2024 Gala Theme Schedule

[e&mcruise]

Anyone have any info or idea of when Cunard will release the Gala Schedule for 2024 cruises?

[Carnevale]

Following….. I am interested in this too…

[bluemarble]

Most of the 2023 dress code and theme schedules were first posted in My Cunard on November 24, 2022. If Cunard keeps to a similar schedule this year, we may have about one month to go until they post the 2024 dress code and theme schedules.

[e&mcruise]

Thanks Bluemarble. Seems quite close for those travelling in January but we are in March so will be enough time to organise, theme dependant. 🙂

 

[maggielou362]

Good Evening/Morning Fellow Cunarders,

I am very excited to discover just now that it looks like we will be enjoying THREE gala nights on our ten-day QM2 voyage around the Great Australian Bight (Fremantle to Sydney in Feb 2024) We have a "Black and White" on night 2, then a non-specified "Gala Evening" on night 6, and a "Roaring Twenties" theme on day 9. I am going dress shopping!

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, maggielou362 said:

Good Evening/Morning Fellow Cunarders,

I am very excited to discover just now that it looks like we will be enjoying THREE gala nights on our ten-day QM2 voyage around the Great Australian Bight (Fremantle to Sydney in Feb 2024) We have a "Black and White" on night 2, then a non-specified "Gala Evening" on night 6, and a "Roaring Twenties" theme on day 9. I am going dress shopping!

 

Thank you very much for that heads up about the 2024 schedules. I'm seeing the schedule for my 2024 QM2 crossings in June as well. Looks like it's time for me to start a project to compile the 2024 dress code and theme schedules. I'll start a new thread for that. 

[Bell Boy]

Time for Cunard to introduce new Evening Gala Themes 

Roaring 20's is and opportunity for some gentlemen to climb into the loft to bring the dressing up box down.

Trilby hats and the Gangster look is childish and ridiculous. How about "Red Carpet and Hollywood Glam.  

[NE John]

7 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

Time for Cunard to introduce new Evening Gala Themes 

Roaring 20's is and opportunity for some gentlemen to climb into the loft to bring the dressing up box down.

Trilby hats and the Gangster look is childish and ridiculous. How about "Red Carpet and Hollywood Glam.  

Cunard already markets the “inner James Bond” so we should have a James Bond/Miss Moneypenny theme. 

[Victoria2]

3 hours ago, NE John said:

Cunard already markets the “inner James Bond” so we should have a James Bond/Miss Moneypenny theme. 

Any theme is asking for fancy dress from some passengers so why not go retro on the Vistas and just call it a Black Tie  Gala evening'? 

If Mary can have Black Tie [formal suit], then so can her sisters.

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

Any theme is asking for fancy dress from some passengers so why not go retro on the Vistas and just call it a Black Tie  Gala evening'? 

If Mary can have Black Tie [formal suit], then so can her sisters.

What a startling suggestion.

[e&mcruise]

14 hours ago, sfred said:

QE, Feb 20-Mar 05, 2024 (voyage Q408, Sydney-SouthPacific-Sydney)

Feb 21: Black and White

Feb 27: Masquerade

Mar 03: Roaring Twenties

We are on the cruise after you, can I ask how you found out your schedule? Not showing yet in MyCunard for Q409A.

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, exlondoner said:

What a startling suggestion.

I know.

Novel or what!!!😁

[sfred]

10 hours ago, e&mcruise said:

We are on the cruise after you, can I ask how you found out your schedule? Not showing yet in MyCunard for Q409A.

 

Dress codes for our Q408 voyage are in MyCunard, shown under "Your Calendar".  Screen shot pasted below.  Strange that your Q409A isn't showing yet. 

 

. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by sfred

[e&mcruise]

2 hours ago, sfred said:

 

Dress codes for our Q408 voyage are in MyCunard, shown under "Your Calendar".  Screen shot pasted below.  Strange that your Q409A isn't showing yet. 

 

. 

Thanks sfred. Hoping it will pop any moment but based on your schedule, have to assume we are getting the Red & Gold theme if the cruise prior that you are on has Black and White, Masquerade & Roaring Twenties. Any Cunard regulars......do they rotate the theme nights in the same order? 

[bluemarble]

6 minutes ago, e&mcruise said:

Thanks sfred. Hoping it will pop any moment but based on your schedule, have to assume we are getting the Red & Gold theme if the cruise prior that you are on has Black and White, Masquerade & Roaring Twenties. Any Cunard regulars......do they rotate the theme nights in the same order? 

 

No, they don't necessarily rotate the themes. They do rotate them on back-to-back transatlantic crossings where a significant number of passengers book round trip crossings.

 

Looking at the schedule for QE's last Australia/New Zealand season, they mostly scheduled Black and White along with either Roaring Twenties or Masquerade (or both) for the themes. I only see one Red and Gold theme scheduled during all of the last Australia/New Zealand season and that was relatively early in the season during December 2022.

 

It's a similar situation with the QE Alaska season where the themes were Ice White and Masquerade for each of the Alaska cruises this year.

