Cunard food vs Princess

[oskidunker]

There is a trip next year I like in Canada. Cruise donly Princess for 20 years. looking for a change, better dressed people and a place to sit in the room.

 

Thanks

[bemis12]

Ok

[Griller]

After 77 Princess cruises we just cruised 14 days on Cunard QM2 debarking last week so we are probably well qualified to give an opinion on this topic.

 

We were in the lowest / third class  / steerage dining room, Britannia, and found the waiters to give better service than on our last cruises on Princess ships, probably because they didn't have so many diners to look after.

However they were not as friendly and communicative, and never once called us by name.

The meals in that MDR were not much different to Princess but were definitely using better quality meat and other ingredients.

 

In the Kings Court  buffet the food was way better than Princess , quality was better, presentation was better, and quantities out on the line  were smaller meaning it hadn't been sitting there for hours stewing or getting dried up like it does on Princess. As soon as an item was used up the chefs  had another ready.

And they don't cut the sausages up into little bits or store food in hot water like on Princess.

 

There was more variety including many British oriented items which are not found out on the line on Princess, like crumpets, kippers, and other breakfast items,  savory pies and puddings ( in the British sense) at lunchtime, and very good dinner offerings.

 

The buffet on QM2 really doesn't feel like a factory canteen like it does on many Princess ships.

And quite simply the food is better quality, right down to the yogurts at breakfast which were made from whole milk and fruit and not cheap zero fat milk and full of sugar and thickeners.

 

The butter is Irish wrapped portions, the jams are in little pots, there are diabetic and gluten free choices out on the line,  and at tea time the scones are beautiful, not little crumbling rock hard ones like on Princess. And you get proper cream with them.

 

Even the smoked salmon / lox tasted better than on Princess. And the cheese selection as to die for.

 

In fact we did not pay any more for our cruise on QM2 than we would have for a similar one on Princess but I am sure the average cost per day is normally more, and I think its worth it, they are spending some of it on better food rather than the cheapest they can get like Princess often seem to.

 

We are back on Princess for 25 days soon, we may be feeling a little less happy after our Cunard cruise.

 

If anyone wants photos let me know your email,  I have many photos from the buffet but too many to put on here even if I could work out how to do it.

[cruiserdru]

Have spent ~50 days on Cunard and over 120 on Princess.

 

My last Cunard cruise was 18 days in 2017 (NY Round Trip Hamburg).  Was often disappointed in the food on Cunard. Amazed by their service. Disappointed about their disability support/atmosphere.  Only one place on QM2 that I could sit and not need help to get up. Incredibly pleased with their disembarkation disability support. I will not sail QM2 again. I could not sit in the atrium and get out of the chair. Sat there for a long time before my DH found me.

 

More comfortable places to sit on Princess. Food is not what it used to be but still good (2018). 

 

Gets old dressing up every night on Cunard and my DH was not crazy about needing to wear a jacket every evening.  I would really like to see a compromise between the over casual dress on Princess and the a little too much on Cunard.

 

Fell free to ask other questions. (Only been on QM2 but on many Princess ships although not the Royal class.

[foodsvcmgr]

Sailed both Cunard and Princess in 2018.

The food on QM2 was a higher standard in most cases in dining room and buffet.

Also lots of British influence in selection and preparation which may or may not appeal to everyone, we enjoyed the change from the typical cruise fare.

However the enhanced food usually comes at a considerably higher price than normally one would pay for Princess.

[oskidunker]

Thanks for all the replies

[oskidunker]

1 hour ago, bemis12 said:

Ok

ok

[HaveDogWillTravel]

We sailed both QM2 and Princess in the last 13 months. QM2 had more formal service and Princess more relaxed friendly service. Both were great just different styles. 

 

QM2 did not have chicken every night like Princess and since I eat very little red meat I was really missing my poultry by the end of 14 days. 

