Queen Victoria Queens Grill Questions

[MissSarahB]

Booked a Queens Grill Suite on Queen Victoria and I have a couple of questions as I have been watching loads of YouTube videos
 

Can anyone help with what drinks are available for when you set up a mini bar, I have heard you get a list to pick from when you arrive at your suite but I can’t find what drinks are on offer.  One YouTube video says the list of what you can have is very limited and I am worried that there won’t be anything I like to drink.  Does anyone have a list of what they offer?

 

On other videos I have seen they have shown a Pengaligans perfume set, is this available for all suites or just those at the top end?

 

Really looking forward to my first Queens Grill experience when it finally happens later this year.

[Sue-B]

I keep meaning to take a photo of the menu but forget every time! No doubt someone will post one on here for you.

 

I’m sure they’ll be something on there that you’ll like - from memory there’s a choice of spirits - options are limited but have brands like like grey goose vodka, Bombay sapphire gin, or options of wine, think there are 4 different red and 4 whites on the list - we tend to choose the merlot after testing them all over the years, that’s the best one suited to us!  The fridge in your room will already be stocked with mini tonic/soda waters, cans of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi & lemonade, along with a couple of cans of Heineken beer.  You can have any soft drinks you want in there - just ask the butler and they’ll sort - we always take everything out and ask for Diet Coke and diet lemonade/sprite, along with slimline tonic - so you can easily adjust the soft drinks to your taste etc. they restock the fridge drinks frequently, both in the morning and at turndown each night.  You also get large bottles of sparkling and still water, again just ask if you prefer just sparkling for example.  We’ve also found the wine gets replenished too - as soon as a bottle is half way down another to replace it magically appears - never got through a whole litre of spirits so not sure they’ll replace those in the same way! 
 

The perfume is not available in most QG suites - we had the pleasure of a Q1 sailing once, and we got them in there, but typically go Q4-6 and you don’t get them in there.  
 

Pre-covid there were lots of amenities already in the bathroom, like cotton buds, nail files etc, but they’ve stopped putting them in as standard, you can ask for them and they normally arrive quickly.  
 

I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful trip, once you’ve been in QG I’ve found it’s ever so hard to book anything else! Happy holidays 😀

[MissSarahB]

@Sue-B Thanks so much for your answer.  I’m not much of a wine drinker, like sweet white and rose only or sweet sparkling such as Asti, my boyfriend jokes they are not what he considers wine as they are too sweet.

 

My main drinks are Archers and Malibu, I drink fruit gins but can’t imagine they will be available.

 

I had a feeling the perfumes were only for the higher suites, me and my friend are in a Q5, it’s a girlie holiday for her 60th and a chance for her to get over the last couple of years where she has lost both her mum and dad.

 

Again thanks for answering

[Sue-B]

No problem @MissSarahB

What a lovely girls trip it will be - I’m sure you and your friend will make some lovely memories, and sorry to hear of her loss.  
 

You can always ask for different spirits from the butler, but definitely not guaranteed to get something you like, there are no fruit gins on the list - I love them too and would remember if they were available!
 

I would suggest that you take a bottle or two of whatever you like to drink on board to have in your room, and just use the mini bar for sodas etc.  Malibu and pineapple juice is a classic - I always order fresh orange from the breakfast menu in the morning and have in the fridge to go with the vodka! 👍😀

 

I can’t remember if there’s a rose wine on the list you can choose from, but there should be a lovely bottle of LP champagne on ice in your room when you arrive 😀

Edited June 19, 2023 by Sue-B

[Lynnewob]

This was the list in Oct 2019 but they may have updated it since then.

 

You can also ask to see if they have a drink that you like available as a substitution to the offering on the list. Sometimes it's available, sometimes not, so you take a chance.

 

You can take your own on board and use the mixers (ie. coke/lemonade) in the mini bar which are replenished when empty.

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Lynnewob

[torsonwheels]

Sorry to jump on this post but can anyone advise as to whether cider could be provided instead of beer?

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, Lynnewob said:

This was the list in Oct 2019 but they may have updated it since then.

 

You can also ask to see if they have a drink that you like available as a substitution to the offering on the list. Sometimes it's available, sometimes not, so you take a chance.

 

You can take your own on board and use the mixers (ie. coke/lemonade) in the mini bar which are replenished when empty.

 

It is very similar but noticeably for me, the Yealands Sauvignon Blanc has been replaced by a Petal and Stem Sauvignon Blanc.

[exlondoner]

The gins have changed too: there are now (or last month) Gordon’s, three types of Cunard gin, and one other, which I can’t remember.

[Victoria2]

20 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

The gins have changed too: there are now (or last month) Gordon’s, three types of Cunard gin, and one other, which I can’t remember.

Bombay Sapphire, my gin of choice off the in room list is always there.

[Wonky]

On 6/19/2023 at 6:39 AM, torsonwheels said:

Sorry to jump on this post but can anyone advise as to whether cider could be provided instead of beer?

Yes, I was able to get it, possibly how you ask for it helps!

[LittleFish1976]

This is what was available on the list on QE in February this year. The struck-through items were unavailable.

 

 

F7B2AFB0-71E3-4F8B-BD18-328838B18138.heic C95D8AC9-7C46-4F9A-8838-EB0A4D74B5F0.heic

[techteach]

@LittleFish1976 Thanks for posting. I certainly hope there is better availability now.

