DT_PB_all_at_sea

Being an optimist at heart (which may be a surprise when reading my recent posts) I truly hope this is a reflection of a change in approach.

 

- Mark

Mark, they want you to DM as the message and response can not be seen by others!

It's a fool's errand to try to get any real contact from Cunard and sheer madness to expect them to ask or listen.

(Aside from rating the staff from your questionnaires)

 

- Mark

Mark, makes me sad to have to agree - increasingly the Cunard 'Management' and in particular Marketing/PR do not give a jot about their loyal passengers. I have stopped putting in their Questionnaires - as they mean nothing, as they simply do what the 'bean counters' say.

I am absolutely disgusted by Cunard absolute lack of clarity re the so called change in dress code. I have spoken to Southampton , they can’t explain anything, emailed Carnival, nothing, my travel agent could find out nothing either. We have 4 cruises booked with Cunard this year. I think myself and all the other customers deserved better treatment. After all at the end of the day we are paying all these far cats wages who cannot even answer a simply question,

Totally agree - setting aside whether one agrees or disagrees with the dress code down grading - Cunard should have advised all past and ticketed passengers and their travel agents before sneaking in the 'change'. TOTAL LACK OF TRANSPARANCY AND TOTAL LACK OF RESPECT FOR LOYAL REGULAR/NEW PASSENGERS.

Originally posted by DT_PB_all_at_sea Totally agree - we have x4 bookings with Cunard 2018/19 one is a full World Cruise and I am totally disgusted wth the way this has been managed. You could try Angus Struthers he is supposed to be the Cunard Marketing Director - angus.struthers@cunard.co.uk - but bare in mind he told a passenger and member of this site on 26th "Nothing is changing regarding Dress Codes" so he seems to not know what he is doing!! Good luck.

 

 

Many thanks for posting this email address. I have just sent a note expressing my support for this new policy and hopes that Cunard will continue to relax their dress code.

Don't hold your breath - he never responds to any contact = merely moves it on to a 'minion'

They won’t- this is their attempt to pacify those who want to see the rules remain in place but also entice those who were put off by them to step onboard. If they had any intention of keeping things the same they wouldn’t have changed the wording at all.

Cunard is simply fobbing everyone off - had there been no issues as they claim with the "simple change of words" for TRANSPARANCY they would have NOTIFIED ALL current ticketed passengers and travel agents IN ADVANCE of the change. All it required was a mail out or email out. Not snuck in it the back door and hope no one noticed.

Yes, that's on the current list.

Hi Hattie

The problem is as with many things Cunard are not consistent - we sail with them twice a year - I just had a look at the Daily Programmes from the last two years voyages =

- QV; V710 - "CASUAL, DINE IN THE BUFFET AND RELAX IN THE WINTER GARDEN BUT SHOULD NOT USE OTHER AREAS OF THE SHIP"

- QM2; M801 - "CASUAL, DINE IN THE KINGS COURT, RELAX IN THE CARINTHIA LOUNGE AND DANCE IN G32"

Totally inconsistent at the moment and likely to be even more confusing on board.

To be frank IMO increasingly few if any meet and greet crew members challenge passengers dressing off the code etc. Presumably their land based 'managers' (using the term loosely) simply do not issue the instruction to all Hotel Managers on board and no one can be bothered so long as they pull in a salary.

Hi I'm bipolar about these changes , firstly I think smart attire (jacket required ) is a better description than informal, a jacket can never be informal, it is non formal. Gala night and formal are equivalent.

 

Now to my bipolar feelings, during the day I'm pleased to see a wear what your comfortable in attitude, only exception should be in formal waiter service dining rooms.

 

After 6pm the current dress code should apply strictly in as much of ship as possible

Hi - the point you raised: "

We havent been on any Cunard ships yet. Do you have a favorite, and if so, why?

Hello Sue

We like all of the Cunard ships; In our opinion:

Transatlantic - Queen Mary 2: she is a real liner, she copes with all that the North Atlantic throws at her (heavy seas and bad weather). She still retains a classic Ocean Liner feel. She is large and disembarkation and embarkation on a cruise can take longer, same with tender transfers.

- Britannia staterooms - amazing restaurant, a multi deck tribute the art deco liner restaurants, the cabins offer a broad spectrum of sizes and facilities.

