QM2 May 15th sailing

[Victoria2]

59 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

Trust me, most of us wouldn't. Probably had the wrong sort of upbringing.

I think we're more likely to notice a  passenger who wears his clothes well rather than notice if the jacket or suit is  Matalan or Brioni.

[Mickb]

10 hours ago, ak1004 said:

I'm curious why you think that comparing Cunard TA with Silverseas repositioning cruise is not comparing apples with apples (although I was comparing Cunard PG in terms of pricing).

IMO - A Cunard Transatlantic is a ‘travel experience’  - much more than a cruise. It is redolent of the great days of travel and there is a sense of purpose about crossing in a liner ( rather than a cruise ship) designed for that purpose.

I have been lucky enough to experience transatlantic voyages on Silverseas, HAL, Celebrity and Cunard - the difference I think is that the QM2 was designed for the job and the others were designed for warm water cruising and took the southern better weather route. I have say I loved them all but the QM2 experiences were very special.

[ak1004]

A full review posted - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=687012

[carlmm]

Thanks for the review with the details about how you came to your verdict. 

Thus it is possible for the reader to decide which of the raised issues would bother oneself and which one has a totally different opinios on.

[rakkor]

16 hours ago, ak1004 said:

A full review posted - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=687012

 

I see from your signature that you sailed on QM2 in 2017, but in your review state that :

 

"Dress code: about 80% of men were wearing tuxedos on formal nights and most men were wearing jackets the rest of the time. This is definitely not for us. We come to a cruise to relax, not being forced to put a jacket and a tie."

 

Did you not notice there was a dress code on your previous sailing  ?

 

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by rakkor

[rakkor]

Also Britannia menu limited? I wouldn't call a choice of 8 starters/salad/soups, 5 entrees and 5 desserts as well as cheese and crackers and an "always available" choice of steak, salmon and chicken etc limited.

 

Link: Cunard Menus from our cruises

 

23rd_AUG_Dinner.pdf

 

 

[sogne]

I am always amused by the discovery of rust on a ship, it is similar to tyres  on a car.

[exlondoner]

As is the constant round of maintenance.

[sogne]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

As is the constant round of maintenance.

Agreed

[ak1004]

5 hours ago, rakkor said:

 

I see from your signature that you sailed on QM2 in 2017, but in your review state that :

 

"Dress code: about 80% of men were wearing tuxedos on formal nights and most men were wearing jackets the rest of the time. This is definitely not for us. We come to a cruise to relax, not being forced to put a jacket and a tie."

 

Did you not notice there was a dress code on your previous sailing  ?

 

 

 

We were well aware of the dress code. However, as I mentioned on several occasions, we came to this sailing to see the "London Theater at sea", and while we definitely prefer a more relaxed dress code, this was not a deal breaker for us.

 

5 hours ago, rakkor said:

Also Britannia menu limited? I wouldn't call a choice of 8 starters/salad/soups, 5 entrees and 5 desserts as well as cheese and crackers and an "always available" choice of steak, salmon and chicken etc limited.

 

Link: Cunard Menus from our cruises

 

23rd_AUG_Dinner.pdf 480.24 kB · 3 downloads

 

 

 

Well, I guess it depends on the point of reference. Ours was Oceania, with choice of 13 starters/salad/soups, 9 entrees and 8 desserts.

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2021-01/Grand-Dining-Room-Dinner-Menu.pdf

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2021-01/Grand-Dining-Room-Dessert-Menu.pdf

 

And it's not only the number of dishes. It's also what kind of dishes they have (or don't have). No foie gras. No lobster bisque. No rack of lamb. No filet mignon. A lot of dishes that we like were not available. The steaks were tasteless and overcooked, so I gave up on steaks after the second night. 

 

Also, take a look at Oceania breakfast menu and compare it to QM2.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604382387/Grand-Dining-Breakfast-Menu.pdf

 

So yes, for us, it was limited, in the number of dishes and the type of dishes. This was the first cruise since we started cruising that both of us have lost weight. Probably says it all..

[Host Hattie]

Again with the comparison to Oceania 🤦. You must have been unlucky, Rack of Lamb and the other things you mention (apart from Foie Gras) are usually on the menu one evening.

Perhaps they had difficulty with provisions in New York.

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Again with the comparison to Oceania 🤦

 

Well, this is our point of reference. 

[exlondoner]

Can't see much difference between the brekker menus, except Oceania lacks the devilled kidneys I enjoyed so much on my last voyage. I was in the QG, but the breakfast menus never seem that different whatever restaurant you are in.

[ak1004]

49 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Can't see much difference between the brekker menus, except Oceania lacks the devilled kidneys I enjoyed so much on my last voyage. I was in the QG, but the breakfast menus never seem that different whatever restaurant you are in.

