So, who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

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?

As you say, it all depends on when. The only way the dynamic on my voyage differed from that on other Cunard trips, was that there were more very elderly passengers, more frail passengers, and more disabled passengers. I am assuming this will not be typical.

[missson1967]

16 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

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

Call it what you will, but again, we had already made our mind up long before sight of @blonde-cruiser's review.

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

As you say, it all depends on when. The only way the dynamic on my voyage differed from that on other Cunard trips, was that there were more very elderly passengers, more frail passengers, and more disabled passengers. I am assuming this will not be typical.

I don't know exlondoner as many Cunard regulars who fit into the above[and I completely agree with the comment] and like us, don't want to travel on QM2, will be stuck if they don't book Annie.

 

It will be interesting going forward.

[missson1967]

20 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

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

Yes, we have read satisfied accounts (yours included), and again, we made our mind up based on our own research.

[missson1967]

24 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Did you encounter many rude and/or drunk passengers? 

As we said in post #6, we have no intention of sailing on QA & have transferred the booking we did have, so no, we haven't encountered any "rude and/or drunk passengers" on QA.

[missson1967]

23 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

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. 🙂

 

Research based on, amongst other things, discussions with former Cunard crew (whose opinion we value), on the basis of which we came to the conclusion the QA was unlikely to be for us, just as it appears the QM2 is not for you. 

[ShipboardSteve]

It is possibly the case that over the coming months of this year that Cunard may well 'optimise' their management of QA, taking into account the feedback received directly to officers and staff on board, as well as emails and the post-voyage feedback questionnaire, as well as the reviews on FEEFO.  Clearly there were major problems with the disembarkation process as well as the service efficiency in the dining rooms on the early voyages.  Presumably at least those problems they will surely have given high priority to fixing as rapidly as possible, as they are basic services that would be expected to work properly whatever the cruise line and whatever the range of passengers on board. As for entertainment and the kind of passengers on upcoming voyages, the latter are self selecting - people will decide for themselves whether the atmosphere on board is one they wish to be part of after draining their bank account of a not insignificant sum of money when paying for the cruise.  Some will book, pay and enjoy qa, and other will book, pay and not think that they like what they have paid for - and then book elsewhere on other Cunard ships or switch to other cruise lines.  There is some evidence that people have been switching between lines in the past few years, and not just from Cunard.  So it will be interesting to see if the life on board changes over the rest of this year, or not.

Edited July 1 by ShipboardSteve
typo

[Victoria2]

7 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

Yes, we have read satisfied accounts (yours included), and again, we made our mind up based on our own research.

Your research must have been undertaken with regards to the ship itself as opposed to any passenger profile.

 

I must admit, as a non discerning Cunard regular, I don't like the QM2 as a ship. Passengers were lovely but that's after actual experience rather than media reports.

[Victoria2]

1 minute ago, missson1967 said:

Research based on, amongst other things, discussions with former Cunard crew (whose opinion we value), on the basis of which we came to the conclusion the QA was unlikely to be for us, just as it appears the QM2 is not for you. 

No. QM2 is not for me but that's through actual experience and not second hand thoughts.

 

But

then I'm apparently not discerning and as we loved Bernie Flint probably very hoi polloi'ish too!

Hey ho, I know my place! 😄

 

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

No. QM2 is not for me but that's through actual experience and not second hand thoughts.

 

But

then I'm apparently not discerning and as we loved Bernie Flint probably very hoi polloi'ish too!

Hey ho, I know my place! 😄

 

I love QM2 with a few caveats, but one of the main difficulties I have with her is the same as with QA: they are too long, and entail a lot of walking. The Vistas make for a much easier life. Surely if hoi polloi didn’t like a ship, it would be pretty empty.

[Victoria2]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I love QM2 with a few caveats, but one of the main difficulties I have with her is the same as with QA: they are too long, and entail a lot of walking. The Vistas make for a much easier life. Surely if hoi polloi didn’t like a ship, it would be pretty empty.

Annie is sailing full June onwards this summer so maybe we'll have some more hoi polloi to keep us company.

 

Maybe they will be discerning hoi polloi too. What a treat for us non discerning hoi polloi. 😀

[missson1967]

31 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

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?

Yes, of course.  Based on our discussions with former Cunard crew, we had begun to doubt whether QA was going to be to our liking, even prior to sailing, however, rather than transfer our booking beforehand, we waited to see the initial feedback once it was up & running.  Having done so (and notwithstanding some favourable reviews such as that of @exlondoner), we fairly quickly came to the conclusion it was not for us (just as other lines are not for us, even though we may not have tried them).  We would rather stick to Cunard's other three ships than take a chance on QA, although we do of course appreciate QA will appeal to others.  

[exlondoner]

10 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Annie is sailing full June onwards this summer so maybe we'll have some more hoi polloi to keep us company.

