Cunard: Classy or Pretentious

[brigittetom]

Yes Cabinet, it is a pain. Great when the entire trip is on the ship but not so much when there is more travel involved. We've had stays in Hamburg and Southampton and hauling that luggage is a trial and so is living with it in a small Inn room. :)

[southwestie]

Having cruised many times on Celebrity, Azamara, Princess, and Holland America, my husband and I are now thinking of taking a Transatlantic cruise on the Queen Victoria. I have just read some of the recent threads and have been struck by what I am interpreting as snobbery. My husband has a tux, and before we retired we were at many black tie charity functions. We seem to be beyond that now and, although, we dress smartly--suit and blazer for my husband, and dressy outfits for me, we do not want the hassle of hauling formal evening wear around the globe or renting a tux for my husband. So, will we find Cunard too stiff and snobby or are there less pretentious people on board?

 

 

I have been on amny Cunard QM2 TAs and let me assure you that you do NOT have wear a tux or even dress up if you want too, snobbery is rife as you know.

 

Now, book, board the ship and have a wonder time, for dinner your chose is wear for mena jacket with out a tie on informal, a jacket/suit on semiformal nights, a suit or tux formal.

 

If your husband does not want to wear anything other than a T shirt and short use the buffet, in formal night he wants to wear a jacket and no tie you have the alternative resturants, you dont even need a jacket in those.

 

so you have the choice to wear what ever you want and MANY do,

 

on my last TA we all went up to the chocolate buffer that never was, in was on deck 7, so anyone on deck 7 can attend and wear whatever they want.

 

please dont allow the fashion police to tell you what to wear and what not to wear, its your vaccation, you paid.

 

on the wonderful wofram nights in the rest of the ship then you do need wear the right items, tux or suit, life is way too short about worring go and have a great time.

 

also, you dont have to dress to go to the show, cinimas, buffet and any corridor, your balcony or a stoll on the decks outside

Edited January 25, 2014 by rob6852

[southwestie]

Looking at some of the earlier comments you'd think you'd asked to wear bermuda shorts in the dining room! Lol

 

My parents are avid Cunard fans and my Dad sometimes wears a tux, and sometimes a dark suit. So long as it's smart then it still fits the dress code and nobody has a problem. Looking at photos on google I don't think regular suits on formal nights are that uncommon. I'm certain you'll enjoy it as much as my parents do, they like great style and class and always comment on how friendly fellow passengers are.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

well said

[southwestie]

In four cruises with Cunard (some pretentious people call them "Voyages" :) ), I have not come across any snobbery at all onboard the ships. HOWEVER - I have encountered it here in great smoldering piles. I believe this is because most people would not dare to assail you face-to-face with their opinion of your dress style or how you carry yourself, but do have the courage to do so here - fairly anonymously. They don't seem to realise just how easy it is to track people on the Internet :)

 

Don't worry - you would have to try very hard to not enjoy a Cunard cruise.

 

 

Barry

 

Hi Barry, hope your fine.

 

Your so right, I have never seen snobbery on the ship, only on here and the members on board from a CC roll is around 20 people, the ships hold 2600.

 

enjoy the wonderful ship

[southwestie]

I can understand why you are questioning my attitude. Actually, we have only been on one Azamara cruise, and it was very enjoyable; however, we prefer bigger ships especially for transatlantic cruises--we have take four so far on other lines. Cunard is the only line that gets us to the UK quickly. (We prefer sailing to flying.) I think I am more concerned about snobbery than formal dress, though. One can appreciate formal nights without being a snob about them. I would hope, too, that Cunard has a lot more to offer than its formal nights.

 

 

There no snobbery, we once spent time in the company of good friends who could buy and sell Cunard, the time spent was in the evening in the buffet, jacket and no tie on a formal night, im still here to tell the tale

[Olliesmum]

In four cruises with Cunard (some pretentious people call them "Voyages" :) ), I have not come across any snobbery at all onboard the ships. HOWEVER - I have encountered it here in great smoldering piles. I believe this is because most people would not dare to assail you face-to-face with their opinion of your dress style or how you carry yourself, but do have the courage to do so here - fairly anonymously. They don't seem to realise just how easy it is to track people on the Internet :)

 

Don't worry - you would have to try very hard to not enjoy a Cunard cruise.

