Live from…. Victoria, Cunard Vs Celebrity, Grills Vs the Retreat

[Jack E Dawson]

goryjm,

We are very much enjoying your photos. Not sure if you are a trained photographer or if it is just a hobby but you certainly know how to frame a shot to tell a story.

Thanks

Jack

[techteach]

!!! No Bloody Mary’s for breakfast?!!! @groryjm I’m glad to see you took matters into your own hands. I thought nothing was too much to request.

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, techteach said:

!!! No Bloody Mary’s for breakfast?!!! @groryjm I’m glad to see you took matters into your own hands. I thought nothing was too much to request.

I have seen people drinking champagne for breakfast - on a birthday. This was presumably by prior arrangement, like all special requests.

[techteach]

@exlondoner Champagne makes me sleepy. Bloody Mary has the spice that cuts through Eggs Benedict, or tasty bacon or sausage. It declares that a new day of vacation has begun and often leads me to a slot machine. Special request it shall be and please include celery and 2 olives. If marinated asparagus or green bean is available that would give me my veggies for the day.

Edited October 14, 2022 by techteach
typo

[groryjm]

8 minutes ago, techteach said:

!!! No Bloody Mary’s for breakfast?!!! @groryjm I’m glad to see you took matters into your own hands. I thought nothing was too much to request.

I didn't manage on our first breakfast in QG on the  first morning they just brought lemon, L&P and tabasco. Yesterday morning however we had brek fast in the room and with the Tomatoe juisce the butler brought along, a few shakes of pepper, the juice of a fresh sqeesed lemon ( I always request fresh WHOLE citrus in the suite and I bring my own squeezer) and 60ml of the gin provided in the room I did a pretty good job. I even managed to shake it with ice as the ice in the bucket in the  fridge was still ok.

 

 

My bar on board...... Citrus, mixers etc  plus 3Qs gin and Campari provided by Cunard . The rest provided by me. We do pack pretty well all bar the kitchen sink......

 

[Host Hattie]

Part of Britannia Breakfast room Service menu

 

[Victoria2]

5 hours ago, DaisyUK said:

Enjoying travelling along with you. We are just off the QE in a Q2 and couldn't agree more about the 2nd WC. Not sure whether the layout is identical on QV, but we spent time walking around in circles looking for the 2nd loo - couldn't believe there wasn't one. That room next to the WC with another dressing table in was a very strange decision we thought. No natural light at all and a perfectly good dressing table in the bedroom, plus a desk in the living room which would have worked fine as a makeshift dressing table if someone was using the sofa bed. The lack of a 2nd loo gave us pause for thought if we wanted to do a longer cruise - I remember last time we were on Regent we caught some stomach bug and without 2x loos we would have been in serious trouble!!

Layout is the same but having been guests in a couple of 1s before the refit, we weren't surprised at the lack of a guest bathroom.

Apart from the fact three weeks is long enough for us at the moment due to health matters, a single bathroom wouldn't deter us. 

[Victoria2]

Lovely to see al the photos but that bar set up. 

 

I'd never be sober!  😄

[Bell Boy]

40 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Part of Britannia Breakfast room Service menu

 

Exactly Hattie, and no problems requesting something special in the Britannia or Britannia Club restaurants. ( within 10 mins of requesting - or better still by prior arrangement)  Had no problem in  August 2021 in PG restaurant  whilst celebrating my breakfast  Birthday .

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by Bell Boy

[Victoria2]

Ask, ask ask! 🙂

[groryjm]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

Part of Britannia Breakfast room Service menu

 

Ah... But on Celebrity in Upper suites such things are included and no charge although charged for everyone else regardless of package. In this thread my aim is to compare two similar products and highlight differences

 

[Bell Boy]

10 minutes ago, groryjm said:

Ah... But on Celebrity in Upper suites such things are included and no charge although charged for everyone else regardless of package. In this thread my aim is to compare two similar products and highlight differences

 

We've got the Gist ! 

As  with any 'All Inclusive' cruise,  you/we have already paid for this in the original booking,  sorry there is no such thing as a free Lunch ! 

I've just disembarked from Silversea ...Champagne & Caviar on tap 24/7 ........it cost me a Bob or two. 

[Host Hattie]

Sorry, didn't mean to distract from your great reports, just showing that Cunard do understand that people might want alcohol with breakfast.

[Redking]

5 hours ago, groryjm said:

I didn't manage on our first breakfast in QG on the  first morning they just brought lemon, L&P and tabasco. Yesterday morning however we had brek fast in the room and with the Tomatoe juisce the butler brought along, a few shakes of pepper, the juice of a fresh sqeesed lemon ( I always request fresh WHOLE citrus in the suite and I bring my own squeezer) and 60ml of the gin provided in the room I did a pretty good job. I even managed to shake it with ice as the ice in the bucket in the  fridge was still ok.

 

 

My bar on board...... Citrus, mixers etc  plus 3Qs gin and Campari provided by Cunard . The rest provided by me. We do pack pretty well all bar the kitchen sink......

 

My goodness how much Booze is included in your bar set up? Did you bring your own vermouth again? 

[groryjm]

55 minutes ago, Redking said:

My goodness how much Booze is included in your bar set up? Did you bring your own vermouth again? 

All that is included is 2 bottles of spirits but Cunard have an adult approach to booze you can bring into the cabin.

