Just back from Cunard Norway. Comparison with Celebrity

[iandjm]

I have just returned from a really nice week to Norway on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth (7 – 14 August 2012). It was my first cruise on QE, having travelled on QM2 and QE2 in the past.

I also frequently cruise with Celebrity Cruises on the Solstice class so thought it would be interesting to compare the two cruise products.

I have to say I really enjoy both cruise lines, and I am not setting out to knock or favour either. I guess the perfect ship for me would be a combination of both brands.

Check in:

Celebrity – Arrive at 11am, check in and board immediately on-board shortly after 11.00am. Staterooms available from 1pm

Cunard – Arrive at 11am, number given at arrival. Had to wait an hour to check in, boarded 12.30pm. Stateroom available immediately. Bottle of sparkling wine in stateroom on arrival.

Shows / Theatre:

Celebrity – Grand production shows, elaborate sets and scenes. Good standard of singing and dancing. Drinks waiters circulating theatre pushing drinks sales before / during start of shows. Orchestra visible and play live at production shows.

Cunard – Production shows consist of nice costumes with a bare stage, relying on lighting effects. Good standard of singing and dancing but very poor show experience. Shows were far better on QM2. No drinks service in theatre (hooray!). Front row of theatre box’s unusable due to curved glass.

The Cunard Ball nights in the Queens Room can be regarded as shows in their own right and make for really nice evenings.

Main Restaurant

Celebrity – Excellent standard of food, waiters explain what dishes consist of and do not seem too hurried. Always available section on menu (Steak, Salmon, Chicken Caesar salad etc)

Maître d’ comes to make sure we were happy with the restaurant experience on most evenings.

Cunard – Waiters seem stretched and rushed, and rarely seem to have time to stop and speak to you. Food nicely presented. Always available section not on menu. I did find Caesar salad is available every day, just not advertised. Took over an hour several times from arrival in restaurant for the first course to arrive. No sign of Maître d’ for first 3 days until we complained about the service.

Photos

Celebrity - $14.99 each for formal night restaurant photos.

Cunard - $24.99 each for formal night restaurant photos!

Why on earth don’t the cruise lines realise that selling every photo for $10 would encourage far more people to buy them, and make the photographers far more money.

Alternative entertainment venue

Celebrity – Sky lounge used for party band on many evenings. Ensemble lounge for jazz. Nightclub and cinema. No large alternative venue.

Cunard – Commodore club with pianist and singer. Queens room has its own orchestra, with ballroom dancing. Yacht club has party band and DJ. Really nice to have queens room to go to after theatre.

Promenade Deck

Eclipse – No real promenade deck as lifeboats are basically sat on it. No way of getting around stern of bow.

Queen Elizabeth – Proper promenade deck that enables you to walk right round ship. Steamer chairs at various locations. Really enjoyed being able to walk laps of the deck and look over the stern at promenade deck level.

Captain’s cocktail party

Celebrity – Glass of sparkling wine given on way in to theatre on first formal night. The captains greets everyone on stage (Not always easy to understand!) No space large enough for a cocktail party to be held.

Cunard – Cocktail party held in Queens Room pre dinner on first formal night. Shake hands and photographed with captain on way in to event.

Lifts / Elevators

Eclipse – 11 in total arranged in a group of 3 and a group of 8 for nearly 3000 passengers. Can take a long time for a lift to arrive as in the main stairwell you only call one of the 4 lifts on your side of the ship.

Queen Elizabeth - 12 in total in 3 stairwells for 2000 passengers. Seem to always arrive fast. Easy to see which lift has arrived as they are grouped in 4’s in each stairwell.

Stateroom

Eclipse – Well laid out, some storage over bed. Lovely bathroom with clear shower doors.

Queen Elizabeth – Well laid out, plenty of storage. Bathroom is small. Shower curtain, not door. Very dark in shower as curtain cuts out light. Balcony glass not cleaned during cruise and used glasses not changed in room.

