Steerage vs. Grills- Cunard Exec Explains

[CruiseFever]

I had the opportunity to speak with Robbie Spector from Cunard over the weekend. I asked her to settle/explain what seems to me to be a difference in what they want the general public to believe and reality...the reality (notion?) that there really IS a class system of sorts.

 

She made it perfectly clear to me by relating the "class" system on the ships to the concierge level at a hotel. Those people also pay more, have private areas, and extra amenities.

 

I thought that was a good way to explain it, at least for me.

 

(this is probably one of those things that everyone already knew but me isn't it?)

[heywood]

I had the opportunity to speak with Robbie Spector from Cunard over the weekend. I asked her to settle/explain what seems to me to be a difference in what they want the general public to believe and reality...the reality (notion?) that there really IS a class system of sorts.

 

She made it perfectly clear to me by relating the "class" system on the ships to the concierge level at a hotel. Those people also pay more, have private areas, and extra amenities.

 

I thought that was a good way to explain it, at least for me.

 

(this is probably one of those things that everyone already knew but me isn't it?)

Did Robbie Spector use the word 'steerage'? I certainly do not want to class myself or be put into a 'class' just because of my accommodation. I am not sailing to USA in order to seek a better life and escape from famine etc- I will be on holiday, well earned and hopefully with some touches of luxury.

(I have to say that I was inspired by those ancestors who did go steerage (I don't mean through Titanic film- never seen that) and I do feel guilty that I am so blessed!

Heywood

[CruiseFever]

Did Robbie Spector use the word 'steerage'?

 

Oh my no, I got the impression that something really bad would happen to any Cunard employee that did.

[Jeanne S]

My Grandmother and 6 aunts and uncles told us all about their steerage experience from Hamburg to Ellis Island in 1924. Mauretania/Brittania Cat. on Cunard is not steerage.

 

Concierge Level at a hotel? Hotels that have Concierge Levels (as oppossed to those who have a Concierge available to all) are typical of Marriott. While there is a private lounge and continental breakfast is provided, the rooms are basicially the same and the only ammenity is free delivery of the Wall Street Journal to your room. There are no seperate dining rooms at the Marriott for Concierge Level, nor is there a seperate private terrace overlooking the pool. It is the seperation by these areas that most passengers are not pleased with especially as the Grills/Caronia have single seating dining and Mauretania/Brittania DR do not.

[tabascored]

I wonder how many of the Grill passengers spend all their time in their private areas on the ship. Granted, the dining is more flexible and their staterooms are larger but is this a reason to categorize into King and Peasant?

My husband and I are traveling "steerage" on deck 11 and are thrilled to be doing that. Anyone who has the means to travel on such a liner, whether QE2, QM2 or Victoria should feel a sense of great excitement to have this experience. If dining in Brittania is too structured, room services is available for flexible dining times.

I've been planning this trip for about 2 years and I just don't get some of the petty whining going on. You plan a trip, have high expectations, things happen that you're not pleased about, but your still on the trip that you dreamed about. Just a look over the rail at the endless sea will put your head back in the clouds.

 

I can't wait to step onto the gangway to the QM2. Nothing negative that is said on these board is going to effect our time at sea.

 

Regards,

 

Sue

[Jeanne S]

I wonder how many of the Grill passengers spend all their time in their private areas on the ship.

 

Sue[/quote

 

Queens Grill Lounge on QE2:

 

Reading - 1-2 hours

Afternoon Tea - 1 hour

Pre or After Dinner Drinks 1-2 hours

 

I know someone who spent 6-8 hours on the private sun deck for grill passengers (QM2) each day.

[MollyBrown]

Did Robbie Spector use the word 'steerage'? I certainly do not want to class myself or be put into a 'class' just because of my accommodation. I am not sailing to USA in order to seek a better life and escape from famine etc- I will be on holiday, well earned and hopefully with some touches of luxury.

 

 

This topic seems to keep coming back, like a mosquito.

 

Is it "steerage" jeering from anti-old world charm, pro-Princess PG/QG-ers, or just boredom I wonder?

[whylion]

You're ideas about what a "concierge level" is a good hotel are not accurate. We've stayed in hotels/resorts where the level included rooms with higher views and what they call "food presentations" five times a day -- esentially full buffets at breakfast, midmorning, afternoon, before dinner and after dinner. You would also get unlimited drinks, both alcholic and non, and a nice lounge to enjoy it all in. Unless you are a participant, you would never know it was there -- a special room key card is needed to go to that floor in the hotel

[Jeanne S]

You're ideas about what a "concierge level" is a good hotel are not accurate. We've stayed in hotels/resorts where the level included rooms with higher views and what they call "food presentations" five times a day -- esentially full buffets at breakfast, midmorning, afternoon, before dinner and after dinner. You would also get unlimited drinks, both alcholic and non, and a nice lounge to enjoy it all in. Unless you are a participant, you would never know it was there -- a special room key card is needed to go to that floor in the hotel

 

You have not given any examples - what hotels? Another hotelier, Hilton has a Conceirge Floor with a special elevator, the rooms are still standard.

