Is alternative/specialty dining cheaper if purchased once onboard vs booking before boarding?

[newbie202020]

Hi, I have never sailed Cunard before and was wondering if it costs less to wait until I board to book Verandah, Bamboo etc? Only sailed with Celebrity before where they offer reduced pricing/sales once onboard.

 

Also, I don't think I see packages for 2 or 3 specialty meals on mycunard but not sure if I'm looking in the right place.

 

Going to Alaska on QE if that matters. Thanks

[TowandaUK]

Alternative Dining is cheaper if you book before you board but this is only available 2-3 weeks before boarding. You cannot use obc until you board. Queen Anne is the only ship with several speciality restaurants, but pricing is not available until nearer the maiden voyage. The current ships only have one speciality restaurant - the verandah which is a steak house. They also have pop ups, but I’m not sure if you can book those before boarding. 
so far no dining packages are offered by Cunard but this may change when Queen Anne comes into service with a variety of speciality restaurants. We shall have to wait and see. 

[Pushpit]

It is true that Cunard sometimes puts out a special offer while on board, taking a few dollars off the cost or offering some drink related incentive. These get advertised in the Daily Programme, and sometimes on the boarding day on the trestle tables. Equally there have been sailings where nothing has been offered.

 

As far as I know there are no multi-meal packages, but Cunard does work quite differently in different markets -  USA, UK, Europe, Australia.

[exlondoner]

Usually, whichever pop up is happening is cheaper on the first night of the cruise.

[NE John]

I haven’t seen any dining package promos on this side of the Atlantic. I booked a table at Frontier a month or so ago for June voyage so if you check now if you really want to dine at a specialty restaurant or for a certain night. Frontier is only $20 pp extra so I’m not worried about OBC for that amount. Frontier’s menu looks great. I guess if I order the extra charge seafood plate that night that charge can go against OBC. 

Edited March 23 by NE John

[Tattycoram]

I'm a first time Cunarder, so I'm glad I didn't know you could only book specialty restaurants a few weeks ahead:  Two weeks ago I went into MyCunard and was able to book for Bamboo on QM2 for July.

[newbie202020]

Is there a 20% service charge in addition to the meal price? Thanks

[Pushpit]

13 minutes ago, newbie202020 said:

Is there a 20% service charge in addition to the meal price? Thanks

It's 15% on the drinks, but not the meal. You are free to tip or otherwise when the bill is presented.

[snorklinbarb]

On 3/23/2024 at 4:06 PM, exlondoner said:

Usually, whichever pop up is happening is cheaper on the first night of the cruise.

Are pop up's common on QM2 transatlantics?  

Any examples of what a typical pop up might be and what the cost is?

What's the best way to find out about these - the daily?

 

This is something new since I was last on Cunard and have only been on QM2.

 

Thanks!

[TheOldBear]

16 minutes ago, snorklinbarb said:

Are pop up's common on QM2 transatlantics?  

Any examples of what a typical pop up might be and what the cost is?

What's the best way to find out about these - the daily?

 

This is something new since I was last on Cunard and have only been on QM2.

 

Thanks!

The Kings Court pop ups have been a feature since 2010 or so [port side, between staircases 'C' and 'D'] 

I think that the planned theme rotation should show up in the personalizer about a month or so before the sailing date. The evening's theme is also in the daily planner [and on the 'my voyage' intranet site - 'my voyage' may show the planned themes for the entire sailing]

 

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

The Kings Court pop ups have been a feature since 2010 or so [port side, between staircases 'C' and 'D'] 

I think that the planned theme rotation should show up in the personalizer about a month or so before the sailing date. The evening's theme is also in the daily planner [and on the 'my voyage' intranet site - 'my voyage' may show the planned themes for the entire sailing]

 

On some recent voyages there has been a paper sheet which gave dress codes, shows, and pop ups for each night of the voyage. I’m not sure whether they always appear.

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, snorklinbarb said:

Are pop up's common on QM2 transatlantics?  

Any examples of what a typical pop up might be and what the cost is?

What's the best way to find out about these - the daily?

 

This is something new since I was last on Cunard and have only been on QM2.

 

Thanks!

 

The three main themes for the Kings Court Alternative Dining venue (aka "pop-up" restaurant) on QM2 during a transatlantic crossing are Coriander (Indian), Bamboo (Asian) and La Piazza (Italian). The themes typically run for three or four consecutive evenings before switching to another theme. If booked in advance via My Cunard, the cost is $20 per person. If booked on board, the cost is $25 per person. The timeframe has varied quite a bit for when you are first able to see the schedule and book the Kings Court Alternative Dining venue in My Cunard.

Edited March 29 by bluemarble

[snorklinbarb]

On 3/29/2024 at 11:58 AM, bluemarble said:

 

The three main themes for the Kings Court Alternative Dining venue (aka "pop-up" restaurant) on QM2 during a transatlantic crossing are Coriander (Indian), Bamboo (Asian) and La Piazza (Italian). The themes typically run for three or four consecutive evenings before switching to another theme. If booked in advance via My Cunard, the cost is $20 per person. If booked on board, the cost is $25 per person. The timeframe has varied quite a bit for when you are first able to see the schedule and book the Kings Court Alternative Dining venue in My Cunard.

