exlondoner

25 minutes ago, Pear Carr said:

I am also concerned that less choice/slower service in the main restaurants is a ploy to encourage people to use the alternative additional cost dining options.

The only menu I have actually seen from onboard was yesterday’s lunch menu, which was quite remarkably similar to past lunch menus. As to the slowness of the service, isn’t that really more likely to be because it was her first day of operation?

40 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Another review. Though I don't think INfamous is the right word for the Queens Room and Golden Lion. 

 

Also isn't it Mr Brainwash in Clarendon, not Banksy. (Very dangerous that gallery - cost me as much as the cabin on QM2 TA)

 

 

Yes, she clearly doesn’t know the current usage of infamous. On the other hand she was down to earth enough to have no truck with Artisan’s Food Hall, and just called it the buffet. I must say I do think the ship (mainly) looks great.

Yes, and in general I was wondering if people had come across many staff they knew.

I do like there is somewhere for weary weeds to sit while the lifts trundle up.

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The QA insides are considerably smaller than the Vistas and Queen Mary.  As for "cheap" as the ship has been built without any single cabins they will in a lot of cases be the only reasonably priced cabin for many solos.  For 14 nights on 8 September that miniscule inside cabin is costing me £3508.  Admittedly the 24 May late booking on  late saver was only £2098.  There are apparently 348 of these cabins which is a fairly large number on a 3,000 capacity ship.  You mentioned P&O's Britannia back in your comparisons and she has 448 with no outsides and her insides are 170 sq ft minimum.

 

These "cheap" inside cabins will need to be filled to ensure the ship stays profitable. Disregarding the people choosing them is a little short sighted.

According to the brochure, standard insides on QV are 152, those on QA 148. I would call that a very slight difference, not a considerable one. QM slightly larger at 157.

3 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Looks a bit small!

Would you want it to be larger?

4 minutes ago, Colin_Cameron said:

Look what we have!

Now that might have been a Cunard tradition people would have been happy to deviate from.

12 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

The early bird catches the Bright Lights….

 

Is this at extra cost?

Lunch menu looked very nice. I hope we get it next week.

Just now, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Considering how the bookshop on QM2 has deteriorated, I wonder if low sales there caused Cunard to give up on the idea. Or perhaps it will be in a section of another shop?

But they always seem to be full of people, when I go in. Yes, I wondered if there might be at least some books in, say, the gift shop.

Just now, buchanan101 said:

You do share a table effectively with the next table in QM2 QG - or maybe it's just the bot where they put the first timers. Luckily neighbouring tables were good company, and you didn't have to make conversation, so almost perfect set up...

I think this happens in all the ships. Luckily, we have enjoyed the owners of nearly all the adjacent tables, some admittedly more than others. But, if they are not congenial, you just have to say Good Morning and that is it. Indeed saying Good Morning when arriving at dinner is an especially effective way of avoiding unwanted conversation. 😀

30 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

The plugs would be in a strange place if beds at the side...

 

If you book an inside you know what you are getting - and aren't expecting to be spending much time in there. There's a reason why they are cheap and you get everything else the same as 80% of the rest of the passengers.

 

The other cabins are no different in size to Vista cabins AFAIK

Yes, that is a point. Well, if I were on a cruise with my best friend, I wouldn’t want the beds together like that.

18 minutes ago, Poole Boy said:

Grills Checkin has started 

You’d think some of them would look a bit happier.

2 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Not all ships can be QM2, much as you would like otherwise!

 

But of course they can.... if a business builds what its customers want. The best result here is that I forsee QA spurring bookings for QM2, QV and QE among regular Cunard passengers. And that is a good thing indeed. Customers buy what they value not what a business tells them they should because it makes them more money.  Just as the Queens Grill diners staring at the blank wall or the person trying to saddle around the bed in the min inside cabin.  

That inside cabin had two single beds together in the middle. Were they made up as a double, there would be slightly more from down the sides. Were they actually being used as two singles, they would probably be against the walls, leaving a larger space in the middle.

3 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

I said "not dissimilar" - maybe something like 34 compared with 36 (with QM2 at 45). The numbers are on cruisemapper and elsewhere. And it can't be a 100% accurate science - a slightly larger ship may be able to get away with a slightly lower density; there could be efficiency of scale in some non passenger areas - so that's why I say 34 and 36 are similar

 

And the comparison with other cruise ships was in the passenger/volume ratio - re-read my message

 

Not all ships can be QM2, much as you would like otherwise!

