How to have a Cunard-QM2-like experience on MSC

[Skipper Tim]

I returned from a Transatlantic to New York aboard Queen Mary 2 the day before Boxing Day. You can read the blow-by-blow account in my blog over on the Cunard forum (linked to in my signature below) but I thought I would share a few thoughts here in comparison to MSC.

 

From the outset, I would say that Cunard's QM2 is unique. The ship is unlike any other and remains a one-off, not in any class. Her ocean-liner credentials stem from her long bows, reinforced hull, power to 'cruise' at 30 knots (35 mph), extra stabilisers, etc. in order to be capable of maintaining a scheduled trans-oceanic timetable regardless of weather, all year round. The only way to make such a vessel commercially viable was to make her huge for the economies of scale and she was, for a time, the largest passenger ship ever built. She remains the only significant ocean liner built since the QE2 of 1969 that she has replaced.

 

So much for the ship. The guest experience of the QM2 is one of nostalgia for Cunard of a hundred years ago - afternoon tea, paintings of Cunard liners of old, constant references to the heritage of very tenuous connections to the current owners (Carnival) - combined with a modern cruise ship and the penny-pinching of a modern American cruise line. In my blog, I pointed out the deterioration in service and standards since my only previous Cunard sailing, on the QE2 nine years earlier. Here, I can compare with MSC.

 

Cunard has a 'British' theme targeted primarily at the North American market. Most Brits won't notice it, as I didn't originally on the QE2, because everything aboard seems so American - U.S. Dollars as onboard currency, iced water with every meal, abundance of steak, the usual fake-friendly, slightly intrusive service, ridiculously high bar prices with options for extra 'gratuities' on every chit above the automatic 15%, lectures geared towards a U.S. audience, fried eggs that have to be ordered "over easy" to have them cooked, etc. etc.. It was a revelation to me after the QE2 that Cunard was intending to be at all British.

 

MSC on the other hand, appear to me to be over-the-top Italian. More Italian than Italy. I wonder how Italians regard MSC?

 

There is however a huge difference between an American line pretending to be British for the American market to an Italian line being a little OTT in its Italian-ness for Italians, and the rest of the World.

 

On Cunard, the language is English. The one compromise is that the Captain's daily announcement was repeated in German then French by other staff. Otherwise, all signs, menus and other information is in English only.

 

Lunch and dinner have just three courses! After MSC's 7, this was quite a shock. Taken as a whole, there were a tiny fraction of menu choices on Cunard compared to MSC. I would give the edge to MSC in terms of food quality.

 

Open sitting breakfast and lunch works a little better for the anti-social on Cunard. On the QE2, open sitting was just that - we walked into the restaurant through any entrance and sat where we liked. All tables were set and the waiters came running with menus and place napkins on our laps. On the QM2, the system was to queue at the main entrance and be allocated a table by the maitre d' according to preference. There are plenty of 2 and 4 tables so this was not an issue.

 

I have had varied experiences of MSC open-sitting but all have involved a degree of cajoling and kettling to encourage guests to sit at large tables with the people who arrive around the same time, all seated together in one section of the MDR until it is full and they open the next. I am especially anti-social in the mornings and just want a quiet table to myself/ourselves and not the templated 3rd degree questioning from strangers - "How many cruises have you done?" etc.. This experience was the worst on the Armonia when smaller tables were not even set for open-sitting meals and we were told that we could not have a table to ourselves. We left the first morning and never had an MDR breakfast on that cruise. On the QM2, we were able to have them almost every morning.

 

The final advantages I will give to Cunard are a little more space everywhere, especially noticeable in the buffet, their excellent libraries and 'enrichment' lectures. On the QM2 there were four concurrent series of lectures taking place on quite diverse subjects and delivered by truly accomplished and engaging speakers. Due to the multi-lingual core of the MSC onboard experience, these latter two would be difficult to match.

 

Where MSC excels is in the manner of service. It felt terribly hard-sell on the QM2 in comparison. Cunard staff were forever approaching and opening leads to a sale, whether bar staff, sommeliers, restaurant managers, tour staff, bingo sales, spa, art, every possible type of selling and up-selling opportunity was explored. This was a source of constant irritation. Not as bad as Royal Caribbean but still bad and most unwelcome. MSC staff remain professionally discreet and dignified in comparison.

