Anyone done TA Cunard to embark Princess Europe?

[heatescapee]

The 2012 cruise schedules would make taking Cunard TA from NY to Southhampton ideal, followed by a Princess British Isles cruise. BUT, and it's a big BUT, we wouldn't want to be formal on Cunard. DH would take a nicely tailored navy blazer and good slacks and rep tie, but no dark suit or tux. So we'd have to dine 4 nights at the Kings Court buffet. Would we also be confined to our cabin after dinner on formal nights.....no bar or show or casino???? Have any Pricess cruisers done this?

[DrivesLikeMario]

You might get a better answer at the Cunard board. I can tell you that I just returned from a Cunard TA on the QM2 last October/November.

 

The King's Court is one thing I did not like about Cunard. I found it confusing and there weren't a lot of choices offered. Perhaps I'm too picky of an eater though. The reservations for dinner were booked up on the very first day for the entire 7 night cruise, so if you plan to eat there, make sure you make your reservations ASAP after boarding.

 

I did the formal nights, as did the vast majority of people. It wasn't as formal as I had expected. The men wore a lot tuxes, but I was disappointed in what the ladies wore. I saw many wearing business suits and office-type dresses in floral prints even! Three out of 4 of the women at our table wore formal dresses. The other was a newbie and didn't understand what formal nights were. My point is - you may feel a bit out of place on formal nights - even in the King's Court. I can tell you that room service was absolutely the best I've had on a cruise - efficient, hot, quick service with a smile, not to mention delicious food.

 

When you come into Southampton, be aware that they sometimes change piers at the last minute due to the tides. Ours was changed once prior to sailing and then again once we neared the Isle of Wight. This caused a great deal of confusion at the port, although Cunard employees were working diligently to help everyone find what they were looking for (busses, luggage, taxis, etc).

 

There are some terrific things to see in Southampton while you're waiting to board your British Isles cruise. Since so many people do back-to-back TAs, Cunard gives out a great detailed map of the port and also offers some tours that day too. You might be able to take your luggage with you on a tour, return to the QM2 at the end of the tour, remove your luggage from the bottom of the bus, then take a taxi to the Crown Princess (or CB if you're going in 2012).

 

Hope this info. helps. If you have any questions, ask away. ;)

[heatescapee]

Thank you so much for the info, DrivesLike. We would have 2 nights between the 2 cruises, so the transferring would be easy. A couple of further questions: We could dine in Britania 3 nights, right?....or would we only be appropriate for "elegant casual"? And does Kings Court have restaurants that a nice Blazer (Brooks Bros) and tie would be appropriate on formal nights? I was thinking just the buffet on formal nights. And what about wandering the rest of the ship on formal nights? We wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable by not being "formal". For a woman formal is easy, but it's a bulkier packing situation for men. BTW, I considered posting on the Cunard site and have been reading/searching there; it appears Cunard passengers enjoy formal nights, as a group they are VERY supportive of formal nights, but I wonder if this attitude is reflective of the majority of the Cunard passengers. Again thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions.

[DrivesLikeMario]

One part of the Kings Court every night requires reservations. The other part is the usual buffet, but it's pretty abbreviated at night - not a whole lot to chose from compared to other lines IMO. Each night, a different venue in the King's Court has reservations.

 

For the reservations, most men wore a blazer & tie, women wore regular dresses.

 

For the buffet, most people dressed as they would during the day (no shorts), just decent clothes, no flip flops, etc. even on formal nights, but you would still seem some people formally dressed in the buffet on the formal nights. We had 4 formal nights on a 7 night cruise.

 

Dining in Brittania on the other nights, you'd be fine in a dress and your DH in a blazer with an open-neck shirt, although most of the men wore ties too. Some also wore suits on the casual nights.

 

You might feel uncomfortable wandering around in the evening on formal nights if you're not in formal wear. It is definitely a more formal atmosphere.

 

Before cruising with Cunard, I thought it would be formal and expected it as such. Once onboard, I was a little disappointed as to what some people consider "formal". The men seemed to get it right, but there were some pretty clueless women! I guess you get that on any cruise though.

