Super organised - all speciality dining and shows booked for Iona at the stroke of midnight!

[Megabear2]

15 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

I would happily go back to when there were no speciality restaurants when the MDR food was far superior to now and we had proper wine waiters and silver service, although I am probably in a minority. Dinner then was a far better experience than it is now.

The one that's going to be interesting in this respect is actually over on Cunard.  I've just been sent the blurb on Queen Anne's "speciality restaurants" for my cruise next September and there's quite a lot of them.  Part of the Cunard experience is obviously the dining including people paying much higher fares for Britannia Club never mind the Grills.  My suspicious mind is looking at all these extra charge restaurants and wondering who the bean counters are expecting to fill them.  How many passengers who have paid for instance the Club premium for their dining will spend in these extra pay restaurants.  The cynic in me is looking at the Arvia experiment with dining arrangements and wondering if I'm about to become part of another one on Queen Anne where they are counting on X number using the speciality restaurants and if they've got their numbers wrong ...

[Selbourne]

18 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The one that's going to be interesting in this respect is actually over on Cunard.  I've just been sent the blurb on Queen Anne's "speciality restaurants" for my cruise next September and there's quite a lot of them.  Part of the Cunard experience is obviously the dining including people paying much higher fares for Britannia Club never mind the Grills.  My suspicious mind is looking at all these extra charge restaurants and wondering who the bean counters are expecting to fill them.  How many passengers who have paid for instance the Club premium for their dining will spend in these extra pay restaurants.  The cynic in me is looking at the Arvia experiment with dining arrangements and wondering if I'm about to become part of another one on Queen Anne where they are counting on X number using the speciality restaurants and if they've got their numbers wrong ...

As I think you know, we have booked Britannia Club for our two 14 nighters on Queen Anne next year. As this gives us our own dedicated table, which we can turn up for at any time for any meal, I’m not sure that we would be that bothered about using speciality restaurants as much as we do on P&O, if at all. This facility is primarily what is pulling us over to Cunard. 

We booked speciality restaurants for all but one night on Iona, partly because we are only on the ship for 7 nights and wanted to try everything, but also due to the problems we experienced at both dinner and sea day lunches with freedom dining on Britannia. However, in all honesty, from what I’ve seen when I’ve glanced at the app, and based on feedback from our daughters, it seems much better organised on Iona and the MDR has been really good.  

[Megabear2]

22 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

As I think you know, we have booked Britannia Club for our two 14 nighters on Queen Anne next year. As this gives us our own dedicated table, which we can turn up for at any time for any meal, I’m not sure that we would be that bothered about using speciality restaurants as much as we do on P&O, if at all. This facility is primarily what is pulling us over to Cunard. 

We booked speciality restaurants for all but one night on Iona, partly because we are only on the ship for 7 nights and wanted to try everything, but also due to the problems we experienced at both dinner and sea day lunches with freedom dining on Britannia. However, in all honesty, from what I’ve seen when I’ve glanced at the app, and based on feedback from our daughters, it seems much better organised on Iona and the MDR has been really good.  

Yes I'm aware you are Club on Queen Anne. My point isn't about that, more about myself and the others not booked into that end of the ship.  If I was paying the prices they are quoting for Club or the Grills I wouldn't be using the supplemental dining either and would expect my included dining to be more than sufficient for my dining needs.  I'm never going to be in a financial position to afford these cabin levels on any ship so with such a large number of extra charge restaurants I'm assuming that Britannia class passengers are going to be the ones expected to use them.   My point of concern is how the included dining room seating requirements are being calculated and whether there will be sufficient seating in them to meet everyone's needs without people being forced as they are on Arvia to seek alternatives.

 

I'm unsure if you have seen the details yet.

[FangedRose]

1 hour ago, bee-ess said:

I would happily go back to when there were no speciality restaurants when the MDR food was far superior to now and we had proper wine waiters and silver service, although I am probably in a minority. Dinner then was a far better experience than it is now.

I agree, apart from the so called silver service, on a large table the food was cold by the time everyone was served.

[Windsurfboy]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes I'm aware you are Club on Queen Anne. My point isn't about that, more about myself and the others not booked into that end of the ship.  If I was paying the prices they are quoting for Club or the Grills I wouldn't be using the supplemental dining either and would expect my included dining to be more than sufficient for my dining needs.  I'm never going to be in a financial position to afford these cabin levels on any ship so with such a large number of extra charge restaurants I'm assuming that Britannia class passengers are going to be the ones expected to use them.   My point of concern is how the included dining room seating requirements are being calculated and whether there will be sufficient seating in them to meet everyone's needs without people being forced as they are on Arvia to seek alternatives.

