Cunard Queen Elizabeth Southern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 8: November 3, 2026

Day 8 on Queen Elizabeth, and we’re in the final stretch of this nine-day cruise. Our port visits are behind us, and the next two days will be spent at sea as we make our way back to PortMiami for a scheduled 6:30am arrival Thursday morning.

But we’re not getting the suitcases out just yet. There’s still some cruising left to do!

Since it’s a sea day, I thought I’d do something I like to include in these reports and take you for a little walk around the ship. I’ve talked plenty about the food, the service, and the places I’ve been spending time, but let’s put some of those names into perspective so you can see where everything is.

And whatever complaints I’ve had about things onboard, the ship herself certainly isn’t one of them. Queen Elizabeth is beautiful. Her Art Deco styling, wood paneling, staircases, and little nods to Cunard’s history give her a character that stands out from the mega-ships of today that look more like Disneyland than a cruise ship. She entered service in 2010, but walking through some of the public spaces, you can instanly see the ocean liners of a much earlier era were the inspiration.

You’ll find a lot of that on Decks 2 and 3, which make up the heart of the ship. These are the decks where you’ll spend much of your evening, moving between dinner, drinks, the casino, dancing, and the theater. Or, in my case, spending a little more time at the gin bar than originally planned.

Deck 2: The Pub, Casino, and Queens Room

Let’s start on Deck 2, where the casino and Golden Lion Pub sit across from each other. Convenient if you need a drink after discovering the slot machine wasn’t your best friend at all during the cruise.

As I mentioned earlier in the cruise, the casino is small. There are a couple dozen machines, a few tables, and that’s about it. You’re not going to spend twenty minutes wandering around looking for your favorite game.

Across the way, the Golden Lion gives you the British pub experience you’d expect to find on a Cunard ship. It’s a more casual place to sit with a pint, have something to eat, or catch whatever entertainment is on the schedule. Pub food is part of the draw here, so if you’re looking for an alternative to heading upstairs to the buffet, it’s worth checking the menu and serving hours.

Continuing along, you come to the Queens Room, one of the most beautiful spaces onboard. This is a proper ballroom, with a large dance floor, a stage for the musicians, and seating around the room. It’s where you’ll find ballroom dancing, dance lessons, and Cunard’s afternoon tea.

Even if dancing isn’t your thing, take a walk through. It’s a beautiful room, and watching people on the dance floor can be entertainment all by itself.

A Library That’s Actually a Library

Around this part of the ship, you’ll also find Cunard merchandise and displays of memorabilia. If you want a ship model, a shirt, or something else to remind you where you’ve been, there are opportunities to take care of that. The historical displays are worth slowing down for, too, especially if you have an interest in the ships that came before this one.

Then there’s the library, which occupies two levels connected by a spiral staircase.

And yes, it’s an actual library. Shelves of books, places to sit, and a room that looks like someone intended you to spend time in it. On some ships, the “library” has become a shelf with three books and a Scrabble box missing half its tiles. Cunard still gives it a lot of love and attention.

Even if you have no intention of checking out a book, walk inside and have a look. Between the woodwork, bookshelves, and staircase, it’s one of those spaces that fits the ship beautifully. It also gives you another place to spend part of a sea day if you’d rather have some quiet than sit around the pool.

Just off this area is the Steakhouse at The Verandah, which you’ve now heard plenty about after my dinner, Lunch & Learn, and wine dinner.

The regular steakhouse dinner is $70 per person plus gratuity, while the wine events are priced separately. My experiences have been mixed, with the wine dinner being the best of my three visits so far. If you missed those reviews, they’re in the earlier daily reports.

Café Carinthia and the Britannia Restaurant

Café Carinthia sits overlooking the Grand Lobby and gives you a place to stop for coffee, tea, or a drink without heading to one of the larger lounges. There’s seating where you can people watch, which, as you’ve probably figured out by now, is an activity I enjoy!

This whole area is worth taking your time through. Look at the staircases, the railings, the artwork, and the finishes around the lobby. You can walk past the same thing several times on your way to dinner and then finally notice a detail you hadn’t seen before.

