Cunard Britishness?

[thames_side]

Just back from excellent short cruise on Queen Victoria. The brochure says the ships "exude an unmistakable Britishness". Do they?

I was a bit nonplussed when the captain announced that there may be some lines for the shuttle bus. I had to do lines at school for minor misdemeanours that did not qualify for the full force of the headmaster's cane but I did not expect to have to do them to get on a bus. All was well however, nobody asked me to do any lines and there was only a short queue.

On formal nights there was a sign outside the Princess Grill inviting me to wear a tuxedo whatever that is. I wore my black dinner jacket and that seemed to be OK. There were some people in white ones - I thought only waiters wore white jackets outside the tropics!

On the menu we had "surf and turf". This turned out to be fish and meat on the same plate. Funny idea. I am used to a fish course before the meat course. I guess it saves on washing up. We were also offered a tenderloin steak - turned out to be a nice tender fillet steak.

I could go on but I'm sure I'm boring you.

Doug

[Toffeegirl68]

Are they charging everything in dollars?!

[The Real PM]

Well, personally, I find what you have to say very interesting and not boring at all, so please go on. I guess om my cruise on QM2 I was slightly surprised, also by the fact that we had surf and turf, and I am an American. I believe I had a preconceived notion that there would be more British ness (if that is a word) than there actual was. After all Cunard is a British company, isn't it?

[GBTraveller]

Cunard is not a British company,it is American owned. And thank god for that. If it had not been for American money there would be no Queen Mary 2. What they give you is a Cunard/British brand, that is all. I still think it works and have no problem with tuxedos, surf and turf and grits for breakfast...whatever they are.

I enjoy travelling on the ship, meeting Americans and spending the US dollar (especially at nearly 2 dollars to the pound) .Long may it continue.:)

[supered]

Cunard ships do have a British elegance about them. However, they are catering for two markets with often different tastes with regard to food and drink. I, for one, think they get the mix right and as a British person I like eating some of the 'American' food (pancakes and waffles for breakfast for example). They have 'English' bacon (good old fashioned back bacon) and American bacon (the cripsy kind).

 

I remember queuing to get my cooked breakfast at the King's Court on QM2 and being asked by an American lady why British people had baked beans for breakfast. The only answer I could give was that I didn't know, I liked them!

 

You have to give your passengers what they want. Although I do recall hearing an American gentleman complain that only 'British' beers were available on draught in the Golden Lion. He had to make do with Bud Light in a can or some such tasteless concotion ;) Give me a pint of British Real Ale any day! Although on QM2 Bass Ale was an acceptable substitute.

 

Eddie

[3rdGenCunarder]

Cunard is not a British company,it is American owned. And thank god for that. If it had not been for American money there would be no Queen Mary 2. What they give you is a Cunard/British brand, that is all. I still think it works and have no problem with tuxedos, surf and turf and grits for breakfast...whatever they are.

I enjoy travelling on the ship, meeting Americans and spending the US dollar (especially at nearly 2 dollars to the pound) .Long may it continue.:)

 

Grits? On QM2? Thgat's a surprise. The only time I've seen grits on a cruise ship was on a Princess to the Caribbean. Grits are definitely not British! I don't think you have an equivalent. (coarse cornmeal, called "hominy," cooked as a porridge. I like them with butter and salt, my SIL likes them with butter and sugar. There's some kind of gravy that's traditional with them, but I don't like that)

 

Please, please, please could you folks from the other side of the pond stop reminding us of the exchange rate? :(

[paul1959]

As a first generation American, parents are Canadian, I was looking forward to several British aspects of the QM2.

 

The teas especially. They were lovely. I was shocked to see that people were forced to have tea in most parts of the ship by throwing a tea bag in a mug of hot water! That is such an American approach to tea. I did see that if you ordered tea in the pub or a bar, that they did provide a pot.

 

I was surprised at how Americanized the ship was. It was certainly dominated by Brits on board, but there was not a lot of Brit atmosphere, I would have to agree.

 

and yes...that exchange rate...sigh... all that and oil at 125 a barrel. It just gets better and better!

Paul

[supered]

I was shocked to see that people were forced to have tea in most parts of the ship by throwing a tea bag in a mug of hot water! That is such an American approach to tea. I did see that if you ordered tea in the pub or a bar, that they did provide a pot.

Not just an American thing Paul! The tea bag is alive and well and extremely popular on this side of the pond. In most cafes you will get a pot but it will have bags in it. It's case of convenience.

 

Loose leaf tea is much nicer but then you have to strain it. The tea served at Afternoon Tea is loose leaf as far as I am aware. Funnily enough, P&O Cruises have just introduced an enlarged range of loose leaf teas for Afternoon tea.

 

Eddie

[thames_side]

Yes, Carnival is an American company and I'm sure Cunard would have been doomed without them. Not entirely American money though, the company is listed on the UK stock exchange and quite a lot of cruisers have bought the shares to get the onboard credit. I reckon they lost money on the shares though recently.

Doug

[songanddance]

I think the problem lies in the fact that we on the western side of the pond do not speak English but American and to use English words and phrases in brochures and menus and to have the captain speak as though british would just confuse many passengers.

 

Be happy that Cunard still offers tea every day in as formal a manner as can be done for several hundred people at one time and still requires (Not suggests) formal attire and jackets on the gentlemen at other times in the public rooms after 6 pm. Many other lines have given up and gone over to totally casual which is in my opnion tantamount to cruising in your local shopping mall. Not a very interesting experience.

