Se1lad

Hopefully they didn’t make the costumes pre-Covid - some of the male performers appeared to have put on a few pounds during lockdown!

There’s nothing stopping you eating at a fixed time in BC and Grills now - simply turn up at 6.30 or 8.30 every night?!

I hope it will result in improvements to PG/QG. The cheese for example in QG could really do with improving - some decent Comte and Époisses for example. Offering a drinks package would also be appreciated. Cunard may have been really smart here of course - often the only cabins available near sailing date are Britannia - by enhancing the experience here they may be able to fill Britannia and still fill Grills without offering any additional benefit.

Cunard have already confirmed there will be changes to club - I received this yesterday: Britannia Club updates. Enjoy more choice than ever before with our elevated Britannia Club experience. Look forward to an enhanced menu and special, theatrical table side service celebrating some of our feature dishes, all of which you can enjoy from your own private, reserved table. The luxury continues in your stateroom with brand new complimentary mineral water, your own espresso coffee machine, sumptuous bathrobes, and other amenities.

I imagine one of the challenges is that there are only a limited number of BC staterooms available - though maybe a number of BC guests will book Britannia in the future now that flexible dining is on offer.

Do you think Cunard will add any extra benefit for Grills now that Britannia has the open dining option, and Club has enhanced dining options?

You also get the benefit of afternoon tea in the Grills Lounge and ability to to order off the PG menu fir delivery to your stateroom. I agree with MajorTom though that the marketing description of the enhanced BC dining does appear to significantly narrow the gap between BC and PG. Maybe Cunard will start to offer all Grills passengers a complimentary drinks package - they already offer it on some booking made in America already.

Yes - you can still bring your own alcohol on board for in cabin consumption. You can also take your own wine for consumption in the restaurant, subject to a corkage fee.

The requirement for jackets remains on Gala nights, however it has been dropped on other nights - this applies to all Cunard cruises/crossings, not just Alaska ones.

You may stand a better chance as your husband is diabetic - when requesting the different packages make sure they are aware this is the reason.

One tip is regardless of which plan you choose, to not buy the whole trip option on the first day. If you wait to the second morning then the price comes down by either $15 or $20 depending on the plan. As you can normally pick up a mobile signal for the first couple of hours on departure you can save a bit on the package.

I think it's the way it asked sometimes - when people say 'How many cruises have you had - this is our 215th!' it feels more like they are trying to show off. I normally reply by saying I've never bothered to count how many I have been on : )

I suppose the problem is that nearly always seem to sell all the Grill cabins, so why would they sell them at a lower price with a reduced single supplement, plus lose out on additional revenue from on board spend?

If it is £300 in total I would go for it. If you search on Cruise Critic you will find several threads that will give you an idea of some of the things you can order off menu in Queen's Grill.

On my TA in May when mask wearing was also in force, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Once you were sat down in a restaurant/bar etc you could take your mask off and there wasn't an expectation to put it back on between courses or between drinks etc, so long as you were remaining seated. I did initially struggle to see the logic however, as I am sure you are as likely to catch COVID being sat near someone in a bar as you are walking past someone if you are unmasked in both scenarios, though I suppose the point is you reduce the number of infections by eliminating some of the transmission opportunities.

£300 per person or £300 in total? If it's in total I would go for it. You'll get a bigger suite, free bar with wine or spirits in your suite and also have the ability to order off menu in the restaurant if you want to.

A pain that there aren't any - I expect Cunard think they can make more money through the single supplement! I've always thought it a shame on the other ships that the single cabins are only for Britannia. I've always thought it would be a good idea if they could sell the single cabins for any grade - I'd quite happily pay say 45% of a Q6 fare for a single cabin if it allowed me access to QG.

Makes sense I suppose but it does have the unfortunate effect of looking like a Health & Safety binder that you file on a shelf when you’re finished with it!

It looks more like a Binder of Condolence rather than a Book of Condolence!

On a UK booking I have the contact number entered as 11 digits with no spaces - eg 07777123456

I wouldn’t see including the tour for free as part of being a full service line. However if Cunard was branded as all inclusive then I can understand why people wouldn’t be happy if the tour was chargeable,

It always sold out quickly, so they could probably charge more if they wanted. Based on the amount covered on the tour and compared to the price of some of Cunard’s excursions, I always thought it was a good deal. Also if they offered it for free, the people on the tour aren’t necessarily going to be people genuinely interested in learning about the ship - you’re also going to get people who will have just booked it because it was free.

Embarkation day is a good day to try the Golden Lion. Britannia restaurant isn’t open, and a lot of people don’t realise that the pub is open so it’s one of the quieter days to get lunch there.

Did you recently complete the online checkin with Cunard and add/confirm which credit or debit card you wanted to use for your onboard account? If so this is a small pre-authorisation to confirm you have provided the correct details. I had the same on my card just before my cruise earlier this year.

The Peking duck makes a good main course for 2 - or maybe I am just greedy! You just have to remember to order it 2-3 days ahead so they have time to prepare it.