 

Yes the rooms are higher, higher is not always preferred.

 

I have seen lots of those food presentations and find them to be nothing special. How does this compare to a Grill Menu on Cunard or Afternoon Tea in the QGL?

 

Any Concerige Bar I have been to has always had an "honor bar" and you are to fill out a chit with what you have consumed alcohol wise and it is billed to your room. Only the soft drinks are free.

 

The point is that Concierge Floors in a Hotel are not simpatico with Cunard Grill Class. Do you eat in a special dining room and order off the menu, do they prepare crepes suzette tableside at your request?

[HeelMD]

I think First Class in the airline industry is a fair comparison. You pay more for things like improved seats and food in areas that only certain passengers are allowed to be. I have been on both sides of it and I don't see why everyone gets so bothered by this.

[Jeanne S]

I think First Class in the airline industry is a fair comparison. You pay more for things like improved seats and food in areas that only certain passengers are allowed to be. I have been on both sides of it and I don't see why everyone gets so bothered by this.[/quote

 

 

Yes this is a more apt comparison. Basically one gets what one pays for. I think it is that people do not like to be reminded of it; when they pull those curtains to first class closed shut and you are not to wander into that area - especially not to use the loo. Or on the ship, those signs in front of the QGL which state "Grill Passengers Only." Some are offended by it.

 

So are you an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot surgery?

[HeelMD]

OB/Gyn. Graduated from University of North Carolina (Tarheels) and am a huge fan...hence the name.

[Kindlychap]

I wonder how many of the Grill passengers spend all their time in their private areas on the ship.

 

Sue[/quote

 

Queens Grill Lounge on QE2:

 

Reading - 1-2 hours

Afternoon Tea - 1 hour

Pre or After Dinner Drinks 1-2 hours

 

I know someone who spent 6-8 hours on the private sun deck for grill passengers (QM2) each day.

 

For us, that might amount to half an hour a day, if and only if we have coffee after dinner. Otherwise we don't use it.

 

Each to his own, and all that......

[sdb1s]

My Grandmother and 6 aunts and uncles told us all about their steerage experience from Hamburg to Ellis Island in 1924. Mauretania/Brittania Cat. on Cunard is not steerage.

 

Concierge Level at a hotel? Hotels that have Concierge Levels (as oppossed to those who have a Concierge available to all) are typical of Marriott. While there is a private lounge and continental breakfast is provided, the rooms are basicially the same and the only ammenity is free delivery of the Wall Street Journal to your room. There are no seperate dining rooms at the Marriott for Concierge Level, nor is there a seperate private terrace overlooking the pool. It is the seperation by these areas that most passengers are not pleased with especially as the Grills/Caronia have single seating dining and Mauretania/Brittania DR do not.

At most fine hotels (RITZ CARLTON, THE PALACE NY), there is such a distinction. I know at the Ritz Club level it is KEY ACCESS only and limited to those guests staying on those floors/floor. If you look into the PALACE TOWERS, there are actually separate Express elevators which separate "tower" guests from the rest of the hotel, where a butler service is offered, in addition to private dining and other amenities. I think this is completely reasonable, especially if one is willing to pay more.

[wripro]

I don't understand the point of comparing Grill Class to concierge level rooms or anything else. The bottom line is you pay more money in Grill Class and you get a larger cabin, more intimate dining with better food and a couple of exclusive areas on the ship. Like everything else in life you get what you pay for. That doesn't mean Brittania Class is not good. Remember QM2 bills itself as an ocean liner. Ocean liners traditionally had three classes and no one complained that first class had better service, food and quarters than cabin class or third class. I guess most people are used to cruise ships where those who pay the minimum for a small innside cabin eat in the same dining room with those who have huge suites. That's not the way Cunard does things and it never has been. If it bothers someone enough, they night be better off on a regular cruise ship instead of a Cunard ship and they won't have to worry about such things.

[Paul NH]

My understanding of the word "class" is that a person's movement in and out of it is restricted. On a plane, a first class passenger is not supposed to go to the back of the plane, and economy is not supposed to go forward. It is the same if a Business Class is inserted in between.

 

In the old days on class ships, there was no interchange between different classes of passengers unless a person wanted to break the rules.

 

In a class society, a person is not expected to move up or down the class structure.

 

In the case of the QM2, a huge majority of the ship is accessible to all cabin categories. Only a few areas are restricted. For that reason, QM2 does not fit the bill of having different classes. Instead, if you pay more money, you get some additional features that others do not. A "concierge" description may not be entirely accurate either, but it seems a closer description of the QM2 than the use of the term "class."

