Cunard Staffing Levels/Crew Standards

[exlondoner]

25 minutes ago, NowVoyager2 said:

As far as reasoning behind business plans & the cause of cutbacks onboard - after covid Cunard / Carnivore Corp could of restarted the QM2 and queen Victoria at full staffing levels w a good quality experience all around.  The Queen Anne would be launched w a full staff and  quality onboard experience.  And finally Queen Elizabeth restart when capital & cash on hand would ensure the same quality.

 

But instead  the corporate decision was made  to make cutbacks all around  & deliver a less than promoted levels of food & service( including onboard maintenance).

remember these corporations are held to stock holders expectations / demand of higher earnings.

I always say look at the balance sheet & bonuses of these corporations & that is what tells the true story of a Corporation.

 

One recent example is the BOEING CORPORATION.  It just hired a new CEO at $30,000,000 a year while the union workers haven't had a raise since 2014!!!

In fact, QV needed a lot of work doing, and resumed service quite a while after the other two.

[seasickphil]

Can i ask?  how many people on here have found cruising to be a better overall experience post pandemic. Since Covid we have sailed on 4 lines that we had sailed on pre pandemic, Cunard(3), Regent(3), Saga and Viking and for us on none of them did we feel the product to be quite as good as we had before, maybe we were just unlucky? we still thoroughly enjoyed them all though. In our view if you wish to continue cruising (we do) then you have to be realistic and accept that we are now paying more for this privilege, after all since Covid the price of most things have significantly increased, haven't they?.

On 9/13/2024 at 3:23 PM, sogne said:

no cost savings = higher prices

 

@sogne

If you could tell me a cruise line that have not made post Covid cutbacks and not put their prices up then i will certainly have a look at them.

[Winifred 22]

I for one am happy to accept the post pandemic offerings. Very little in life is the same or better.I have lost count of the food items that are subject to shrinkflation. Latest was butter sold in 200g pack instead of 250g. I would rather cruise with the product on offer than not. 

[esrs]

11 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

 Very little in life is the same or better.

Exactly. We have been pleased that Cunard has been nearly as good as before (though admittedly we missed this summer and have not experienced any changes due to Queen Anne). So many other things in our day-to-day life have become significantly worse post-pandemic.

[exlondoner]

11 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

I for one am happy to accept the post pandemic offerings. Very little in life is the same or better.I have lost count of the food items that are subject to shrinkflation. Latest was butter sold in 200g pack instead of 250g. I would rather cruise with the product on offer than not. 

Not all butter, thankfully - yet.

[bluemarble]

The latest counts from QM2's departure today indicate the highest crew count I've heard recently.

 

September 15, 2024: 2442 passengers and 1267 crew

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Not all butter, thankfully - yet.

No shrinkflation in size  for mine either but £1.75 to £2.70 since Covid certainty has some kind of 'flation'! 🙁

 

Still, I pay it rather than not have it. A bit like  Cunard I guess. I'd rather have the present Cunard than none at all.

Edited Sunday at 04:56 PM by Victoria2

[JT1101]

Cunard is doing just fine. Like all the lines they got stiffed badly in the shutdowns (they had to completely shut down and unlike the airlines the cruise lines got no government compensation). As a result they came back with not only needing to recruit their crews back but also low cash reserves. So some types of cutbacks were inevitable until they rebuild the cash reserves - and at that they have cut less than others have. 

If they can be faulted for anything it would be transferring experienced staff from the three queens to QA to start her off. All it did was take the usual new ship hiccups and instead make them a fleet wide phenomenon. But even that is largely settled down now. 

 

I'll be aboard in December and look forward to it!

[King Amo]

My last Cunard trip was significantly better than the one before that (which was pre-Covid). Better service, (predominantly) better food, better logistics at the ports of call. 

 

It isn't the same as my first QE2 crossing, which was other worldly good, but nothing has been for twenty-odd years. 

[david63]

1 hour ago, JT1101 said:

f they can be faulted for anything it would be transferring experienced staff from the three queens to QA to start her off.

That happens on all cruise lines when a new ship enters service. It would be a total catastrophe if all the crew on a new ship were totally new crew.

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

On 9/14/2024 at 3:38 PM, Wagtail adventures said:

May I ask what was wrong with your experience of dining at dinner in the MDR? And were you open dining, early or late sitting? With thanks

Before I rant about the Britannia for dinner I will say Britannia other meals, other food, bar service, cabin service, service generally, entertainment, lecturers, and cruise itinerary I generally thought were excellent.  Perhaps better than my previous Cunard pre pandemic experience. 
 

In the Britannia restaurant at dinner (late sitting):

 

Waiters did not introduce themselves.  Not a problem but a bad omen.

The wrong choices delivered for multiple courses on the same day and for consecutive days.

Items missing of the plate that were described on the menu.  

Inconsistency of the same choice served to different people. 

 

Random waits of 30 plus minutes between courses. It seemed all food and staff disappeared from our vicinity. 

 

Obviously incorrectly cooked beef. Not red at all when asked for Medium Rare. 

 

Very poor meat quality. Beef particularly tough at times. It use to be so good on Cunard. 

