Another Cunard perspective

[JT1101]

As I posted about earlier, I will be in the December 14 Transatlantic aboard QM2. This will be my fifth Transatlantic. Some thoughts:

First, so far the Cunard end of the process has been flawless. Their interactions with my new Travel Agent (who is herself a gem) were extremely helpful and assisted in a VERY smooth booking. I know Travel Agents help in this but she remarked to me how easy and smooth Cunard made it for them. 

Second, as my last voyage was 2019 I had not seen the new My Cunard. Now that I have it I can say it is a considerable improvement. I have drinks packages, internet signup, gifts, specialty dining and other items at my fingertips. Also it was easy to put in my information including my dining allergy situation (shellfish allergy). 

Obviously I can't have done much more but I also have things I look forward to already. Like...

Boarding her. When you step into the Grand Lobby on QM2 especially at Christmastime it is a visual that like no other ship. Regal, elegant and the mix of Christmas decorations, live music and all the trophies and honors the ship has earned displayed has a bit of a magical feel to it. 

Being greeted by not only hotel staff but an actual officer. This has happened every year. I confess I allowed my impish nautical side to emerge on year and saluted and requested permission to come aboard - he returned the salute and crisply said "Permission Granted". 

Getting settled into my stateroom. I've ridden sheltered balcony before and am doing so this time also. I like the sheltered balcony. 

Being on deck for the sailaway party. It is both fun and bracing. 
 

First dinner on board and first after dark laps on promenade. 

Some of these are things that make Cunard well...Cunard. At least to me. 

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, JT1101 said:

... Also it was easy to put in my information including my dining allergy situation (shellfish allergy). ...

 

Thank you for your informative perspective on Cunard. I have a question about this point. Where in My Cunard did you enter the information about your dining allergy situation? Is that done in the On Board Needs Questionnaire? I can't seem to find a section in that questionnaire which applies to food allergies but perhaps I've just overlooked it. Or is that entered somewhere else in My Cunard that I've missed? Thanks for your assistance with this detail.

[ECC866]

3 hours ago, JT1101 said:

As I posted about earlier, I will be in the December 14 Transatlantic aboard QM2. This will be my fifth Transatlantic. Some thoughts:

First, so far the Cunard end of the process has been flawless. Their interactions with my new Travel Agent (who is herself a gem) were extremely helpful and assisted in a VERY smooth booking. I know Travel Agents help in this but she remarked to me how easy and smooth Cunard made it for them. 

Second, as my last voyage was 2019 I had not seen the new My Cunard. Now that I have it I can say it is a considerable improvement. I have drinks packages, internet signup, gifts, specialty dining and other items at my fingertips. Also it was easy to put in my information including my dining allergy situation (shellfish allergy). 

Obviously I can't have done much more but I also have things I look forward to already. Like...

Boarding her. When you step into the Grand Lobby on QM2 especially at Christmastime it is a visual that like no other ship. Regal, elegant and the mix of Christmas decorations, live music and all the trophies and honors the ship has earned displayed has a bit of a magical feel to it. 

Being greeted by not only hotel staff but an actual officer. This has happened every year. I confess I allowed my impish nautical side to emerge on year and saluted and requested permission to come aboard - he returned the salute and crisply said "Permission Granted". 

Getting settled into my stateroom. I've ridden sheltered balcony before and am doing so this time also. I like the sheltered balcony. 

Being on deck for the sailaway party. It is both fun and bracing. 
 

First dinner on board and first after dark laps on promenade. 

Some of these are things that make Cunard well...Cunard. At least to me. 

Thank you so much for your post!

 

I found it refreshing and positive in light of other conversations (which are also enlightening in their own way). I am traveling in November on my first crossing and first time with Cunard.  Actually it will be my first time on any type of ship, having never cruised before.

 

While my expectations are high, I tend to be a very relaxed traveler. Part of the joy of traveling is embracing the unexpected, the chance to meet new people, and experience a new culture.  It appears from all the discourse that there is “Cunard culture” about which everyone is passionate.  
 

