Cunard to do away with Grills?

[cunardaddict]

Well, there are a few Q1 passengers who live "classy". I remember the Rothchilds on QM2 WC 2012. But who would argue this?

 

I personally travel Grills because I have to work at a useful desk in privacy most days - if I couldn't do this I would not be able to travel at all - and I admit that I enjoy some of the features like the restaurant service and the lounge s well as the possibility to be able to avoid long qeues by using the concierge desk. Priority embarkation comes with the higher CWC status.

 

I do not make much use of the Grills open deck and I can live without the free bottle of spirits as I do not drinks spirits. A butler has certainly not a lot to do for me and some of the boys and girls looking after the balconie state rooms on deck 11 and 12 are mor helpful and much friendlier than a certain butler on deck 9 midship.

[2irisheyes]

Sinova - money is no indication of class. Does Air Canada have different "classes" of seating? Is it British? The name indicates not. I don't know the answer as I have never travelled Air Canada. If AC does have different priced seats should it do away with an outdated system - as you put it.

[balf]

Sinova:

. Some will chose to go Grills and others will not.

 

The majority don't have the choice, they can't afford Grills.

 

David.

[cunardaddict]

The majority don't have the choice, they can't afford Grills.

 

David.

 

The "majority" has no chance of a choice as they cannot afford to travel at all, hence certainly not on a luxury cruise ship or a luxury ocean liner.

 

Sorry, can't see your point.

[Jayneykul]

If we won the lottery a cruise in grills is one of the first choices we would make! We were on both Celebrity and Cunard last year and have cruises booked on them both for this year. There is no comparison to the food in the MDR on Celebrity and Britannia on Cunard. We are more than happy to dine in Britannia on Cunard and have a balcony cabin on Celebrity we have to upgrade to at least Aqua to ensure we have the dining option of Blu. The food in Britannia is excellent so what the grills must be can only imagine

[paulista1950]

"there is an increasing trend to entice passengers to book suites by providing all kinds of separate areas - many of which are far more intensive than those limited areas for Grill passengers on Cunard ships."

[balf]

The "majority" has no chance of a choice as they cannot afford to travel at all, hence certainly not on a luxury cruise ship or a luxury ocean liner.

 

Sorry, can't see your point.

 

The point should be obvious if you look at the difference in prices between Grills and Brittania. Of course the majority can afford to travel and take cruises. They can afford one but not the other.

 

Seen another way do you think people fly economy rather than bussiness or first out of choice?. Of course not.

 

David.

[david,Mississauga]

Sinova - money is no indication of class. Does Air Canada have different "classes" of seating? Is it British? The name indicates not. I don't know the answer as I have never travelled Air Canada. If AC does have different priced seats should it do away with an outdated system - as you put it.

 

Air Canada does indeed have classes - as do most major airlines. It is Business and Economy on most flights, but on some planes they have three classes, as on many European and US airlines.

 

Business fares on Air Canada are usually beyond my budget, but when flying on points I always fly in the front cabin. It is a different world up there, especially if it is a plane configured for international runs even when in domestic service.

 

VIA Rail Canada offers a first class (even if it is now called Business Class) on most "corridor" trains and sleeper class on the long-hauls - just like Amtrak in the USA and on the railways of many other countries.

 

Let us not forget hotels with their Gold/club/concierge floors. Class divisions are everywhere when travelling.

[2irisheyes]

david,M - thank you for your explanation which I didn't really need. The point I was trying to make to sinova was that Cunard is not the only transport company with different classes and that it is not only the British nation which has different classes so why the dig.

[balf]

Went to our local cinema yesterday and the best seats are now sold as "premium"

 

If anyone is bothered by this I think will have to get used to it.

 

Everyone is on the game.

 

David.

[keithm]

If we won the lottery a cruise in grills is one of the first choices we would make! We were on both Celebrity and Cunard last year and have cruises booked on them both for this year. There is no comparison to the food in the MDR on Celebrity and Britannia on Cunard. We are more than happy to dine in Britannia on Cunard and have a balcony cabin on Celebrity we have to upgrade to at least Aqua to ensure we have the dining option of Blu. The food in Britannia is excellent so what the grills must be can only imagine

All I can say, was that the food in Moonlight Sonata on the Eclipse(this past Jan.) was far better than what we experienced in Brittania in the last several years. That's not to say the food was poor in Britannia, just not the variety & quality. We're in the catering business, so we know about good food.

