- Art Deco interior entails vast chandeliers and miles of polished wood
- The Queen Victoria runs a seven-night cruise to Venice, calling at Corfu
- There is a huge range of activities, day or night including flower arranging
Andrew Pierce for the Everyday Mail
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As the Queen Victoria — portion of the Cunard fleet — glides in to the bay, lights flash from the towering mountains of one of Europe’s tiniest countries.
It soon becomes clear that they are the reflections of binoculars, cameras and telescopes wielded by hundreds of individuals that have actually taken up placement to witness our arrival. This is the medieval walled city of Kotor in Montenegro, our very first port of call on a seven-day cruise start in Rome and ending in Venice.
Strolling about Kotor’s twisting white streets, past 14 baroque churches (I go in to all them), you end up in a charming car-free centre where craftsmen turn out traditional Balkan peasant shoes.
A grand affair: The Queen Victoria offers a huge range of tasks for its customers on board
We head spine to the Queen Victoria for afternoon tea (serenaded by a harpist) and much more food. As a first-time cruiser, I’m finding it straightforward to be seduced by the style and service. Two bellboys in pillbox hats wait at the top of the gangway; the Art Deco interior entails vast chandeliers and miles of polished wood.
There is a huge range of activities, day or night — flower arranging, line dancing, wine tasting. It’s no contest. I am very first in the queue for the wine-tasting and the last to leave. One evening, after dinner, I locate myself on stage in one of the bars, doing a rousing rendition of Madonna’s Material Girl, along with a wealthy Conservative peer and a retired firefighter.
Stop-over: The imposing walls and Old Fortress of Corfu Town’s harbour
For Cunard, a dinner jacket is as necessary as a lifejacket. It’s the only method you can easily get hold of in to the smarter restaurants. The ship moves on to Dubrovnik, where supporters of Game Of Thrones, which is filmed in the city, can easily take guided tours, offered on the hour. The one-mile walk about the battlements, which withstood a seven-month siege throughout the Yugoslav war, can easily take hours if you preserve stopping to stare.
One of my favourite stops is Corfu. The beaches are the very best yet. Devotees of the Royal Family, and there are several American ones on board, can easily head for Mon Repos Palace on the Analipsis Hill, where Prince Philip was born in June 1921. The quite capital, Corfu Town, along with its Venetian-style quarters, is a Unesco globe heritage site. In one of the numerous tavernas I learn the sirtaki, the dance earned famous by Anthony Quinn in the 1964 film Zorba The Greek. My teacher, an indomitable Greek granny, sinks a lot more ouzo in an hour compared to I can easily regulate in a week.
Our last night on board is an Abba-themed party. I even take a Lurex shirt and trousers for the occasion. It’s even more me compared to line dancing or Zorba The Greek. I could get hold of used to cruising.
TRAVEL FACTS
Queen Victoria (cunard.co.uk, 0843 374 0000) departs Civitavecchia in Rome on July 2 on a seven-night cruise to Venice, calling at Corfu, Kotor and Trieste, along with an overnight continue to be in Venice.
Fares from £1,199 pp including flights, complimentary onboard spending and airport vehicle parking.
from Golden Land Travel http://ift.tt/1KMEsBs
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