cabins on the Caronia from Cunard

I intend to book a guarantee outside cabin on the Caronia, can anyone tell me more about the outside cabins on this ship and the chance to get an upgrade to a higher grade outside. I read something about H grade, that should be 70 sq feet, but I can hardly imagine that it will do for two people with luggage, how looks the interior like in such a small cabin. If we dont get an upgrade we must live there for 15 days, so any information will help us!!!!! I cannot find any pictures of this cabin to. I hope somebody can help me with this issue!!

Hi warie.

I stayed only twice in single outside cabins on the Caronia but also had a look in double outside ones. They greatly vary by size and shape. Some are really tiny but even these are very comfortable, nicely apointed with a lot of wood and efficently arranged. People do even much longer cruises in them so it depends on your personal need for space.

Most of the H grade cabins have a convertible sofabed. A picture of one you can find for example on the web-page of deluxecruises.us .

Maybe someone will post who actually stayed in one.

Regarding upgrades: Same as for every ship, yes there are always people who get an upgrade but nobody knows why just them. Thus do not count on that. If space is important to you take one of the upper-end cabins or suites or even an "I grade" inside as these are much larger than many outsides.

For a final remark I just like to say that Caronia is a beautiful ship with an excellent service. I would take the chance to sail on her before she is gone.

carlmm

Thanks Carlmm for your usefull answer, can I trouble you again? Since last night I found a foto of an H-grade on cunard.be, but it only shows the part where you can see towards the porthole part of a bed and a sofa both solidly nailed to the floor(it looks like no space under the beds). Did you perchance see or remember what the part of the cabin looks like facing the door ? This in regard to closets or space to put away trunk(s).

I checked out deluxecruises.us the other parts of the ship really look beautiful.

Warie

No problem. I am not sure about the sofa but you can definitely put trunks under the bed. If there is not enough space for your luggage the cabin steward will take it (even all if you prefer), store it and return it the day before disembarkation.

Cabin layouts vary but in every cabin I saw there was at least one cabinet with drawers and and a closet with hangers. Also there is a refrigerator in every cabin.

You do enter the cabin from a small side corridor not the main one, let's say on the longer side or the rectangle which is your cabin. E.g. on the left will be you bathroom (in H with shower), on the right the part with bed etc. The closet might be directly in front of you or next to the entrance door.

You might try to post the question also on the cunard board. Sometimes it says that there are people supposed to be around who own detailed deck plans with every individual cabin but who knows if they exist.

If you have any general question about the Caronia I will be happy to try to anwer.

Which cruise will be yours?

Even within the same cabin grade size can vary.

You must get Cunard to confirm the size of the specific cabin number in which you are interested.

From experience of a 110 sq.ft cabin I think anything under 150 sq.ft for two people would be cramped.

We were on the Caronia in March for a 14 day transat from Ft. Lauderdale to Southhampton. We were in cabin 281 on the upper deck, inside. This cabin was far superior to many of the outside cabins we saw due to its size-165 sq. ft. We were also just down the hall from the dining room and 2 doors from the smaller aft deck so it was like having a "private porch" that we could step out onto at anytime. Cabin 281 is an I catagory. What we liked about it is we could always turn on the bridge cam to check the weather and we could also occassionally take naps in the afternoon and the cabin would be in complete darkness. The couple in the inside cabin next to us was on the ship for 75 days and they suffered no ill-effects for the experience. What amenities were'nt on our deck was one deck up so we liked the location very much. We also had NO problem with ship motion in the aft section....

Rick,24 cruises and counting! Next cruise- #25-Riverboat cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna in July '04

Thank you all very much for your contributions to help us to make up our mind. We have decide not to go for the garantee outside cabin as we prefer not to possibly end up in a 110 sq.ft cabin. For your information we opt to go for the garantee inside cabin instead, as the minimum size of these cabins of appr 150 sq ft is more appealing to us.

We like to go on the september cruise to the Mediterrenean.

As you all are experienced Caronia-cruisers could you tell us if it is possible to dine casual at night in the Lido-cafe ? is there any connection between an assigned table and the category of the booked cabin ? if there is an assigned table could it be altered if requested ? how is the general atmosphere on board ms Caronia ? we sailed to the Baltic on a ship of the same size as the Caronia where the atmosphere appealed to us very much.

Hope I remember your questions. You will state your preference of table size to Cunard. If possible, they will comply. The tables are NOT assigned due to catagory purchased. You can change your table assignment as long as there is space to do so. The ship was very casually elegant. During the day it was jeans and shorts but in the evening it was "somewhat" dressy. We had 5 formal nights (they had only announced 4) and very, very few gentlemen did not wear tuxes or dinner jackets. You can, however opt to eat in the Lido Buffet but it was closed sometimes and I'm not sure if that wasn't the formal nights-we were in the dining room on those nights.The only casual nights were the first and the last-everything else was coat and tie for the men, "nicer" pant suits, skirts, blouses etc. for the ladies, but not cocktailish. We had the same table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and our 7 other dining companions plus our wait staff were so pleasant that we didn't seek out other tables. During the "Grand Buffet" which was at noon, not at night, we could have sat at other tables but again chose not too. Mind you, we had never met the other 7 people at our table before the cruise and that made it delightful for us. The crowd on the Caronia is well travelled and there was always someone at the table with a helpful suggestion to share for our next trips. I hope you love the Caronia-it is such a shame that the cruise lines feel they have to have only megaships to operate. We were at capacity for our cruise and yet the "crowd" was small enough for interaction with almost everyone on the cruise.

Because people do move around the first night, the ship does not assign the lecturers to tables until the second night. We were lucky to get the computer teacher who was very friendly, especally with my wife, and taught her how to use her brand new digital camera. He still corresponds with us via email. Enjoy your cruise! (Please keep in mind our cruise was a 14 day TransAtlantic with only two ports of call, 12 days at sea. THAT is a whole different type of cruising!)

