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[Alibobs]

We are in the throes of booking a Baltic cruise on QV for next year .

Back in the early 2010's we enjoyed several Cunard voyages on QM2 and QV but latterly have used our holiday budget ( time and money) for land based trips.

We will be with friends this time who have never cruised Cunard but have heard us wax lyrical!

We met today and I filled them in with what I can remember re cabins, dining, facilities on board etc , I didn't want to colour their views too much as their obviously expectations are not my expectations .

It got me to wondering afterwards whether there have been any marked changes on QV (and perhaps Cunard in general ) over the past few years? I know there was some kind of refit in 2017 but I really mean about the general atmosphere and service onboard 

[luckymal]

 

Chart room size reduces to make way for the Club class dining room. the casino also to room for single rooms, but overall only a few changes, one thing that never changes, the crew are great, which helps to make a happy ship.🍷🥃

 

[MCC retired]

1 hour ago, luckymal said:

 

Chart room size reduces to make way for the Club class dining room. the casino also to room for single rooms, but overall only a few changes, one thing that never changes, the crew are great, which helps to make a happy ship.🍷🥃

 

And don't forget the big chunk of Deck 13 including the bar and wading pool , taken away by yet more new cabins.

[Camgirl]

3 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

And don't forget the big chunk of Deck 13 including the bar and wading pool , taken away by yet more new cabins.

I think you have misread the OPs question. They are asking about QV which doesn't have a deck 13.

 

The Chart room was totally removed to make a Britannia Club dining room. They have renamed one of the other areas as the chart room instead. One of the better changes is the addition of more shading and sofas etc by the lido pool. This area was extended when they squared off the stern with more cabins. 

 

QV is still a beautiful ship and remains my favourite despite the changes. 

[MCC retired]

Oops! 😲

[Underwatr]

Depending on how long its been for you, the old set of three evening dress codes has been condensed to two, essentially the two extremes (many people wear a tie on the more casual nights but it's not required). There are more venues, including the Golden Lion, where people not wishing to dress up are welcome in the evenings (I can't provide the specific list for QV or QE). Dress code applies in the alternative dining venues in the Lido - I think this used to be Smart Casual every night.

[Alibobs]

Thank you for the updates - I love the formal nights, I think there were three on our last 2 weeker, I guess it's one less frock to worry about 😉

I liked the old Chart Room too but I'm sure I'll find somewhere else to have a drink 😊

And it will be interesting to see the Lido area as I always thought this was a poor relation to the rest of the ship.

Im glad to hear that the service remains the same - our friends have only ever cruised Fred Olsen through a very rough Bay of Biscay and didn't have a great time.  It's taken them 10 years to reconsider, I really have pushed Cunard to them, I'm sure they'll love it

[SALAD MUNCHER]

1 hour ago, Alibobs said:

Thank you for the updates - I love the formal nights, I think there were three on our last 2 weeker, I guess it's one less frock to worry about 😉

Correct me if I am wrong, but Underwatr was talking about the three types of dress code, which used to be Casual, Elegant Casual (?) and Formal. There are still usually 3 formal nights on a two week cruise, but now the codes used for the dress requirements are either Formal or Smart Attire.

 

[Underwatr]

Right, I was talking about three levels of dress code.

 

Is three formal nights in two weeks accurate? On QM2 it's at least two per week, three on a transatlantic week. Port calls will affect the count since there aren't formal nights on a port day very often.

[exlondoner]

21 minutes ago, Underwatr said:

Right, I was talking about three levels of dress code.

 

Is three formal nights in two weeks accurate? On QM2 it's at least two per week, three on a transatlantic week. Port calls will affect the count since there aren't formal nights on a port day very often.

 

I should have thought four in a fortnight was more likely. We had four in nine days, with four ports, on QM2 recently.

[Fifer]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

 

I should have thought four in a fortnight was more likely. We had four in nine days, with four ports, on QM2 recently.

I note that we have four scheduled for our imminent 2 week Med voyage on QV.  However, that is what Southampton thinks will happen, the ship may have - and often has had - other ideas.

[SALAD MUNCHER]

2 hours ago, Underwatr said:

Right, I was talking about three levels of dress code.

