Desert Cruisers

We were also on this sailing and noticed the relatively low attendance at the lectures which were excellent.  We had 2 of the 3 lecturers onboard in Alaska last year but still enjoyed hearing from them again. Not sure why more people didn't show up - time of day? forgot to read the daily program? decided to watch recording on TV?, language difficulties?

We were in the Princess Grill for our meals but did go to the Golden Lion Pub for lunch on a port day so it wasn't real busy.  Found the same problems with service.  Had to go up to the bar and ask the bartender who was not busy about our drinks.  Soon after, our entrees arrived. As we began eating our entrees, the desserts came out. Asked that they be returned to the kitchen since we had just begun to eat our entrees and didn't want a cold fruit crumble.  Overall service was very disjointed.

Currently on QE. Third time in last 5 years for the Alaska season. Evening attire has always been more casual on these sailings as compared with the QM2 transatlantic crossings.  The trend towards more passengers dressed casually - not even smart attire - may have increased to a level that the overall “it’s a special night” atmosphere is being lost.  We are in the Princess Grill and were surprised that at least a few men didn’t even bother to wear a tie.  The two tables of ladies near us either wore “resort casual “ or everyday clothes - flannel shirt, pullover sweater, etc. 

I know that there’s a fixed/flat rate from the Vancouver airport to Canada Place. Is there a fixed/flat rate in the other direction - Canada Place to Vancouver airport?

Thanks for the review. Will be in a PG cabin Friday.  Our 3rd Alaska sailing on the QE. 

Jackets and ties are optional on non-formal evenings. 

Sent a text to friends who have a lot of days and are very well-informed - frequently in the top 3 MTP.  They are currently on a Princess ship and were told by senior managers that this policy change came from Corporate. Any MTP luncheons happening now were likely to have already been planned and announced. Some passengers just got lucky.

19 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Compassion and patience, indeed.  Ketchikan has 6 ships scheduled to be there next Sunday - looks like QE will be at Berth 4 (furthest ??)   Road constructions is a given, landslide & mandatory evac ... plus weather.  What to do ... should I pack my walking sticks ?  

Berth 4 is the furthest of the downtown berths.  Very walkable.  NCL docks outside of downtown.

I'm also somewhat mystified.  I'm wondering if the poster thought that the formal dress code applied every night.  A sports jacket without a tie is appropriate attire on a smart casual night. 

Have been on the QE in Alaska twice for a total of 30 days. For Cunard, dress was more casual in Alaska than on a QM2 transatlantic.  There was a minority of passengers who didn't dress up on formal nights but they were not in the dining room. Yes, there were some passengers who pushed the envelope when it came to formalwear.  However, every man that I saw in the dining room on formal night wore a tie.  

Plenty of great dim sum restaurants in Richmond.  No need to go to Chinatown.

Plus there's a Costco in case you need a hot dog fix. Given the strength of the USD, it will cost less than $1.50. 

Take a deep breath and relax.  Many of the passengers on a Cunard Alaska cruise will also be first-time Cunard cruisers.  We will be on your sailing - our 3rd Alaska sailing.  Yes, there are men who will wear a jacket, dress shirt, & tie every night but that's their choice. 

Theme nights - Not necessary to follow the theme. If you enjoy doing so, then do it!

Formal nights - What would you wear to a Saturday evening wedding with "black tie optional" on the invitation?  [Not sure what the equivalent terminology would be in the UK.]

Smart casual/non-formal nights - Would suggest that you think about what you would wear out to a fancy restaurant but that can vary depending on where you are.  Based on our experience, you will not be turned away from the dining room for wearing a nice pair of trousers and a nice polo/golf shirt.  If concerned, wear a jacket or sweater over the shirt. 

56 minutes ago, NE John said:

Gala Nights two months ago were generally well adhered to and I don’t agree that Alaska is that much less formal than a QM2 Crossing. There were, as usual, some pax flaunting the dress code with little enforcement. 
As for @mking8288, think about buying an inexpensive tux because you may use it on more Cunard voyages. Knowing time is short for that, a regular dark suit/tie works well for Gala nights and you may see more guys than you are used to in sport jackets/blazers on Smart Attire nights. The atmosphere after six is not stuffy or like an old moldy PBS show so try your best and enjoy. 

Glad to hear that there wasn't much of a difference on your recent sailing.  It wasn't our experience last year when we spent 20 days on the QE in Alaska.  

Absolutely no requirement to follow the suggested attire for gala themes. Some people really get into the themes but not necessary to do so.

The Alaska sailings are less formal than other itineraries such as the transatlantic voyages on the QM2 where you will see a lot more tuxedos and gowns.  That doesn't mean it's "anything is okay".  Most passengers follow the dress rules in the dining room and around the ship. There are exceptions but those folks are in the minority.

