JT1101

I would think the only way to figure out if a drink package is worthwhile is to know the prices of drinks beforehand so you can factor it up. For example, I am a teetotaler so if I looked at a drink plan it would be either the Specialty Hot Drinks or Premium Non Alcoholic. The issue is without knowing what Hot Chocolates, Tea Fortes, non alcoholic Cocktails et al cost it is hard to make an informed decision. 

Let's be honest here - while I do feel the ship needs some more explicit callbacks to Cunard history and tradition she is without a doubt beautiful. For example the artwork in the main lobby where the image changes depending on where you look from is an outstanding piece of art. 

Just give us a ship model or two with some informative plaques and such talking about Cunard and Bob's Your Uncle. 

Cunard has spoken to this before and even shown it off on kitchen tours - everything is made fresh on board. It even makes sense as the raw ingredients take less space to store, have a longer shelf life and cost less than buying ready made items. As to them looking alike they should - I've worked bakery before and part of being good at it is consistency - dough patted / rolled out to the same thickness and cut properly and baked uniformly. There are some exceptions - like some American style buttermilk biscuits for example where they are scooped and dropped onto the pan - but uniformity is generally the rule. 

1 hour ago, ElmaLee said:

Why is that?

Because cellular type communications usually are based on range to cellular towers. Something like Starlink on the other hand is satellite based. 

Something like that is better for shorter cruises that stay mostly close to land than, say, a Transatlantic. 

5 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I was on the third voyage and each new plaque would be displayed at the purser's desk, which I thought was nice. Toward the end, I asked someone where they would hang the plaques and was told "they're going up today." sure enough, they're in a hallway near the buffet. I thought I'd taken a picture, but I can't find it. 

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. 

2 hours ago, starquake said:

 

And I suspect quite a large % of Cunard comes from the transatlantic runs.    When you are effectively on a ship with no port stops, casino, on board spend revenue also increases in proportion.

 

There is literally no chance any sane businessman would turn down a potential another 40 years of revenue where the one ship contributes a huge percentage of the revenue..  Remember QM2 has a 40 year "from shipyard" service life, and assuming the replacement has same, they'll need to start building the new ship around 2029 ish, to allow a 5 year overlap.    That means they'll need to start the design work in the next 5 years.

 

I also expect cost of capital to be a major contributing factor, as expect the new QM2 to have a minimum of 2 billion needed spending on it.

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. 

7 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

Weren’t people making similar prognostications all the way through the 1990s?

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. 

21 hours ago, david63 said:

But is that approach sustainable in the long term? I would hazard a guess that the number of passengers looking for that experience is declining

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

2 hours ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

Yes! THIS!!!

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.

16 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Thank you for your informative perspective on Cunard. I have a question about this point. Where in My Cunard did you enter the information about your dining allergy situation? Is that done in the On Board Needs Questionnaire? I can't seem to find a section in that questionnaire which applies to food allergies but perhaps I've just overlooked it. Or is that entered somewhere else in My Cunard that I've missed? Thanks for your assistance with this detail.

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 😄

7 hours ago, Pushpit said:

This sound like the same departure as I had departing 15 December 2023 Southampton to New York (which I did a sort-of Live From thread elsewhere).

 

As I recall, given the not great weather and somewhat late departure, I don't think there was a sailaway party (and nothing beats a summer sailaway party on QM2 out of Hamburg, by the way). It wasn't advertised in the Daily Programme and she sailed at around 22:00 hrs due to a small delay on loading supplies leading to a lost slot and some large cargo ships needing to get out. I think you would have had to be quite hardy to be outside at that hour. But I'm sure you won't mind too much, there's always the Commodore Club.

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. 

6 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

United Airlines.

Their alternative name begins with U, but ends in double s. They gave me a 'free' first class ticket after a disastrous flight experience.

 

I binned it.

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. 

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Believe it or not, poverty is subjective.

When you have heat from the sun, food to pick off the trees, you won't be cold and you won't starve but living in a house rather than a shanty and to provide that for your family is the goal of many and apart from seeing that for real when we lived in S.E.Asia, we were told how the staff we talked to support their families back home without us asking so no, we didn't 'question' anyone. That would be crass and we are most definitely, not crass.

 

When you meet the same staff over the years, we chat and  it's amazing how you DO become part of the family and you learn about the lives of staff and their families, again, without asking but because we are interested, we learn and we ask after them and admire the photos as the children grew up.

 

I can tell you which football teams some support, which schools some of the children go to [educating their children is a goal of many of the staff], how their children have progressed to university and which of the computer science courses they are taking.

 

So no, we don't intrude and ask and it's not being nosey, it's being interested in staff as people rather than just 'staff' and that might be why we are welcomed as if coming home.

 

 

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.