New Dress Code Designations?

[Solent Richard]

Just cancelled my 2019 winter crossing - despite having snagged one of those elusive solo staterooms. The Cunard rep was very professional and asked why and I told him why - and please refund my deposit to the card.

 

Not even five minutes later my phone rings and it's the Cunard rep. The rep gave me the same corporate line that "nothing has changed" and allegedly jackets are no longer required in just the casino and Golden Lion. OK, it's an employee doing their job as instructed. I mentioned the points in this thread and stated that the atmosphere on the ship will be substantially diminished for me as I sailed Cunard because of its dress code.

 

(I should be a demographic that Cunard would want - close to retirement and having the health, time, and money to travel. That, and I spend money on board with Cunard sponsored excursions, spa treatments, and in the shops. The last time I even bought an art work!)

 

I understand that Cunard made a business decision. But as a customer I can also make a business decision. Some long time QE2 passengers chose not to sail on QM2 as they didn't feel that the new ship matched the elegance of the old. It's a sad day for me as my beloved QM2, which has given me so many happy memories, is in a sense being taken out of service as I knew her.

 

 

Well done Blue Riband on taking your action.

 

I've found this particular thread most interesting and have been following it while refraining to join in up to this point, preferring the alternate debates on the Facebook groups.

 

I have a long Cunard cruise booked in the Grills for next year and am still keen because there are places on the itinerary that I am keen to visit. Plus of course there was a pretty hefty deposit involved. There is also story involved but for the time being I'm keeping my powder dry.

 

Meanwhile I find this whole dress code issue a double edged sword.

 

No one more than I and my wife enjoy dressing up, formally and informally: and not just on Cunard either. However, I also appreciate, as a Carnival shareholder, the dividends and onboard credit I reap sailing under their umbrella ( some $750 shareholder benefit over the last 15 months) and must therefore consider that business decision you mentioned.

 

My personal view of course is that the new wording of the dress codes is a pure red herring to detract from their more controversial decision to allow relaxed dress codes in other areas (touched all too infrequently within this thread).

 

Heaven forbid, can one imagine all those more casually dressed passengers, hanging over the balconies in the Queens Room on Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth, while we, in all our formal finery, dance the evening away?

 

I shall wait and see how it all pans out. But I do believe the writing is on the wall.

[Solent Richard]

So, if one does not dress like everyone else on the ship, they are "dumb"? Cunard will do whatever they need to increase passenger numbers. They do not care whether the passengers are dressed or not, as long as they have "green". No amount of complaining on this board or to the cruise line will change that.

 

Ah, but withdrawing excess & additional expenditure of 'The Green' over time will almost most certainly initiate a reaction.

 

We may not wish to vote with our feet but there are ways to vote with one's wallet.

[Underwatr]

I'll wait until my actual experience is diminished by a lowering of standards. While I believe others are free to book or cancel as they please for any reason or no reason, getting worked up over this in advance of the inception is premature.

[DT_PB_all_at_sea]

Well done Blue Riband on taking your action.

 

I've found this particular thread most interesting and have been following it while refraining to join in up to this point, preferring the alternate debates on the Facebook groups.

 

I have a long Cunard cruise booked in the Grills for next year and am still keen because there are places on the itinerary that I am keen to visit. Plus of course there was a pretty hefty deposit involved. There is also story involved but for the time being I'm keeping my powder dry.

 

Meanwhile I find this whole dress code issue a double edged sword.

 

No one more than I and my wife enjoy dressing up, formally and informally: and not just on Cunard either. However, I also appreciate, as a Carnival shareholder, the dividends and onboard credit I reap sailing under their umbrella ( some $750 shareholder benefit over the last 15 months) and must therefore consider that business decision you mentioned.

 

My personal view of course is that the new wording of the dress codes is a pure red herring to detract from their more controversial decision to allow relaxed dress codes in other areas (touched all too infrequently within this thread).

 

Heaven forbid, can one imagine all those more casually dressed passengers, hanging over the balconies in the Queens Room on Queen Victoria & Queen Elizabeth, while we, in all our formal finery, dance the evening away?

 

I shall wait and see how it all pans out. But I do believe the writing is on the wall.

