Thread: Celebrity Cruise Thinking of Cunard

Hi and welcome to the CLF. I am so glad to see so many of you migrate over here and hope you don't mind if the first thing I want to do is pick your brains.

We have been loyal Celebrity fans for some years now but have lately been looking for a change. We are not warm weather cruisers, preferring cooler climates and love sea days (especially TAs).

Some of the things we like about Celebrity are the enrichment lectures and the traditional dining arrangements, including formal nights. We have also loved our stateroom which featured a curved wall of floor to ceiling windows.

Some of the things we hate are the lines, the buffet at lunch, the less than new furnishings and having to sign a check for every bottle of water we drink.

We had been considering Regent as there fares are all inclusive. Does Cunard include gratuities in the fares? What about soft drinks and waters?

Do you think that there is any chance for a Celebrity cruiser (other than Andrew) finding happiness aboard a Cunard ship?

Susan

Hi Susan,

I think a Celebrity cruiser could love Cunard. We have cruised QE2 with friends several times, and they have also tried, and liked, Celebrity. When QE2 is no more, and QM2 (which we've already done) is the only Cunard ship in the US, we may try Celebrity. It seems to be close to the traditional experience you get on Cunard.

You like enrichment lectures and formal nights, then Cunard should satisfy that need, especially on a TA. Windows and balconies depend on the cabin you choose. The Cunard website has a lot of pictures, and for QM2 they're quite fair representations. QV isn't out and about yet, so we don't know.

I don't know what the buffet lunch is like on Celebrity, but I will tell you that the buffet area is the weak point on QM2. It's confusingly laid out and too big. The food is good, but by the time you find a table, it will be cold. The buffet on QE2 is rather cafeteria-like, but very functional. And the food is good.

On both QM2 and QE2, you do have the option of lunch in the dining room. Depending on your cabin and the dining room level you have, it could be open seating. With a more expensive cabin, it's your very own table waiting just for you. (Queens Grill and Princess Grill cabins on both. Plus Britannia Club on QM2 and Caronia on QE2) Again, check the Cunard website for details.

Gratuities are not included, but are charged to your onboard account (and you can make adjustments). No need to tip in person, unless you want to tip extra for special service.

Yes, you do have to pay for what you drink. Cunard does not include beverages in the price. Water, tea, iced tea, coffee are always available at the buffet for free. I think they have a soft drink package, but that's for 'fountain service' as opposed to anything out of a bottle. Possibly, at Queens Grill level you get bottled water for free, but not having reached that height of luxury, I'm not sure.

I hope this helps.

Ask more questions any time. This bunch knows EVERYTHING there is to know about Cunard. I've only been hanging around with them for a short while, and after 25 Cunard cruises, I still find things to learn from them!

Kathy

Hello Susan - To be honest you might like Cunard but only for the same reasons you currently love Celebrity. The biggest mistake many make out there is that they want to lump Cunard into the same category as the all-inclusive luxury lines like Regent and Crystal. Cunard is simply the high end of the mass market lines.

Now to be fair to Cunarders there are the Grill accomodations which are the high end suites and intimate single-seating dining venues with a few extra perks. Still on any Cunard ship you will still have to pay separately for alcohol, soft drinks and yes, I believe, even water. The gratuities are however added to your on-board account much like a lot of the lines are doing nowadays. Cunard, like Celebrity, has the enrichment lectures and book clubs in addition to its grand history as celebrated through the various Heritage trails.

Lines? Well if you do the Lido or King's Court its a way of life like any other cruise ship. However, if you decide to do lunch and rather the dining room that is always an option. Also, Cunard is one of the few mass market lines that still hang on to the tradition of dressing up for dinner and the number of formal nights on average is much higher than any of its competitors. For example, on my last 5 day cruise on the QE2, we had three formal and two informal (jacket and tie for men) nights and ZERO casual. Needless to say the NCL type crowd would shudder at the thought of dressing up for a Cunard voyage.

If you want what you love about Celebrity then do try Cunard - I wholeheartedly encourage it. However, if you want the Regent upscale all-inclusive double-the-price luxury experience then I feel you might think you would be disappointed in Cunard. I have to be fair. Cunard is currently my favourite but I'm not seeking the high end lines either.

