CUNARD "to LOOSEN UP "

[Whitemarsh]

The old order changeth, yielding place to new...

 

J

 

I bet they didn't have a logo....

[Cruachan]

I bet they didn't have a logo....

 

No, there was no logo then. Things were only properly formalised when you were appointed to the post of Commissioner of Fashion Police (Australia).

 

:D:D

 

J

[vjmatty]

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.

 

PLEASE don't let the hyperbolic wailings of a few doomsday forecasters put you off your sailing. Nothing has changed over the years regarding tea service, and the lessening of the number of formal nights by one is not supposed to happen until next year.

 

QM2 is still in every way a liner, and I think if you let the chicken littles here convince you that the sky is falling you will really regret the missed opportunity to experience her in all her splendor.

[vjmatty]

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

 

Like +1

[Whitemarsh]

No, there was no logo then. Things were only properly formalised when you were appointed to the post of Commissioner of Fashion Police (Australia).

 

:D:D

 

J

 

The FP old-guard sounds very disorganised, I'm not surprised they've been moved on. All that stuff about pre-tied bow ties and off-the-peg suits wouldn't past muster now. We don't care about that nowadays.

[Cruachan]

The FP old-guard sounds very disorganised, I'm not surprised they've been moved on. All that stuff about pre-tied bow ties and off-the-peg suits wouldn't past muster now. We don't care about that nowadays.

 

... and word on the street has it that you have also abolished capital punishment. From what I can gather, and correct me if I'm wrong here, dress code deniers are now sentenced to undertake a 21 night cruise on Carnival Nightmare - mind you, I suppose that could be construed as a fate worse than death! :D:D

 

J

[Whitemarsh]

... and word on the street has it that you have also abolished capital punishment. From what I can gather, and correct me if I'm wrong here, dress code deniers are now sentenced to undertake a 21 night cruise on Carnival Nightmare - mind you, I suppose that could be construed as a fate worse than death! :D

 

J

 

Nowadays a short intensive re-education program in the "luxurious" deck 8 suite 8129 usually does the trick. People are usually in such a hurry to leave 8129 they'll do and say anything.

 

I've been wondering about the new direction that Cunard is going to take with it's "loosened" dress code. Whereas previous brochures featured elegantly dressed passengers descending down a grand staircase.

 

 

The new brochures are sure to take a different direction. I'm imagining we're going to see something like this. Any thoughts?

 

Or how about this lot as Cunard's new Global Ambassadors? They'd spread the good news about the exciting new atmosphere on board Cunard's luxurious liners. :D ;)

[Cruachan]

Nowadays a short intensive re-education program in the "luxurious" deck 8 suite 8129 usually does the trick. People are usually in such a hurry to leave 8129 they'll do and say anything.

 

I've been wondering about the new direction that Cunard is going to take with it's "loosened" dress code. Whereas previous brochures featured elegantly dressed passengers descending down a grand staircase.

 

 

The new brochures are sure to take a different direction. I'm imagining we're going to see something like this. Any thoughts?

 

Or how about this lot as Cunard's new Global Ambassadors? They'd spread the good news about the exciting new atmosphere on board Cunard's luxurious liners. :D ;)

 

Well, I think the Global Ambassadors are lookin' good! And, if the truth be told, they are probably as close to reality as the PPs in the first image.

 

But that second shot is an absolute belter! Where can I get that dinner suit. WANT!!! :cool:

 

J

[glojo]

Out with the old..

 

In with the new...

 

Court in session aboard Queen Mary 2 Ocean View cabin

 

Australian Fashion Police consider latest passenger request

 

 

You wanna bring a Sheilah into the bar!!!!!!!!

 

My oath Bruce wot the hell are yuh thinking about....

[Whitemarsh]

Out with the old..

 

In with the new...

 

Court in session aboard Queen Mary 2 Ocean View cabin

 

Australian Fashion Police consider latest passenger request

 

 

You wanna bring a Sheilah into the bar!!!!!!!!

 

My oath Bruce wot the hell are yuh thinking about....

 

Love it :D

 

Are you sure the background isn't a mock-up of the proposed redesign of the Golden Lion Pub? With Cunard's new 'loose' atmosphere the interiors are going to have to reflect the new direction. :)

[vjmatty]

Love it :D

 

Are you sure the background isn't a mock-up of the proposed redesign of the Golden Lion Pub? With Cunard's new 'loose' atmosphere the interiors are going to have to reflect the new direction. :)

 

I was thinking Golden Lion also! LOL

[Cruachan]

I was thinking Golden Lion also! LOL

 

No way! That's the new Queens Grill Lounge :eek:

 

J

[Whitemarsh]

Presenting the newly modernised and "loosened up" Chart Room.

 

 

Even the crew are going to have to get in on the act. The new officer's uniform (previewed below) is very relaxed and informal, in-keeping with the new direction.

 

[Seago2]

Presenting the newly modernised and "loosened up" Chart Room.

 

 

Hahahahahahahaaaaaa

[glojo]

Love it :D

 

Are you sure the background isn't a mock-up of the proposed redesign of the Golden Lion Pub? With Cunard's new 'loose' atmosphere the interiors are going to have to reflect the new direction. :)

Perhaps that would be a more suitable location for the more serious crimes like drinking out of a glass

 

Failing to wear frayed shorts and of course the hat with fly repellant corks although the latest Mk II hat will be acceptable but MUST be worn by all passengers at all times including between decks.

