First Time on Cunard

Thinking of doing the NY to Quebec 7 nights on the QMII. It will be our first time. We have sailed on RCCL several times.

1. I love the old days of cruising: Formal night is just that. Formal ALL NIGHT even the lounges and showrooms after dinner. Our last RCCL had shorts and t-shirts in the main dining room on formal nights
   
2. Would like to go to an after dinner lounge/bar without being pounded into the ground with the loud thumpa-thumpa-thumpa music. A nice chamber ensemble playing light classical would be wonderful.
   
3. Hate all the pool parties and pool games.
   
4. Would be nice to find shore excursions that aren't all about boozing it up but actually seeing local history and culture.
   
5. I had heard Cunard was on the old caste system where depending what category you book in determines what area of the ship you get to visit. On the same token, I do see main dinning room restaurants are assigned to room category. As they go down from top to bottom does that mean service/quality/cuisine diminishes?
   
6. How are the bar prices? Being an upscale cruise line I am imagining $20+ well drinks.
   
7. Hate unruly kids on cruises. How are children's behaviors on Cunard, grant you it also depends alot on mom and dad?
   

Thinking of doing the NY to Quebec 7 nights on the QMII. It will be our first time. We have sailed on RCCL several times.

 

1. I love the old days of cruising: Formal night is just that. Formal ALL NIGHT even the lounges and showrooms after dinner. Our last RCCL had shorts and t-shirts in the main dining room on formal nights
   
2. Would like to go to an after dinner lounge/bar without being pounded into the ground with the loud thumpa-thumpa-thumpa music. A nice chamber ensemble playing light classical would be wonderful.
   
3. Hate all the pool parties and pool games.
   
4. Would be nice to find shore excursions that aren't all about boozing it up but actually seeing local history and culture.
   
5. I had heard Cunard was on the old caste system where depending what category you book in determines what area of the ship you get to visit. On the same token, I do see main dinning room restaurants are assigned to room category. As they go down from top to bottom does that mean service/quality/cuisine diminishes?
   
6. How are the bar prices? Being an upscale cruise line I am imagining $20+ well drinks.
   
7. Hate unruly kids on cruises. How are children's behaviors on Cunard, grant you it also depends alot on mom and dad?
   

2. Yes

3. None

4. Culture etc

5. Service remains excellent wherever one dines

6. Only the top end Commodore Cocktails

7. Responsible Parents (Children follow the dress code)

Seems you are a perfect fit for Cunard - Book and enjoy

Thinking of doing the NY to Quebec 7 nights on the QMII. It will be our first time. We have sailed on RCCL several times.

 

 

1. I love the old days of cruising: Formal night is just that. Formal ALL NIGHT even the lounges and showrooms after dinner. Our last RCCL had shorts and t-shirts in the main dining room on formal nights
   
2. Would like to go to an after dinner lounge/bar without being pounded into the ground with the loud thumpa-thumpa-thumpa music. A nice chamber ensemble playing light classical would be wonderful.
   
3. Hate all the pool parties and pool games.
   
4. Would be nice to find shore excursions that aren't all about boozing it up but actually seeing local history and culture.
   
5. I had heard Cunard was on the old caste system where depending what category you book in determines what area of the ship you get to visit. On the same token, I do see main dinning room restaurants are assigned to room category. As they go down from top to bottom does that mean service/quality/cuisine diminishes?
   
6. How are the bar prices? Being an upscale cruise line I am imagining $20+ well drinks.
   
7. Hate unruly kids on cruises. How are children's behaviors on Cunard, grant you it also depends alot on mom and dad?
   

1. Not as formal as it was, but still far more people smartly dressed than on any other lines we've been with. You won't feel out of place dressed up.

2. Cunard still have the odd harpist and occasional small classical trio or quartet. Unfortunately the background noise in the bars and even during afternoon tea is such that it's hard to hear them. There isn't a dedicated quiet lounge. Sometimes they have classical musicians doing afternoon concerts in the theatre.

