NYC, USA to Southampton, UK

Our first ever adventure aboard Cunard Cruise Line and our first adventure sailing across the Atlantic, we weren’t sure what to expect. I would consider myself a seasoned sailor—we’ve taken nearly half a dozen stateside cruises since I was a teenager including the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico, and Alaska. The Cunard experience was unique in many ways but traditional in most.

For starters, the onboarding process was incredibly easy. Once we were dropped off at the dock and our checked luggage was whisked away, we walked into the security & check-in area. We arrived between 12:30-1:00pm and quite a few people were onboarding then as well. I would say that from the time we entered the doors to the time we arrived at our stateroom was less than an hour. I did really like that we were able to go straight to our room to settle in, there have been previous times on other cruiselines where we’ve had to go grab lunch or hang out a while until the room was ready. Our stateroom attendant, Rex, was wonderful and took great care of us. We had the Princess Suite which features a full balcony, seating area, mini-bar, walk-in closet, and a bathtub/shower combo (which I’ve personally not experience on a ship before so this was awesome to be able to soak!).

Because our trip was transatlantic, we did not have any scheduled port stops so I was curious how the daily activities itinerary would look. The first few days it was really fun, there was many various activities to do throughout the day like watercolor painting class, hobby meetings, trivia, bingo, scavenger hunts, dance classes, and informative events. They also had several scholarly speakers who spoke on topics like neuroscience, earth & space science, aviation history, and more. I was disappointed that the itinerary stayed the same for the duration of the cruise, after day 3 the activities were all the same from day-to-day and I just wish we had some variety.

The food was really good. The King’s Court buffet offers a wide variety of European & Asian foods, but a limited selection of traditional American foods. Because we had a suite, we had access to the Princess Grill for our formal dinners (and we did opt breakfast there for our final day). There, it is a traditional formal dinner with waitstaff and a 4-course meal. A lot of lamb, fish, and beef options. Everything we had was exceptional, there was not a single meal that I didn’t enjoy. Again, the waitstaff was incredible. Very attentive and kind, engaged in conversation with us and we were greeted by first name each night we arrived. Hospitality they definitely receive 10/10.

One of my favorite parts was the Spa & Thermal Room. I initially did a bamboo massage and a hydrofacial but ended up adding on a thermal room time on the final day. I believe it was only $65 for 2 hours in the thermal room and it includes a hydropool (almost like a giant bubbler pool), hot tub, lounge spaces, and several saunas. You can also purchase a package for the duration of the trip which I would highly recommend doing because it is so worth it.

Now for a few minor critiques (let’s be honest-no experience is absolutely flawless, you just gotta roll with it). Cunard administratively does not provide clear or really any instructions for travel if you book directly with them (not a travel agent). For instance, we sailed out of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in NYC which is not easy to get to and for first-time travellers, you pull up to a street that blocks the view of the port and there is no signage to direct you where to go. We ended up just following a car all the way back and were able to figure it out once the ship came into view. This may be because we live within driving distance of the port (~3.5 hour drive) Additionally for departure, you receive little to no communication on departure procedure or where to go once you walk onto the gangway. I also was very confused about Customs upon arrival to Southampton. Prior to departure, we had to submit an ETA for the UK. So I had thought when we disembarked we would go through some sort of customs & our passports/ETA would be checked, however, we literally just walked off the boat, grabbed our luggage, and met our driver. This may just be a US vs. UK difference in procedure but I was concerned we had missed something.

I went through Viator to arrange a private transfer to London with a 3-hour stop at Windsor Castle (one of my mom’s lifetime dreams to see). That experience was 12/10, our driver was so fantastic. She chatted with us the whole drive to Windsor and then once she picked us up after our tour, she stopped at this little park that had swans & ducks swimming in the pond, she even took our pictures with them in the background. Once we got into London, we were discussing our travel plans and she told us to feel free to keep her WhatsApp info incase we need anything while in London. Ironically, I made an oopsie with our train departure from London to Edinburgh and while we didn’t end up using her services, she had messaged me the night before and offered a ride to the airport because they had a pickup there around the same time. Had I paid attention to her messages, I probably wouldn’t have missed our morning train but everything happens for a reason and we arrived late that evening. Definitely appreciate people that offer kindness, yes it is a paid service but for her to even think of us was really sweet in my opinion.

All of the vendor names we used are located in another blog post if you are inspired & want to look further into booking with them!