WantedOnVoyage

Have you actually tried to find roundtrip crossings/cruises on QM2 recently?? I have. There is no outbound connection for her only spring/summer Med cruise from New York next year, only on the return. The number of crossings is of less interest that how one can actually use them for... transportation even to get to Cunard cruise from Southampton. It's actually a great value to do a roundtrip crossing with Cunard compared to a Business Class airfare but the schedules make it difficult to really use the "last liner" as a.... liner.

Unfortunate, too, as it makes it increasingly impossible to do a long cruise ex-New York or indeed Southampton with a pair of crossings on either side.

I get so tired of this "steerage" and "class system" nonsense in relation to Cunard especially since the Grills are, with the exception of QA, far less of a "ship within a ship" concept that impacts the enjoyment of non premium passengers than others. Then again, odd that people accept, without a thought, flying in four-class completely segregated airliners with separate boarding etc. And relish classes within classes when it comes to frequent flyer perks etc. Everyone is or aspires to be Premium, Platinum, Executive etc. etc. so the idea that travel ought to be "classless" and hierarchies are somehow wicked or terrible is hypocritical nonsense. I did like the woman in PG on QE a few years back who flashed her c. 2011 QM2 QG "priority tender" card to queue jump... proving classless travel does exist afterall. And why you should never throw out anything.....

I'd have to think of all the Grill "experiences" we've done since 1993 starting with Britannia Grill in QE2 and Princess Grill (the original grill) on QE2; Queen's Grills (the original decor) and Princess in QM2, Princess Grill on QE and QV gosh, it must be seven times or more. Princess Grill "suites" on QA are a total turn off from what I've seen... smaller in dimensions and ever smaller in feel, dark colours, filled with fussy decorative details (like stuck on permanent nick-knacks on the shelves!), no walk-in closet and surely half the hanging space of the Vista and QM2 and, the deal breaker for my wife, no bathtub. And there is no comparing the lounges, either. Not to mention al fresco full dining on the Vistas. We will be going QG for the first time on QUEEN VICTORIA in... 10 days so looking forward to comparing but we've always been delighted with PG on her. And QG in QM2 in Jan 2025. Glad you are satisfied with your Grill experience on QUEEN ANNE. But... not for us, thanks very much.

Well that would be nice but to be honest, they don't have to do much to spur grill bookings on QV frankly. We were lucky to grab a guarantee Q3 on her from Barcelona to Southampton sailing on the 30th of this month but waitlisted to take her Med-UK in Oct 25 and booked her long West Indies cruise for Jan 2026 as soon as it was released. We are not the only ones who "go where she goes" apparently. If anything, she seems more popular than ever... wonder why?! I could not possibly comment.

Thank you... we have never liked QUEEN ELIZABETH frankly but I fancy combining a few of her ex-Miami cruises IF she is not "Americanised" and is another variant of "Cunard Lite" when it comes to dressing, entertainment etc. And no, we sure don't need another Holland America Line. Odd, though, this sudden interest in the Grills.... sorry, but I don't see a single real improvement in the Grill experience or facilities with QUEEN ANNE. Indeed, the complete hash they made of the Grill lounge, arrangement of the QG restaurant, lack of full baths in Princess suites (not to mention smaller in size and hanging space), the location of the Grills deck ect makes one think Cunard had given up on the Grill concept or didn't even care. It most certainly has no appeal to us as regular Grill passengers judged from videos or reviews.

It's a funny city... some parts of it are so swarmed with milling mobs of tourists to be a total turn off, and yet whole gorgeous hunks of it are delightfully uncrowded... We spent an astonishing two days exploring it... in the same "two chunks" you suggest in April 2001 aboard Renaissance Cruise's R7 (later Oceania) and it was oddly deserted, we literally wandered into the Coliseum, Vatican Museum etc. with nary a queue and crowd. And know that will never happen again so content to have "seen it." Sometimes it's best "not to go back"!! But yes... if you stick to the Vatican area, DO take the train from Civitavecchia that goes right to the train station at the Vatican. Everything is walking thereafter so no traffic and no city bus pickpockets (!). Cunard offers this train as a "Rome on your Own" tour btw. The station there can be a mob scene if on your own sourcing tickets so we just did the Cunard one and avoided it all.

You can enjoy Roma in a day if you pick your spots... although the most important thing is where to lunch and we have our favourite before or after shopping on the Corso. We've done the Cunard Rome on your Own excursion by coach and train. Both work but if you want to see the Vatican, the train is way better. Coliseum etc, the coach is best. BUT... time is not the issue here... it's subway construction and Linea C is an absolute nightmare for gli turisti with the heart of Roma from the Coliseum to the Piazza Venezia a construction site and much of the Via Imperiale obscured with plywood walls. Oh, and they promise it will completed by...mid 2025. I'd be astonished if it were but.... until then, what most consider the heart of Imperial Roma is.... a mess. That and the aforementioned Jubilee Year and yes... if it's your first time to see Roma, you gotta do what you gotta do but if not.... I'd avoid it, con piacere.

My goodness... there is only on place for a ship's bell and it is at the fo'c'sle head. For reasons that should not require explanation as to its purpose. It is not a designer choice nor subject to "a vibe" nor is it "on more thing to get round to." Hey guys... where's the bell?

Nothing would give some of us more relief if they did. Then again, even Dennis Dawson did not have to lock gates to access his First Class Boat Deck deck chair area, either. How's that for a "vibe"... right out of 1910!

