WantedOnVoyage

To be clear... a dark suit has always been acceptable and suitable for Cunard on formal nights. Sure has since I started sailing with them... in 1977. More common in Tourist Class but not uncommon in First Class, either. To me, the big downgrade of the dress code is "Smart Attire" and regardless of what the code now states, I personally cannot even imagine going to dinner in a fine restaurant... ashore or afloat... wearing a "polo shirt". If you don't think Cunard is fine dining... you are wasting your time and money and their efforts. The "polo shirt" is, as the very name implies, an item of sports attire and most do not look like Steve McQueen in "The Thomas Crown Affair" wearing one, either. So... don't. Or at least wear a jacket over it. And to end on a pompous note.... a dress code is not for "men" but for.... "gentlemen" (and ladies) and therein lies the distinction. What one might is not always what one should.

Well I went to university for a term in The Bronx, and up there we'd put it rather differently than you delicate Brooklyn boys...

The drinks menu is what I recall from our September QV Med/Aegean cruise... there's precisely one gin martini and one vodka one under $12. I did find the bar staff sufficiently fed up with these duelling drinks packages that one could, at the onset, say "I want this and I have a $12 limit" and they got on with it. Not the sort of thing I like having to do as a premium passenger but shipboard staff can play the game better than the shoreside penny counters I find. It is amusing though how the shipboard staff just roll their eyes if you mention shoreside "management"... Cunard ships are so much better run and organised than the supposed people managing any of it... from Southampton or California. Or indeed, "working from home" in wherever. They've been that way since my first dealings with Cunard, dating to 1977. So it's worthy of the "Cunard Heritage Trail".

Well it appears you got it... QUEEN POSTUREPEDIC! At least it will discourage those armchair nappers in the Commodore and Chart Room in the afternoon... the ones with the same book for the whole three weeks and never make it past page 21. Ditto no steamer chairs. It seems a mite austere and severe to me, but I always aced cabin inspection on my ship... even sharing a cabin with three 16 year old cadets.

Yes... very hard to get a fair impression of interiors in at this stage... finished just enough to be deceptive without being well... really finished. And empty spaces without people even more so.I bet the housekeeping staff is not pleased with all those black hard surfaces in the suites... what a dusting nightmare! Me, I am more concerned that I have yet to see one piece of furniture that is not covered with what appears easy care vinyl or imitation leather. There is not a single piece of comfy looking fabric upholstered furnture either portrayed in the renderings or in reality. And all of the chairs are upright, small profile armchairs that might be suitable for dining but hardly condusive to lounging with a good book and a coffee. The other Cunarders are filled with this type of traditional furnishing imparting a cosy quality that seems wholly lacking in QA as presented. So those who want different... well it appears they got it!

Thanks... personally, I'd just rather pay the cheaper UK market Grill fares that don't include "free drinks package" that is now anything but and those who wish can just buy the existing drinks packages of our choice. RIght now, this promotion is a pat on the head while they are reaching into your pocket.

But they are.... you are looking at the big shore tenders amidships which are suspended over the deck only as high as the rail as there is added clearance needed for their rudders and propellers. So yes, if you are a five-year-old, you might be able to peer through the rail under the tenders and get a sea view. But all of the the regular lifeboats are indeed, as on all the PINNACLE-class, flat on the deck, completely blocking the view for... everyone.

The stats tell the story... they usually do. Things don't seem, they just are: QA P1/P2 302 sq. ft. QV/QE P1/P2 335 sq.ft. QM2 P1/P2 381 sq. ft QA Q6 484 sq. ft QV/QE Q6 484 sq. ft. QM2 506 sq. ft.

generalinquiries@cunard.com

from a message from Cunard customer service 19 March: Our management team will be looking at possible changes in the future for this matter. Thank you for contacting Cunard and have a good day. Oh, they threw in a $50 obc as "an expression of good will." so there's that. We sail in QUEEN VICTORIA from Southampton... why 20 days from today... so who knows how Cunard defines "in the future"... 19 days or three years or... never. And we hope we have one of our team of very creative wine and bar stewards we been favoured with in the past. I would suggest any Grill passengers e-mail them in any event about this. The more the merrier as they say.

