So, who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

[blonde-cruiser]

I'm mid 40's. I've now completed a total of 52 nights on all 4 queens. For sure I'm not a Cunard regular BUT I feel like I've cruised enough to voice my thoughts here. My most recent cruise on Queen Anne has me genuinely confused and wondering how to cruise next.

 

 Sadly I found the clientele on QA a little too, dare I say it, P&O'y. Lots of loungers being moved half way across the deck for bronzing, men in budgie smugglers and too many pint glasses being carried on lifts and through corridors. Short-sleeved shirts and tattoos on display at night and even t-shirted guests with a screaming baby allowed in Sir Samuels at 9pm. We witnessed a couple asking for their tips to be removed and instead $30 be added as 'that was plenty enough for their cabin steward' - the Purser allowed this, didn't explain the work of all the buffet and behind-the-scenes staff. Frankly this annoys me. The staff work incredibly hard (apart from the young entertainment team who just slouch about the buffet or clogg up the pavillion grill queue like bored teenagers, faaar too cool for school to be onboard).

We joined the lift from embarkation muster point and a woman shouted 'don't drink the bar dry' at my elderly parents as they exited on their deck. It was a packed lift with arriving passengers and no one had yet felt the need to exchange such pleasantries. One drunk chap later was shouting 'no room at the Inn' and immediately hitting the doors close button when people tried to come in the lift.

Maybe its the new ship effect but this cruise was very heavy on the drunk 50 - 60 year olds who wanted to dance to sub-par musicians like they were the hottest thing ever to board a ship. We found the entertainment woeful - why on earth does Cunard have a so-called comedian? Blackpool at sea didn't spring to mind when I saw their latest ad. So, WHO does Cunard want to attract with Bingo and free drinks at the slot machines??? Is there no longer a big-ship line for the discerning cruiser?

Edited Monday at 02:11 PM by blonde-cruiser

[MylesS]

19 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

too many pint glasses being carried on lifts and through corridors.

I do this when I return to my cabin, does that mean I should sail with P&O?

 

19 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

Short-sleeved shirts and tattoos on display at night and even t-shirted guests with a screaming baby allowed in Sir Samuels at 9pm.

I understand the irritation at the dress code, but honestly it’s a public place. If people want to bring their children, fine. I’m not a huge fan, but it’s none of my business.

 

24 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

We witnessed a couple asking for their tips to be removed and instead $30 be added as 'that was plenty enough for their cabin steward' - the Purser allowed this, didn't explain the work of all the buffet and behind-the-scenes staff. Frankly this annoys me

Then take your anger out on Cunard and tell them to give fair wages to their crew. The $30 to their steward is far more than they’d get from gratuities because of the fact it’s split between so many people. Maybe they didn’t even use the buffet?

 

26 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

The staff work incredibly hard (apart from the young entertainment team who just slouch about the buffet or clogg up the pavillion grill queue like bored teenagers, faaar too cool for school to be onboard).

I’m sure they’re doing this after hours of rehearsals, other work they’re asked to do (like assisting with disembarkation, etc) — how dare they spend their free time in a passenger area.

 

27 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

So, WHO does Cunard want to attract with Bingo and free drinks at the slot machines???

People with money given I had to spend hundreds of dollars to get any drink. 
 

Sorry if I seem rude, but you seem to put yourself on some pedestal thinking you’re the best person on the ship yourself. Everyone on the ship deserves to be there, either because they work hard as crew or because they work hard to afford a good holiday. How they choose to spend it is up to them in my opinion.

 

I can’t speak for the “drunk” people but after being in for nearly 5 weeks already I can say I haven’t seen anything like this.

[Victoria2]

The passenger profile sure has changed in a month. I'm so sorry you had such an awful time but I honestly do not recognise the Queen Anne you describe.

 

Sure she's different from her sisters and she will never be our choice of Cunard if either of her Vista sisters are Southampton based but we experienced kindness and consideration from staff AND passengers.

 

I have no idea who the Blackpool comedian was but if it was Bernie Flint, he had the whole theatre in the palm of his hand with his gentle humour and music.

 

The age profile was the highest we've ever come across on Cunard and we have a few more nights than 52 nights to our names.

 

All I can say is...wow.