 

 

Barry

 

Too right!!

[Olliesmum]

Here are examples of three people I have met on QM2:

 

A very well known multi millionaire businessman. He was Queen's Grill of course but also used Kings Court for drinks and snacks. He preferred to use the public rooms as he found the grills lounge "a bit quite".

 

On my last QM2 trip my son palled up with a famous retired (and rich) rugby player and his wife. They were in Britannia and spent most of their time in the pub. You wouldn't know they had pots of money and be mates with Zara and Mike unless you recognised them.

 

So, no snobbery on QM2, apart from odd idiots that you get everywhere.

[Ray66]

PARTIAL QUOTE

The dress code for the next several months of Cunard voyages can be found here: https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/dress_code_all

 

I didn't see any eight night voyage that had four formal nights - please, what did I miss?

 

Thanks for the heads-up for the updated dress codes for all of 2014.

 

The two cruises that take in Halifax in June and August have 4 formal nights over eight days.

 

5th June Southampton: informal

6th June at sea : formal

7th June at sea: formal

8th June at sea: informal

9th June at sea: formal

10th June at sea: informal

11th June Halifax: formal

12th June at sea: informal

 

 

27th August New York: informal

28th August at sea: formal

29th August Halifax: informal

30th August at sea: formal

31st August at sea: formal

1st September at sea: informal

2nd September at sea: formal

3rd September at sea: informal

 

Making the night of the 11th June after a port day in Halifax, when people will have been out on excursions, as formal makes no sense to me.

[capnpugwash]

[PARTIAL QUOTE=Ray66;41430283]Thanks for the heads-up for the updated dress codes for all of 2014.

 

Making the night of the 11th June after a port day in Halifax, when people will have been out on excursions, as formal makes no sense to me.

 

Do you think that it takes longer to dress for a formal evening than it does for an informal?

[Mack704]

In the eleven years DW and I have been together we've spent approx. 135 days at sea on four different mass market cruiselines; none being Cunard. We've done several Caribbean cruises, the Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, New England and Canada, etc. We've discovered we like sea days the best.

 

Neither of us has ever been to Europe. (You may have guessed we live in the US). For our next extended vacation, DW wanted to visit Europe, particularly Paris, and I wanted to spend several days at sea. To compromise, we agreed to spend one week in Europe and then cruise back to the states, preferably in just 7 days; which lead us to Cunard.

 

This vacation is booked for this coming May. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we booked the QM2 10 year anniversary cruise on May 9.

 

I am a vacation researcher. I find the anticipation of a major vacation and the research that I put into it provides much pleasure. I'm researching for months. The vacation is only a couple of weeks. (which seems to go by in the wink of an eye).

 

In recent years, my favorite research tool has been here, on Cruise Critic. Insider information, I call it. In abundance. Pictures and menus and dailies and narratives and travel logs. I've mentioned to my wife in recent days that I'm not sure I'd be interested in interacting with many of our fellow passengers on this cruise. (We usually keep pretty much to ourselves anyway).

 

In reading these Cunard boards, I've found what I've perceived as snobbery, plain and simple. My visual is noses in the air and pinkies pointed towards the sky.

 

The most comforting things I've read on this thread are assurances that the snobs are mainly here anonymously on CC and hardly at all on the ship. Thank you all for that. I feel better now.

 

For any condescending looks in our direction from anyone on the ship, for any reason, don't waste your time. We don't care what you think.

 

For any worrying that we might spoil your ambience on the ship, don't. We generally follow the dress code and any other traditions published by Cunard.

 

Happy cruising! See you on board.

