Dining options

[Yorkshire Pride]

Help please, we are looking at QM2 in October, not having cruised with Cunard before it looks like the better cabin you book the better restaurant you are assigned. Is there a vast difference in the food served in these restarant's and is it worth paying for a better cabin to get into a better restaurant.

[Toffeegirl68]

I have never dined in the grills - or in Britannia Club.

 

All I can say is that the main Britannia has never been a disappointment to us ......

[keithm]

Help please, we are looking at QM2 in October, not having cruised with Cunard before it looks like the better cabin you book the better restaurant you are assigned. Is there a vast difference in the food served in these restarant's and is it worth paying for a better cabin to get into a better restaurant.

The Grills had far superior food & more personalized service. You never feel rushed as there is no "seating" after you. I guess it all depends on what you want to spend. The Grills are a easily few times more than a standard stateroom. They're also a lot larger. A good compramise is doing the "Britannia Club" which has more Al a Carte food choices & better service.

[Whitemarsh]

If budget isn't an issue I would strongly recommend you book Princess Grill. The PG suites are beautiful and dining in the PG restaurant is a wonderful experience; the food is superb and the service is divine.

 

If you are looking for a truly special experience then book a Princess Grill suite.

 

Having said that, the service throughout the ship is excellent and I have been told that the food in the Britannia restaurant is excellent too. So I guess you can't really go wrong no matter what category you go for, but if you want that extra special experience than book Princess Grill.

[twingo]

We were recently in the Britannia the food was ok, in fact it was excellent on occasions .However, we did find was that the staff were not overly attentive, my chair was never pulled up to the table, my napkin never placed on my knee, I always felt rushed when placing my order.We asked for a table change which was refused. An elderly lady who sat with us was never seated by the waiters but by my partner. However I do think Britannia is a big improvement on the Lido where my partner had food poisoning from a seafood pasta salad. I could say more but!!

[Cruachan]

I have never dined in the grills - or in Britannia Club.

 

All I can say is that the main Britannia has never been a disappointment to us ......

 

I'll second that!

 

J

 

[balf]

If budget isn't an issue

 

I wish.

 

David

[philayl]

If budget isn't an issue

It isn't an issue for me, there just isn't enough budget to go round:D:D:D

[Chunky2219]

If budget isn't an issue I would strongly recommend you book Princess Grill............... .

If budget truly isn't an issue, then book Queens Grill. Larger cabins than PG, butler service, early boarding and other priveliges, plus an even better dining experience.

 

As a fellow Yorkshireman, I can confirm that they can knock up a pretty good approximation of a proper Yorkshire pudding on demand. Also, anything else you might desire, providing the ingredients are on board. Service isn't comparable with Michelin 3 star standards, but it's pretty good and there really isn't anything to complain about.

 

The bottom line is that if you are a bit of a foodie, QG will do the job. More so if you would prefer to wander in at your leisure rather than fixed sitting times, although of course PG and Brittania Club offer the same option. If you are doing quite a long voyage like the TA followed by New England and Canada or the 30 days to the Med then Queens Grill is a great way to avoid getting bored with the food or piling on the pounds in the buffet.

 

If very decent food is more than good enough for you and a smaller cabin or even one with no windows will meet your needs then save the extra money and enjoy Britannia.

.

.

[Whitemarsh]

If budget truly isn't an issue, then book Queens Grill. Larger cabins than PG, butler service, early boarding and other priveliges, plus an even better dining experience.

 

Well not according to everyone. One our group was trying Princess Grill for the first time (they normally book Queens Grill) and they were adamant the food in the PG was the same as QG, plus the service in the PG is better!

 

Having said that, I did speak with others who thought the QG was better than the PG. One thing that everyone agreed on was that the Grills was wonderful.

 

BTW, PG also gets early boarding and practically everything else except the butler, free caviar and free in-suite bar set-up.