 

From the FAQ on Cunards web site....

 

Can I bring alcohol on board to consume in my cabin or in restaurants?

Answer

You may bring beer, wine or spirits on board (subject to the age limit law of the Port of departure) to celebrate special occasions. However if it is consumed in any of the dining rooms, alternative restaurants or bars then each bottle will be subject to a corkage fee of $25 (fee subject to change). There is no corkage fee if it is consumed in your cabin. Wine and champagne gifts purchased via the Cunard Gift Collection are exempt from the corkage fee, please show your gift card to your waiter.......

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/frequently-asked-questions.life-on-board.faq390.summary

[groryjm]

3 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Sorry, didn't mean to distract from your great reports, just showing that Cunard do understand that people might want alcohol with breakfast.

Thanks, I wasn't intending to be confrontational . From what I have seen on the room service menu and breakfast hangers a Bloody mary would be charged as shown on your image of the door hanger.

 

This is th X upper suite hanger  that is for Royal, Penthouse suites only, Q2 and Q1 equivilants

 

 

If I ordered it at a bar it would be covered by the packgage I have bought but our lovely waitress said that the bar , and I asume she meant the Grils lounge, didn't  open until 10 am so she could not get one in the Queens Grill resturaunt..... 

 

I will try to find an open  bar tomorow morning and a take one in to breakfast with me. prehaps the chart room or winter garden?

 

These are the Celebrity hangers for info the top one is upper suites (Royalsuites , penthouses and reflection suites) The middle is all other suites , aqua and concierge . The bottom is all other cabins

 

[groryjm]

As I have managed to get a bit behind I will just post a few pics from yesterday and the evening before and catch up tonight. I’ll try to get pics of all the menus for tonight as well.

 

The internet is terible, but I don't blame Cunard as the same happens on Celebrity in the fjords. However while on X the internet is just patchy Cunard disconects you after two hours and you are forced to trapse through a long process to get back on line.... Don't ask me about Cunards Myvoyage web/app! 

 

Wed lunch and High tea in Princess grill

 

 

 

 

 

 

The North sea........

 

[techteach]

6 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Part of Britannia Breakfast room Service menu

 

How does that Bloody Mary taste? How spicy is it? Do they use a quality Vodka? Alaska Airlines, our go to home town airline, uses hometown distilled Tito’s, which I do not like. Thanks for posting this HH.

[techteach]

6 hours ago, groryjm said:

I didn't manage on our first breakfast in QG on the  first morning they just brought lemon, L&P and tabasco. Yesterday morning however we had brek fast in the room and with the Tomatoe juisce the butler brought along, a few shakes of pepper, the juice of a fresh sqeesed lemon ( I always request fresh WHOLE citrus in the suite and I bring my own squeezer) and 60ml of the gin provided in the room I did a pretty good job. I even managed to shake it with ice as the ice in the bucket in the  fridge was still ok.

 

 

My bar on board...... Citrus, mixers etc  plus 3Qs gin and Campari provided by Cunard . The rest provided by me. We do pack pretty well all bar the kitchen sink......

 

That is a most impressive bar. Did you bring your own bitters?

[groryjm]

Black and White Gala.... 

 

 

 

We had Caviar to start, with iced vodka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

for desert we both choose the Grand Marnier soufflé. I thought a glass of said would make a nice accoumpniament and asked are excelent somelier, Stallin, for a glass. He said he was affraid they had none. I pionted out the bottle not two feet away that the Md was using to flame a duck in . On futher enquirey it is apparrently Curaçao but in a Grand Marnier bottle. So what is in the soufflé?

 

Don't mistake my intentions here. The souffle was actually superb 😊

 

 

Post diner drinkies

 

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by groryjm

[groryjm]

8 minutes ago, techteach said:

That is a most impressive bar. Did you bring your own bitters?

 My Gatrognome likes a simple gin and bitters so we allwsy travel with a pack of minitures for emergancies😮😎

[Victoria2]

The internet on the Norwegian cruises has always had a Norwegian mode. Something to do with deep cuttings, otherwise known as fjords, between high cliffs, otherwise known as mountains!

 

You would think  their tourist industry would flatten these out a bit so cruise passengers could access the internet on a less ad hoc basis!  🙂

 

I got caught out on the first day or so of usage when I didn't realise 24/7 didn't actually mean that and assumed I'd got a problem. Well I did but it was user error 50/50 with lack of usage info from Cunard.

 

It's no great shakes to log in again, a ten second job if fingers are nimble.

 

I have no idea what the app thingy is as it didn't feature on our list of things to use so shows how useful it was for us. Zero! We can definitely live without it.

[groryjm]

Yesterday we arrived in Åndalsnes at about 7.30 and the sight of the snow-capped  peaks  was stunning ….

 

 

Then the sun started to rise and really brought home how beautiful Norway can be

 

[Victoria2]

Although  my husband would go bonkers if I used the camera to film our food, I have to say your photos are wonderful.

 

Is that Jane serving you in one of them?

[swjumbo]

Really enjoying your posts, especially the menus and food photos.

Few questions please.

What’s the age demographic?

Is QG on a par with Murano and is it relaxed or stuffy?

Any chance you can take a discreet pic of how people are dressed in the evening please? She wants to know what to pack in a few weeks.

Thanks a lot and keep

up the great work!

Edited October 15, 2022 by swjumbo