 

 

 

 

[MylesS]

1 minute ago, Victoria2 said:

I honestly do not recognise the Queen Anne you describe.

I do not either, perhaps there is another one sailing around! 

[exlondoner]

35 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

I'm mid 40's. I've now completed a total of 52 nights on all 4 queens. For sure I'm not a Cunard regular BUT I feel like I've cruised enough to voice my thoughts here. My most recent cruise on Queen Anne has me genuinely confused and wondering how to cruise next.

 

 Sadly I found the clientele on QA a little too, dare I say it, P&O'y. Lots of loungers being moved half way across the deck for bronzing, men in budgie smugglers and too many pint glasses being carried on lifts and through corridors. Short-sleeved shirts and tattoos on display at night and even t-shirted guests with a screaming baby allowed in Sir Samuels at 9pm. We witnessed a couple asking for their tips to be removed and instead $30 be added as 'that was plenty enough for their cabin steward' - the Purser allowed this, didn't explain the work of all the buffet and behind-the-scenes staff. Frankly this annoys me. The staff work incredibly hard (apart from the young entertainment team who just slouch about the buffet or clogg up the pavillion grill queue like bored teenagers, faaar too cool for school to be onboard).

We joined the lift from embarkation muster point and a woman shouted 'don't drink the bar dry' at my elderly parents as they exited on their deck. It was a packed lift with arriving passengers and no one had yet felt the need to exchange such pleasantries. One drunk chap later was shouting 'no room at the Inn' and immediately hitting the doors close button when people tried to come in the lift.

Maybe its the new ship effect but this cruise was very heavy on the drunk 50 - 60 year olds who wanted to dance to sub-par musicians like they were the hottest thing ever to board a ship. We found the entertainment woeful - why on earth does Cunard have a so-called comedian? Blackpool at sea didn't spring to mind when I saw their latest ad. So, WHO does Cunard want to attract with Bingo and free drinks at the slot machines??? Is there no longer a big-ship line for the discerning cruiser?

Did your QA experience differ significantly from your experience on the other ships?

 

What were the other 2,500+ passengers like?

 

It is obviously just a matter of luck, and I know it happens from time to time, but to my amazement, considering how much time people seem to spend drinking, I’ve never encountered anyone actually drink.

 

To answer your initial question, Cunard, at present, seems to be for me, but I’m probably not very discerning.

[missson1967]

28 minutes ago, blonde-cruiser said:

I'm mid 40's. I've now completed a total of 52 nights on all 4 queens. For sure I'm not a Cunard regular BUT I feel like I've cruised enough to voice my thoughts here. My most recent cruise on Queen Anne has me genuinely confused and wondering how to cruise next.

 

 Sadly I found the clientele on QA a little too, dare I say it, P&O'y. Lots of loungers being moved half way across the deck for bronzing, men in budgie smugglers and too many pint glasses being carried on lifts and through corridors. Short-sleeved shirts and tattoos on display at night and even t-shirted guests with a screaming baby allowed in Sir Samuels at 9pm. We witnessed a couple asking for their tips to be removed and instead $30 be added as 'that was plenty enough for their cabin steward' - the Purser allowed this, didn't explain the work of all the buffet and behind-the-scenes staff. Frankly this annoys me. The staff work incredibly hard (apart from the young entertainment team who just slouch about the buffet or clogg up the pavillion grill queue like bored teenagers, faaar too cool for school to be onboard).

We joined the lift from embarkation muster point and a woman shouted 'don't drink the bar dry' at my elderly parents as they exited on their deck. It was a packed lift with arriving passengers and no one had yet felt the need to exchange such pleasantries. One drunk chap later was shouting 'no room at the Inn' and immediately hitting the doors close button when people tried to come in the lift.

Maybe its the new ship effect but this cruise was very heavy on the drunk 50 - 60 year olds who wanted to dance to sub-par musicians like they were the hottest thing ever to board a ship. We found the entertainment woeful - why on earth does Cunard have a so-called comedian? Blackpool at sea didn't spring to mind when I saw their latest ad. So, WHO does Cunard want to attract with Bingo and free drinks at the slot machines??? Is there no longer a big-ship line for the discerning cruiser?