 

I'm unsure if you have seen the details yet.

 

On Cunard there is space for everyone in the MDRs. That is part of promise. That's why even Cunard Brittania is more expensive than equivalent  P&O

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, Windsurfboy said:

That is part of promise.

The promise on building the new ship?  I'm not new to Cunard having been sailing with them for very many years albeit not in high grade cabins and have no knowledge of this promise so would be interested to hear about it.  Having said that until 2021 I never had a problem with dining on P&O either but they have managed spectacularly to create problems on Arvia which seemed to turn my cruise into a game of Mission Impossible if I wasn't booked in advance.

 

I assumed I paid more on Cunard for the far superior experience overall and nothing to do with a seat in the dining room.  That said with all these new dining venues on their new ship someone somewhere must think they can persuade passengers into them, my question is how are they going to do that.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes I'm aware you are Club on Queen Anne. My point isn't about that, more about myself and the others not booked into that end of the ship.  If I was paying the prices they are quoting for Club or the Grills I wouldn't be using the supplemental dining either and would expect my included dining to be more than sufficient for my dining needs.  I'm never going to be in a financial position to afford these cabin levels on any ship so with such a large number of extra charge restaurants I'm assuming that Britannia class passengers are going to be the ones expected to use them.   My point of concern is how the included dining room seating requirements are being calculated and whether there will be sufficient seating in them to meet everyone's needs without people being forced as they are on Arvia to seek alternatives.

 

I'm unsure if you have seen the details yet.

Apologies. Yes, I absolutely get what you are saying and can fully appreciate your concern, especially after all the difficulties you had on Arvia. 
 

As you say, it will be interesting to see. Even when we used suites on P&O we still used specialty restaurants a lot, primarily because you are afforded no dining privileges beyond breakfast. However, as Cunard offer a completely different concept, those in Club and Grills will be less inclined to go elsewhere, other than perhaps for a change of scene  or style of food, so as you predict they might be relying more on Britannia passengers. Hopefully with it being Cunard it won’t be as problematic though 🤞

[Windsurfboy]

Everyone on Cunard can opt for club dining with a fixed table , albeit two sittings in Brittania

Edited August 23, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[Megabear2]

Just now, Windsurfboy said:

Everyone on Cunard can opt for club dining.

Unfortunately not on my last thre3 Queen Mary 2 cruises, two transatlantics and the Coronation one.  I have early club table for 8 as my default at booking as I travel mainly alone or meet up with friends from the US on a transatlantic.  On arrival on both my last voyages I have been moved to "freedom" dining and a card left in my room saying they have booked me a first night table at 8.30pm and I should use the app for the remaining nights.  When asking at the restaurant on both the last two occasions I received an apology that club was over subscribed on both sittings so I could not change back as I had done the first time it happened. I had booked that transatlantic four months before sailing and obviously along with everyone else on the Coronation cruise, the first occasion was booked by my American friends for all three of us nearly nine months before sailing.  I am Diamond on Cunard and have never had this happen before and thought it was due to them making my booking.  The other two were booked via my personal travel agent and my booking confirmations clearly showed dining preference as Club.

 

Interestingly I have freedom as my preferred choice on P&O and when I recently booked direct with Cunard I was told that my preference for freedom was noted.  When I said that was incorrect on a Cunard cruise they checked and said at some point my computer records seemed to have merged.  I am not even Caribbean on P&O its quite a way to go so as such am a very long way down the pecking order on choice. It will be interesting to see in November on my next QM2 trip what occurs.

[Windsurfboy]

Was that for the Cunard fare, or early saver. I  thought Cunard fare had choice of dining.

 

The problem with Arvia is it's 100% freedom even for select.

[Megabear2]

6 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Was that for the Cunard fare, or early saver. I  thought Cunard fare had choice of dining.

 

The problem with Arvia is it's 100% freedom even for select.

Cunard fare on the transatlantic and obviously saver as everyone was for the Coronation cruise. I noticed on the recent "Back on QV" thread a mention of the same happening (#40) so I am assuming it's getting more frequent and not everyone in Britannia is getting their preferences regardless of ship.

[Red Leicester]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Was that for the Cunard fare, or early saver. I  thought Cunard fare had choice of dining.

 

The problem with Arvia is it's 100% freedom even for select.

"The problem" or "The difference"?  It's a change but not necessarily a "problem".

[Windsurfboy]

59 minutes ago, Red Leicester said:

"The problem" or "The difference"?  It's a change but not necessarily a "problem".

 

It's  a  problem as you cannot get a table at the time you want, and the app says it's always full.

 

If tables were available it would be a change

[purplesea]

It's a problem when you can't get into a MDR for an evening meal.