 

I would also give the prize to MSC for their decor. I expected the QM2 to be beautiful. She was but in the way that an old wooden-panelled department store is compared to a modern one. The QM2 wooden panelling is actually laminate and the same is used throughout the ship with very little break. The decor on the MSC ships I have experienced is stunning, imaginative and tasteful. MSC has a far greater artistic flair on display.

 

So to the title. One would not want to recreate the worse aspects of Cunard but one can have the best of MSC and some of the best of a Cunard QM2 cruise by doing the following.

 

1) Choose a Fantasia class ship (Fantasia, Splendida, Divina, Preziosa). They are the same size as the QM2 to within a few percent in every dimension and have a commensurate range of facilities.

 

2) Avoid peak holiday times. The maximum capacity of the Fantasia class is almost 50% higher than the QM2, swelled by free children and all those pop-down bunks.

 

3) Choose a repositioning cruise. There is nothing like a Transatlantic to recreate the sensation of being on a ... Transatlantic!

 

4) Take your own library. The QM2 has 10,000 books in hers. You may not need so many but take more than you need on your tablet or e-reader to remove the need from visiting the library.

 

5) Take some learning material. Choose one topic or skill you would like to learn or brush up on - in place of Cunard's enrichment programme.

 

6) Give the maitre d' a hard time. Get what you want from your dining experiences by not taking "no" for an answer on table selection. Incidentally, one tenet of Cunard's White Star Service is that they are never allowed to use the word "no". I had great fun with this :). Report anyone on MSC for using the 'N' word.

 

7) Go for Allegrissimo. This includes so much more that would cost a fortune on Cunard - drinks and decent coffee for a start.

 

8) Seek out classical music and take your own pizza (from the buffet) in place of afternoon tea.

 

9) Always over-dress. MSC dress-code is less formal and less strictly enforced (Cunard requires anyone not complying to either remain in the buffet or their cabins and should not be seen elsewhere, "out of respect to fellow guests"). Be rebellious, dress formally on informal nights!

 

10) Order 7 courses at dinner and take two hours over them. Cunard will never compete in this regard.

 

Looking forward to my next MSC repo,

Edited December 27, 2014 by Skipper Tim

[Babyeddiedog]

Thanks for all the great advice Tim. We were going to try the very same QM2 cruise but were a little worried so went with MSC for the first time. We really enjoyed it and think, after your posting, we made the right decision.

 

We discussed many of your 10 points as real positives, and certainly appreciated the seven courses in the MDR each evening. We loved the 'not in your face' service and of course the Allegrissimo. I would echo not to travel at peak periods, we had excellent service until the last night when the ship was full to capacity. It really does make a difference.

[sidari]

Tim ... what you said about QM2 and an old department store is how we thought of the Queen Victoria, with regard to having to dress to please others this is one reason that we are not likely to travel with Cunard again.

[Skipper Tim]

"the day before Boxing Day" should have read "the day before Christmas Eve". I call it dyslexia, others may call it differently.

[Skipper Tim]

Twith regard to having to dress to please others this is one reason that we are not likely to travel with Cunard again.

 

One always has to dress to please others.

 

I had to confess on the QM2 at dinner that I only wear suits on holiday. Having said that, holidays are very important to me and I have around 20 suits :).

 

My good friend at university approached the careers service there at the time with his one requirement - any job that required him to wear a suit with no compromises - dress-down Fridays etc.. Studying physics, he ended up as a patent solicitor, always able to wear a suit.

 

I am readying my suits for my next holiday. I know I will be the only one in the hotel, at least initially, wearing a suit.

 

When everyone dresses up, it raises the ambience and increases mutual respect.

 

Everyone looks better dressed up.

[sidari]

So if we see someone in a suit in the buffet at lunch it may be you! After 30 years in a uniform I do not do dressing up during the day.

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

Hi Tim,

 

Thank you so much for this thread. We were looking at two cruises for 2015 ... one is the MSC Armonia and the other Queen Victoria. Besides the fact that the Cunard ship would be twice as expensive, we decided to go for the Armonia because on our last (first) MSC cruise we also enjoyed all the stuff you mentioned in your post.

 

Thank you for a great post at exactly the right time.

 

Lol -- and the sentence with the 20 exclusively holiday suits made my day. Thank you for that as well.

 

Stef