Cunard Queen Anne - Day 1 - Embarkation Day in Southampton

In October 2024 we joined Queen Anne for our first ever Cunard cruise. This was a 7 night Atlantic Coast and Iberia cruise sailing from Southampton. We were super excited to try out Cunard for the first time and experience the beautiful Queen Anne.

A Smooth Start to the Day

We set off from home around 9:30am for the drive to Southampton, arriving at Ocean Terminal just before midday. Luggage drop-off was simple, and after parking the car and a quick stop at West Quay Shopping Centre, we made our way to the terminal.

Our embarkation time was 1:30pm but no one seemed to be checking times and there was just one big queue in the terminal building. We joined this queue, which moved very quickly and we were onboard by around 1:45pm.

A Cunard Pub Lunch

Once onboard, we spotted a desk in the atrium where we were able to book our speciality dining, this was a simple way of sorting everything we needed. We then checked in at our muster station before watching the safety video in our cabin. Our luggage was already there waiting for us which was a lovely surprise!

We decided to grab lunch at the Golden Lion pub. Lizzy tried the cheese toastie which was tasty but rich and we're not sure its worth the up charge. Laura went for the fish and chips, an included menu item. Afterwards, we explored the ship, stopping for drinks at the Sky Bar and checking out the spa, which looked great, especially the thermal suite.

Drinks, Dinner & Evening Entertainment

We had pre-dinner drinks at the stylish Commodore Club, then headed to the Britannia Restaurant. Even though we have open dining, we’d been given an 8pm reservation and it seemed like most of the ship had been given the same time. It was busy going into the dining room and at times, service was a little slow. The food was good but some of the portion sizes were a bit small.

After dinner, we popped into the Queen’s Room for a drink and live music, before ending the night at the Bright Lights Society, the ship’s late night venue.

First Impressions

It’s been a great first day, embarkation was smooth, the ship looks fantastic, and we’re really looking forward to the week ahead.

You can watch what we got up to in more detail over on our YouTube channel.