Jonem2001

This afternoon departing Southampton on QV, it’s an Italian ‘Ciaosecco’, which amuses me greatly. My parents, who sent me the photo, are excited to try something different! The printed card indicating placement in the fridge is more permanent than I expected, though. Have ice buckets been done away with? I always enjoyed that touch.

My assumption is that this is a use - permanently, or on a pop-up basis - of the unnamed bar on Deck Two opposite the Golden Lion. It’s the only one I think that could reasonably qualify as being closed off enough, most of the others being alongside staircases or corridors. It strikes me as being a Cunard spin on the Limelight Club or 710 on P&O, both of which are very popular. Perhaps a little of both.

I do agree that considering her punishing schedule, the ship looks in very good condition. Cunard seem to place a premium on keeping her looking spruce, especially compared with some other lines with ships of a similar vintage. But I also think it’s interesting to speculate on what areas might benefit from a ‘major’ refit period, as the original poster suggested. Thinking about the lifespan of the QE2, the eventual ship looked very different to the ship at launch - new cabins, refreshed venues, dining room additions, a magrodome. Even a new propulsion system! I don’t necessarily want QM2 to be innovative, but I think there’s a need to review the ‘offer’ every so often. Sometimes a lack of maintenance effort can signal an area where change is planned, and I’d agree the spa looks like a certainty. The broken chairs in the Planetarium also strike me as odd, as that should be a reasonably easy thing to fix underway, not even needing a dry dock. I don’t think soft furnishings will be a target soon after the remastering, and the restaurant proportions don’t seem to be unbalanced now Britannia Club is installed. But with QA offering more choice, that could be an interesting addition - perhaps a pan-Asian restaurant inserted somewhere low-traffic if it goes well at launch for Anne.

Yes, booked the 7 nighter Atlantic Coast and Iberia in October ‘24 (half term!) and the final two nighter to Hamburg in Jan ‘25, both on QA. Given the newness of the ship, the potential attractiveness of both itineraries, and the fact I couldn’t get to the computer to log on until 1:30, I really expected disappointment. There was no problem in either case, which did surprise me; but I’m not complaining! I was able to select from a huge range of cabins on the deck plan selector, so I got what I wanted (although my requirements weren’t that specific). The first booking will be my first 7-night cruise; and my first since hitting Platinum. Maybe by then the cocktail parties will have resumed? I won’t hold my breath!

Oh, and meant to say - we skipped the Grills afternoon tea and did the Queen’s Room experience. Much more of a celebratory event, and they had proper finger sandwiches! I really would choose the non-Grill version every time for the atmosphere, although the queueing is a downside!

Just back myself - and I would have to agree there is most unpleasant odour in the area around the Winter Garden. I hope it’s on the list for a repair/solution soon; as it seemed to result in the space being deserted every time I passed through (with decreasing frequency as the voyage progressed). One of the external doors was being kept permanently open, presumably to mitigate the issue… I can’t think of any other reason to do that in November. Brrr. I would also agree the disembarkation was very busy due to luggage processing issues, but the staff seemed to be doing everything they could, and I was off and in the car, with luggage collected, in less than twenty minutes… so I shan’t complain. On the other issues… I don’t recognise your issues around cleanliness, and certainly every public bathroom I used was spotless on every occasion, including the Grills. But I suppose there may be the odd issue from time to time on a busy ship. And I must say that I think I saw more officers in uniform on this cruise than any other with Cunard this year; but perhaps they’re behind other lines on the raw numbers. I will say that the staff on Victoria are the friendliest of the three Cunarders for me this year; although Elizabeth came close in April. And I felt very ‘looked after’ in Queen’s Grill compared to my normal non-Grills experience, although perhaps not to the level you describe with Celebrity. Perhaps a tonal thing? I find Princess staff, for example, very effusive and bubbly - not really so with Cunard, which seems to be a little more subdued and deferential. Both are excellent approaches, but definitely different! I intend to try Celebrity at some point, so I’ve found your comments really interesting - thank you. I hope you’ve dried off and made it home now!

I would agree based on comments here and my own experience - I had a very perfunctory butler earlier this year on QM2, and at the time chalked it up to it being only a two-night. My experience this time around is chalk and cheese.

I’m on the QV now, and our incredibly friendly butler has so far brought us some oranges slices for the supplied bar on request, and when we ordered room service yesterday, she brought in the breakfast set up the table with a cloth, napkins etc beautifully. We haven’t felt the need to ask for anything more; but she was very proactive in talking through the bar set-up arrangements and so on; and I got the impression nothing would have been any trouble! She’s been so pleasant when we greet each other in the corridor.