Thank you for sharing your experience, @blonde-cruiser.  We would like to think we fall into the category of the "discerning cruisers" to which you refer, and we have no intention of sailing on QA (in fact, we have actually transferred a 2025 voyage which we had [optimistically] booked prior to the start of QA's sailing).  The details you have provided are the sort of thing we were concerned about, & to our mind, this has vindicated our decision to cancel, so thank you.

[blonde-cruiser]

 

 

• #3  

Posted 6 minutes ago

15 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

I honestly do not recognise the Queen Anne you describe.

I do not either, perhaps there is another one sailing around! 

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, missson1967 said:

Thank you for sharing your experience, @blonde-cruiser.  We would like to think we fall into the category of the "discerning cruisers" to which you refer, and we have no intention of sailing on QA (in fact, we have actually transferred a 2025 voyage which we had [optimistically] booked prior to the start of QA's sailing).  The details you have provided are the sort of thing we were concerned about, & to our mind, this has vindicated our decision to cancel, so thank you.

Why give more weight to this account rather than to @MylesSdescription of his five weeks’voyage or @Victoria2or even my own? I suppose it depends who is considered discerning?

[Clewgarnet]

I'm certainly not discerning. I have tattoos! And I show them in public! Even on gala evenings!

Edited Monday at 03:04 PM by Clewgarnet

[MylesS]

5 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Why give more weight to this account rather than to @MylesSdescription of his five weeks’voyage

In my case it could be because I took a beer into the lift with me 😉

[david63]

This all sounds like the same story from almost every other cruise line when a new style of ship is introduced to the fleet.

 

Exactly the same type of response that was around when P&O's Ventura entered service.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, MylesS said:

In my case it could be because I took a beer into the lift with me 😉

That upsets me too, because of the danger of spillage, though not as much as mugs of hot drinks. I appreciate carrying stuff up several flights of stairs may be even more risky. Whatever, it wouldn’t stop me going on QA. 😀

[King Amo]

The very notion that a new ship with a slightly less ocean liner feel will have immediately opened the floodgates to what some would clearly consider to be riff raff is frankly laughable. I'd love to see some stats on the first couple of months to determine the ratio of new Cunarders to those in the various tiers. I'd wager the vast majority will have some form of loyalty status. On the first two voyages at least, those on here providing reports suggested the clientele was even older than usual and they had to reduce some of the priorities given how many top tiers there were. 

[exlondoner]

11 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Why give more weight to this account rather than to @MylesSdescription of his five weeks’voyage or @Victoria2or even my own? I suppose it depends who is considered discerning?

I think it is called confirmation bias. Is that right?

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 minutes ago, MylesS said:

In my case it could be because I took a beer into the lift with me 😉

 

Well, I haven't sunk quite as low as you, as I don't take a beer or other drink back to my cabin. But I often bring something from the buffet back to my cabin, so maybe I'm one rung above you on the tacky-person scale.

 

I have to say, OP's description doesn't match what I saw on QA. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, King Amo said:

The very notion that a new ship with a slightly less ocean liner feel will have immediately opened the floodgates to what some would clearly consider to be riff raff is frankly laughable. I'd love to see some stats on the first couple of months to determine the ratio of new Cunarders to those in the various tiers. I'd wager the vast majority will have some form of loyalty status. On the first two voyages at least, those on here providing reports suggested the clientele was even older than usual and they had to reduce some of the priorities given how many top tiers there were. 

 

On the Around Britain May-June, there were around 1600 gold, platinum, and diamond WC members. 

[Dermotsgirl]

Having done most of my cruises on P & O and looking forward to my first ever Cunard cruise on QA in 2026 - I find the original post slightly off putting. 

 

However, I would like to reassure any anxious Cunarders that I don't do any of those things mentioned in the original post and don't play bingo or play on the slots 

 

 

[missson1967]

7 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Why give more weight to this account rather than to @MylesSdescription of his five weeks’voyage or @Victoria2or even my own? I suppose it depends who is considered discerning?

We have not given more weight to @blonde-cruiser's account than yours or anyone else's.  As we said in post #6, @blonde-cruiser's account has, in our view, vindicated our decision to cancel.  That decision was taken long before sight of @blonde-cruiser's review & was based upon our own research. 

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Having done most of my cruises on P & O and looking forward to my first ever Cunard cruise on QA in 2026 - I find the original post slightly off putting. 

