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We asked regular Cunarders this very question about table selection. The best advice we got was to get to the dining room early and give the Maître d’ a hefty tip. Having a specific table might be nice but the people on the next table might not be to your taste!

We hoped so. On our sea day we were lucky enough to be sailing East and had the sun on the balcony all afternoon. It was perfect bobbing along at 10 kts and sitting on this perfect balcony in our swimsuits was bliss. I asked for extra tonic and ice. My partner was scared to as she had already been told off for a misdemeanour on the phone. The rant and explanation about how much trouble it was to take tonic to the back of the ship slightly dampened our experience. Anyhoo…. thread drift!

Or a grumpy butler. We asked for more tonic and it was as if she was paying for it personally. Frightened to ask for more! On a more serious note, we were impressed by the selection and thoroughly enjoyed the gin.

Looking forward to your posts about Solstice. It will be our first time on her in April. Thoroughly enjoy your positivity regarding Celebrity. Also, to you or any readers. South Africa is the most fantastic and beautiful country but it’s sadly changing so go sooner rather than later. The long flights are well worth it. Bon Voyage!

Yes the idea and the reality are two completely different things. You’ve got me thinking and that’s why this CC website is great. Doing a world cruise might initially seem amazing but the reality is different. It might actually be hard work! First world problems but hopefully you get my drift.

Same predicament here. Love Solstice class ships. Didn’t like the Retreat on Edge or the ship. We missed the ‘naughty’ club feel of the Sky Lounge in the evening and hated the bowels of the ship ‘feel’ on Edge whether it was the Martini bar or the club. We have had so many fun evenings in Sky Lounge. We’ve just tried Cunard Queens Grill hoping we’d like it but didn’t. The ship, Queen Victoria, was like a cross channel ferry compared with X ships. Awful smells and just felt grubby. The butler wasn’t a patch on any X butler and our fellow passengers were a tad more reserved than we’re used to. The staff were great. So; in a nutshell, what to do? We’ve got two Silhouette cruises booked next year from S’ton but what to do the following year as we don’t want to fly and live only an hour away. P&O, MSC, Cunard or Celebrity? It’ll have to be Celebrity but in a Sunset veranda. We’ll just have to enjoy next year in the knowledge that all good things come to an end.

Did you have to dress every evening? Am looking to do a long voyage in 2024 but do wonder how we’d cope with so many black tie events.

QV 4188 has an amazing balcony. We were lucky as we crossed the channel at slow speed on three nights. The final night we crossed back to the U.K. at around 20 knots and it certainly vibrates.

Have cruised both Cunard and P&O. Don’t bother with the latter unless you enjoy vests with beer bellies, tattoos and gold sovereign rings. And that’s just the women!! There are other cruise lines which offer Norwegian cruises. The aft QG suites are OK but terribly noisy and the bathrooms need updating. Also, on our short trip on QV we felt as if we were inconveniencing the butler on the 3 occasions when we called.

We didn’t get either a link to a survey or a paper one left in our suite. Don’t Cunard do them?

Great! Very happy that Celebrity stuck to their guns. Just got off Cunard’s QV and the dress code certainly wasn’t adhered to in Queens Grill which was disappointing. Can’t wait to return hand hopefully the obnoxious guy will cruise elsewhere!

Thank you for your thank you! We were delayed in disembarkation last year on Silhouette in Southampton and they just threw staff at it. It was really impressive. Today we saw a couple of entertainment staff and two hotel staff. Again, I stress, EVERY staff member, with the exception of the butler, was a credit to Cunard. 150 odd years of training certainly showed and if any of them have the time to read this, thank you too!

