Cunard line question

[cathyelsal]

If you have sailed wwith Cunard, can you tell me how formal the cruises are. A friend and I would love to take the queen Mary 2 transatlantic across and then south to Cape Town but neither of us is a formal dress kind  of person.  Can we travel with them and not feel totally ostracized without formal wear and a lot of dressy clothes?

[mom says]

I suggest you ask this on the Cunard forum.  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/32-cunard-line/

 

In my experience, Cunard is the most formal if the mass market lines and their dress codes are enforced.. Their dress codes are laid out on their website.

[Canuker]

'Mom says' is dead right.
When I'm asked to describe Cunard, particularly their crossings (which are a throw-back to the pre-airliner days), I say:

"One word: elegant".
On a crossing there will be 2 (3) formal (tux / gowns) nights, the rest are jackets for the boys. Daytime is casual.
But there is no obligation to do this; however it will restrict your access to some parts of the ship and you may notice a couple of, unwarranted,  frowns as you move about.

Bottom line:

1. If you choose Cunard, go with the flow - you deserve it.

2. If not, it's still a great cruise.
 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, cathyelsal said:

If you have sailed wwith Cunard, can you tell me how formal the cruises are. A friend and I would love to take the queen Mary 2 transatlantic across and then south to Cape Town but neither of us is a formal dress kind  of person.  Can we travel with them and not feel totally ostracized without formal wear and a lot of dressy clothes?

Complying with Cunard’s dress code is not that tough - for a man a dark suit will work on the two dressy nights on a T/A, and a woman can simply wear the sort of dress she might wear to someone’s wedding (or funeral).

 

No one would “ostracize” you if you could not manage that, but you would have to eat your evening meals in the buffet and be expected to avoid certain areas on the ship after 6:00 PM.

 

But, the question is: why would you want to sail Cunard if you do not particularly like the way Cunard does things?  

 

 

[cathyelsal]

Because they are the only line doing a route from US mainland to South Africa in the time frame we need to spend time in SA and connect to our east coast of Africa cruise. And Ann is somewhat disabled and a cruise is much better for her than flying.

[Host Kat]

Howdy cathyelsal!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and thank you for your new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum!  👍 

 

However, your thread is off-topic here. Since your new thread concerns a particular cruise line, I have moved your thread to the Cunard Line forum where it will be on-topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have or are going to sail Cunard frequent that forum.

 

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[BigMac1953]

The basic rule is THREE Gala (formal) nights per week on a transatlantic, and TWO per week on a cruise.

[Sauer-kraut]

When you say you aren't formal dress kind of people.... a nice pants suit with a pretty top will suffice.  You can also wear long skirt or dress.  Its not couture every night.  During the day its just regular what you'd wear on any cruise.  Shorts, t-shirts, jeans etc.  ALSO its not necessary to have 7 dressy outfits, you can make do with just a pair of nice black trousers and switch out tops.  Nobody cares if you wear something more than once,.

[Lakesregion]

20 hours ago, cathyelsal said:

If you have sailed wwith Cunard, can you tell me how formal the cruises are. A friend and I would love to take the queen Mary 2 transatlantic across and then south to Cape Town but neither of us is a formal dress kind  of person.  Can we travel with them and not feel totally ostracized without formal wear and a lot of dressy clothes?

You will not be ostracized. The line provides a fine buffet for all meals should you find the dress code to be a problem and recently they have expanded the number of places you can wander in the evening in casual clothes without being shooed away. The queens room dance floor and the show theater will be off limits if you can not meet the minimum required as will be the main dining rooms. Go to the Cunard website and pull down the dress code. It should answer all of your questions. What it will not do is tell you that violating these codes will still allow you to wander without being ostracized.

Edited December 13, 2019 by Lakesregion
spelling

[Sue from Canada]

On 12/12/2019 at 8:38 PM, cathyelsal said:

If you have sailed wwith Cunard, can you tell me how formal the cruises are. A friend and I would love to take the queen Mary 2 transatlantic across and then south to Cape Town but neither of us is a formal dress kind  of person.  Can we travel with them and not feel totally ostracized without formal wear and a lot of dressy clothes?

Thank you for asking this as I'm in the same boat  I've booked a 21 B2B at the end of July and have never sailed with Cunard.  Post #8 below makes me feel better now.  I'll wear black slacks, a long black skirt and nice tops, some sparkly.

