First Time Cunard

[jhuntermartin]

Hi,

 

I have decided to move up in the Cruise World.  So from a Passenger perspective I would like to hear about the following:

 

1.  Queens Grill Cabins - Is the actual restaurant any different than the Princess and Britannia Restaurants.

 

2.  Butlers - I like the idea of them packing and unpacking me.  Helping me with formal attire.  I'm terrible with a bow tie.  Anticipating your needs is nice and catering to them nice but is it all that great?  I saw Cunard's marketing video on YouTube about Cunard Butlers.  Is the service that good?

 

3.  Dress - I realize that Cunard PRIDES itself in it's nearly 200 years of business.  Is is always a suit or tuxedo every evening?  

 

4. Passenger Comradery - I get along with people and given the fares for Grill Suites especially Queen's Grill Suites.  Who exactly sails with Cunard?

 

5.  I would love to hear why you like Cunard.

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by jhuntermartin
Update

[naturelovergirl]

@jhuntermartin
I can’t speak to the Grills as we stay in Britannia… which is always very nice.

We love the Britannia dining room.

Hopefully you will get some Grills aficionados who will chime in for you. I can address some of your other questions though.

 

3- There is a dress code after 6pm

Some nights will be “smart attire” (which on Cunard is much more dressy than other lines) Then some nights are Gala evenings- those are your formal nights. The dress code for men on those evenings is either tuxedo or dark suit with tie or bow tie.

Honestly the dress code makes everything so lovely and special in the evenings.

 

4- We met such wonderful people on Cunard. You meet people from all over the world and from all kinds of careers and backgrounds. We found so many people to be extremely well traveled- which we appreciated both in camaraderie and in reaping knowledge from fellow Cunarders for future travel. Also, Cunard is very good with enrichment programs, so I have found that many people who love Cunard were also interested in being lifelong learners.

 

Personally I love Cunard- I have the opportunity to embrace traditional cruising, to relax in the beautiful ambiance, to hear good music, and to learn new things as I visit amazing ports.

Cunard is special.

[Victoria2]

1.

Can't really advise here.

 

2.

With being a regular Q'Griller, I would say the video clip [rather old video clip by the way] is pretty well accurate although we have never had the Butler unpack or pack as we like to know where our things are and I have regular places where certain items go.

You will hear of experiences which don't match up and whilst I don't for one moment doubt they happen as anomalies do happen, it's always good to know how much experience backs up their point of view. One bad experience doesn't mean all Butlers are dreadful. I also think the manner in which you treat the Butler is all part of the excellent service delivered.

 

3.

The general after six dress code isn't as rigid as it used to be and evening dress/suits isn't a requirement every night. Many chaps have followed the relaxation and don't wear jackets on non Gala evenings but ''we'' think that a relaxation too far so my husband always wears a jacket although he does dispense with a tie occasionally. Gala nights are always black tie occasions for us. Others I'm sure will add to this.

 

4.

Who sails QG? We have shared tables with guest celebrity speakers, billionaires [WSJ is good to google on occasions  ], a White House advisor, knights of the realm, a reasonably well known artist, a lottery winner, a retired US Air-force General/advisor to the White House, a couple who saved like mad to have their wedding on Victoria whilst  travelling QG, a trawler man who worked his way from deck hand at sixteen  to a fleet of boats and then ordinary folk like us. In other words, an eclectic mix of great people and who all add to a convivial, interesting dining table.

 

We always travel with Cunard, always QE or QV and always in QG, a few times a year because it's a wonderful way to see the world whilst eating well and being cossetted. Add lovely travel companions into the mix and yes, we love the product.

[exlondoner]

1. The actual restaurant is a mirror image of the PG, but actually has a few more tables and seems more crowded. This leads to being quite close to the next table, which generally leads (4) to considerable friendliness and chit chat. The menu of the day in the Grills is different from that in Britannia, and often does not look as exciting, but then there are two alcs, which are more extensive then in PG, and, with sufficient notice, they will make anything else you would like.

 

2. I’ve never known anyone who had the butler unpack, but they will certainly do it. However, obviously, embarkation day is a very busy day for them, so they might not get round to it immediately.

 

4. Mostly pretty ordinary people of varying nationalities. Sometimes a lot of US passengers, a lot of German passengers on a crossing starting at Hamburg, and I’ve known a lot of Australians, but also all the other nationalities you can think of, which can make the journey very interesting. I think many passengers are like us, and go on fewer cruises than we might otherwise so we can afford the Grills when we do go.

