Short Cruises

Are short cruises worth it? Just seen a 5 nighter in November on the Queen Victoria. It's an excellent price, but by the time you add on gratuities, getting to and from Southampton and all the other costs I could probably do a city break holiday which I also have my eye on for less money.

We've sailed on the QM2, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in January and so this would give me the hat trick of ships!!!

Are short cruises worth it? Just seen a 5 nighter in November on the Queen Victoria. It's an excellent price, but by the time you add on gratuities, getting to and from Southampton and all the other costs I could probably do a city break holiday which I also have my eye on.

 

We've sailed on the QM2, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in January and so this would give me the hat trick of ships!!!

Only yourself can decide, either you want to do it or not. 5 nights is better then the 3, at least you should get the ambiance on board doing 5 nights.

On the plus side, you will have been onboard all 3 ships including the newly refurbished and altered Queen Victoria.

When you board QE you will be a Gold World Club member (Completed 2 voyages or 20 Nights) and will receive some benefits

Gold - two voyages or 20 nights

Guests who have completed two voyages or 20 nights on board, will enjoy even more benefits.1 In addition to the core Silver benefits, Gold Cunarders will receive:

• A Gold membership pin.3

• A complimentary two hour Internet time plan.4

• Invitation to the Cunard World Club cocktail party.5,6,7

1. To receive the benefits, guests must have completed the necessary voyages and/or nights on board prior to the voyage starting. There will be no mid-voyage promotions.

2. You must be a member of the Cunard World Club at the time of booking to receive any Cunard World Club member saving.

3. You will receive the pin on your first voyage after achieving this membership level.

4. To obtain your full allowance please use the relevant time package.

5. Party may be held during the day or in the evening.

6. Where operationally possible.

7. Only available on voyages of five nights or more.

8. 20% Savings will be applied after any allocated non-refundable on board spending money has been used.

9. Subject to availability. A reservation is required. Cunard will pay your cover charge and 15% gratuity for the taster menu at lunchtime in The Verandah or in the evening at the Kings Court or The Lido. Any other expenses will be charged to your stateroom account.

https://www.cunard.co.uk/already-booked/cunard-world-club/

I would say 100% yes!

A city break could be cheaper but by the time you've added on food entertainment etc it probably isn't too different...

I like a good mix of city breaks and cruises though.

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Are short cruises worth it? Just seen a 5 nighter in November on the Queen Victoria. It's an excellent price, but by the time you add on gratuities, getting to and from Southampton and all the other costs I could probably do a city break holiday which I also have my eye on for less money.

 

We've sailed on the QM2, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in January and so this would give me the hat trick of ships!!!

I'd never advocate a 'short' cruise if the idea was to 'experience' the ship or cruise line.

They are great fun when taken in the context of what they are meant to be. :evilsmile:

I'd never advocate a 'short' cruise if the idea was to 'experience' the ship or cruise line.

 

They are great fun when taken in the context of what they are meant to be. :evilsmile:

I've done 5 voyages on the QM2 so am not a newbie to Cunard. What I am looking for is a mother and daughter holiday. DD has two Cunard TAs under her belt but would like a 'port cruise' . Five days fits in with her work schedule.

I would say 100% yes!

 

A city break could be cheaper but by the time you've added on food entertainment etc it probably isn't too different...

 

I like a good mix of city breaks and cruises though.

 

 

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Agree. Would prefer a more predictable expense on a holiday with the same level of enjoyment.

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I've done 5 voyages on the QM2 so am not a newbie to Cunard. What I am looking for is a mother and daughter holiday. DD has two Cunard TAs under her belt but would like a 'port cruise' . Five days fits in with her work schedule.

I'm with your DD. I typically LOVE short cruises because it's an all inclusive get away and doesn't require as much time off work (or out of school for kids). It's harder to get away for a full week for us but a 3-5 day cruise is wonderful! We enjoy longer itineraries as well but short is a great filler between the long. I'm also with one of the other posters. I enjoy cruise and land trips! Any getaway is a great getaway in my opinion.

OAN, I haven't sailed Cunard yet BUT knowing they have shorter itineraries makes me willing to look at them for future sailings. I always thought their ships were lengthy transAtlantic repositioning cruises. Good info to know! Thanks. Happy sailing!

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I've been on 13 Cunard cruises. In my experience, the ambience and the general service (entertainment, restaurant, housekeeping) on short Cunard cruises are substandard compared to what they're like on longer cruises (7 days or more). Few World Club amenities are offered. Not worth the money.

I've been on 13 Cunard cruises. In my experience, the ambience and the general service (entertainment, restaurant, housekeeping) on short Cunard cruises are substandard compared to what they're like on longer cruises (7 days or more). Few World Club amenities are offered. Not worth the money.

I've heard this before, but usually for the 2 and 3 nighters. I would hope that 5 nights might just be better?

The most recent short cruise we took (a 5-day QM2 cruise to Canada) almost turned me off to Cunard forever. Couldn't wait for it to end. We already had a two-week Baltic cruise (on the QE) booked -- we took it and it was awesome.

I don't quite understand what the problem is with the short cruises -- maybe the crew thinks of them as a "short break" too?

I've been on a couple of 5 day cruises and they were great. Having said that one was for the Queen's jubilee and the other was New Year so maybe more effort was made. I would have no hesitation in doing another short cruise.

I've done 5 voyages on the QM2 so am not a newbie to Cunard. What I am looking for is a mother and daughter holiday. DD has two Cunard TAs under her belt but would like a 'port cruise' . Five days fits in with her work schedule.