 

QM2 had hands down the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted (I’ve eaten a lot of fish and chips). They serve it in the golden lion pub. It puts Princess’ pub lunch to shame. I’m sailing QM2 for another 21 days summer 2020 and I will eat lunch every day in the golden lion pub. 

I think the food on both lines is just fine. I would not choose one or the other for the food. 

[Griller]

1 hour ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

We sailed both QM2 and Princess in the last 13 months. QM2 had more formal service and Princess more relaxed friendly service. Both were great just different styles. 

 

QM2 did not have chicken every night like Princess and since I eat very little red meat I was really missing my poultry by the end of 14 days. 

 

QM2 had hands down the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted (I’ve eaten a lot of fish and chips). They serve it in the golden lion pub. It puts Princess’ pub lunch to shame. I’m sailing QM2 for another 21 days summer 2020 and I will eat lunch every day in the golden lion pub. 

I think the food on both lines is just fine. I would not choose one or the other for the food. 

For  dinner in Britannia dining room on QM2 had always available chicken breast amongst other always available items.  My tablemates ordered it once but it looked dry and uninteresting. No doubt it could have been dressed up a bit by request but they never ordered it again.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Maybe that was my issue with not eating poultry as much as I would have liked. I didn’t take pictures of the menus. I just remember Britannia menus being really heavy on red meat. The meat was good though. 

Edited August 3, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[RMMariner]

We have never cruised Cunard, but having looked at the pricing, I would expect the food to be better. I believe the price to cruise on Cunard is significantly higher in most cases.

[Griller]

5 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Maybe that was my issue with not eating poultry as much as I would have liked. I didn’t take pictures of the menus. I just remember Britannia menus being really heavy on red meat. The meat was good though. 

 

I had several chicken and duck dishes from the regular dinner menus on QM2 and they were delicious, and in the buffet one day they had roast turkey which cranberry and orange sauce which was absolutely to die for.

Quite often at lunchtime in the buffet they offered Asian dishes which were also poultry based, these were better than I ever had on Princess even on Majestic when there was an Asian executive Chef as well as the regular one.

I think Cunard just buy better ingredients, depending on how savvy you are at booking your cabin it may or may not cost more than Princess, I certainly would not pay much of a premium to sail Cunard having done it more than a dozen times, but then I am a person who often picks up last minute specials rather than book a particular cabin and itinerary a long time ahead of sailing.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Now I really wish I’d taken pictures of the menus. Because I really don’t recall any chicken that tasted good!  I have all the menus from my Princess sailings in suites but none from our QM2 sailing in a balcony. I never went to the buffet for dinner but I’ll have to look for that turkey next year. 

I agree about Cunard’s pricing. What’s frustrating is the leap in price from balcony to the princess grills. We pay a little less per day for a balcony on QM2 than what we pay for a vista suite on Princess. We almost splurged on a princess grill for next year’s sailing but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the extra $6k. 

 

I’ll be retired soon and able to do last minute deals too!  Can’t wait for that. 

 

And on a a side note every time I read your CC handle I want a hamburger and beer lol 😂 

Edited August 3, 2019 by HaveDogWillTravel

[Griller]

Some of the tasty entrees in the buffet one evening on QM2 last week

[Griller]

Some other QM2 buffet choices, the cheeses in particular  were varied and wonderful, two on       the upper left are Wensleydale with ginger and mango, and Wensleydale with cranberry. These are expensive cheeses to buy!

The Brie was just ready to eat, not hard and unripe.

Edited August 3, 2019 by Griller

[Clampram]

Do you have to dress up at the buffet on Cunard?? If you cruise with them, are there lots of options for dinner where you don't have to get all dressed up??

[Griller]

No you don't have to dress up for the buffet , very casual, but just like Princess swimwear etc is not OK in the buffet.

In the MDR and entertainment venues on board they now have just two levels of dress for men,  One is formal with some people wearing tuxes and others a darker suit and tie, but our tablemates never conformed and just wore a light colored sports coat and tie outfit and no one said anything to them,  

And on other nights men wore a jacket but no tie was required

 

Took me 2 minutes to throw a jacket on for dinner, and 10 minutes for a suit and tie for formal nights. Easy. No tux for me anymore.  I have no time for snobbery but like to minimally conform.