I hope your crossing in December is magical! I can only imagine this grand ship decked out for the holidays!  Thank you again for sharing what makes Cunard special for you! 
 

Edward

[Pushpit]

10 hours ago, JT1101 said:

Getting settled into my stateroom. I've ridden sheltered balcony before and am doing so this time also. I like the sheltered balcony. 

Being on deck for the sailaway party. It is both fun and bracing. 

This sound like the same departure as I had departing 15 December 2023 Southampton to New York (which I did a sort-of Live From thread elsewhere).

 

As I recall, given the not great weather and somewhat late departure, I don't think there was a sailaway party (and nothing beats a summer sailaway party on QM2 out of Hamburg, by the way). It wasn't advertised in the Daily Programme and she sailed at around 22:00 hrs due to a small delay on loading supplies leading to a lost slot and some large cargo ships needing to get out. I think you would have had to be quite hardy to be outside at that hour. But I'm sure you won't mind too much, there's always the Commodore Club.

[JT1101]

7 hours ago, Pushpit said:

This sound like the same departure as I had departing 15 December 2023 Southampton to New York (which I did a sort-of Live From thread elsewhere).

 

As I recall, given the not great weather and somewhat late departure, I don't think there was a sailaway party (and nothing beats a summer sailaway party on QM2 out of Hamburg, by the way). It wasn't advertised in the Daily Programme and she sailed at around 22:00 hrs due to a small delay on loading supplies leading to a lost slot and some large cargo ships needing to get out. I think you would have had to be quite hardy to be outside at that hour. But I'm sure you won't mind too much, there's always the Commodore Club.

I've attended it after dark both in NYC and Southampton. In a way the winter party is a bit more fun because of the chilly weather and everyone on deck being in our coats with our drinks. 

[JT1101]

16 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Thank you for your informative perspective on Cunard. I have a question about this point. Where in My Cunard did you enter the information about your dining allergy situation? Is that done in the On Board Needs Questionnaire? I can't seem to find a section in that questionnaire which applies to food allergies but perhaps I've just overlooked it. Or is that entered somewhere else in My Cunard that I've missed? Thanks for your assistance with this detail.

Hi!

Sorry I did not respond sooner. I misspoke here about my allergy reporting being inside My Cunard. What happened was I was in My Cunard, looked in the FAQW using another tab and saw allergies needed Contact Us. Which I promptly did and got an email response adding it to my profile within a day. I do plan to also remind the Britannia Maitre'd on my first night - on other voyages what they did is give you the menu for the following night with any allergic items marked. On one trip my table played a nightly game called "preview of tomorrow" using my early access 😄

[bluemarble]

29 minutes ago, JT1101 said:

Hi!

Sorry I did not respond sooner. I misspoke here about my allergy reporting being inside My Cunard. What happened was I was in My Cunard, looked in the FAQW using another tab and saw allergies needed Contact Us. Which I promptly did and got an email response adding it to my profile within a day. I do plan to also remind the Britannia Maitre'd on my first night - on other voyages what they did is give you the menu for the following night with any allergic items marked. On one trip my table played a nightly game called "preview of tomorrow" using my early access 😄

 

Very good. Thanks for that follow-up. My routine is to call Cunard Customer Service to have them enter the details of our food allergies into our booking. I then follow up with an email to their "cunardonboardservices" email address as instructed in the call to Cunard Customer Service to provide the details to them as well. Finally we do go over all the details again with the Maitre 'd of the Britannia restaurant on the first evening as well as at any of the specialty restaurants we book during the day prior to our reservations.

 

One possible weakness of the food allergy notification system is that I'm not entirely convinced that information is communicated effectively prior to our boarding the ship. For us, it's never been a process of confirming the allergy information they already have on file when we check with the various Maitre 'ds. We always have to supply the complete details of our food allergies as if it were new information whenever we visit each restaurant. Of course the most important thing is that they do get the information correct in the end.