TV

Celebrity – Large interactive TV with full access to on-board account. Can book shore excursions and room service on the TV too.

Cunard – There is a TV guide that is personalised for your cruise showing shat is showing on each channel, each day. TV small and is not interactive. Only way to view account is to call at pursers desk.

Bar Service

Celebrity – Good service in all bars.

Cunard – Bar service good, canapés offered pre dinner in bars.

Afternoon tea

Celebrity – Self Service in Buffet area

Cunard – Served at your table in Queens ||Room, also available in Buffet area.

Other entertainment

Celebrity Eclipse –

Acappella group at various locations around the ship.

String quartet and Jazz group in various locations.

Party band on deck or in Sky Lounge.

Orchestra in atrium some nights, the echo is terrible and you cannot get away from the music, far from ideal.

Queen Elizabeth –

Orchestra in Queens Room.

Big band night one night.

Pianist in bars.

Pianist and singer in Commodore Club.

Party group in Yacht club.

String Quartet and Harpist in various locations on ship.

Other thoughts

It was nice on Cunard to not have the waiters telling us that we had to rate them highly on the satisfaction survey. On Celebrity this has happened several times.

I generally felt less pressured to buy drinks on Cunard.

Cunard drinks seemed more expensive and drinks lists were not always displayed in the Commodore Club. If you ordered Vodka for example they tended to default to an expensive brand! I do find a 15% service charge, plus a space on the receipt for a tip rather insulting!

The Décor of QE is lovely. I like art deco and really like the Cunard past ships exhibits displayed around the ship.

It was nice seeing hand sanitizer at the entrance of every room, with staff making sure you used it. Best to be safe rather than sorry. The cruise director mentioned how important hygiene was at the welcome aboard show too.

[portofrome]

Thanks so much for your comparisons.

[SkystheLimit]

Very interesting comparison. Have not sailed Cunard. Nice to know some info about the ships. Love the Equinox and are booked on the Eclipse.

[gkny]

Thank you for the comparisons. We havn't tried Cunard yet but will try it in the future.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[BMT]

Interesting as we have sailed on QE and Eclipse.

 

Really did not particularly enjoy the overall Cunard experience.

 

We had excellent service in the restaurants on Cunard and the food was very good indeed.

 

Can't put my finger on it - just not my cup o' char:D:D:D

[TLCOhio]

Super excellent summary and comparison. Appreciate the good work and outstanding effort.

 

How did you like Norway, the fjords etc.??

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 78,401 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 97,780 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[iandjm]

Super excellent summary and comparison. Appreciate the good work and outstanding effort.

 

How did you like Norway, the fjords etc.??

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 78,401 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 97,780 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

Norway is amazing! I was there in May in Eclipse as well

[vvnh16a]

Your coment about the elevators on the Eclipse grabbed my attention for we had the same issue. When compared to the "M" class ship where you have 3 banks of elevators and stairs for less people, Celebrity decided to have only 2 banks of elevators. Not only do you have to walk longer distances to get to the elevators, it really gets troublesome when one elevator is down for service.

 

WE got to personally know the Matire 'D of the ship for the Eclipse and "Cermal" is outstanding. HE leads by example and you can simply see his Assistant Matre 'd's and wait staff observing his actions.....this could be simply interacting with passnegers, offering to carry a ladys plate to her table during lunch, or assisting in finding a table during the buffet service. He is a small framed man from Turkey and always dressed to the 999's with pleasant and polite maners towards all passengers. I would not be surprised if he is not promoted to Celebritys newest ship the Reflection later this year.

 

We are Elite on Celebrity but have not sailed Cunard. How were the ports of call in and about NOrway...did you go into the Fiords?? Thanks for the review.

[TLCOhio]

Norway is amazing! I was there in May in Eclipse as well

 

Great to hear!! Did you go all of the way up to the North Cape, see the scenic Lofoten Islands, etc.? Or, is that for your next trip there? We really loved those areas, Bergen, etc., in July 2010.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 97,780 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 78,401 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[BCHappyGal]

Thank you for the comparison ... Good job!

