Victoria2

I would dearly like to agree with you but devil's advocate here, the term 'elevated' depends on the base line before hand. A jacket, to add to the collared shirt and trousers could be construed as 'elevated' and to be perfectly frank, unless clearer guidance is given, the jacket would theoretically, 'elevate' a shirt and trouser outfit. Semantics, I know but I have to agree with those who say the word is misleading and leaves the door wide open to interpretation.

I think it marvelous when folk queue in order to pay their respects to a public figure and it doesn't matter what they wear in order to do so. It's the need to say thank you and goodbye which counts. A friend had a mobile phone in the early 90s. It literally, was the size of a brick. Technology moved on and I can fit my phone in my back pocket. The world of technology changed and so has the world in general and as far as 'dressing' is concerned, places less emphasis on formality, for want of a better word. It is a fact of life the traditionalists will have to put up with. That doesn’t mean to say tradition is wrong. Tradition has its place with those who wish to keep it alive but for those unused to it, a new world beckons and someone at Cunard must have taken note and have moved with the times. We will miss [not mourn though] the old and will still keep our end up with black tie on non TAs. I am sure many others will do the same. 👍

Casual dress for chaps can be just as much a minefield as formal. Enjoy your next cruise. 🙂

The only reviews/comment I read are on this Cunard board but I shall google some Victoria reviews forthwith. 🙂 Shan't take any notice but if they're amusing, they will make me smile.

My husband finds wearing a polo shirt and decent chinos, a great casual yet acceptably elegant daytime choice. Saves gussying up in a jacket and tie for lunch. 🙂

I don't read reviews. My idea of a wonderful holiday bears no relation to many others' views. The day we come home from a QV holiday, dissatisfied, is the day we might start looking at Regent but until then, we are our own 'persons' and will continue to enjoy our home from home.

Others will disagree and will have their own favorite/s but Queen Victoria [like Roscoe, our home from home too] is the Happy Ship as far as we're concerned and she makes us so happy the minute we see her, never mind embark. In fact, I'm happy just thinking abut the three trips we have scheduled on her this year. Without wishing my life away, bring the first one on! 🙂

Well we won't be getting our knickers in a twist about something we have no experience of and will wait to see if the sky does fall on our first QV outing this year due to any scrum effect! 🙂

Quite, and we will continue to dress in what I loosely term, the more Cunard evening way and I suspect, many will have the same idea and just maybe, after the first Cunard encounter, newbies see the black tie [OK, coloured tie too] worn by the 'traditionalists', their next Cunard encounter might include adjusted packing. Whatever happens, the dress code for us is not the main Cunard draw and neither are we affected by others' dress sense. As I have often said, if it keeps the line afloat, fine by me. 🙂

The fact Cunard has tweaked its dress codes was not the subject of the selected part of my comment you have replied to and although I quite understand why many folk regret the passing of 'the past', times change and so you'll have to forgive me but I don't see the point you're making here other than to say things aren't what they used to be. In that, I agree, things have changed. I quoted your 'Jeans in the Grills at any time makes me cringe.' and went on to say I wasn't sure what makes the Grills any different from the rest of the ship, clothes wise, before saying T wear jeans in QG, and this is the comment I addressed in post #21, the post you have part quoted. I see no reason why standard of dress in the Grills' area is any different from the rest of the ship and I would wear the same if I booked an inside cabin or the largest cabin on the ship. If I am within any dress advisories and I make folk cringe, Britannia or QG, that's their problem, not mine. 🙂

I'm a Michener fan and bought this book after our first Alaska cruise. I read it every so often when I need an Alaskan fix.

Or indeed LargeNegroni, ask the Butler for/about anything you're unsure about. They are there to help create the best possible experience for you and as a Cunard newbie, there will be things you won't be sure about. Just ask, and that goes for all your wait staff too. They are also there to enhance your cruise experience. Enjoy your cruise on my favourite ship. 😄

I don't think Cunard are floundering as such but I do think they have had negative publicity as far as treating passengers affected by Hull-Gate are concerned and the WC Gala fiasco, if as described, will not enhance their reputation. Maybe another Gala dinner will be arranged as a face saving exercise.

