Review - Christmas & New Years Cruise - Dec 22, 2013 - Jan 3, 2014

[Paul NH]

Whoopi Goldberg was onboard, but as a regular passenger, not entertainment. I saw her several times early in the morning on the boat deck while walking, but never knew who she was until after the last time I saw her. She had caught my attention the morning of the last full day at sea because I walked 4 miles around the deck and she was walking in the opposite direction, so we passed each other twice every rotation. At one point I didn't see her at the halfway point and then saw her a bit later in the loop and quickly said to her "I thought you had quit" and she said something like, "Oh no, I walk for two hours." At the time I thought I was just making small talk with a typical passenger, but shortly after that learned that she was on board and was always walking the deck earlier in the morning. She was somewhat incognito, no signature glasses hanging low on her face or visible braids/dreadlocks (she had a hood on as it was drizzling lightly).

 

I don't know if it was just me, but with two exceptions, I thought the entertainment was not up to the caliber of prior trips. I think I have been spoiled by past Oxford and other lecturers who were really, really interesting. No Royal Astronomy Club on board or anything like that on this cruise. The lecture topics on this trip just didn't interest me. And Viva Italia and the singing part of the Christmas show were a bit ... eh (we skipped Apassionata (sic?) as we have seen it manyatimesa). The vocal range of the current four lead Cunard singers seemed limited/flat, compared to prior Cunard singers.

 

Entertainment highlights were a baritone singer, Jeremy Hew Williams who did two separate day concerts in the Royal Court Theater, and an electric violinist whose name I forgot. Williams was a professional opera singer and along with the pianist, were a real treat to see live up close in the ship's theater (and this from someone who has never been to an opera). As I mentioned before, we missed a lot of shows; one time I poked my head in the theater and there looked to be an interesting acrobatic act going on. Another time there was a solo female singer on stage, but she was talking in between songs when I briefly poked in, so I didn't get to hear her sing.

 

I should mention that my critique above does not apply to the QM2 band, which I think is consistently great, and the various pianists, jazz players, and classical quartet that circulate about between the lounges. Any one of them, be it in the middle of the day or in the lounges at night are always a treat to listen to.

 

I complained about the sailaway parties in my live thread, but my older son corrected me later and said that I've missed being back there when they peaked, and instead wandered by before or after they were actually really hopping. So I stand corrected.

 

We went to Todd English for lunch on the last full day at sea. The weather outside on that last day was pretty dismal, raining most of the day. I've been to Todd English for lunch where the bar music from Deck 8 aft would come blasting in every time a staff member opened the back to go out to service the bar from the back of Todd English. Considering the weather outside, I figured it would be safe to go there for lunch that day. The four of us had a very good time there. The food was delicious and the service was just right ... and no crazy music from outside! We had to skip dessert to see the baritone singer at 2 p.m. but as people mentioned before, the servings are large so we were stuffed anyway. I should mention that it is much more expensive to go there now - say goodbye to that flat fee for either meal. It is truly an ala carte restaurant now. But we had a very good experience there this time.

 

I will complain once again about the strobe lights of the too-many photographers on Decks 2 and 3 intruding into the lounges at night. Terrible, terrible intrusion.

 

Overall, the waiters in the lounges, restaurants, and our room steward and the deck stewards all seemed to be in prime form, on top of their game. I still hate the way the stateroom corridors are all cluttered up with carts, dirty towel bins, vacuum cleaners and trash the better part of the day and early evenings, but besides that, the staff were almost always prompt, friendly and competent. The ship is always very clean and you can see people working hard to keep it that way.

 

It was interesting sailing into gail force winds and snow when Commodore Rynd brought the ship in early the night before. It was cool seeing snow on the decks. Disembarkation was delayed, and because we were on Deck 5, we were one of the last 400 to disembark. I won't go into detail on the complete incompetence of the Brooklyn Terminal traffic control personnel that were out in front of the terminal on the morning we disembarked. I think the earlier you got off, you wouldn't have seen the issue as much; it's when the later disembarkers started to tangle with newly arriving passengers for the next leg that things really got bad. Traffic into the terminal was backed up all the way a mile or so away in Brooklyn. They employees supposedly directing traffic should all be fired or undergo massive amounts of technical and motivational training. I could write a whole page on that snowy mess of an experience that morning but don't want to focus any more attention on it.

 

I think that's all I have to say about this trip. I won't bother discussing the islands, but they were a good selection and we had fun on every one of them. As I said, I think the pace of the itinerary was perfect for a holiday cruise. We had a very good time and will definitely consider doing this trip again.

 

Hope this review was helpful.

 

Paul

[karl_nj]

I think that's all I have to say about this trip. I won't bother discussing the islands, but they were a good selection and we had fun on every one of them. As I said, I think the pace of the itinerary was perfect for a holiday cruise. We had a very good time and will definitely consider doing this trip again.

 

Thanks for your review, I enjoyed reading about the trip. Back when the QM2 did this itinerary in early January, I sailed it twice. Unfortunately in recent years she has only been doing the one Christmas sailing. I may have to book it one of these years...

[Underwatr]

I think I saw the woman you're talking about out early (what stands out was that she was walking "the wrong way") but it didn't occur to me that she might have been Whoopi Goldberg. I thought Whoopi would have been taller/larger than that but the only time I've seen her in person was in performance.

 

Not doubting you, more like "Huh, how about that."

[Salacia]

Paul, thanks for your review - very enjoyable reading! I laughed at your very clever comment "..And Viva Italia and the singing part of the Christmas show were a bit ... eh (we skipped Apassionata (sic?) as we have seen it manyatimesa)..."