 

However, I would like to reassure any anxious Cunarders that I don't do any of those things mentioned in the original post and don't play bingo or play on the slots 

 

 

Perhaps you can take them up when aboard, though trivia quizzes seem more popular.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, missson1967 said:

We have not given more weight to @blonde-cruiser's account than yours or anyone else's.  As we said in post #6, @blonde-cruiser's account has, in our view, vindicated our decision to cancel.  That decision was taken long before sight of @blonde-cruiser's review & was based upon our own research. 

Equally, you might have read satisfied accounts, and decided to give it a go after all.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

We have not given more weight to @blonde-cruiser's account than yours or anyone else's.  As we said in post #6, @blonde-cruiser's account has, in our view, vindicated our decision to cancel.  That decision was taken long before sight of @blonde-cruiser's review & was based upon our own research. 

 

Did you encounter many rude and/or drunk passengers? 

Edited Monday at 03:17 PM by 3rdGenCunarder

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

We have not given more weight to @blonde-cruiser's account than yours or anyone else's.  As we said in post #6, @blonde-cruiser's account has, in our view, vindicated our decision to cancel.  That decision was taken long before sight of @blonde-cruiser's review & was based upon our own research. 

Research based on the few cruises undertaken, none of which you experienced.

 

Interesting.

 

The only research we did was to find a Cunard ship for 24/25 and 26 which sails out of Southampton in the late Spring and summer months and isn't the QM2 so I guess we join the ranks of those who aren't discerning as we have five more cruises booked on her even though she isn't a Vista.

 

Happy to be a paid up member of the less than discerning in the hopes Victoria comes home in '27. 🙂

 

[tacticalbanjo]

I'm howling at the thought that people expect Cunard to be devoid of tattoos, budgie smugglers and, horror of horrors, P&O passengers.

 

I loved my time on QA and didn't see any of the aforementioned delights. I didn't want to get off and I'm looking forward to my 2025 trip on her. Mid 30s avec sprog, 130 nights and definitely not discerning for what it's worth.

[Pushpit]

I read this in Artisans' Foodhall just when it first came online. At the time, there was a young lady in her 20s engrossed, totally engrossed in a large paperback book, she is probably still there. There was an older couple, twinset and pearls (the female of the pair, I should add) having a gentle chat about the UK General Election on Thursday. I also looked at the couple behind, as they went through their tea. In 20 minutes I don't think they said a word to each other. No tattoos that I could see. However Panorama is of course just next door, and so one would expect a few more casually dressed people to be wandering in.

 

Now, I think the OP may have been over-egging it more than a little (in my view) and yes the dynamic is a little different from my other Cunard trips, but I would emphasise "little" rather than "different". And I would not say that P&O travellers are the dregs of society (and nor did the OP). If you go on a Crossing in December you won't see many tattoos, it's too flipping cold for excess skin display. So a lot of this is about when you look, where you look, and your sense of judgement.

 

One of the few benefits of getting old - and I hate it - is being able to see and enjoy the world as it is, and less as how it should be. Now, when is Stormzy on Royal Court?

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

We have not given more weight to @blonde-cruiser's account than yours or anyone else's.  As we said in post #6, @blonde-cruiser's account has, in our view, vindicated our decision to cancel.  That decision was taken long before sight of @blonde-cruiser's review & was based upon our own research. 

It is of course a choice for the individual but may I ask, politely, as the ship has only sailed a few times what your research revealed "long before sight" of this account and when?

 

As someone who has actually sailed on the ship I cannot in any way collate my experience with that of the original poster, nor does it correlate in any way with the reports I've seen either here or on other review sites.  Comments regarding food, service issues, lifts, disabled facilities needing improvement yes I've read those.  Unruly drunken guests absolutely no, not when onboard or in any reports or reviews. This is not something I can recognise or associate with Queen Anne or any Cunard vessel.  In fact to be picky my only ever encounter with a drunken guest on a Cunard ship was on QE2 many years ago.

 

I probably fall into the OP's area of complaint, yes I commit the sin of sailing on P&O too, but I genuinely cannot see how someone moving a sunbed to sit in the sun or having a tattoo makes them undesirable.  By that measure most modern under 40's are classified as not suitable to sail on a Cunard ship!