tacticalbanjo

Another one over from the Cunard boards who is enjoying reading your trip report. I think you are the same age as me, I've just turned 36. I've always enjoyed a Cunard cruise so I hope you continue to have a good time.

I'm on board the QV in 30 days and your report is getting me excited for all my usual Cunard favourites - especially the donuts, when they get it right they are really good.

23 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

edit

although the fact you include 'excuse to dress up' would exclude you in some minds from the non trad passenger profile. 🙂

 

Well it did take the first Cunard trip to realise that we did actually quite enjoy dressing up now and again. Before that first TA we did have quite a bit of nerves about it and lots of people asked us if we were sure that a TA for first cruise was the right thing both because of the dress code and because of how many sea days we'd have before we were able to get off. 

21 hours ago, techteach said:

What did you think of the rendering of the Golden Lion in the video? The glass panels didn’t feel very pub like to me. The main staircase is quite different from the other Queen’s. I’m not suggesting bad, just not the traditional. We were on the Oceania Regatta last week, which is very different from QM2 and actually liked the decor, especially in our suite. I’m looking forward to hearing the reviews from all of you booked on her.

I liked the look of it. I've always thought that the Golden Lion on QM2 looks less like a pub than those on the QV and QE but feels more like a pub in spirit. Hopefully that will carry on to QA. 

I actually like the fact that Cunard is trying modern design again. The QE2 originally had modern interiors and the art deco stuff was all retrofitted.

I don't think having more choices is a bad thing. Given how popular freedom dining is in the cruise marketplace it is safe to say that people want a choice of when they have dinner not to be stuck on one sitting. Personally I like to have the same waiter every night so I'll stick with traditional dining but its nice that those who like different things have a choice.

I'm not that interested in wellness but I do know that Gen Z and to a lesser extent Millennials are increasingly choosing to stay sober and I suppose that cruise lines have got to generate on board spending some how to stay afloat. If making space for a yoga studio means that Cunard can live on then I'm happy.

I'm looking forward to seeing what QA has to offer and I hope that my favourite Cunard things are still present. If Michel Roux messes with the Golden Lion menu too much I'll be most upset! But at the same time I've seen things on other lines that I wish were on Cunard. I was on Sky Princess earlier in the year and really liked the medallion both for tracking down shipmates and opening the door without fishing in my pockets for a card. I also liked being able to select an embarkation time and how good the WiFi was. On P&O I liked that they had wine pairings on the menu for people like me who have no clue. But I didn't feel as at home as I did on Cunard.

5 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

I couldn't sleep last night so spent ages following  jam19872016 travels. Really interesting and it's great to get the insights from a young'ish [to me] cruiser who does not fit,  to some, the perceived 'traditional' Cunard passenger.

Just wish he could post on this board too ...hint hint. 🙂

I'm 36 and a jeans and a t-shirt kinda girl. My 38 year old husband refused a job he'd have to wear a suit to. We have a toddler. Very much not typical Cunard passengers but we fell in love with Cunard on our honeymoon. We love the relaxing feel on board, the excuse to dress up and how interesting our fellow passengers are. 

32 days until I'm on the Queen Victoria again and I can't wait. Maybe I'll take advantage of kiddo nap times and do a live thread if people want to hear from non-traditional Cunarders.

13 hours ago, carlmm said:

In the first video posted there are also a few quite telling words to be heard by the "Cunard brand manager". The first I heard was about how wonderful it was for those instagram moments.  Alright. I am not sure this is the first concern of Cunard's loyal passengers. 

Later he was bragging that it was all about choices, having more choices. More of the kind of dress like a slob if you like? 

Can't dress like a slob if you want to take photos for the 'gram 😆

55 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

The bid to upgrade is handled by a third party so not the same as booking a cabin. 

The booking still has to be put into Cunard's systems though. Alarm bells should have rung somewhere whether at the third party or at Cunard when three passengers were assigned a two berth. 

14 minutes ago, babs135 said:

Thanks for the advice. We have cancelled the upgrade.  Whilst I have to admit to not checking occupancy in an obstructed ocean view cabin I am also cross at the misinformation given to us via the telephone. I told her that there were 3 of us on the booking and she confirmed that she could see 3 names, but she assured us that we would receive an email which would clearly state an occupancy level of 3.  It did not.

 

It absolutely should not be on the passenger to check that the room offered can actually accommodate all passengers on a booking. Luckily your Cunard spidey senses started tingling and you were able to correct the error before you got on board. I wonder what would have happened if you had trusted the phone operator and left things be.

You need to call back. None of those obstructed view oceanview cabins are a three berth. I seriously doubt that there will be a sofa bed in a room not designed to have one in it. 

We were told that even if we didn't need a bed we could not book a double occupancy cabin, it had to be a three berth so I'm surprised their computer system has allowed three people to book in a standard cabin. Actually I'm not surprised really!

We've booked Queen Anne for November 2025. Got the rooms we wanted - we're travelling as a multigenerational family so it was important to us to have three rooms next to each other so we can open the doors between the balconies. Hopefully we'll find she's up to snuff when we go on the maiden! 

We've preregistered for a QA trip which looked good value. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my travel agent can get three rooms together with two of them three berths which might be a tad optimistic.

Good luck to everyone!

I either change the clock manually on my phone which is then reflected on my Apple Watch or I set at timer on my phone rather than an alarm.

Actually, now I do neither because I have a toddler and I'm up at the crack of dawn regardless.

As others have said Verandah is the only true speciality restaurant. It's definitely worth a try whether that's the lunchtime menu or the bigger dinner menu. My husband and I are looking forward to trying it again when we are on board in November. 

Of the Lido pop-ups I've only tried Coriander but I did enjoy the first time so much we made it a priority on our subsequent trip. The food was excellent and so was the service. Possibly helped by the flight of wine I drank alongside it!

