Live from QM2 - verandah question

Good morning from Newport Rhode Island!

A beautiful sailing. Lovely ship and perfect in everyway except for one problem in trying to solve. The night before our sailing I got a refund notification for the verandah. I didn't cancel my reservation but got $70 charged back to my credit card. When I asked on board they say I still have my reservation. However in the cruise guide you get in your room it says it's now $50 per person for the verandah. I'm going to try to confirm but I'm afraid they'll charge me the full $100 for the dinner. Will update when I find out what's going on.

Enjoy!

We have been to Newport several times and love walking the street and spending time in the shops.

Our favorite lunch off the ship is at a restaurant called the Red Parrott in the middle of the town.

Hope the colors are coming out there for you to enjoy.

Enjoy Newport and your way up north..

Good morning from Newport Rhode Island!

 

A beautiful sailing. Lovely ship and perfect in everyway except for one problem in trying to solve. The night before our sailing I got a refund notification for the verandah. I didn't cancel my reservation but got $70 charged back to my credit card. When I asked on board they say I still have my reservation. However in the cruise guide you get in your room it says it's now $50 per person for the verandah. I'm going to try to confirm but I'm afraid they'll charge me the full $100 for the dinner. Will update when I find out what's going on.

Strange indeed.

For what it's worth: I disembarked yesterday, and ate at the Verandah with a reservation made online via the voyage personalizer a month prior to the trip (at $35 per person). No mentioned was made of the increase. (Nor was it refunded to me...)

I looked on the voyage personaliser for a future voyage and the price is showing as $49.95 per person.

M-AR

Are we talking about the price of Lunch or Dinner .:)

I looked on the voyage personaliser for a future voyage and the price is showing as $49.95 per person.

 

M-AR

I too have been looking for a forthcoming trip on QV and initially dinner was being offered at $35 per person and I notice today that it has dropped to $24 per person.

Having carried out a search on Cunard's FAQ's, https://ask.cunard.com/help/cunard/life-on-board/cover_charges, it seems there are different prices quoted for each of the three ships. From my previous experiences of dining in both the Verandah and the former Todd English on QM2, when I reserved a table whilst on board, the bill was based on the price of each of the items that we selected from the menu as you would expect from a shoreside restaurant. From what I can gather from the FAQ's, Cunard seem to be imposing a minimum spend hence the reason why BoisDore didn't get a refund for spending less. If your choices add up to more than what you have paid when booking, expect to pay the difference.

That makes the QM2 seem very expensive :eek:

Hope you get it sorted out and enjoy your meal.

From my previous experiences of dining in both the Verandah and the former Todd English on QM2, when I reserved a table whilst on board, the bill was based on the price of each of the items that we selected from the menu as you would expect from a shoreside restaurant. From what I can gather from the FAQ's, Cunard seem to be imposing a minimum spend hence the reason why BoisDore didn't get a refund for spending less. If your choices add up to more than what you have paid when booking, expect to pay the difference.

I'm quite sure that's not the case. QM2 Verandah charges a fixed "cover charge", which was $35/pp when both the OP and I booked our tables, but has since gone up to $50. There were no prices listed on the menu at all.

I did not receive a refund because I was not due one. It is my understanding that the OPs inquiry is asking if they refund they issued will mean that he will now be charged $50 per person for a service he booked (and paid for) at a lower cost.

That Cunard is running not only different pricing but also different pricing policies in alternative dining venues across all three ships seems needlessly complicated.

Is it worth waiting? Do the prices go up and down for the same voyage depending on demand?

I'm quite sure that's not the case. QM2 Verandah charges a fixed "cover charge", which was $35/pp when both the OP and I booked our tables, but has since gone up to $50. There were no prices listed on the menu at all.

 

I did not receive a refund because I was not due one. It is my understanding that the OPs inquiry is asking if they refund they issued will mean that he will now be charged $50 per person for a service he booked (and paid for) at a lower cost.

 

That Cunard is running not only different pricing but also different pricing policies in alternative dining venues across all three ships seems needlessly complicated.

My apologies for not having read the context of your original post correctly insofar as "receiving a refund".

I have no experience of how the new Verandah operates on QM2 and bow to your better knowledge. I am however absolutely certain that when I dined at both Todd English on QM2 and the Verandah on QE, each course was charged as per the individual prices shown on the menu. Attached are redacted copies of the bills.

I am intrigued to know whether your QM2 experience extends to QV where the cover charge for 3 courses has seemingly been reduced to $24 per person for dinner (lunch $15). QE still appears to operate on a per item charge basis but subject to a minimum $29 per person spend for dinner only.

Todd English Bill.pdf

Verandah Bill.pdf

It sounds like the new venue on the remastered QM2 is very popular hence they will raise the price to take some of the extra demand off the table so to speak and balance the meal services better. If demand falls too much there will be a price reduction later in the season. The meal better be way above that offered in the main dining rooms to justify an extra $50 over and above what has already been paid in the basic fare.

