From Britannia to the Grills

[olippold]

We've cruised with Cunard several times, but always at Britannia level, but for next year we are splashing out and going for the full Grills experience. Therefore, I'm interested in what the differences are like. I know I can see the benefits listed on the Cunard website, but I'm more interested in the personal perspective - what sort of things stand out and make the experience? Was it worth upgrading to Grills?, and so on.

[LadyL1]

For us we certainly enjoy the extra space in The Grill’s cabins. It depends on how much you want to spend; PG or QG, but both are a considerably more upmarket pitch than Britannia.

The restaurants are particularly serene on the QV & QG, compared to QM2, and in a wonderful position, being identical but separate. The Grills terrace is a definite bonus on a warm weather cruise on the smaller Queens. All round it is just a lovely experience with first class service, and the freedom with dining times.

[rafinmd]

I'll be interested in your experiences.  I've always been a Britannia cruiser and never thought of upgrading until recently.  I had a MAJOR cruise credit after my 50-day voyage from Sydney to New York was cancelled due to Covid, and have had some medical setbacks since then which make me unwilling to do long voyages.  I decided to use most of the credit for a 2-week voyage in Princess Grill next year. 

 

Roy

[Mickb]

We are huge fans of the PG and sailed several times on QM2 and QV. The PG staterooms are better on the QM2 - they are a better shape and are more spacious with a better balcony, however the Restaurant aboard QV is far better situated high in the ship with wonderful sea views. The PG staterooms on QV are however not so good - long and narrow with smaller balconies. Service in both is very personal and the food was outstanding with table side cooking and off menu ordering. The QV has extensive sun decks for the use of Grills passengers where they serve delicacies to you on your lounger all day - chilled fruit skewers, sandwiches, afternoon tea etc. Britannia on Cunard is a very enjoyable experience - PG and QG is an outstanding experience which we love. Enjoy your forthcoming trip!

[BklynBoy8]

We have over the decades gone from Britannia to Club and treated to an Upgrade to Princess Grill.

 

After experiencing the recent sailing we have decided to continue to book Princess.

 

We like the cabin location, concerigie and grill dining experience. Also the extra space on the balcony to sit and us sun. The dining experience was also a treat I really enjoyed for the style of meals offered.

[Lakesregion]

2 hours ago, rafinmd said:

I'll be interested in your experiences.  I've always been a Britannia cruiser and never thought of upgrading until recently.  I had a MAJOR cruise credit after my 50-day voyage from Sydney to New York was cancelled due to Covid, and have had some medical setbacks since then which make me unwilling to do long voyages.  I decided to use most of the credit for a 2-week voyage in Princess Grill next year. 

 

Roy

Just speaking from photos and not personal experience, I think the PG dining room to be more attractive than the QG on the QM2. You may not get the full essence of fresh baked cinnamon rolls from the PG passengers that seem to ooze from the the QG passengers but you should have a more than fine time.

[Victoria2]

17 hours ago, olippold said:

We've cruised with Cunard several times, but always at Britannia level, but for next year we are splashing out and going for the full Grills experience. Therefore, I'm interested in what the differences are like. I know I can see the benefits listed on the Cunard website, but I'm more interested in the personal perspective - what sort of things stand out and make the experience? Was it worth upgrading to Grills?, and so on.

I think the choice of ship has a lot to do with any experience in 'The Grills'. 

 

First you have to decide if it's QG or PG. When folk say they travel in the Grills, they often don't specify which one so it can be hard to get the correct impression.

 

I haven't seen any cabins on QM2 but I have seen the QG dining room and I wasn't impressed but then I'm not a fan of that ship. I have heard however, the cabins are very spacious and that includes PG.

 

On the Vistas, the PG cabins aren't that much more spacious than Britannia but they have a huge added bonus. 

Decks 11 and 12.

These two decks are deemed 'The Grills'. Deck 11 has both restaurants and having taken afternoon tea in PG, the restaurant is almost a t2win of QG. Bright and spacious. The lounge is there, not huge and can get very busy at certain times[ usually pre lunch and pre dinner but a lovely place for your complimentary teas and coffees when the bar is staffed. The concierge has their desk there too. 

Outside you have a sun deck and between 11 and 12, i have never yet not managed to get a sunbed or chair if needed.

 

Then we have QG. The main differences being the cabins and the choice of food in the restaurant. We love the restaurant but it's the spacious cabins which draw us time and time again, The Butler is a nice touch and is always at the end of a pager when on duty for anything you need but one can survive without that. Same for a 'free' bar set up. 

