Britannia compared to Britannia Club

[TowandaUK]

Looking at the difference between Britannia and Club rooms. Can’t see a lot of difference considering the extra cost for Club. I know that Club has a separate dining room with an assigned table just for you. Is there much difference in the menus in these two categories?  I can see there is a lot more on offer to those in Grills, but is it worth paying extra for Club rather than Britannia?  

[Winifred 22]

I personally don’t . I would rather stick to Britannia and save the funds for another cruise. On QM2 one of the restaurants for Club is just a partitioned off part of the main restaurant . I am sure Club stalwarts will have plenty to say but I always have fixed 2nd sitting and table for one. I would eat late anyway so fo me especially as a solo the premium price is just not worth it. 

[foodsvcmgr]

I enjoyed Club on a T/A where the fixed table and servers for all three meals was an attraction.

I wouldn’t pay the premium for a port intensive cruise where I might need an early and fast buffet breakfast or eat a local lunch off the ship.

Also as Winifred says, we eat at late seating so the option to dine at different times not really needed.

Club is a very nice experience however.

[majortom10]

There is very little, if any at all, difference in the staterooms of Britannia and Club.

[gfs1ram]

4 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

Looking at the difference between Britannia and Club rooms. Can’t see a lot of difference considering the extra cost for Club. I know that Club has a separate dining room with an assigned table just for you. Is there much difference in the menus in these two categories?  I can see there is a lot more on offer to those in Grills, but is it worth paying extra for Club rather than Britannia?  

 NO.

Edited October 16, 2023 by gfs1ram

[TowandaUK]

32 minutes ago, gfs1ram said:

 NO.

Can you explain why please? The price difference is quite big so I am curious how they justify it. 

[Wonky]

The restaurant is the difference and in my opinion it’s the best layout of a restaurant on Cunard, lots of space between tables. Another advantage of club rooms is we find we can book a saver fare as there’s not much point in selecting rooms as they are all very central (certainly this is the case on QV & QE).

[gfs1ram]

33 minutes ago, TowandaUK said:

Can you explain why please? The price difference is quite big so I am curious how they justify it. 

Sorry to be a little abrupt but I started a similar thread last year (please refer to my activity).

I posted my conclusion on August 16th 2022 - see below.

 

"As the OP for this thread I thought I would post an update / my findings as during the last month we have undertaken two cruises on the QV, the latter being in Britannia Club.

Firstly we enjoyed both cruises immensely ( Norway & Western Isles).

 

Focusing on the differences we found with Club I can now be specific.

Regarding the Cabin.Deck 8. - Identical layout to an ordinary Balcony cabin.

Additions - Two foot stools on the balcony.

                     Coffee machine provided in addition to a kettle. (We did not use it)

                     Bottle of still water provided each day. (Providing you use it)

                     Large bottle of Pol Acker provided. ( half bottle in standard balcony cabin)

                     Dressing gowns a softer, heavier material. (But no slippers)

That's it regarding the cabin.

 

We have now completed 26 Cunard cruises so we were aware that the 'big' attraction was always said to be the dining experience.

The dining room was very nice, clean, bright and attractive.

The 'anytime' dining was very convenient and 7.30 meant no rushing for the 10pm show.

Additional "A La Carte" menu provided that little extra to choose from.

 

Now for the experience - and WHAT A LET DOWN !!

 

Firstly very surprised that the evening dress code was not adhered to with several men wearing open necked polo shirts and no jackets. Not looking smart at all. 

 

The food was very good but no better than what we have regularly received in the Britannia Restaurant.

BUT the service - oh dear! It was so disappointing.

The Waiters were pleasant but the Assistant Waiter in particular was obviously struggling to cope.

It is all very well having 'anytime dining' but then on one night having to apologise the fact that 'a lot of people had all arrived at 7.15/30 !! 

It still did not stop the table next to us arriving 30 minutes after us but getting their 'mains' served first??

 

It was however the lack of etiquette that was most noticeable and to me disappointing.

Call me old fashioned but in my experience the Ladies are always given the menu's and served first - but not with our Assistant Waiter!!  We have never experienced that at all in the Britannia Restaurant.

The anticipated 'Five Star Service' was just missing!

 

So there we are. I know that Britannia Club is very popular and must be so for a reason especially noting the premiums paid so I guess we were just unlucky but that is how it was.

 

Thankfully our dining experience did not spoil the cruise and we will most certainly travel with Cunard again - just not in Club."

 

As a further update I believe you now get slippers in Club but you also get a large bottle of fizz now in Britannia. 

Indeed we have just returned from a 14 day cruise on the QE. Our third Cunard cruise this year.