 

I am sad to have to agree with you both. IMO not only has Cunard PR & marketing handled this situation so badly but I, like you, suspect this is the beginning of a subtle dumbing down of the dress code - in that far more areas of the public rooms in the evening are 'open' to casual dress (including jeans). My major concern is currently the on board restaurant/bar management do little or nothing to impose the current dress code so IMO it is likely to get worse. We are Word Club Diamond members with x2 cruises booked during 2018 and two (including a full QV 107 day World Voyage) during 2019, we are also discussing our cancellation options should the June 2018 TA crossings not be up to the usual standard. We are looking at an alternative cruise line that offers both Ocean and River cruises and have book a 'tester' River Danube cruise to give them a try. Not an easy decision but I feel Cunard/Carnival have treated regular passengers contemptibly.

[axelskater]

Does anyone have a email where customer service can be reached or at least someone in some sort of management. I despised HAL last year and only booked it to see Alaska. We have the QE booked since they are now doing Alaska. I may just say forget it and not go on a ship at all. I wonder if they will care...2 fairly young people who have taken about 15 voyages and decide to say forget it from here on out if this is a "dumbing down" to HAL style cruising. Cunard is a fortune in the grills - I can go somewhere else if they dumb down the ships.

[princeton12321]

Cunard is a fortune in the grills - I can go somewhere else if they dumb down the ships.

 

 

But where? No other line really has the dress code that Cunard does/did. The more upscale and luxury lines are all country club casual now and the lower end lines let the pretenses of a dress code go a while ago. There really isn’t another game in town.

 

PS- Alaska trips are notoriously extra casual no matter how you travel there, by ship and especially by land. You won’t find many dinner jackets in Sitka.

[DT_PB_all_at_sea]

Does anyone have a email where customer service can be reached or at least someone in some sort of management. I despised HAL last year and only booked it to see Alaska. We have the QE booked since they are now doing Alaska. I may just say forget it and not go on a ship at all. I wonder if they will care...2 fairly young people who have taken about 15 voyages and decide to say forget it from here on out if this is a "dumbing down" to HAL style cruising. Cunard is a fortune in the grills - I can go somewhere else if they dumb down the ships.

 

Hello, I agree with all the points you and many other Cruise Critic members have said specific to this mess around dress codes. I emailed both the Marketing Director and Cunard Guest Relations - I was promised a response within 28 days and indeed received a phone call within 5 days. However the response was a polite well put together PR spin; "no change", "nothing to worry about", "we thought the rewording was so subtle it not worth telling passengers". The person did however say the White Star Training was being improved and "ALL ON BOARD STAFF WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENFORCE THE DRESS CODE". Trying to be open minded about that statement but I am not convinced. Cunard even told my travel agent "if someone wanted to enter any restaurant in jean we would probably let them in"!! Good luck in your dealings with the body corporate that Cunard has become.

 

guestrelations@cunard.co.uk

[axelskater]

Cunard knows full well that they will have a rebellion with the new codes, so they have come up with what they believe is the clever way to win the war. By expanding the places those in purely casual attire (read no jackets but clean jeans) are allowed such as the casino the G32 and the pub they will have many of these folks mixing in with the properly dressed until it will be a natural occurrence to just remove the jacket requirement for the men and loosen up the requirements for the ladies.

 

Particularly on the QM2 the casino and the pub are across from each other and one must navigate through this area from the Britannia dining room so the overall ambiance for the public rooms in this area will be totally gone. Then there is the G32. The only entrances to this disco is through the "formal" Queens Room..

 

This.

How do you enforce something when the rooms are right on top of one another?

[NSWP]

So can shorts be worn in the dining room for breakfast and lunch?

 

Yes, shorts are permitted in MDR for breakfast-lunch. We were on QM2 - Sydney to HK in March last year, Tracksuit tops, jeans and trainers were seen in the Britannia for dinner, normal nights and formal nights. Staff did not seem to care.

 

Same in theatre on formal nights, all sorts of dress, casual to tuxedos.

[Camgirl]

Hello, I agree with all the points you and many other Cruise Critic members have said specific to this mess around dress codes. I emailed both the Marketing Director and Cunard Guest Relations - I was promised a response within 28 days and indeed received a phone call within 5 days. However the response was a polite well put together PR spin; "no change", "nothing to worry about", "we thought the rewording was so subtle it not worth telling passengers". The person did however say the White Star Training was being improved and "ALL ON BOARD STAFF WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENFORCE THE DRESS CODE". Trying to be open minded about that statement but I am not convinced. Cunard even told my travel agent "if someone wanted to enter any restaurant in jean we would probably let them in"!! Good luck in your dealings with the body corporate that Cunard has become.