None of these changes had anything whatsoever with the decor of the rooms... most were done as operational or revenue enhancers. Have you ever even been aboard QE2? I have... five times throughout most of her career and I can tell you that in 1977 and 1979 most of her principal public rooms and cabins were exactly as they were when built and used as intended. Coumbia Restaurant, Midships Bar, Library, Card Room, Queen's Room, Entrance Foyer, passageways, cabins etc were all original. We sailed in her in 1993 and had an original cabin and much else was still original that late in her career.

The First Class Library stayed the same until she was re-engined... same location and doubled in size, taking the former card room. QE2 was certainly changed a lot inside but no British liner before or since was more critically acclaimed... "Ships Have Been Boring Long Enough"... when she came out in 1969 she was indeed unlike any Cunard and all the better for it. I remember someone in school bringing in the first brochure and we 12 year olds though she was "groovy"! And she was, too. I am not suggesting duplicating QE2's interiors in a new ship but the spirit of originality, boldness and native design genius she represented. I don't see any of that in QUEEN ANNE. Do you? She's just a typical Tihany Group design inside.

That is.... not correct. I sailed in QE2 in 1977 and almost all of her interiors were original. And exceptional. So what you state is wrong.

Oh something that was 100 per cent British design for starters rather like QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 c. 1969, all Dennis Lennon and Britsh Design Council. Now she was special and distinctive.... contemporary to the point she's considered a true classic today. The Grill Room, Queen's Room, Library were instant icons of liner decor and the quality was... exceptional. She had Axminister carpet that was so thick it was sinful just to walk on. P&O's AURORA, when original, was exceptionally attractive inside and quite distinctive with a sense of "Britishness". Sorry, QUEEN ANNE looks precisely like all the Holland America Line Pinnacles inside... harsh, cold, hard surfaced and with relentlessly uncomfortable looking chairs. Indeed, the computer renderings probably capture the feeling being clinical in themselves.

Just what we value Cunard for, no? Munchin size chairs with easy care thin upholstery, metal framed and obviously designed for people with 28" inseams. But the sage green redeems all. The "Drawing Room" is downright curious, possibly taking its "what are we supposed to do in here" cue from the QM2's "winter garden" that, in the end, was used for the "art auctions". Oh dear, still not swept off my feet by any of this.... what can I be thinking? Or indeed, what are they thinking? Hope those of you booked can tell us what you think and prove the computer generated images dead wrong.

My wife is gluten-free (Coeliac) and her experience with her diet in Princess Grill has been exemplary. But yes, for the last three years, the bakery items are alas "ready made" and they no longer make these items aboard with gluten-free flour. Oddly, though, they will go to the most extraordinary efforts to make gluten free Beef Wellingtons etc. and most breaded dishes, too. Just not the actual bread or biscuits. But Cunard are just outstanding... so much better than Oceania... with her diet and one of the main reasons we stay loyal to Cunard. I don't think you'd be disappointed. But SAGAFJORD... sigh. I still remember sailing on the last voyage in home waters of VISTAJORD in 1983 when she was still a proper NAL liner. And we loved her as CARONIA. Those were grand ships and sadly Cunard never replaced them in quality or character since.

As I said at the beginning of this thread, forget the TITANIC "thing" for a moment.... the idea that you'd get more than 250 people willing if not eager to experience a truly Edwardian week or so at sea is delusional nonsense. People have changed more than the ships. And you'd have a mutiny just not having wifi aboard. Good grief, the first thing people do is to get their silly devices "logged in" to some inane "app" and the only purpose of the librarian is not to check out books but act as some IT expert. Look at an Edwardian shipboard menu and imagine how many would savour tripe and onions or Bombay curry or mutton chops for breakfast (sign me up!) or a multi course dinner of fish, beef or game and then fowl. Just the cutlery would confuse. Most people don't even know what a savoury is... I still remember when QE2 and CANBERRA had that as the very last course. Loved it. Cunard could easily recreate a 1907 MAURETANIA menu but they don't and won't for good reason. And how many gentlemen would remember to order milady's meal for her? And how many ladies would let them? After four days aboard a proper Edwardian liner recreation at sea, 99.89 per cent of today's cruise passengers would look forward to hitting the iceberg.