 

Harvey

[laktex]

Having cruised many times on Celebrity, Azamara, Princess, and Holland America, my husband and I are now thinking of taking a Transatlantic cruise on the Queen Victoria. I have just read some of the recent threads and have been struck by what I am interpreting as snobbery. My husband has a tux, and before we retired we were at many black tie charity functions. We seem to be beyond that now and, although, we dress smartly--suit and blazer for my husband, and dressy outfits for me, we do not want the hassle of hauling formal evening wear around the globe or renting a tux for my husband. So, will we find Cunard too stiff and snobby or are there less pretentious people on board?

 

I am not sure what you mean by "We seem to be beyond that now". My view is that there is nothing easier for a gentleman than to wear a Tuxedo for formal nights especially when there is virtually half the evenings designated "formal", and personally I would not dream of doing any Cunard cruise / journey without it - my DJ is the lightest jacket in my suitcase. Formal nights, in my opinion, IS the attire - virtually everything else is the same. But I respect each to his own.

 

Of course there are some snobs on board but generally we ignore them. We just did Queens Grill on the QE to New York - had a real mixed table of 9 - and had an absolute whale of a time at every meal - some may have thought us a bit noisy but hey we were there to enjoy ourselves - and we did.

 

I am not sure it is pretentions to call a TA a journey - I sailed to NY to get to a meeting and my daughter was going home to Canada after New Year with us in the UK - I think it was probably more of a journey than a cruise.

 

But we are all individuals and as the saying goes "One man's meat is another man's poison"

[southwestie]

[PARTIAL QUOTE=Ray66;41430283]Thanks for the heads-up for the updated dress codes for all of 2014.

 

Making the night of the 11th June after a port day in Halifax, when people will have been out on excursions, as formal makes no sense to me.

 

Do you think that it takes longer to dress for a formal evening than it does for an informal?

 

 

For man, it must take the same time, shower, dress , jacket, suit or tux, all the same thing, slight longer too tie a bow tie than a tie maybe

[Salacia]

You may know about what they say sarcasm is?

Or maybe not?

I don't miss some of the snobby snotty crew on Cunard, the ones who provide very poor service but who are not international.

 

Anyway if I see a Cunard sailing that's cheap enough then I'll book it so don't lock the door please.

 

Okey dokie, we'll leave the light on for you :)

 

BTW, I've found the majority of crew members to be hard working, cordial and polite. Considering what crew members have to put up with from some passengers, I think it's amazing that the overwhelming majority of crew members are so even-keeled.

[southwestie]

Okey dokie, we'll leave the light on for you :)

 

BTW, I've found the majority of crew members to be hard working, cordial and polite. Considering what crew members have to put up with from some passengers, I think it's amazing that the overwhelming majority of crew members are so even-keeled.

 

 

They all work so hard, they do an amazing job

[Salacia]

 

Just my personal custom, but it takes me longer to dress for a formal evening due to the more complex hairdo, make-up and accoutrement required when wearing a gown. BTW, anyone who has ever tried putting on make-up, panty hose, etc. in a hurry can tell you there are some processes that just can't be rushed :eek::D

[Victoria2]

 

In reading these Cunard boards, I've found what I've perceived as snobbery, plain and simple. My visual is noses in the air and pinkies pointed towards the sky.

 

The most comforting things I've read on this thread are assurances that the snobs are mainly here anonymously on CC and hardly at all on the ship. Thank you all for that. I feel better now.

 

For any condescending looks in our direction from anyone on the ship, for any reason, don't waste your time. We don't care what you think.

 

For any worrying that we might spoil your ambience on the ship, don't. We generally follow the dress code and any other traditions published by Cunard.

 

Happy cruising! See you on board.

 

Harvey

 

I pop in and have a read of this site every now and then but I don't reply to many posts as I'm a reader, not a doer but I had to come in on this one and say don't worry.

 

Some of the comments I've read on this and another thread make me smile. I can understand why you have a vision of upturned noses and pinkies elegantly held out.

 

Let me reassure you. Your fellow passengers will, in the main be delightful. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful cruise and meet some great people who will level their noses and lower their pinky.

[southwestie]

I pop in and have a read of this site every now and then but I don't reply to many posts as I'm a reader, not a doer but I had to come in on this one and say don't worry.

 

Some of the comments I've read on this and another thread make me smile. I can understand why you have a vision of upturned noses and pinkies elegantly held out.

