5 things that surprised me about Cunard's newest ship: Queen Anne
One thing’s really clear about the new cruise ship from Cunard: Queen Anne is different. She’s incredibly different to the rest of the fleet, and this is one thing that’s attracting very mixed reviews about this ship. Personally, I see this as a hugely positive step for Cunard as a cruise line, as it shows that they’re more than willing to adapt to the times. In my opinion, Queen Anne is a real statement ship from Cunard, a cruise line which has developed a bit of a reputation among some circles for being a bit formal and stuffy at times - this ship is Cunard’s way of saying that they’re listening to what the modern cruise market wants, and they’re maybe trying to now attract a slightly ‘different’ customer to their ships, while retaining the typical Cunard features that the more seasoned cruisers have grown to love.
In this article today, I’m going to share with you 5 of the things that really surprised me about Cunard’s newest ship, to hopefully help you understand my views on this ship, and why I’m SO torn on whether or not she’s the right ship for me… If you enjoy this post, please do support my journey by subscribing to my YouTube channel - just search ‘Fraser at Sea’ on YouTube and click the ‘Subscribe’ button now!
1. This ship is SO modern
I knew that Queen Anne was going to feel brand new as she was fresh off of the production line, but what caught me off guard was just how modern Cunard have gone with the design of this one. In many areas, it feels like this is a really non-apologetic move from Cunard to make waves (pardon the ocean-related pun) across the market and turn heads. If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I’m well-versed in modern cruise ships, and I absolutely love them.
There are some aspects of the modern take on things that I really do like on Queen Anne: the modern re-design of the buffet appearing more like a food hall, the addition of a wellness studio up on the top deck and the stunning modern atrium with sweeping staircases, to name a few. However, there are some features onboard this ship that I’m just not sold on yet, even after spending a few nights onboard. The biggest example I would have to give here is the newly-designed Queens Room.
On my previous cruises (I’ve also cruised on Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2), the Queens Room is a real destination, and it feels like a formal ballroom. However, on Queen Anne, this feeling is (in my opinion) lost, and the Queens Room presents itself as a very modern space, and it doesn’t have the Grandeur that the other ships demonstrate in this area. When it comes to space, the capacity of the Queens Room onboard Queen Anne also doesn’t seem to be quite right for the amount of passengers on the ship - every afternoon, there would be no more tables available for Afternoon Tea if you were any later than 30 minutes early, and if you want a seat during the evening entertainment in here - good luck - this place fills up quickly!
To demonstrate the differences between the level of Grandeur and scale of the Queens Rooms that I’m more used to, here’s a couple of shots from both Queen Mary 2 (top) and also Queen Anne (bottom) - which do you prefer?
2. In some areas, the ‘class divide’ feels much more apparent than on other Cunard ships
I found this one really strange onboard. Prior to cruising on Queen Anne, I really respected the fact that Cunard do have a class-based system onboard, but I didn’t really feel it was evident on either Queen Elizabeth or Queen Mary 2 - the ‘Grill guests’ had their own facilities, but I didn’t walk past them much as a regular-class passenger, and so I didn’t think too much about it.
However, the basic design of Queen Anne brings the more premium-tier passengers to the fore, and regular passengers are much more aware of areas they can’t frequent as a result. Yes, the private Dining Rooms reserved for suite guests are still private and ‘out of the way’ - they’re up their own staircase that others wouldn’t ever need to journey up - but the Grills Terrace is what caused me the biggest frustration.
If you look at a deck plan of Queen Anne, the Grills Terrace (which is secured with a locked door - only able to be opened by your room key if you’re a suite guest) spans the entire width of Deck 11. This means that, if you’re not staying in a Grills suite for your cruise, you can’t walk from the back to the front of the ship on Deck 11, or vice-versa. While this might not seem like a deal-breaker, it does result in a lot of ‘up and down’ during your cruise - you go up there more often than you might think! The diagram below shows what I’m referring to here - the red box is the Grills Terrace, with the back of the ship being on the left, and the front being on the right - no through road!
