JT1101

The plaques help a little but they specifically need callouts of the history of Cunard. It is the lack of these (and lack of ship paintings and models) that makes QA feel generic. They don't need to have her feel like a museum but they need more than they currently have.

I do expect the first refresh for QA to pull it back a little bit towards looking like its fleet mates. Not a lot but (for example) having more identification with the history and traditions of Cunard.

The glitch in this thread really sounds like the TA messed up, so the TA has to fix it. Travel Agents are like any other kind of agent for you - research first. I went with a smaller agency but one with a lot of recommendations and where the agents have a ton of certifications (admittedly not yet from Cunard - they are working on that one). They are also British Isles and Ireland specialists (which is where their close relationship with BA comes from). And so far they have proven themselves.

My TA just processed my last payment for my December trip on QM2 and my CC transaction shows they sent it direct to Cunard. That is what a TA is supposed to do.

I've done sheltered and they are nice! Being inset into the hull you can even go out on the balcony in rough weather and enjoy it to some extent (of course a big wave directly hitting that area would splash in). I've gotten nice pictures straight down the side of the ship with a sheltered room.

The nice thing is they have a proven design template to use. Just call Stephen Payne back in to modify the QM2 design for the things he learned from it. Efficiency gains in both azipod motors and diesel generators could for example allow the gas turbines to be deleted or replaced with a less expensive unit.

As to Cunard's style of travel - there is another thread in here somewhere that broke out revenue across Carnival LLC by brand and then made it per ship. It was illuminating as basically on a per ship basis Cunard contributes 46% more revenue than the other Carnival lines.

It is effectively a full time one just one tailored to people's patterns. If you run down the schedule under "Transatlantic" you'll see either QM2 express or the slower South Atlantic based QE and QV (and now QA) based routes to the USA happen all year.

Yes. But again Cunard is not Carnival. Carnival LLC tends to give their business units leeway in how the operate so as not to overly homogenize the brands. The Transatlantic run is a money printer for Cunard so it is a pretty safe guess that QM2 will get a running mate somewhere along the line.

Seeing as Cunard has had zero issues with sailing fully booked I think the demand for what they provide is there for them.

Agreed. Cunard is more about the culture, enrichment, traditions and ambiance on the ships than the destinations it goes to. It's about a calm, relaxing atmosphere with a nice touch of chummy in it. It always has been.

Back to the OP. A principal difference between Cunard and the rest is Cunard has its own subculture and a fantastically high repeat rate. There is a long history and traditions and they are proud of both. Queen Mary 2 for example has wall murals filled with the history of transatlantic sailing and of Cunard. Some areas forward have an almost museum like feeling to them. It attracts ship buffs with a sense of history but despite that the atmosphere borders on chummy.

Pity we can’t move the scone posts to their own thread as they are interesting in terms of how people like their scones.

Hi! Sorry I did not respond sooner. I misspoke here about my allergy reporting being inside My Cunard. What happened was I was in My Cunard, looked in the FAQW using another tab and saw allergies needed Contact Us. Which I promptly did and got an email response adding it to my profile within a day. I do plan to also remind the Britannia Maitre'd on my first night - on other voyages what they did is give you the menu for the following night with any allergic items marked. On one trip my table played a nightly game called "preview of tomorrow" using my early access 😄

I've attended it after dark both in NYC and Southampton. In a way the winter party is a bit more fun because of the chilly weather and everyone on deck being in our coats with our drinks.