Rick,24 cruises and counting! Next cruise- #25-Riverboat cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna in July '04

I went back and re-read your earlier post. Our inside cabin had two closets-one had a shoe rack on the floor, the other just flat floor.Both had shelves above the hangers also. The "vanity" had two shallow drawers and four deeper drawers. Above the refrigerator there were two large open shelves plus a partial shelf that also held the safe. The tv was out of the way on a suspended holder. Between the beds was another set of drawers-quite large, therefore not very movable- three or four drawers and a pull-out shelf that could be used as a table. Our I catagory had a tub with shower and the bathroom was nicely laid out, again quite roomy with lots of storage space available. The room steward took our luggage away the first night and brought it back the last full day of the cruise so we could pack. Incidentally, upon arrival we had bottle of Sparkling wine and fresh strawberries waiting for us. Thereafter, the ice bucket and two wine glasses were stored in another set of shelves that were closed off by a glass door above the "vanity/desk". There was one chair in the room also. We could have stayed longer in that room on that ship than just the 14 days and been very comfortable.

Rick,24 cruises and counting! Next cruise- #25-Riverboat cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna in July '04

For the most part I do confirm what Flick wrote about the Caronia. Thus I just like to add some impressions.

On a cruise with more portdays there will be more "casual" nights than on a transatlantic one. The general guideline is something like seadays are formal (definitely tuxedo and long dresses/gowns) or informal (suit and tie, cocktail dress), portdays informal or casual. Yet, even on casual nights many people do dress somewhat up. On one cruise all men at my table wore jacket and tie every casual night.

Also I hardly ever saw any jeans at all. Days are casually/sportive elegant. Shorts are not only not allowed in the dining room for all meals but were also out of place for high tea and most inside activities. So it looks like experiences do slightly vary by the actual cruises one took.

The dress code is adhered to for all other public rooms all night from 6 pm on, so even if one takes a casual dinner at the Lido he/she will meet all the formally dressed people in the lounge, bar etc.

You are assigned to the same table at the Franconia dinning room for all three meals, table change requests should be not problem. There is also the Tivoli as a served dinner alternative with reservation.

Service is excellent and a major part of the atmosphere on board. Also important: Many passengers really enjoy socializing. The hostess and other staff make a point in talking to people, too, and do care about the individual well being. One might call the atmosphere cultivated, understated ...?

There are lectures about ports and other topics of general interest e.g. history and culture. On some days pre- or post-dinner classical concerts are offered. The passenger mix is international (American, British, German, other European, ..., but varies heavily by cruise), comedians tend to cater more to a British audience, production shows are "more west end than Las Vegas" as somebody said. There is ballroom dancing every night. The night club offers live entertainment first, later a DJ.

For the age range I met: Very few children and teens, some twenties, some more thirties (actually I am mid-thirty), and so on with a majority probably above fifty-five. Many repeaters.

I am looking forward to sail Caronia August,31st for the Mediterranean. So, if this happens to be yours, too, I will be happy to offer you a drink. Anyway enjoy your cruise.

Caronia always feels more "family" to me, whereas QE2, and I would guess QM2, feels more "club".

Why, oh why did Cunard not do what Saga are doing and refurbish her and keep her in the fleet?.

David.

When we were on the Caronia in November 2002 we were told that both the Caronia,and the QE2,would be sold because Cunard considered the cost of meeting more stringent fire regulations in 2005? was uneconomic.I presume that the cancellation of the Queen Victoria will mean that Cunard will have to refurbish the QE2.

Why does Cunard not build a new similarly sized Caronia given the market for such luxury ships?

Exactly,

And while thy are at it, remember the single traveller and add some single cabins - more people than ever are single and yet it seems all new ships have no single rooms.

Even better would be the removal of the single supplement

Karen

Caronia Sept 2003

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mufi:

Why, oh why did Cunard not do what Saga are doing and refurbish her and keep her in the fleet?.

David.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I know, I know. I wish they had kept SAGAFJORD as well. She is even better than CARONIA. Well, now this pair are going to be reunited under Saga, and from all accounts they do a better job running and caring for the ships then Cunard. Instead of the ships being a liability, which is how I feel Cunard felt about them, they are an asset for Saga. They will encompass Saga's entire fleet, and I think they are very proud of them.

Even so, I'm nowhere near the age to sail on them under Saga. I still hope to someday. Our options of sailing classic liners are becoming more and more limited it seems. It's either the new mega-ship of 100,000 gt + or a new smaller ship. Very few classics with the old world charm.

Ernie

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I'm nowhere near the age to sail on them under Saga. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

We Have the solution!

We've sailed on Sagafjord and Vistafjord/Caronia many times and were bemoaning our inability to sail on them in the near future to some friends (who are both a few yeaqrs older than us) when they came up with the answer to the problem. A couple can sail with Saga as long as one partner is over fifty. So he would book with my wife, with him qualifying, and I would book with his wife, with her qualifying.

"Great!" I said, "Then, once we are aboard we could swap partners." With perfectly straight faces they both said, "Only if you really want to." I'm starting to worry about our friends!

Regards, Colin.

Uh, Colin, I worry about YOU!

Rick,24 cruises and counting! Next cruise- #25-Riverboat cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna in July '04

We've been on a long weekend and are pleasantly surprised by all your usefull contributions. We still don't know if we can make the aug 31th cruise or the october 2nd one.Carl, if we take the aug 31th we'll be happy to meet you at the bar. If not we wish you good cruising. And Flick we wish you a very pleasant stay in Europe on your rivercruise to Vienna.