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CUNARD "to LOOSEN UP "

suggabuttyboy

By suggabuttyboy,
in Cunard Line

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3rdGenCunarder "Live from...." Rare

3rdGenCunarder

Posted
Posted
Your Lordship Sir,

 

thank you, thank you, thank you! How wonderful to receive this assurance from the very top man in Cunard (Indeed, may I venture to say, probably the top man on the entire planet). It is absolutely fantastic that you can take all this time out of your incredibly busy schedule to communicate with us little people. I know that I don't need to worry about anything Cunard related while the line is in a pair of hands as safe and efficient as yours.

 

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your obedient servant

 

James Christie

 

(Looking for a Q1 on Queen Victoria voyage #V315N sailing from Southampton on 13 September 2013 with port calls at Cadiz, Valletta, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Messina, and Gibraltar!)

 

Any more of this talk and we'll have to get out the shovels...

:D

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Norfolk Brit

Norfolk Brit

Posted
Posted
I think we should give the same cautious welcome to a first poster on these boards as we normally do.

 

David.

 

I think we should creep, just in case. After all, the latest incarnation of our hugely revered and much-loved CEO does possess the same magnificent literary style as the original.

 

Sir Martin

 

Urgently required: Q1, 15 May 2013, Queen Victoria. Ta ever so.

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Ray66

Ray66

Posted
Posted
I think we should creep, just in case. After all, the latest incarnation of our hugely revered and much-loved CEO does possess the same magnificent literary style as the original.

 

Sir Martin

 

 

Hmmm, not too sure about his grammar:

 

Dear All

 

I noticed this active string on Cunard Formal Nights and Dress Codes and thought I had better jump in. As I discussed on my recent Q+A session - we do not plan to make any changes at all to our cherished Formal Nights or Formal Dress Codes on those nights. They remain very special to us - we normally have around two such evenings a week and three on a Transatlantic Crossing. They are very popular both with our loyal regulars and with those that cruise with us for the first time. On the other nights we have a more informal approach and we think that strikes the right balance for everybody. Dressing up is something that we all enjoy from time to time - and on a Cunrad ship it can be a wonderful experience - a taste of tradition but in the beautiful modern surroundings of our fine young ships. I hope that put's your mind at rest. There were also some comments on the string on Australia - I have just got back from spending some time on Queen Mary 2 in Australia - and the atmosphere on board was terrific - we are at our best with a wide range of nationalities onboard and it is a beautiful country to boot. Best Regards. Peter Shanks.

 

Whoever it is, they did register the account back in 2010 though.

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Salacia

Salacia

Posted
Posted

Here's an interesting piece published today http://www.philly.com/philly/travel/20130317_What_Price_Luxury_.html

 

Partial quote from that article:

 

Tradition remains a big part of the QM2 experience, with daily afternoon teas, a dining system tiered according to your level of cabin accommodations, and rigidly enforced dress codes after 6 p.m. Wearing jeans at night is discouraged.

 

"If a man shows up at dinner without a tuxedo or dark suit on a formal night or not wearing a jacket and tie on a semiformal night, the maitre d' will politely remind him of the rule and direct him to the King's Court buffet," said Robert Howie, the ship's hotel manager. "There you can dine in a more relaxed atmosphere."

 

Howie doesn't foresee Cunard following the trend of other cruise lines that have relaxed dress codes and introduced choice and anytime dining.

 

"Our company is more than 150 years old with certain standards that our passengers expect and enjoy," he said. "No, I don't see that changing."

 

:confused:

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Cruachan

Cruachan

Posted
Posted
...I find Sir Peter's spelling and grammar utterly charming...

 

Sir Martin

 

Oi blabberchops! I told you not to leak any of the Birthday Honours until two weeks before the list was officially released. Brenda will be well angry!

 

J

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Norfolk Brit

Norfolk Brit

Posted
Posted
Oi blabberchops! I told you not to leak any of the Birthday Honours until two weeks before the list was officially released. Brenda will be well angry!