[Bandwagon]

Personally I feel that this is a long overdue move. It seems that Cunard will be keeping Formal nights but relaxing the need for people to wear jacket and tie on non formal evenings which, let's face it, a large number of cruisers ignore anyway.

 

Having been on QE in the med last autumn, the weather was so warm who wants to have to wear a tie and jacket every night? Oh and don't even get me started on the baggage allowances on flights to and from the ship which is mostly taken up by jackets, shirts, ties etc!.

 

Don't get me wrong, I do love the Formal nights with the dressing up and if the relaxation on other evenings encourages more to conform on Formal nights, so much the better.

 

Let's hope they loosen up on the entertainment next as Ballroom is only for a niche market these days!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Personally I feel that this is a long overdue move. It seems that Cunard will be keeping Formal nights but relaxing the need for people to wear jacket and tie on non formal evenings which, let's face it, a large number of cruisers ignore anyway.

 

Having been on QE in the med last autumn, the weather was so warm who wants to have to wear a tie and jacket every night? Oh and don't even get me started on the baggage allowances on flights to and from the ship which is mostly taken up by jackets, shirts, ties etc!.

 

Don't get me wrong, I do love the Formal nights with the dressing up and if the relaxation on other evenings encourages more to conform on Formal nights, so much the better.

 

Let's hope they loosen up on the entertainment next as Ballroom is only for a niche market these days!

 

In my experience, it's worked the other way. Lines that are "smart casual" or some such thing on all nights but one or two do not see better participation in formal nights. And, sadly, the "smart" casual gets dumber and dumber as time goes on. I've seen the erosion on other lines, and I don't want to see Cunard go that way.

 

When the dining room goes casual for dinner, people don't bother to change for dinner. So the whole mindset of dressing for dinner is lost, and for some passengers, it makes formal night into a chore. As in, "Can't I just go the way I'm dressed now?" So instead of accepting that one changes out of day clothing to go to a nice restaurant, they whine and complain--or see just how little "dressing up" they can get away with.

[RJChatsworth]

Doesn't "loosened" dress code just mean ill-fitting dinner jacket and trousers?!!

[balf]

[quote=Cruachan; 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.

 

J

 

I remember one thread discussing white tux. One poster said " only waiters wear white jackets "

 

David.

[Salacia]

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 MaggieMM. I really hope you haven't cancelled your booking for the 5 night July4th cruise because of the possiblity that at some point in the future, there MIGHT be some relaxation in the dress code. No doubt the dress code for your voyage has already been set --does the published dress code meet your expectations? If so, then there's really no reason to cancel. BTW, you might come across comments about passengers on shorter cruises not being serious about following the dress code, etc. But from my personal experience of past July4th cruises, I can tell you that passengers were extremely well dressed, well behaved and the atmosphere on board was very festive. I'd feel very badly if you cancelled, and even worse, you'd miss the opportunity to experience the ship for yourself. Who knows? You might come back after the cruise and take the position that the dress code does need to relax a little :) Regards, -S.

[Midsomer Madness]

From what I have read via twitter, semi formal is being replaced with informal..gents will no linger need a tie on these evenings but will still have to wear a jacket.

[glojo]

Having been on QE in the med last autumn, the weather was so warm who wants to have to wear a tie and jacket every night? Oh and don't even get me started on the baggage allowances on flights to and from the ship which is mostly taken up by jackets, shirts, ties etc!.

 

Don't get me wrong, I do love the Formal nights with the dressing up and if the relaxation on other evenings encourages more to conform on Formal nights, so much the better.

 

Aren't modern ships now all fitted with air conditioning? My thoughts are that if it is not broke, why try to fix it?

 

If it is broke will lowering the standard attract more cruisers? My sister does not like Cunard as she feels it is too stuffy but in pride of place in her living room is a beautiful photograph of her and her husband wearing suitable attire for a formal night on the Queen Victoria!!

 

If Cunard lower the dress standards I am in the corner that advocates that it will be the start of the beginning of the end of what Cunard represents. How many members of this forum are in favour of lowering dress standards and how many would prefer what is being suggested?

[Midsomer Madness]

I would prefer they leave the three dress codes, but if losing semi formal keeps the formal nights the same then it's not too high a price to pay IMO :)

[vjmatty]

Aren't modern ships now all fitted with air conditioning? My thoughts are that if it is not broke, why try to fix it?

 

If it is broke will lowering the standard attract more cruisers? My sister does not like Cunard as she feels it is too stuffy but in pride of place in her living room is a beautiful photograph of her and her husband wearing suitable attire for a formal night on the Queen Victoria!!

 

If Cunard lower the dress standards I am in the corner that advocates that it will be the start of the beginning of the end of what Cunard represents. How many members of this forum are in favour of lowering dress standards and how many would prefer what is being suggested?

 

Hard to say.... is it "lowering" standards to want more formal nights but do away with semiformal?

[Midsomer Madness]

Should add that the article is under blogs on this site if anyone is remotely interested :)