3. Not many of those luckily

4. Shore excursions pretty much identical to every other line we've sailed with. That's why we arrange our own.

5. Absolutely not. That was our preconception as well, but apart from the small dedicated Grills lounges and restaurants which are tucked out of the way there is no discrimination at all. I'd guess service is 'better' in the Grills if you like that sort of thing, though we'd rather have friendly waiters than be fawned over. Service across the ships is excellent. Someone in an inside cabin (usually us) is treated exactly the same as someone paying 10 times as much.

6. No idea, sorry. We rarely drink so all prices look expensive to us, even in the supermarket :)

7. We've rarely seen unruly kids on Cunard, but don't travel during school holidays. I wouldn't rule it out though, sadly. Badly behaved kids (and parents) everywhere these days

We are a couple 52 and 50. Having sailed frequently with Cunard but only on QM2 I will comment on this ship.

1. Apart from embarkation day, after 6pm it's either formal or informal, smart dress and jackets required unless you want to go more casual which is fine but limits you to just a few areas of the ship during evenings. Most people comply so we find it a lovely experience.

2. Thankfully I have never heard thumpa thumpa music on board Cunard except perhaps on deck for a sailaway and I don't go to the G32 night club. A harpist, pianist, and occasional small classical trio or quartet can be found in the various parts of the ship, I'll often sit down and listen to them late afternoon when I'm passing through the main lobby areas of QM2. Also the Commodore Club pianist in the evenings is relaxing to listen to. Recitals can be heard in the theatre on occasion.

3. Never experienced the pools but never noticed such games on passing.

4. There is usually a good mix of excursions,visits to towns, interesting churches etc. If its a Caribbean cruise then on an excursion a rum punch will inevitably find its way into people's hands.

5. Apart from the Grills restaurants, Grills lounge and Grills sundeck that are tucked away, the ship is enjoyed by all and we haven't noticed any preference or special treatment given to passengers.

6. Drinks don't seem particularly expensive as they appear to us to be similar to mainland restaurants that we visit.

7. I can honestly say I have never experienced unruly kids on board but then we don't tend to book during school holidays.

Oh and we are a couple aged 52 and 45.

Even at Christmas, children are rarely seen and when they're seen they appear to be under good supervision by the staff. Above 14 or so possibly an exception, as they seem to congregate near the table tennis tables on Deck 12 by the pavilion pool. But not in a bothersome way.

Hi Scott,

I am going on this exact cruise next week. Did my research on sailing out of RED Hook, Brooklyn, et al.

Also live in your neighborhood.

1 and 7. You will love formal nights on QM2. You'll see kids dressed up, too, and they never seem to be suffering or sulking. I've watched families in the dining room having conversations with the kids. No cell phones, no texting, just people interacting with each other like human beings!

4. Tour itineraries vary with itinerary. Because the Canada/New England locations have lots of history, you aren't likely to see a lot of boozy tours.

5. Many people have this impression of Cunard and it's so far from the actual experience! Only one aft deck area and one small lounge (that's hard to find) are reserved for Grills passengers. All entertainment venues are open for everyone. Service and menu choices improve as you work your way up through the dining rooms. We did enjoy our one time in Princess Grill, where there are more menu choices and you can have things flambe'd table-side. (we were the pyromaniac table; if it could be set on fire, bring it on!) But on all of our other QM2 voyages, we've been in Britannia (the main dining room) and been quite happy with the food choice and quality.

To quote that old commercial: Try it, you'll like it!

I am doing my 15th crossing on Queen Mary 2 in November. I have also been on Carnival and Princess ships, same owners as Cunard. Having experienced other lines I only sail on Cunard now.

There are questions you ask that have been well answered, so I won't repeat them, maybe just amplify them. I am not a fan of much music except jazz and classical, so I avoid G-32 the night club. You can usually find some classical music somewhere on the ship, and jazz in the Commodore club late evening. On one trip we actually had the Liverpool Phil on board for two concerts, and other times string quartets.

I do enjoy the shows, not Broadway spectaculars like you get on some ships but with good casts and good music. I especially have enjoyed the speakers on the crossings. Interesting people with excellent presentations. I try to see a couple every day. Cunard has excellent libraries on all the Queens.

As to the 'caste system' Cunard is no different from other lines that have additional services for their 'suite' and other customers willing to pay more for them. They do everything in a comfortable under stated way. The principle difference is the size and location of the staterooms.