Farther aft, you reach the Britannia dining areas. Britannia Club guests have their own restaurant, while the main Britannia Restaurant spans Decks 2 and 3.

The dining room itself is another beautiful space. The height of the room, the staircase, and the chandelier give it that sense of occasion Cunard is going for when everyone comes down dressed for dinner.

For a look at how these spaces connect, here’s my Deck 2 walk-around video.

Deck 3: Gin & Fizz and a Look Down Below

Up on Deck 3, you get another perspective on some of those same rooms, including the upper level of Britannia and the library. It’s worth looking into the dining room from up here because you get a better view of the chandelier and just how big the space is.

You’ll also find the photo gallery, where you can look through the pictures taken by the ship’s photographers.

Then we get to a place that should sound very familiar by now: the Midships Bar, also called Gin & Fizz.

This has become my regular stop, just as it was on my last Queen Elizabeth cruise. If you’ve been wondering where all these pre-dinner gin and tonics have been coming from, here you go.

It’s a comfortable spot to sit, have a drink, and chat with the bartenders or whoever happens to be alongside you. There’s also a grand piano nearby, with music at scheduled times, so it’s worth checking the daily planner to see what’s happening.

Cards, Art, and a Little Shopping

Deck 3 also has some quieter spaces, including the card room and spots for puzzles and games. These aren’t necessarily the rooms that get people excited when they’re booking a cruise, but on a sea day, having somewhere to sit with a game or meet up with friends is useful.

The Connexions rooms provide space for scheduled activities and gatherings, while the art gallery gives you something else to browse as you make your way along the deck.

There’s also an upper-level view into the Queens Room, so you can see what’s happening below without walking straight onto the dance floor. If you just want to watch for a few minutes, this is a good place to do it.

And, of course, there are the shops. Jewelry, watches, fragrances, cosmetics, liquor, tobacco, and the usual opportunities to make your onboard account a little more interesting.

You can browse on your way to the theater, browse on your way back, or decide you’ve already contributed enough to the ship’s revenue in the casino. There are options.

Forward, you reach the upper entrance to the Royal Court Theatre, where the ship’s production shows, guest entertainers, and talks take place. This is the venue for Come From Away, which I mentioned earlier in the cruise, and it’s another room with a traditional theater feel that works well with the rest of the ship.

And Just Outside, My Favorite Place to Do Nothing

Of course, Deck 3 is also where you can step outside onto the full wraparound promenade, which is definitely a favorite spot of mine.

I know I keep bringing it up, but it’s one of my favorite things about Queen Elizabeth. You can walk a full lap, stop at the rail, or claim a steamer chair and spend an hour watching the water go by. With an inside stateroom, having this space available makes a big difference.

Here’s the Deck 3 video so you can take the walk with me.

Tomorrow, I’ll take you for a walk around the Lido deck, but right now it’s time for some gin!

A Little Education at the Gin Bar

There was something on today’s schedule that I was more than happy to make time for: the Gin Journey Masterclass at Gin & Fizz. They offered it twice this cruise, and I picked today for my educational lesson in how to drink.

The class costs $45 per person and is led by Jinny, the bartender at the Midships Gin & Fizz bar. Since you’re seated around the bar and it’s a small space, the group is usually limited to about ten people. Today, we had a full house.

You can reserve a spot at the bar itself or through the Purser’s Office. If it’s something you want to do, I’d get your name on the list early as you just can’t to a walk-up for this one.

We started at 3pm, with each person seated in front of a tasting placemat holding the afternoon’s gin samples, along with a small plate of tapas. Jinny walked us through the history and style of each gin as we tasted our way along. So there was actual learning involved. It wasn’t just ten people sitting around drinking gin on a Tuesday afternoon, although that would have been fun, too.

Our lineup included Hayman’s Old Tom, all four of Cunard’s Four Queens gins, and Pickering’s Sloe Gin to finish things off.