My key issue with ship design flaws here is that, while this is a brand new ship design for Cunard, it’s not for Carnival Corporation, the umbrella company that owns them. For example, another Carnival Corporation brand (Holland America) has multiple of these ships, and this issue on Deck 11 simply doesn’t exist on there. Why have we tried to change something that isn’t broken?
3. There are Speciality Dining venues in the buffet area of the ship
This is another element that surprised me about the experience onboard Queen Anne, but not necessarily in a negative way. Previously, I’d seen Cunard offer some really prestigious-feeling Speciality Dining options onboard their ships, usually in closed-off areas. However, venues have been added to Queen Anne which are almost in the buffet room up on Deck 9. How can it be ‘almost in the buffet’, I hear you ask? Well, this is probably best explained using a couple of photos that I took while onboard. Here’s two of the venues onboard: Tramonto and Aranya.
Looking at both of these venues from these angles, you could think that they were distinct venues entirely detached from elsewhere on the ship. However, let me show you what it looks like at the other side of Aranya. The below picture is the table that we were seated at for our meal at Aranya on our cruise - the chairs you can see through the other side of the (open) window are in the main buffet/food hall area of the ship.
In the evening, when these restaurants are operational, these parts of the buffet are closed, but it does feel strange to be sitting at a table in a fee-paying restaurant onboard a cruise ship with a closed food hall behind you - I’m not sure why Cunard didn’t just design these venues with solid walls, and make them feel more exclusive - they’re gorgeous dining venues!
4. The location of the Thermal Suite - where’s the ocean?
One of my favourite things on a cruise is how ‘connected’ I can feel with the ocean. In the ‘real world’, I live nowhere near the water, and so it’s important to me to enjoy being so close to it when I cruise. I’ve visited so many thermal areas onboard cruise ships that boast some awe-inspiring views out towards the horizon, some even having these views in every direction from within the spa! However, the thermal suite onboard Queen Anne is entirely on the inside of the ship - I really wish that they’d have ‘cashed in’ on the fact the ship is floating on the waves with this space.
Interestingly, lots of the treatment rooms face the ocean, which I’ll never understand - if I’m booked for a massage, I’m never going to look at the sea - I’ll be facing the floor throughout - I wonder if something could be moved around here with future versions on this ship?
That said, this area is absolutely beautiful - here’s a few shots to show you what you’re looking at - if you’d like to see more, stay tuned!
5. This ship is diving opinion!
Prior to boarding the ship, I’d heard the criticisms of Queen Anne, and also the positives. It was clear to me that this ship really is dividing opinion, in ways that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. When I was onboard both Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2, I met some incredibly loyal Cunard cruisers, and I naively formed the opinion that it didn’t really matter what Cunard chose to do with the design of Queen Anne - their loyal customers would love it regardless. However, it’s clear that this pre-conveived assumption was wrong - I’ve heard so many strong opinions in both directions while on this cruise.
On one side of the camp, I’ve met people who absolutely adore everything about Cunard’s latest Queen, and vowed to me that they would never cruise on the other ships again. On the other were what I’d probably call the ‘more traditional’ Cunard cruiser, who wasn’t ‘sold’ on this new ship class at all, and will revert back to Queen Anne’s fleet-mates for their future bookings. Then, somewhere in the middle, there’s me. I’m really not sure which side I relate to most - I absolutely love the traditional aspects of Cunard’s fleet, and I initially wasn’t convinced that the brand had translated well into Queen Anne as a brand new ship.
However, after a few days onboard, I realised that I was totally wrong - this ship IS Cunard, but just presented with a different material appearance. Queen Anne is a real statement from Cunard that change is afoot, and the release of this ship has given me a whole newfound respect for Cunard as a Company. At no point are they saying that the existing fleet will be refurbished to match Queen Anne, but the release of this beauty could potentially welcome a whole new audience to their product.
If you enjoyed this post, why not check out my others on Cunard by clicking here?
Also, did you know - there are some secrets onboard Queen Anne? Knowing these will help you avoid getting lost… Click here!