[stowaway2k]

Don't forget that Samuel Cunard was Canadian, and that his family moved to Canada from.... America.

 

Anyhoo...the Cunard Line, since 1840, has always bent towards the American market, and trumpeting their "Britishness" is part of that.

[sfbearcat]

Just returned from April 28th Crossing and the British were the majority of the passengers over 1000..Americans around 850. I have sailed on OM2 7

crossings and this is the first time there were more British passengers. I dont know if its the exchange rate or the British market moving more to Cunard. Anyway I liked it very much as I got meet many of my distance cousins!!:)

[The Real PM]

:( Now I am saddened. I just looked up Cunard, and yes--it is American owned. I really thought that Carnival was merely a parent company, just to bail Cunard out of its financial difficulties, and that Cunard still remained a British company. Perhaps that wasn't possible. So it is possible that the Cunard ships could become whatever Carnival wishes for them--that's a scary thought. Anyway, I was speaking about something that I really didn't know much about and I'm sorry for that.

[stowaway2k]

On the upside, the Cunard ships are British-registered, the only ones that are... ;)

[Beyondships]

On the upside, the Cunard ships are British-registered, the only ones that are... ;)

 

Actually, the Ocean Village ships are British registry. I was rather surprised to see London written across the stern of Ocean Village Two earlier this year in Barbados and upon following it up, I find that the fleetmate is also British registry.

 

As for the lack of Britishness on the Cunard ships, I have been told that since the ships have an international following the lifestyle should be international. I would think that people from other countries coming onto a British ship would be seeking a British atmosphere and thus that it would be a plus to have more British entertainment etc. However, personally, I have no serious objection to the way things are.

 

Another thing one should keep in mind is that there are quite a few non-Brits (mostly Germans) in the hotel department. Thus, it is only natural that the atmosphere be somewhat international.

[cusyl]

Well, personally, I find what you have to say very interesting and not boring at all, so please go on. I guess om my cruise on QM2 I was slightly surprised, also by the fact that we had surf and turf, and I am an American. I believe I had a preconceived notion that there would be more British ness (if that is a word) than there actual was. After all Cunard is a British company, isn't it?

LOVE your Smilebox video...great memories, thanks for sharing.

[gardenbunny]

Strange I find this topic today - I was thinking this morning that what I think I do like the most about Cunard is the British-ness! I find it very refined - and certainly enjoy the passenger mix - I would say that on 4 of the 5 I have done w/ Cunard, it was majority British - And I absolutely love afternoon tea! I enjoy that the majority of the officers and staff are British - whereas the crew, cabin attendants, etc. are international.

[The Real PM]

And I absolutely love the civility and the formality and the space. Three wonderful attributes that seem to belong to Cunard alone. And British ness may help to make the ships that way.

[VirginCruiser II]

As a first generation American, parents are Canadian, I was looking forward to several British aspects of the QM2.

 

The teas especially. They were lovely. I was shocked to see that people were forced to have tea in most parts of the ship by throwing a tea bag in a mug of hot water! That is such an American approach to tea. I did see that if you ordered tea in the pub or a bar, that they did provide a pot.

 

I was surprised at how Americanized the ship was. It was certainly dominated by Brits on board, but there was not a lot of Brit atmosphere, I would have to agree.

 

and yes...that exchange rate...sigh... all that and oil at 125 a barrel. It just gets better and better!

Paul

 

Yes Paul, and the way things are going you guys will soon be paying $10 a gallon for gas like we do!:eek:

Thank heavens we British drive small economical cars.:D

[VirginCruiser II]

One other thing that might help perpetuate Cunard's 'British' image is the fact that all of Cunard's operations have now switched from California to Southampton, England - our beloved ship's true home.

[stryker1969]

Ever hear of Polenta? its grits for 20.00 a plate instead of the 2.00 for grits

[ocngypz]

One other thing that might help perpetuate Cunard's 'British' image is the fact that all of Cunard's operations have now switched from California to Southampton, England - our beloved ship's true home.

 

No, not all.... but what has moved is screwing up something terrible. They've screwed up the new 09 world segment sectors, they've neglected to send out emergency notifications, they've neglected to send out the all important

"Second deposit due" notfications for the 09 worlds.

[imacruizer]

Grits? On QM2? Thgat's a surprise. The only time I've seen grits on a cruise ship was on a Princess to the Caribbean. Grits are definitely not British! I don't think you have an equivalent. (coarse cornmeal, called "hominy," cooked as a porridge. I like them with butter and salt, my SIL likes them with butter and sugar. There's some kind of gravy that's traditional with them, but I don't like that)

 

Please, please, please could you folks from the other side of the pond stop reminding us of the exchange rate? :(

 

Grits??? Did someone say grits???? This Southern gal has to respond. Like you, I don't really remember grits on the QM2 but perhaps I just overlooked them. Oh and the traditional gravy would be "red eye gravy". Now we Southerners like salt and butter on our grits but most of us would decline sugar.

 

To the OP, thanks for starting an interesting thread. We, too, enjoy the British feel of the Cunard ships.

 

Beth

[thames_side]

We used to get a cereal called Grapenuts in the UK that I think was a bit like grits - it was certainly gritty. I don't know if you can still get it. But we put sugar and milk on it. Porridge now, that needs salt!

Doug

[Beachmad]

Love it :D, the post not the grits/Polenta.

 

 

 

 

 

Ever hear of Polenta? its grits for 20.00 a plate instead of the 2.00 for grits