[Chunky2219]

"there is an increasing trend to entice passengers to book suites by providing all kinds of separate areas - many of which are far more intensive than those limited areas for Grill passengers on Cunard ships."

Maybe I misunderstand your point but I've never met a Grills passenger who would be attracted just by separate areas away from the hoi polloi. Maybe a sundeck without the towel placing chair hogs is a modest benefit but it's certainly not worth the extra cash.

 

The grills are about food quality and cabin size. That's primarily what people pay for.

 

I've just this morning been looking at a voyage with NCL, to take the whole family either in a 3 bedroomed "garden villa" or else several suites. The accomodation looks terrific, but the need to go speciality dining every night to get food quailty to match the real estate has made it a non-starter for us.

 

.

[david,Mississauga]

david,M - thank you for your explanation which I didn't really need. The point I was trying to make to sinova was that Cunard is not the only transport company with different classes and that it is not only the British nation which has different classes so why the dig.

 

Indeed, I understood your posting. My response was inspired by your comments and was not directed to you, but to others.

[BobBranst]

We're in the catering business, so we know about good food.

My experience has been such that I would never put "catering" and "good food" in the same sentence.:D

[keithm]

My experience has been such that I would never put "catering" and "good food" in the same sentence.:D

You get what you pay for!! If you get people who want food at say $5 per head v/s $150 per head, I think you'll agree the food would be rather bland tasting. We do everything from hot dog cookouts to $50K weddings. All depends on what the customer's budget is. I kind of think that the $50K wedding would have somewhat better tasting food than the hotdog cookout. It all depends on what you want to eat & what your budget is. If you had lousy food..well how much did you pay?? Quality costs money my friend, hopefully you'll understand that at your next catered event. Food on Cunard & otherlines is really a form of mass catering. The food quality & taste all depends on what the customer spends. The quality in the Grills is far superior to Britannia simply because the cost per person is much higher.David Mississauga has dined in the Grills & I'll bet he agrees with the quality there versus Britannia. Food is much worse on the cheaper lines(NCL etc.) because their food budgets are low, so poor quality will be diguised with sauces to hid that fact. A good sauce can really improve the taste of a lower quality meal.

[BobBranst]

You get what you pay for!! If you get people who want food at say $5 per head v/s $150 per head, I think you'll agree the food would be rather bland tasting. We do everything from hot dog cookouts to $50K weddings. All depends on what the customer's budget is. I kind of think that the $50K wedding would have somewhat better tasting food than the hotdog cookout. It all depends on what you want to eat & what your budget is. If you had lousy food..well how much did you pay?? Quality costs money my friend, hopefully you'll understand that at your next catered event. Food on Cunard & otherlines is really a form of mass catering. The food quality & taste all depends on what the customer spends. The quality in the Grills is far superior to Britannia simply because the cost per person is much higher.David Mississauga has dined in the Grills & I'll bet he agrees with the quality there versus Britannia. Food is much worse on the cheaper lines(NCL etc.) because their food budgets are low, so poor quality will be diguised with sauces to hid that fact. A good sauce can really improve the taste of a lower quality meal.

I meant that as a joke. However, over the years, I've have had a lot of very mediocre catered meals served that were definately not on the low end budget wise. Your particular company may be very good, but over the years, I have observed that there a lot of people in the catering business who are more than willing to sacrifice quality for maximizing profit.

[cunardaddict]

I, having been a hospitality manager for and grown up in a good hotel, doubt very much that a standard catering is really able to provide top quality. It's a lot of hot air produced in this business nowadays as most people can't even tell the difference except when it comes to brand names and key products.

 

Not every lobster is a good one and a student is far from beeing a professional waiter.

[balf]

You get what you pay for!! l.

 

Or rather you hope to. But I agree with you. People complain about the food but forget how little they pay, except for those who rate the food in Britannia as perfect, but then I wonder sometimes what they eat at home.

 

David.

[bazzaw]

Or rather you hope to. But I agree with you. People complain about the food but forget how little they pay, except for those who rate the food in Britannia as perfect, but then I wonder sometimes what they eat at home.

 

David.

 

David

 

We eat VERY well at home. My wife cooks mainly Italian -- and I cook Asian (mostly Indian and Thai with a smattering of Malaysian) . I would be quite happy to put my Indian cooking up against anything that I have had on a cruiseship - including the "famous" P&O Indian nights.