[cruiserdru]

We have done 2 TAs and a 10-day Caribbean cruise on Cunard (QM2) and will be taking our third TA as a means of returning from a 27-day Princess cruise. The TAs seemed slightly more formal than the cruise. TAs on Cunard tend to draw a more conservative crowd than their cruises.

 

That said, in the Britannia dining room on the TAs there were a fair number of tuxedos, many suits, and a number of men in blazers and ties on formal nights. No one was turned away from the dining room. There were no ladies in 'ball gowns' although there were many in long dresses, many in long skirts with fancy tops, and many in cocktail dresses.

 

At our table on one TA there was an elderly gentleman who wore a sweater over his shirt and tie for all formal nights. There did not seem to be people looking askance at him and it certainly didn't bother us.

 

The question is your level of comfort with being, not alone, but in the minority. If it would increase your comfort level, you could give the appearance of a dark suit by combining Navy pants with the Navy blazer and taking a couple of different ties. Most people don't look that closely and are too busy with themselves to be whispering about what another person is wearing.

 

I do not know the level of adherence to formality in the Queen's and Princess' grilles as they are way out of our price range.

 

If you have never been on Cunard, please don't let this issue come between you and the opportunity. A Cunard TA is an experience. There is an incredible amount to do on the ship and their ships are beautiful. The people have never come across as stuffy or unfriendly.

[MCC retired]

I love Cunard yet dislike dressing formal on any skip.

However , I do make the effort to blend in on formal nights with a dark suit , jacket & tie on Informal ,then skip the tie on Elegant Casual.

 

I suggest , make a minimal effort to go with the flow and you will enjoy Cunard . It is a different experience .

Also, visit the Cunard Board for more input.

[MCC retired]

I love Cunard yet dislike dressing formal on any ship.

However , I do make the effort to blend in on formal nights with a dark suit , jacket & tie on Informal ,then skip the tie on Elegant Casual.

 

I suggest , make a minimal effort to go with the flow and you will enjoy Cunard . It is a different experience, don't miss out .

Also, visit the Cunard Board for more input.

[DrivesLikeMario]

...The people have never come across as stuffy or unfriendly.

 

I totally agree with that comment. I expected stuffiness from fellow passengers, but did not notice any more of it on the TA than on any other cruise I've been on, perhaps even less. This was my first cruise as a solo cruiser and I was worried about people not being friendly. To my surprise, I have never, ever met such friendly people on a cruise! I was amazed at how genuinely nice the majority of people were. They didn't seem to be scrutinizing how anyone else was dressing either. Most were just ordinary people looking to have an extraordinary time. :)

[FinDevious]

I wouldn't worry about the formal nights, you'll be quiet surprised at how informal they actually are, you'll still be able to go into the main dinning room on formal nights in a blazer and slacks. As with other posts in this thread, I found the passengers on Cunard ships to be very polite and friendly. I never experienced any snobbish behaviour. Relax and enjoy your trans-atlantic crossing it's a great experience.

[FoghornLeghorn]

I'm doing something similar.

 

But, I'm going from FLL to London with the Grand Princess for 14 days.

6 days in London at a hotel.

Then the TA on the QM2 from London to NY.

 

Since they have formal on Princess, I will take a couple of more formal outfits I can mix and match, and then wear again on the TA on the QM2.

 

I've flown so much, that crossing the Atlantic on a ship will be a special treat for me.

[ONT-CA]

I'm doing something similar.

 

But, I'm going from FLL to London with the Grand Princess for 14 days.

6 days in London at a hotel.

Then the TA on the QM2 from London to NY...

 

Thoroughly enjoyed this posting as we are looking at booking this in reverse in the fall. As Carnival owns both lines one would think that there could be more of a coordinated effort on their part to accomplish this sort of TA activity. Airfares are killing the cruising industry. Suitable b2b, return or North American dis/embarking ports can be difficult and or repetitive. The concept of using the two lines to take airfares our of the equation would help.

 

Packing the tux is our way of being prepared for every occasion.

[Smee]

Princess is one hell of a come down after Cunard..........:eek:

[ONT-CA]

Princess is one hell of a come down after Cunard..........:eek:

 

As a Princess Elite and having never sailed Cunard, at least not yet, we have something to look forward to. But there is something to be said for Princess in that they have never offered me an obstructed balcony with a life boat attached...

 

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