[Victoria2]

34 minutes ago, techteach said:

@LittleFish1976 Thanks for posting. I certainly hope there is better availability now.

So do I!!!

I don't look at the list really, just tick my usuals, but I'm  sure our list was longer and it def had no exclusions.

 

I'll take a photo the next time I'm onboard.

 

[exlondoner]

18 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

So do I!!!

I don't look at the list really, just tick my usuals, but I'm  sure our list was longer and it def had no exclusions.

 

I'll take a photo the next time I'm onboard.

 

Quite right. Definitely longer. I’ve never seen items crossed out.

[techteach]

I’ll be on board June 30th. I’ll take a pic and post.

[Victoria2]

17 minutes ago, techteach said:

I’ll be on board June 30th. I’ll take a pic and post.

Excellent, and I'm on QV after you so I'll photo and post.

 

I wonder if the list varies between the ships?

[techteach]

  @Victoria2 “I wonder if the list varies between the ships?” I had the same wonder, but it wouldn’t make organizational sense to do that.

[Host Hattie]

It probably varies between parts of the world.  Supply chains can be difficult when the ship is a long way from their home port.

[Victoria2]

8 minutes ago, techteach said:

  @Victoria2 “I wonder if the list varies between the ships?” I had the same wonder, but it wouldn’t make organizational sense to do that.

and your point is??????😄

 

Seriously though, HH has a point. That or our friends down under and other ports of QE's call drank the Quartermasters stores dry! 😄

Edited June 21, 2023 by Victoria2

[NE John]

10 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

This is what was available on the list on QE in February this year. The struck-through items were unavailable.

 

 

F7B2AFB0-71E3-4F8B-BD18-328838B18138.heic 1.79 MB · 25 downloads C95D8AC9-7C46-4F9A-8838-EB0A4D74B5F0.heic 1.61 MB · 14 downloads

Technically, Jack Daniels isn’t Bourbon because it’s not distilled in Kentucky. JD is Tennessee Sour Mash and very different from the Blue Grass state offerings. 
Cunard Grill guests should at least be offered Makers Mark or very least Jim Beam Bourbons. 

[techteach]

@Victoria2 It would be far easier to have one list and be able to purchase in a larger quantity for every ship and distribute to the proper ports as needed. It would be interesting to know if they see a difference in what is chosen based on the area of the world where the cruise originates. Do QG passengers embarking in NY headed to Boston ordering the same items as QG touring Japan and headed to Alaska? I remember many years ago talking with a VP from HAL and learning they source all of their meat from one place and it is shipped to where it’s needed. This was many years ago so I don’t know if they still do that or not.

[LittleFish1976]

12 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

It probably varies between parts of the world.  Supply chains can be difficult when the ship is a long way from their home port.

 

The QG sommelier told me that all supplies of drinks (and I'm sure many other things) are all delivered to Southampton and can only be replenished when the ships are in that port. Given it's months between visits there during their southern hemisphere summer season it seems that that strategy leads to inconvenient shortages. The only way they could resolve the problem (if they insist on only replenishing in Southampton) is to load enough stock to cover the months away from 'home'. Clearly that's an imposition on the storage space and weight and I suppose an undesirable solution. I was very disappointed to find a number of wines in the QG dining room (well, the whole ship, in fact) were out of stock including the English sparkling wine which given I had the drinks package was something I had been looking forward to trying. No acceptable alternative was offerred; I was told that there was prosecco (no thanks). I ended up paying for champagne on occasion as a result.

 

Given Cunard travel from Australia to Japan for a shortish season there and from there to Alaska, I cannot fathom how they could realistically offer an acceptable level of wines on board to satisfy those markets if the explanation given to me were correct. They must have re-stocked after their Aust/NZ season.

 

I felt that, in that regard at least, the ship presented poorly here despite there being other quality wines in stock. There was just a few too many out of stock. Also, I don't recall either QE or QM2 having had this problem in the past although I did chose differently having the package this time.

 

The list for the QG cabin was odd to say the least.

 

[LittleFish1976]

12 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

and your point is??????😄

 

Seriously though, HH has a point. That or our friends down under and other ports of QE's call drank the Quartermasters stores dry! 😄

 

Maybe the ship had been drained of provisions prior to arriving here!

 

Nothing to stop the company having orders delivered directly to distant ports if they can't for whatever reason transport adequate stock onboard their own ships from Southampton.

[Victoria2]

18 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Maybe the ship had been drained of provisions prior to arriving here!

 

Nothing to stop the company having orders delivered directly to distant ports if they can't for whatever reason transport adequate stock onboard their own ships from Southampton.

Which is why I added 'other ports of call' but running out of certain stock is rather strange when one assumes Australia just might have liquor storage somewhere Cunard could access.

 

 DHL anyone? 🙂

[exlondoner]

I have certainly seen things like bottled water taken on in ports other than Soton.  Barcelona perhaps or Civitavecchia?  However, those are both ports where Carnival has a presence. Just before Covid, I was talking to the F and B manager’s wife, who said that, in years gone by,her husband often used to go ashore and more or less buy whatever was in the market, but now the suppliers very very strictly controlled, though she didn’t say they were confined to Southampton.