Future Of The Queens Rooms

[Salacia]

http://www.scotland.org/celebrate-scotland/burns-night

 

Thanks Bobby.

 

I was curious as to how the occasion is celebrated on board, and I found this:

 

The celebrations on Queen Victoria started a few days before with Scottish dancing lessons and sash making classes, all of which paid off on the night itself. Burns Night began at dinner with a special dish created by our on board culinary team, led by Executive Chef, Nicholas Oldroyd. The dish featured traditional Scottish Haggis served with the equally traditional Tatties (mashed potato) and Neeps (mashed turnip), with a special Drambuie sauce. Our guests certainly got in to the spirit of the evening; Nick told me over half our guests enjoyed the specially prepared dish.

 

The Burns Night Ball began with some traditional Scottish music and the first of the dances, “The Gay Gordons”, and it was a fantastic sight to see so many guests dressed in kilts and many others in tartan. The highlight of the evening was when fellow guest Jim Gardiner was invited to “Address The Haggis”

 

quoted in part from http://wearecunard.com/2010/02/national-celebrations-on-queen-victoria/

 

 

Cheers,

Salacia

Edited to add: Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns can be found here: http://www.robertburns.org.uk/Assets/Poems_Songs/toahaggis.htm

[turquoise 6]

I have giggled a bit too. Darn martinis.:eek: Cunard ships would be much better places if they would let the maritime design firm of Cruachan & Glojo have a free hand.:D

Now we are talking business!!! Cunard Business.. Cruachan & Glojo,

A Maritime design team and MORE!!!:D I agree, Cunard will be a better place. My bags are packed for the HMS Queen Katherine

[Dajo5601]

Dancer Bob, I read your comments re the "very, very British" tag. Let me tell you, on our last cruise on the QV, both the captain and the Future Cruise team made it quite plain that they see the largest potential market for Cunard over the next few years as being the German market.

 

As an indicator of this you only have to look at the many itineries which include Hamburg as the main embarkation/disembarkation port for many European cruises and with this potential increased business opportunity for Cunard, you may well see that the "very, very British" perception begins to wane over the coming years....

[cunardaddict]

I totally agree with Cunard seeing their future in the German market.

 

But success will only come if they stay beeing a really British company and holding up all british traditions on their ships.

[BlueRiband]

I totally agree with Cunard seeing their future in the German market.

 

But success will only come if they stay being a really British company and holding up all British traditions on their ships.

 

Exactly what is attracting current German passengers to Cunard.

 

Imagine 5 years from now, when the German equivalent of CC has posts lamenting how much they enjoyed Sir Samuels and the Golden Lion Pub but those spaces had since been turned into Beer Gardens.

[turquoise 6]

Exactly what is attracting current German passengers to Cunard.

 

Imagine 5 years from now, when the German equivalent of CC has posts lamenting how much they enjoyed Sir Samuels and the Golden Lion Pub but those spaces had since been turned into Beer Gardens.

The German fixation on Cunard is called "The Berengaria Complex"

(Disclaimer:It's only an opinion)

[Slow Foxtrot]

I totally agree with Cunard seeing their future in the German market.

 

But success will only come if they stay being a really British company and holding up all British traditions on their ships.

 

Cunard may well think that their future lies in the German market but reports from the recent QM2 cruises that have collected passengers from Hamburg indicate that the general ambience that one would expect from a Cunard voyage was not what it should be - to put it politely!

Certainly, Basil Fawlty would not have approved.

[cunardaddict]

Cunard may well think that their future lies in the German market but reports from the recent QM2 cruises that have collected passengers from Hamburg indicate that the general ambience that one would expect from a Cunard voyage was not what it should be - to put it politely!

Certainly, Basil Fawlty would not have approved.

 

We in Germany never approved Basil Fawltys understanding of hospitality, but I must admit that he represented very well the average hotel patron in England.

 

In fact, the last TA to Hamburg wasn't as bad as i.e. the Norway-cruises from/to Hamburg. well, I havn't met any steering passengers...