As tonnage is a measurement of volume, don’t QM2’s very high ceilings on Decks 2 and 3 give an extra possibly illusory amount of spaciousness. After all, you can’t hover up there. However I must say she always does seem very spacious, except the lifts.

1 hour ago, King Amo said:

Liberal squirts of the Penhaligons...

Is that some sort of comment on the local government elections? Tut tut. 😀😀

9 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Not necessarily.

We were in 'the bubble' on our second cruise onward and that was Q5 -Q2. Glorious views.

Well, I don’t know what it is, then. Obviously in your case you don’t arrive waving wads of notes at the M d’H. 😀😀

4 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

No apologies necessary. 🙂

I just happen to 'feel' for those who will be facing a wall when dining in Cunard's top dining 'facility'.

No good table tips I'm afraid although apparently, we soon became known as undemanding and very pleasant to wait staff, and all staff, hence the 'you're family' comment I have heard a few times over the years.

I'm sure that didn't hurt in the early days. Now it's cabin, CWC status and the fact we book within a minute of the itineraries going on sale. Triple whammy really. 🙂

 

 

I think it must be mainly cabin. In all our years, we’ve never had a window seat in QG on the Vistas.

No bookshop. There must be a reason other than corporate insanity.

14 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

I'm just imagining these two fat people being wedged. Are they still there now?

I imagine the crew must have a way of freeing them. Or perhaps they have to wait until they lose weight, and escape then, like Winnie the Pooh in the story.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Totally disagree, I’m afraid. I loathed that wedge shaped fixture as it stopped me seeing the sea, or anything much outside, when lying in bed. And I thought it just made the room seem even narrower which of course it was. If two fairly fat people met at that point, they would have become wedged. I thought the new version seemed much nicer, though it’s obviously oblong not square.

Sorry, I’m being very stupid. It wasn’t the wedge that stopped you seeing the sea, but other furniture.

7 hours ago, NE John said:

As a fellow armchair critic, there are some really nice things I’ve seen so far along with a couple clunkers. However, the main thing I see missing is a sense of being at sea and being at see on a Cunard ship. QA has a nice boutique hotel look (maybe Azamara-like) and that’s great but I’m looking for a maritime experience. 
I eagerly await the reports on the nearby “Live” thread regarding tomorrow’s maiden voyage. Based on what I see, I’m sure one can have a good experience on QA - but will it be a Cunard experience?

Interesting that. One of the things I liked was the lengths they had gone to to connect with the sea. There are so many places indoors where you can look at the sea, unlike so many modern ships, and also many traditional liners. But that prom deck…

10 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I'm not loving the PG cabin. It doesn't look much different from Club. Same balcony and same balcony furniture. The room is a little longer, but I'd like to see what the closets are like. And the sink in the bathroom is ridiculous--I just know that's going to be splashy. Shower appears to be a nice size and I think I saw a wand as well as an overhead shower, so something positive there.  

 

What's with that wallpaper around the mirror? Looks like '60s pop art!

 

Supposedly people disliked the wedge-shaped cabinet that divided the two parts of the PG room on the Vistas, but I did like it. Even a little separation between living area and sleeping area is nice and it broke up the visual of the very long space.

Totally disagree, I’m afraid. I loathed that wedge shaped fixture as it stopped me seeing the sea, or anything much outside, when lying in bed. And I thought it just made the room seem even narrower which of course it was. If two fairly fat people met at that point, they would have become wedged. I thought the new version seemed much nicer, though it’s obviously oblong not square.

10 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

 first port of call is a well known English saying for the first place I would go. 

But perhaps rather confusing in the context, like describing a fireman as blazing, when you mean he was furious.

1 minute ago, Host Hattie said:

Several years ago our formal clothes sent via White Star Luggage didn't catch up to the ship until about Day 4.

The ship lent Mr HH clothing, they did have a few evening dresses but nothing that fit me !

Very good that you weren’t on a TA. Did you get compensated by the luggage people?

1 minute ago, Windsurfboy said:

Yes , never thought when I said  port of call, meant port of call would be a shop to......

 

This is one advantage that was never discussed of buying air tickets via Cunard. Although the airline would be the one legally responsible to reimburse you, there would a moral responsibility for Cunard to be accommodating as their agent had caused problem. 

It is also another benefit of flying in the day before, as it gives some chance of re-equipping. And it is clearly very sensible to put things belonging to both passengers in each suitcase if you are travelling with someone else, though I would find that very difficult.