Dumbing Down & Dressing Down: The New Cunard?

[exlondoner]

38 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

My 2 year old has 5 Cunard trips under her belt and I've never had a bad experience. This is not to cast doubt on your experiences as I'm sure we've all read perfectly truthful reviews which are the complete opposite of what we experienced on the same cruise because we were lucky enough to avoid the annoying passenger/poor service/broken toilet etc in question. I'm probably too oblivious to notice any dirty looks or snooty comments!

Your two year old is a very lucky young thing. 😀

[Lee Jones Jnr]

I don't mind seeing children onboard, though whilst not a baby anymore I am on the younger side of the passenger list usually. There aren't generally many children as Cunard isn't really very appealing to (those who have) children.

I feel like these conversations often end up accidentally skewed/perceived the wrong way. Largely, it's not a question of the wrong guest, it's a question of a person choosing the wrong ship. Rather than go on a ship that has a smart dress code and many formal nights, if that isn't what you want to do then try a line that doesn't do that. There are so many different ships now that almost everyone can be catered for and that would be much nicer than people booking the 'wrong ship' and then having the holiday that they wanted in a place where it doesn't really fit.

[Lee Jones Jnr]

49 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

My 2 year old has 5 Cunard trips under her belt and I've never had a bad experience. This is not to cast doubt on your experiences as I'm sure we've all read perfectly truthful reviews which are the complete opposite of what we experienced on the same cruise because we were lucky enough to avoid the annoying passenger/poor service/broken toilet etc in question. I'm probably too oblivious to notice any dirty looks or snooty comments!

What a life that wee baby has!

[Winifred 22]

My new grandson is eagerly awaiting his 6 month birthday so he can begin his Cunard adventures. 

[DukeBeetle24]

1 hour ago, Lee Jones Jnr said:

I don't mind seeing children onboard, though whilst not a baby anymore I am on the younger side of the passenger list usually. There aren't generally many children as Cunard isn't really very appealing to (those who have) children.

I feel like these conversations often end up accidentally skewed/perceived the wrong way. Largely, it's not a question of the wrong guest, it's a question of a person choosing the wrong ship. Rather than go on a ship that has a smart dress code and many formal nights, if that isn't what you want to do then try a line that doesn't do that. There are so many different ships now that almost everyone can be catered for and that would be much nicer than people booking the 'wrong ship' and then having the holiday that they wanted in a place where it doesn't really fit.

It's also people saying others are choosing the "wrong ship" because they don't want to go above and beyond the stated dress code - even if they fully intend to adhere to it, and the Gala Evenings. 

[david63]

Surely choosing a cruise/cruise line is the same as most other purchases in life - it is a compromise based on personal preferences, as from my long experience with making purchases of one kind or another there is very rarely "perfection".

 

For me the number one priority for a cruise is itinerary, followed by access to embarkation/disembarkation point. Next comes price, then comes dining options followed by ship's facilities. Another factor will be previous experience of ship/cruise line (which may be from other passenger reviews if I have not used that cruise line) and then probably will be dress code and adherence of it.

 

Each of those options will be addressed and either accepted or rejected on a cruise by cruise basis - others will have a the options in a different priority but whatever the priority at some point a compromise has to be made.

 

If there was a particular cruise itinerary that I wanted to do and the only cruise line doing that itinerary had a very relaxed dress code then that would be compromise but on the other hand if I wanted a very formal dress code as a key ingredient of my cruise then I would forgo the itinerary.

 

What I would not be doing though is trying to change any cruise line to align with my preferences as some seem to believe a cruise line should do.

[Clewgarnet]

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

My new grandson is eagerly awaiting his 6 month birthday so he can begin his Cunard adventures. 

Whereas my nieces (15 and 12) have promised that they will become the vilest creatures imaginable if they're ever forced on board a Cunard ship! Thankfully for other passengers, their mum didn't particularly enjoy her one time on board, so I think we're all safe.

