Club dining

Hi,you'll have to excuse my ignorance,I've only sailed Princess and this is new for me.Our CP states that a table for 2 cannot be confirmed until boarding.What are the chances of us getting one?It also says a time of your choosing,does that mean the same time every night or can we just turn up like ATD,cheers,Brian.

Hi,you'll have to excuse my ignorance,I've only sailed Princess and this is new for me.Our CP states that a table for 2 cannot be confirmed until boarding.What are the chances of us getting one?It also says a time of your choosing,does that mean the same time every night or can we just turn up like ATD,cheers,Brian.

On Cunard there is no anytime/freedom dining unless you book a Princess or Queens Grill suite. The rest are set dining of 6pm and 8-30pm or thereabouts. If you have booked an Early Saver/Saver fare then Cunard will pick your stateroom and dining time. Even if you have booked a Select and picked your dining time and stateroom there are no guarantees of a table for 2 and believe the earlier you book the better the chance and those that book late have a slimmer chance.

Britannia Club tables are available whenever the dining room is open, just turn up when you are ready.

There are usually quite a few tables for 2, we booked late and got one in our sailing in club.

Britannia Club tables are available whenever the dining room is open, just turn up when you are ready.

There are usually quite a few tables for 2, we booked late and got one in our sailing in club.

Britannia Club restaurant and appropriate booked staterooms are a relatively new concept onboard Cunard and have never cruised with Cunard since there inception. Is this another level created between fixed club dining in Britannia restaurant and staterooms and Princess Grill staterooms.

Britannia Club restaurant and appropriate booked staterooms are a relatively new concept onboard Cunard and have never cruised with Cunard since there inception. Is this another level created between fixed club dining in Britannia restaurant and staterooms and Princess Grill staterooms.

Yes. Britannia Club cabins are the same as Britannia (aside from some upgraded materials in the new cabins on the QM2) and the menu is the same as Britannia and prepared in the same galley. However, the dining room (carved out of a corner of Britannia) is single seating, like the grills, and also has an available-any-time supplementary menu (listing mostly the same things that are also available in Britannia, but not listed in the menu).

...and to answer the OP - you can choose each evening when to eat and your table and waiters will be awaiting you. (However, if you're at a large table, to keep things simple, my understanding is that typically, the table will settle upon a standard time, and any passengers with special plans will usually notify the rest of the table and waiters in advance.)

http://www.cunard.com/life-on-board/staterooms-and-suites/britannia-club-experience/

On Cunard there is no anytime/freedom dining unless you book a Princess or Queens Grill suite. The rest are set dining of 6pm and 8-30pm or thereabouts. If you have booked an Early Saver/Saver fare then Cunard will pick your stateroom and dining time. Even if you have booked a Select and picked your dining time and stateroom there are no guarantees of a table for 2 and believe the earlier you book the better the chance and those that book late have a slimmer chance.

With respect, that isn't true. Britannia Club guests can arrive anytime between 6-9pm for dinner. It is just like Anytime Dining on Princess, only better decor, food and service. And like the Grills, you get the same table for all meals (no requirement to always eat in the restaurant, but the table will be there should you choose).

Fixed dining only applies for Britannia passengers.

Just to mention that passengers can dine in Kings Court (open seating, check the Daily Program me for available times.) There are also alternative dining venues which carry a surcharge and a require a reservation. Happily, room service is available (not all the time, but close enough).

Hi,thanks for info,just hope we get a 2top.One more thing,if we were allocated an 8top.Would it be possible that we would never meet the others as we prefer late dining and possibly they prefer early.We would then have a massive 2top lol.It seems a strange system,but might work in our favour,cheers,Brian.

It's possible but unlikely, we were on a table for 6 where one of the other couples liked to eat early. They were usually on dessert or coffee when we arrived. We saw more of them at breakfast or lunch than dinner.

Britannia Club restaurant and appropriate booked staterooms are a relatively new concept onboard Cunard and have never cruised with Cunard since there inception. Is this another level created between fixed club dining in Britannia restaurant and staterooms and Princess Grill staterooms.

It is not a new concept on Cunard, but the restoration of a standard that has existed for a very long time. It was called First Class, which meant a single-sitting restaurant as well as larger staterooms and exclusive lounges and deck space - much like the Grills. The QE2 dropped the term "First Class" in the early 1990s, I believe, and from then on the category was known by the name of the restaurant, i.e. Caronia (originally Columbia). Because Caronia category was no longer called First Class, the lounges were now open to everyone - except for the Grills area, of course.

We were lucky to get Caronia on our last voyage on the QE2 in 2008. Our stateroom was exactly the same as many others in Britannia category (including those immediately adjacent to ours) although there were larger ones that were sold out at the time we booked.

One of the complaints about the QM2 when new was that there was no equivalent to the QE2's Caronia. The Britannia Club was created to address those complaints, although the Caronia on the QE2 was huge by comparison to the tiny Club restaurants on the QM2.

It is not a new concept on Cunard, but the restoration of a standard that has existed for a very long time. It was called First Class, which meant a single-sitting restaurant as well as larger staterooms and exclusive lounges and deck space - much like the Grills. The QE2 dropped the term "First Class" in the early 1990s, I believe, and from then on the category was known by the name of the restaurant, i.e. Caronia (originally Columbia). Because Caronia category was no longer called First Class, the lounges were now open to everyone - except for the Grills area, of course.

 

We were lucky to get Caronia on our last voyage on the QE2 in 2008. Our stateroom was exactly the same as many others in Britannia category (including those immediately adjacent to ours) although there were larger ones that were sold out at the time we booked.

 

 

 

One of the complaints about the QM2 when new was that there was no equivalent to the QE2's Caronia. The Britannia Club was created to address those complaints, although the Caronia on the QE2 was huge by comparison to the tiny Club restaurants on the QM2.

Do not know about the "history" but Britannia Club is a recent addition that has only been available on the current fleet in recent times.

With respect, that isn't true. Britannia Club guests can arrive anytime between 6-9pm for dinner. It is just like Anytime Dining on Princess, only better decor, food and service. And like the Grills, you get the same table for all meals (no requirement to always eat in the restaurant, but the table will be there should you choose).

 

Fixed dining only applies for Britannia passengers.

With respect I answered the OP without knowing of the addition of Britannia Club which is a recent addition.

With respect I answered the OP without knowing of the addition of Britannia Club which is a recent addition.

A recent addition on QV but available on QM2 since 2007 and on QE since she was launched.

We had a table for two but the tables are very close to each other so you end up,talking to the next tables. However you tend to eat at different times quite often.

With respect I answered the OP without knowing of the addition of Britannia Club which is a recent addition.

You've apparently sailed on QM2 in the last two or three years and you're sailing on QE in October so it's not as if your last Cunard experience was on QEII and time's stood still since. It's interesting that it's completely passed you by especially as 'Britannia Club' has been in the title of two or three threads in this forum during the last month or so.

That's not meant to be a personal dig. I realise peoples' perceptions of the same thing can vary widely, e.g. my wife and I sometimes recall the same event having completely different outcomes, but I like to think that things which can be looked up easily on the internet are different from memories. YMMV, as they say...