 

Maybe they will be discerning hoi polloi too. What a treat for us non discerning hoi polloi. 😀

We are not on until next year, as we are not only undiscerning, but relatively impecunious. Still, it is very good to see that many of the teething troubles seem to have been sorted. (I nearly said ironed out, but the picture that arose from the mixed metaphor was not pleasant.)

[Winifred 22]

Can I put my hand up for moving my sun bed around as the sun moves?  I spend as much time as weather allows on a sun bed with either my kindle, a puzzle book or my knitting. I am also a big fan of Pol Acker. I sometimes order steak sand chips with tomato soup for my meal. I reckon I would be way down on the list of desirable passengers before we get started on my M and S clothes. Don’t have any tattoos but do have dyed blond hair.  Joking apart in my opinion everyone who has paid for their cruise has a right to onboard and it’s not for me to judge who should and who shouldn’t travel. Some people need to get over themselves. Who people telling of cancellations and not booking  think they are impressing I am not sure, certainly not me. 

[Victoria2]

7 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

We are not on until next year, as we are not only undiscerning, but relatively impecunious. Still, it is very good to see that many of the teething troubles seem to have been sorted. (I nearly said ironed out, but the picture that arose from the mixed metaphor was not pleasant.)

I will report back!

[Winifred 22]

2 hours 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?

I move my sun bed all the time along with most other people on the decks as well. 

Edited July 1 by Winifred 22

[Winifred 22]

31 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Annie is sailing full June onwards this summer so maybe we'll have some more hoi polloi to keep us company.

 

Maybe they will be discerning hoi polloi too. What a treat for us non discerning hoi polloi. 😀

Do I need a special lanyard yes I wear 😂one saying I am not discerning hoi polioi as I wouldn’t want to give a false impression of myself. 

Edited Monday at 04:40 PM by Winifred 22

[missson1967]

7 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Who people telling of cancellations and not booking  think they are impressing I am not sure, certainly not me. 

Our comment about transferring our QA booking was included as part of a thank you to the OP for sharing their experience which, in our view, vindicated our decision to do so.  It wasn't intended to impress you or anyone else.

[*Miss G*]

Are drinks free at the slot machine? I didn’t know that.

 

I can no more foretell a ship demographic, based on a single sailing, than I can predict the type of vehicular drivers I will encounter based on the last time I took that route. I imagine “the discerning cruiser” would choose not to post such an over the top public diatribe, so I am left with attention-seeking and click-bait (with a nod to feigned outrage). 

 

It’s an entertaining diversion, at any rate, so thank you.

[ShipboardSteve]

I am certain that Cunard will be looking at their booking data, since they have all the dates of birth of every passenger on every one of the four ships and will be scouring the histograms to see if their passengers are following what they hoped would be the changed demographic on the new ship. They will no doubt manage the activities on the new ship in the same way, or differently as the new data comes in over the coming months. They of course have the full demographic data for all the bookings for the next couple of years and not just the voyages already completed - but they will keep that data close to their commercial secrecy chests!

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, ShipboardSteve said:

I am certain that Cunard will be looking at their booking data, since they have all the dates of birth of every passenger on every one of the four ships and will be scouring the histograms to see if their passengers are following what they hoped would be the changed demographic on the new ship. They will no doubt manage the activities on the new ship in the same way, or differently as the new data comes in over the coming months. They of course have the full demographic data for all the bookings for the next couple of years and not just the voyages already completed - but they will keep that data close to their commercial secrecy chests!

So Cunard do have some IT that works?

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, missson1967 said:

Our comment about transferring our QA booking was included as part of a thank you to the OP for sharing their experience which, in our view, vindicated our decision to do so.  It wasn't intended to impress you or anyone else.

Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions but usually, opinions on ships are given more credence when given through experience rather than he said/she said and unfortunately, quoting the phrase 'discerning customer' has led to merriment and jocular comments.

 

It's interesting the rest of us do not recognise the ship in the opening post. That might say as much about the O/P as it does about the rest of us.

 

I am more than happy to be considered below salt/hoi polloi/undiscerning as I think I might be in a great group of CC members who whilst not necessarily raving about QA [thinking Maiden and following cruise snags here], definitely have enjoyed the experience for the most part, so far.

 

and finally

one would think most, if not all contributors to this forum are discerning even if ideas on dress and tips vary.

 

After all, this IS the Cunard board we're members of! 😄

 

 

[Victoria2]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

So Cunard do have some IT that works?

Really? 😃

[david63]

3 hours ago, blonde-cruiser said:

Sadly I found the clientele on QA a little too, dare I say it, P&O'y.

I find that statement somewhat disingenuous - that is if I even knew what it meant.

 

In my experience P&O "clientele" are, in the main, no different to the "clientele" of any other cruise line, and certainly they don't all spend the day consuming alcohol.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, david63 said:

I find that statement somewhat disingenuous - that is if I even knew what it meant.

 

In my experience P&O "clientele" are, in the main, no different to the "clientele" of any other cruise line, and certainly they don't all spend the day consuming alcohol.

The only regular P&O passenger I know is my former Head. She obviously lets her hair down and goes mad when aboard.