 

And ladies seemed to wear anything nice pretty much, smarter on formal nights,  but no one wore shorts to dinner as far as I noticed, however I was not looking at what others wore much

 

Its nothing like as strict as it used to be on Cunard BITD, nor are the crew like they used to be BITD, hardly a British crewmember to be seen in dining or cabin staff.. Similar to Princess now for crew.

 

We only went to MDR or buffet for dinner so I don't know about dress at the other dining venues  and we chucked all the daily programs away before we debarked so I cant refer back, sorry.

Edited August 3, 2019 by Griller

[MissP22]

On 8/2/2019 at 5:58 PM, Griller said:

In the Kings Court  buffet the food was way better than Princess , quality was better, presentation was better, and quantities out on the line  were smaller meaning it hadn't been sitting there for hours stewing or getting dried up like it does on Princess. As soon as an item was used up the chefs  had another ready.

Not that we would ever consider Cunard but how did their Kings court buffet compare to that of the Royal class Horizon court? 

[Griller]

25 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Not that we would ever consider Cunard but how did their Kings court buffet compare to that of the Royal class Horizon court? 

Better quality ingredients, better presented, smaller quantity on offer at any one time so fresher cooked not stewed and dried up by sitting out on the line too long,

Passengers much the same on either line really, slightly more civilized on Cunard but not much.

 

Tables in Kings Court smaller generally, many tables for two.

 

Since Cunard remodeled it the layout is simple and not confusing like before, really easy to find what you want.

 

Juice dispensers work all day, not turned off after breakfast.

 

Just about everything you would expect to find in the buffet on a Royal class ship but also many more and varied items.

 

On the other hand the pizza was nowhere as good as on Princess.

[MissP22]

45 minutes ago, Griller said:

Just about everything you would expect to find in the buffet on a Royal class ship but also many more and varied items.

Interesting.

I though the Royal class ship buffets had just about everything that I could possibly want. 

Considering you are paying more I suppose you could expect those extra items.

[peanutter]

I would just about book a cruise on Cunard just based on the cheese picture above!  OK, not really, but I, too, have been interested in them and it is nice to read the comparisons to Princess in regards to food.  Thanks Griller for all the info.  

[majortom10]

For me the food on Cunard is superior in every way  compared to Princess and in every department i.e buffet, MDR and pub lunch.

[cruisequeen4ever]

The food we had on Cunard was good, but we honestly missed Princess’s food. One standout dish, though, was the Chateaubriand in the Britannia Dining Room; it was one of the best dishes of my whole life. 

[muggo11]

150 days on Princess. And earlier this year took a 21 day cruise on Queen Victoria. The trans-ocean crossing prices for an interior are affordable and comparable to Princess prices imho.

 

 I found the food in the MDR comparable though dishes were slightly blander on Cunard. Excellent selection of affordable wines. Their steakhouse specialty was comparable to Crown Grill and was delicious. 

 

The pub and its lunch and dinner options are quite good. We ended up there a lot. 

 

Can’t comment on the buffet because we rarely use it but I second the cheese and meat selection.  Amazing. 

 

The coffee wasn’t to our liking so we drank tea (hot pots in the cabins!) the entire trip. And learned to love it. 

 

I would go on Cunard again in a heartbeat. We particularly loved the shipboard enrichment classes and lecturers (watercolor class, too-notch oceanographer, Spanish lessons!)

[Kingofcool1947]

On 8/2/2019 at 2:17 PM, oskidunker said:

There is a trip next year I like in Canada. Cruise donly Princess for 20 years. looking for a change, better dressed people and a place to sit in the room.

 

Thanks

And?

Just do it.  You only live once.

Life is short, and you may die tomorrow. 

Might as well enjoy the time you have left on this earthly world.

Go on that Cunard cruise.

Enjoy your cruise.