Is Club Balcony on QM2 worth the extra?

[ScotsLady]

I am planning on booking transatlantic next Oct on QM2 and am trying to decide between deluxe balcony A3 grade or club balcony AA. Can anyone tell me if it is worth paying £256 pp extra to go club?

[north east girl]

I am planning on booking transatlantic next Oct on QM2 and am trying to decide between deluxe balcony A3 grade or club balcony AA. Can anyone tell me if it is worth paying £256 pp extra to go club?

I know it is single seating in the club area, have not experienced it myself. However, did walk through that area and it looked very nice. A3 would mean a choice of sittings one at 6pm and one at 8.30pm.

 

We took 8.30 sitting on a TA we took in September and really enjoyed the setting of the Brittania restaurant. Club dinning has a smaller area just off the Britannia retaurant.

 

Britannia is very large over two levels.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Catherine

[david,Mississauga]

I have booked the "club" for the first time for a crossing next year. It is the closest equivalent to the Caronia (formerly Columbia) Restaurant on the QE2, i.e. a modestly priced single-seating dining room. We very much like the fact that we can go to meals at any time - within the reasonable hours, of course - and be seated at our table or seats at a larger table. I know that's not for everyone, but it's a sea-going tradition that we appreciate.

[MARIANH]

Hi

 

Very much horses for courses. It depends a lot on whether flexible dining suits you. However there is a possible benefit of booking AA - ie if there are upgrades available you could finish up in a Grill suite. Certainly worth having as my friends found on their last TA crossing. They did not find out until check in at Southampton and it was a very pleasant surprise. Unfortunately it hasn't happened to us yet; but we live in hope!

 

Regards

[CruiserTed]

We have traveled both in Britannia and Britannia Club on QM2 (about 30 days in each). For what it's worth, once Britannia Club was introduced, we have never considered going back to Britannia.

 

Open seating is the main advantage in Britannia Club but also the service is generally better (no total newcomers) and special orders are more easily accommodated. The fact is that the galley gives Club orders priority and it shows.

[ovccruiser]

I recently cruised on QM2 and was upgraded to AA Club. I like the cabin, the dinning is ok and for £256 pp approx $384 for 6 nights you could dine at Todd English and have $200 left or if its a 7 nighter $174 left per person. Personally I think it totally overpriced, the service imo was not very good to be asked by three waiter in the space of 5 minutes "is everything ok" absolutely pees me off. On my last cruise on QV we were in Brittania late sitting and the waiters we had on that ship would run rings around the waiters on QM club. Also, bear in mind the extra menu in Club is also available in Brittania, just not advertised. As you can gather, I will not be in Club again unless its a free upgrade.

[mrincredible]

We went in Britannia Club last August on a T/A. The benefits are:

 

• Single seating for all meals (obviously)
  
• Brilliant service (for us) and continuity of staff because your table is allocated for the whole crossing - I felt the Club was the academy for waiters progresing to the grills
  
• Better food (I think) in relation to portions and promptness of delivery from galley and a decent a la carte menu which is offered positively
  
• Better touches such as breakfast toast served in a rack rather than a dish (which might not be important unless you hate soggy toast)
  

The cons are:

 

• Higher cost (not far off P3 prices)
  
• Cabins are no better than much cheaper outside cabins in relation to space and cramped bathroom
  
• You are on 12 deck so you feel any movement (and we weren't short of that in a force 11 storm)
  
• General feedback appears that T/A weather is generally grim and therefore the benefit of a balcony is questionable
  

We would do it again because there were six of us and we had an allocated table for all meals (we ate breakfast and lunch in the restaurant) - when we looked into the main dining hall at breakfast and lunch there were long queues and it looked a bit chaotic.

 

We also decided that if we did not want to pay for Club then we might as well go for a much cheaper cabin (a standard outside perhaps) and have another crossing for free especially on a poor-weatherT/A.

 

If you are happy to queue for the restaurant or eat in the lido (which we hated) then it would not be worth the extra because evening meals are basically the same (subject to the provisos above).

 

Hope this helps.

[luv2krooze1791]

I found the service to be superb. But then it was in Britannia too.

 

I'd say the food was a little better in the club, but it is difficult to be precise when the occasions were two years apart.

 

One big advantage over P3 is that the single supplement remains at 175%.

[vjmatty]

I recently cruised on QM2 and was upgraded to AA Club. I like the cabin, the dinning is ok and for £256 pp approx $384 for 6 nights you could dine at Todd English and have $200 left or if its a 7 nighter $174 left per person. Personally I think it totally overpriced, the service imo was not very good to be asked by three waiter in the space of 5 minutes "is everything ok" absolutely pees me off. On my last cruise on QV we were in Brittania late sitting and the waiters we had on that ship would run rings around the waiters on QM club. Also, bear in mind the extra menu in Club is also available in Brittania, just not advertised. As you can gather, I will not be in Club again unless its a free upgrade.

 

I have been told this before, that it is a lot cheaper to get any other balcony cabin and then just eat at Todd English every night if you want a more intimate setting than the Britannia main dining room.

[Andiamo]

I have been told this before, that it is a lot cheaper to get any other balcony cabin and then just eat at Todd English every night if you want a more intimate setting than the Britannia main dining room.

 

Good grief Ginny. Wish I had thought of that. I would have done that (or tried to do since I was waitlisted) for the December 20 Holiday cruise. I will make a note for next time. Thanks for the tip. (As I slap the side of my head!)

 

Regards,

 

Jeanne