As I posted about earlier, I will be in the December 14 Transatlantic aboard QM2. This will be my fifth Transatlantic. Some thoughts: First, so far the Cunard end of the process has been flawless. Their interactions with my new Travel Agent (who is herself a gem) were extremely helpful and assisted in a VERY smooth booking. I know Travel Agents help in this but she remarked to me how easy and smooth Cunard made it for them. Second, as my last voyage was 2019 I had not seen the new My Cunard. Now that I have it I can say it is a considerable improvement. I have drinks packages, internet signup, gifts, specialty dining and other items at my fingertips. Also it was easy to put in my information including my dining allergy situation (shellfish allergy). Obviously I can't have done much more but I also have things I look forward to already. Like... Boarding her. When you step into the Grand Lobby on QM2 especially at Christmastime it is a visual that like no other ship. Regal, elegant and the mix of Christmas decorations, live music and all the trophies and honors the ship has earned displayed has a bit of a magical feel to it. Being greeted by not only hotel staff but an actual officer. This has happened every year. I confess I allowed my impish nautical side to emerge on year and saluted and requested permission to come aboard - he returned the salute and crisply said "Permission Granted". Getting settled into my stateroom. I've ridden sheltered balcony before and am doing so this time also. I like the sheltered balcony. Being on deck for the sailaway party. It is both fun and bracing. First dinner on board and first after dark laps on promenade. Some of these are things that make Cunard well...Cunard. At least to me.

Cunard does the traditional afternoon tea and IMHO they do it better than any other line. And yes all the scones and indeed all the baked stuff is made on board. And as a result the taste is great. Also, storing the raw ingredients is easier and more efficient than trying to store short shelf like finished products.

I won't use United ever again either. Different reason though. Flying from Chicago to Heathrow in 2018 I specifically noted allergic to shellfish on my forms and everything. They then proceeded to serve me a dinner on flight which (little did I know) had Oyster Sauce in it. By the time I touched down at Heathrow I was having a full blown reaction and had to be treated onsite by NHS (thank the Lord they had Epinephrine right there. United likewise offered perks to get me to fly again - nope...

Cunard is doing just fine, remember they already attested to record high bookings. As to internet cruise vloggers I am picky about who I'll trust exactly because some of them make no effort to know anything about what sort of ship/line they are on and then basically bash the ship/line (or gush) for clicks. That's why I mention Tips for Travelers, Emma Cruises, Ritzy Travel Guide and TravelTouristVideos as good ones - they DO take the time to understand what the ship, line and trip are about and adjust their mindset accordingly. Yes there were some maiden voyage hiccups on QA - they will pass. All new ships have some hiccups especially in service as the new crew gets used to working together. I will note I think Cunard erred by pulling over so many experienced staff from the other three Queens to get QA started up - all that did was cause disruptions fleet wide instead of just one ship. But again give it time and it settles down like it is already. As to dress code, it will work also. Those of us (me included) who prefer dressing all the way up will do so. And remember there are still reasonably dressy minimums. Even Smart Casual requires a collared shirt and dress pants. I would also note that the TAs and especially the winter ones seem to stay dressier.

I've chatted with my waiter/sommelier before as well as with my room steward. The steward talk was fun as we shared tea (I was brewing and offered a cup) and he was with Cunard 22 years at the time and came over from QE2. Cunard has always had this way where the touch of formality stays while you can get chummy with the crew at the same time.

It makes sense for 2026 to be a bigger drydock. Cunard typically services their ships in a "tick tock" or "big little" sequence where they alternate major and minor refits. Last October was the minor she was supposed to have in 2020 but the shutdowns happened. It was the "little" so the next one is a "big".

Yup! They will tear down the diesels, overhaul the azipods and also refit the electrical systems. Really big jobs like new generators or new azipods would be both time consuming and crazy expensive, taking her out of service for months and the bill would be enormous since both would need to be custom built.

I agree that we need to take internet sources with a HUGE grain of salt. Overall QM2 propulsion has been pretty reliable. She had a couple of episodes early which were down to the Rolls Royce Mermaid Azipod units and which actually caused a lawsuit by Cunard (Carnival) against RR. That finally got addressed and since then the only major issue was in 2023; which I suspect could be attributed to the missed 2020 refit (which happened later in the year). Now if we see a gap suddenly appear in her schedule then we can assume they are going to put her in for additional work.

Well I'm partly color blind, so I stick to blacks, whites and grey lest I accidentally wind up looking like The Joker...

I used a travel agent this year for the first time. The fare did not change but they secured me more perks (higher On Board Credit, complimentary Verandah dinner).