J

 

I gave it to him, nothing to do with Brenda.

 

You'll have to lay a few dozen eggs to beat that!

 

Sir Martin

 

Urgently required: Q1, 15 May 2013, Queen Victoria. Ta ever so.

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MaggieMM

MaggieMM

Posted
Posted

I was so looking forward to the grand ocean liner experience but what I have read in this and other posts has made me stop and reconsider. Queen Mary 2 is no longer an ocean liner. The elegance will now "loosen up". Does the promised white-glove afternoon tea now get "loosend up" with grab and go coffee? Great, I can look forward to standing in line just like a do at a Brooklyn Starbucks instead of being served. Why buy a gown for the Black and White ball when half the other passangers opt to "loosen up" as they want? Nothing I signed on for remains. Thank goodness for these boards because I was about to spend a lot of money on an illusion! So glad I found out BEFORE final payment.

 

Thank you to all who offered cabin suggestions and tried to assure me that QM2 is a special ship. I'm too late by about 50 years. (Or too early by about 3 years if Titanic II gets built.)

 

For those who will sail anyway, have a pleasant voyage.

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Salacia

Salacia

Posted
Posted
I was so looking forward to the grand ocean liner experience but what I have read in this and other posts has made me stop and reconsider. Queen Mary 2 is no longer an ocean liner. The elegance will now "loosen up". Does the promised white-glove afternoon tea now get "loosend up" with grab and go coffee? Great, I can look forward to standing in line just like a do at a Brooklyn Starbucks instead of being served. Why buy a gown for the Black and White ball when half the other passangers opt to "loosen up" as they want? Nothing I signed on for remains. Thank goodness for these boards because I was about to spend a lot of money on an illusion! So glad I found out BEFORE final payment.

 

Thank you to all who offered cabin suggestions and tried to assure me that QM2 is a special ship. I'm too late by about 50 years. (Or too early by about 3 years if Titanic II gets built.)

 

For those who will sail anyway, have a pleasant voyage.

 

Hi Maggie. Whatever the dress code does not change the fact that QM2 is an ocean liner. I've only experienced 10 QM2 cruises; soon to experience my 11th. On every voyage, the dress code was observed. QM2 is a special ship (actually the only ocean liner in operation) -- as many previous posters have stated. You have to see it to believe it. But you are right; don't buy an illusion. Regards, -S.

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Germancruiser Great Review Rare

Germancruiser

Posted
Posted

I would not be afraid to cruise , sorry, sail on QM2 - if they really do away with semi formal nights - which is not such bad idea at all- I dout they will do away with their Service esp. the white cloved service in the Queens Room at afternoon tea! So I would not hestiated to book. I have just one experience with QM2 and one with the now gone QE 2- so I am not THAT an experienced Cunard cruiser!

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Thaxted

Thaxted

Posted
Posted
I was so looking forward to the grand ocean liner experience but what I have read in this and other posts has made me stop and reconsider. Queen Mary 2 is no longer an ocean liner. The elegance will now "loosen up". Does the promised white-glove afternoon tea now get "loosend up" with grab and go coffee? Great, I can look forward to standing in line just like a do at a Brooklyn Starbucks instead of being served. Why buy a gown for the Black and White ball when half the other passangers opt to "loosen up" as they want? Nothing I signed on for remains. Thank goodness for these boards because I was about to spend a lot of money on an illusion! So glad I found out BEFORE final payment.

 

Thank you to all who offered cabin suggestions and tried to assure me that QM2 is a special ship. I'm too late by about 50 years. (Or too early by about 3 years if Titanic II gets built.)

 

For those who will sail anyway, have a pleasant voyage.

