Slippery Slope for QE and the rest of the fleet.

[Bell Boy]

As to be expected, with effect from December 6th for the QE  ( en route ) down under under. Smart Attire evening dress code  ( all categories) changed to No Jacket required 'for every evening'.

Doesn't come as a surprise for me , this is exactly the way as 'P&O Australia' started . 

 

Evening Britannia ( QE)  dining times changed  Early 5.45pm -late 8.pm. 

 

                                           😕 

[bluemarble]

Thanks for the update. Any indication if the smart attire dress code will revert back to 'jacket required' for QE's Japan and Alaska itineraries? Or does it sound like this is a permanent change to the smart attire dress code for QE?

[Docker123]

I am boarding QE tomorrow in Fremantle. A rumour has been circulating about jackets, nothing about change in dining times.

 

I have had no advice from Cunard about either.

 

After the rigmarole of multiple signin sessions etc, managed to get into my vp. Nothing showing there either.

 

Proper communications from these folk would be a bonus.

 

[Wombat706]

I am boarding QE next Saturday in Melbourne and haven't heard about the changes. Where can I find information about this amendment?

 

thanks

Jo

[Bell Boy]

On boarding I expect you will receive a letter ( as have other guests who are already onboard) Dated December 6th.

 

The letter reads;

 

As part of the Queen Elizabeth deployment to Australia , we will be making a number of changes to the onboard experience that reflect the Australian region.

 

It mentions Jackets on Smart Attire evenings no longer required ( there is no change to Gala evenings were a jacket is still required)

 

It also mentions Britannia evening dining time changed.

 

Show times have also been adjusted, First show 20.00  - Second show 22.00

 

The letter is signed from the Hotel Manger Neil Colman ( who I have never heard of ) 

 

                                                            😒

[Bell Boy]

8 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Thanks for the update. Any indication if the smart attire dress code will revert back to 'jacket required' for QE's Japan and Alaska itineraries? Or does it sound like this is a permanent change to the smart attire dress code for QE?

Good morning bluemarble, hopefully these amendments are only for the Australian region .

Re Dining times;

There was an uproar earlier this year on the Alaska cruise (which I was on) due to the amended dining times. The Senior Maitre d reassured me that dining times ( Britannia) will revert back to normal for the 2020 itineraries in the 'Alaska region' . Many of the guests were unhappy, including  restaurant crew members who were overworked with very little time in-between lunch and evening reporting.   

[carlmm]

10 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

 No Jacket required 'for every evening'.

 

How disgusting.

One can sail any of the many casual, no style cruise lines for that.

[majortom10]

I certainly do not want to eat at 5-45pm and if they introduce "no jacket required" for the rest of the fleet then that will be the end of Cunard for me. Might as well save myself a fortune and go with P&O.

Edited December 5, 2019 by majortom10

[BigMac1953]

Very dangerous move.

 

If Cunard's bean counters want to attract the young carefree mob to fill the ships, then they risk losing their core customers.

 

If I want an NCL style environment, then I'll book with NCL and sit beside someone at dinner in shorts and baseball cap (turned round for formal nights).

 

Why change a policy that suits 95% of pax?

[exlondoner]

1. It clearly says: 'As part of the QE deployment to Australia'. So why behave as if it's the end of Cunard as you know it? They may simply mean what they say.

 

2. This does not apply to Gala Nights, as they have decided to call them.

 

3. If the word disgusting is used to describe the removal of an insistence on jackets on smart attire evenings, what word is left, say, for a harbour badly polluted by sewage?

[BigMac1953]

 what word is left, say, for a harbour badly polluted by sewage?

 

Semi formal?

😊

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by BigMac1953

[Solent Richard]

3 hours ago, BigMac1953 said:

Very dangerous move.

 

If Cunard's bean counters want to attract the young carefree mob to fill the ships, then they risk losing their core customers.

 

If I want an NCL style environment, then I'll book with NCL and sit beside someone at dinner in shorts and baseball cap (turned round for formal nights).

 

Why change a policy that suits 95% of pax?

 

It's not the 'Young Carefree mob' they are dumbing down for; it's the Australian market where they can, and do, charge more.

 

I have experienced the same lower dress standards on APT and Scenic river cruises which are both heavily used by Australians.

[exlondoner]

24 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

 

It's not the 'Young Carefree mob' they are dumbing down for; it's the Australian market where they can, and do, charge more.

 

I have experienced the same lower dress standards on APT and Scenic river cruises which are both heavily used by Australians.

 

I am sure this is true. However, I must say, that, in September, on our Med. Cruise, there were 400 Australians, and their standard of dress would have satisfied the most zealous of traditionalists. However, they must have been dedicated Cunard loyalists anyway, as they were doing a lengthy trip involving all three queens .

[Solent Richard]

8 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

I am sure this is true. However, I must say, that, in September, on our Med. Cruise, there were 400 Australians, and their standard of dress would have satisfied the most zealous of traditionalists. However, they must have been dedicated Cunard loyalists anyway, as they were doing a lengthy trip involving all three queens .

 

Good afternoon Exlondoner.

