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So, who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

blonde-cruiser

By blonde-cruiser,
in Cunard Line

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Lee Jones Jnr

Lee Jones Jnr

Posted
Posted

WELL... I have so far held the opinion that the fairly negative response to QA has been because this is a ship that generally only previous Cunard customers have sailed on and the entire point of QA is to appeal to new (meaning younger) customers. I fully expect the guests to be a different profile to QM, however I would expect it to take a year or two for that to actually happen.

A comedian being onboard is not a new addition and in answer to why they are there: people like comedians.

People dragging furniture around probably would bother me but I don't ever spend time around the pools so I suppose that if it happens then I have never been around to notice it.

I do always think that its poor when people remove gratuities and do just think that some people are cheap and only doing so because they can.

In the event that the OP is reporting facts then I am surprised but things happen every day that I might not have expected.

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Red Ray

Red Ray

Posted
Posted
20 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?

But apart from that everything ok?

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Poole Boy

Poole Boy

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3 hours ago, King Amo said:

An absolutely reasonable position. Some ships don't stir the same feelings as others, some have layout issues which drive you bonkers (such as having to detour up/down a couple of floors to get to the other end of the same deck), some are simply too big or too small. I could name numerous ships that I feel the same about. 

 

What made me laugh about the original post, and subsequent, is the notion that Queen Anne, the only Cunard cruiser sailing out of Southampton, has within its first couple of months been overrun by the characters from Benidorm. 

On the Maiden, there were so many Diamond CWC Members that the free lunch perk was withdrawn, on the Round the UK cruise there were over 1000 Diamond and 500+ platinum CWC Members on board. Have all these long time Cunard passengers suddenly morphed on to extras from Benidorm ( Other TV shows and Spanish resorts are available)

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Russiamomm

Russiamomm

Posted
Posted
On 7/1/2024 at 12:48 PM, *Miss G* said:

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.

Agreed that this is an entertaining diversion.  😂

 

But my first question is the same as yours.  Are drinks really free in the casino?  If so, I may have to re-evaluate my budget for the upcoming trip.  😃

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BigMac1953

BigMac1953

Posted
Posted

There are no regular comp drinks in the casino.

 

From time to time, drinks are offered on a points wasted basis. You collected X many points per dollar donated, and after you've given them the qualifying amount, they allow you a wee refreshment, in the hope you'll do it again.

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JT1101

JT1101

Posted
Posted

The problem is this type of "internet mob" response is a social media phenomenon. ALL new ships have maiden voyage hiccups. Check back in 3-6 months once QA is fully shaken down and I expect the impressions will be very different. 

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Cruisin'allovertheworld

Cruisin'allovertheworld

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Jedi_Laz said:

Who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

I see Cunard for the middle class that needs to feel posh for whatever reason.

Perfect, in my opinion.
I myself am a middle-class person (in my opinion) and every now and then I need to (like to?) feel posh! It's not that often as a 37 year old that I get the opportunity in my daily life!

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S1971

S1971

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Jedi_Laz said:

Who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

 

It's an I possible question.

 

There are technically four tiers on Cunard, but I don't think of them as classes, it's more to do with affordability, in essence the more you pay the more you get.

Edited by S1971
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rakkor "Live from...." Rare

rakkor

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Jedi_Laz said:

Who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

I see Cunard for the middle class that needs to feel posh for whatever reason.

 

I prefer elegant to posh, as we have too few opportunities for elegance in our day to day life any more

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Clewgarnet

Clewgarnet

Posted
Posted

The simple fact is that, in Britannia (which is all I can speak to), Cunard is a pleasant, middle-class experience. It's a step up from the everyday in terms of comfort, and a chance to be treated like you're a bit special. An excuse to put on a nice frock in the evening, and pretend to be more civilised than you actually are. (Well, unless the rest of you dress for dinner on the regular. Personally, I'm usually curled up on the sofa in my jimjams, with a glass of whatever wine I had open.)

 

My tablemates have been retired NCOs, a budget airline pilot, secretaries, civil engineers, a GP. You aren't going to bump into the sort of people you would have done on Cunard back in the day. (I have my great-grandfather's autograph book from Queen Mary in the 1940s. Cary Grant, Walt Disney, David Niven, Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson...)

 

It isn't a luxury small-boat experience. Equally, it isn't a mega-party-ship with small children screaming around the place. It skews older, it skews calmer, it skews to those who like a bit of a snooze in the afternoon.

 

I suspect that a lot of Cunard passengers listen to Radio 4 regularly.

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exlondoner

exlondoner

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Clewgarnet said:

The simple fact is that, in Britannia (which is all I can speak to), Cunard is a pleasant, middle-class experience. It's a step up from the everyday in terms of comfort, and a chance to be treated like you're a bit special. An excuse to put on a nice frock in the evening, and pretend to be more civilised than you actually are. (Well, unless the rest of you dress for dinner on the regular. Personally, I'm usually curled up on the sofa in my jimjams, with a glass of whatever wine I had open.)

 

My tablemates have been retired NCOs, a budget airline pilot, secretaries, civil engineers, a GP. You aren't going to bump into the sort of people you would have done on Cunard back in the day. (I have my great-grandfather's autograph book from Queen Mary in the 1940s. Cary Grant, Walt Disney, David Niven, Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson...)

 

It isn't a luxury small-boat experience. Equally, it isn't a mega-party-ship with small children screaming around the place. It skews older, it skews calmer, it skews to those who like a bit of a snooze in the afternoon.

 

I suspect that a lot of Cunard passengers listen to Radio 4 regularly.

 

A lot of that sounds like me, though I do often change into something clean for dinner, having just had a bath to avoid watching the news, which is so depressing.

 

Incidentally, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor decamped to the SS United States, when Cunard suggested they might need slightly less luggage, so ultimately, I imagine, Cunard wasn’t for them. 😀

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Clewgarnet

Clewgarnet

Posted
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2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

A lot of that sounds like me, though I do often change into something clean for dinner, having just had a bath to avoid watching the news, which is so depressing.

 

Incidentally, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor decamped to the SS United States, when Cunard suggested they might need slightly less luggage, so ultimately, I imagine, Cunard wasn’t for them. 😀

Their signatures do have a vibe of being irritated! Although, from what I've read, they both spent their lives being irritated that they weren't treated with the deference they believed they deserved. People actually expected them to pay their bills.

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exlondoner

exlondoner

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6 minutes ago, Clewgarnet said:

Their signatures do have a vibe of being irritated! Although, from what I've read, they both spent their lives being irritated that they weren't treated with the deference they believed they deserved. People actually expected them to pay their bills.

Well, if you grow up expecting to be king, and like the idea, everything else must be something of a disappointment.

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Victoria2 Great Review Rare

Victoria2

Posted
Posted (edited)
10 hours ago, Jedi_Laz said:

Who ACTUALLY is a Cunard cruise for?

I see Cunard for the middle class that needs to feel posh for whatever reason.

Cunard and feeling posh when sailing with their ships?

 

I kept out of this initially as I'm sure my post would have been removed! 😄

 

Cunard is isn't posh unless you call changing for dinner, posh and unless all cruising is deemed a middle class way of having a holiday, it's not middle class either.

 

It's a cruise line without the bells and whistles of some of the more 'exuberant' lines, with good food, pleasant company and great daily programmes; caring staff and three ships with elegant surroundings.

edit

the fourth ship being slightly different from her sisters and I can't call her elegant, more akin to 'of today'!

Still lovely staff and fellow passengers tho' and loads to do without the need of water slides etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria2
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