You did, however, state in your OP..."We've sailed on the QM2, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in January and so this would give me the hat trick of ships!!!"

I've been on a couple of 5 day cruises and they were great.

Ditto Hattie...

We have been on several 6 day/ 5 night cruises including the first cruise on the QM2 and that was cruise that proved that she was our replacement for the QE2 who was leaving her Cunard Service.

As always, if you treat the crew fairly and properly, they will do so also. Our crew even remembered us on the following sailings..

I've been on 13 Cunard cruises. In my experience, the ambience and the general service (entertainment, restaurant, housekeeping) on short Cunard cruises are substandard compared to what they're like on longer cruises (7 days or more). Few World Club amenities are offered. Not worth the money.

I've heard this before, but usually for the 2 and 3 nighters. I would hope that 5 nights might just be better?

Which is why I mentioned what I did earlier.

They ain't the Cunard experience most of us know and love.

More a 'cash cow' for the company (I don't disagree with that) and an opportunity for those who aspire to sail on Cunard to do it on the cheap.

We've done several 5-night cruises on the QM2 and a wonderful 5-night Med cruise on the Queen Elizabeth.

Any cruise goes by way too quickly. But, as others have said the 5 days are much simpler to coordinate with work, they are half-way affordable and they give you a wonderful cruise to look forward to.

We've just booked another 5-nighter for July 4th weekend on the QM2 and can hardly wait, first time back on board since 2009.

Happy Cruising.

Jonathan

One of the people on the thread said:

"As always, if you treat the crew fairly and properly, they will do so also. Our crew even remembered us on the following sailings.."

I just need to clarify: on any cruise, nobody treats the cruise better or is as friendly, kind, fair, and generous to the crew as my wife and I are. Unfortunately, I have found on some of these shorter cruises that key members of the passenger-facing crew seem remote, sullen, and--dare I say it--lazy! Sorry, that's just the way it is. Many other passengers on the QM2 cruise I mentioned earlier had the same reaction. Don't know why --

I also should clarify: our first cruise ever was a five-day cruise on the Caronia - we loved it and it hooked us on cruising and on Cunard . . .

You did, however, state in your OP..."We've sailed on the QM2, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in January and so this would give me the hat trick of ships!!!"

Ah, the vagaries of the English language. :D Never thought about how my original post could be interpreted.

I am not a big fan of these short cruises because of the time spent getting to and from the ship and the time spent embarking and disembarking on Cunard. IMHO, not an efficient process for a short holiday.

The QE2 used to do crossings in 5 days. I'm not sure 5 days really counts as "short".

3 day cruises are way too short, 5 days isn't too terrible.

As a cruise addict, to me any cruise no matter how short, is worth it. Well it helps keep me going until the next longer one. :)

"Worth it" is relative. I've taken the 5-day sailing out of New York but I live here - the brevity of the voyage would not have been "worth it" to me if I had to board a plane to New York. That said, these short voyages really don't reflect the Cunard ethos. There are a lot of first-timers on board and if the dress code is important to you a lot of passengers seem naive to it. At the time my work schedule didn't permit a longer time away so then it was "worth it" to me. But now I'm done with it and would rather take less frequent but longer sailings.

We have no way of knowing what your daily life style is like or your financial state. Only you can decide if the short break gives you a positive return for the time and money spent.

"Worth it" is relative. I've taken the 5-day sailing out of New York but I live here - the brevity of the voyage would not have been "worth it" to me if I had to board a plane to New York. That said, these short voyages really don't reflect the Cunard ethos. There are a lot of first-timers on board and if the dress code is important to you a lot of passengers seem naive to it. At the time my work schedule didn't permit a longer time away so then it was "worth it" to me. But now I'm done with it and would rather take less frequent but longer sailings.

 

We have no way of knowing what your daily life style is like or your financial state. Only you can decide if the short break gives you a positive return for the time and money spent.

Yes to all of the above!

There is definitely a different "vibe" on the 5-day sailings. Maybe it's the NY area where most of the ships available to us are NCL or RCCL, which are more casual and so locals have different expectations. The worst is if the cruise goes to the Caribbean--friends did that and said it was terrible. At least the Independence Day cruise now goes to Canada, which reduces the booze-cruise crowd. We missed the cocktail parties and formal nights. I think there was only one formal night. And I saw "changers," people who dressed up in order to get into the dining room, went back to their cabins to change into sloppy shorts and t-shirts, and then went to the lounges and the show. Never saw that on Cunard before.

karl_nj, a 5-night cruise cannot possibly be compared to a 5-night crossing on QE2. NOTHING compares to a crossing, however short it might have been.

Are short cruises worth it? Just seen a 5 nighter in November on the Queen Victoria. It's an excellent price, but by the time you add on gratuities, getting to and from Southampton and all the other costs I could probably do a city break holiday which I also have my eye on for less money.

 

We've sailed on the QM2, sailing on the Queen Elizabeth in January and so this would give me the hat trick of ships!!!

A friend of mine did a 7 day cruise to Norway great time was had, and and while on ship they booked a 2/3 day trip, staying on after the 7 day cruise, what a mistake, lots of Stag and Hen party's lots a people drunk, he said never again. In fairness it was on a P & O ship. :mad:

Cunard are advertising this voyage to Europe as The Big Band Ball. This may well have a bearing on the passengers and the ambience?

I don't think you would need to worry too much about the stag and hen parties - even at good value there is a huge difference in price between 5 nights on Cunard and the P&O weekend cruises.

I have done 2 nights on QV and that was certainly no "booze" cruise. You may well get lots of first timers but they are likely to be British and I wouldn't expect them to be "changers".