 

I'm sure you are correct and couldn't dispute the point.

 

My only observation would be that the mediterranean wasn't the 'normal' Oz environment.

 

In 2009 we sailed from Southampton to Sydney (56 nights) and picked up 800 Australians in Los Angeles for the voyage across the Pacific. They were an amazing bunch and, like your experience, all abided by the dress code rules at the time.

[bazzaw]

I am an Aussie - have done two x "3 Queens" cruises starting out from Southampton with LOTS of Aussies onboard - plus a cruise from USA to Australia . My observation has been that the Aussies have adhered to the dress code completely. I have never sailed with Cunard in Australian waters so can't comment on the situation there. But - in general Aussies are very casual dress-wise by nature and also because of the summer heat here. I have been on cruises where the ship's airconditioning has not coped - and frankly, if I become uncomfortable, I will remove my jacket !! Most cruises around Australia have relaxed dress codes - so I can imagine that Cunard wants their piece of the lucrative pie known as the Australian cruise market. I will be sailing on the 38 day Japan to Alaska cruise (basically three back-to-back shorter cruises combined)  and am expecting the "usual" dress code. 

[Wombat706]

This is disappointing and why announce the change now?  We shouldn't find out just as the Aussie sailings start especially as the Cunard site nor our documents reflect deviations for certain markets. 

 

I don't want to feel like I am on another cruise line, I want to feel like I am on Cunard.

 

Yes, cruisers may dress to a "lower dress standard" on APT and Scenic but that is the dress code on those lines.  

 

 

[lissie]

I'm sure I found mention of men wearing jackets on their website - but now I can't find anything except the most vague generalities. Even more confused as to what I should be packing now! https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/the-cunard-experience/what-to-pack 

[Lakesregion]

Money and filling the ships is the name of the game and if the Carnival crowd believes that they can fill the ships with less amenities. lower level of ambiance and tossing the older passenger consist over board they will do it in a heart beat and never look back. Holland America, NCL and Celebrity to name but three lines that once were considered traditional have gone the way of the wolves. Soon there will be a new niche for someone with vision and a few bucks to acquire one or two fine smaller ships and offer what the true Cunarder still desires. Civility in the tradition of an English country house weekend. Patience, it will happen.

[LittleFish1976]

This is very bad news. There are many many casual cruise lines sailing from Australia that people who wish for a more casual dress code can patronize. Personally, one of the main reasons I sail with Cunard is their more traditional approach to dress and decor. If they become just the same as the others (although that would be a huge drop in standards) I would not longer be interested in being a customer.

 

I think Cunard are underestimating the market here and if they can't fill the ship adequately at their usual standard in these waters then they should not have committed to such a long season.

 

[NSWP]

7 hours ago, bazzaw said:

I am an Aussie - have done two x "3 Queens" cruises starting out from Southampton with LOTS of Aussies onboard - plus a cruise from USA to Australia . My observation has been that the Aussies have adhered to the dress code completely. I have never sailed with Cunard in Australian waters so can't comment on the situation there. But - in general Aussies are very casual dress-wise by nature and also because of the summer heat here. I have been on cruises where the ship's airconditioning has not coped - and frankly, if I become uncomfortable, I will remove my jacket !! Most cruises around Australia have relaxed dress codes - so I can imagine that Cunard wants their piece of the lucrative pie known as the Australian cruise market. I will be sailing on the 38 day Japan to Alaska cruise (basically three back-to-back shorter cruises combined)  and am expecting the "usual" dress code. 

ONYA BAZ. This is what they need on Cunard.

[NSWP]

8 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

 

It's not the 'Young Carefree mob' they are dumbing down for; it's the Australian market where they can, and do, charge more.

 

I have experienced the same lower dress standards on APT and Scenic river cruises which are both heavily used by Australians.

You need to experience P&O Australia ships then, shorts, flip flops and T shirts in the MDR.😮 Baseball cap optional.

[NSWP]

14 hours ago, carlmm said:

 

How disgusting.

One can sail any of the many casual, no style cruise lines for that.

Disgusting is a bit harsh I feel, how about 'How disappointing?' 

[lissie]

46 minutes ago, NSWP said:

ONYA BAZ. This is what they need on Cunard.

Oh that's just silly - how about something like this ... https://www.barkersonline.co.nz/clarkson-stripe-blazer-blue-509404.html Suitably nautical I think 

[Germancruiser]

I am also quite quite sure they will install the " no jacket" style on boad all Cunarders. I am not really bothered, i wear my jackets anyway- I don´t feel unconfortable wearing a jacket and i don´t see that a wearing jacket can count as " Formal"!

Celebrity did, HAL and all the other did- and survived! As will Cunard!

To survive they have to attract a younger bunch of people- with  the natural flow of things their ships would sail emphty in a more distant future! Anyway there many many younger people out there who love to dress and would not set foot on board Carnivals, Costas or MSC ships! ( Neither would i by the way)

I will get worried though, when I encounter the first flip flops in the main dining room worn with well worn shorts and an ill fitting T- Shirt!

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Germancruiser

[Docker123]

The actual letter in my stateroom today