A few thoughts/bits of info: [All of this info was accurate as of last summer on the QE and last fall on the QM2.]

• All cabins have tea kettles with supplies.  Cookies/biscuits included.
• Robes and slippers in all cabins.
• All cabins get a welcome bottle of sparkling wine.
• The Golden Lion Pub on the QE serves both lunch and dinner.
• In addition to the specialty restaurant The Verandah - dinner all evenings and lunch on sea days - there are pop-up restaurants in a section of the buffet. Last year in Alaska, there were Alaskan and Indian restaurants.  All of these restaurants are an additional charge.
• Although not on the menu in the Britannia dining room - also known as the main dining room - there are some anytime items such as a chicken breast, salmon, etc. for less adventurous eaters. Have to ask for these items.
• If eating in the dining room, you can order espresso, cappuccino, & latte coffees for no extra charge.  These coffees are not individually made as those you get for an extra charge but they are decent.
• All Cunard ships have libraries with "real" books.  
• There will be dancing just about every night.
• The naturalist onboard last summer was very informative in her talks & at her "question & answer" sessions.
• Check out the guest lecturers.  They are a mixed bag depending on their presentation skills but we have always found most of them to be interesting.
• In-cabin TV offerings are more limited than on other lines.  The sports channels are usually UK/European feeds.
• Even though there will be many North Americans onboard, Cunard will be more oriented to UK travelers than you may have experienced on other cruises.  If you enjoy trivia, you will want to have an "international" team. 
• Cunard crew can sometimes be more reserved than on other cruise lines.  

We are on this sailing.  We use the  Alaska itinerary to escape West Coast heat.  Have cruised on Cunard many times.

It’s very hot and humid going thru the Canal. A covered balcony can be a blessing for anyone sensitive to the weather conditions. 

Thanks for the input. Sailing in a Princess Grill cabin later this month for the first time. Not thinking about asking for anything exotic. My husband loves the sticky toffee pudding served in the Golden Lion pub. He was wondering if it could be requested in the PG restaurant. 

There's currently an active thread discussing off-menu ordering in the Queen's Grill.  Curious whether there are off-menu options in the Princess Grill. 

Thanks for all of the info.

Will be sailing later this month to Alaska in a Princess Grill cabin on the Queen Elizabeth.  Printed off our boarding passes this morning and was surprised to find an "arrival time" of 12:45.  Previous posters who have been in the Grills this summer posted that they were checking-in at 11:30-noon and onboard soon after. 

I thought that Grills passengers were given priority.  We would like to get settled and to have a nice lunch in the Princess Grill restaurant. Can we show up earlier than the indicated arrival time?

Also, should our boarding pass note that we are in a Grill cabin (similar to cabin designation on a flight) or will the person checking us in have that info?

Thanks for all info.  Couldn't get through to Cunard to ask these questions.

22 hours ago, Csardas said:

Yes, a jacket is optional on all other nights but on formal nights it is a dinner suit or dark suit. About 95% wear dinner suits.

You are right about the dress rules as stated on the Cunard website.  The reality is a little bit different.  When the QM2 is doing a crossing, there are a lot of dinner suits (tuxedos) but your estimate of 95% is a bit too high.  Maybe it's this high on the world cruise?   However, in Alaska on the Queen Elizabeth, most men wear suits (of various color combinations - not just dark). 

11 hours ago, DCThunder said:

My recent experience on a Cunard cruise to Alaska was that the people on the Cunard boards are a lot "stuffier" than what you'd experience onboard the ship.  But that was for Alaska, and not the "holy of holies" TA on QM2. 

The Queen Elizabeth in Alaska definitely attracts a more casual crowd than the QM2 on a transatlantic crossing.  However, compared with other lines cruising in Alaska, Cunard still attracts a higher percentage of passengers who dress up for dinner. 

6 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

Cunard has gotten much more casual the past few years. For example, jackets are no longer required at dinner. But it's still more elegant and refined than Celebrity or Princess, where many people take "formal" or "evening chic" to mean T-shirts with no holes.

 

To us, Princess and Celebrity uset to be pretty much the same, but Celebrity is rapidly declining with their recent changes and is trying hard to become Royal Caribbean so I'd rate Princess to be a better line. And if you're a dancer (like many Cunard cruisers), Princess generally has more and better dance venues than Celebrity, though it's very ship-dependent.

Jackets for men are required on formal nights for most public areas on a Cunard ship. It is jacket optional on other nights. 

6 hours ago, Mara4166 said:

He likes his Hawaiian shirts too much.  On formal nights he is happy in a tux on Princess and would be on Cunard, but we do not want to feel underdressed (or in the bottom 20%) without a long sleeve shirt, tie or jacket on a casual night.  
We like the more relaxed cruising on Princess -although we wish they would enforce the dress code in the MDR on formal and casual nights.