Thanks!  If you book in advance for a particular evening and then need to switch to same pop up say a night later, is original price honored or will they charge the extra?

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, snorklinbarb said:

Thanks!  If you book in advance for a particular evening and then need to switch to same pop up say a night later, is original price honored or will they charge the extra?

 

Sorry, I'm not sure what policies apply to changing the date of an alternative dining reservation booked in advance. I don't book alternative dining in advance since we are diamond status with the Cunard World Club. One of the diamond perks is one free dinner in the alternative dining venue so I only reserve once on board.

[newbie202020]

Have been reading that other lines regularly offer up to 30% off specialty dining a few days into the trip! I guess it's not common practice with Cunard...

[Victoria2]

On 4/7/2024 at 4:12 AM, bluemarble said:

 

Sorry, I'm not sure what policies apply to changing the date of an alternative dining reservation booked in advance. I don't book alternative dining in advance since we are diamond status with the Cunard World Club. One of the diamond perks is one free dinner in the alternative dining venue so I only reserve once on board.

Unless I misread, on a very quick perusal, the Diamond perk on this QA cruise, is  a lunch at one of the alternative venues, or dinner for a $30 supplement.

[bluemarble]

8 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Unless I misread, on a very quick perusal, the Diamond perk on this QA cruise, is  a lunch at one of the alternative venues, or dinner for a $30 supplement.

 

Thanks for that information. Is that $30 supplement for the Diamond perk specifically for dinner at Sir Samuel's Steakhouse (where I understand the cover charge may be $58.50 if booked in advance and $65 if booked on board)? The other alternative venues appear to have cover charges less than or close to that $30 supplement so that would be odd to apply a $30 supplement to those other venues.

[NE John]

35 minutes ago, newbie202020 said:

Have been reading that other lines regularly offer up to 30% off specialty dining a few days into the trip! I guess it's not common practice with Cunard...

Remember that Cunard doesn’t have much of a history of alt dining and I trust these types of specialty dining packages will be introduced in the not so near future to entice more sales. 

[Victoria2]

23 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

Thanks for that information. Is that $30 supplement for the Diamond perk specifically for dinner at Sir Samuel's Steakhouse (where I understand the cover charge may be $58.50 if booked in advance and $65 if booked on board)? The other alternative venues appear to have cover charges less than or close to that $30 supplement so that would be odd to apply a $30 supplement to those other venues.

Quote 

 

A complimentary lunch at an alternative dining venue ( valid till 23 May 2024).  Alternately, you may prefer to have dinner where a supplement of $30 will apply. To avoid disappointment, early booking is highly recommended…

…..

Glean from that what you will. We have been told all the venues were booked solid on the Maiden but then, that might have been a combo of Maiden and the comped extra obc in lieu of the lunch.

 

 

Edited May 13 by Victoria2

[Pushpit]

1 hour ago, newbie202020 said:

Have been reading that other lines regularly offer up to 30% off specialty dining a few days into the trip! I guess it's not common practice with Cunard...

I've seen lower price offers on the first and second night of some sailings, essentially bringing the cost down to the pre-booked price. Presumably to drive up business when it would otherwise not be so busy, but Britannia would be busy. Thereafter I've not seen deals mid trip. There's not a huge push by Cunard on this, though QA seems somewhat different from what I'm reading. On QE it's less of a feature, there aren't that many seats for alternate dining in the grand scheme of things.

[newbie202020]

We're sailing in July and have noticed that the price for alternative dining has increased over 20% when I logged into mycunard today. Is that normal practice closer to sail date or is it that Cunard has increased dining prices across the board?

[Pushpit]

I suspect there's been a price rise. There was a recent increase in the drinks packages. Can you give the Verandah cost? Normally the pre-book price holds until a few days to departure, then the option goes altogether.

[newbie202020]

Dinner at Verandah is now USD 58.50 pp. It was  USD 45pp not too long ago

[newbie202020]

But it's Bamboo that shocked me. It's now USD 31.50 pp when it was USD 20 pp before.

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, newbie202020 said:

We're sailing in July and have noticed that the price for alternative dining has increased over 20% when I logged into mycunard today. Is that normal practice closer to sail date or is it that Cunard has increased dining prices across the board?

 

Yes, there has been a recent price increase for alternative dining. It applies across the fleet.

 

The prices used to be as follows.

Kings Court/Lido Alternative Dining: $20pp in advance; $25pp on board

Verandah Lunch: $25pp in advance; $30pp on board

Verandah Dinner: $45pp in advance; $50pp on board

 

Here are the prices for QM2, QV and QE listed on their FAQ for travel agents. This represents a 10% discount for booking in advance, consistent with how they discount their drinks packages when purchased in advance.

Kings Court/Lido Alternative Dining: $31.50pp in advance; $35pp on board

Verandah Lunch: $31.50pp in advance; $35pp on board

Verandah Dinner: $58.50pp in advance; $65pp on board

 

That said, I'm still seeing Verandah Lunch bookable on QM2 in My Cunard for $25pp, so perhaps the price increase for Verandah Lunch to $31.50pp is still in the works.

 

Edit to add: I'm seeing a note stating the new prices for QM2 and QV are effective now but for QE they are effective July 2024.

Edited Monday at 04:48 PM by bluemarble