The Four Queens collection is made in Edinburgh by Summerhall Distillery, the people behind Pickering’s Gin. Each edition takes its inspiration from a different region associated with Cunard’s voyages.  Queen Mary 2 represents North America, with apple, cinnamon, and cherry among its notes. Queen Victoria takes you toward the Mediterranean with blood orange, lemon myrtle, and olive leaf. Queen Elizabeth has Asian-inspired botanicals, including lotus root, star anise, and lime leaf, while Queen Anne draws on the British Isles with ingredients such as heather, milk thistle, sea buckthorn, and rose petals.

We also had several in the group asking questions, and there may have been a little sampling of additional gins when those came up in the conversation. For educational purposes, of course.

At the end, we each got to put together our own gin and tonic using the botanicals available at the bar. By then, we’d spent nearly two hours there and had to wrap things up because the bar was opening to everyone else at 5pm.

There was one little interruption to our afternoon, and once again, it involved people who seemed completely unaware that anyone else was around them.

If you remember the wine dinner at The Verandah, we had a table that kept talking over the wine presentations, with one particularly loud woman carrying on despite other guests shushing her. Today, we had a couple playing cards at a table right next to the bar.

Playing cards wasn’t the issue. Their automatic card shuffler was.

Every couple of minutes, this thing would fire up, and when I say it was loud, I mean someone-vacuuming-the-carpet loud. We’re trying to listen to Jinny, and next to us it sounds like housekeeping just showed up to shampoo the rugs.

A few looks in their direction accomplished absolutely nothing. Eventually, one of the bar servers went over and asked them to stop using it, which was appreciated.

I don’t know how you sit next to a group listening to someone speak, repeatedly turn on something that loud, and never think, “Maybe this is annoying everyone.” But here we are.

Card-shuffling soundtrack aside, I really enjoyed the class. I did it on my previous Queen Elizabeth cruise and had fun then, and I had fun again today. At $45 for the tasting, the little plate of food, your own G&T, and nearly two hours with a good group, this is one onboard experience where I can actually see the value.

It did, however, require a little recovery time back in the room before getting ready for gala night. Education can be exhausting.

Red and Gold Gala Night

Tonight was the second and final gala evening of the cruise, with a Red and Gold theme.  The formal dress requirements applied in venues such as Britannia and the steakhouse from 5:30pm, with other venues available for those who preferred to stay casual.

As with the first gala evening, though, I wasn’t seeing much enforcement. There were still people out and about in shorts and casual clothes well into the evening. Now, some areas do allow that, so seeing someone in shorts doesn’t automatically mean they’re breaking the rules. But the overall impression was that the dress code was being left largely to the guests.

You already know where I stand on this. What someone else wears isn’t going to ruin my dinner. But Cunard makes a point of laying out its expectations, and if it wants those followed in particular venues, that requires someone to enforce them.

The Cunard World Club Reception

Tonight was also the Cunard World Club reception for guests with Gold status and above, held in the Queens Room with the captain and senior officers.

An invitation is delivered to your stateroom, and that’s your ticket to get in. You’re greeted with a glass of wine, find somewhere to sit, and enjoy some passed hors d’oeuvres before the captain makes his remarks.

Part of the reception includes recognizing the guest with the most days sailing with Cunard. On this cruise, that was a 97-year-old woman who has been sailing with the line since the 1960s and has accumulated somewhere around 1,500 days onboard.

The captain read a prepared statement from her, which included her hope to celebrate her 100th birthday on a Cunard liner.

The reception lasted about an hour before it was time to head off to dinner.

Gala Dinner in Britannia, Served at Record Speed

Afterward, I headed to Britannia, the ship’s main dining room. I have anytime dining, so I can arrive during the regular dinner hours without being tied to an early or late seating. I got there around 8pm and was taken to a table right away.

Almost as soon as I sat down, my server came over and asked whether I was ready to order.

No. I hadn’t even looked at the menu yet.

He went over to check on another table and then came right back. At that point, I was starting to get the hint that this wasn’t going to be a leisurely dinner.