 

Your description of the MDR at dinner mirrors what we experienced on the Christmas cruise in 2011, unfortunately. (And yet, by contrast, our two more recent voyages did not have the same issues. Clearly, there is a problem with constancy of service from voyage to voyage that management needs to address IMHO.)

 

How very nice that you and your family were able to spend Christmas and New Year's together, sailing to the Caribbean on QM2! Thanks again for taking us along.:)

 

Best wishes for the New Year,

Salacia

Edited January 8, 2014 by Salacia

[turquoise 6]

I think I saw the woman you're talking about out early (what stands out was that she was walking "the wrong way") but it didn't occur to me that she might have been Whoopi Goldberg. I thought Whoopi would have been taller/larger than that but the only time I've seen her in person was in performance.

 

Not doubting you, more like "Huh, how about that."

Yes. And she does not fly.

[Whitemarsh]

The holiday cruise so exceeded my expectations that I am compelled to post a mini-review in the form of a few observations. The weather was great on the way to the Caribbean, throughout the Caribbean, and for most of the way back to New York. The ship was festively decorated, and the celebrations on Christmas and New Year's Eve were fun to be a part of. We had a perfect table for two (a banquette) directly next to the window at far end of the Princess Grill, looking out onto the aft decks. The dress code was respected in the dining room where many gentlemen, including ourselves, wore ties on informal nights, and in most of the public rooms, although Kings Court remains a different story no matter what time of day one ventures there. The service provided by our waitstaff team in the Princess Grill was superb, and the quality of the food was much improved since our last cruise in PG about a year ago. Yes, there is evidence of cut-backs just about everywhere, but this fact did not diminish our enjoyment of this very pleasant cruise.

 

Thanks for this mini-review, glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. The Princess Grill has been excellent every time I've been there, it really is quite special.

 

I'm getting the impression that the difference in terms of service and quality of food between the Grills and Britannia is becoming more and more apparent. (I always expected there would be a considerable difference in keeping with the difference in rates, but it seems to be more of a contrast now.) Or is it the same as it has always been?

 

What makes you think this?

[melb1988]

A great review, thank you!

 

I seem to remember some years ago (when cunard had its older original site) reading under the employment section that waiters needed 5years+ experience in a 5 star hotel before they apply for a job. Or it was something similar to that.

 

Do you think that these are still the rules? or were they changed when Carnival took over?

 

I found the service mostly great when I sailed on QM2, but I do question whether or not I felt the staff had such great previous experience. I note the language barrier you experienced. Unfortunately I feel this is becoming all to common on ships. I would have thought that Language skills would be one of the first things the interviewer looks at when someone goes for a waiter job with Cunard considering the other requirements that they have/used to have?

 

Is anyone aware of the Current pre requirements for a wait staff job with Cunard?

 

:)

[Salacia]

A great review, thank you!

 

I seem to remember some years ago (when cunard had its older original site) reading under the employment section that waiters needed 5years+ experience in a 5 star hotel before they apply for a job. Or it was something similar to that.

 

Do you think that these are still the rules? or were they changed when Carnival took over?

 

I found the service mostly great when I sailed on QM2, but I do question whether or not I felt the staff had such great previous experience. I note the language barrier you experienced. Unfortunately I feel this is becoming all to common on ships. I would have thought that Language skills would be one of the first things the interviewer looks at when someone goes for a waiter job with Cunard considering the other requirements that they have/used to have?

 

Is anyone aware of the Current pre requirements for a wait staff job with Cunard?

:)

 

This might be of interest: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/carnival/vacancies.aspx?txtLocation=&txtKeywords=&chkCategory=&lstRegion=&chkSalary=&optMatch=Any&PageNo=1&AttachedSAF=0&chkdepartment=

 

Parenthetically, there was an earlier discussion regarding the title sommelier vs wine server. I didn't see any job openings for Sommelier, but here are the details for wine waiter: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/carnival/displayjob.aspx?jobid=701

 

I noted that wine servers are expected to work 70 hours per week (10 hours per day seven days a week) for 4 months straight - not to say that is unusual terms for crew members. BTW "upselling" appears to be prime concern.

[melb1988]

This might be of interest: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/carnival/vacancies.aspx?txtLocation=&txtKeywords=&chkCategory=&lstRegion=&chkSalary=&optMatch=Any&PageNo=1&AttachedSAF=0&chkdepartment=

 

Parenthetically, there was an earlier discussion regarding the title sommelier vs wine server. I didn't see any job openings for Sommelier, but here are the details for wine waiter: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/carnival/displayjob.aspx?jobid=701

 

I noted that wine servers are expected to work 70 hours per week (10 hours per day seven days a week) for 4 months straight - not to say that is unusual terms for crew members. BTW "upselling" appears to be prime concern.

 

Great find!! Thank you :)

 

Those hours are ridiculous! I'm also guessing that the pay is bad..

[Salacia]

Great find!! Thank you :)

 

Those hours are ridiculous! I'm also guessing that the pay is bad..

 

You're welcome.

 

While the pay might be bad, they do get to interact with so many lovely passengers from all over the world :eek: :D

Edited January 11, 2014 by Salacia

[melb1988]

You're welcome.

 

While the pay might be bad, they do get to interact with so many lovely passengers from all over the world :eek: :D

 

:D

 

I have a friend who has just started working as a junior purser with Princess last year. He said his shifts are always split in two with a 3hr gap in the middle, just enough to go ashore and see some quick sights! I wonder how the waiters shifts are split? and also the state room attendants?, it seems like they never get a break!

As the OP said, someone high up in carnival is making money saving calculations that are working these people to their limits and beyond I think!

I think someone needs to draw the line at the point where staff cost cutting/money saving is impacting on the product being offered and sold. :(