- Grills staterooms - not so impressed with Grills on QM2, the restaurants are nice but overlook the promenade deck and therefore window seats have no view and are overlooked despite window finishes. The dedicated facilities, bar, toilets, concierge and private deck are spread throughout the ship, disjointed. The staterooms are excellent.

Cruising - Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth: they tend to be easier to use for cruising, never done a TA on either. Still very smart and still have a Liner feel. Smaller ships that better lend themselves to cruising, faster disembarkation and embarkation, same with tender transfers.

- Britannia staterooms - the restaurant is smaller than on QM2 and a little less amazing, best tables on lower deck. The cabins offer a broad spectrum of sizes and facilities.

- Grills staterooms - the experience is far better than on QM2. A pair of dedicated key card access lifts take you to private two Grills decks. Private lobby, toilets/powder rooms, concierge, bar, lounge, x2 sun decks, intimate outdoor Italian courtyard terrace for al-fresco dining, both Grills restaurants have amazing high deck panoramic windows, and internal windows overlooking the Italian courtyard terrace - much more impressive that on QM2. The staterooms are excellent.

At the moment tend to prefer the Queen Victoria - as we seem to have sailed on her the most.

Happy choosing and Bon Voyage, David

Those 75 to 80 year olds who "have the money" as you suggest will be dead soon. Cunard needs to think about passengers who will be alive in the next ten years or more and that is what they are doing.

Insulting to those in their 70/80s.

Not sure what age you are, but if your lucky you too will be that age - if your lucky!

I am 60 and retired - the average age demographic on Cunard - it certainly seemed to be on the 190 days I have cruised with them!

BUT NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE BUYING POWER OF THE RANKS OF THE 'SILVER CRUISES' - many of us are 'SKI'ing = 'S'pending the 'K'ids 'I'nheritance, after all..... we earned it!!

I am sure that eventually the casual dress code will win due to a change in demographics of the customers.However,in the short term they will loose a lot of money,especially on the world cruises.I was on the Southampton/Sydney section of the world cruise this year and the ignoring of the dress code was obvious in the Australian sectors.I spoke to 4 couples who had decided they would no be doing anymore world cruises with Cunard.I worked out that loosing those four couples would cost Cunard around £125,000 next year.No doubt they will again put up the price of drinks to cover the loss !!!!!

Whilst it is fairly obvious to us and anyone with a reasonable business sense what Cunard/HAL/Carnival Corp is up to in the long term regarding the bit by bit weakening of the current dress code we will be holding off on making a judgement and will watch to see what damage, if any, the new policy has to the current smart ambiance on their ships.

The reason I had a 'hissy-fit' when I saw the original 'Thread' on CC was the fact Cunard did not advise passengers with firm bookings or their agents BEFORE they rolled out the change. Cunard claim there is nothing to worry about, its "just a change in wording", surely they would have been totally TRANSPARANT and notified everyone had that been true?

I still feel insulted that my loyalty means nothing to Cunard. Cunard says they will be responding to my written complaint - within 28 days!!

We love Cunard, sailed with them 19 times, exclusively. We are already booked with them twice in 2018 and twice in 2019. In 2019 we sail on QV for her full World Cruise (a long awaited special trip), plus Alaska in June.

As a general statement one should not underestimate the stupidity of large corporations in a market that is changing.

 

 

Dis Carnival all you wish (and I am not a fan), but they are enormously profitable. This does not happen by ignoring current/future trends, much as they may conflict with current passengers wishes.

Whilst Carnival Corp do not publish stats specific to all their lines - apparently not ALL of their lines make a profit/required profit and some are 'cash cows' the profits subsidises the weak performers. Hence the often Senior Back Office report line changes. They may be the biggest but they do have many challenges.

I have never done a New Thread before.....patience if it goes haywire, thanks.

We will be sailing with Cunard M820C 3 June - Southampton-Southampton - and are going to use the baggage handling company 'The Baggage Handling Company' to take the bags to the ship and pick them up on our return as we find the handling of the bags becoming increasingly hard - as we travel to Southampton by rail etc.