[D&N]

I have fairly vivid memories of family holidays from around the age of 3. I'm sure there must have been times when I was very young that I would have stamped my feet and screamed if I was denied something, perhaps being forced to leave an activity I was enjoying because the family were moving on. I probably selectively forget most instances. However with exception of beaches and the odd playground, most activities were adult. I was perfectly happy with visits to relatives, parks, museums, cathedrals etc. I did find The Natural History and Science museums more interesting than paintings and relics but in the latter I would just quietly occupy myself with wandering around looking at aspects of the building while others did their boring stuff.

Transport was generally by coach or train rather than cruises. I think the longest sailing other than my emigration from Shetland, which I've no memory of, was a trip out in the North Sea to sail round Radio Caroline. Not sure what the point of that was, perhaps to amuse my older siblings. But on trains and coaches I didn't need any activities provided, just amusing myself with watching the countryside or quietly wandering about the coach/train.

By my teens I was more interested in girls than running around making a noise. I do see groups of teens occasionally being noisy but would expect most sailing on Cunard to be in family groups and generally behaving as I would have done at that age.

 

I'm sure things must get fairly rowdy on ships that are aimed at noisy family holidays, but I can't really imagine children behaving like that on a Cunard ship. We didn't notice many children on our crossings. The one that stood out was a charming young Polish lady, probably aged around 18 months, who wanted to dance. She is obviously going to take after her young mother who given the opportunity to dance when someone looked after her daughter, appeared to be very accomplished.

[Judyrem]

19 minutes ago, D&N said:

I have fairly vivid memories of family holidays from around the age of 3. I'm sure there must have been times when I was very young that I would have stamped my feet and screamed if I was denied something, perhaps being forced to leave an activity I was enjoying because the family were moving on. I probably selectively forget most instances. However with exception of beaches and the odd playground, most activities were adult. I was perfectly happy with visits to relatives, parks, museums, cathedrals etc. I did find The Natural History and Science museums more interesting than paintings and relics but in the latter I would just quietly occupy myself with wandering around looking at aspects of the building while others did their boring stuff.

Transport was generally by coach or train rather than cruises. I think the longest sailing other than my emigration from Shetland, which I've no memory of, was a trip out in the North Sea to sail round Radio Caroline. Not sure what the point of that was, perhaps to amuse my older siblings. But on trains and coaches I didn't need any activities provided, just amusing myself with watching the countryside or quietly wandering about the coach/train.

By my teens I was more interested in girls than running around making a noise. I do see groups of teens occasionally being noisy but would expect most sailing on Cunard to be in family groups and generally behaving as I would have done at that age.

 

I'm sure things must get fairly rowdy on ships that are aimed at noisy family holidays, but I can't really imagine children behaving like that on a Cunard ship. We didn't notice many children on our crossings. The one that stood out was a charming young Polish lady, probably aged around 18 months, who wanted to dance. She is obviously going to take after her young mother who given the opportunity to dance when someone looked after her daughter, appeared to be very accomplished.

I would have loved to have seen the little sweetie.

 

I like children and love to interact with them but not too many at one time.

[vsbc]

I have been reading this thread with interest. In three weeks I am on QA for my very first cruise. I am aged 65 and have never ever done black tie.

 

I used to wear a collar and tie for work, but not in the last 20 years or so. Normally I wear jeans/chinos and a polo shirt. Occasionally I will wear a nice shirt and jacket if we go out for a meal. And I do have a couple of nice suits, which don’t get worn very often.

 

My first thoughts were that I’m not all that bothered about dressing up. However my partner is really looking forward to the gala nights. So I’ve bought a tuxedo, shirts, bow tie, new shoes etc.

 

So I will definitely be adhering to the dress code, and will probably wear a jacket much more than I normally do. But dressing “to the nines” or “channeling my inner James Bond”? No definitely not!

 

[Brummel]

As I did, you will find the Cunard experience so much more special.

 

Enjoy your voyage and thank you for keeping the flame.

 

 

[nadge]

Going back to the OP's original comment re number of Gala nights, I'm booked on a 12 night QV transatlantic in Jan 2025 and we have 3 Gala nights. I thought that was pretty good !!