Cunard Introduces A La Carte Pricing For Diners

[LauraS]

Check out this news item from Cruise Critic:

 

Cunard Introduces A La Carte Pricing For Diners

[orchestrapal]

Talk about nickle and dime ing people to death...:(.Give me a ship where ALL the restaurants are included in the cruise fare, Oceania!::D

[Keith1010]

I hope this isn't the start of what has happened in the airline industry.

 

Keith

[Travelcat2]

Maybe there should be an option to fish off the back of the ship for your own dinner:rolleyes:

[yrrah]

I do not think an upscale optional restaurant aboard QE, with an a la carte menu, priced per course, is a good idea!

 

Interestingly, I can even see immediate issues affecting Cunard revenue and restaurant booking availability (e.g., passengers who only come for one course, passengers who decide to share items) ... so, will that mean that Cunard may have to then institute a per-person minimum (e.g., an even-more tacky way to go).

 

I could envision a more-standard industry fixed-price option for a meal with surcharges for certain higher-cost items [as is done in many land-based restaurants with fixed-price meals].

 

As to Todd English, that entire QM2/QV venture has issues that Cunard is hopefully trying to resolve on QE with this new concept (e.g., current limited Cunard control over never-changing Todd English menu selections/recipes). As many others on these boards have alluded to, Todd English now is not as good as the two Grills and QM2's Britannia Club ... an expensive vessel speciality restaurant should be at least as good -- and really better -- than those [one would think that Cunard itself would want to show off its culinary skills so that Britannia passengers might in the future travel in luxury Grill or Britannia Club space].

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[wripro]

Are they not also starting to charge for the evening meals at the restaurants in Kings Court on the QM2. All the more reasons not to include Cunard in the luxury thread.

[keithm]

Are they not also starting to charge for the evening meals at the restaurants in Kings Court on the QM2. All the more reasons not to include Cunard in the luxury thread.

That one is still open for debate. The QM2 so far is not included. As to luxury or not, I defer to the Berlitz guide(and Mr.Ward)& no one else. As long as they lable the Grills luxury, then luxury it is. What rule book does it say the ENTIRE ship has to be "luxury"?

[Travelcat2]

Oceania is also on this board -- not luxury but perhaps premium plus. In terms of who puts ships into categories. . . . . the travel industry which includes travel writers, magazines, associations, etc. And, yes, a whole ship has to be put in the same category. There are occasions when travel agents do their own categorization and put Cunard and Oceania and others into this class.

[Keith1010]

I hope that regardless of what type of cruise line Cunard is trying to be that people think this is a bad move. What will they do the next time? Is this their idea of what pasengers want?

 

Keith

[wripro]

Just because someone puts Oceania on this board does not make it luxury (and I happen to like Oceania a lot)any more than a 5000 sq.ft. villa on NCL makes that ship luxury.

 

And I still have to disagree. I think the whole ship does have to be luxury in order to have a luxury experience.