 

guestrelations@cunard.co.uk

I also emailed both. Got one standard reply after a week saying I will get a reply within 28 days. Still waiting.

 

Still, I feel the more people send in comments about the new codes, the more likely they are to see many many people book Cunard for the formality of the evening dress codes.

[Lakesregion]

While the posting numbers of 509 and 29,446 views are not a lot in the overall scheme of filling close to 9,000 passenger spots every day of the year, they are one of the largest threads on this site in a very long time and it shows the passion of the Cunarder who sails primarily for the overall ambiance which seems to have or will shortly be greatly diminished. Pretty much all has been said that can be said now we all must wait until the new code and permitted wanderings of the causally clad take effect. I await the next flip-flop to drop.

[hamrag]

While the posting numbers of 509 and 29,446 views are not a lot in the overall scheme of filling close to 9,000 passenger spots every day of the year, they are one of the largest threads on this site in a very long time and it shows the passion of the Cunarder who sails primarily for the overall ambiance which seems to have or will shortly be greatly diminished. Pretty much all has been said that can be said now we all must wait until the new code and permitted wanderings of the causally clad take effect. I await the next flip-flop to drop.

 

500+ posts, but how many posters......?

[Lakesregion]

500+ posts, but how many posters......?

 

Does it really matter. The passion shows through and we, those who sail for the ambiance that requires a full compliment of well attired (not uber casual) passengers both during the day and during the evening to make it work..( I can not even think about tea in the queens room with the dungaree crowd.) We all know Cunard will do as it wishes and we are left with only two choices. Leave the line and deny them our money or lower our standards and continue to sail in a lower level of ambiance. Quite simple. I have chosen to leave them though I am highly annoyed as it was one of the last bastions of well dressed people to be found in one place. Sadly living in the US one has almost zero chance of finding such a turn out.

[Host Hattie]

500+ posts, but how many posters......?

There is a way to show that information but not in the app which I'm currently using (as far as I know).

[Burgee]

500+ posts, but how many posters......?

 

A quick count shows 100

 

Burgee

[Underwatr]

I've posted 11 (oops, now 12) times and I'm not all that wound up about it. If the experience no longer justifies the cost I'll move along to another line with lower fares that's generally easier to access from multiple US ports.

[bluemarble]

A not very quick count of mine came up with a total of 98 different posters on this thread. 28 of those posters have only posted once, everyone else at least twice. The top poster has 66 posts.

 

By the way, earlier today this thread became the 7th most replied-to thread on this forum (not counting threads that have been moved or removed entirely) behind the "Cunard Dress Code change: Formal and Informal" thread from 2013 which is in 6th place.

[NSWP]

I don't really know why the Cunarders are getting excited, I went onto the Cunard website and saw illustrations of the new dress codes, so what is wrong with a jacket and no tie?

 

Before we did our first Cunard cruise, sorry voyage, on QM2 in March last year, I got so much misinformation on here from Cunarders re dress codes, i.e. Tuxedos/Dinner Suits are mandatory, no shorts at all in Britannia MDR for brekkie/lunch or at arvo tea. When I got on board with much trepidation and fear, it was all out of the window, quite casual. I actually walked past the Grills restaurants one evening and saw a couple of gents in there on formal night with no tie. I was aghast !!!!

[bluemarble]

One minor correction to my previous post. I miscounted. Of the 98 different posters I've counted on this thread so far, 29 have posted just once. Edit: Oops, never mind. The post just ahead of this one puts that count back to 28.

 

And now for something completely different (a la Monty Python). I happened to stumble across this "In partnership with Ascot Racecourse" page on the Cunard website.

 

http://www.cunard.com/about-us/our-partners/ascot/

 

Check out the video on that page titled "The Royal Ascot Style Guide in association with Cunard". Now as an American, what I know about Royal Ascot can pretty much be summed up by the Ascot Opening Day scene from the musical "My Fair Lady". But just imagine if Cunard tried to make that their dress code!

 

Cunard has attempted to bring at least a hint of that atmosphere on board with their Royal Ascot Ball themed evenings. But when I examine the themed evening schedules recently posted for the remainder of 2018, none of them show any Royal Ascot evenings from what I can tell. Perhaps Cunard has decided to phase out that theme in favor of the new Royal Cunard Ball theme.