The question is: has anyone used them and is there anything we should be aware of - hints - cautions etc.

http://www.thebaggagehandlingcompany.com

Thanks, David

Personally I should prefer to deal with my own luggage transfer. You can see and be confident that it is happening The two ships will be a long way apart (at different dock areas) and disembarkation is around 8am to 9am roughly and depositing your luggage through "the hole in the wall" opens much later 10.30ish. I would book a slot at the Grand Harbour Hotel Cruise Lounge, opens at 7am drop my cases off there. Go on a privately organised tour with someone like Viator to wherever return to the hotel lounge and transfer to next ship with luggage the hotel will look after for you. No need to book a room, just the lounge on a non-alcoholic lounge place. Board the ship 2pm to 3pm.

 

Regards John

Sound a bit complicated and totally exhausting. If you booked both voyages via Cunard they will manage the bags for you and you can do your own thing before re boarding the new ship. They double ship transfer often and provide all the documents/tags for it to work seamlessly.

Hi there

 

Have a look here:

 

http://ships.cruisett.com/schedule/Cunard/Queen_Victoria/August_2018/

 

andhow

That's and amazing site - thanks for the recommendation; it seems totally correct, great.

We are doing the British Isles cruise on the Queen Victoria and read that some ports could be missed due to rough seas or weather.

 

What would happen in such a case? Would we visit another port?

 

One of the ports more often missed is Guensey, which is our last stop. Would we return to Southampton early?

Another day at sea, and slower to the next port. Extra entertainment on board. It happens and a replacement port can seldom be scheduled last minute unless the seas are very heavy and you have to find a port for safely.

I noticed that Cunard is showing a lot of Roundtrip crossings on the QM2. I wonder why someone would book that? Now we are real cruisers and that might appeal to us.

We have been fortunate to do two QM2 Roundtrip Trans Atlantic crossings - "lunch in New York darling". They were wonderful voyages and a real holiday rather than a cruise. No jet lag, Westbound you have 25 hour days on five of the seven days and back Westbound you lose an hour in bed for five days of the seven days; but a lye in and a late breakfast in bed more than compensates . The entire experience is amazing. Some days just float by (pun intended) sitting on a steamer chair watching the North Atlantic slide by.....we even forgot to have lunch one day........on a ship, surely unique. Other days were full of things....busy, busy, busy. Lunch or dinner in the cabin. Reading, chatting - NO INTERNET FOR 7 DAYS.....BLISS, I USED UP THE COMP. MINUTES IN NEW YORK. We travel a lot now as we are retired and have a bucket list of places to see. But when it comes to a real holiday we only consider QM2 to be the ultimate relaxation resort - at sea!

- We love it so much we are doing a Back-on-Back TA on QM2 3rd June this year, 2018. Southampton-Southampton.

- Try it if you have the time - it is a classic liner experience DOUBLED!!

Hi,

 

I'm booked to go on the QV on the 5th May -Fjords. When i log in to the voyage personaliser it kept referring to P&O and Ventura etc etc and i had a Queen bed - i've just gone back and refreshed and it's referring to the QV with a King bed selected. Is anyone else experiencing problems? I was panicking that i'd booked for the wrong ship! (i have checked my booking confirmation!)

Cunard and the other lines seem to all be run by one IT facility - it may even be in Germany - another cost saving exercise I suppose - It has happed a few times recently and has been 'down' a few times. That's 'progress' for you.

Also, if in the Med, you may be subject to Spanish IVA (VAT) @ 21% on top of the service charges. You avoid this if you have pre-paid.

 

We bought the Commodore's Selection last year and were very pleased.

Nice choice - a great range of wines in that list. "Bottoms up"

Cunard has recently released RWC packages, where you can buy 12, 24, 36 or 48 bottles from the captain's or the commodore's collection (or more than one package if you like). They say that you can save up to 25% off regular wine list prices.

 

Well, I did some elementary research. I chose 36 bottles from the captain's collection (price is $1450 with savings up to $359 according to Cunard) and 24 bottles from the commodore's collection (price is $1295 with savings up to $314).

 

The prices on the regular wine list for the captain's collection ranged from $40 to $45. 36 bottles added up to $1501.5 which is 3.43% saving.

 

The prices on the regular wine list from the commodore's collection ranged from $55 to $60. 24 bottles added up to $1372.5 which is 5.65% saving.

 

This is not even close to Cunard's statements in the RWC brochure. Why should anyone bother with these packages?