I am most definitely not a clothes snob and to be frank, I'm not sure why any Grill area is different from the rest of the ship, but I must be a walking daily cringe fest for you. 🙂 White jeans, blue jeans, cut off jeans, none of which, I hasten to add, are in the Bentley road test class all worn during the day and whichever part of the ship I happen to be in. I have even [whisper it] worn white jeans with the most extravagant top, to dinner on a couple of occasions and that was before the guidelines were relaxed a tad although, to be fair, once finished with a fabulous top, the outfit certainly did not shriek JEANS! 🙂

You can have fish and chips or whatever is on the lunch menu, in the pub; burger, pizza and hot dogs, with fries in the Lido Grill outside; snacks around the ship; a Lido salad/sushi/hot/cold whatever is on offer in the Lido or you can ask your Head Waiter at breakfast or the night before if you can have any of these offerings, or whatever light meal eg, tuna melt, caprese, carpaccio etc or a salad of your own fixings with some protein eg lobster tail or feta etc etc. In other words, anything you fancy. My go to, as my husband likes to sit for lunch with table service is usually a pick between a salad, a fruit plate, or sushi [Californian roll]. On one particularly convivial World cruse segments cruise, my salad ingredients became known as Table x salad as quite a few table mates took it up with their own tweaks. Lunch and dinner became a jolly meeting point and I didn't get down to do my pick 'n mix plate in the Lido as I do occasionally.

Bearing in mind our upgrade wasn't a TA and no flights were involved, chancing sudden cabin availability is one thing, subject to any ESTA compliance for a TA, but chancing any flight availability at a reasonable cost would deter us on any kind of fly/cruise booking.

Our first time in a 2, years ago was a [substantially reduced] paid for upgrade from a 3, about a week before departure.

Ha. I see a temporary swerve to visit the bathroom, a euphemism for the word “loo”, but no discussion on women's shoes. A comment on the number of shoes packed by way of comparison, but no actual discussion. Happy to discuss if that’s required but probably, on another thread. 🙂

Don't you just love how topics ''expand'' [sorry Hattie]. Etymology fascinates me. In conjunction with ''loo'', I came across the Middle English term for ''toilet paper''. My decorous nature prevents me from writing it! 😄 Back to topic. My goal these days is to see how few cases we can travel with. Judicious packing and usage of laundry, ship or passenger, is serving us both very well.

They might be dual. My [Chinese] set has both Western letters/numbers and Chinese characters. Enjoy.

I take two pairs of [black] evening shoes for all evening occasions, purely in case I snap the heel off one, for instance. I'm taking a punt your shoes might not be subject to the same issue so one Gala pair sounds fine.

I have a set and yes, mine's heavy too. Mind you, the cobwebs around it might have added to the weight! 🙂 Could I make a suggestion? Little Fish is presently sailing QE. Why not pose a question to her on the QE Hull Cleaning thread? She might be able to ask ''someone'' for you.

How true. There was a lovely couple sitting at the window table in front of us in August and it was a real pleasure to see what she wore every night. She had a wonderful figure and her beautiful, elegant dresses were worn with loads of style. Those are the clothes I will notice. Dressing for dinner is not an exact science and neither does it need to be a spread sheet exercise. I'm of the ''let me look in the wardrobe and see what I want to wear'' mode of thinking. No pre-planning, loads of separates and a couple of long dresses for the Gala nights.

It's not a fashion parade. You won't get marked out of ten for variety of outfits 🙂 and to be quite frank, I wouldn't notice [unless the outfit was particularly ''striking''] or more important care, if you wore the same jacket on most non Gala evenings. It's personal choice of course, but there is absolutely no need to wear a different outfit every night, ladies or chaps. For a fourteen night cruise [not transatlantic on QM2], my husband brings one dinner suit, a couple of jackets, a few pairs of trousers [no jeans] and half a dozen dress shirts. We both make use of the laundry, and ship not passenger when ironing is involved. Don't be overawed by those who pack loads. If you can't manage it, it is most definitely not necessary.

Whatever people might say, the air con can be fickle. If bare shoulders, sleeveless tops or dresses are to be worn, the best solution is a pashmina/shawl, a light dressy jacket or a shrug to keep to hand, just in case.