I used a bandaid to disable it on Sky. I had my toddler in a pack and play in the closet so it was more than a bit inconvenient to have a spot light blasted at her every time we needed to use the bathroom. And a cushion was shoved in front of the bedside table motion light because it would turn the light on every time the ship rocked.

It can't be too much of a health and safety issue because I sailed on P&O Britannia which is also a Royal-class ship and didn't have a motion sensor. I boarded with painters tape just in case!

My husband and I did a British Isles cruise in 2021 and we keep saying it was one of the best cruises we've taken. I'm only 35 but it appears that I prematurely have one foot in the grave!

Not my cup of tea really. I did notice that Clarendon Fine Art does seem to heavily promote Mr Brainwash so I wonder whether this is led by them rather than Cunard.

28 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Should one have to pay 20%, or more, for a drink in the Commodore, or Chart, on Cunard, then so be it.  It’s only one small part, of so many memorable and enjoyable experiences, when taking a Cunard Voyage.  Happy to pay to get what one wishes.  Just living life free and easy.

 

Unfortunately with a little one in nursery my budget is a lot more restricted than it used to be so if drinks prices keep going up I'll be priced out even if I would rather be on Cunard. I won't be the only one who has to reduce spending on luxuries to meet spiralling living costs.

I dread to think how much the drinks prices are going up? But with inflation getting making life uncomfortable for a lot of people already how much more will people be prepared to pay?

It's an especially poor deal when you compare to Princess Plus which includes grats and WiFi as well as drinks under $15 for just $60 a day.

I've been on twice during Halloween, most recently last year, and there wasn't anything beyond the pumpkin display. I was on board with a 9 month old last time and did put her in a costume for a cute photo in front of the pumpkins. She wasn't going to play ball until a helpful passenger did funny faces at her until she looked in the right direction!

I've cruised on P&O with a 17 month old, Princess with a 15 month old and Cunard with a 9mo and 11mo. Cruising with a baby is great especially if you pick a Southampton to Southampton itinerary because that means you can take as much stuff as will fit into your car. P&O supply a travel cot but I choose to bring my own which can be folded without taking the mattress out to provide more room outside nap times.

I can't speak about formula because we didn't use it and I don't know about baby food because we BLW. We let the head waiter know on the first night that little one had dietary requirements (no salt, no whole nuts, no honey) and we were given menus the night before so her food could be specially cooked to order. For our first cruises we chose to give chicken breast or well cooked steak and steamed veggies most nights. We preferred to visit the buffet for breakfast lunch. When baby was little we stuck to fruit, cereal/toast for breakfast and salad items, veggies and meats and fish for lunch to keep salt to a minimum. Now we choose more widely.

I've only been on Britannia but there were plenty of changing tables around the ship. 

You'll have to stay with your baby in the kids club while they are under 2 but they have loads of baby toys and books. At night they run a free night nursery service where they have lots of travel cots put up, you bring your child and settle them (best be near settled when you bring them so they don't wake the other kids) then you get given a pager for if they wake and can't be resettled easily. It's well worth giving a go even if you don't think your little one will sleep as you might be surprised. We managed a good few nights out albeit some interrupted by the dreaded pager but it was nice to spend time one on one with each other. On my last cruise my toddler slept through another kid howling and the staff told us she was one of the best sleepers they'd ever had - cue much confusion because she never sleeps like that at home. It must be the magic salt air!

All in all, my husband and I love cruising with our baby. Everything is so easy once you are on board and the staff generally love having babies about. We've got another 3 cruises booked because it just works for us so well.

If you are want some idea about the view from this balcony then you can find a photo of the view from the cabin on the opposite side, 8048, which has an identical view in this thread: 

I've been in 8046 which is the cabin next door and has a slightly better view but it's a small boat not a tender in front of these cabins so you won't feel closed in by orange. The cabin is in a great location for the grand lobby and the theatre. We had a great trip

My 18 month old has 4 cruises under her belt, 2 with Cunard and we've found the children's facilities and the youth staff to be really good. The teen facilities looked as good as the stuff I saw on P&O which is pitched as very family friendly. In fact, they're run by the same staff in a very similar way. You'd just never know that the kids stuff was there unless you happened to walk past it as its a bit out of the way.

We're all looking forward to our next 3 Cunard trips including the Queen Anne maiden.

I wouldn't worry too much. You'll be able to register the children on embarkation day. This is usually between 2 and 4pm. And if you don't make it to that, just turn up the the first session you want to go to and register them then.

Thanks for the great review. I'm looking to do an Alaska trip in 2025 with my husband, toddler and my parents so this was very helpful in my planning. 

It's strange how something as nebulous as ambience makes such a huge difference. And it can change trip to trip. We did a Baltics cruise a few years back on QE which was about 70% Australian passengers and the atmosphere was so different compared to the Canaries trip we'd taken just 6 months before. Much more lively in the bars - not that the Canaries trip was quiet given most of the ship had vast quantities of OBC - and we had so much fun. Those memories make up how you see a ship - I still think of QE as being a bit of a party ship.

I did a trip on QV with a family member who did nothing but complain the whole time and it tainted how I saw the ship for a long time. But now when I think about the QV I start to think about both staff and passengers fussing over my little girl, the cute little dresses she wore for dinner, the first time my little girl put her feet in the sand. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll think about her as the ship which took me to see the Northern Lights.

I'm hoping Michel Roux doesn't reimagine the fish and chips too much!

I doubt I'll be able to try any of the alternatives on the maiden but I'll keep my fingers crossed that by some miracle they will have the kids club staffed and I can leave my little one while my husband and I enjoy one of the new restaurants. And if not, I'll have an excuse to go on her again.