 

As a fellow Yorkshireman, I can confirm that they can knock up a pretty good approximation of a proper Yorkshire pudding on demand. Also, anything else you might desire, providing the ingredients are on board. Service isn't comparable with Michelin 3 star standards, but it's pretty good and there really isn't anything to complain about.

 

Well the kitchen the serves the QG (the same one that also cooks for the PG) didn't know how to make a proper pavlova. I wonder if they would have made a proper pavlova if the order had of come through from the Queens Grill? What they made was still nice, just not an actual pavlova.

 

In any case, it's all academic for me as I cannot afford Queens Grill. But to the OP, if you have the cash to splash then by all means book a QG suite. Just make sure you take my advice and book one of the ones on deck 10. You'll be glad you did when you see how orange the tops of those lifeboats are.

[capnpugwash]

The food ingredients on board are identical in Britannia, Britannia Club, PG and QG. There are different items available in the grills and wider choices in those restaurants and in BC but the main difference is that in the Grills the chefs are not cooking meals for 700 or 800 passengers. Personally I feel that the Britannia food is fine, like in all restaurants they do occasionally present a dish that is tough, tasteless or not to one's liking and the waiters will do all that they can to resolve the issue. Of course they do need to be told as early as possible to be given a chance to do something, some posters have reportedly waited until the meal has finished and then have complained that nothing was done.

[Upshur]

We like the Club and we do bring our own wine and pay a reasonable corkage. This trade off covers most of the cost of the Club vs. a top line balcony tied to Britannia. We are winos :-) Having the same table for every meal and open seating is only wonderful :-) It reminds us of the Caronia Restaurant on the QE2. Whatever you decide on you will have a wonderful time!

[paulista1950]

"my chair was never pulled up to the table, my napkin never placed on my knee"

 

So what? :rolleyes:

[3rdGenCunarder]

"my chair was never pulled up to the table, my napkin never placed on my knee"

 

So what? :rolleyes:

 

We were in Britannia and our chairs were pulled out for us most nights, and our napkins were placed across our laps. It's part of the "white star service," but hardly essential to a good meal. I always feel a bit silly waiting for the napkin. I can unfold a napkin for myself, but I don't want to offend the waiter so i sit and wait.

 

For me, the most important differences between Britannia and the Club and Grills are the open seating, which is more convenient than a fixed time, and the better ratio of waiters to diners. Britannia food is fine, and I don't think there was anything I particularly missed or wished for. But first seating is a bit rushed.

[Louise D]

 

Well the kitchen the serves the QG (the same one that also cooks for the PG) didn't know how to make a proper pavlova. I wonder if they would have made a proper pavlova if the order had of come through from the Queens Grill? What they made was still nice, just not an actual pavlova.

.

 

The pavlova in QG was the same as in PG and, worryingly, was also the same on QE2. I think it is an American concept of pavlova.

[Aussieflyer]

We ate in Britannia in early March - the food while overall good was not fantastic. Vegetables were a major let-down as on all occasions they were more or less plain boiled.

I had a very good piece of roast beef (no Yorkshire pud), an excellent fresh schnapper (loaded in Melbourne and served that night) and a passable fillet of flounder. My chicken (from the Canyon Spa choice) was dry and bland. Deserts were so-so. Salads and soups were consistently good. The cheese was fairly ordinary - not served at the right temperature or maturity (but given that this is a mass production venue it would be unrealistic to expect so).

That said, we found the staff attentive (we were late sitting) and the restaurant was not overly noisy. As others have said, the extra choices in Britannia Club and the ability to choose your dining time in the Grills along with a wider menu, are things to consider and do come at a cost. If we cruise Cunard again we would book Princess Grill.

[keithm]

We were recently in the Britannia the food was ok, in fact it was excellent on occasions .However, we did find was that the staff were not overly attentive, my chair was never pulled up to the table, my napkin never placed on my knee, I always felt rushed when placing my order.We asked for a table change which was refused. An elderly lady who sat with us was never seated by the waiters but by my partner. However I do think Britannia is a big improvement on the Lido where my partner had food poisoning from a seafood pasta salad. I could say more but!!