 

I think that it would be a shame if you lost the opportunity to sail on QM2 because of our concerns about the "loosening up" being bruited about. Much of that lies in the future and just what it portends no one knows. For the time being, a journey like yours will still have two formal nights, the white-glove afternoon tea will still be served, and you will still have the delight of sailing on a magnificent ship. Whatever may happen in years to come, and whatever glories people may remember of ships of yore, all we have is the present. And precisely because that present is fragile, I believe that it all the more worth cherishing.

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Salacia

Salacia

Posted
Posted
i think that it would be a shame if you lost the opportunity to sail on qm2 because of our concerns about the "loosening up" being bruited about. Much of that lies in the future and just what it portends no one knows. For the time being, a journey like yours will still have two formal nights, the white-glove afternoon tea will still be served, and you will still have the delight of sailing on a magnificent ship. Whatever may happen in years to come, and whatever glories people may remember of ships of yore, all we have is the present. And precisely because that present is fragile, i believe that it all the more worth cherishing.

 

*applause* applause*

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seasidegal

seasidegal

Posted
Posted
I think that it would be a shame if you lost the opportunity to sail on QM2 because of our concerns about the "loosening up" being bruited about. Much of that lies in the future and just what it portends no one knows. For the time being, a journey like yours will still have two formal nights, the white-glove afternoon tea will still be served, and you will still have the delight of sailing on a magnificent ship. Whatever may happen in years to come, and whatever glories people may remember of ships of yore, all we have is the present. And precisely because that present is fragile, I believe that it all the more worth cherishing.

 

Very wise and true words and worth remembering...thank you for posting them.

 

best regards,

seasidegal.

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Cruachan

Cruachan

Posted
Posted
I was so looking forward to the grand ocean liner experience but what I have read in this and other posts has made me stop and reconsider. Queen Mary 2 is no longer an ocean liner. The elegance will now "loosen up". Does the promised white-glove afternoon tea now get "loosend up" with grab and go coffee? Great, I can look forward to standing in line just like a do at a Brooklyn Starbucks instead of being served. Why buy a gown for the Black and White ball when half the other passangers opt to "loosen up" as they want? Nothing I signed on for remains. Thank goodness for these boards because I was about to spend a lot of money on an illusion! So glad I found out BEFORE final payment.

 

Thank you to all who offered cabin suggestions and tried to assure me that QM2 is a special ship. I'm too late by about 50 years. (Or too early by about 3 years if Titanic II gets built.)

 

For those who will sail anyway, have a pleasant voyage.

 

Thaxted has already given you a tightly reasoned and cogent reply but can I just add my support for what was said in that post and also point out to you that, if you examine this board in detail you will see that just about every other thread either starts out as, or rapidly descends into, a discussion of the minutiae of the Cunard dress code. The posters on this board tend to be highly "conservative" about everything to do with Cunard but, in particular, about the dress code. Any suggested change, however small, generates howls of protest and disapproval. The change that appears to have put you off the whole idea of a Cunard voyage, if it happens at all, will probably not happen soon.

 

For my own part, I was almost deterred from travelling with Cunard for precisely the opposite reason to the one that has caused you to have second thoughts. On here at that time there existed a highly vocal minority who insisted that to wear a pre-tied bow tie on formal nights or to drape oneself in an off the peg dinner suit should be punishable by death or worse. I wasn't sure if I was booking a cruise or forming up for inspection prior to the Queen's Birthday Parade. In fact, the reality was totally different from the image of Cunard given here or, indeed, in Cunard's own publicity material. There is so much more to Cunard than the dress code - book your cruise/crossing and have fun finding out. You will not be disappointed.

 

J

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Whitemarsh

Whitemarsh

Posted
Posted

For my own part, I was almost deterred from travelling with Cunard for precisely the opposite reason to the one that has caused you to have second thoughts. On here at that time there existed a highly vocal minority who insisted that to wear a pre-tied bow tie on formal nights or to drape oneself in an off the peg dinner suit should be punishable by death or worse. I wasn't sure if I was booking a cruise or forming up for inspection prior to the Queen's Birthday Parade.

 

J

 

What happened to them?

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