 

Let me reassure you. Your fellow passengers will, in the main be delightful. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful cruise and meet some great people who will level their noses and lower their pinky.

 

You are so right, there are very , very few, thank goodness they mostly on a forum , Trust me you will have a wonderful time, no one will tell what you should wear and when , I have even heard people on here say you should not walk into the resturant with a drink from the bar, many do.

 

just have fun

[southwestie]

In the eleven years DW and I have been together we've spent approx. 135 days at sea on four different mass market cruiselines; none being Cunard. We've done several Caribbean cruises, the Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, New England and Canada, etc. We've discovered we like sea days the best.

 

Neither of us has ever been to Europe. (You may have guessed we live in the US). For our next extended vacation, DW wanted to visit Europe, particularly Paris, and I wanted to spend several days at sea. To compromise, we agreed to spend one week in Europe and then cruise back to the states, preferably in just 7 days; which lead us to Cunard.

 

This vacation is booked for this coming May. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we booked the QM2 10 year anniversary cruise on May 9.

 

I am a vacation researcher. I find the anticipation of a major vacation and the research that I put into it provides much pleasure. I'm researching for months. The vacation is only a couple of weeks. (which seems to go by in the wink of an eye).

 

In recent years, my favorite research tool has been here, on Cruise Critic. Insider information, I call it. In abundance. Pictures and menus and dailies and narratives and travel logs. I've mentioned to my wife in recent days that I'm not sure I'd be interested in interacting with many of our fellow passengers on this cruise. (We usually keep pretty much to ourselves anyway).

 

In reading these Cunard boards, I've found what I've perceived as snobbery, plain and simple. My visual is noses in the air and pinkies pointed towards the sky.

 

The most comforting things I've read on this thread are assurances that the snobs are mainly here anonymously on CC and hardly at all on the ship. Thank you all for that. I feel better now.

 

For any condescending looks in our direction from anyone on the ship, for any reason, don't waste your time. We don't care what you think.

 

For any worrying that we might spoil your ambience on the ship, don't. We generally follow the dress code and any other traditions published by Cunard.

 

Happy cruising! See you on board.

 

Harvey

 

 

well said.

 

I would say that you will have a great time on QM2 and she will meet your expectations in every way and then some,

 

BYW you will never have to lift your pinkie once :) and you will find everyone and everything to be amazing, enjoy

[Ray66]

Do you think that it takes longer to dress for a formal evening than it does for an informal?

 

Yes.

The same question but replace the new "informal" with the old "semi-formal" - probably not.

[Dunelm]

I am not sure what you mean by "We seem to be beyond that now". My view is that there is nothing easier for a gentleman than to wear a Tuxedo for formal nights especially when there is virtually half the evenings designated "formal", and personally I would not dream of doing any Cunard cruise / journey without it - my DJ is the lightest jacket in my suitcase. Formal nights, in my opinion, IS the attire - virtually everything else is the same. But I respect each to his own.

 

Of course there are some snobs on board but generally we ignore them. We just did Queens Grill on the QE to New York - had a real mixed table of 9 - and had an absolute whale of a time at every meal - some may have thought us a bit noisy but hey we were there to enjoy ourselves - and we did.

 

I am not sure it is pretentions to call a TA a journey - I sailed to NY to get to a meeting and my daughter was going home to Canada after New Year with us in the UK - I think it was probably more of a journey than a cruise.

 

But we are all individuals and as the saying goes "One man's meat is another man's poison"

 

Let me explain what I mean by "we seem to be beyond that . . ." Having attended many black tie functions when we worked, they no longer have the same appeal. Don't get me wrong--we always dress smartly, but we just do not find any great enjoyment in dressing up in formal attire. It certainly is a matter of "different strokes for different folks." Also, we will be in the UK for five months. During that time my husband's tux and my gowns will be hung in a closet. For us, it is just not worth carrying them along. But, I am sure we will enjoy Cunard.