[Underwatr]

9 hours ago, Sue from Canada said:

I'll wear black slacks, a long black skirt and nice tops, some sparkly.

That sounds perfect based on my observations.

[BlueRiband]

Would you book Disney if you were not the kind of person who minds being around a lot of young children? 

 

There's nothing wrong with not liking formal dress.  But if it bothers you than Cunard may not be a good fit.  One person may consider it a vacation paradise while another would see it as a cruise from hell. 

[Catchum]

This board is heavily populated by pro formal dining cruisers which is fine but I was in a similar position considering a crossing and found the review below very useful

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2667029-fyi-qm2-casual-dress-cruisers/

 

Basically the writer had a good cruise without either violating the dress code or ever dressing formally.

 

I did not book the trip but part of me wants to sail on a Cunard ship and dress up properly - in corset, full hooped skirt and tiara (my usual weekend attire).

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, Catchum said:

This board is heavily populated by pro formal dining cruisers which is fine but I was in a similar position considering a crossing and found the review below very useful

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2667029-fyi-qm2-casual-dress-cruisers/

 

Basically the writer had a good cruise without either violating the dress code or ever dressing formally.

 

I did not book the trip but part of me wants to sail on a Cunard ship and dress up properly - in corset, full hooped skirt and tiara (my usual weekend attire).

 

It is quite true that you can manage to have a good time without bothering with the dress code. But the dress code is not difficult to comply with, and there is so much more of the ship available to you that it seems a great shame not to adopt it for the short time one is on board.

[Bigmike911]

On 12/12/2019 at 9:54 PM, cathyelsal said:

Because they are the only line doing a route from US mainland to South Africa in the time frame we need to spend time in SA and connect to our east coast of Africa cruise. And Ann is somewhat disabled and a cruise is much better for her than flying.

I love sailing on Queen Mary 2, and would not want to discourage any one from sailing on her, but I have to question your choice of sailing versus flying. Queen Mary 2 is a huge vessel and getting around on her takes time and effort. If your companion is 'somewhat disabled' she is going to have a much more difficult time getting around on the ship than getting to and from and airplane seat.  

[cathyelsal]

She uses a scooter, loves cruising and has done it many times.

[cathyelsal]

And that seems like a strange comment since in my experience there have been many people with limited mobility on all the cruises I have joined. I think it is a preferred vacation for many of them because ships are very disability friendly.

[Bedruthen]

Please don’t be put off by the dress code. Yes some people will dress to impress, but it is by no means everyone. I have felt perfectly comfortable and blended in without a problem in nice black trousers and a dressy top. Ball gowns are definitely not compulsory 😀

[Lakesregion]

1 hour ago, cathyelsal said:

And that seems like a strange comment since in my experience there have been many people with limited mobility on all the cruises I have joined. I think it is a preferred vacation for many of them because ships are very disability friendly.

I believe that the poster suggesting a plane was only because in your initial post you inferred that your friend who had a disability would find it difficult to dress up to the standards desired by most on board. I have seen numerous very elegantly attired people in wheel chairs. They had no problems making the effort and they were able to enjoy the full run of the ship every day and every evening.

[Bigmike911]

It would appear that in 2020 the world cruise will have the QM2 traveling from Capetown to Southampton to New York. The same for the world cruise route for 2021. Those are the latest world cruise itineraries  that are published so far. In the past they have traveled the other direction, but not in the next two years.  So far QM2 has only called at Cape Town as part of the world cruise. 

[bluemarble]

14 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

It would appear that in 2020 the world cruise will have the QM2 traveling from Capetown to Southampton to New York. The same for the world cruise route for 2021. Those are the latest world cruise itineraries  that are published so far. In the past they have traveled the other direction, but not in the next two years.  So far QM2 has only called at Cape Town as part of the world cruise. 

 

I think you may be looking at the QM2 2021 world cruise route incorrectly. That route will be traveling New York-Southampton-Cape Town. I'm not seeing that voyage being offered as a single segment of the 2021 world voyage, but it is currently being offered as these two separate consecutive voyages.

 

Voyage M102: New York-Southampton, Jan 3-Jan 10, 2021

Voyage M103: Southampton-Cape Town, Jan 10-Jan 24, 2021

 

And just for the record, the QM2 2022 world voyage was just announced this past Thursday, but it's not calling at Cape Town. For 2022 on QM2, it's a "Caribbean and South America" voyage.