Is QG worth the extra over PG? A very personal decision just as is PG worth the extra over BC etc.

We have gone from a Q5 over the years to a Q2 and a Q1 purely because we want the space. It's up to the individual to decide if PG/QG is right for them. 

 

 

[olippold]

Thanks for your responses. I should also have added we will be on QV (it's next year's Northern Lights cruise, so not sure how much use we'll get of the outside areas!)

[exlondoner]

32 minutes ago, olippold said:

Thanks for your responses. I should also have added we will be on QV (it's next year's Northern Lights cruise, so not sure how much use we'll get of the outside areas!)

I think you may well want to wrap up very warmly and go out onto the terraces to admire the spectacular views as you sail along fjords.

[TV Dad]

I think the best parts of the Grills Experience are the private lounge and restaurant. 

 

By the end of day one the bartender knew our drinks preference and offered them up as soon as he saw us. And while it could be because we had a drinks package, I had no trouble getting a generous pour (double).

 

In the restaurant, we had our own private table for the entire cruise. We could socialize with adjoining tables, if we desired, or embrace ourselves in private conversation.

 

Our maître 'd knew us by name after the first day. Our servers knew our drink preferences, and even how we like our food prepared! At one breakfast, the runner brought out my wife's meal and the server stopped him. The bacon was not crispy enough for my wife's taste! 

 

Once, at lunch, I told our server we were in the mood for Italian food. At dinner, we were prepared a delicious Italian feast with all our favorites!

 

I have never been treated so well, by a dining staff, on any of my 25+ other cruises. 

 

That is why I am a Grills fan!

[BklynBoy8]

1 hour ago, TV Dad said:

I think the best parts of the Grills Experience are the private lounge and restaurant. 

 

In the restaurant, we had our own private table for the entire cruise. We could socialize with adjoining tables, if we desired, or embrace ourselves in private conversation.

 

Our maître 'd knew us by name after the first day. Our servers knew our drink preferences. 

 

I have never been treated so well, by a dining staff, on any of my 25+ other cruises. 

 

That is why I am a Grills fan!

 

We too agree about being a Grill Fan from now on. This is the first time on the QM2. Did experience Grills many times on the QE2 and twice in the Britannia Club (Pre Grill Experience).

 

Enjoying that private table and come as we want is important not to be against the clock. We prefer not to socialize while eating. Maybe short talk but enjoy the food cuisine we ordered.

 

We too were always greeted and addressed by our last name by all our staff assigned to the table location. And our servers knew our tea selection and accompaniments along with our juice each morning.

 

I must admit along with you the service was Outstanding in all my decades sailing. We are looking forward to booking Grill the next time.

 

By the way we enjoyed the Grill Accommodation of the Suite and all the Features.

 

BTW....We were not impressed with the Grill Lounge for tea time. For two decks of Suites to fit into that space for a hour period was terrible. We favored having Full Tea Time in our Suite and enjoyed  it in our privacy. 

[majortom10]

Have sailed with Cunard since 1997 from inside cabins to QG. Our only QG experience was on QE in 2019 and to be honest was totally underwhelmed and have never even considered booking in QG since. Butler was totally useless we never saw him for the whole cruise until last day when he suddenly appeared obviously expecting a tip. Our waiter consistently tried to serve us the same breakfast without even asking if it was what we wanted, which it wasn't, as we wanted to try different things. We saw the Maitre'd once when he visited our table and asked if everything was OK and after saying yes, he very quickly moved on. Most of all that upset me was fed up with Americans in Queens Lounge bragging that they had free drinks package and free gratuities and calling UK cruisers all the names under the sun if they removed gratuities.

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, BklynBoy8 said:

 

We too agree about being a Grill Fan from now on. This is the first time on the QM2. Did experience Grills many times on the QE2 and twice in the Britannia Club (Pre Grill Experience).

 

Enjoying that private table and come as we want is important not to be against the clock. We prefer not to socialize while eating. Maybe short talk but enjoy the food cuisine we ordered.

 

We too were always greeted and addressed by our last name by all our staff assigned to the table location. And our servers knew our tea selection and accompaniments along with our juice each morning.

 

I must admit along with you the service was Outstanding in all my decades sailing. We are looking forward to booking Grill the next time.

 

By the way we enjoyed the Grill Accommodation of the Suite and all the Features.

