Windsurfboy

The queue was simply because lots of people ignored their allocated time. We had a 8.00 am time, it was impossible to get a lift on 9 as they were full with people from above. Yet 8 am should be predominantly QG from deck 9. When we eventually got to deck 2 gangway, no one was checking times just waving everyone through. It should be made clear if you come before allocated time made to wait. Clearly just wanted people off.

Thank you Selbourne and others, as next cruise is Arvia will do it on cruise personaliser .

where is the best place to book speciality dining once you board. Is it at Pursers office or do they have a desk at the suites/peninsula club lunch

After quite a numbers of reminders/complaints by regulars , service restarted

On a slightly different but related topic, there was some confusion as wether tonight was going to be formal as it said formal in daily programme, smart attire on TV. Osman sorted it out , but discussion led to why only 3 formal nights. Osman said some people don't like formal so eat in buffet, so company dropped it to three in a fortnight. Clearly the wishes of regulars who like formal are secondary. On QM2 grills deck is far to small and no service, grills service should apply to all areas. Cunard grills prices have more than kept up with inflation Anyway get full service on every deck on Saga. So our go too will be Sagaa and Silversea , but still trying to fit in Cunard Japan to Alaska

What's experience on other ships to this retrograde step

If you take the airline analogy for boarding and embarkation privileges then it's irrelevant to those who book first, they board first and get into best lounges. It's same with Cunard. Status is irrelevant. If we think of extra benefits, then these are based on status, which is linked very directly to how much you spend in the preceding year. Being based on distance flown and class of travel. Whether Cunard goes this far is debatable, but clearly it makes business sense to reward current loyalty, e.g. cruises in last 3 years.. Whatever it does benefits should be clear and meaningful. Giving 60% of ship priority status doesn't work

Firstly we live 225 miles away so we pay for 150 miles at £2.50 =£425. We can get a chauffeur car for £400 each way. I don't think our taxi fares are council controlled for non meter fares. The company I mention is the same company that took us on our last Saga cruise , private transfer as it was under Covid. BMW 7. Clearly the closer you live the bigger the impact of the free 75 miles hence lower the effective rate , if you live 80 miles away going private is a no brainer. If you live 300 miles away you pay £562.50 each way. Live 76 miles away effective rate 3p per mile , 300 miles away effective rate £1.87 per mile. I was thinking about peole who live a fair distance away like ourselves

Yes Saga are better than P&O and Cunard. In my opinion Saga's food on par with Cunard queens grill if not better. The atmosphere and facilities throughout ship is just on higher level. Worth the money.

Your experience seemed similiar to ours except we didn't have to order wine in morning. We've been on QG and PG. Off on Friday on QM2 which unless it is a vast improvement will be our last Cunard. Except for using them as an alternative to a plane to come back from South Africa. Cunard when it goes that way comes straight back , whilst the only SS I've seen took a long time calling at lots of African ports and then went to Mediterranean. It would take a bit more than a private lift to make the Grills experience any thing like the adverts. Whilst Saga , may not be the full Boutique experience they advertise, it's still very nice all round the ship. SS is definitely on our to try list. Thanks

I think our experience in April was similiar to yours, glad Cheese has risen from ABYSMAL to OK. Apart from that happy with food , but the Dover sole and rack of lamb relied on heavily . Agree wandering round ship on smart nights , things weren't as expected much more casual verging on scruffy than smart. Off on QM2 on Friday, may be our last Cunard except to use as plane alternative back from Capetown unless it improves. As we found Saga better and once outside grills a less mass market more refined experience.

The problem Cunard have is with QG , PG, BC, Diamond and Platinium all being told they are PRIORITY , and wanting to turn up at 12.30 thinking priority means one of first on board. That's half the ship , passengers that should be spread out over first 2 hours of the 4 hour boarding window, all thinking they can get on first. A recipe for certainly frustration and potential chaos.

Thank you very informative, very happy with Saga, but also now very much looking forward to trying SS when the right intinerary comes up. Ideally we'd like a 3 or 4 week cruise out of the UK, happy to fly back. Keeping eye open. One question what is SS pricing time line like, do you have to book on launch or is it pretty constant. In the same context of helping with comparisons. Price wise Saga compares to Cunard, suite same price as queens grill, deluxe cabin same price as princess grill, standard cabin same price as Brittania Club. The food on Saga matches Cunard grills , even better if you take speciality restaurants into account. However the ambience , service and on Saga all across the ship is just a level above hate to say it more refined. Some how Saga feels friendlier both staff and passengers, perhaps we have more in common with Saga clientele. Cunard feels like mass market product. Yes mid 70s is average Saga age, but age for age seem younger than Cunard.

That's the problem

P Formal suits are only required on board a Transatlantic cruise on Gala Evenings and, even then, there’s no pressure to dress-up if you don’t want to. Most of our guests, however, relish the opportunity to put on a Tuxedo for one night and channel their James Bond alter-ego.A formal suit, shirt, and tie of any colour will also do just fine for Gala Evening. And if you want to embrace the theme in your outfit choice, well you’re more than welcome to do that too. We’ve had many gentlemen on board who’ve given their partners a run for their money when it comes to their Gala Evening attire. So feel free to be as lavish as you like. it's the unnecessary addition of transatlantic that causes confusion. Making people think it only applies to transatlantic cruises

It's too late to have correct wording to daily programme, if ambiguity in website results in people bringing wrong clothes can't pop home to get it. Clearly (I hope) DJ or suits are still required on formal nights. Why does the Cunard website make such a mess of something so simple.

Thus the big problem is promising everyone priority (OK I exagerate) and that just causes frustration

The table on page 146 of my good old paper brochure, Aug 22 to May 24, (relatively new ), showing what each stateroom class gets, has BC having priority embarkation and disembarkation

My error

What is needed is simple honest open approach. If they say boarding times are in order, for example QG PG BC Platinum Diamond Others. Everyone would understand. But to say everyone is priority just leads to frustration

Thanks for the review. Agree with most of what you say Saga is the best option for no fly cruises from UK. SS from London is inconvenient for many One thing I don't understand is the fixation of many people with the included car to the airport it's not free, and upgrading to a private car costs as much as booking one yourself . All one needs to do is find a good local chauffeur /taxi company. Yes you may need to add in a bit more leeway.

The safety video stays on repeating until you have been to muster station

On our cruise the Brittania band played music that you could either disco or ballroom to. You had couples doing both. It is not a huge space so no strictly competitors or wild jivers. Their objective was to get people on the floor , not just sitting and talking. Started off quiet but more and more people eventually got going.

Clearly neither of your sons are opticians , as they advise you to always wear sunglasses in bright sun, to avoid cataracts

Agree with both these comments. Love to try SS if they did more return cruises out of Southampton. Living in Cornwall Southampton is 4 hours way. Airports further. So after a long flight, we just want to unwind. We love cruises but they are busy holidays.