Just returned from the Sydney to Singapore segment (27 nights) of the 2009 World Cruise. We booked a last-minute heavily discounted package that also included two nights post-cruise luxury accommodation in Singapore & economy airfares home to Sydney. This was our first cruise, although we have travelled extensively before. The cruise exceeded our expectations & we will certainly be cruising with Cunard again. Truly magical ...& I thought I'd be bored! The food in all venues was of a high standard. The Britannia dining room offered a la carte gourmet dining for three meals per day, although we generally attended only for dinner. Three or more courses, a choice of vegetarian, seafood, meat, poultry or low fat for mains. Food included lobster, prawns, duck, turkey, thick steaks, snails, frogs legs etc. As we were budget travellers, we were unable to access the more elite Queens Grill & Princess Grill restaurants. We had breakfast and lunch in the Lido, buffet style, with theme lunches/dinners at times eg St Patrick's Day - Irish food. The range is extensive. Made-to-order pizzas and pasta are also available there. Complimentary room service is also available, although the menu is far more limited. We enjoyed our first daily cuppa delivered to our room each morning. Specialist coffees are available at the on-board cafe, at a price. There is a Todd English restaurant on board (payment required - US$20 lunch, US$30 dinner, although this was discounted at times). < We had one of the cheapest rooms, an inside stateroom on the first deck. Although small, it was roomy enough as we spent much of each day at activities or shows, so really only returned to our room to sleep. The bed was the most comfortable we have encountered! The bathroom was pokey however, particularly the shower cubicle. Bathroom equipped with shampoo, soap, body wash, cotton balls, cotton buds, & body lotion. Hair dryer in room. Storage was better than we had anticipated. Fixed coat hangers provided (take some spares if you want to hang wet clothing or bathers in the bathroom, which will dry overnight). Bathrobes & slippers provided. We loved the beds turned down of an evening, & chocolates on the pillow each night. Activities sheet and/or port information sheet left in room each evening too, for the following day. There was a fantastic range of activities, from art classes; beauty, photography & computer workshops; exercise, fencing, drama and dance classes (the latter were sometimes crowded); guest lecturers including an astronaut, ship's pilot, historians, authors, geologist, journalist, astronomer etc; cooking demonstrations; basic foreign language courses; special interest groups; nightly theatre productions (dance groups, comedy, musicians, singers, magicians; daily latest-release movies etc. The standard overall was very high. Boarded in Sydney, first port was Cairns, then Rabaul (Papua New Guinea), Saipan (Mariana Is - lovely), Nagasaki (Japan), Pusan (Korea). Hong Kong (cheap souvenir shopping at the Ladies Market, bird market also worth a look); then Vietnam (Nha Trang & Vung Tau - the former scenic & delightful, the latter dirty & unfriendly & not much to see), Pattong (Thailand) - don't miss the awesome Sanctuary of Truth. Finally Singapore - most enjoyable. The smouldering volcano at Rabaul was worthwhile, & visible from the ship. I wished I'd booked the excursion to the foot of the volcano as those who did visit said it was fantastic, seeing the hot springs & bubbling mud. Nagasaki (Japan) also a highlight, we travelled to atomic bomb site independently by tram (buy a day ticket) & then walked or tram to most other sights - very easy to get around. Shangai (China) was too polluted, too crowded, & traffic jams - I would give Shanghai a miss next time, it was the least liked of any port of call. Cunard encourages you to book your excursions (very expensive) well before the cruise, but you can usually book day excursions on-board up to a couple of days beforehand if you wish, at the same cost. If you are able-bodied, arrange your own day excursions with a negotiated taxi on the day, or pre-booked mini bus if a group, unless you are travelling solo. We found that we usually disembarked before the tour groups as well. Cunard doesn't usually tell you until the night before each port that they have booked complementary shuttle buses to a nearby town for independent travellers, particularly where the ship has docked at a cargo terminal rather than a passenger terminal eg Cairns, Saipan, Pusan, Hong Kong, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, & Laem Chabang. On the longer trips eg to Shanghai, Saigon, they will offer a paid transfer into the city, which you can book the day before. Staff very friendly, professional and generally helpful, although sometimes not so polite or helpful when you have a problem. Try to arrange Visas before you leave home, as Visas arranged by Cunard on-board are generally far more expensive. DIY laundry is free, as is soap powder, but only 15 washing machines,15 dryers & 5 irons for up to 2,000 passengers. Best times are around 1-3pm afternoon (when many are napping) or 7-10 pm (when many are at dinner or evening entertainment). I took mostly minimal iron clothing as I'd heard beforehand of fights over the irons. The laundry facilities seemed to be the source of most complaints. You can request the Purser, on your first day on board, to dispense with the US$11 per person per day (including children) staff service fee. We did this, & instead gave individual staff members a hefty tip or present at the end (which is permitted). There is a 15% service charge on top of any bar drinks (including soda) anyway. Alcohol on board was too expensive by far, & most passengers dined without it. You can BYO wine, but there is a US$15 per bottle service charge if consumed at the dinner table. We were aware of this beforehand so took on board a couple of bottles of wine at each port, which we shared with friends in our cabin either before or after dinner. We were informed by a staff member that Cunard is aware of the disatisfaction with alcohol pricing & is looking into that.