No ill feelings. Just wanted to lay things on the line to avoid unrealistic expectations. Any Cunarder is free to add there thoughts. I am far from an expert cruiser myself.

David

Originally Posted by Bramcruiser

Hello Susan - To be honest you might like Cunard but only for the same reasons you currently love Celebrity. The biggest mistake many make out there is that they want to lump Cunard into the same category as the all-inclusive luxury lines like Regent and Crystal. Cunard is simply the high end of the mass market lines.

David

Cunard really is somewhat of a hybrid. I agree that it's the high end of the mass-market lines. But at the same time, it's a luxury line if you go in the high-end cabins. On other mass-market lines, all you get for more money is a bigger cabin. But on Cunard, you get a 'better' dining room. Better in terms of single seating, more choices on the menu, and the best waiters who've worked their way up the dining room ladder. And QV is really extending this upscale experience with completely separate deck space for grills passengers.

Because Cunard is both mass-market and luxury, some people book 'mass market' (even downmarket) cabins, but expect the high-end luxury, and are disappointed. But the wonderful thing is, you can book a cheap cabin, but sit in the Queens Room at tea with someone who's in most expensive cabin, and nobody minds.

Kathy

Thanks Kathy and David.

Perhaps I need a smaller ship to avoid the crowds.

Is there a clear segregation of the cruisers in the different classes? Although we have always been in suites on Celebrity, once we step out of our stateroom no one else would know that we are suite passengers unless we told them. On Celebrity, the only thing that a suite really gives you is the extra room, but then, I think the fares are lower than on Cunard ships.

If you are in the Princess Class cabins, does that mean you can't have dinner with friends who are sailing in a Britannia Class cabin? How does that work?

I love the whole dressing for dinner ritual. It makes dinner more of a social event and less of an act of consuming fuel. After all, we can eat food anywhere, in today's world we don't often have an opportunity to dine.

Susan

Hi again Susan - No, there is no clear segregation of classes on Cunard ships. The last remnates you do see is in terms of how the decks are laid out on the QE2 as some stairwells and elevators don't necessarily stop at certain decks. However, that is more due to the fact the QE2 is over 40 years old and hailed from the days of the class system. The newer QM2 and QV are all laid out so that any stairwell and elevator practically stops anywhere you wish.

There is a big misconception about the "class system" that no longer truly exists in this day and age. Kathy explained it best in her earlier post. The Queens and Princess Grill passengers simply have a dedicated and more exclusive dining area for their meals which are off limits to others. However, once they step out of their nice cabins into the hallways they are mixing with the rest of the ships' passengers and availing themselves of all the other services used by everyone else. Think of the Grill accomodation as equal to the business class rooms at hotels. Any Grill rooms that are off limits simply have a small sign stating that the place is for Grill passengers and that's it. No big signs, no guards, no barriers. So the person sitting next to you in the theatre or on deck will have no idea where you are sleeping.

Dining with the lower classes? LOL! Well from what I hear one can avail themselves of a different dining room if one is invited there by someone who is supposed to be in there. So if I was invited by a Grill passenger to eat with them that would be my chance to be in there. I suppose it could work the other way. I haven't had the experience so maybe someone who actually did cross dining rooms can tell us.

And I sooooo totally agree with you on dining. There are so few opportunities to dress up for dinner nowadays and Cunard makes it an art. I haven't tried Celebrity and I hear good things about the food but I will give Cunard high marks for its food and love the idea that they still treat the evening meal as a grand tradition. Its a big selling point to me.

As for the smaller ships? Well the QE2 is a good size but unfortunately going out of service next year. The one thing I did love about the QM2 is that the massive size is very rarely noticed as she is laid out in a manner that it always feel intimate and uncrowded. Very ingenious design work I must say. The only downfall is in the King's Court - its version of the Lido - where the crowding becomes obvious because of the rather bad traffic flow. The new QV will be a lot smaller than the QM2 which is probably a good thing.

Hope this all helps.

David