 

BTW: Beer gardens seem to be a very German institution, but, in fact, they aren't. 99% of Germans drink their afternoon beer at home. Some Bavarians, Austrians and most international tourists enjoy beer gardens.

[Jimsgirl]

On our 3 T/As, the daily programs listed dancing to recorded music after the band stopped each night. But we found that you had to "occupy" the dance floor for them to keep playing the music. If everyone sat out a song, that would be it. They would stop the music. Sometimes you only got one song.

 

Once night there were a few couples dancing and after about 3 songs the cleaning crews set up ladders on the dance floor and started cleaning the lights. We asked them to stop, which they did, but then they turned up all the lights and started using vacuum and steam cleaners which drowned out the music. And as soon as we all sat out one song, the music stopped. Even though the program listed dancing until 12:30AM, they closed up around 11:45.

 

 

 

 

Hmmm So the cleaning crew decide when passengers should leave the Queens Room.!

 

Yes they have their work to do, but the Cruise Director and the Housekeeping Manager should get together and schedule tat such areas as the Queens Room should be cleaned after ALL the passengers have left.

 

I am sure the cleaner "boss" could have found somewhere else to clean until all passengers had left the room.

[Dancer Bob]

Ah yes, Midsomer, the "Cunard tradition", as Trevor Newbie says, of quickstep after quickstep after quickstep. How Marketing expects to keep younger passengers unless there's a radical makeover in music escapes me.

I agree the Caribbean bands are a much under-appreciated resource, they could do a lot better if they were given the opportunity and mandate. I also gather they are treated quite badly compared to the other musicians which doesn't help their morale.

Although with these absurd "party" nights, you can get the same kind of non-dancing on other ships for far less money. There's lots of very good contemporary music, although perhaps a bit stronger in Latin than Ballroom, that Cunard could be differentiating themselves from the mass-market pack.

I recall one of our German friends posting that Cunard had booked a large group with a rock band from Hamburg and told them they could do pretty much what they wanted- without making any effort to allow existing passengers expecting a Cunard experience to cancel. He seemed just as appalled as the rest of us.

[Salacia]

Ah yes, Midsomer, the "Cunard tradition", as Trevor Newbie says, of quickstep after quickstep after quickstep. How Marketing expects to keep younger passengers unless there's a radical makeover in music escapes me.

I agree the Caribbean bands are a much under-appreciated resource, they could do a lot better if they were given the opportunity and mandate. I also gather they are treated quite badly compared to the other musicians which doesn't help their morale.

Although with these absurd "party" nights, you can get the same kind of non-dancing on other ships for far less money. There's lots of very good contemporary music, although perhaps a bit stronger in Latin than Ballroom, that Cunard could be differentiating themselves from the mass-market pack.

I recall one of our German friends posting that Cunard had booked a large group with a rock band from Hamburg and told them they could do pretty much what they wanted- without making any effort to allow existing passengers expecting a Cunard experience to cancel. He seemed just as appalled as the rest of us.

That's if the passengers who have already booked that "Rock" cruise even know what has been planned for their voyage! If not, there's going to be some really surprised passenger:eek:

 

 

[RobertQM2]

.............We need more dancers like you- what made you decide not to come back?

Oh we'll be back as soon as the itinerary fits to our needs. Or it'll be another TA by next year.

[lucky white heather]

[/color]

 

That's if the passengers who have already booked that "Rock" cruise even know what has been planned for their voyage! If not, there's going to be some really surprised passenger:eek:

 

 

 

Absolutely true, Salacia! I even wrote to Peter Shanks to make sure we had booked (a similar sail date cruise) without being made aware of any change from the regular Cunard cruise experience we were expecting ..got an immediate reply telling me that cruise was a special "charter" .(I hope my grammar here makes sense! It seems wrong but you'll know what I am trying to say!)

But that does not excuse not telling people it will be a different type cruise!