On QV this past Jan. the staff was very attentive. I did feel a bit rushed at first. Once the staff knew we eat pretty quickly & depart to make room for second seating, they slowed down a bit. Napkins were properly placed & chairs pulled out & pushed in. Not quite the finesse of the Grills, but still very good overall.

[keithm]

The pavlova in QG was the same as in PG and, worryingly, was also the same on QE2. I think it is an American concept of pavlova.

My partner(a chef) noticed that. It was ok, but not the way he prepares it

[Whitemarsh]

The pavlova in QG was the same as in PG and, worryingly, was also the same on QE2. I think it is an American concept of pavlova.

 

Perhaps next time I will take a pavlova recipe with me and hand it to the head waiter. It's not like they wouldn't have the ingredients onboard, so it shouldn't be too difficult once they know what they're supposed to do.

 

http://www.joyofbaking.com/Pavlova.html

[Louise D]

Actually, the recipe in Joy of Baking actually reminded me of why they probably do not do a good pavlova on a ship.

 

It says that "it is best to cook the meringue in a slow oven and then to turn off the oven and let it cool slowly." That is the way my mother makes pavlova, but on a ship they would not be able to use the ovens in that way. They have to have a quick through-put of products and could not use the ovens for slow cooling.

By the way, I found your entry in the Review section to be fairly balanced and accurate.





 

[Whitemarsh]

Actually, the recipe in Joy of Baking actually reminded me of why they probably do not do a good pavlova on a ship.

 

By the way, I found your entry in the Review section to be fairly balanced and accurate.

 

Thank you. :)

[paulista1950]

"We were in Britannia and our chairs were pulled out for us most nights, and our napkins were placed across our laps."

Same here

"I always feel a bit silly waiting for the napkin. I can unfold a napkin for myself, but I don't want to offend the waiter so i sit and wait."

Me too, but aparently some people can't ;)

 

"For me, the most important differences between Britannia and the Club and Grills are the open seating"

I prefer to have diner around 7:30, but for me it doesn't justify the extra cost

"Britannia food is fine, and I don't think there was anything I particularly missed or wished for."

Same here

"But first seating is a bit rushed."

I always had late seating

[Leucothea]

PG is low key, very pleasant and elegant, you can dine when you want, and of course the staterooms are very nice, spacious and have a bath (as opposed to the tiny shower in Britannia grade).

 

Britannia is fun and very social, and you feel it is more in the center of things, so to speak, as it is huge and you have access to it through the Grand Lobby where there are photographers and many people in evening attire milling about. The Grills are more in their own little world.

[Salacia]

Help please, we are looking at QM2 in October, not having cruised with Cunard before it looks like the better cabin you book the better restaurant you are assigned. Is there a vast difference in the food served in these restarant's and is it worth paying for a better cabin to get into a better restaurant.

 

Hi Yorksire Pride. Yes, there is a difference in the dining you are assigned based on the category you book. And yes again, the more you pay, the better your restaurant accommodations will be. But only you can decide it if is worth paying more for a higher grade category to get a better restaurant accomodation. Some passengers decide to book midship lower deck for a smoother ride, and are quite content with dining in Britannnia. I've never booked a Grills Category, but from what I've read on this forum, the food is suburb, the service is outstanding and all the passengers are witty, wonderfully dressed, well behaved and dripping with diamonds. So if that's what appeals to you, book a Grills Category :)

[Louise D]

I've never booked a Grills Category, but from what I've read on this forum, the food is suburb, the service is outstanding and all the passengers are witty, wonderfully dressed, well behaved and dripping with diamonds. So if that's what appeals to you, book a Grills Category :)

 

But Salacia, you must know we are not on board QM2 at the moment and won't be back again until next year at the earliest. The magic is but fleeting...