[e&mcruise]

Have just received a response from Facebook....... Thought all Gala Nights had a theme?

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, e&mcruise said:

Have just received a response from Facebook....... Thought all Gala Nights had a theme?

 

No, gala evenings do not always have a theme. Most do but not always.

 

During the world voyages, they scatter a few gala evenigs without themes into the schedule probably to attempt to avoid overload from repeating the same four themes over and over. They may include gala evenings with no themes on some of the other longer cruises presumably for the same reason.

 

New Year's Eve is another occasion when they schedule a gala evening with no theme. In the past, they sometimes called it a New Year's Eve Ball but that's gone by the wayside since they only use the four standard themes now (plus Ice White on QE Alaska).

 

They also tend to have gala evenings with no themes during the short 2-night segments between Southampton and Hamburg. They usually also designate those as optional gala evenings for those disembarking the next morning.

Edited October 28, 2023 by bluemarble

[sfred]

1 hour ago, e&mcruise said:

Have just received a response from Facebook....... Thought all Gala Nights had a theme?

 

No-theme formal nights do come up from time to time.  We had a "Gala night (unspecified)" during the transatlantic portion of our recent QE San Francisco to Barcelona trip, on the middle sea day between Bermuda and Madeira.  We searched our luggage and scoured the ship's shops, but never did find anything "unspecified" to accompany our regular formal kit. The moment we identified or pointed to something, it became "specified".  😄 (*sorry*)

Edited October 28, 2023 by sfred

[BklynBoy8]

1 hour ago, e&mcruise said:

Have just received a response from Facebook....... Thought all Gala Nights had a theme?

 

On our last sailing, we had A Gala Evening - Unspecified and all those we knew Dressed Gala but selected their own theme.

 

Surprisingly most on board were dressed in a Red Theme color on their own.

 

Both Females and Men...

[e&mcruise]

How disappointing. On our first 5 night cruise on Cunard with certain expectations based on extensive researching and as per their own website:

 

Gala Evenings follow one of four themes – either Black and White, Red and Gold, Masquerade or Roaring 20s. 

 

Very First World Problem I know but I am the sort of person that expects to get what is published by the company, regardless of situation, in this case Cunard.

 

Makes me worry about what else won't be as "promised". Just call me "Nervous Nellie" based on previous bad experiences with Azamara & RCCL.

[bluemarble]

6 minutes ago, e&mcruise said:

How disappointing. On our first 5 night cruise on Cunard with certain expectations based on extensive researching and as per their own website:

 

Gala Evenings follow one of four themes – either Black and White, Red and Gold, Masquerade or Roaring 20s. 

 

Very First World Problem I know but I am the sort of person that expects to get what is published by the company, regardless of situation, in this case Cunard.

 

Makes me worry about what else won't be as "promised". Just call me "Nervous Nellie" based on previous bad experiences with Azamara & RCCL.

 

I suspect the gala evening for your 5-night cruise (voyage Q409A) is going to be on the evening of your sea day between Sydney and Melbourne. If that's the case, the situation you are facing is that there is also a 2-night cruise being sold from Sydney to Melbourne (voyage Q409), "Australia Short Break". That's similar to the situation I mentioned earlier where gala evenings on the 2-night cruises between Southampton and Hamburg often don't have a theme. I'm not entirely sure what the logic is, but I suspect it's because a significant number of passengers will be ending their cruise the next morning in Melbourne so they won't be much interested in participating in a full blown gala evening with a theme.

 

Sorry you have been caught up in one of the exceptions to the rule that gala evenings follow one of four themes.

[rmsEtruria]

12 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

I know.

Novel or what!!!😁

Revolutionary . . . 

[e&mcruise]

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

Sorry you have been caught up in one of the exceptions to the rule that gala evenings follow one of four themes.

Not sure where they list "exceptions to the rule" but understand what you are saying. Cunard are more than happy to quote T&Cs for any inquiry but are happy to make "exceptions to the rule" wherever they see fit obviously. This does not bode well for our first Cunard experience. 😞

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, e&mcruise said:

Not sure where they list "exceptions to the rule" but understand what you are saying. Cunard are more than happy to quote T&Cs for any inquiry but are happy to make "exceptions to the rule" wherever they see fit obviously. This does not bode well for our first Cunard experience. 😞

Good heavens. Don't let a perceived hiccup on a Gala theme pre influence you on Cunard.

[e&mcruise]

1 hour ago, Victoria2 said:

Good heavens. Don't let a perceived hiccup on a Gala theme pre influence you on Cunard.

Unfortunately it is more than that. Reading about Champagne being subbed for sparkling. 1 bottle in mini bar, not two. Booked direct with Cunard and found a cheaper price on a 3rd party site but despite Cunard offering UK guests a Price Promise....not available to Aussies. Website not working/ not updated & links not working for Cunard and MyCunard. Just got a feeling in the pit of my stomach and so want it to be the cruise experience we have planned for and expect. 😞