You need to add 15% service charge to the cost of the individual bottles - they charge that on the ship, so you have been using an incorrect like for like figure to compare them. I have always found the packages to be good value against buying the wine bottle by bottle as the cruise progresses - in particular if you buy them before leaving the UK on the phone with Cunard. Cheers :wine-glass:

Hi folks

 

Does anyone have the shareholder benefit email address for Cunard (Carnival Shares obviously) in Australia please? Can only find a fax number and I refuse to accept that anyone would seriously use a fax these days.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Try phoning:

Registrar and Transfer Agent For Carnival Corporation

Mailing addresses

Hi, does anyone know how strong the internet is for things like a Skype call? Is it wildly different when the ship is at sea v in port. Have got Sea days and port day in Hamburg and would like to Skype a friend x

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Its seldom fast - its seldom reliable - I suggest don't bother until your in port = turn off and relax, its a cruise......breath.....it can wait.....

My wife and I are planning a Trans Atlantic (TA) cruise for 2019. Last year we did a TA on he QM2 in early May and were fortunate to have had very mild weather that allowed us to enjoy the promenade deck and the stern hot tubs all but one day. For this next TA cruise we were thinking of pushing the date back to June, July or even August to have even better odds of having mild weather. Of course we know that the later we push it back the greater the chance that we run into a tropical storm or even a hurricane. We also realize that weather on the North Atlantic can be a crap-shoot. Does anyone have any suggestions on this timing issue?

 

Thanks

Harold

We are doing a Round trip Trans Atlantic Southampton-NYC-Southampton (M820C) on 3rd June 18 so will give you a weather report on our return.

Do Cunard ships have good shops, value for money and helpful staff?

The shops on QM2 and QV have changed - and not for the better. IMO it was debatable they were ever really good value but at least the Souvenir/Logo & book shops were interesting. Both have changed and as other say are stuffed in other areas where ever there is space.

We have only ever shopped in them recently to use up remaining OBC on fragrances or discounted cruise cap/world cruise tee etc.

The 'trunk sales' - trestle tables set up in the grand lobbies and surrounding area are really generally a bit cheap and horrid. They also have special sales in the ballrooms during which they sell off 'souvenirs' from ports visited = again IMO generally a bit tacky.

Apart from the named 'luxury' brand stores the general perfume/gift stores are run by

he service ranges from occasionally reasonably polite & helpful to completely uninterested and rude - like serving someone is a real pain.

I would suggest save your $ for on shore and use up the OBC towards the end of the cruise when they have 'special sales'. At the end of the final sectors of the World Cruises they really heavily discount those products.

On a different discussion platform, someone mentioned that HAL is now in charge of Carnival UK. Does anyone here know anything about that?

Yes in short - HAL now 'manage' Cunard - hence the first of the dramatic policy changes - DRESS CODES.

Hattie referred to the attached organogram:

When we first qualified, it was a pleasure to attend the World Club party, we could even sit down, but now there is little room to stand up. I am sure the Captains' opened up more on Cunard's future developments when it was an exclusive group rather than they do now. It is the same for the Officers' party.

 

In those days on transatlantics we also had numerous other parties e.g. The Chief Engineer's and the Hotel & Restaurant Manager's and I am sure the more elevated, in those days, Chief Purser also held one. Presumably they were all phased out when the numbers attending became excessive.

 

 

When they introduced Grills and World Club exclusive check in you'd sail through embarkation. Now if you catch it wrong the queue can be longer than the normal check in.

 

 

It seems that first time cruisers are a more exclusive category than World Club Members without the benefits.

 

 

Perhaps it is getting out of hand and time for a membership revision to make the benefits more exclusive, dependent on days/nights travelled, rather than it is with the current, bedlam situation.

- As a Diamond WC Member I tend to agree - the ranks are so full now with more and more loyal and serious cruisers as members of World Club. The World Club Party feels far from exclusive or special, overcrowded, indeed we seldom go to it unless our favourite Future Cruise Advisor 'Dragona' is on board.

- even the Senior Officers Parties are not what they used to be and they seem desperate to move on to the next scheduled social gathering.

- Given the resent mess around the new HAL managers changing the dress code this Summer I think it likely that they will be chomping at the bit to get their teeth into the WC loyalty scheme - they could introduce a higher rank that Diamond, say Sapphire to start 'thinning out the ranks' hopefully not ruining it.