preconceived myths about aging.
After all this activity, both physical and mental, we headed back to our cabin for a well earned afternoon nap. The weather was a little wild and windy, so we never ventured out to the outdoor bar for a pre-dinner drink. Instead we enjoyed a few G & T’s in the English Pub.
It was Valentine’s Day and also a themed formal night on the ship. So dinner was a formal affair, with a single rose given to every lady and even scoring a table for two by a window. We enjoyed a free glass of bubbly and the normal 4 course meal. Then we rushed to make the show in the theatre, which featured dancers and singers performing some great hits.
It was spectacular weather when we disembarked in Hobart. The cruise ship terminal was ideally located right near Sullivan’s Cove, Constitution Dock and the city centre. It was an easy walk to most of Hobart’s must sees, like: Salamanca Place, Parliament House, Battery Point, Anglesea Barracks, Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, Mawson’s Huts and some of the magnificent historic buildings that Hobart is famous for.
We caught a bus up to Mt Wellington on this perfect sky blue day and wandered around the summit of this peak that overlooks Hobart city. Our bird’s eye view over the Derwent River and the city of Hobart was breathtaking.
By the time we returned to Hobart it was time to return to the ship. However, if you are in Hobart for longer I would recommend a visit to Cascade Brewery, Cascade Female Factory, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Wrestpoint Casino and then a ferry across to MONA – the most eclectic and quirky modern art museum.
We awoke the next morning in the bay at Port Arthur, a historical and notable convict site in Tasmania. We were tendered onto the pier at Port Arthur and able to wander at our will throughout this intriguing site. However, we had booked a half day excursion called the Lavender and Winery tour of the Tasman Peninsula.
We jumped aboard a bus with our octogenarian guide and meandered through the fascinating Tasman Peninsula. Out first stop was at Port Arthur Lavender Farm for morning tea with a walk through the lavender fields and gardens. Following was a decadent high tea with scones, lavender jam and cream. We were then able to browse the gift shop brimming with lavender goodies.
Our next stop was at Eaglehawk Neck, where we learnt about the gruesome history of the penal settlement at Port Arthur and how they used this thin piece of land to contain the convicts to the Tasman Peninsula.
We continued to the scenic lookout at Pirates Bay and then to the Tessellated Pavement where we walked down to this extraordinary formation of flat rocks that looks liked a tiled pavement on the beach. This was followed by a fantastic wine tasting experience at Bream Creek Winery.
After feasting on scones, jam and cream and some tasty wine and cheese, we made our way back to Port Arthur. Here we were able to stroll around the historic convict site for the remainder of the day.
When we got back on board the ship we decided to partake in the high tea experience and we were not disappointed. We were served by butlers in white jackets with fine bone china teapots that were accompanied with platters of tiny treats of sandwiches, scones and cakes.
After two full on days of shore excursions, I was looking forward to a restful day at sea. We departed Tasmania bound for Melbourne. We waved goodbye to the Apple Isle from the pool bar at the aft of the ship as it was sailing out to the open ocean.
Day four was a day of walking laps around the ship to keep up the exercise, relaxing around the pool, attending a very informative talk from Mark Beretta, Sports Commentator and a cooking demonstration and a Q & A from Nutritionist, Dr Joanna McMilllan.
That evening it was another formal night themed Masquerade. It was a night of glamorous evening gowns, tuxedos, loads of bling and intriguing masks. There was ballroom dancing after dinner where everyone got down on the dance floor and showed off their best dance moves.
I have been to Melbourne many times, since I was born and bred in a city called Bendigo about one and half hours away. So, although I thought I’d seen and done most of the sights in Melbourne, our tour on this day did show me a few things I hadn’t seen before.
After we disembarked off the ship a bus was awaiting that took us directly into the city and aboard a Yarra River boat cruise. This was a very leisurely way to start the day cruising down the river that is fringed with extensive green spaces and parkland.
We returned to the bus to resume our tour only to find out that two of our passengers were missing. After a series of phone calls we had one passenger returned to our bus and the other one strangely decided to go on another tour bus.
The bus took us through the city past many sights such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Flinders Street Station, Melbourne Art Gallery and Federation Square. We pulled up at the Fitzroy Gardens where we had free time to amble around these magnificent gardens and grab a coffee at the cafe.
Next we had a quick stop at the Shrine of Remembrance in Kings Domain. Our bus driver was finding it difficult to get around the city on this day due to road closure for the Taylor Swift concert at the MCG that was on that evening.
Our last point of interest was a fast elevator ride up to the 297.3 metre Melbourne Skydeck in the Eureka Tower. Here the 360 degree views over Melbourne were breathtaking and we had the perfect sky blue day for it.
To finish off our day in Melbourne, what else was a girl to do, but have a long lunch and then some retail therapy.
That night aboard the ship we saw a fabulous live show in the theatre by a band that performed Four Seasons hits. They were incredible.
Our cruise was coming to a close, as we sailed out of Melbourne Port the previous evening, and headed back to Sydney.
We had an easy day doing our laps around the ship on what was a smooth sailing day. We attended another talk by Nutritionist, Dr Joanna McMillan, played some Aussie sports trivia, lounged around the pool, attended another champagne high tea that was even fancier than the first one, and listened to some live music at our favourite bar at the rear of the ship.
The next morning we awoke at sunrise to the Queen Elizabeth sailing majestically into the spectacular Sydney Harbour. We had an incredible voyage and were saddened by the fact that we had to get off and return to normality.
There was a lot to love about the Queen Elizabeth. I did feel there was a touch of class about her. I did enjoy the formality aboard this cruise ship. There were definitely no board shorts, thongs and rowdy drunken passengers aboard. It was nice to have a week of self-indulgence and decadency.
