2 Weeks on the QV; Cunard has become rather like Mrs May

Southampton To Venice - 16 Nights Starting 22nd Of June

Myself and Mrs Toad have just returned from 16 nights on the QV, starting at Southampton and ending in Venice. For context, this was our 5th cruise, and all 5 have been with Cunard.

I believe this cruise was only the second one since the ship’s refit. So these are my observations over the 2 and half weeks.

Service

The service, as ever, could not have been better. Almost without exception the service from every member of the crew was top notch.There were two exceptions; the DJ who ran the quiz in the afternoon a couple of times. He had the most annoying habit of talking as if he was talking to children, and that those children had trouble in understanding basic concepts.For example, he would explain at length how you could order a drink. It seems what you need to do is flag down a waitress/waiter, place a drinks order with them, and the they will bring you your drink. So we could “go right ahead” and place an order for a drink. Well, thanks for that sage advice, because I really had no idea how to go about such an activity. The other was a waiter in the Golden Lion who clearly hated his job. If I hated my job that much I’d not do it, I’d do something else. Thankfully I only saw him twice.

Our wine waiter was exceptionally good and so was the senior waiter. Towards the end of cruise we had another wine waiter because he told us they had to move waiters around as they were a man down so each one had to cover slightly more tables.

Drinks Prices

There’s been a re-pricing of drinks and this has yet to be shown on the Cunard Website (or least it had not been last week whilst I was on board). For shorts, instead of a 1.5oz size, it’s now either 1oz or 2oz. And the 2oz is pretty much 50% more than the 1oz (so say $6 and $9). This of course encourages you to order the 2oz. Also, mixers are now $1.75 for the stuff from the hose when before they were free. For example, an Absolute Blue Label Vodka (2oz)was $9.25. Add a coke ($1.75) and 15% and you get $12.65. That’s about £9.80 a pop !

Beer had gone up mostly $0.50 a bottle/pint. I’m not sure on cocktail prices.

The soft drinks package is now $8.50 / day (+15%). I believe it was $6.50 before, so that’s an increase of 30% in the dollar price.

We had 3 or 4 bottles of wine, ranging from $30 to $38. I have to say I have no idea what they cost before, or what they were called, or what they would cost at home, so I can pass no comment as to those prices being good or bad.

But to me I was being pushed too far with the price of drinks. I used to think prices were London pub type prices but now it’s way over that. Okay, I now the £/$ rate has changed, but couple that with the increases and it’s just a step too much.

Food

We ate in the Britannia restaurant almost most evenings. And there’s been a big change here, and it’s not good. There are always 6 starters,and between 2 and 3 were soup. And out of those 6 starters, 2 or 3 would be vegetarian(which could have been a soup as well). As I’m not a vegetableist and I don’t like soup, it left me with maybe a choice of 2. The starters I had were fine, and pretty much the same quality as I remember from the last time we cruised.

Main courses, were, however, poor. Again, 6 choices, again 2 or 3 were veggie. I’m all for having several options for veggies, but not at the expense of reducing the number of other main courses. And then on to said other main courses. Well, quite poor I would say. Cheap is another word that comes to mind. Curry ? Really ? Lamb Shank ? That’s pub food. If I want pub food I will eat in a pub. And plenty of main courses were basically meat and 2 veg, i.e. a glorified Sunday roast. Again, it’s not the level I’m expecting in the MDR. It’s quite clear every penny is being counted. I actually felt a little sorry for our senior waiter; he was no fool and yet there he was, serving us pretty poor quality meals with the bearing of someone who’s good at his job. He knows full well he’shaving to serve up second rate food to paying passengers.

We didn’t really bother with lunch, we only had 2 in the MDR and that was it. There were okay, again, nothing special. We also never had any food in the Golden Lion. On previous cruises we would often have a light bite(i.e. smart sandwich in the Café Carinthia) but since that’s been removed (see later), that was of course no longer an option.

We did, however, have afternoon tea several times. Again,service was excellent. But again, the quality of the food has gone done. The sandwiches are all made of bread which is like “mighty white”, very poor quality. My Grandma referred to cheap bread as “hen bread” - a fitting term in this case. Also the filling were cheap; no meat, and the fish and chicken were the sort that was minced with other stuff so as to bulk it out. Again, some one is counting every penny. The cakes were also of a lower quality, many more were made as large cakes and then portioned up. Mrs Toad commented that there were far fewer delicate, hand made cakes on offer, i.e. ones that require effort and skill (so hence more cost) to make.

As you can see, I was not impressed by the food at all. As I say, every penny is being counted, and it really does show.

