ballroom-cruisers

QV recently had almost everyone dressing up every evening for dinner, and even more so on Gala nights. I didn't see any casual dressing at dinner or in the Commodore Club and Queens Room in the evenings. Of course on deck it is different and plenty casual dressers in the Lido buffet - but the evenings in MDR and other public areas were maintained with high standards of dress. Perhaps QM2 TA has changed in terms of what some passengers coming in to Cunard voyages are doing.

Possibly but then only needs a thumbprint but no signature!

Perhaps we should all have to sign an agreement before boarding, which contractually obliges us to confirm that we have fully read and understood the official dress code! (OK I'll remove tongue from cheek now!)

Most people already have moved on now.

They were liners but a lot smaller than QM2!

In contrast my own memories as a young child of sailing from the UK to South Africa on a Union Castle line ship, was certainly not of the same level of luxury as some of those ferries nor of the level of modern Cunard ships, but the elaborate equator crossing ceremonies of those days are a strong memory!

Sounds like fun! If everyone else was flowing nicely the same direction then being part of the flow works - a bit like any one starling flying in a starling swarm, swirling around the sky! It would be fun to have a separate thread on a topic something like "the greatest cruise or ferry experiences in the world"?

It sounds like real luxury ferry travel - the only fly in the ointment for us would be that despite the nice lounges, restaurant choice, the entertainment and the bars, there is no chance to do your own ballroom dancing.....

That is one gorgeous classy cruise ferry - the Scandinavians know how to build and operate a luxury ferry that is oh so different to the kind of ferry that I have been on in the past going from the UK to one of the continental ferry ports across the North Sea or the English Channel. Now if the ferry companies in Britain operated that kind of cruise ferry we would want to go on weekend jaunts to the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium, every weekend - and dress up for the occasion too - great picture - thank you for posting. By the way the Finnish ferry company web site that the picture came from also has lots of other pictures showing the bars and lounges and it is more like a cruise ship than a 'pure' ferry. If I was holidaying in that area taking this ferry across the archipelago would be like having a mini-cruise!

Perhaps it takes a little longer to clean and prepare the vacating staterooms at the moment with possibly a few less cabin stewards?

That is simply not true. I know some dance hosts who have been invited to be on board a Cunard cruise from the UK in early June. I presume that the agent you talked to in Canada did not have current information concerning UK departures.

There was one complimentary glass of fizz at one dinner on QV so yes, presumably it was in lieu of the welcome aboard party.

On the Canaries QV voyage the CWC party for Gold level and above took place in the Queens Room, and there was also the Senior Officers Party for Platinum and above on a different day. The general captain's welcome party for all passengers did not take place. The majority of passengers are gold level or above since once only a few voyages have been enjoyed on Cunard you reach Gold pretty quickly. The muster drill seems to have become established as it was last year, with the requirement to go and have your cruise card scanned in by crew members at your muster station soon after boarding, and the muster drill video is already playing in your room when you go in, which you are required to watch, and that seems now to be in place of the full muster drill that used to take place with everyone physically present at the nominated time at your muster station, Anyone who does not know how to use the life jackets, can go to their muster station, where a crew member will show you how to put it on and remove it. In addition the usual emergency horn practice sounding and Captain's announcement over the PA system still takes place as always.

On the Canaries voyage prior to the current Baltic voyage, there were no 'restrictions' - so no mask requirements, and crew were not wearing masks. There was hand antiviral gel at the entrance to the dining areas, and remains a very sensible thing to do. If there were any cases of Covid we were not aware of any, and it was very much as if there was no pandemic concern apparent in anyone. Also no social distancing anywhere including the lifts. Of course we all should remain vigilant, but life has returned to pretty much pre-pandemic, and now post-pandemic normal.

On QV on Coronation Day it was in Britannia Dining Room.

There is no corkage for opening the Pol Aker from your room when you have it in a venue on board.

The afternoon tea can't be booked ahead as far as I know. Just go along as it gets towards the start time on any one day and join a queue if there is one. The excursions are available to book on MyCunard a few months ahead of departure - some have limited numbers on them and if popular they can get sold out and if so all you can do is go on a wait list. You can also book once you get aboard at the desk near the reception desk that deals primarily with excursions. The bookings for the Verandah don't go live on MyCunard until a few weeks before departure. So the status will remain 'coming soon' until that point in time. There is a cover charge for that, and some dishes may have an additional charge. You can have lunch on sea days, and dinner in the evenings there.

Yes, we have done that many times in more than one venue on board and on all three ships. It is perfectly refreshing and pleasant - and I don't know why there seems to be so much fuss around this particular drink.

You can bring a bottle of Pol Aker from your room to any bar on the ship and also into the Queens Room, and the waiters will being you glasses for the number of guests who will be sharing the bottle, and they will also offer to open the bottle if you don't want to do it yourself.

It seems that the issue of how smart is smart attire, or how formal is a Gala night is a discussion that will likely still be ongoing a century from now! However, no matter what is posted about being able to wear whatever you like because nobody will tell you otherwise, it remains the case, certainly on all the Cunard voyages that we have done, that the vast majority of people will wear smarter smart attire than the minimum requirements on the Cunard notices, in those parts of the ship where the dress code applies - such as the dining rooms, the Queens Room or the Commodore Club. A couple of weeks ago on QV very few men were not wearing jackets at dinner, or in the Queens Room, including on Smart Attire evenings, and late evening in the Commodore Club the same was very apparent. Lots of ladies were looking proud and lovely in elegant evening outfits. It is possible that on some voyages that I have not been on that may not be the case, and perhaps others might comment on whether any voyages have seen a significant rise in people dressing more casually. Also on our last voyage on Gala nights I didn't see a single person not dressed in special evening wear, with mostly bow ties and jackets with quite a lot of tuxes for the men, and almost all the ladies wearing evening dresses, with a lot of sparkly ones too, with some wearing pretty sparkly tops with smart separates, and many with elegant shoes, and nice jewellery. So of course it is possible for anyone to wear the minimum that applies for the wording of the dress code, but it is pretty apparent that most people actually want to enjoy being part of the special elegance of the evenings, which has long been a Cunard tradition, whether the few Gala evenings or the other normal evenings on a voyage. I would not be surprised if people will continue to make evenings special on Cunard cruises, irrespective of any published dress code purely because it has become a tradition that people who enjoy Cunard voyages have come to love because it is so very different to the traditions on most other lines.

The simplest way is to just take a normal mains charger and plug it in to the available wall socket in the cabin - that is simple and works fine.

It seems there will be dance hosts on some voyages, but not all. It you want to be sure it is probably best to call Cunard directly and ask about your specific cruise. However some dance leads are dancing with ladies who don't have a partner even if there are no Cunard appointed dance hosts, and that was happening on the QV during the cruise to the Canaries that returned yesterday morning.

It was a brilliant voyage, fabulous Coronation celebrations, amazing good weather, fabulous food, great dancing in the Queens Room, and a wonderful atmosphere with pretty much everyone dressing up for the Gala nights. Superb and shame to be going home.

Actually the Cunard web page for this new cruise looks much more like it is really pushing the formality and the splendor of the Gala evenings and dancing as well as the glorious dining...

Whatever the opinions posted in this forum I'll take a bet that every stateroom on the new special Coronation cruise will be sold within a very short time after release to sale. The lucky people who get to go on that voyage will likely have a fabulous time and many will want to book future cruises with Cunard. So good marketing ploy by Cunard.