CabinC

I have an Alaska sailing this June from Vancouver. I see the Canada has now announced no Cruise Lines will be allowed into Canadian ports until July. Cunard has still not cancelled my trip. Any idea when they will begin to cancel? 

Just booking a Christmas sailing on QM2. First time booking Princess Grill. Anyone have any tips on their preferred cabin to book? I've never been on the ship so very little knowledge. P1 or P2 category. They aren't very far apart in price. Thanks!

Does anyone have any recent pictures of the Britannia Club on QE? I couldn’t really find any recent ones. I’ve been offered an upgrade for $1300 on a 10 night Cruise. Trying to decide if it’s good value. Thanks 

The American in me would feel the need to tip every  time food was delivered. Is this common or expected? 

2 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

We had our first Grills experience in 2009 - an upgrade from a Britannia balcony to a P2 on the QM2.  Being spoiled, the next year we booked Princess and were upgraded to Queens. The same happened in 2011. I knew our luck wouldn't last, but we continued to book Princess for a few voyages.

 

Then reality set in. The cost of Princess went from double to triple the cost of a sheltered balcony for any voyage that we were interested in.  On our next voyage, PG is almost four times Britannia.  We got a reasonable fare for Britannia Club once, but otherwise we have been in Britannia. Most of our crossings on the QE2 were in Britannia (later called Mauretania.)  Britannia on the current "Queens" is,  in almost every  way, superior to what we were used to on the QE2.

 

Of course we miss the Grills somewhat, but not to the extent that it has any impact on our enjoyment of the crossing or cruise.

Thanks for this analysis. I have been debating. The cost  of Princess/Queens Grill for a 7 day Trip is the same cost as Britannia  Balcony on my 21 day trip and I was trying to decide if the upgrade was worth that much. 

Just booked a 21 night Cruise on the QM2 in a Balcony Cabin. It was an additional $6,000 for Club Balcony and an additional $14,000 for Princess Grill. Think I'll stick with Britannia Balcony and save that money for another sailing 🙂

6 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

definitely don't want to be on deck 8. 

May I ask why you don't want to be on Deck 8? I was just moved to a cabin on Deck 8 in the aft block of balconies near the Queens Grill suites.

2 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

Is that price quoted for one or two people?

 

Single travellers in Grills pay 200% of normal fare.

 

If it's $8000 each (for two) then it's a bad deal. We always travel QG and expect to pay around £300 per person per day, if that helps.

$8000 for two of us in one cabin/$4000 each premium. 

Greetings,

I know this topic is very subjective. I am simply curious as to each persons view of at what point a Grills upgrade becomes a reasonable upgrade cost? I've never travelled in Grills so have no experience to draw from. For example: I am doing two sailings on Cunard in the next two years. One of those sailings is 10 nights and one is 14 nights. Both sailings are in Balcony Cabins. I was interested in paying for the upgrade to Princess Grill for the 14 night sailing but the premium to move to Princess Grill was $8,000 more or $572 more per day (on top of the hefty price I already paid for the cabin I already have.) While I would surely enjoy the experience I cannot justify such a big jump. On the QM2 is this considered a value/standard upgrade price and do you think it provides value for money? What sort of upgrade premium is Princess Grill a bargain at? If it had been $3,000 more I feel I would have found value in the fare but $8,000 more is another Balcony Cabin on another sailing in my eyes. Of course I understand that to some this might be a great deal and hence I was interested in the opinions. 

Happy Sailings

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I like the sunny side of the ship, too. A friend prefers the shady side. So we each have our own set of preferences. Unfortunately, as Hattie said, the upgrade is based on the way Cunard categorizes the cabins.

 

When QM2 was new, they kept changing the order of the sheltered balconies and the obstructed balconies. That's when I started having my TA mark my reservations "do not upgrade." I like the sheltered balconies, and an obstructed balcony is NOT my idea of an upgrade. For me, there's no point in having a glass-fronted balcony when all you can see from it is a big ORANGE lifeboat?!?

 

In my mind on the QM2 the Sheltered Balconies are the BEST rooms if you enjoy the Ocean. The Glass Fronted on the higher decks are set back behind the deck and so if you look down you'll be looking down at decks. The sheltered balconies give you straight views of the ocean below. Id' be highly annoyed if I was moved from a Sheltered to a Glass Front on the QM2 unless it was a Grill upgrade. I don't even think I'd particularly want a Club room upgrade. We all have our preferences I suppose. 

I originally had a choice of a Deck 8 glass fronted Cabin or a Deck 4 forward metal fronted balcony on QE. I opted for the Deck 4 metal front because the balconies are larger and I thought it would be a nice to use the extra space to sit and have a light breakfast or drink and watch the world sail by.

I'm working on it with my Travel Agent. I feel badly about turning down an "upgrade" because I understand that the BB category is considered an upgrade for some reason, but I enjoy looking down at the waves passing by and I don't much fancy looking down at the orange life rafts. 

3 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

Please note the Cunard FAQ is a bit confusing on this topic (what else is new?). Here's what the Cunard US FAQ says.

 

(Question) Can I upgrade my stateroom?

 

(Answer) A request for complimentary upgrade can be made at time of booking and anytime up to the departure date. Upgrades are based on many factors and cannot be confirmed. If multiple bookings are cross-referenced there is no guarantee that all bookings will receive an upgrade or that staterooms will be near each other or be on the same deck. If you receive an upgrade to a higher category you will not have the option of returning to your original stateroom if the upgraded location is not to your liking. Please take this into consideration if you chose to make your booking eligible for an upgrade.

 

This makes it sounds like you have to "opt in" to be eligible for a complimentary upgrade by specifically requesting that option. In actuality, you have to "opt out" if you don't want to receive a complimentary upgrade.

Its all very frustrating. 

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Does Cunard “upgrade” booked passengers from specifically selected staterooms without first checking with the passenger?  That simply does not sound right.

Thats what happened in my case. 

10 minutes ago, LMADAMS91 said:

Call immediately and ask to be sent to whatever location you want in your original category.  No guarantees but they will do their best to get you to where you want. It happened with my aunt and they moved them back to their original location. Do it NOW, though. 

 

I did. They said it has been sold and those rooms are all gone. I'm technically in a higher category but a less desirable room in my opinion. Rather unhappy with the change. 

I just realized that Cunard has moved me from my carefully selected Cabin and upgraded me from a "BF" category to a "BB" category stateroom over the lifeboats. The problem is that I enjoy lookin down at the water and don't want to look down at the orange lifeboats. Apparently they have since sold my original room to someone else. Any chance that they will remedy this? Any suggestions? Apparently all of the rooms similar to my old room have been sold. 

Regards, 

CC

2 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

No.

 

As I suspected. Thank you. 

Hello!

I am debating joining my family on the MSC Meraviglia on a Caribbean Cruise out of Miami next year. I'd be traveling solo so paying for Double Occupancy (which is fine) because frankly I need my own space. My Cruise Agent has suggested the Yacht Club and the more I've researched it the more I think its where I would prefer to be. I'm not a fan of mega ships in general. Its quite a bit more expensive than a standard balcony ( Over 3 times more) but I think I'd be quite comfortable there. The problem is obviously that my family would not be in this part of the ship for meals and such. That actually doesn't bother me too much because I can join them sometimes and we are such a big and varied group I imagine we will be all over the place  doing our own things at different times. My question is that since I have paid for double occupancy, will I be allowed to have a guest join me by the YC pool or bar or such if I am escorting them? I imagine the answer is no, but I was curious if anyone had any experience with this? 

Kind regards,

CC