 

Is three formal nights in two weeks accurate? On QM2 it's at least two per week, three on a transatlantic week. Port calls will affect the count since there aren't formal nights on a port day very often.

I am on a 12 day trip early August and we have three formals listed.

[Pear Carr]

Disembarked Queen Victoria after a 2 week Baltic Cruise on Sunday (28th) and we had 4 formal nights. We had a fantastic time with wonderful weather. 

[Alibobs]

Four formal nights - wow, right up my alley 😊 Do people still wear long frocks these days or is it mainly cocktail ???? 

[Tonopah]

14 minutes ago, Alibobs said:

Four formal nights - wow, right up my alley 😊 Do people still wear long frocks these days or is it mainly cocktail ???? 

There were more full length dresses than cocktail dresses  on our crossing in 2018. 

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Pear Carr said:

Disembarked Queen Victoria after a 2 week Baltic Cruise on Sunday (28th) and we had 4 formal nights. We had a fantastic time with wonderful weather. 

 

Yes, we sailed that cruise also, it was fabulous in every regard. Those on the 9 night variant of the same cruise i.e. Hamburg to Kiel had only 2 gala nights, so it can vary. With 5 sea days across the 14, we were extremely surprised the final gala night was on Gothenborg port night. However, it made sense because if it had been the sea day before Gothenborg, that would have been the evening before 1000 passengers disembarked in Kiel and if it had been final sea day that was the night before Southampton landing!

[hamrag]

28 minutes ago, Alibobs said:

Four formal nights - wow, right up my alley 😊 Do people still wear long frocks these days or is it mainly cocktail ???? 

 

Yes, probably two thirds long and others shorter!

[Pear Carr]

I opted for long dress on three of the formal nights and a shorter dress on the roaring 20s gala night. Long or short I am glad to see that most still take the formal nights seriously and make a real effort. Obviously some opt out and choose to drink/dine in the relevant venues where dress code is not imposed.

 

 

[naturelovergirl]

I have three different gorgeous dresses planned for our upcoming 3 formal nights... one short, one midi, and one long... figure I am going to cover all of the bases! Can't wait!!  😃 

[BigMac1953]

It's quite straightforward. There are three Gala nights per week on a crossing and two on a cruise. It's then pro-rata for any odd number of days as far as is operationally possible.

 

On a Gala night, most ladies would wear long dresses, although some ladies of a certain age stick to cocktail dresses for some reason. Short dresses are definitely out.

 

Stewart

[Host Hattie]

1 minute ago, BigMac1953 said:

It's quite straightforward. There are three Gala nights per week on a crossing and two on a cruise. It's then pro-rata for any odd number of days as far as is operationally possible

It does depend on itinerary, number of ports and whether there are any overnight stays. There were some comments about a reduction in formal nights on some world cruise segments this year. We only have 3 formal nights on a 14 night cruise on Queen Elizabeth in September.

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

It does depend on itinerary, number of ports and whether there are any overnight stays. There were some comments about a reduction in formal nights on some world cruise segments this year. We only have 3 formal nights on a 14 night cruise on Queen Elizabeth in September.

 

Although, when you get on board, you may find another one has suddenly been included. Nothing is ever certain.

[Host Hattie]

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

Although, when you get on board, you may find another one has suddenly been included. Nothing is ever certain.

I've heard of that happening but only experienced it on a short cruise where one night was made Formal optional when we were onboard. I've not had a change in number of nights but I'll report back if it happens.

I was trying to make the point that it's not always as straight forward as 2 formal nights per 7 days cruising.

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

I've heard of that happening but only experienced it on a short cruise where one night was made Formal optional when we were onboard. I've not had a change in number of nights but I'll report back if it happens.

I was trying to make the point that it's not always as straight forward as 2 formal nights per 7 days cruising.

 

Absolutely, I agree. 

On our recent nine nighter on QM2, largely made up of bits of other cruises, we discovered once on board that they had sneaked in a fourth formal night. I should have thought three was enough. Certainly a lot of people on the five nighter from Hamburg seem to have stuck to the buffet.

[Underwatr]

Part of that stems from Cunard's insistence on making one night of the two-night Soton-Hamburg legs a formal night. 

Edited July 31, 2019 by Underwatr