QV where the cover charge for 3 courses has seemingly been reduced to $24 per person for dinner (lunch $15).

I know someone going in a few weeks and the QV is now $49 when they try to book for dinner.

I know someone going in a few weeks and the QV is now $49 when they try to book for dinner.

Well it's now only $24 throughout my next one 22 Oct 2016 to 05 Nov 2016. As I said, it was $35 but when I checked earlier today it had reduced to $24 and it still is. That's also the price currently quoted in the FAQ's.

$50 seems really expensive when you consider that its really just a supplement above eating in your normal dining room. We have to burn through a good amount of OBC but I think I need to hear that the Verandah is OMG fantastic before dropping $100 (plus wine) for it.

$50 seems really expensive when you consider that its really just a supplement above eating in your normal dining room. We have to burn through a good amount of OBC but I think I need to hear that the Verandah is OMG fantastic before dropping $100 (plus wine) for it.

I'm inclined to agree. For the money you could have 3 of the rotating speciality dinners, and still come out ahead.

The food was lovely, and certainly copious, but nothing was extraordinary. And frankly I found the room to feel cold - nearly sterile. (Side note: they didn't bother to remaster the artwork in there, leaving the clown paintings out of context. Among the white-on-taupe-on-beige decor, and it almost starts to feel like the waiting room to a pediatricians office in Palm Beach.)

That said, I paid $35/per, and it was my birthday, so I have no regrets.

I just checked VP, and the cost of booking dinner at the Veranda on QM2 November cruise is $49.95 per person. I don't know what gratuity, if any is charged. -S.

Just to add:

"...As alternative dining venues can be very popular, should you be unable to meet your dinner reservation, please notify us at least 12 hours before the time of your booking, to avoid the $8.00 cancellation charge. A cancellation charge will not be applied if transferring to a different time / date.

Purchasing the cover charge does not secure a date or time, you will need to confirm a date and time once you are on board..." copied from https://ask.cunard.com/help/life-on-board/cover_charges

When I go to book the Verandah on QM2 I am asked to choose a table size, date and time. I'm not sure how one 'purchases the cover charge' without booking a table.

PARTIAL QUOTE

...For the money you could have 3 of the rotating speciality dinners, and still come out ahead...

Sorry, not three dinners anymore: :(The price of QM2 rotating specialty venues has also increased:

"Kings Court - Buffet style dining throughout the day and into the evening. In addition an area of this restaurant becomes a speciality dining area with table service.

Aztec (Mexican cuisine) $17.50pp

Bamboo (Pan-Asian cuisine) - $17.50pp

Coriander (Indian cuisine) - $17.50pp

La Piazza (Italian cuisine) - $17.50pp

Smokehouse (American cuisine) - $17.50pp

Evening buffet (non themed) - Complimentary" copied from

https://ask.cunard.com/help/life-on-board/cover_charges

$17.50! It used to be free. Then $10, then $15. They're making us pay for the refit alright!

I think I hear the sound of a goose being killed....

I went to book two evenings in Verandah for our forthcoming roundtrip TA, expecting it to cost $35 pp each time. However, at $49.95 pp that would be almost $200 for a table for two on two evenings. That is a lot! I have decided that Britannia is really very good after all.

If my arithmetic is right, that's a price hike of over 40%, virtually overnight. I wonder whether it will put others off as it has me. If so, there may be some deals to be had after we board. In any case, I'm not going to book at that price, so we'll wait and see.

For QE's Christmas Cruise, dinner in The Verandah is shown as $29 per head on all available dates. The blurb does say that due to a la carte pricing, if you should chose dishes that are more expensive than the 'standard' selection for three courses, you will be charged. It's not clear which dishes make up the 'standard' selection

PARTIAL QUOTE

 

Sorry, not three dinners anymore: :(The price of QM2 rotating specialty venues has also increased:

 

"Kings Court - Buffet style dining throughout the day and into the evening. In addition an area of this restaurant becomes a speciality dining area with table service.

 

Aztec (Mexican cuisine) $17.50pp

Bamboo (Pan-Asian cuisine) - $17.50pp

Coriander (Indian cuisine) - $17.50pp

La Piazza (Italian cuisine) - $17.50pp

Smokehouse (American cuisine) - $17.50pp

 

 

Evening buffet (non themed) - Complimentary" copied from

https://ask.cunard.com/help/life-on-board/cover_charges

I just clicked on that link and it is still showing $15 for the QE but when we were on the ship last week it was $17.50 and I just double checked the cost on my programmes.

It is also not quite true where it says for the Lido "Evening buffet (non themed) - Complimentary" because it isthemed. We had a French theme (mussels etc) while docked in Cherbourg, another night a Japanese theme for the large contingent of Japanese on board, on another night an Indian theme, also Spanish (paella) theme. There were chefs there cooking these foods. I think you only get this on the QE and QV.