QG on Cunard

We are looking at a TA on Cunard and are wondering if any Silversea regulars have experience on the Cunard ships. If so your opinion of the experience compared to SS would be enlightening.

Other than both companies have boats that float, it would be tough to see how they are similar. That doesn't help, but not sure there is a good response.

I am currently following a live trip report of two Aussie women on the Queen Mary 2, sailing from Adelaide to Hong Kong, (approx. 3 weeks ) that is on an Australian travel website. I do not know these women, both have travelled Cunard before, and from what I have read so far, there is nothing that would make me jump from SS to Cunard. In fact it makes me love Silverseas more :D but then I think two and a half thousand people on a boat is not a cruise .... it is torture.

Other than both companies have boats that float, it would be tough to see how they are similar. That doesn't help, but not sure there is a good response.

I am seeking the opinions of anyone who has experience of both.

I asked the same question on the Cunard board and have received several helpful responses and a few good tips.

It strikes me that the sort of person who will accept the standards of, say, Fred Olsen, might well give a more positive view of QG travel whereas Silversea regulars will judge from a higher standard.

We are SS regulars who did the QM2 transatlantic last spring. We were in the Queen's Grill. The staterooms are large and lovely. The ship is hugh and beautifully done. There are no crowds in the Grill but there are everywhere else. The crew is just waiting for the next 7 day crowd. Loved the Planetarium but they only had 2 shows for a 7 day crossing. Food in the QG was awful. Not just a matter of taste, really awful. There were other SS regulars aboard who have done the QM2 on multiple occasions and they were shocked how bad the food was. Great fruit, tho'.

I asked the same question on the Cunard board and have received several helpful responses and a few good tips.

And the SB forum, too.

Sweetpea gave a great response on Cunard. I've done QG, PG and steerage on three QMII crossings during the past two years. PG was best dining experience and QG for the suite. On Cunard, you have your own dining room table to come and go as you wish during normal serving hours. I've been told that table placement is based on booking date. Best tables go to those that booked most in advance. True or false, I do not know, but two different maître 'ds have said same thing.

QMII is great for crossing the Atlantic and is of no use for anything else. I'll avoid flying, if it is at all possible to cross on this ship.

We did it once a few years back when Concorde was still part of the deal and found the atmosphere rather souless.

My BH (who is a bit of a liberal) hated the class system, and if one was to ask for something slightly off piste in the dining rooms, forget it, everything was way too much trouble.

We have friends who continue to use the line, and will pay for the grills, but they are bigger snobs than us.

We did it once a few years back when Concorde was still part of the deal and found the atmosphere rather souless.

 

My BH (who is a bit of a liberal) hated the class system, and if one was to ask for something slightly off piste in the dining rooms, forget it, everything was way too much trouble.

 

We have friends who continue to use the line, and will pay for the grills, but they are bigger snobs than us.

We did the same deal on the QE2. We were in the QG & food & svc was terrible, The tables were so close together that when the table next to us was being serve the waiters butt was in our face. We changed tables but space was still at a premium. Our cabin smelled of smoke so bad they had to run the air freshener machine all week, they said they had no other cabins to move us to. SS is waaaay better.

We wouldn't go back on QM2 if you paid us. Once was enough. We sailed PG. Food and service was terrible. Cabin lovely. We went with an open mind having sailed mass market ships, followed by Silverseas, Regent and Seabourn.

Cost was the same per day as comparable cruises on Silverseas etc plus we had to pay for drinks, tips etc. The final straw was having to pay over $4 for an espresso coffee from a very indifferent waiter in a very crowded cafe and the coffee was undrinkable. We explained that the coffee we ordered should be a double espresso, it clearly wasn't. The waiter argued that we were wrong! "try it, you might get to like it" !! This was not the experience we had envisaged on QM2.

Sure looks like we may be in for a rude awakening. After two TAs on the QE2, the first one wonderful, the second one rough and miserable all around. Both sailings were in Grill Class, we decided not to sail with Cunard again. For some inexplicable reason, after at least 15 years, we thought we'd try again, this May, after a Baltic cruise on The Whisper, after two weeks in London, with a TA back home on the QM2.

This time we chose the Princess Grill.

I will write a detailed report when we return. Wish us luck, or at least calm seas, and no waiter's butt in our faces. We actually had that experience too last time in the Queen's grill on the miserable crossing..oh...what have I done?

I figure that you know what you are facing and you will make the best of it and you will enjoy yourself. Eat lots of great fruit. Purchase a pass to the special pool in the spa. No kids and very fun. I do not plan to return to the QM2 myself BUT if I am told I cannot fly to/from Europe...I am on the ship! Bon Voyage.

I figure that you know what you are facing and you will make the best of it and you will enjoy yourself. Eat lots of great fruit. Purchase a pass to the special pool in the spa. No kids and very fun. I do not plan to return to the QM2 myself BUT if I am told I cannot fly to/from Europe...I am on the ship! Bon Voyage.

Possibly in May?

Afraid not. Thanx for asking!

Cunard & Silversea are very different experiences but we enjoy both. What do we like about Cunard? We love the well appointed & spacious suites, the QG dining room, all the wonderful public rooms, the promenade deck for walking and the vast expanse of open deck space. We particularly enjoy the variety of speakers and entertainers. We have not yet done a Cunard TA crossing so we don't know how different that would be from our experience on the 20-25 day sectors of world cruises. We have done two on QM2 & one on Queen Victoria.

Our most recent experience on Silversea was on the Shadow this year from Melbourne to Singapore. It was another thoroughly enjoyable trip. I thought the dining experience on Shadow was slightly better than on Cunard but my husband thought the reverse. In our opinion they were very similar.

I agree with Katzoe. My wife and I have sailed a number of times with Silversea and Cunard QG. While the experience is a bit different, both are extremely enjoyable.

I would tend to agree that QM is too big - we much prefer Queen Victoria (not yet tried Queen Elizabeth).The lecturers and entertainment on Cunard are IMHO much better, suites are generally more spacious.

As Silversea has a better choice of eating place, we prefer SS for this although having your own table in QG with the same waiters is good. Not much difference in the quality of the food and on both, you can order off menu if you wish. Having to sign for drinks is a nuisance, so SS wins on this score.

Having recently cruised with Regent and Oceania, we now believe that our choice is between Cunard QG and Silversea, so it comes down to price/itinerary but we would cruise with either in a blink!