[jhuntermartin]

I really appreciate this feedback and the time and effort exlondoner and Vicortoria2 put into this.  I priced out 14 day voyages and the Transatlantics usually 7-9 days the pricing is very similar.

 

I have decided I am going to do a 7 day Voyage Barcelona to Barcelona in October in the Princess Grill.  This is my "sniffer" Voyage to see if we are a match.  I am looking forward to an amazing experience with Cunard.   Thank you, exlonder and Victoria2.

[rakkor]

On 2/3/2023 at 4:36 AM, jhuntermartin said:

I really appreciate this feedback and the time and effort exlondoner and Vicortoria2 put into this.  I priced out 14 day voyages and the Transatlantics usually 7-9 days the pricing is very similar.

 

I have decided I am going to do a 7 day Voyage Barcelona to Barcelona in October in the Princess Grill.  This is my "sniffer" Voyage to see if we are a match.  I am looking forward to an amazing experience with Cunard.   Thank you, exlonder and Victoria2.

 

My blog from last September covers this cruise on QE in PG - https://blog.rakkor.uk if you're interested - I've been very slow in scanning the menus for this cruise, but there are examples of the PG menus in earlier blogs which reflect what you'll get accurately.

[starquake]

On 2/2/2023 at 2:45 AM, jhuntermartin said:

3.  Dress - I realize that Cunard PRIDES itself in it's nearly 200 years of business.  Is is always a suit or tuxedo every evening?  

 

4. Passenger Comradery - I get along with people and given the fares for Grill Suites especially Queen's Grill Suites.  Who exactly sails with Cunard?

 

Can't answer the others, but for 3.

 

We're a new to Cunard couple, about to embark on about our 5th cruise, only sailed SINCE Covid in fact.

But the dress code whilst formal does suit.     A jacket is most common (about 70% I'd say wear every night in colder climates, and maybe goes higher) , but on warmer climates like Caribean expect a less formal evening except of course on the "Gala" evenings.   We found on the Christmas cruise that the hotter it got the less formal it got.  

 

For 4, we travelled as a group of 5 for Christmas, 2 couples in 40-50's + 1 child (10).   Met bankers, insurers (Lloyds names), plumbers, electricians and people from all walks of life really in Brittania.   The officers had their familys on board in many cases for the cruise, and were dining amongst us "normal" people in the restuaurant every night.     Even the occasional celebrity as the entire cast of "best exotic marigold" hotel show were in the Brittania resturant every night (Notably not in the Grills in that case).    Generally agree with others that the general mix of people was friendly, nice people, all who generally enjoy lifelong learning/education.    We did meet a few guests from the Grills and have been invited to a cocktail party  before the evening held in their suites.    Everyone onboard does generally mix as after all there are few "Grills only" places onboard outside of the terrace, bar, and resturaurant.  

 

Worth noting we do plan to go to the Grills outselves in future, but took the choice of taking family on board instread of doing that this Summer, given the Grills were approx 2x the Balcony fare.    Multi-generational family groups have been on every cruise we have been on with Cunard, and as such I suspect quite a few familys "treat" entire family to Grills, or the cruise itself. 

 

 

 

[TV Dad]

On 2/1/2023 at 9:45 PM, jhuntermartin said:

1.  Queens Grill Cabins - Is the actual restaurant any different than the Princess and Britannia Restaurants.

 

2.  Butlers - I like the idea of them packing and unpacking me.  Helping me with formal attire.  I'm terrible with a bow tie.  Anticipating your needs is nice and catering to them nice but is it all that great?  I saw Cunard's marketing video on YouTube about Cunard Butlers.  Is the service that good?

 

3.  Dress - I realize that Cunard PRIDES itself in it's nearly 200 years of business.  Is is always a suit or tuxedo every evening?  

 

4. Passenger Comradery - I get along with people and given the fares for Grill Suites especially Queen's Grill Suites.  Who exactly sails with Cunard?

 

1. Queens Grill Restaurant is the Disneyworld of Dining. Anything you want you can have! It's magical! As long as they have the ingredients on board, they will make it for you. I have never experienced anything like it, in 40 years of cruising.

 

2. I never challenged my butler on the last cruise. I think of them more as a glorified cabin steward.

 

3. In the QG, every gentleman wore at least a jacket or a tie after 6:00. Not always a suit, but at least a sport coat. Sometimes, a tie and no sport coat. Sometimes both. Formal night is VERY formal.

 

4. We made numerous friends at both dinner and in the private Grills cocktail lounge. If you make eye contact and say hellow, you will make friends easily.

 

Bon Voyage