$10p.p to eat at night Kings Court area

This charge to start Dec 1st is in very small print bottom of page 22 in pre voyage booklet for Nov cruise which will incl the Dec 1st date.

What do others feel about this? I think Mr Shanks needs taking to the basement for a good "switching from the cane" The workers there already get tips from the daily pool we all pay on our on board accounts, so what is Cunards justification of this very sneaky charge, hidden away in small print at the bottom of pre cruise docs.?

This has already been discussed at great length on here. January 2011 is mentioned in the brochures. This is the first I've head it is from 1st December.

It only applies to the specialised eating areas on all three ships and does not include the buffet areas.

I just completed the October 25 - November 1, 2010, New England/Canada voyage.

I was able to make some modifications in the Sales Office on board for my 2011 RT crossings in October. After receiving my "Booking References Numbers", I was able to select my table number with the Restaurant Manager in the Britannia Restaurant. I asked him if Kings Court would become an alternative dinning area at night with a charge. He told me he did not hear anything about it and it was news to him.

Can we assume that a restaurant manager should know what is planned for Kings Court?

Anyway, I feel I do not feel this change is very wise. My wife and I enjoyed a dinner at La Piazza one night during the voyage. We would not be interested in paying an additional charge when we have already paid enough to Cunard in our fare.

During our recent voyage, we did notice that there was always one of the restaurants serving buffet style dinners while the others were A la carte dinners with reservations required. This may be the route Cunard will follow and only charge for the A

la carte service.

The Daily Progamme had information each day for A la carte dinners in the Kings Court for the evening. I think they were preparing us for the change, being it was not listed that way in the past.

Terrence

This charge to start Dec 1st is in very small print bottom of page 22 in pre voyage booklet for Nov cruise which will incl the Dec 1st date.

 

What do others feel about this? I think Mr Shanks needs taking to the basement for a good "switching from the cane" The workers there already get tips from the daily pool we all pay on our on board accounts, so what is Cunards justification of this very sneaky charge, hidden away in small print at the bottom of pre cruise docs.?

Hi Ms. Jimsgirl. You have good eyes to notice that tiny print.;I missed it entirely until you mentioned it :eek: The Voyage Guide for the Dec. 8 QM2 cruise doesn't specify Dec 1 as the start date for the surcharge, it just says "From December 2010..." Anyway, I guess La Piazza, the Carvery, Lotus and Chef's Galley will be very popular from now until December.

Cheers,

Salacia

I was sorry to hear some time ago that Cunard would be following an industry-wide trand and charging for almost all alternative dining rooms for evening meals.

I cannot bring myself to pay AGAIN for food I've ALREADY paid for. Why should I buy my meals TWICE?

However, I've only used the Kings Court (QM2) and the Lido (QV) in the evening a total of three times (I never used the Lido on QE2).

On QV I used it because I had no choice, I returned from a Cunard tour too late to eat in the Britannia Restaurant.

On QM2 my two experiences were less than enjoyable, on one visit (Carvery) the "service" was chaotic with orders either going to wrong tables or courses arriving at wildly different times on the same table! On the other visit (Lotus) although the service was great, the food itself was poor.

Other problems for me are...

Despite the set dressing of the tables I cannot get past the fact that these spaces are buffet areas during the day and still feel like it in the evenings...

And in the case of QM2, with main passageways running through the Kings Court, there is a fairly constant steam of other passengers passing through your restaurant, this spoilt the atmosphere completely on one occasion.

So, I'll stick to the MDR, I love the look of the room and atmosphere there. I am sad they are charging for meals IN THE EVENING in Kings Court but it won't actually affect me as I had no intention of ever dining there again at night anyway.

They'd have to pay me $10 to go anywhere near King's Court.

We enjoy the Chef's Galley for an occasional change of pace, but the other King's Court "restaurants" in the evening have disappointed.

Certainly not worth a premium over the Britannia DR, one of the most impressive rooms at sea.

:confused:I wonder what makes Cunard think the $10 surcharge will sell...will the hours for dining there be different from the MDR? Is wine included in the charge? Is there some variation in the dress code that might be attractive to those who don't wish to follow the dress code in the main dining rooms?