All have been in Britannia and I have to say the food on the last Cruise was exceptional in the Britannia Restaurant.

Just our experience.

Enjoy whatever you do.

 

 

 

[TowandaUK]

Thank you for your detailed reply. We booked our first Cunard cruise only 3 months ago so still have a lot to learn about Cunard. We are hoping to book another cruise before long so your information is very useful. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Worth it depends on what you value. I don't mind fixed dining because I eat early normally. Plus, that's how cruising was when I started, so it seems to be what I do.  I've always found something I like on the Britannia menu.  To me Club isn't worth the price jump. 

 

I have been in PG a few times, a splurge, but that's where the extra items on the menu are worth the upgrade. And the room is larger/nicer. But even in PG, I often skipped lunch in the dining room. QE has a good salad bar, so I can eat a healthier lunch at the buffet. And although I despise the main area of Kings Court, I find I can get a lunch I like at the smaller pasta/pizza area or the small plates at Carinthia on QM2.

 

About the wine. In 2022 on QW, I was in PG and got a half bottle of fizz that was not Pol Acker. I liked it. A second half bottle arrived later with a note from World Club that they didn't have the usual bottles, so they were doing two half bottles. Later that year, on QM2, they were back to the Pol Acker, full bottle. I suspect it's what they can source. 

 

I got slippers in a Britannia cabin on QM2 last fall. My steward was able to find a pair that weren't too large.  

[D&N]

We had 14 nights in a Club cabin on QM2 in June 2022.

Going by online photos there is no real difference from Britannia Balcony cabins. Currently those on deck 13 have a better bathroom with shower screen rather than curtain. we don't know if that will change next month during the dry docking.

 

We liked the BC port side restaurant. We were happy having the same table for all meals whenever we chose to eat (within opening hours), We used the "A La Carte" menu when nothing enthused us on the regular Britannia menu.

 

The restaurant and cabin locations suited us for our onboard activities. We mainly use Chart Room, Queens Room, G32, Pavilion Pool and Gym.

 

We'll be in the same cabin next time.

[Kynance]

The additional cost per night for Britannia Club is usually less on a short voyage. I’ve done 3 nights in BC on QV and 4 nights in BC on QM2 - in November 2018 and September 2023 respectively, The rest of my voyages have been in standard Britannia grade cabins. The deck 13 BC cabins on QM2 are very nice - I thought the Art Deco accents very elegant and the shower room was great. The restaurant on QV was elegant too - I preferred it to the discrete starboard-side dining room on QM2 but I didn’t dislike that by any means. We had a very nice table by the window but some tables for two are still pretty close to each other. The atmosphere in both restaurants is calm and service unhurried. I would say this is one of the main benefits of BC dining. 
 

We found on both trips we didn’t eat much earlier than we would on late sitting.  We did appreciate the additional offerings on the a la carte menu but to be honest after 4 nights we had tried pretty much everything which appealed. I did enjoy having our own table for lunch on the sea days too rather than having to queue and be allocated one in the main restaurant. 
 

On longer trips we always use the alternative dining at least once. We are never up early enough for restaurant breakfast and Mr K often prefers the menus in Kings Court or the Lido at lunch. My conclusion, for us at least, is that BC is a lovely treat for short trips but we wouldn’t get value for money or be able to justify the price uplift on a longer voyage. However, I would definitely recommend giving it a try out on a short break. 

[fourmile.ranch]

As dining is the difference between these two categories, you could book Britannia balcony and eat an elevated dinner in the alternative venues nightly. This will give you a similar experience for less money.

 

I imagine if Cunard ever institutes the 'for extra charge' in the MDR (which was hinted at in the last survey), justification for Club becomes even harder.

[Victoria2]

3 hours ago, fourmile.ranch said:

As dining is the difference between these two categories, you could book Britannia balcony and eat an elevated dinner in the alternative venues nightly. This will give you a similar experience for less money.

 

I imagine if Cunard ever institutes the 'for extra charge' in the MDR (which was hinted at in the last survey), justification for Club becomes even harder.

What was the survey hint for an extra charge in the MDR?

[gfs1ram]

11 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

Thank you for your detailed reply. We booked our first Cunard cruise only 3 months ago so still have a lot to learn about Cunard. We are hoping to book another cruise before long so your information is very useful. 

I'm not sure when your first Cunard Cruise will be but another little tip is if you can, book your future Cunard cruise/s whilst on board with Voyage Sales.

For a balcony you will receive on board credit (OBC) of $300 each for a 10-24 night cruise and $150 each for a  6 - 9 night cruise. Other categories of Staterooms also qualify for OBS at varying levels.