Edited April 14, 2018 by bluemarble

[Solent Richard]

Does it really matter. The passion shows through and we, those who sail for the ambiance that requires a full compliment of well attired (not uber casual) passengers both during the day and during the evening to make it work..( I can not even think about tea in the queens room with the dungaree crowd.) We all know Cunard will do as it wishes and we are left with only two choices. Leave the line and deny them our money or lower our standards and continue to sail in a lower level of ambiance. Quite simple. I have chosen to leave them though I am highly annoyed as it was one of the last bastions of well dressed people to be found in one place. Sadly living in the US one has almost zero chance of finding such a turn out.

 

 

And not just well dressed people.

 

For me Cunard has been the cruise line where I have experienced the highest level of educated conversation: and not just around the dining tables.

[Bedruthen]

I don't really know why the Cunarders are getting excited, I went onto the Cunard website and saw illustrations of the new dress codes, so what is wrong with a jacket and no tie?

 

Before we did our first Cunard cruise, sorry voyage, on QM2 in March last year, I got so much misinformation on here from Cunarders re dress codes, i.e. Tuxedos/Dinner Suits are mandatory, no shorts at all in Britannia MDR for brekkie/lunch or at arvo tea. When I got on board with much trepidation and fear, it was all out of the window, quite casual. I actually walked past the Grills restaurants one evening and saw a couple of gents in there on formal night with no tie. I was aghast !!!!

 

This too has been our experience on Cunard. I do not believe that the the opinions on this thread necessarily represent the majority of people who cruise with Cunard. We will be taking our first transatlantic cruise next month and I will be watching what people actually wear on formal and informal nights with great interest.

[Alanxx]

This too has been our experience on Cunard. I do not believe that the the opinions on this thread necessarily represent the majority of people who cruise with Cunard. We will be taking our first transatlantic cruise next month and I will be watching what people actually wear on formal and informal nights with great interest.

 

Having been on the QM2 world cruise from Sydney to Southampton this year I can assure you that my information is fact and not opinion.Along with others I did see people walking through the dining room in the evening in shorts and flip flops,a woman at dinner wearing a hoody,another wearing a leather bikers jacket.Numerous men without jackets in the dining room.Some wearing just sweaters or short sleeve shirts in the theatre and the famous man who wore boots,jeans,t shirt,scarf and flat cap and was still allowed in the theatre !!!!!!!

[Bedruthen]

Having been on the QM2 world cruise from Sydney to Southampton this year I can assure you that my information is fact and not opinion.Along with others I did see people walking through the dining room in the evening in shorts and flip flops,a woman at dinner wearing a hoody,another wearing a leather bikers jacket.Numerous men without jackets in the dining room.Some wearing just sweaters or short sleeve shirts in the theatre and the famous man who wore boots,jeans,t shirt,scarf and flat cap and was still allowed in the theatre !!!!!!!

 

I think you may have misunderstood my post. I am talking about the opinion that the Cunard dress standard is higher than other ships, when my reality and, by your post, yours also, is that is not the case. Our last cruise on Q.V., there were very few ties worn in the dining room and even fewer long gowns, though I did not see any flat caps, though I rather wish that I had. As someone has already pointed out, there are just 100 contributors to this thread, which is a tiny fraction of the number of passengers who travel with Cunard and I would suggest that they do not represent the views of the average Cunard passenger, since they are already subscribed to a Cunard fan site and therefore perhaps already highly in favour of the brand

[BlueRiband]

.... As someone has already pointed out, there are just 100 contributors to this thread, which is a tiny fraction of the number of passengers who travel with Cunard and I would suggest that they do not represent the views of the average Cunard passenger, since they are already subscribed to a Cunard fan site and therefore perhaps already highly in favour of the brand

 

I see your point but those 100 contributors represent only those who decided to formulate a comment or opinion and take the time to post it in an online forum. With this thread having 30,000+ views as of this moment I'd say that there is a far greater magnitude of people who are very interested in Cunard's evening dress code. CC has always had far more members (and non-members) who "lurk" rather than post.

[Alanxx]

Having spent my whole working like in Marketing I would be very surprised if Cunard would make changes without doing research.Perhaps they could supply some research justification that current passengers support a change in the dress code.It would then be possible for informed discussion to take place.