For non-formal nights on Cunard, jacket and tie optional.  Collared shirt required but it doesn't have to be long-sleeved. 

16 hours ago, howiefrommd said:

We are very itinerary driven, so not loyal to any particular cruiseline.  Obviously I am only talking anecdotally (as a result of many conversations with staff, travel professionals, guests and reading the usual cruise publications and internet sites) but HAL has a very loyal demographic, which for many reasons are quite price conscious. Any attempt to raise prices would probably be counterproductive to their core consumer.  In all transparency, I have gotten crazy good (including all inclusive deals) on Holland for literally pennies on the dollar.  

No doubt that there is a loyal core of Mariners but is it the most profitable passenger segment for HAL?  Filling ships is important but so is the passenger mix.  Yes, a company can make $ from price-conscious passengers but it involves a tradeoff between included amenities and cost control.  I read a lot on this board about how past passengers are dissatisfied about HAL cutting back on things.  What's more important - better amenities or holding the line on price?

We are 3-star Mariners but HAL is just not on the top of our list when we are thinking about cruising.  Last Fall, we sailed Cunard to England and then sailed on Azamara from Rome to Barcelona. Wanting to sail back to the States, we found a TA on the Oosterdam leaving from Barcelona which fit our schedule. There weren't a lot of other options. We decided to give HAL another try after a disappointing sailing in 2019 on the Volendam in South America. Unfortunately, the Oosterdam was a disappointment compared with Cunard and Azamara.  Yes, there was a price difference so we had lowered our expectations.  While there were some positives on HAL - e.g., a wonderful breakfast menu, good cabin stewards, and quiet places to sit - it was quite boring to be onboard.  We don't need to be entertained every minute and we are not late-night people. There was very little to do during the day and evening.  We would have been willing to pay more for a better experience. HAL does have some interesting itineraries but there is too much variation in the onboard experience. 

If it is HAL's intent to attract "new to HAL" and "new to cruising" passengers on their shorter itineraries, then offering an inferior product - in terms of food and entertainment - as compared to "legendary" itineraries is not the way to go.  You only have one chance to make a first impression. The "new to HAL" cruisers may be so dissatisfied by the food and entertainment that they become "one and done" passengers.

9 hours ago, TRLD said:

Not sure where you are getting CNL, Since Carnival Corp trades as CCL in the US and CUK in the UK.   I would guess that you are talking about the Q2 earnings call. 

 

https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2024/06/25/carnival-corp-ccl-q2-2024-earnings-call-transcript/

 

The text would indicate something a bit more optimistic.  Josh Weinstein the CEO, not the CFO stated that they were at different levels in their recovery from restart.  Which makes sense since the family brands such as Carnival and Royal built their business back faster, than the older demographic adult focused line.  Was the same with Celebrity vs Royal.  He then said that one was doing better compared to 2019, one the same and one worse. He did not say which was which.  He did say that the ROIC for all 3 are improving and that while none of the 3 are at 12% all of them have the potential to reach that number.

 

The exact quote is here

 

Brandt Montour -- Barclays -- Analyst

That's super helpful. My follow-up is on three brands, Costa, Princess, and Holland America. Those are three that we've been watching you guys talk about in your -- in sort of improving ROICs across those three brands. I know that you've been focused on them.

 

How would you describe the success or versus your own benchmarks on those three brands improvement? And are any three of them outperforming the others at this point along those guidelines?

 

Josh Weinstein -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. Well, I'll start with the fact that every single one of them is showing significant improvement year over year in ROIC which I'd expect. They were all coming from a different starting point back in the pre-pause world. So, one of them is actually above where they were, one of them is at where they were and one of them is below where they were.

 

But I'd say it's a little bit irrelevant because of the brand that's actually higher. I expect it to be even higher because 2019 wasn't very good for them. So, from my perspective, the good news in this is none of them yet are at 12% ROIC. All of them have the potential to do that and we've got plans in place for them to do that over time.

 

So, progress across the board.

 

 

Thanks for correcting me on the correct designation for Carnival Corporation and that the comments were made by the CEO rather than the CFO.

I actually got up at the crack of dawn on the West Coast to listen to the analyst call.  I've also listened to previous calls as I'm a shareholder. The CEO & CFO are always adept at putting the most positive spin on results.  My comments were not meant to indicate that HAL is on its deathbed.  However, HAL leadership still needs to successfully implement whatever plans there are for HAL to improve its financial performance. Meeting HAL's "potential" & exceeding the ROI target would encourage Carnival Corporation to invest further in new-builds.