You will also only pay £175 deposit each and the booking can be transferred to your Travel Agent if you have one to also get their discounted price.

Worth remembering but go prepared beforehand so you know the cruises you are interested in and approximate prices. Do not rely on Voyage Sales to get you the best deal.

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, gfs1ram said:

I'm not sure when your first Cunard Cruise will be but another little tip is if you can, book your future Cunard cruise/s whilst on board with Voyage Sales.

For a balcony you will receive on board credit (OBC) of $300 each for a 10-24 night cruise and $150 each for a  6 - 9 night cruise. Other categories of Staterooms also qualify for OBS at varying levels.

You will also only pay £175 deposit each and the booking can be transferred to your Travel Agent if you have one to also get their discounted price.

Worth remembering but go prepared beforehand so you know the cruises you are interested in and approximate prices. Do not rely on Voyage Sales to get you the best deal.

but bear in mind, the itineraries will have been on sale for six or seven months so if anyone has specific cabins in mind, best to book early, shoreside or onboard.

[TowandaUK]

3 hours ago, gfs1ram said:

I'm not sure when your first Cunard Cruise will be but another little tip is if you can, book your future Cunard cruise/s whilst on board with Voyage Sales.

For a balcony you will receive on board credit (OBC) of $300 each for a 10-24 night cruise and $150 each for a  6 - 9 night cruise. Other categories of Staterooms also qualify for OBS at varying levels.

You will also only pay £175 deposit each and the booking can be transferred to your Travel Agent if you have one to also get their discounted price.

Worth remembering but go prepared beforehand so you know the cruises you are interested in and approximate prices. Do not rely on Voyage Sales to get you the best deal.

 

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

but bear in mind, the itineraries will have been on sale for six or seven months so if anyone has specific cabins in mind, best to book early, shoreside or onboard.

Yes this is our dilemma at the moment. Our first cruise is on Anne on May 10th. We are torn whether to book now or wait until we get onboard to get the benefits of doing it that way. The danger is that if we wait that prices may have gone up. At the moment we are trying to nail down the type of room we will go for and narrow down which cruises we may be interested in and monitor prices. 

[foodsvcmgr]

You may also find that the onboard credit will not be combinable with the lowest promotional fares.

It would be a shame to wait trying to get the OBC only to be denied.

Check fare options closely.

This was my experience in August.

[Victoria2]

3 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

 

Yes this is our dilemma at the moment. Our first cruise is on Anne on May 10th. We are torn whether to book now or wait until we get onboard to get the benefits of doing it that way. The danger is that if we wait that prices may have gone up. At the moment we are trying to nail down the type of room we will go for and narrow down which cruises we may be interested in and monitor prices. 

It entirely depends on your cabin needs. We want very specific cabins so that over rides any extra benefit booking onboard can give.

[fourmile.ranch]

10 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

What was the survey hint for an extra charge in the MDR?

There was a question about how we'd feel if there was a selection of options in the MDR available at an extra charge. I assume this would be steak, lobster and such.

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Hi, just bear in mind if uk booking the deposit increases to the standard percentage you move the cruise you booked on board.  Also you have to book within a year. In our case we weren’t told about either when on board.  The date issue is extra annoying as we had two further cruises booked in the year already so wanted to move it by 15 months. I am still thinking about what to do about this?

[Pear Carr]

I would imagine you would be referred to the terms and conditions which we should all scrutinise but likely rarely do. Something for us all to consider when booking on board or on ‘special incentives’.

[Staffordshirecruiser]

Actually I wasn’t, - part of the reason for the disappointment in Cunard in this respect.  I booked on board on both QM2 and QV, so I think there are gaps in their information provision process.

[Wonky]

14 hours ago, Staffordshirecruiser said:

Hi, just bear in mind if uk booking the deposit increases to the standard percentage you move the cruise you booked on board.  Also you have to book within a year. In our case we weren’t told about either when on board.  The date issue is extra annoying as we had two further cruises booked in the year already so wanted to move it by 15 months. I am still thinking about what to do about this?

When the extra on board spend came about a couple of months ago I did a three way change! This might be a possibility for you? It only has to be slightly more expensive so if you moved up a grade on one booking then move that deposit forward? 

[Victoria2]

11 hours ago, Staffordshirecruiser said:

Actually I wasn’t, - part of the reason for the disappointment in Cunard in this respect.  I booked on board on both QM2 and QV, so I think there are gaps in their information provision process.

Devil's advocate here, the information is there, but then when potentially spending thousands of pounds, I personally check the t&cs. I ask.