wolfie789

I asked a question, which I hoped would be answered by somebody with a bit of knowledge of the ship. It appears that I’ve ruffled a few peacock feathers. Sorry.

No peacock feathers here - just folks pointing out that it would be inappropriate to bring alcohol on board for free and sit and drink it outside your cabin.

Cunard are currently very generous in their policy. It would be a shame if people taking advantage spoilt it for the rest of us.

Can you even imagine setting up with your own drink in the lounge of a smart hotel? Sometimes the liberties people want to take on a ship beggar belief.

Yes it is wholly included. We always dine in the QG for breakfast, lunch and dinner but do find the Butler useful for snacks and sometimes bringing coffee in the morning. If you feel like afternoon tea in your suite this can also be arranged and they will set the table with table-cloth, linen napkins and so on.

Just as with your Steward in PG, you are of course free to leave a tip for your Butler at the end of the trip. We have always given something to ours.

Thank you so much for posting this. My sister and I will be in QG for the January crossing. We had been wondering how it would all work—-and how it would compare to Crystal. One question : is QG dress very formal ? Thanks. Janet

 

 

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You will have a fantastic time in QG - They spoil you rotten!

The ship overall is very formal as another poster has said. I would say QG is possibly a tad more so (i.e. more suits and/or ties on the non-formal evenings) but that most passengers dress the same as others throughout the ship.

The PG cabin isn't that much bigger than a balcony and the enhanced dining is by far the main appeal of PG (along with the terrace and lounge area). Personally I wouldn't spend the extra money if I wasn't going to use the dining facilities.

It’s a no-brainer for me. For us the difference between QG and PG isn’t enormous, but is enough to pay a moderate premium for per person per day. Given the bigger suite, Butler service, off menu ordering, much better menu and so on, for the same price we would be in there like a shot.

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Well-put, let's hope the men in suits don't win :)

I've just watched this through. As a seasoned Cunarder it doesn't worry me unduly, but at the same time I can see how a newbie cruiser hearing "if you don't want to dress up, you don't have to" may take this out of context and think that the dress code is optional.

I've only walked past and peeped in a window.To me they are a converted white space.

Our experience of the lido alternative dining is that it is a surprisingly refined experience. We really enjoyed our Indian meal there.

Overall - I know this has been said before - we struggle to understand those who book Cunard and then wish to experience the "freedom" dining which is available on over 90% of other cruise lines. I entirely understand that fixed seating dining is not for everyone, but it has clear advantages. You get to know your table-mates, food can be produced efficiently from the galley, there is no waiting for tables and, most importantly for us, you get to know your wait-staff who can become familiar with your preferences.

Why book a line renowned for a traditional cruising experience and then try and make it like the vast majority of other less-traditional cruise lines? The point escapes me.

We've sailed in all classes except Britannia Club. Though QG is now our preference, the "sweet spot" for us is PG in that the fares can be reasonable and the jump between Britannia and PG is far bigger than the difference between PG and QG.

We're soon to do our first TA, but have booked QG on the grounds that we will be on the ship the whole time so want the very best dining experience. We normally don't set much store by the cabin we are in, but are looking forward to the QG space on the TA.

Yes you can, from the Cunard website -

 

"You can purchase up to a maximum amount of $1000pp USD ($1000pp per sector for World Cruise voyages) of gift credit (also known as on board spending money)."

 

It's not refundable though so don't forget to spend it all !

It used to be possible to buy OBC at advantageous exchange rates, I don't think that's the case anymore but if you are worried about worsening exchange rates it's certainly possible.

Many thanks!

Hello Cunarders. We have a TA upcoming in December. Even though we've never done so before, keeping an eye on the USD/GBP exchange rate we are wondering if buying OBC in advance might be a good idea. You used to be able to do this - does anyone know if you still can before you sail?

Thank you in advance.

Very few suits worn, but coats or sport coats are a very good idea. Looks good, fits dress code and comfortable with the air-con.

I would slightly disagree with this - suits are in the minority, but on our last four trips in PG/QG quite a few pax have been in suits on informal evenings. I agree with the air-con blazers are sometimes more comfortable though. I also bring several linen suits on board for this reason.

Agreed - please don't spoil it. Dining and the table companions one meets on a Cunard ship is a lovely experience, and one of the reasons we keep returning.

 

 

 

Last year, a couple at our table were doing it, and were very pleased with themselves for fooling Cunard. Our wine waiter wasn't fooled - he mentioned to the Maitre'D that it appeared some cabin glasses had been mixed up with the restaurant and bar stock!

 

 

 

Etiquette is not about being 'posh', but about respecting other people, and providing easy rules for us all to abide by - wherever we're from.

 

 

 

So please, if you want to consume your own drink, don't embarrass your fellow guests and wait staff - bring the whole bottle and pay the $20 corkage.

Hear hear.

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Can you walk into dinner carrying a glass bought from your cabin?

 

 

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Common courtesy on Cunard ships means the staff would not stop you, but most of us regular passengers would think it inappropriate given the formal ambience of the dining room. As another poster says, we all have to be careful not to take advantage of Cunard's currently very generous policy on bringing alcohol on board.

Sorry, correction, it was in the commodore club, but the dress code should apply there as well. They were served without any problems, and the commodore club was almost full.

 

 

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This is of course a real shame, but I'm not sure it's related to the changes in dress-code terminology recently. My experience on the QM2, QE and QV is that most staff, particularly at busy times, will turn a blind eye to dress-code transgressions, but upon request will happily remind guests of expectations.