While I don't think I'd be willing to spend ten bucks to find out, I'll be happy to read the reviews of those who do so. :)

It's not nickels and dimes anymore...it's ten or thirty dollars (for Todd English) :eek:

 

Other problems for me are...

Despite the set dressing of the tables I cannot get past the fact that these spaces are buffet areas during the day and still feel like it in the evenings...

And in the case of QM2, with main passageways running through the Kings Court, there is a fairly constant steam of other passengers passing through your restaurant, this spoilt the atmosphere completely on one occasion.

Exactly how we feel. Also, our two visits to the 'alternative dining' to Locus and the italian restaurant was not as enjoyable as dining in the Britannia, as we found the food to be 'nothing to write home about', and that was when they didn't charge! :)

So besides bilking passengers, what else might be the motive?

Is this a way to discourage passengers from the MDR? I know that there are those who use King's Court as an alternative to avoid dressing on the formal nights.

Out of 10 voyages on Queen Mary, I only ate in Lotus once for dinner and found it just acceptable. I have never dined in the other venues at night as KC always seems like a buffet no matter how it is dressed up. I avoid King's Chaos as much as possible.

The $10 surcharge is further evidence that Cunard is not the luxury brand it would like to see itself as. Lots of marketing hype, but I am starting to feel that they sell like Tiffany's but deliver more like K-Mart.

We just got our pre-voyage docs for the QE world cruise today and the same wording is in there - - - - "From December 2010, a cover charge of $10 per person will be payable . . .etc." We might try one or two as some of the venues on that ship look appealing but won't make a regular habit of it.

I wonder if the past practice of one of the four Kings Court venues being informal buffet each night has changed. If they are charging for a quick buffet meal for those who, on any given night, don't want to sit through 2 hours in the main dining room, there will probably be a backlash (particulary from families with children) who have paid fora cruise which includes meals.

The sampler dinner in the Lotus is excellent and should not be missed, but charging extra is questionable.

The wording on our documents states (as you have mentioned) - meals in Kings Court will be $10 pp. I would think that it would cost Cunard less for a passenger/guest/customer to go through a buffet in Kings Court than have servers provide a meal in the diing room.

I wonder if the past practice of one of the four Kings Court venues being informal buffet each night has changed. If they are charging for a quick buffet meal for those who, on any given night, don't want to sit through 2 hours in the main dining room, there will probably be a backlash (particulary from families with children) who have paid fora cruise which includes meals.

 

The sampler dinner in the Lotus is excellent and should not be missed, but charging extra is questionable.

 

The wording on our documents states (as you have mentioned) - meals in Kings Court will be $10 pp. I would think that it would cost Cunard less for a passenger/guest/customer to go through a buffet in Kings Court than have servers provide a meal in the diing room.

Hi Cruzn Tom. The $10pp surcharge does not apply to the buffet dinner in Kings Court. Cover charge applies to La Piazza, Carvery, Lotus and Chef's Galley (and $30 pp for dinner at Todd English).

My guess is that more passengers will eat in the MDR rather than pay additional charges.

Regards,

Salacia

I cannot take credit where it is not due, my attention to that small print was due to a remark in a posting from another passenger.

Page 22 of the Nov 27th Caribbean cruise does indeed say "From Dec 2010 " Whilst they do "dress up" La Piazza,Carvery,Lotus and Chefs Galley it is as stated still Kings Court with a through way passage right down the middle.

I would not have to pay the $10 since I avoid the Kings Court (no matter what other name it is given) unless I have no other choice - as on embarkation

However since I am favour of choice, I do think charging those that wish to eat that way is so very wrong, and Mr Shanks should be ashamed he made this very bad choice.

What next? Paying to go to the shows in the theatre in the evening?

What next? Paying to go to the shows in the theatre in the evening?

EEK! Don't give 'em any ideas! :D

Another thought, might the new dinner charges in the Kings Court be an attempt to recover the cost of food wastage? How many people allocated to the Britannia Restaurant ever tell their waiter they will be eating in the Kings Court rather than the Britannia?

Whilst they do "dress up" La Piazza,Carvery,Lotus and Chefs Galley it is as stated still Kings Court with a through way passage right down the middle.