On a ‘formal’ night on Celebrity there are more Officers and people with stripes walking around than you could shake a stick at. On Cunard there were none to be seen which was disappointing. Even on short cruises they really should make the effort. Went to see Top Hat which was amazing as was another show last night. Lucky enough to get a theatre box which added to the sense of occasion. We were going to cook ourselves in the hot tub but couldn’t stand the stench. There are disgusting smells everywhere on this ship. Maybe if the Officers did a stroll of the public areas this might be addressed. So, would I cruise with Cunard again? Well I’m afraid I wouldn’t rush back. Getting off today was awful. No priority for Grills passengers unlike Celebrity where we were escorted off personally by the Concierge. The queue today was horrendous. CPC parking is awful especially in the rain having to queue up to get the keys back then find the car. It’s not Cunard’s fault but there’s a different demographic in the passengers here but that’s also the same with P&O passengers and Carnival, etc. Getting on a tour bus, for example, we said good morning to everyone and got one reply. Grumpy lot! We went with an open mind wanting to like it, which we did, but the horrible aromas and lack of real cleanliness has put us off. In every loo on Celebrity there appears to be a cleaner. The Grills loo was disgusting. Also, when we get off a Celebrity ship we are soooo disappointed. Today not so. I await with hard hat on for the incoming flack from Cunard diehards but we gave it a try. Sorry x

This is a small selection of the amazing food and canapés we had on board. Afternoon tea was served in Princess Grill. It was the only disappointment we had with food. There are no traditional finger sandwiches served for Grill’s afternoon tea which was very disappointing. The sandwiches on our last day in the buffet were perfect.

We were told that boarding time was 1245. I’m always early but traffic delayed us and arrived at the terminal, after dropping off the car, at 1252. As you can see I’m pedantic about time! Gave the baggage chap a small tip which made his day. Our luggage was at the cabin before us. That was impressive!

Yes. I’d much prefer a door to the shower. The bottom of the curtain looks a tad grubby and the water leaks onto the bathroom floor. We’re delighted with the location. We had the sun all afternoon and there’s a lot less vibration than anticipated.

Midway through our four night trip and the weather has been glorious. Port parking was strange for us as we normally park the car ourselves. Hopefully it’ll be there on arrival with no extra miles on the clock. Rather disappointing security as there was no priority for Grills. I’m not elitist but when you pay for something like this you do expect a certain level of priority and made to feel special. The only special thing was the lady behind us who coughed constantly and shouldn’t have been allowed to board. We kept our distance. On boarding we were overwhelmed with the level of service with the staff. The Bell Boys with their crimson uniforms were delightful. The walk to our suite wasn’t so good. This ship has a lot of nasty smells in communal areas. Fish, cooking and bilgewater.The walk to our corner suite was very unimpressive. The wall panels were tatty, different shades of cream and I’ve seen cross channel ferries in better condition. The suite is beautiful. The bathroom needs updating and the shower curtain needs replacement. Yuck. Mini bar and selection is great. Celebrity do not do this which is a pity. The butler is ok but might have other issues because they are a tad on the grumpy side. First world problems but I’m just posting this for your interest. The food is superb. Queens Grill beats Luminae hands down. We love the staff and the level of service is far superior. It is not stuffy in any way shape or form. Luminae is stuffy and the service is very corporate. Here you can feel the history, even though it’s now American it still feels great. Every staff member is, without exception, excellent. Completely faultless. Thats it for now. Off to raid the mini bar.

Totally agree and apologise if you think that my comment was directed at the OP. It wasn’t. It’s just that on CC there are lots of similar questions. Cunard seems to revel in the sense of occasion. We’re about to experience it and will be suitably dressed up to the nines!

If you don’t want to wear black tie and conform then go with another cruise line. We’re about to go on our first Cunard cruise and are looking forward to dressing up. It saddens me that some people think they’re above the rules and even have to ask.

And are they sailing from Southampton?

I think you’ll find other posts on Cruise Critic regarding this but in short, the reply to your question is no it’s nothing like Celebrity.

P&O never again RC too big FO from Dover, too far As can be seen from other posts here this isn’t a popular decision with some Celebrity fans. Best we enjoy Silhouette next year whilst we still can. Got two booked!

We love Celebrity and the Solstice class ships. Live an hour from Southampton and going to try Cunard. Tried many other vacations but love cruising.

And for those of us who don’t like Edge Class what do we do??

Thank you for your regular updates. We’ve really enjoyed them and you have sparked a debate here about jam or cream first. Keep up the good work and look forward to the next review. X