 

We are elite on "X" and love the service and perks... have finally become very loyal :):)

 

Have sailed on many different lines over the years but never on Cunard although I have a girlfriend who loves Cunard.

[Jenna109]

A very good comparison which I would agree with. The difference for me to sway me to Celebrity would be friendliness of the staff. More interaction with Celebrity officers and friendlier staff in general.

[C 2 C]

I have just returned from a really nice week to Norway on Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth (7 – 14 August 2012).

 

Thank you for a comprehensive review. It has often been suggested that we would enjoy Cunard because of the dancing opportunities there compared to the new S-class. Your comparison, without bashing either line, is great for someone who is curious about the competition.

[iandjm]

Your coment about the elevators on the Eclipse grabbed my attention for we had the same issue. When compared to the "M" class ship where you have 3 banks of elevators and stairs for less people, Celebrity decided to have only 2 banks of elevators. Not only do you have to walk longer distances to get to the elevators, it really gets troublesome when one elevator is down for service.

 

WE got to personally know the Matire 'D of the ship for the Eclipse and "Cermal" is outstanding. HE leads by example and you can simply see his Assistant Matre 'd's and wait staff observing his actions.....this could be simply interacting with passnegers, offering to carry a ladys plate to her table during lunch, or assisting in finding a table during the buffet service. He is a small framed man from Turkey and always dressed to the 999's with pleasant and polite maners towards all passengers. I would not be surprised if he is not promoted to Celebritys newest ship the Reflection later this year.

 

We are Elite on Celebrity but have not sailed Cunard. How were the ports of call in and about NOrway...did you go into the Fiords?? Thanks for the review.

 

Hi, Im Elite on Celebrity and certainly missed the evening perks :)

 

Yes we called at Bergen, Geiranger, Skjolden and Stavanger. Loved them all. Skjolden was amazing :)

[susietb]

People seem to dress more formally on Cunard. 90% of the men wore tuxedos on our Iceland/Norway Cruise.

 

We found that the food was outstanding, but only in the Grill Class restaurants on the QM2.

The Celebrity buffet had a much better selection, and the ice cream, pizza, pasta and sushi offerings were excellent.

 

The Dance Bands on Cunard are really wonderful.

[vivavegas]

Really enjoyed reading your comparisions! Thanks for sharing!:)

[Jenna109]

People seem to dress more formally on Cunard. 90% of the men wore tuxedos on our Iceland/Norway Cruise.

 

We found that the food was outstanding, but only in the Grill Class restaurants on the QM2.

The Celebrity buffet had a much better selection, and the ice cream, pizza, pasta and sushi offerings were excellent.

 

The Dance Bands on Cunard are really wonderful.

 

Hi,

Totally agree with your comments re. Dress and dancing on QM2. We really enjoyed the experience.

The buffet was actually the worst we have ever experienced. Food was okay but we did not find the seating layout to be convivial as it was like being in a motorway service station. Also the tables were not cleared. Staff were not helpful finding tables or helping with trays for less able passengers. However, the Queen Victoria is just the opposite and I would certainly recommend travelling on her.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for comparing the two ...

[willma]

Hi Thank you for this interesting comparison. We are off on the Cunard's Queen Victoria tomorrow, also to Norway We have sailed only with Celebrity to date, but felt we should try another line or two before 'settling down'!!! We love formal nights, and will be interested in the Cunard version.

[iandjm]

Hi Thank you for this interesting comparison. We are off on the Cunard's Queen Victoria tomorrow, also to Norway We have sailed only with Celebrity to date, but felt we should try another line or two before 'settling down'!!! We love formal nights, and will be interested in the Cunard version.

 

Have a great time. Let me know what you think

 

Ian

[Eliz]

We're considering a Cunard sailing, but I'm concerned about their smoking policy vs. Celebrity's. What was your experience with this? Thanks.

 

Elizabeth