Breakfast in the MDR has not changed at all; all the options were as I remember from before. But the times the MDR is now open seemed different. I was getting annoyed that almost every day the MDR was open 07:30 until 09:00, and sometimes 07:00 till 08:30, or, rarely, 08:00 to 09:30. I’m on my holiday, I’ve no intention of charging ashore, so why do I need to be in the MDR before 9AM ? I know I can eat in the canteen upstairs, but that’s not the point.

Berthing

It seemed that in a lot of cases, our Berth was not the best. At more than one port, there was other cruise ships berthed in far better locations. In Mallorca for example, I estimated our poor location added around a one mile extra walk compared to ship on the other side of the dock area. And the same was true in Barcelona; Berth A was a short walk to where we were dropped off by shuttle bus, having parked the boat in slot D – i.e. the furthest way. Cheap parking spots did become tedious after a while.

Photos

There’s been quite a big change here and for the better. No more “in your face” photographers at every port, insisting they take your photo even after you have said no thanks. They still came round to each table on formal evenings, but when you said no thanks they just left. Before they would ask again, and then a third time and this became annoying. But not anymore. So that is a huge plus in their change of attitude.

Tastings

Mrs Toad does like the wine tasting and we went to one last time we were on board and I also tried the Champagne tasting. But this time there was nothing; no wine tasting, no vodka tasting, no Champagne tasting, no whisky tasting, nothing. The plus side to that is that I saved quite a pile of readies.

Attire

I think the standard of evening attire has actually improved since our last voyage. On formal nights there was a large percentage of men in black tie, or a dark suit, or a suit which was not very dark. One or two (and it was that many) did not manage a suit. On informal nights I’ve never seen so many suits when one is not required. And the same from Ladies attire as well.It’s almost as if people were dressing especially well to show their displeasure that Cunard seem to want to dumb down the dress code.

One man did manage to turn up the Queens Room one evening in a track suit and baseball cap; he did manage to take his cap off after a few minutes so maybe he thought better of it ? Or maybe he was just hot ?

Obviously, no one is every challenged, so the dress code is self-policing.

Tat

Almost no more tat sales ! No, I kid you not.

There was only a single day where garbage for $10 a throw was being punted out like Del Boy does from his suitcase in the market place. And even then, the amount of tat was very limited. Just one side of the shopping arcade. So that’s a big improvement.

Refurbishment

Well, poor is the word that comes to mind.

Basically they have removed Café Carinthia and The Chart Room and replaced it with the Britannia Club Restaurant. What’s left they have renamed The Chart Room but it’s so small it’s hardly worth having it. In fact,it’s so useless that in one of the daily programmes, Cunard clearly felt they had to explain themselves. They had a couple of paragraphs explaining that the Chart Room had not been removed and in fact it was still there. Hmm, why did they feel the need to put that in writing then? Maybe because no one believes them?

Either way, it’s two public spaces that have gone. As a result we always just went to the Commodore Lounge for pre and post dinner drinks. There was a definite reduction in the numbers in said Commodore; for the first few days it was very busy and it could at times be hard to get a table and it would remain quite busy until around midnight. But in the later part of the cruise it was very different; it was almost empty some nights. Maybe that change occurred when people saw their interim room statement and almost fell off their pews at their bar bill ?

So, finally, why has Cunard become rather like Mrs May ?

Because when she called the General Election she took the country for granted and almost lost. She thought she could push people and they would still vote for her; wrong.

And I’m now looking at Cunard and think the same; they are taking their customers from granted in that they think they can keep on cost cutting whilst at the same time increasing the cost of extras, drinks, reducing food quality and so on and people will keep returning just because they are Cunard.

And I my case I think I’ve just been pushed too far now.

Just one word.........excellent

Very good post Toad. As has been mentioned on all Carnival lines boards, it is truly the Carnival empire way to forever squeeze a penny here and there. I agree with your observations completely.

Thanks for posting your impressions, I hope you find a cruise line that suits you better.

You were actually on the third cruise after the refit. (4th June 4 days Amsterdam & Bruges. 8th June The Canaries) We were on the first one after the refit and had no complaints.

The Cafe Carinthia is still a coffe lounge by day (so might as well still be called that) and is the Chart Room in the evening.

As well as the choice of food on the right hand side of the menu, there's always the Spa selection on the left hand side. This is usually a chicken or fish dish. I often plump for that.

As for the "tat", it is Harding Brothers who run that. The photographers changed a couple of years ago and we're also glad the new ones aren't in your face like the old ones were.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed ours even though we skipped a port.

Disappointing to hear of your negative experience.

