Menus / Food / Dining Venues / Special Diets / Afternoon Tea (MERGED)

[docker66]

Mr Shanks,

Could we have more beer choice Draught as you used to do Boddingtons, Bass, Becks, and a few others, could we have the spitfire that is advertised as bottles but sold in cans on draught as a replacement for the Bass that i have been told is no longer sold.

[T5LHR]

Mr Shanks,

Something else that popped into my mind...

As a lover of Afternoon Tea, which shows on my waistline... I am perplexed at what is served in The Queens Room during Afternoon Tea.

Clotted Cream has a relatively long shelf life when refrigerated, is easy to serve, is a dam sight better than the "whipped cream" that you currently serve and makes for a better product.

Can you enlighten us as to the decision making process from your food and beverage department as to why we are not served proper clotted cream, as per a traditional afternoon tea, onboard?

Warm Regards,

T5
:)

[Oysterman]

The standard of food seems to have deteriorated in the last three years we have sailed on the QM2. Is there a policy of cost cutting which is responsible .

[audal29]

Why in a ship as beautiful as the QM2 is the food and waiters in the Brittania restaurant so awful. Such a let down. In 23 cruises quite the most tasteless food and uncaring staff I have ever experienced.:

[dencruise80]

I agree that the food is now bad in Britannia restaurant but I have had very nice, attentive waiters.

The portion sizes are now nouvelle cuisine small. The sauces are dumbed down and fruity. The food does not get better if it has a fruit sauce on it. It is not better because seeds and nuts are sprinkled on it.

Go back to what you were doing only a few years ago. We do not expect 1960's service now.

The pastries are also bad now. Everything seems gelatin based in Lido and Kings Court.

You should look around on your ships. The people are old. Many can not have too much sugar or seeds and nuts. I asked for diabetic meals and you do not have them. Why do I have to tell the waiter every day what I can eat? Have real diabetic and other disability menus.

The joke on cruise critic is, "The people on the Queen Mary 2 and old and they bring their parents." Adapt to them.

[paulista1950]

[quote name='docker66']Mr Shanks,

Could we have more beer choice Draught as you used to do Boddingtons, Bass, Becks, and a few others, could we have the spitfire that is advertised as bottles but sold in cans on draught as a replacement for the Bass that i have been told is no longer sold.[/QUOTE]

This is worrysome! :eek:

[dencruise80]

Mr Shanks,
I recently was diagnosed with Diabetes which I control with diet. When I booked a cruise recently on the Queen Victoria I was told there were diabetic diets available. There are not. Why?

Most of the food items onboard in the Britannia were covered in sugary sauces. The side dishes on the Lido deck were starches, mainly potatoes.

The waiters were very helpful but they can they do anything if there are no specific foods or menus available.

[Presto2]

Hi
We have cruised with P&O and loved every minute. We love the formality and everything that makes that line so special. We have cruised with Celebrity the last 2 years but have been very tempted to try Cunard.

The one thing that puts us off is that the ships do not seem to offer any other choice than set dining times etc. We are not anti social but really like the chance to eat alone as a couple and enjoy the freedom that any time dining brings.

Basically, is there any chance that Cunard can consider this option on Cunard ships?

Many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions

[Joline21]

I agree, anytime dining on Cunard would be great. The first sitting is 6.0 pm and rather early, although they do serve you anytime up to arrival of 6.30pm, we found out later. The flexibility of anytime dining would a good alternative to going up to the Lido Buffet or alternive dining.

[Happyboating]

Are there any plans to put Verandah onto the QM2 and Queen Victoria, perhaps in place of Todd English?

[capnpugwash]

Britannia Club cabins offer what is effectively any time dining, ie a single sitting any time between 6pm and 9pm.

[OxfordBlue]

Hi Peter

In December we sailed on the 7 night Christmas Markets cruise on QV, our first experience in Queen's Grill. The first night we were told that the a la carte menu was not available on that night or on two other occasions, hence in total it was unavailable on 3 out of 7 nights. We ordered off the regular menu on that night but then went back to our room to read the Cunard brochure which clearly states that the a la carte menu is available every night in Queens Grill. We then took our complaint to the Purser's Desk and was told by the rather unhelpful lady that she would have to check the brochure. She did however pass on our comments to the Maitre d. Sure enough the next day we were told that the a la carte menu would be available to us every night (although this did not seem to be the case for all QG passengers).

We had an excellent time and will be returning - but I must admit our first night QG experience was ruined by this fiasco. If you do not offer the a la carte menu every night then your literature should not state that you do!

[Peter Shanks]

Thank you for quite a few questions on Bars and Dining. Let me try to address some of them here in this one answer;
Beer - we do offer a mix of draught beer and bottled beers - both in the Golden Lion Pub and around the ship. We tend to have 2-3 draught beers and a good selection of bottled beers. The demand for some of the specialist bottled bitter has not been strong - I for example like my own local TEA beer brewed on the Hogg's Back in Surrey - but the demand for these beers is quite specialst, same as the Spitfire beer mentioned. I think we have the balance about right but will keep reviewing.
As for the cream we serve with scones at our Afternoon Tea - I was surprised by that one as it is delicious. We serve it in individual pots and it is prepared fresh by our chefs.
There has been quite a lot of discussion about cost-cutting around our dining. I can reassure you that is not the case. In tougher economic times we have ceratinly worked to be more efficient and to avoid waste. However our mantra is that must never be at the expense of the quality and variety we offer our guests. It is the case that over the last few years our portion sizes may have declined with some dishes - but this reflects what people want today and what we are all seiing in fine retaurants around the world. It is my task to work with colleagues to make sure we uphold the quality of what we offer and I work hard at that.
There was an important question about Diabetics - if you let us know before you travel we will make sure as we always have that the chefs abd Maitre D' are prepared for you - and each evening they will discuss what you would like to eat the following day.
On Dining Sittings - yes we still maintain the 'early' and ''late' sitting in the main Britannia Dinimg Room - dining at Cunard is an experience and this works well. However in the Britannia Club on Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary 2 - and in the Princess Grill and Queens Grill our guests can eat at a time that suits them each day. We alos have Todd English and The Verandah as well as increasing alternative dining evenings in the Kings Court and Lido shoud those of fixed dining want some flexibility. On the whole this works well and leade to a very good experinece in the mai dining room as we do not have guests arriving and leaving througout dinner.
On the Queens Grill A La Carte - on the first evening when guests are settling in and many arrive for dinner at the same time - we do work to the main menu - but it has plenty of choice. For the rest of the voyage the A La Carte is available - and very good indeed. I am very proud of what our Chefs provide our guests - it is the taste of our food that stands out - and our Waiters and Maitre D's also do their utmost to provide the expected White Star Service. Peter