 

But, in spite of that, we still enjoy the food on all of the cruiseships we have sailed on. Of course, we are realistic in our expectations. It is, after all, mass production onboard. Anybody who expects Haute Cuisine on a cruiseship - is a fool!

 

Barry

[hehny]

I would infer the grills aren't going anywhere from the article sited in this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2022512

 

Looks like Cunard is embracing its heritage.

[cunardaddict]

Or rather you hope to. But I agree with you. People complain about the food but forget how little they pay, except for those who rate the food in Britannia as perfect, but then I wonder sometimes what they eat at home.

 

I do think that most people never achive the cooking capability of a high level mass production. Knowledge of using fresh basic food to prepare decent dishes seem to dissapear.

 

Deep freezers, industrial conveniance products and microwave ovens have ruined the food culture of the wesrern world.

 

In the 60s business people went to a restaurant for every day's lunch and had a full meal there. Burgers were hardly available.

 

Now chefs are hard to find...

Edited April 8, 2014 by cunardaddict

[balf]

 

We eat VERY well at home. My wife cooks mainly Italian -- and I cook Asian (mostly Indian and Thai with a smattering of Malaysian) . I would be quite happy to put my Indian cooking up against anything that I have had on a cruiseship - including the "famous" P&O Indian nights.

 

 

 

Barry

 

Sounds like my sort of household Barry.

 

David.

[flag fan]

I hope Cunard doesn't do away with the Grills because I hope to try a Princess Grill for the first time next year.

 

I do not think Cunard will get rid of the Grills, but I do not think it is out of the question. Even if the Grills are making a profit, the question is whether there is a way to make even more by getting rid of them. For example, if the Grill restaurants become extra-cost restaurants open to all passengers, they become a new revenue source. Also, fair or not, a lot of posters (particularly in other boards) disparage the "class system" on Cunard. Getting rid of the Grills may change that negative attitude against the company and help sell more Britannia cabins (as would relaxing the dress standard). Other lines are pretty successful selling suites (and mini-suites) without dedicated restaurants--a special lounge and some in-cabin amenities may be enough to keep the Grill cabins selling at a premium rate while opening up their restaurants to other uses.

 

(I also question whether the Grills sell out that often. I have gotten flyers with specials promoting Princess Grills (P2) for the price of a Britannia Club so there must be some extra Grill cabins Cunard is trying to fill.)

[keithm]

Or rather you hope to. But I agree with you. People complain about the food but forget how little they pay, except for those who rate the food in Britannia as perfect, but then I wonder sometimes what they eat at home.

 

David.

With my partner being a professional chef, it's like the Grills every weekend! The food is good in Britannia, but we noticed the quality had slipped in 2012(on the QV)One hopes that was a rare occurance. Our trip this past jan. On the celebrity Eclipse, the food was outstanding. The fact that Escargots, Shrimp cocktails were posted on the menu as "Celebrity Favorites" was nice. You generally had to "ask" for Shrimp Cocktails on Cunard as it wasn't posted on the menu. The food was so good we plan to cruise this ship again next winter. Hopefully the food will be of the same quality.

[keithm]

I hope Cunard doesn't do away with the Grills because I hope to try a Princess Grill for the first time next year.

 

I do not think Cunard will get rid of the Grills, but I do not think it is out of the question. Even if the Grills are making a profit, the question is whether there is a way to make even more by getting rid of them. For example, if the Grill restaurants become extra-cost restaurants open to all passengers, they become a new revenue source. Also, fair or not, a lot of posters (particularly in other boards) disparage the "class system" on Cunard. Getting rid of the Grills may change that negative attitude against the company and help sell more Britannia cabins (as would relaxing the dress standard). Other lines are pretty successful selling suites (and mini-suites) without dedicated restaurants--a special lounge and some in-cabin amenities may be enough to keep the Grill cabins selling at a premium rate while opening up their restaurants to other uses.

 

(I also question whether the Grills sell out that often. I have gotten flyers with specials promoting Princess Grills (P2) for the price of a Britannia Club so there must be some extra Grill cabins Cunard is trying to fill.)

This all started when the Maire D at Murano on Eclipse told us what he though was going to happen. He was the Maitre D on the QE before he came aboard Celebrity. He stated this transition will not happen over night. Still I wonder how accurate he was. I could see some part of the Grills being opened to standard pax as extra cost.