I would have loved to have sailed on Cunard before it was bought by Carnival...

Ricki

Thanks for posting your impressions, I hope you find a cruise line that suits you better.

My wife and i travelled on the voyage before this, and I agree with everything that you say the food in the MDR was a disgrace, I let then know in my questioner left of ship and the one filled in line. One thing you did not mention was the new furniture around the swimming pool at the stern, lots of settees now and nearly all occuppied by one person, laid out fast asleep. I have a e-mail ready to send to Mr. Palethorpe first thing tomorrow. I think Host Hattie should try the Q.V. before telling you to find another cruise line, I am only guessing here but I would think you have done more Cunard cruises than Hattie, we also have done 50 Cunard cruises, I feel I know what we are taking about. On our trip we had quite a few P & O cruisers who said everything was going down hill, so they thought they would give Cunard a chance. Both Carnival.

My wife and i travelled on the voyage before this, and I agree with everything that you say the food in the MDR was a disgrace, I let then know in my questioner left of ship and the one filled in line. One thing you did not mention was the new furniture around the swimming pool at the stern, lots of settees now and nearly all occuppied by one person, laid out fast asleep. I have a e-mail ready to send to Mr. Palethorpe first thing tomorrow. I think Host Hattie should try the Q.V. before telling you to find another cruise line, I am only guessing here but I would think you have done more Cunard cruises than Hattie, we also have done 50 Cunard cruises, I feel I know what we are taking about. On our trip we had quite a few P & O cruisers who said everything was going down hill, so they thought they would give Cunard a chance. Both Carnival.

Apologies if you thought I was telling Toad to find another cruise line, I was merely responding to his last paragraph.

For the record, I have cruised on Cunard and QV rather more than Toad and less you. We have also tried some other cruise lines and keep coming back to Cunard because it suits us. None of this is relevant to the OP's review of course.

You were actually on the third cruise after the refit. (4th June 4 days Amsterdam & Bruges. 8th June The Canaries) We were on the first one after the refit and had no complaints.

 

The Cafe Carinthia is still a coffe lounge by day (so might as well still be called that) and is the Chart Room in the evening.

 

As well as the choice of food on the right hand side of the menu, there's always the Spa selection on the left hand side. This is usually a chicken or fish dish. I often plump for that.

 

As for the "tat", it is Harding Brothers who run that. The photographers changed a couple of years ago and we're also glad the new ones aren't in your face like the old ones were.

You are correct on both count, but my wife was not impressed with the stock they had on show, the shop was a lot brighter. And yes so much nicer not being pestered by the click, click staff.

I'm sorry that the Britannia dining has gone down as badly as you described it. No doubt it is cost cutting. I've received a lot of promotion emails and snailmailings from Cunard this year. It probably has to do with a decrease in the number of British passengers booking with the GBP falling so badly versus the USD.

I've read a very heated thread over Cunard now charging separately for the drink mixer even when it comes from the bar gun. The best way any of us can let a business know we don't like a pricing practice is not to buy that badly priced product or service. .

Ever hear of a "Laffer Curve"? In US politics it refers to a graph where higher tax rates actually lead to decreased revenue to the government. The same might apply to drink prices. If people feel that they're being charged extra for something that is included ashore they will cut back on buying. And the end result is less bar revenue not more.

We were on this cruise. It was our 19th cruise but our first with Cunard. My wife and I loved it. Couldn't find anything to complain about. Cunard must have been some cruise line previously if it has dropped in standard so badly in the eyes of the people here.

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Good morning Toad.

I must agree with you on those dining choices.

Curries and those awful lamb shanks, for a dinner at sea, really are more suited to your average pub fare.

And i really was so pleased you avoided that goddam awful catch phrase, so often repeated by tightwads, that they could purchase similar wines at Lidls' for £xx. :evilsmile:

PS. On the vegetarian options I can see the logic. When i owned a restaurant I loved watching the 'veggie' options fly out of the kitchen. The profit on them was a world beater.:evilsmile:

Disappointing to hear of your negative experience.

 

I would have loved to have sailed on Cunard before it was bought by Carnival...

 

Ricki

Hi Ricki.

While I empathise with a number of Toad's points I cannot see any reason for NOT trying Cunard: particularly as it was obviously on your wish list. The basic product hasn't changed.

We were on this cruise. It was our 19th cruise but our first with Cunard. My wife and I loved it. Couldn't find anything to complain about. Cunard must have been some cruise line previously if it has dropped in standard so badly in the eyes of the people here.