The Lotus area is screened off on a la carte nights. I dined in there one evening and thought it was really special with a few very attentive waiters, one of which explained what every portion of food was.

I believe there used to be a charge in the Chefs Galley a while ago.

I doubt that I would pay extra to dine in the Kings Court and Lido speciality areas. If everyone refused, they would have to change it back to no extra charge.

Here's another thread on this topic started in May

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1198084

"QM2 Kings Court... are they now charging for dinner ?!?!?"

Hi Cruzn Tom. The $10pp surcharge does not apply to the buffet dinner in Kings Court. Cover charge applies to La Piazza, Carvery, Lotus and Chef's Galley (and $30 pp for dinner at Todd English).

 

My guess is that more passengers will eat in the MDR rather than pay additional charges.

 

Regards,

Salacia

How do you know that it will not apply to a buffet?

Cunard's notice does not specify any exclusions.

How do you know that it will not apply to a buffet?

Cunard's notice does not specify any exclusions.

Hi CruznTom. See pg.22 of the current Voyage Guide. There is no asterisk after Kings Court (but there is a * after La Piazza, The Carvery, Lotus and Chef's Gallery) so the *notation at the bottom of that page regarding the $10pp cover charge does not apply to the Kings Court buffet---at least that's the way I read it. Do I have it wrong?

Quite frankly, if there is a $10pp charge to eat dinner at the Kings Court buffet, someone at Cunard/CCL management has gone bonkers!:eek:

Regards,

Salacia

Edited to include: I usually eat dinner in the dining room (or for a special occasion, Todd English), but I've never eaten dinner in Kings Court so I really have no idea how it is "transformed" for dinner. Are there 4 seperate dining venues plus the buffet---or does the buffet disappear?

I believe there are three plus a buffet, and the buffet location rotates among the four.

I believe there are three plus a buffet, and the buffet location rotates among the four.

Thanks Underwatr, that's interesting. I'm thinking that many of those passengers who ate at the buffet because of young children or because they didn't want to dress formally, will be inclined to forego the additional charge (if there is one) and eat in the MDR instead. That's not likely to make anyone happy :eek:

Salacia

Jimsgirl, Chaosclub here,thanks for bringing this into the open forum. I have e-mailed cunard after finding this hidden small print and they have given me a vague reply stating a small area of Kings Court will be made available for diners without charge however they won't say what menu that area will deliver. They have not replied to my latest e-mail asking why they have imposed this charge on guests who have already paid to dine in these areas. What next, a charge to sit on our balconies! Come on lets all eat at lotus on the 1st of December and refuse to pay !!

Jimsgirl, Chaosclub here,thanks for bringing this into the open forum. I have e-mailed cunard after finding this hidden small print and they have given me a vague reply stating a small area of Kings Court will be made available for diners without charge however they won't say what menu that area will deliver. They have not replied to my latest e-mail asking why they have imposed this charge on guests who have already paid to dine in these areas. What next, a charge to sit on our balconies! Come on lets all eat at lotus on the 1st of December and refuse to pay !!

While I don't doubt that was the information you were given, that's not what it says in the voyage guide according to my interpretation:

For QM2; it explains that there is a $10 supplement for dinner in any of the 4 "excitingly unique restaurants" into which King's Court "transforms".

Furthermore, it states (top of page 22 of the voyage guide) that the "King's Court operates for breakfast, lunch or a late night buffet". No mention of dinner.

A long way of saying it costs $10 to eat there at dinner time, but no charge for the rest of the day. As I say that's my interpretation of the blurb.

Your allocated dining room or room service appears to be the only choices available if one wishes to avoid further charges.

We pay a big upcharge to be in Brittania Club for the world cruise, so I consider going to King's Court a step down--and then pay extra to do so--no way. I should ask them for a credit if I had to eat at King's Court, not pay for it.

When we sail on Crystal, the alternative restaurants are definitely worth the extra charge, as they are very well decorated and the food is definitely of great quality. Cunard is fooling themselves that sitting in King's Court merits a higher surcharge than Crystal charges for their alternative restaurants.

I like the suggestion that if no one pays to go there, things will change.