 

 

Paul

[garycarla]

I started to answer with an explanation of "club level" or "executive level" at some hotels, but then read the post that said...

 

 

"Why compare at all?"

 

As one poster said, you get what you pay for. Spend more money, you get a larger suite and along with that, different dining. You want it, you pay for it. Period.

 

Gee whiz.

 

PS - In NY now and can not wait for Saturday!

[Norfolk Brit]

OB/Gyn. Graduated from University of North Carolina (Tarheels) and am a huge fan...hence the name.

 

Gosh, you're brave posting this; we'll all be asking you about our little problems......

 

Regards, Mary

[guernseyguy]

PS - In NY now and can not wait for Saturday!

 

Garycarla - Bon Voyage! And we look forward to reading all about it!

 

Peter

[2moose]

OB/Gyn. Graduated from University of North Carolina (Tarheels) and am a huge fan...hence the name.

yeah i use to use the same line when i was youg and single(only kidding)!!!!!!

[MollyBrown]

I think First Class in the airline industry is a fair comparison. You pay more for things like improved seats and food in areas that only certain passengers are allowed to be. I have been on both sides of it and I don't see why everyone gets so bothered by this.

 

I think the real point is that it is not really very polite to discuss the topic of "class" differences. A true gentleman will go out of his way to make others of all classes feel important, instead of the opposite, which seems common (no pun intended) these days, and is pretty tacky, I think.

 

Besides which, how much you pay for travel compartments has nothing what-so-ever to do with class, and if someone thinks it does, they are perhaps naively thinking they can buy "class" by shelling out some extra bucks.

[MollyBrown]

I posted this, and it did not show up on the board, even though it indicated that it had been posted, so I'm posting it again:

 

 

I think First Class in the airline industry is a fair comparison. You pay more for things like improved seats and food in areas that only certain passengers are allowed to be. I have been on both sides of it and I don't see why everyone gets so bothered by this.

 

I think the real point is that it is not really very polite to discuss the topic of "class" differences. A true gentleman will go out of his way to make others of all classes feel important, instead of the opposite, which seems common (no pun intended) these days, and is pretty tacky, I think.

 

Besides which, how much you pay for travel compartments has nothing what-so-ever to do with class, and if someone thinks it does, they are perhaps naively thinking they can buy "class" by shelling out some extra bucks.

[Jeanne S]

At most fine hotels (RITZ CARLTON, THE PALACE NY), there is such a distinction. I know at the Ritz Club level it is KEY ACCESS only and limited to those guests staying on those floors/floor. If you look into the PALACE TOWERS, there are actually separate Express elevators which separate "tower" guests from the rest of the hotel, where a butler service is offered, in addition to private dining and other amenities. I think this is completely reasonable, especially if one is willing to pay more.

 

Have stayed at the Palace many times - also when it was the Helmsley Palace. There are four distinct levels and I have stayed in the first three. There is a choice of Deluxe, Executive Club, Towers and Suites.

 

Towers level is not Concierge Level which is what the Cunard Rep made the comparison to. Executive Club Level is the Concierge Level.

 

Executive Club level accommodations at the Palace are located on the 30th - 39th floors and have the same 300 square-foot rooms as the lowest cat "Deluxe." There is exclusive use of the Executive Lounge on the 39th floor - daily breakfast, snacks and cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. There is no private dining room and there is certainly no butler, nor express elevator.

 

The Club Level at the Ritz Carlton Battery Park City is basically same as I posted earlier at the Hilton. Yes we had a top floor with Key Access Only at the Hilton and at the Ritz. Unless one enjoys the looks from others in the elevator not going to your special floor....

[Jeanne S]

In the case of the QM2, a huge majority of the ship is accessible to all cabin categories. Only a few areas are restricted. For that reason, QM2 does not fit the bill of having different classes. Instead, if you pay more money, you get some additional features that others do not. A "concierge" description may not be entirely accurate either, but it seems a closer description of the QM2 than the use of the term "class."

 

 

Paul

 

QM2 does not have a class system. Nor does QE2.

 

QE2 once had a two class system and I sailed on it. The ship was configured so as to be segregated into two seperate classes and guests in each did not come in contact with each other the entire crossing. Today's QE2 bears no resembelence. Only the elevators and staircases that stop on only certain decks are a reminder.

[Jeanne S]

Gosh, you're brave posting this; we'll all be asking you about our little problems......

 

Regards, Mary

 

I don't understand why he would be considered brave? I would think if someone post's indicate that they have a certain profession that they are proud of it and want others to know and at the same time realize that they just might receive inquiries.

 

By the way, anyone can be anything on the internet. Just because they say they are something does not make it so. (No insult or doubt to you HEELMD). There is also much bogus medical information on the internet.

 

 

If someone needs medical information, they would do well go to a fully legit forum such as:

 

http://www.nih.gov/ - The National Institiues of Health