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What Have Been Your Worst Cunard Experiences ?


Winchester Ranger
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We've enjoyed all our Cunard cruises but have not sailed with them since 2009. The reason? During the final days of a Caribbean cruise on QM2 (my favourite ship incidentally), we booked a transfer from the port into Manhattan. We booked and paid in full at the Purser's Desk, and were told where to wait following debark. It was a chilly December morning in Brooklyn; we went to the designated area for our limo, but it did not arrive. We continued to wait for 45 minutes in the bitter cold. I was barred from re-entering the terminal, therefore I could not locate a Cunard employee to resolve the matter (they were staying in the warmth of the terminal building!). We hailed a cab for the drive into the city. Upon returning to the UK, I took the matter up with Cunard. Outcome? They flatly refused to reimburse us, despite them having not provided the transfer. The reason they gave was that we could not provide a receipt from the cab driver who had subsequently transferred us into the city, frozen to the bone. I remain astonished by Cunard's intransigence.

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We travel in Princess Grill whenever the itinerary is right (P&O usually otherwise) and find having a dedicated table for dinner etc, is great - as is the food and service usually. But the worst food I have ever been served on a ship was in Princess Grill on QM2 - a piece of battered fish for lunch that was stone cold. I should have sent it back, but for various reasons, soldiered on.

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Our greatest disappointment, and the reason we keep putting off more sailings, is the departure port of Red Hook rather than Manhattan. It makes pre- and post-voyage city time, and transportation, inconvenient, and most importantly, there is none of the "magic" that made Manhattan sailings so wonderful.

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Our greatest disappointment, and the reason we keep putting off more sailings, is the departure port of Red Hook rather than Manhattan. It makes pre- and post-voyage city time, and transportation, inconvenient, and most importantly, there is none of the "magic" that made Manhattan sailings so wonderful.

 

As somebody who lives in Manhattan, I'd have to agree as my first QM2 voyage was magical when I first saw the ship as the car approached down the West Side Highway.

 

While the Manhattan piers are certainly more convenient for those staying on with the ship, their facilities were built in the era of much smaller ships. It takes longer to turn the ship around plus parking and drop off/pick up are more difficult for passengers leaving or boarding the ship. They were designed for about 800-1000 passengers coming and going not for 2600.

 

While Redhook doesn't have the same magic it doesn't keep me from sailing on this magnificent ship. Remember that the other end of the voyage, Southampton, is a lot further from London than Redhook is to Manhattan. My first arrival in Southampton and what did I see - an IKEA and a Staples - it was like I never left Brooklyn. Except that the money has portraits of a live monarch instead of a dead president.

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I have to agree with the comments about the staff at the Purser's Desk on the QM2. I don't know if they are given the ability to make decisions or not, but their responses are like the character on Little Britain---"Computer says no!" Obvious errors with our account, our levels, wrong status on our cards, etc, required multiple visits and lots of time. Perhaps they should be given more authority to make things right. They could also use some coaching in customer interaction.

 

We have the full World Cruise booked on the QE for 2018, and I hope we will be pleasantly surprised at the Purser's Desk.

 

Ricki

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QE2.

Appalling cabin, leaking toilet downpipes that sprayed water all around the bath room. Missing and cracked tiles around bath. Missing ceiling panels. Missing architrave in cabin, leaving holes in the walls. Water pouring through ceiling from cabin above on last evening and NOTHING done at all, despite at least six requests to both steward and reception, eventually had to use our own and friends bath towels to enable us to get out of the cabin without soaking our feet. An actual puddle formed - and stayed - in cabin, until we laid the towels down.

 

We swore never again!

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I have to agree with the comments about the staff at the Purser's Desk on the QM2. I don't know if they are given the ability to make decisions or not, but their responses are like the character on Little Britain---"Computer says no!" Obvious errors with our account, our levels, wrong status on our cards, etc, required multiple visits and lots of time. Perhaps they should be given more authority to make things right. They could also use some coaching in customer interaction.

 

We have the full World Cruise booked on the QE for 2018, and I hope we will be pleasantly surprised at the Purser's Desk.

 

Ricki

 

I agree on some voyages with what you say.

But the Cunard experience soon lets one forget. It shouldn't, I agree They should focus on Customer Satisfaction, bit as long as they receive the dosh ! Thats what life is all about !!!! sadly dosh,

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QE2.