I would recommend the cheese trolley, if you can - and definitely enquire whether flambé desserts are available. I did a two-night crossing to Hamburg earlier this year on the QM2 and the Crepes Suzette was exquisite. It’s an ‘off menu’ item but very commonly requested I believe. And the waiting staff were very happy to fire up the table-side burners with a bit of notice! The hot tub on the Grills Deck is also worth attempting for the view, if nothing else, but I must confess in February it was a brief attempt on my part!

There are a number of ‘interesting’ (head-scratching!) decisions made with Queen Anne, and for me, this is the biggest puzzler given how popular these are in the cruise sector. If the HAL design had the singles, and QA has specifically removed them, I can only imagine that Cunard thinks one of two things - that the cost benefit does not justify including them, or the cost-benefit doesn’t justify them ‘yet’. Given that Cunard does not have trouble selling out the existing cabins on the other Queens, and the theoretical cost-per-berth should be lower on QA to make them still-more profitable, I would have thought them a no-brainer in the current market. I give Cunard the credit of having made a deliberate, commercially-driven decision here. My hope is that Cunard have decided to use their two-berth cabins more flexibly for singles as @philsuarez suggests above - making some available from the pool to suit season/demand as applicable using only one type of cabin ‘stock’. Although the price would need to be lower than the existing supplement for a two-berth cabin on the other Queens to offer something the market would see as equivalent as getting a single-occupancy, the lower cost-per-berth on QA could make it as profitable… and more desirable for passengers at the same time than a traditional smaller one-berth cabin. A win for everyone, and with the lower cost of maintaining/marketing fewer cabin types too. The other potential option, as I see it, is that Cunard have decided to refit single cabins in some form at a later date when inaugural demand for QA drops and the double occupancy demand does die down. That would be both expensive (refit costs, ouch!) and poor initial market service for the high demand for singles. So I think this unlikely. I’m curious to see what happens with pricing strategies and marketing approaches when the QA beds in… (pun unintentional!).

Has this amount actually been charged, or does it show as pending? I suspect the latter. I usually get this shortly before a cruise, as part of Cunard testing the card is active and valid in time to be used for your on board account. They do this by requesting a nominal account be posted to the account, which shows as a ‘pending’ or ‘upcoming’ payment, but the amount is never actually deducted - it hangs around for quite some time as a future charge that never IS charged. This practice does affect your overall remaining credit should you max out your card, as it counts as a potential payment, but you’ll never see it on a bill. And since it’s such a tiny amount (£1!) even that isn’t something I tend to worry about - it’s not disadvantaging me. I’m pretty sure this was highlighted as something that would happen as part of adding my credit card as part of the booking process; but different locations/venues/travel agents may vary. Essentially, I don’t think you need to worry here.

Having previously enjoyed the Queen’s Room Afternoon Tea on QV and QE, this year I’ve experienced the Grills version on QM2 (in the Grills Lounge) and QE (in the Princess Grill restaurant). I’d agree, @WestonOne, that I found the Grills version the poorer option in comparison. In the case of the QM2, I found the lounge really quite cheerless and bland; in the QE’s case the restaurant setting lacked atmosphere and really didn’t encourage one to linger. I missed the drama of the trays, the procession, and the lower tables, oddly. I don’t know if the Grills version of Tea features different food items, but the ‘sandwich’ selection I experienced in both cases were all variants of rolls or croissant/brioche bread - I found myself missing the crustless white rectangles! Possibly a case of fancification a step too far for me. I can’t comment on the wider tea selection, but I’m pretty sure I had Earl Grey on QE. But I don’t recall a huge list mentioned on the menu; I think Earl Grey was the only option other than standard (whatever that was!). I’m looking forward to trying the QM2 Queen’s Room service in October and seeing if that hits the spot!

Earlier this year, my partner and I ordered the Beef Wellington, fully expecting to share it in compliance with the menu. We were asked how we wanted it cooked - without thinking it through, we both absently asked for different levels of ‘done’. Yes, you can see where this is going. We were each served a two-person Beef Wellington cooked to our respective standards of perfection. Delicious, but very near deadly (and we didn’t make the evening entertainment). What a way to go, though. I have attached the photo I HAD to take. Essentially, I would certainly ask if you want to try a ‘sharing’ entrée, but be prepared to be served the whole thing….

