QM2 Cutbacks

[D&N]

We're quite happy for the itineraries to stay the same. The ship is destination for us. It doesn't really matter where it sails although the North Atlantic is probably a more interesting experience than The Med.

If the ship calls anywhere we'd not get off unless forced to for immigration or if there was something we could only buy at a shop in that port, which is unlikely when you can buy just about anything online.

[Pushpit]

3 minutes ago, D&N said:

The views aren't great. You have the heavy fairing protecting the walking track immediately in front of the windows then the cufflinks, and the bow raises a bit. Depending on where you are you might see the horizon move now and again.

That's the case for QM2, but QE and QV are right on the end of deck 9, over the bridge and have good views 

[david,Mississauga]

29 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I was very disappointed when the gym was my muster station. It broke my streak of never setting foot in one.

 

We have been assigned that muster station at least three times and feel the same as you. One time a staff member looked at me as if he was trying to sign up new customers. I don't mind glancing briefly at the gym during my frequent perambulations of the promenade deck.

[D&N]

6 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

That's the case for QM2, but QE and QV are right on the end of deck 9, over the bridge and have good views 

Of course. I remember now running through the Pacific and Caribbean on Arcadia (another Vista), where the gym is in a similar location. 

[majortom10]

What is the dress code for the gym 😂😂

[WantedOnVoyage]

Hopefully nothing less than it was aboard RMS FRANCONIA in 1911

 

[Judyrem]

On 1/3/2024 at 11:08 AM, 57eric said:

Cutbacks were evident on my recent voyage, but let’s begin on a positive note with some areas that exceeded my expectations:

 

·         Embarkation – My expectation from entering the terminal to being seated in the waiting hall – 45 minutes to an hour.  Actual – 8 minutes.  At that point there was a fair wait, but I was on board by 1:30 – no complaint.

 

·         Open Dining – I never thought I would do open dining on Cunard.  Without getting into how this came about, it was a pleasant surprise.  Wait times were minimal, regardless of what time I arrived.  Service was variable, but in some cases outstanding.

 

·         Roaring 20s Night – On previous voyages I had only seen nominal participation on the theme nights.  Not the case here!  There were loads of women, and not a few men, who went all out.

 

·         Sequence Dancing – Apparently near extinction earlier in the year, sequence dancing was back with a vengeance.  So much so that by the end of the voyage, supply was in danger of exceeding demand.  Kudos to Cunard for listening to feedback on this.

 

·         Laundry – I don’t know if Cunard gets any credit here, but the laundry rooms seemed far less competitive than on the identical voyage in previous years.

 

·         Disembarkation – My group was called off ahead of schedule and the wait at CBP was less than two minutes.  However, the luggage hall had been reconfigured so that the once orderly process of queuing for a porter was chaos.  I gave up.

 

Now, on to the feature topic.  Numerical comparisons are to my 2019 voyage:

 

·         Buffet Hours – The buffet was scheduled to be open 15 hours a day, down from 19.5 hours.  The issue here is not “How much is enough?” but “What is being offered vs. what was previously offered?”.

 

·         Music – No live music in the dining room.  Saw live music in the atrium once.  No Dixieland concerts, until, surprise, the final night, while everyone was busy packing.

 

·         Dance Hosts – One man and one woman, down from five and one.

 

·         Karaoke – Not offered.

 

·         Pub Lunch Menu – Five choices, down from seven.

 

·         Cocktails – This may not exactly be a cutback, but I received pushback in multiple venues when ordering cocktails that weren’t on “the list”.  I prevailed in about half these cases and got my original order.  In the past the only issue was if a venue lacked a required ingredient, which was rare.

 

·         Gym TVs – Previously a number of TV stations were available on the bikes, steppers and ellipticals.  There’s still a menu option for TV but it doesn’t work. 

 

 

I'm not giving up on Cunard, but for the first time in many years I have booked another line for my next voyage.

The no live music" is very upsetting, that is always a big draw for me.

[RICHARD@SEA]

the view is always better while drinking an "ADULT BEVERAGE' while exercising!!!

[maggielou362]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

What is the dress code for the gym 😂😂

Apologies for the repetition, but as I have mentioned in another topic, I will be wearing my evening dresses for promenade laps, to breakfast, poolside and to the gym as well as to dinner. Other sage posters recommended avoiding plunging into the actual pool, changing into running shoes as required and bringing paper clips/clothes pegs to hoick up the evening dress while doing my laps of the ship. Otherwise it's full-on formal with jewellery and makeup, that way I can't go wrong. 😁I might even keep the dancing shoes on for promenading, they are surprisingly comfortable for such elegant shoes. 

[exlondoner]

6 hours ago, maggielou362 said:

Apologies for the repetition, but as I have mentioned in another topic, I will be wearing my evening dresses for promenade laps, to breakfast, poolside and to the gym as well as to dinner. Other sage posters recommended avoiding plunging into the actual pool, changing into running shoes as required and bringing paper clips/clothes pegs to hoick up the evening dress while doing my laps of the ship. Otherwise it's full-on formal with jewellery and makeup, that way I can't go wrong. 😁I might even keep the dancing shoes on for promenading, they are surprisingly comfortable for such elegant shoes. 

I hope you’ve noticed that one chap in the gym photo is wearing a hat, or rather cap. Something to consider.

[Victoria2]

9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I hope you’ve noticed that one chap in the gym photo is wearing a hat, or rather cap. Something to consider.

