Queen Elizabeth Preview

Cunard line bases its appeal on the enduring style of art deco and old-style elegance. The dress code for dining is still no shorts, no jeans and there are still gentlemen hosts who are available to dance with ladies who don’t have a dance partner. The cultural events are similarly elevated – condensed Shakespeare and chamber music. Prices are not cut-rate, starting at £1,489 for the cheapest inside cabin, two sharing, but the quality of service and experience that you get for your money is considered by Cunard aficionados to be second to none. At the top end of the pricing range (just under £16,000 per person) guests get a butler and can spend their entire cruise in total privacy if they wish: this service being famously used by those who have endured plastic surgery and use their cruise to recuperate without risking being spotted by the press. For the rest of us, the experience of wall-to-wall luxury is something we’d want to share. The inaugural trip sold out within thirty minutes of the tickets going on sale, so many people clearly still value upscale experiences at sea.