In the UK, 250 ml is a common large glass served in a glass not a carafe and often unmarked. A measure is used when pouring instead.

Indeed. In fact, I've never eaten in a smart restaurant on land where measures are used - the sommelier normally pours from a bottle at the table. It would look tacky in my view if Cunard moved to using measures for wine.

I also know this has been said before, but as someone who is lucky enough to stay at some fairly nice hotels around the world for work, Cunard drinks prices really aren't that bad. Yes they are more expensive than my local pub, but they are cheaper than a lot of high-end restaurants and hotels.

Although we North American Cunarders "enjoy" about 20% of the Cunard website with NO access to most of it, including the sample menus, you can "break into" the UK site via Hulu and other web workarounds. There are sample and up to date menu samples for all restaurants, room service etc etc.

 

And frankly, the a la carte menu (which changes every seven days btw) for both Queens and Princess Grill is... impressive and covers starters, main courses and maybe (although not listed on the web) desserts. And while you may not be able to special order on a whim in PG, you'd have to be pretty fussy not to find more than enough from the a la carte and the daily menus. It's far better in terms of choice than say Oceania MDR.

 

I was interested that luncheon is the same for Queens and Princess Grills. But as a huge breakfast fan, QG offers an expanded choice including my favourite, Kedgeree.... I guess as a lowly PG passenger I will have to sulk a bit for 17 days come August. Or maybe try a special order at breakfast in PG....!

Our experience in PG was that it was very easy to special order things on the QG menu within reason, so I would explain politely to the M.D. that kedgeree is your absolute favourite and see what they suggest.

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Definitely not. Black leather shoes are the norm.

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The free drinks just refer to the in suite bar.

The Q.V. wine list is extremely extensive and can be accessed on the Cunard website. Enjoy the Queens Grill!

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We were very skeptical about the changes to the QG menus, but have to say we were genuinely impressed. We felt the menus had been made more modern, but with the classics still well represented. Both MDs we’ve dealt with recently have also encouraged us to special order anything we wanted from the old menu by lunch time, so it really is the best of both worlds.

There are undoubtedly areas where Cunard doesn’t do well enough or fudges issues with marketing speak (I.e. disappointing dress code changes) but we feel that QG menus aren’t one of them.

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Our view has always been that the "giant leap" is from Britannia to Princess Grill and that the difference in the dining experiences between the two Grills is modest.

In theory, I agree that the main difference is that off menu ordering is encouraged far more in QG than PG. For example, we often order off menu for lunch in the QG but would feel this would be pushing it a little in PG.

That said, a lot comes down to the waiting team you have in a particular restaurant. A couple of years ago in PG on QV we were actively encouraged to order off menu desserts and other dishes that were on the QG a la carte menu. Our first time in QG on the QV Beniamino Acler (since retired) was constantly suggesting off menu dishes and seemed to really enjoy table side cooking. When we were in QG on the QE last December however, this wasn't the case. Off menu requests were always agreed to politely but were no means encouraged and we never once saw the Maitre D cooking table side.

I thought I'd resurrect this thread. We're just off the QE in QG and have to say we were very impressed (again).

The a la carte menu has indeed changed, though a number of favourites remain. The major changes are: a more contemporary feel to the majority of the dishes; an increase in the number of items that must be ordered by lunchtime (lobster thermidor, chateaubriand, beef wellington, rack of lamb, duck à l'orange, dover sole; the fact that the a la carte portion of the menu changes occasionally, in our case mid-way through a 10-day cruise; the removal of a la carte desserts.

We went into this very skeptically, as we've been spoilt rotten in QG before and love the traditional food on the menus. To our surprise, we were very happy with the changes though. The majority of our favourites remain and we were never especially keen on the a la carte desserts. Both the new a la carte dishes and the daily menus feel far more contemporary (mostly in a good way).

Off menu ordering was broadly encouraged. The Maitre D did not circulate as much as we'd been used to on previous trips in PG and QG, but near-daily off-menu requests with the Head Waiter or MD were met with a smile and an "of course". Our waiter even prompted us on several days if there was anything special we wanted, something that hadn't happened before on trips in the Grills. This didn't seem particular to us - although many customers seemed content with the menus as they stood, others were ordering a mixture of things, from simpler dishes than those that normally appear on the menus, to flambé and table side items like Steak Diane and flambé desserts.

I'm somewhat of a skeptic by nature and had thought this might be a penny-pinching exercise by Cunard. Lots of changes on BA, billed as "enhancements", when they are nothing of the sort, have put me in this frame of mind. However, I'd genuinely say that we felt the menus to be an improvement. All the old favourites can be special ordered if they are not still on the menu, ditto those from the other circulations of the now-changing portion of the a la carte. Some of the new additions look set to become "old favourites" in due course - the scallop dish, the croquette of suckling pig and the new venison main course all come to mind.

I apologise if this post is overly long, but know that I had concerns booking QG this time, based on a number of reports, but have come back very happy.

On our last cruise we noticed some passengers changing back into daytime attire after dinner on formal nights. This seemed disappointing to us. Hopefully this doesn't become a trend.

Agreed. Very sad.

I normally go for a linen suit and tie on the first night.

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We am looking at several B to B cruises on Queen Victoria in April 2018. I am concern about the dress code for men. I will have a dark suite for formal, a sports jacket for informal nights. Would a black leather jacket be OK also for non formal nights also as I would use it when flying as luggage will be at a premium?

No a black leather jacket would look very out of place on informal nights - informal means jacket as in a blazer, suit jacket or sports coat and many men will where a tie also. Hope you enjoy your first Cunard cruise.