More Dining Questions ..Queen Mary

More Dining Questions :)

This is our first cruise on Cunard...we are on a 6 day crossing ...coming off of two other back(transatlantic) to back(cruising the British Isles/Europe) cruises in the Bristish Isles/Europe. With limited luggage and planning for approx 34 days at sea ...we will not be able to pack formal wear except for possibly one suit/fancy dress. I would like to know what options will be available to us..dining areas ...we have a B balcony cabin. We are also cruising on HAL and NCL and we are very familiar with their dining options.

Are you able to order full menu from the dining room to be served in your cabin via room service?

..is there a casual wear dining option?

Are the venues for dining for breakfast/lunch casual wear?

Thank you so much for your responses.

1ph

(I posted this on another dining thread but about the QV ..but thought I should start a new thread on my question)

With limited luggage and planning for approx 34 days at sea ...we will not be able to pack formal wear except for possibly one suit/fancy dress. we have a B balcony cabin.

Welcome to the Cunard Board!

I have also crossed in a B grade cabin and loved every moment of the trip (my first, of several, voyages with Cunard).

Do try to take at least one formal outfit, you will miss out on so much if you don't (or just a dark suit for him and a simple, long, classy black dress for her will do if you don't want to do the whole "black tie/ball frock" thing). On your crossing there will be three formal nights and these candlelight evenings in the spectacular Britannia Restaurant will be "off limits" unless you are suitably dressed. It really is worth the effort, do pack for a formal occasion. Cunard is a "dressy" line and crossings are more formal than cruises. I cannot put this strongly enough, you really will miss out, in my experience, well over 95% will be dressed formally for these special evenings. Note that this not only applies to the restaurants. The many bars and various public rooms, the theatre, the cinema, the night club etc will all be full of passengers dressed in their best.

Are you able to order full menu from the dining room to be served in your cabin via room service?

No, Only a very limited choice (simple or fast food), bearing no relation to what is being served in the main restaurants, is available.

..is there a casual wear dining option?

Yes, each evening there will be one (of three) casual self service buffet open on deck 7. Each night they vary which buffet is open as self service (the other 2 operate as reservation only restaurants, I believe the dress code for the evening will apply to these 2 as well as in the main Britannia Restaurant).

Are the venues for dining for breakfast/lunch casual wear?

Yes, no swimming attire, "short" shorts etc. But smart casual wear is no problem.

Hope this helps, below is a link to my review of my crossing and another link to pictures of a B grade cabin. Also pictures of the interior of QM2 and of the crossing itself.

Have a great time.

As Pepper says, the dining experience is a great portion of the whole Cunard Voyage, taking the QM2 and not dressing would be like Clinton not inhaling, a real waste.

As Pepper says, the dining experience is a great portion of the whole Cunard Voyage, taking the QM2 and not dressing would be like Clinton not inhaling, a real waste.

Inhaling ???? I thought he exhaled?

Iph, both Pepper and Capt'n have given you good advice. The formal evenings on a crossing are highlights of the voyage.

If you can pack one suit and one formal dress, you will have all you need. If you have a very simple elegant black gown, you can change the look with jewelry or wraps. However, there is nothing wrong with wearing the same gown with no changes for all the formal nights. Many gowns are made of very light weight fabric and take up almost no space.

Almost all Cunard passengers dress for dinner and remain dressed for the evening. If you don't take at least one formal gown and suit, you will miss the evenings entertainment as well as dinner in the Britannia.

The dress code in the dining room for breakfast and lunch will be very similar to what you find on HAL.

Have a wonderful crossing.

Beth

1particularharbor - You just must get the full QM2 experience & dress up in formal --- it just wont be the same memorable treat if you don't! Cram that tux & long dress in your bag somehow or simply hire them on board (seemed like a decent choice available for both gents & ladies on our last voyage). Promise you will be pleased you did!

Have a lovely time:)

Inhaling ???? I thought he exhaled?

Rob, I thought he said that he didn't inhale :)

Thanks for the responses ...I am working on "wardrobe" options that can be "mixed and matched" ...

I look forward to the Queen Mary cruise ..

1ph

I think HAL is also quite dressy on formal nights. A long gown, or preferabbly two (and dark suit or tux for him) won't be a waste of space at all, I'm sure you will wear them much more often than you would at home.

You could look into formal separates (maybe pick 2 colors that can be matched together easily such as black and silvery gray or black and champagne color and you will get many options from minimal amount of clothes - I would stay away from very flashy color, people won't notice a simple black dress being worn a few times but a sexy red dress worn twice will get noticed for sure :D). here are some examples of evening separates : http://www.formalwear-outlet.com/separates.html

http://www.alexevenings.com/classic.html

With 1 or 2 long skirts and 2-3 mix-and-matching tops, you will have many options, you won't repeat the exact same outfit.

NCL also has formal optional nights (no need of floor-lenght gown there but you can wear it there too if you would like... but your semi-formal outfits will also suit the bill any night on NCL).

Do you need someone to haul your extra suitcase? I'll do it for free in exchange for the passage :D)

If you book Queens Grill accommodations you can have those dinner choices brought to your state room.

As others have said, take a dark suit or rent a tux onboard. The ladie's dress does not have to be floor length. It can be a dressy knee or calf length dress as well. I have even seen some with dressy black pants and a sparkly top.

Search for Penny's thread, what not to be missed on the QM2 and be sure and sign the Cruise Critic log book kept at the Librarian's desk in the Library.

I envy your 34 days at sea, sounds wonderful! :D