Celebrity vs. Cunard

[Shelley G]

Hello!

My husband and I are looking into a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 in February.The price is very good and we can use air points to fly to New York. One of the things that concerns us the most, is the "class" system. In other words, because we would be booking a cabin in the Britannia category, we will not be able to eat dinner in the Queen's or Princess Grills. Does this matter? From looking at sample menus, I can see that the food is slightly different. For example, caviar in the Queen's Grill, but not in the Britannia dining room. I believe that all of the other dining venues on the ship are open to everyone.

We have cruised many times with Celebrity and have a cruise to the Baltics on the Constellation booked for this summer.

For those of you who have sailed on both, please tell me how these two compare.

Thanks for all your help and input.

Shelley

[d5480]

The class system is not important. The QM2 is a much nicer ship than any of the Celebrity ships. The food, service, or entertainment is about the same as Celebrity, Princess,etc.

[lucky white heather]

Hello!

My husband and I are looking into a cruise on the Queen Mary 2 in February.The price is very good and we can use air points to fly to New York. One of the things that concerns us the most, is the "class" system. In other words, because we would be booking a cabin in the Britannia category, we will not be able to eat dinner in the Queen's or Princess Grills. Does this matter? From looking at sample menus, I can see that the food is slightly different. For example, caviar in the Queen's Grill, but not in the Britannia dining room. I believe that all of the other dining venues on the ship are open to everyone.

We have cruised many times with Celebrity and have a cruise to the Baltics on the Constellation booked for this summer.

For those of you who have sailed on both, please tell me how these two compare.

Thanks for all your help and input.

Shelley

We've sailed Qm2 twice now in Britannia class restaurant (ie not either of the Grills ) and never felt we were treated as the lowest of the low!We've completed 25 cruises on Celebrity in all levels of cabin except Presidential and enjoyed every cruise with them too.

The Qm2 is a very spectacular ship internally and the cabins are well appointed...the buffet restaurants / pub/ etc etc are open to everyone as is the general run of the ship except for areas where Grill pax specifically have privacy.....one lounge I can think of, and an area out on deck.You'll have no feeling of being in "steerage" ..don't hestitate to book Britannia level ...its a lovely restaurant...our two trips have both been very enjoyable aboard a very beautiful ship...she sails very well and you would be extremely comfortable aboard.

[cruisead]

We were hugely disappointed in our QM2 cruise. While the interior of the ship is beautiful, we felt it's poorly laid out in many areas. She's not a ship designed for leisurly cruising, but rather for crossings. The aft pool is nearly impossible to access because they put it right outside the Todd English restaurant, which you cannot cut through. The Britannia is located on two floors, and not in the far aft of the ship. Therefore, if you are at a venue in one part of the ship and you need to go to another venue at the opposite end, you have to go up one or two decks, walk over or under the restaurant and then go back up or down to the deck you desire. You cannot cut through the Britannia. That's a real pain in the behind. We also found the food in the buffet to be the worst food we've ever eaten, and we've been on more than 60 cruises. The choices were poor, and didn't taste very good at all. The buffet area was extremely unkempt and quite dirty. We thought service was also very bad. Rude, curt and totally unfriendly. The food in

Britannia is pretty good, on par with Celebrity. But in all aspect of cruising, we much prefer Celebrity or Princess.

[keela1eva2]

I just loved the QM2 and I can assure you that at no time will you ever feel out of place. I loved the decor and the feeling of grandure and the general ambiance. I have been a loyal X cruiser but I can honestly say that if I had to choose now I would go for the QM2. I loved the Queens Room for afternoon tea and to dance in the evenings. I also thought that the entertainment was fantastic.

She has got all that romance of what you imagine ships in days gone by. The art work and the general comfort of the ship with a beautiful library. Yes she was built for T/A crossings but I would be happy to cruise on her also.

 

Sue

[Fang]

My wife and I cruised the QM2 once. We have cruised X 15 times.

 

I did not find the "class" system to be a big deal whatsoever. Yes, we could not eat in the Queens Grill or Princess Grill. We could not go to the bar for those places, and could not go to the Queens Grill passenger private deck area. But knowing how much more those passengers were paying, I thought why would anyone pay the additional money, just to be there?

 

Our food was great, as well as the service.

 

Our room was just as nice if not nicer than on X. Balcony was wonderful. Cabin Attendent was great.

 

I would have no hesitation at all to sail the QM2 again, if there was a seven day cruise.

[Richard Stein]

Sailed numerous times on Celebrity and did the QM2 last year. Don't worry about the class system. Grill Class get's food you would get on Silversea or the other premium lines. I thought the food in Britannia was quite good, especially the direction Celebrity is heading.

[beebell]

I have done many X cruises and took last leg of the 2007 world cruise on QM2 from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale. The QM2 is beautiful, but the layout does make you go up and down stairs to get from here to there. It took a few days to navigate the half floors!! And walking down a corridor was quite a journey at first! The ride, however, was quite smooth.

 

I was also Britannia (steerage) and it was fine but I don't think the dining room and waiters were up to the usual X standard. Our waiter took each person's order as they came in and our food came at different times. We did finish the meals a lot quicker than on X!!! I don't think there was the variety of food there is on X.

 

On the other hand, the library and bookstore were first rate, and the fresh scones with clotted cream and jam every afternoon were delightful!! (I hate the dry half ones you get on X during the one formal afternoon tea)

 

I did like the variety of buffet locations/Asian, Italian, etc. and the different lunch options on QM2. The various dinner venues were interesting, the demonstration dinner was very interesting, well worth checking out on the first night and reserving on nights that interest you. With a limit of 36 or so people, it fills up quickly!!

 

The planetarium/cinema was actually designed for movies. The computer area is quite large and pretty reasonably priced compared to Celebrity. I didn't think the evening entertainment was notable on QM2, but I do mostly transatlantics on X and believe the quality of entertaiment is fairly good on those trips. Both have interesting speakers/lecturers. QM2's ballroom is very good, the special evening dances were quite entertaining. The dance hosts do a great job of making sure everyone who wants to dance gets to.

 

I also like the prize system for trivia, costume balls, etc. You get "vouchers." The more you have, the better "prize" you can trade them for at the end of the voyage. Prizes include logo jackets, jewelry, etc., not just the repetitive pens, cups, pillows, cards, etc on Celebrity.

 

I still prefer Celebrity but am entertaining a world cruise on one of the Queens if I ever get rich enough with enough time off!!!

[hcat]

We enjoyed QM 2 on a short trip to Halifax from NY--it sails well in rough weather! The class system did not affect us at all. In fact, the location of the upper class dining rooms is not as nice as the main dining room IMHO. We did feel it was a very interior ship so I would prefer Celeb for a Carib cruise but if the price is right grab it!

Shows & other things to do on board are excellent! Folks dress quite well. Saterooms are nice-- Art work is lovely..Food equal to Celeb with a British touch--more fish. We did not like the layout of the buffet so we avoided it..have a great trip... Go as early as you can for check-in--Ours at Bklyn was a nightmare!