Live: Queen Anne Maiden Voyage.

[Host Hattie]

2 minutes ago, Ray66 said:

 

Since when have you had to pay for food in the Golden Lion? As far as I remember the food is free and you only have to pay for any drinks.

Details are here -

 

 

 

[Saab4444]

Does anyone know if you can walk outside on deck 6 or 7 in the front of the ship (not deck 5 with the Crew area!)?

[Ray66]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

Details are here -

 

 

 

 

So just Michel Roux food in the Golden Lion on the QA. Phew.

[DukeBeetle24]

On 5/3/2024 at 6:30 PM, MylesS said:

We paid I believe $149 per-person for the week (may be a bit off, I’ve now had several drinks)

 

The thermal area looks great, much better than the other Queens in my opinion, though they are doing 2 hour slots per-day.

 

We’re now in Britannia for dinner, however, as impressive as the room is, I’m yet to even have someone take my order after 30 minutes. 

Thanks for this, and the detailed review. More excited than before to board in October.

[NE John]

While overall complimentary, on a very recent “Paul and Carole” YT vid summing up QA, they found out that about 50% of the staff were either new or on first time Cunard contracts and that detail may have lead to initial service hiccups. They expected Cunard to “pull out the stops” and include more seasoned staff as a highlight for a more expensive maiden voyage. 
Did anyone speak to staff to determine if that large percentage of staff was that inexperienced?

I’m sure all lines tow a delicate balance between providing knowledgeable staff for a new ship while not alienating the existing cruisers on other ships used to seeing key service staff onboard. 

[MylesS]

18 minutes ago, NE John said:

While overall complimentary, on a very recent “Paul and Carole” YT vid summing up QA, they found out that about 50% of the staff were either new or on first time Cunard contracts and that detail may have lead to initial service hiccups. They expected Cunard to “pull out the stops” and include more seasoned staff as a highlight for a more expensive maiden voyage. 
Did anyone speak to staff to determine if that large percentage of staff was that inexperienced?

I’m sure all lines tow a delicate balance between providing knowledgeable staff for a new ship while not alienating the existing cruisers on other ships used to seeing key service staff onboard. 

I can't speak for numbers but we saw & spoke to a lot of our favourite crew from QM2. It was actually really nice, as it gave a "welcome home" / "you are home" feel while it still being a brand new environment.

The new crew aren't or weren't bad, they just weren't up to traditional Cunard standards yet. Though those standards are learned on the job for the most part in my opinion.

I overheard a lot of crew say they used to work on MSC ships though.

[richard_london]

4 hours ago, NE John said:

Did anyone speak to staff to determine if that large percentage of staff was that inexperienced?

 

I asked five I think on the first day and all but one were QM2. The other who looked after my room wàs new to Cunard but had worked for NYK on the Asuka.  I think my strike rate of finding QM2 was just chance. On the first night for dinner some in the restaurant couldn't even find the tables easily so I did feel for them. They should have been better prepared, it wasn't their fault but Cunard's.

[safarigal]

16 hours ago, NE John said:

Did anyone speak to staff to determine if that large percentage of staff was that inexperienced?

 

I am not sure how accurate this is, but I talked to an officer on board and he said that Queen Anne had requested that 30% of staff came from each ship ie 90% of staff would be from the other Queens. The other Queens didn't agree to this, and so they settled on 20% from each ship.

 

You can tell the difference in who is new and who is not - in our first stateroom the prosecco was in a wine bucket, but there was no napkin or plate under the ice bucket, so there was water from condensation all over the table, we had to move to another stateroom yesterday, and lo and behold the ice bucket was on a plate, and there was a napkin. Small issue, but an example of the difference between new and seasoned staff.

[LewiLewi]

20 minutes ago, safarigal said:

I am not sure how accurate this is, but I talked to an officer on board and he said that Queen Anne had requested that 30% of staff came from each ship ie 90% of staff would be from the other Queens. The other Queens didn't agree to this, and so they settled on 20% from each ship.

 

You can tell the difference in who is new and who is not - in our first stateroom the prosecco was in a wine bucket, but there was no napkin or plate under the ice bucket, so there was water from condensation all over the table, we had to move to another stateroom yesterday, and lo and behold the ice bucket was on a plate, and there was a napkin. Small issue, but an example of the difference between new and seasoned staff.

Why did you have to move to another stateroom?

[MylesS]

1 hour ago, LewiLewi said:

Why did you have to move to another stateroom?

I believe safarigal is doing back-to-back(-to-back!) cruises and may not have had the same cabin for each part.

[safarigal]

Just now, MylesS said:

I believe safarigal is doing back-to-back(-to-back!) cruises and may not have had the same cabin for each part.

I booked 3 back to backs, all in the same stateroom. Somehow the brilliant Cunard system moved us to another stateroom in the same grade for the middle voyage. I wouldn't have minded if it had been an upgrade, but it's the same PG2, just on another deck. Grrrrr! 

[LittleFish1976]

1 hour ago, safarigal said:

I am not sure how accurate this is, but I talked to an officer on board and he said that Queen Anne had requested that 30% of staff came from each ship ie 90% of staff would be from the other Queens. The other Queens didn't agree to this, and so they settled on 20% from each ship.

 

You can tell the difference in who is new and who is not - in our first stateroom the prosecco was in a wine bucket, but there was no napkin or plate under the ice bucket, so there was water from condensation all over the table, we had to move to another stateroom yesterday, and lo and behold the ice bucket was on a plate, and there was a napkin. Small issue, but an example of the difference between new and seasoned staff.

I also heard the statistic of 30% of staff for Queen Anne to be drawn from the other ships; I was told this by a waiter in the Queens Grill last February. He offered further details of the arrangement and so his  information sounded very plausible to me.  I’m glad they settled on 20% from each ship. Those ships need to maintain their culture also by having a substantial number of experienced crew. On board Queen Elizabeth right now, I can report how happy the crew seems. 

[buchanan101]

4 hours ago, safarigal said:

I booked 3 back to backs, all in the same stateroom. Somehow the brilliant Cunard system moved us to another stateroom in the same grade for the middle voyage. I wouldn't have minded if it had been an upgrade, but it's the same PG2, just on another deck. Grrrrr! 

How does that happen if you pay Cunard fare and select your stateroom? 

[safarigal]

2 hours ago, buchanan101 said:

How does that happen if you pay Cunard fare and select your stateroom? 

Alas it happens - "computer glitch".

[3rdGenCunarder]

13 hours ago, safarigal said:

I am not sure how accurate this is, but I talked to an officer on board and he said that Queen Anne had requested that 30% of staff came from each ship ie 90% of staff would be from the other Queens. The other Queens didn't agree to this, and so they settled on 20% from each ship.

 

They have to be careful not to deplete the experienced crew on the other ships just for the new one. We were on Caronia not long after QM2 arrived, and there were too many new waiters. Lots of mistakes, and even basic things like dropping a fork when setting tables and putting it on the table anyway. I saw which table it was, and after he moved on, I took the fork and put it on my finished lunch plate so it would get washed. But who knows how much of the silverware I had just used had been on the floor?????