Yet, the same concept... and alas same menu... works so much nicer on QE and QV. We enjoyed a lovely luncheon and a dinner on QV in the Veranda last cruise. And several years ago, they had a really delightful Sunday Brunch. The staff is attentive but not in your face although the wine steward was a bit over the top, the atmosphere was just the right touch of friendly, professional, select without "oh look at at us." On QM, the Veranda's best purpose is its notorious "short cut out on deck" during the day.

"The smaller the house, the greater the effort"... the old show biz adage suits here. The service tries way too hard, it's frankly embarassing, over the top, insincere and some of the "added touches" are downright lame... like selecting your steak knife as if you're picking duelling pistols. Fine beef should not require a blade that looks like a fit for a Lee-Enfield rife. The maitre d' has been, in our experience, a non-entity who spends the whole evening peering intensely at a computer screen... how long does it take to find tables for the average eight people in a 45-seat restaurant on a given evening? The "view" from your table is invariably the smoker's corner out on deck. And it's way too brightly lit to impart an intimate or romantic atmosphere. Finally... the menu is pedestrian, boring Aberdeen Steak House fayre and all that's missing is the fag ash in the velour upholstery and the Black Forest Gateau. It was at least better menu wise when they tried to recreate the proper Veranda Grill of the old QUEENs with a sophisticated French menu and there wasn't a steak fry or a "hot fudge sundae" within 100 yards. I'd gut it... convert the space to a new Grills Lounge with outside deck adjoining and repurpose the existing Grills Lounge.

It's spelled respect... you respect the occasion and the venue and indeed those who work to achieve it, too. Maybe we need the staff to wear shorts and tees on "formal nights" to make the point. And in a community which is what a ship at sea is, it is not just "your" vacation, either... it's ours.

Well, the laundry must love it.... not a tablecloth in sight in any of them. So its all variations on pub dining at least ambience wise rather than fine dining.

The cost last summer (on QV) was I think $85 a night... Cunard comp'd the charges after United did not deliver my luggage until three quarters into the cruise. And yes, you need to supply the tie and shoes. I am just glad I flew in a jacket and tie and black shoes.... They had a pretty decent range of sizes, too. BTW they do sell bow ties in the shop, too.

Like H.M.S. TORRIN of "In Which We Serve" fame, QUEEN VICTORIA is indeed... "A Happy and Efficient Ship." And Noël Coward was not an infrequent Cunard passenger, either, so maybe he knew what he was talking about.

Hands down, we prefer QUEEN VICTORIA to QUEEN ELIZABETH I am not a fan of the mishmash "period whatever" decor of either but QV is nicer... QE is just beige, tan and... well tan and beige. Everywhere. And the nastiest cheap plastic fake wood especially in the Britannia Restaurant. Even the aft sun decks on QE are beige as are the chairs and the towels. We find QV is a better maintained (paint especially in passenger areas), better run (I much prefer the officers and Captains she attracts) and a happier ship with a superb crew. They come and go but we have not found any not to be professional and congenial. QE not so... especially on deck. We much prefer the deck sports facilities on QV and as avid shuffleboard players, the courts are useful and kept clear... on QE they are useless. QE has an enormous forward sports deck that is dedicated to "sports" no one plays and is hot as a sauna. So for us, no contest. The old QUEEN VIC is the one for us.

Well.... consider that TITANIC, the ship in which 1,500 perished, had a sister ship... OLYMPIC that was, in contrast, one of the most popular and successful British liners of her era and in every way embodied the elegance and splendour of The Edwardian Liner. If the appeal of a TITANIC "replica" lies in relishing that, why is not a replica OLYMPIC being proposed instead? I think we all know the reasons. All 10-year-old boys really do flip through the pages to get to the "good part" when TITANIC goes down . It's just kind of sad when adults do the same thing.... and worse when someone want to spend vast sums of money profiting from it.