Appalling cabin, leaking toilet downpipes that sprayed water all around the bath room. Missing and cracked tiles around bath. Missing ceiling panels. Missing architrave in cabin, leaving holes in the walls. Water pouring through ceiling from cabin above on last evening and NOTHING done at all, despite at least six requests to both steward and reception, eventually had to use our own and friends bath towels to enable us to get out of the cabin without soaking our feet. An actual puddle formed - and stayed - in cabin, until we laid the towels down.

 

We swore never again!

 

I'm sorry for your difficulties--really inexcusable! Do you recall which cabin had this problem?

 

Ricki

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More an inconvenience that a bad experience, was that QM2 was on red Noro alert for the last day of our trip from Singapore to Dubai the other week. I understand the alert continued for at least 6 days after as well. I really felt for the staff who had to combine their usual work with serving every one individually, including tea, coffee in the buffet, salt and pepper in the MDR, no menus in the bars (though there were in the MDR) and no nuts or chips provided with pre-dinner drinks.

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I'm sorry for your difficulties--really inexcusable! Do you recall which cabin had this problem?

 

Ricki

No I don't, although it was an outside and allowed us to dine in the Caronia restaurant.

 

It was during the last year she was in service, so we had to make some allowances, but nevertheless was a thorough horrible cabin!

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In my 14 trips on QM2 and QV I have had many pleasant experiences. Cunard seems to have gotten the embarking and disembarking activities under control. On three occasions, I have been less than pleased.

 

On a TA I got my preliminary bill from the Purser and it included a huge telephone charge that occurred two days BEFORE, I embarked so I knew it wasn't mine. A trip to the Purser and a meeting with a particularly snitty blonde who argued with me until I loudly said please send me your manager who recognized the problem and fixed it on the spot.

 

The Second, was check-in in Trieste (Venice had been fogbound so QV could not dock) the check in lady told me she needed to hold onto our passports. I said NO, I don't give up my passport to anyone (hotels in Europe excluded). She proceeded to tell me it was Cunard Policy. I said no again and asked to speak to the manager. Eventually after two hours a lady who had been chatting with passengers and the check in crew came over to us and said she was the manager and the reason we had to give up our passports, was because she wanted to pre-clear us for Greece our next stop and that if we wanted to hold on to the passports we had to be at a location on board at 9 am the next morning to meet Greek Immigration. We did.

 

The third time was our Butler (in a Q2) who argued with me on the spirits for the in room bar, telling me I could not have something that wasn't pre-printed on the card. After ten plus voyages I knew he was wrong, and he left with out taking an order. A quick call to the hotel manager, got the problem fixed, but for the rest of the cruise and the return cruise where he was our butler again, he displayed a lot of attitude, and rarely visited sending his assistant instead. I tipped him on the east bound, but on the return I got tired of dealing with him and he got nothing. His picture still appears on the brochures Cunard publishes go figure.

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I wish you would all stop talking about the QE2. I have 3 regrets in my life that cannot be fixed - a TA on the QE2, a TA on Concorde from London, and a third one I don't talk about.

We definately need a "like" button.

 

I appreciate that things were infinately better in the days of Hovis bread, the Luftwaffe overhead and kids having rickets and ringworm. But the past is gone and aside from a few self-indulgent gripes I find the Cunard of today as good as, if not better than any other line I've sampled.

 

The pricing is, of course, nonsense and the difference in booking condtitions between the UK and US makes my snot fizz. But it's the law of the market place and applies to all of modern life. Silver service is long gone but to be frank, I'm less concered about how elegantly they dish it up than how good it tastes once it's on my fork. Above all else, I regret that we could never afford to take my mum on a cruise ship, any cruise ship, before she left us. She loved the sea, was terrified of flying and would have just sat on the balcony all day and all night being thankful for how lucky she was to be there.

 

By the way, I think I may share the same third regret as you. Maybe she was even the same person. ;p

 

 

 

.

Edited by Chunky2219
typo
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Like Bigmike, my worst experience was with passports.

 

Recently sailed QM2 from Melbourne to Hong Kong.

 

About 10 days into the trip I, like many others who had boarded in Melbourne, received a letter saying we had not complied with the request to provide our passports (odd). Big black box with big black letters about dire things if they we not produced by the next morning.