 

 

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:eek::')

To be fair to Carnival (Why? I hear you all cry!), without them there would probably be no Cunard. Cunard's financial position at acquisition was, I think, precarious to say the least? And, I think I'm right, there would certainly have been no QM2 which was Micky Arison's pet project? I am sure Solent Richard will correct me if I'm wrong.

We are back on Queen Elizabeth in October, so I am hoping that these horror stories are a little oversold. I am confident it will all be OK!

To be fair to Carnival (Why? I hear you all cry!), without them there would probably be no Cunard. Cunard's financial position at acquisition was, I think, precarious to say the least? And, I think I'm right, there would certainly have been no QM2 which was Micky Arison's pet project? I am sure Solent Richard will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

We are back on Queen Elizabeth in October, so I am hoping that these horror stories are a little oversold. I am confident it will all be OK!

I had a table mate who said that he had been on the old QE2 when it was announced that Carnival had bought Cunard. He claimed that the crew was ecstatic. Carnival at least was interested in and knew how to run passenger ships. Cunard's parent company at that time was such a diffused conglomerate that they had no focus on any one of their businesses.

Here's an interview with Micky Arison from last May where he outlines how the Cunard purchase and QM2 came to be:

Very disappointed to see they have changed the drinks measures/prices on board.....

I guess we will just back on how much we drink... $1.75 plus 15% for a splash of lemonade or tonic is a right rip off

Oh I welcome the vegetarian options.. Idea:cool:ly I would like much more vegetarian food to be available suggestion... like vegetarian sausages for breakfast!! and there should be at least Two vegetarian options at every alternative dining venue. Cunard is going in the right direction but needs to do even more for vegetarians I would need to see fantastic vegetarian food options in the Grills before I would book up to that level. Looking forward to being on Queen Victoria in Athens on Saturday!

To be fair to Carnival (Why? I hear you all cry!), without them there would probably be no Cunard. Cunard's financial position at acquisition was, I think, precarious to say the least? And, I think I'm right, there would certainly have been no QM2 which was Micky Arison's pet project? I am sure Solent Richard will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

You are correct. But as is said, that was then and this is now. We sailed with Cunard before the take over/rescue and when QM2 was up and running many of the crew transferred to the new ship bringing with them the service and tradition of the old Cunard. QM2 was a very different experience then as we found the last time we took a voyage two years ago. We thought the food was poor then but Toad's review shows things have gone even worse now.

Racing to the bottom was never a good idea for Cunard.

David.

I would need to see fantastic vegetarian food options in the Grills before I would book up to that level. Looking forward to being on Queen Victoria in Athens on Saturday!

That is just what I have had. A "specials" chef that concocted the most amazing dishes for me, from all around the globe, as a surprise each night.

I am really looking to more of the same next month!

Oh I welcome the vegetarian options.. Idea:cool:ly I would like much more vegetarian food to be available suggestion... like vegetarian sausages for breakfast!! and there should be at least Two vegetarian options at every alternative dining venue. Cunard is going in the right direction but needs to do even more for vegetarians I would need to see fantastic vegetarian food options in the Grills before I would book up to that level. Looking forward to being on Queen Victoria in Athens on Saturday!

Cunard does have vegetarian sausages at breakfast, at least with room service. I just write them on the order and have always gotten them.

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That's great to hear I will try to order in Britannia if you can get vege sausages from room service, must be a good chance then!

Thank you for sharing your review. The only comment I have concerns your remarks on the "parking spaces" allocated in the various ports of call. I read somewhere that in most ports, the docking spaces are allocated by port authorities and are awarded based on the number of calls a ship makes. So, a weekly caller will be allocated a better berth than the occasional caller. It's not that Cunard can just throw money at that problem.

Hello

I have sailed on the QV twice now on rather long cruises....I am wondering with the refit if the so called Chart Room gets real crowded in the evening and if there is any live music... Any help appreciated. I am debating whether I should take the 50 day South American cruise on QV or sail on the QM2 from New York to Sydney this Winter...I am not thrilled with the QV refit. I know on the QM2 there is still that fabulous Chart Room. with all the great live music..

Deck Chair

Hi Ricki.

 

While I empathise with a number of Toad's points I cannot see any reason for NOT trying Cunard: particularly as it was obviously on your wish list. The basic product hasn't changed.

Thank you, Richard. Actually, we've done 6 crossings and one in European cruise on the QM2, and we are booked on the QE 2018 WC,

I don't recall the food being as bad as Toad felt, but, then again, food is so subjective. I would not have described it as gourmet, but it wasn't terrible.

My comment about wishing to have sailed Cunard before it was bought by Carnival was inaccurate on my part. I should have taken my wish back about 60 or so years ago!

Ricki