In which case, hat pins might be de rigueur  as it can be windy if breaking into a run whilst promenading  around the deck, or so I've been told! 😀

[rsquare]

On 1/3/2024 at 11:08 AM, 57eric said:

·         Open Dining – I never thought I would do open dining on Cunard.  Without getting into how this came about, it was a pleasant surprise.  Wait times were minimal, regardless of what time I arrived.  Service was variable, but in some cases outstanding.

Please reassure us that this was not something forced on you by Cunard.

[tacticalbanjo]

1 hour ago, rsquare said:

Please reassure us that this was not something forced on you by Cunard.

When I was on QV in November it seemed to be policy that all guests on Saver fares (I'm not sure there is an equivalent in the US but in the UK there is the Cunard Fare and a Saver Fare with fewer perks and no room selection) were assigned to open dining. It might be a fleetwide thing.

[Winifred 22]

3 hours ago, tacticalbanjo said:

When I was on QV in November it seemed to be policy that all guests on Saver fares (I'm not sure there is an equivalent in the US but in the UK there is the Cunard Fare and a Saver Fare with fewer perks and no room selection) were assigned to open dining. It might be a fleetwide thing.

Think it goes further than that because that’s the option on P&O too. Saver fares / their equivalent get allocated freedom dining and can only swop once onboard if there  is availability. 

[bluemarble]

4 hours ago, tacticalbanjo said:

When I was on QV in November it seemed to be policy that all guests on Saver fares (I'm not sure there is an equivalent in the US but in the UK there is the Cunard Fare and a Saver Fare with fewer perks and no room selection) were assigned to open dining. It might be a fleetwide thing.

 

In the US, we have what Cunard calls "Our Lowest Fare". Elsewhere it's known as the "Value Fare". That fare has a number of restrictions including a non-refundable deposit (unlike most other US fares). It's similar to a UK Saver Fare in that it does not allow selection of a specific cabin (i.e. it's a guarantee-only booking). I can't find anything in the terms for that fare that mentions dining arrangements though. I never book that fare. I'd be interested to learn if those who do book that fare in the US are able to select early or late sitting or are being assigned open dining.

[tacticalbanjo]

1 hour ago, bluemarble said:

 

In the US, we have what Cunard calls "Our Lowest Fare". Elsewhere it's known as the "Value Fare". That fare has a number of restrictions including a non-refundable deposit (unlike most other US fares). It's similar to a UK Saver Fare in that it does not allow selection of a specific cabin (i.e. it's a guarantee-only booking). I can't find anything in the terms for that fare that mentions dining arrangements though. I never book that fare. I'd be interested to learn if those who do book that fare in the US are able to select early or late sitting or are being assigned open dining.

The UK terms for Saver Fares still mention being able to select a preferred dining time that will be confirmed on board. There’s no mention that you will just be assigned open dining which seems to be what is happening. I guess being able to select early, late or open and being confirmed as open complies with this but it really isn’t what you’d expect. 

[57eric]

On 1/9/2024 at 10:26 AM, rsquare said:

Please reassure us that this was not something forced on you by Cunard.

It was not.  I would not have hesitated to write about it if it was.

[3rdGenCunarder]

19 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

In the US, we have what Cunard calls "Our Lowest Fare". Elsewhere it's known as the "Value Fare". That fare has a number of restrictions including a non-refundable deposit (unlike most other US fares). It's similar to a UK Saver Fare in that it does not allow selection of a specific cabin (i.e. it's a guarantee-only booking). I can't find anything in the terms for that fare that mentions dining arrangements though. I never book that fare. I'd be interested to learn if those who do book that fare in the US are able to select early or late sitting or are being assigned open dining.

 

I don't book guarantees or non-refundable deposits. I booked a July 2025 QM2 transatlantic in Britannia, and my booking summary shows early dining as it has for the past several cruises. I have registered my preference, but it won't be confirmed until I'm on board. It almost aways turns out to be what I requested. The one time it didn't, I queued on embarkation day and got it changed. 

 

I booked in October 2023. I can't believe early seating was full 20 months before sailing!

 

Dining type.

(You have previously selected)

Early DiningRegister preference

Late DiningAvailable

Open DiningAvailable

 

 

Edited January 10 by 3rdGenCunarder

[bluemarble]

13 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I don't book guarantees or non-refundable deposits. I booked a July 2025 QM2 transatlantic in Britannia, and my booking summary shows early dining as it has for the past several cruises. I have registered my preference, but it won't be confirmed until I'm on board. It almost aways turns out to be what I requested. The one time it didn't, I queued on embarkation day and got it changed. 

 

I booked in October 2023. I can't believe early seating was full 20 months before sailing!

 

Dining type.

(You have previously selected)

Early DiningRegister preference

Late DiningAvailable

Open DiningAvailable

 

I'm with you. I don't book guarantees or non-refundable deposits either. As far as I know, The US My Cunard always looks like this now where it only says "Register preference" next to what you've previously selected. By last few bookings have looked like that as do my future bookings. Unless it told you previously that early dining was unavailable, I think you should be fine the way that screenshot reads now.

[LittleFish1976]

On 1/9/2024 at 3:12 AM, 57eric said:

Princess.  OK, maybe I'm being too optimistic.  I do see plenty of complaints on the Princess board.  (Are there any boards without food complaints?)  But again, it's the itinerary, not the food, that is the driver here.

Having dipped an optimistic toe in the Princess waters myself just recently, I'm glad to hear you're not primarily choosing them for the food! I hope the itinerary is very compelling. I shan't be patronising them again; I'm trying Ponant in a few weeks (itinerary driven) and looking further afield also despite being a committed fan of Cunard.

 

Re princess: make sure you use your allowance for bringing a bottle of wine on board with you - it will be much better than anything you'll find on board.