As for drinks, I find the drinks to be substantially less than you would expect to pay in a hotel bar. When you buy wine at the table for dinner, and if you don't finish the bottle, the somalier will put it away for your next meal, so you don't have to chug it to make sure your getting your moneys worth. And you can have a bottle of white and red to go with different courses if you like. If you google Cunard Drink Lists you will get a lot of examples of what they have and the cost.

I hope this helps and is not redundant. Mike

The kids club has very good hours while the ship is at sea. It is open from 10-12, 2-5 and 6-11. That means that if the parents don't want to supervise their own children, they should send them to the kids clubs to keep them out of the other passenger's way.

We did a cruise to Norway in May (while schools were in session in the UK and US) and there were only 23 kids on board.

We have just returned from New York to Southampton on Queen Mary 2 and loved it. We went through some fairly rough seas mid-crossing but only noticed when we looked out; the ship is built for this and she just sailed smoothly through. Regarding the dress code, there are three formal evenings on a 7 night cruise, and the bling is much in evidence, but even informal evenings are fairly dressy. The price of drinks seems much the same as on other cruise lines. Be aware that the price you see will be the basic price and there will be a gratuity added. The 'caste system' is evident on disembarkation day when they start with the suites. We were going to have to wait until late morning so we chose to get ourselves off (just means you take your own luggage off which is easy enough).

My two biggest criticisms of Cunard are the lack of open dining in the Britannia dining room - other cruise lines can manage this - and the temperature in the public areas. The air conditioning blasts out, even in cool weather, and I noticed that most of the women wore warm scarves or shawls over their posh dresses.

Have a wonderful time.

As to the 'caste system' Cunard is no different from other lines that have additional services for their 'suite' and other customers willing to pay more for them. .. The principle difference is the size and location of the staterooms.

Can't really agree with this because the REAL difference, in my opinion, is the dining arrangements where Grills passengers have their own table always available to them at any time the restaurant is open. The Grills lounge and Grills deck are less important (especially on QM2) I think. However, I echo what others have said: apart from these facilties, everybody is treated the same (except for (dis)embarkation - although if you do self-disembarkation there is no distinction).

Thinking of doing the NY to Quebec 7 nights on the QMII..

Do you mean this year for the sailing on September 22nd? It's been listed as sold out for weeks with sporadic availability popping up now and then. As of this writing I'm seeing some sheltered balconies for $1549pp and a Q5 for $6325pp. Were you able to book?

Sorry not a reply but i would hope it's not even close to RCCL. but my question is how (best way)

does one get from midtown to pier over in Brooklyn?

From Manhattan a cab is best. Probably downtown via the driver's choice of route and then the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (officially known as the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel) which exits very close to the pier (although the path from the tunnel to the pier isn't obvious).

I've had to give a driver advice on where to go in Brooklyn a time or two...

Sorry not a reply but i would hope it's not even close to RCCL. but my question is how (best way)

does one get from midtown to pier over in Brooklyn?

We always use a hired car. The three most recommended are

- Dial7, 212-777-7777, dial7.com (our standard)

- Carmel, 866-666-6666, carmellimo.com

- and finally, the Brooklyn-based Arecibo, (718) 783-6465, arecibocc.com

All are preferable in my experience to Uber and Lyft. Get online quotes and check for new customer discount codes/coupons. Taxis are fine too.

And the Red Hook terminal is likely closer than Port Liberty, NJ used by RCI, but it still is a bit of a trip and because of the somewhat obscure location and quirky nature of traffic conditions, I prefer to trust someone who has driven professionally for a few years over a newbie from Westchester County with an iPhone and a Prius.

Meh. The app for an Uber driver has a GPS with routing. The drivers I've had to give directions to were driving yellow cabs.

I thought there was a passenger ferry now from right near the Red Hook berth to Manhattan? We haven't been since it started, but I've seen it mentioned fairly frequently on these boards

I thought there was a passenger ferry now from right near the Red Hook berth to Manhattan? We haven't been since it started, but I've seen it mentioned fairly frequently on these boards

There is. It docks in Manhattan at Pier 11. If it's like most ferries, I'd not want to deal with schlepping cruise luggage on the boat.

-Mark