[Dunelm]

Thanks to all of you for the great discussion. I loved it! I particularly appreciate the person who pointed out that a minority of people cruising with Cunard post on this site. I am sure the majority of those on board a ship are friendly, down-to-earth (or sea :)) people. And, as another person implied, I also have found that those people with the most have to brag the least.

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Whenever the famous "dress Code" subject comes up on CC I am always somewhat confused. I never wear a suit or tie at work, not a necessity to me I work hard and get paid accordingly, and whenever I attend a special event or a formal night on a cruise I will put on a dark suit & tie.

 

Everyone has the right to their opinions and some are dead against anyone not being in the correct dress on formal nights, and others will say not to worry if you do not want to dress up as you can eat at the buffet or elsewhere. Unfortunately most people don't want the buffet or other alternatives and want all the glitz & glamour of the MDR and choose their own style of dress anyway. This was apparent in my recent Solstice cruise where IMO only 25% of men were appropriately dressed for formal night. This did not bother me, as I think it is one of those things that are constantly changing on most cruises.

 

If I ever get the chance to sail with Cunard I would follow the formal status for my own satisfaction and respect, but I don't think anyone should be "Judge or Jury" on this.

 

I think that the ball is in the "Cruise Lines" court to enforce what they state or back away and let it slide.

 

Happy Cruising:)

[pmb1]

… Don't get me wrong--we always dress smartly, but we just do not find any great enjoyment in dressing up in formal attire. It certainly is a matter of "different strokes for different folks." Also, we will be in the UK for five months. During that time my husband's tux and my gowns will be hung in a closet. For us, it is just not worth carrying them along. But, I am sure we will enjoy Cunard.

I'm sure that your non-formal duds will satisfy the dress code and that you will have a grand time on board socializing with all your perfectly normal fellow passengers. But what you will miss is the marvelous imagining you can indulge in when formally dressed on an ocean liner at sea. Then again, you won't be on Queen Mary 2 so maybe it doesn't matter.

[babine]

These comments are my own perceptions and I do not wish to take away from the enjoyment and opinions of others. To each their own, and the unique perspectives of posters and passengers are important. No one poster or passenger is "right".

 

In general, once you are on board, things are fine because the ship's size, activities, and public spaces allow a person to find something to their liking most of the time.

 

The one thing on the ship and in advertising that has now started to really bother me however, are the statements such as "sophisticated travellers such as yourselves". In day to day life, who goes around saying that they are "sophisticated"?? At the last Captain's event that I was at (it was there that this all really struck me), he actually referred to everyone as "sophisticated travellers who know the best way to travel...". It was a little embarrassing and over the top. Again - would anyone really refer to themselves this way? Travelling on Cunard used to be great, not because we were told we were special and sophisticated, but because it was just a good experience with good service, comfort, fun, and tradition.

 

Attempts by the company, the Captain and some of the cruise staff to play to some peoples' self perception of being privileged and "sophisticated", is really obvious and offensive in my opinion.

 

Also, parading people up in front of everyone else at these events, awarding flowers and recognition for having sailed thousands of days, is also a little embarrassing. If the people being offered that recognition are OK with it, and appreciate it, then fine. But I hope they recognize it for what it is. I honestly don't see it as the company rewarding frequent travellers. It is about business for them. It is a part of the company's strategy to have people compete and aim to be recognized in front of their "sophisticated" peers. This makes me squirm. If I sail again, I will be avoiding these events now that I really get what they are about.

 

The other thing I wanted to mention was that on another Cunard thread (I can't remember exactly what it was about, but I think it was again about attire), someone referred to "the other element". I really hope (and I'm going to assume) that was in jest.

 

With all that being said, your cruise will be what you make it, and I'm sure it will overall be an experience that you will enjoy. Best wishes to you.

[Dunelm]

I'm sure that your non-formal duds will satisfy the dress code and that you will have a grand time on board socializing with all your perfectly normal fellow passengers. But what you will miss is the marvelous imagining you can indulge in when formally dressed on an ocean liner at sea. Then again, you won't be on Queen Mary 2 so maybe it doesn't matter.

 

What am I supposed to imagine when dressed in formal wear?