QV Britannia Club v Grills

[Stu UK]

Just returned from a 10 night voyage in BC on QV.  The summary - excellent.  The video link below will take you to our full review and restaurant tour.

 

https://youtu.be/VKwt0k6aqxE

 

For context we are early 50's and demand great food and service.  My husband likes to stick to a gluten free menu - and everything on the menu could be adapted.  Over recent years we have travelled in all of Cunard's classes several times and have drifted back to Cunard from Celebrity.  In BC we found little missing to encourage us to go back to the Grills in terms of food and service.  Yes the a la carte is smaller but we rarely found the need to use it.  The service was superb and the restaurant we found to be far more elegant and a nicer atmosphere than the Grills.  We tended to eat later going in between 8 and 8:30pm for dinner.  The staff got to know all our preferences quickly and the sommelier / Maitre D' were fantastic too. We do recognise this is all personal taste and it is not lost on us that there is often a substantial monetary saving of BC v Grills.

 

That said the cabin size could be a determining factor over the restaurant.  For this voyage we were in a deck 7 BC cabin.  It was good and avoided the possibility of deck noise. However for anything longer than 14 nights we would probably opt for Grills for the additional space - albeit a tough choice to determine if PG is worth the extra over BC (on QV & QE), perhaps  explaining why BC is so often sold out quickly.

 

Only issue we had onboard was the Spa area.  Needs serious maintenance as most of the area no-longer operates as originally intended - especially the aroma steam room and the mild sauna (where a member of staff said it was designed as a special cold room).  The main hydro pool was out of action for 3 days.

 

Happy to take any questions and enjoy the video https://youtu.be/VKwt0k6aqxE.

 

We have several other videos to watch on "Through the Pothole" the next one will be a suite on P&O's Oceana in February 2020.

 

[Jack E Dawson]

Stu UK,

Just looked at your excellent video. Thanks for posting. My wife and I are booked on the QV for January of 2021, Ft Lauderdale to San Francisco via the Panama Canal, in BC. I agree with everything you said regarding BC vs PG, however, there is nothing we enjoy more on board than relaxing in a couple of deck chairs and watching the ocean go by. So here is my question, should we upgrade to PG in order to have access to the Grills Terrace? 

 

Thanks

Jack

[exlondoner]

The Grills Terrace is lovely, but on its own it's not worth paying PG prices for, because the cabins are such a disappointment. There are lots of other places, most agreeably the Prom deck, where one can idle in a deck chair and watch the waves, and, other than immediately round the pools perhaps, the outside areas never seem too crowded. So, unless you go for QG and get a lovely cabin as well, I shouldn't bother.

[Stu UK]

Jack - I would agree with the above.  Basically on QE and QV the PG cabins are very similar to the deluxe balcony cabins on P&O where they have mini suites and suites above that grade.  On QV in the 2017 refit they added more furniture to the aft of deck 9 which is lovely.  We have found that the grills deck can get busy and if you want shade there is very little. 

[Jack E Dawson]

Thanks to both of you. Will stay put in BC.

 

Jack

[Solent Richard]

18 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Thanks to both of you. Will stay put in BC.

 

Jack

 

Good morning Jack.

 

Still time to change you know and as no one has offered a plus to the Princess Grill then I will.

 

As your original question obviously implies, money isn't a problem so the benefit of being able to use the Grills terrace, plus the extra space afforded in a Princess Grill Site, has to be the deciding factor.

 

Of course in Queens Grill you'll get more space and included booze. However, unless your going to entertain then with Cunard's policy of allowing alcohol to be brought onboard then there is little more benefit especially, if like my wife and I, you enjoy circulating around the ship for pre-dinner drinks.

 

One other point. I note your itinerary and for that transit through the canal I would most definitely tick the Grills Terrace for my photographic base.

 

 

*****

 

Oh, and by the way, I too have spent time in all grades of Cunard accommodation.

[laktex]

Undoubtedly the Club Dining Room on QV is a lovely place and I do agree that in some respects is a nicer place than the Grills Dining rooms although I am very fond of the Grills Dining rooms on both the QV and QE. (QM2 is a different situation).

Personally, if I were doing a sea day intensive cruise I would always opt for the Grills and especially an aft suite in Queens Grill.  If it were a "port a day" cruise I would be less concerned and happily opt for Club if I were saving some cash.

 

Trevor

[Jack E Dawson]

Thanks Solent Richard for the pictures and the good points. This is a 16 night voyage with only 4 ports of call, so there will be considerably more cabin time than on our usual 7 night crossings. The Grills terrace looks really nice. While QG is out of range, I think we will stay open to moving up to PG. Last time I checked, PG was not available but we are a little over a year out, so things will likely change. This will probably be a last minute decision.

My apologies to OP Stu UK for somewhat highjacking his thread.

 

Jack

[Se1lad]

I did the 7 night TA crossing on QM2 last year from Southampton in BC.  Most of it was excellent.  The only downside is the stateroom is a little on the small side - especially if you have the room set up as a twin.  It would be great if there was a little more room at the end of the bed so you can pass someone without hitting the wall.

The bathroom could also do with being a bit larger, you have to dry yourself in the shower really as there is not quite enough space outside of the shower cubicle.  

 

Note that my experience was on QM2 - the space may be better (or worse) on QV/QE.