Nope.... deck chairs on QE2, First and Tourist, were always reservable. At least every trip I made I made in her through the 1990s. Except for around the pools. It was one of the first things one did on embarkation. You paid at the bureau and brought the chit up to the deck steward and picked your preferred spot. All proper lines did that and library books were for reading not artfully displayed on a deck chair to "reserve" it all day. And yes, you could have tray lunches in First Class certainly when Mr. Dawson was in charge and choice of tea, real leaf tea, too, in the original 1920s pattern square pots. The rugs were off QUEEN MARY as were the cushions under new covers. Seemed to work for most everyone who fancied being a deck chair commodore.

Come back, Dennis Dawson, all is forgiven. You pay a deck chair charge (I think it was $10.00 a day at the end), you and Dennis pick out your favourite spot and he has YOUR chair, with cushion and steamer rug all ready for YOU in the same spot. Even tucks you in. Deck chair service, tray lunches and teas. All part of the service. And he'll move the chair in or out of the sun, too. Nary a worry in the world. This worked just fine for oh about 160 years with Cunard. Then someone decided to "improve" things. What do they call it again, "The Good Old Days"?? For all good reason, too.

Really? I not sure why one would aspire to spend longer in Barcelona or Palma which are the two most anti tourist ports in Spain? I still love Palma but you can keep Barcelona, thanks very much. The nice thing about this "anti tourism" fad is that some of us dislike being in some of these places as much as they do having us.

I have literally every single menu from some 65 voyages/cruises I've enjoyed in the last 50 years so happy to compare that of half a century ago in Classe Turistica on T/n RAFFAELLO with my most recent cruise, QUEEN VICTORIA in Princess Grill. On Italian Line, you got all the free table wine you wanted, at lunch and dinner, and this 16-year-old high school student thought that was wonderful and the food itself was mighty tasty... I still remember the mushroom ravioli. That on QV was varying degrees of exceptional but I think everything was better when one is 16 so I give edge to RAFFAELLO. BTW, don't try comparing today's Grill menus with those of QUEEN ELIZABETH 2... now that was something. But Cunard still manages to do a good job despite Carnival accountants' best efforts.

Sigh... I doubt we shall enjoy QM2 again as she was on our January 2022 Southampton-West Indies cruise, her first long cruise since reactivation after the Covid shutdown. We had... 1333 passengers (!) aboard for that and a full crew of 1200 and something. Delightfully deserted in spots and one could wander into the Chart Room at 6:45 p.m. and have a choice of 4-5 empty tables and stewards practically rushing over to take one's order. Princess Grill had two stewards and an assistant for each table in their station, too.

Oh dear... the "worse case" is having to wear trousers to dinner on Cunard. I do despair.

The only teens I've seen on the last 3-4 Cunard cruises I've taken have been the cadets. And any younger children have been exemplary in manner and behaviour and none, yet, have been seen wearing crocs with their formal wear, either. They will learn with the passage of time, no doubt....

I do like the "collared shirt" term which is right out of the Edwardian Era... when gentlemen wore "a shirt and collar". And the collar was celluloid and indeed separate. Today, like such much of the Cunard dress code, it is vague, confusing wordage that varies even where you access it on their own website. And yes... a "polo shirt" has a collar. As does a rugby shirt and some cycling jerseys. So anyone who thinks a "polo shirt" counts as "smart" let alone evening attire, should be free to wear a rugby shirt as well. And no doubt do. What's missing in the dress code is the essential: the phrase "ladies and gentlemen". Possibly for good reason.

I guess I considered anything that does not mandate a jacket let alone tie... more "Casual" than "Smart"!! But point taken. I will pack another tie for QUEEN VICTORIA departing in 17 days as penance!

Actually, "the polo shirt" finally appears to have relegated to the locker room... the wordage, at least on the Cunard website (US) is "a dress shirt" for "smart casual" for men. And is a "polo shirt" a "dress shirt". No.

Yes. Overall, we remain delighted with what we have received on QUEEN VICTORIA over the last four post Covid cruises and one in QM2. But yes... there are noticeable cut backs (experienced as travelling Princess Grill) Long waits (20 mins) for drinks in Chart Room and Commodore Long pauses (20 mins or more even) between courses in Princess Grill which suddenly crop up halfway through the cruise Very uneven deck service on the Grills Deck... ranging from superb and attentive to non existent Bed linen not changed nearly as frequently as before and sometimes to the point of having to request it. That should NOT be necessary. Ever. And the cutbacks in side of table presentation, dover sole etc. in Princess Grill which may be more market driven than anything else to increase the difference between PG and Queen's Grill. But there are indeed reductions here regardless of reason. Lack of live music in Yacht Club which we really missed... they have destroyed the atmosphere of this room alas. But... generally, it remains a superb product and especially it's the people on QUEEN VICTORIA that keeps us returning... indeed in, why in 17 days time! Not that I am counting

We're aboard in January 2025 ex-Southampton for 35 delicious nights to the West Indies and while the Boardwalk Cafe is hardly a deal breaker for us, we hope to at least get a whiff of chips (as do the occupants of the kennels below) during at least some of it.

Not sure if they will make the investment but yes, the old QM2 needs a makeover and there are features and facilities either underutilized or not working anymore. The Grills Terrace, the Verandah Restaurant and Boardwalk Cafe come readily to mind. She has always been a odd duck having the "lido restaurant" miles from... well... a lido or pools and a complete lack of bars etc on the upper open decks, etc. Me, I just love her for those acres of real teak decking and her high ceilings indoors. But... yes, some things just don't work. And it shows.

He is indeed.... so rare, one remembers his name, too!

It was open during our long UK-West Indies cruise in 2022 but sorry, it looked SO unappetising at first glance and smell that we avoided it. Big stainless steel trays of precooked and 20 times warmed over beef patties and sausages... even the mess deck of an wartime corvette had better grub than that, surely. Our crew mess sure did. And yes... it's often windy enough to discourage al fresco dining too... a little too much "fresco" and your rubbery sausage might fly off and put someone's eye out.