 

Helpful Purser desk say it was for checking. Could not tell me when I would get it back. Could not tell me when we were requested to submit them. Could tell me the admin staff were finished for the day (presumably gone home), so no-one to talk to about this.

 

Seems we were supposed to have been told atcheck in, and given immigration documents. Learnt this from another passenger who knew as she had taken the cruise the previous year. Used for bulk immigration in Borneo, Vietnam, and HK landing.

 

Last day before HK, passports were to be returned to all, many, some. anyway, lots and lots of passengers all crammed together. Organisation does not seem to be a key competency in this area.

 

My passport contained a HK immigration form. Exit form was completed saying I was going to Shanghai on QM2. Odd, I thought I was flying to Melbourne on Qantas. There was even an approximation of my signature.

 

Guy who said he was an assistant manager saw no problem with wrong. I happen to believe legal documents should be accurate, and the passenger's signature should be mine.

 

The tone of the letter and this return behaviour left a nasty taste.

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The most disappointing thing about any sailing with Cunard was not leaving Manhattan on the return leg of the 175 anniversary crossing. I get and understand why Red Hook is better and have no problem with it for almost every sailing, but as a one off for the 175th anniversary of the line was it too much to go to Manhattan?!

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On our recent QE we woke up one morning to discover there was no hot water in the stateroom. It ended up being out all day until after dinner. On checking with our stateroom attendant it turned out the line was faulty and the whole ship was out out hot water. The annoying part was that no one informed us of the outage.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am a platinum member and my only bad experience on Cunard was my recent QV voyage. We flew to Miami with British Airways which was excellent, clearing security in Miami was tedious and the staff that were there to meet us were hopeless

 

 

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In fact they were downright rude . They told us that the coaches would arrive in about five minutes when in fact they didn't arrive until 50 minutes later and then their organisational skills were zero.

Embarkation at Fort Lauderdale was even more chaotic ! We were told all the confusion was because the emberkation staff were only used to doing Princess cruises ?!?

People were all saying that they expect better treatment on a Cunard holiday.

 

 

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Our worst experience on a cruise ship was on QE2. We did a cruise and the whole area of our cabin and corridor smelt of sewage for the whole cruise. We went in what was superb midnight buffet in those days and ordered hot chocolate like we did every night and was brought coffee's we said he had made a mistake and he said no he hadn't that is what we ordered and he wasn't going to change it and walked away. On another sea day one of the waiters got into an argument with a passenger in self service buffet and started fighting and security had to be called. Boy was I glad to get off that ship and never sailed on her again.

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Our worst experience on a cruise ship was on QE2. We did a cruise and the whole area of our cabin and corridor smelt of sewage for the whole cruise. We went in what was superb midnight buffet in those days and ordered hot chocolate like we did every night and was brought coffee's we said he had made a mistake and he said no he hadn't that is what we ordered and he wasn't going to change it and walked away. On another sea day one of the waiters got into an argument with a passenger in self service buffet and started fighting and security had to be called. Boy was I glad to get off that ship and never sailed on her again.

 

Likewise.

 

In 2002 we were on QE2 on a 'Line Voyage Southampton to Mauritius and return. We had booked a Britannia Grill Suite and it had an interconnecting door.

 

Our neighbour ordered an early morning room service and would insist on holding an inordinate conversation with whomever delivered.

 

Needless to say I slipped what I considered a polite note under his door requesting he desist as I had no wish to hear his or the steward's life stories that early in the morning.

 

OMG. I was summoned to the Pursers office and accused of all sorts of crimes until they heard my side of the affair.

 

Fortunately the annoying neighbour left at Cape Town and everything was sweet and peaceful.

 

Since all those years ago my only other Cunard anxiety has been Sally Sagoe

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L

Since all those years ago my only other Cunard anxiety has been Sally Sagoe

 

omg yes Sally - shes fabulous, shes very "Theatre", she and Neil make a great tagteam on the QV.

 

Guess Im a glass half full sort of guy, can;t think of a bad Cunard experience, but a bad excursion experience? - now we are talking..

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That sounds as if it would be worth a whole new thread !

 

how about the time they left me behind in Guatemala.....now theres a story...lol..

 

never did work out if they did it on purpose but at least they came back and got me...

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