 

We gave up on breakfast and lunch in the Britannia after two failed attempts when we had to go to the buffet to finish the meals, otherwise we would remain hungry. QG should be a different story of course.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

You must have been unlucky, Rack of Lamb and the other things you mention (apart from Foie Gras) are usually on the menu one evening.

Perhaps they had difficulty with provisions in New York.

 

Or maybe it was available on the evening we wasted $90 in The Verandah.. 🙂

[exlondoner]

Goodness, remain hungry??? On a passenger ship? Now, the lunch menus I know are identical in all restaurants, and, because there are lots of things I don't like, there are occasional days when not much appeals, but I've always found something, and had very many very nice dishes. I do hope the choices are back to their normal agreeable standard when I am next on QM2.

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Goodness, remain hungry??? On a passenger ship? Now, the lunch menus I know are identical in all restaurants, and, because there are lots of things I don't like, there are occasional days when not much appeals, but I've always found something, and had very many very nice dishes. I do hope the choices are back to their normal agreeable standard when I am next on QM2.

 

Everyone is different. Everyone has different taste, diet restrictions, cooking preferences etc. 

 

For example, I'm diabetic, so I prefer not to abuse items like Pizza, Pasta, Hamburgers etc. My preference is grilled meat and fish. And if steaks are not really appealing, no grilled lamb, chicken breast I don't eat even at home, and I don't eat pork for various reasons, there is not much left.

 

So yes, needless to repeat it, but food is very subjective. btw, I found the food on Celebrity very mediocre as well.

[rakkor]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, I guess it depends on the point of reference. Ours was Oceania, with choice of 13 starters/salad/soups, 9 entrees and 8 desserts.

 

 

If you are  comparing Oceania with Britannia then you aren't being fair. A comparable cruise to our upcoming 14 night Barcelona Cruise in August on Oceania is more expensive than our PG Fare for 10 nights, so maybe you need to use that as the minimum comparison and the PG Menu has in addition to the daily menu this adds 8 starters and 9 Entrees to the menu.

 

PG Menus inncluding A La Carte options

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

 

For example, I'm diabetic, so I prefer not to abuse items like Pizza, Pasta, Hamburgers etc. My preference is grilled meat and fish. And if steaks are not really appealing, no grilled lamb, chicken breast I don't eat even at home, and I don't eat pork for various reasons, there is not much left.

 

That would rule out almost all the Oceania main courses too, except the fish.

[ak1004]

7 minutes ago, rakkor said:

 

If you are  comparing Oceania with Britannia then you aren't being fair. A comparable cruise to our upcoming 14 night Barcelona Cruise in August on Oceania is more expensive than our PG Fare for 10 nights, so maybe you need to use that as the minimum comparison and the PG Menu has in addition to the daily menu this adds 8 starters and 9 Entrees to the menu.

 

PG Menus inncluding A La Carte options

 

I'm not sure which cabin categories you are referring to.

 

On a typical 10-14 days European cruise, Oceania veranda is around $450-500 CAD per night while Cunard Britannia balcony is around $350-400 CAD. When you consider all the inclusions (Oceania price includes complimentary specialty restaurants, Internet, still and sparkling waters, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, and in many cases gratuities), the price difference is really negligible. 

 

This is the pricing in Canada, it might be different in the UK.

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

That would rule out almost all the Oceania main courses too, except the fish.

Not at all. Even in the sample menu, they have two steaks, and on other evenings they had rack of lamb.

 

Plus on Oceania many other items were really outstanding. 

[rakkor]

Barcelona to Rome 10 nights

 

The cheapest Veranda room is £320 per night which equates to £8960 for 14 nights for Jane and myself - PG on QE Barcelona-Barcelona was £7600 for us again in August

[Pear Carr]

Is this a wind up? There appears to be no end to this thread and seems to be going round in circles! 

[Victoria2]

Does it really matter what costs what?

 

This is the Cunard board. We like Cunard. I for one will not look at Oceania, whatever the cost, cheaper or more expensive.

If Cunard doesn't measure up to a particular line in cost effectiveness, choose the other line. If like us, 'you' find there's more to Cunard than cheaper/more expensive, then stick with Cunard.

 

Simple and move on.

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, rakkor said:

Barcelona to Rome 10 nights

 

The cheapest Veranda room is £320 per night which equates to £8960 for 14 nights for Jane and myself - PG on QE Barcelona-Barcelona was £7600 for us again in August

 

Canadian website shows $4,299 CAD which is  £272 per night.

 

 

Plus 14 nights cruise will typically be cheaper per night than 10 night cruise.