A potentially illustrative example - on my first cruise on Cunard, approximately seven years ago, I went with my sister, who was then in her mid twenties. She had accidentally misread the dress code and had come without formal clothing of any nature. For ‘Gala Night’ she improvised with a pair of jet-black denim jeans, a long-sleeved black top, and maximum statement jewellery with impeccable hair, the idea being to focus attention ‘up’. No one reacted to the outfit. No one commented on it. No one gave the slightest impression of having noticed (and we were sensitive to reactions!). The term (or one of them) used at the time that confused her was ‘stylish separates’ for women, I think, and to this day we tease her about it, but my point is that we learned that no one cares so long as you look well presented and like you’ve put some effort in. Was it her dream outfit for the scenario? No. Were there people I consider less formally dressed than even she? Yes. I’ve cruised with Cunard many times since, and I couldn’t tell you for any cruise how many people chose a tux over a suit; or a dress over slacks, or whether a particular hemline was long or short (the lady in the pink cowboy hat stood out though). The overall impression I took away was a heightening of effort, and I think if you can pull off that, you’ll be fine. Intent counts!

Interestingly Princess are including a photo package with their ‘Princess Premier’ top level booking option, along with gratuities, drinks, etc. They must feel it’s a selling point… and the queues on Iona seem to bear that out, at least to some level. Personally, I don’t think I’d redeem that ‘perk’ - the one and only time we did it, the result was so terrible that my partner still threatens to put it on display to keep me in line. What possessed us to buy it, I don’t know…

Based on a previous thread, I think there are contracts with multiple providers across the fleet - at least one contract isn’t in operation as the firm went bust during COVID. Perhaps that’s Britannia? Iona had photographers last week, during Celebration evening and at least one other night. Big queues for atrium pictures!

Yep, on board now. Captain announced the removal of Haugesund yesterday at 5pm as we left Hellesylt. The reason was given as needing to guarantee our arrival back at Southampton on time, which was under pressure as Iona needs a repair as it can’t make top speed. Apparently a part is being flown in to Southampton. Since yesterday we’ve only averaged 15 knots. We’ve all been given £100obc per cabin, and it’s a hot sunny day in the North Sea - much more preferable to me than Haugesund (although I’m sure some are disappointed!). In every other respect this has been a wonderful cruise; service levels are great, only the Epicurian and Glass House food services are shut, and only a few missing menu items. The worst is that we ran out of hash browns on Tuesday. The horror!

Similar here - Victoria in November. Lovely! P&O did something similar fairly recently; consensus at the time on the boards was that it was a sweetener to stop people cancelling before final payments were due. Given the recent change in testing, I wonder if that is having an uptick in people reconsidering future plans - and hence Head Office deciding to put in a show of beneficence.

How interesting. One of the differences I found puzzling between Regal and Britannia was the midship stair omission on Britannia - is that how early Royal Classes were originally launched? A shame Britannia has never had the same upgrade if so.

We had our notification for Iona’s July 23rd cruise on Saturday - they do indeed notify you two weeks out. I believe P&O schedule Iona acts to alternate over the tail end of one cruise and the beginning of the next - we have Ray Quinn to start, handing over to La Voix halfway through the cruise (who will presumably ‘open’ the cruise the week after, if you see what I mean). Both Ray and La Voix have been on other cruises this year; Ray was on Britannia over Easter and was well received, as was La Voix on Iona (second hand reviews - for disclosure, I haven’t seen either!). So I imagine you’ll get at least one of them! Limelight Club is the only venue that can be booked in advance right now - all alternate dining venues are ‘book once on board’. I’m crossing my fingers at least Sindhu will be open.

Just had an email from P&O confirming Geiranger is to be omitted from our July 23rd Iona cruise, with Hellesylt extended and a Seven Sisters sail-by added. Email text below. Dear Xxxx, We hope you are looking forward to your upcoming holiday on board Iona. For operational berthing reasons, we are unfortunately no longer able to include Geiranger on your upcoming cruise. We are however delighted that we will be extending our call to Hellesylt to a full day call. In addition to this change, Iona will also be completing a sail by of the Geirangerfjord, allowing you to take in the breath-taking scenery the area is known for, including the “Seven Sisters” waterfall, where no less than seven waterfalls descend into the fjord. Located at the western end of the Geirangerfjord, Hellesylt is ideally located for more adventurous experiences and we are pleased to confirm that we have been able to secure some additional shore experiences for our call. Pre booked experiences for Geiranger will automatically be cancelled and refunded to you. A new shore experience programme for Hellesylt showcasing the natural beauty and stunning scenery including options to Mount Dalsnibba and Geiranger Fjord Centre to name but a few, will be available to pre purchase on My P&O or once on board Iona. Kind regards, P&O Cruise

I decided not to book the QA Maiden but now feeling like a day trip to Southampton on the 11th might be in order anyway…