 

BTW....We were not impressed with the Grill Lounge for tea time. For two decks of Suites to fit into that space for a hour period was terrible. We favored having Full Tea Time in our Suite and enjoyed  it in our privacy. 

Maybe when we're talking 'Grills', we should be more specific when giving of our own experiences. QG or PG; QM2 or QE/QV as I am getting the impression it depends which ship is sailed on as to which part of the experience is better than others.

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Maybe when we're talking 'Grills', we should be more specific when giving of our own experiences. QG or PG; QM2 or QE/QV as I am getting the impression it depends which ship is sailed on as to which part of the experience is better than others.

Well, I’ve had a lovely time in QG on all three ships, but do think the facilities, other than the cabins, are better on the Vistas. PG cabins on the Vistas were disappointing. Haven’t found the quality of service varies between the ships.

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Have sailed with Cunard since 1997 from inside cabins to QG. Our only QG experience was on QE in 2019 and to be honest was totally underwhelmed and have never even considered booking in QG since. Butler was totally useless we never saw him for the whole cruise until last day when he suddenly appeared obviously expecting a tip. Our waiter consistently tried to serve us the same breakfast without even asking if it was what we wanted, which it wasn't, as we wanted to try different things. We saw the Maitre'd once when he visited our table and asked if everything was OK and after saying yes, he very quickly moved on. Most of all that upset me was fed up with Americans in Queens Lounge bragging that they had free drinks package and free gratuities and calling UK cruisers all the names under the sun if they removed gratuities.

and as has been said many many many times, you were so unlucky with your experience. Never has a member of staff appeared to us, expecting a gratuity, never. I have always thought the [QG] staff on QV are better attuned to needs than QE but that's because we're known and completely biased. QE loyalists will disagree with me as they will be biased to QE. 🙂

 

I love sailing with our American cousins. They are always such  delightful fellow companions and we were always delighted when Americans shared our tables for eight so yet again, you were so unlucky.

[Victoria2]

5 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Well, I’ve had a lovely time in QG on all three ships, but do think the facilities, other than the cabins, are better on the Vistas. PG cabins on the Vistas were disappointing. Haven’t found the quality of service varies between the ships.

This is what I mean. If accommodation is of the premier importance, them QM2 seems to be the ship to plump for, eg  I get the impression  the PG cabins are superior in size or layout to the Vistas *and some QG cabins have extra bathroom facilities.

 

For general dining ambiance and 'Grills' areas, not that I've cruised QG on QM2, I get the impression the Vistas are better.

 

Depends what folk want out of their overall experience so naming ships and differentiating between PG/QG would help form a more accurate picture.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Victoria2
* edit

[tv24]

If you like private or somewhat private space for reading, etc. you will find the Grills to be a much better experience than Britannia class.  We may have to sail Britannia on a crossing in May where the Grills are currently sold out, and my DH slips into deep depression when I bring up the subject.  He is spoiled by the extra space.  We find the PG stateroom on the QM2 to have enough extra space for relaxed time in the mornings, and take advantage of the empty Grills Lounge (QM2) in the mornings.  The Concierge Lounge is also OK.  I am OK with less space and would probably find some nook somewhere on the QM2 to sit quietly.  And honestly, I am beginning to wonder whether PG is worth the upcharge;  have not yet made up my mind.

[exlondoner]

12 minutes ago, tv24 said:

If you like private or somewhat private space for reading, etc. you will find the Grills to be a much better experience than Britannia class.  We may have to sail Britannia on a crossing in May where the Grills are currently sold out, and my DH slips into deep depression when I bring up the subject.  He is spoiled by the extra space.  We find the PG stateroom on the QM2 to have enough extra space for relaxed time in the mornings, and take advantage of the empty Grills Lounge (QM2) in the mornings.  The Concierge Lounge is also OK.  I am OK with less space and would probably find some nook somewhere on the QM2 to sit quietly.  And honestly, I am beginning to wonder whether PG is worth the upcharge;  have not yet made up my mind.

Those galleries where the games tables are/were on Deck 2/3 are usually a lovely, peaceful place to sit. I never got too much reading done though, as watching the sea from there was so engrossing?

[BklynBoy8]

After experiencing the Princess Grill this past sailing we very much like the assignment to the restaurant and the suite (cabin). Also Henrietta the Concierge helped us very much. We even enjoyed a much more private tea in the Concierge Lounge on 9. Not the same as Grill Lounge and Queens but still quiet and enjoyable.

 

We appreciated for the 14 days the space in the extra large closet and additional closets.

 

Balcony furniture was even better.