QE Britannia Restaurant Caribbean Night 8

2026/2027 Caribbean Season

Available on: Queen Elizabeth

Open all sections

Appetizer5 items

Hackleback Caviar 1oz

$50.00

Triple-cooked chips, crème fraîche, warm herb blinis, egg, shallot, and lemon

Parma Ham with Galia Melon

With shaved Parmesan cheese

Tomato Salad, Torn Mozzarella, Pickled Cucumber, Rustic Croutons

Escargots à la Bourguignonne

On garlic focaccia

Shrimp Cocktail

With brandy cocktail sauce

Entree12 items

Fillet of Beef Wellington

Roast potatoes, asparagus, and glazed vegetables with Périgourdine sauce

Spice Roasted Venison Loin

Red cabbage, dauphinoise potatoes, celeriac and pear purée

Roasted Monkfish with Tiger Prawns

Saffron risotto, champagne orange sauce

Panzanella Stuffed Eggplant

Artichoke and tomato stew

Singapore Noodles

Seafood, chicken and egg (Also available as an appetizer)

Grilled Maine Lobster 21-28oz (Half)

$20.00

Claw mac'n'cheese, garden salad, garlic and herb butter

Grilled Maine Lobster 21-28oz (Whole)

$35.00

Claw mac'n'cheese, garden salad, garlic and herb butter

Prime USDA Filet Mignon 8oz

$35.00

Triple-cooked chips, grilled asparagus, béarnaise sauce

Half-Grilled Maine Lobster 10-14oz and Prime USDA Filet Mignon 8oz

$45.00

Claw mac'n'cheese, garden salad, garlic and herb butter

Grilled Salmon

Lemon pepper seasoning, broccoli, fingerling potatoes

Breaded Chicken Cutlet

Buttered greens, crushed red skin potato, drawn garlic butter

Slow-Roasted USDA Striploin

Whipped potato, string beans, pan gravy

Dessert9 items

Baked Alaska

Flambéed morello cherries

Dark Chocolate Mousse

Mango, coconut, and mint leaves

Carrot Cake

Orange jam and candied walnuts

Key Lime Pie

Coconut shavings and mango sorbet

Pistachio Ice Cream

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Fruit Sorbet

Ice Cream Sauces

Toffee fudge, chocolate, or mixed berry coulis

Selection of Cheese and Biscuits

Soup2 items

Shellfish Bisque

Aged Cognac

Peking Duck-Style Consommé

Salad2 items

Classic Caesar Salad

Garlic croutons, anchovies and shaved Parmesan

Ancient Grain Tabouleh

⬇ Download PDFAll Cunard Restaurant MenusAll Cunard Bar Menus

🖼️ Menu Images

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I ordered the Parma ham with Galia melon and shaved Parmesan, along with the tomato salad with torn mozzarella, pickled cucumber, and rustic croutons. Both arrived together, in what felt like record time.

Once those plates were cleared, the beef Wellington arrived almost immediately. Meanwhile, I still hadn’t been asked whether I wanted wine or a cocktail. The wine steward finally came over to take my drink order when the main course was already in front of me.

The Wellington was served medium rare, with roast potatoes, asparagus, glazed vegetables, and perigourdine sauce. Overall, it was a solid dish, but once again, it arrived at room temperature.

This has become a recurring issue in Britannia. A dish that should be hot gets to the table barely warm, if that, and it takes away from the meal before you’ve gotten very far into it.

For dessert, I finished with a sliver of Baked Alaska, served with flambéed morello cherries.

By the time everything was said and done, I’d been in and out in less than 45 minutes. The courses came in rapid succession, and the whole meal felt rushed.

Now, some people would consider that perfect. Sit down, eat, and get on with the evening. I’m not one of them, especially on a gala night when I’ve gotten dressed up and would like to enjoy a relaxed dinner with a drink and a little time between courses.

Instead, it felt like the main objective was getting the next plate in front of me as quickly as possible.

With a few exceptions, dining really hasn’t been a highlight of this cruise. Tonight had the setting and the menu for a nice gala dinner, but the pacing and food temperature let it down again.

One more sea day to this cruise, and in tomorrow’s report, a tour of the lido deck, and a complete review of this cruise along with the scorecard.  Stay tuned, and as always, thanks for following along.

Queen Elizabeth Day 8 Daily Planner

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