Complaints to the stewards and managers were responded to with literally “Yeah Yeah”.  Is that how you respond to a passenger who is complaining

 

One night I skipped apparently a small amount of food was spilled over a passenger. No offer to dry clean. 

 

Impossible to have dinner and see the show. We asked the stewards to accommodate us on this but not possible most evenings. Not helped as the show starts at 10.15pm.

 

It would have been funny if we were not paying for it. Late sitting was quite empty so I do not know what the problem was. I wonder how they coped on a the busy first sitting. 
 

On the whole a really good cruise. If I am being critical I would add:

 

The welcome bottle of Wine in the cabin was not served in ice with a welcome card. It was placed on top of the hot air outlet on top of the fridge. Undrinkable as very warm.  I really wondered why they were bothering if it was so half hearted. Same with a second bottle later in the cruise. 
 

Very few clothes hangers. When I asked for more then wire hangers were provided. These are not very good for my jackets. 
 

No name card for our room steward. They did introduce themselves but then missed the first turndown. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RK-NC]

41 minutes ago, stephen@stoneyard.co.uk said:

Complaints to the stewards and managers were responded to with literally “Yeah Yeah”.  Is that how you respond to a passenger who is complaining

 

One night I asked our (wonderful) waiter to let the chef know that I was very disappointed with the quality of the pork I received as it was very fatty and inedible to me. The head waiter/manager came over and insisted that was the way it was supposed to be and seemed to admonish our excellent waiter for not explaining that. I felt terrible about it. We've never experienced this type of "customer service" anywhere. 

[PORT ROYAL]

15 hours ago, stephen@stoneyard.co.uk said:

Before I rant about the Britannia for dinner I will say Britannia other meals, other food, bar service, cabin service, service generally, entertainment, lecturers, and cruise itinerary I generally thought were excellent.  Perhaps better than my previous Cunard pre pandemic experience. 
 

In the Britannia restaurant at dinner (late sitting):

 

Waiters did not introduce themselves.  Not a problem but a bad omen.

The wrong choices delivered for multiple courses on the same day and for consecutive days.

Items missing of the plate that were described on the menu.  

Inconsistency of the same choice served to different people. 

 

Random waits of 30 plus minutes between courses. It seemed all food and staff disappeared from our vicinity. 

 

Obviously incorrectly cooked beef. Not red at all when asked for Medium Rare. 

 

Very poor meat quality. Beef particularly tough at times. It use to be so good on Cunard. 

Complaints to the stewards and managers were responded to with literally “Yeah Yeah”.  Is that how you respond to a passenger who is complaining

 

One night I skipped apparently a small amount of food was spilled over a passenger. No offer to dry clean. 

 

Impossible to have dinner and see the show. We asked the stewards to accommodate us on this but not possible most evenings. Not helped as the show starts at 10.15pm.

 

It would have been funny if we were not paying for it. Late sitting was quite empty so I do not know what the problem was. I wonder how they coped on a the busy first sitting. 
 

On the whole a really good cruise. If I am being critical I would add:

 

The welcome bottle of Wine in the cabin was not served in ice with a welcome card. It was placed on top of the hot air outlet on top of the fridge. Undrinkable as very warm.  I really wondered why they were bothering if it was so half hearted. Same with a second bottle later in the cruise. 
 

Very few clothes hangers. When I asked for more then wire hangers were provided. These are not very good for my jackets. 
 

No name card for our room steward. They did introduce themselves but then missed the first turndown. 

 

Taking one’s point regarding hangers for jackets etc..  which on jackets, one agrees.  Consider 

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/bumerang-shoulder-shaper-for-hanger-white-70293274/

We always pack over a dozen.  DW packs own padded hangers for special items.

Every request for additional wooden hangers was completed, albeit on the day or pre-cruise.  

Never tried ikea with metal hangers, as they are removed from wardrobes, but ikea should work.

 

One’s negative experiences are totally different to our’s.  The gulf between is so strange

Edited Monday at 11:27 AM by PORT ROYAL
Hangers

[tony s]

15 hours ago, RK-NC said:

 

One night I asked our (wonderful) waiter to let the chef know that I was very disappointed with the quality of the pork I received as it was very fatty and inedible to me. The head waiter/manager came over and insisted that was the way it was supposed to be and seemed to admonish our excellent waiter for not explaining that. I felt terrible about it. We've never experienced this type of "customer service" anywhere. 

That’s when the New Yorker in me would get or find the Food Manager and ask if that was good customer service 

[Brummel]

I am now returning home on the QM2 out of Southampton after the 12night British Isles cruise.

 

I have given up on the Kings Court buffet and take my chances in the Britannia Room for all meals. Really uneven though, most offerings being okay and occasionally excellent.

 

I am convinced the bakery and pastry shops are mostly not operational. Most desserts, pastries and breads are clearly from frozen, an exception being the tea scones because they are so wildly inconsistant in form and taste. What little is from scratch and freshly made is clearly done by inexperience cooking staff.

 

I will venture into the Kings Court tonight and photograph the buffet stations not being used in a ship that is at passenger capacity.

[Log Flumer]

On 9/13/2024 at 7:06 PM, bluemarble said:

 

I can comment on the recent passenger and crew counts which QM2 has reported to Southampton VTS upon departure from Southampton.

 

May 16, 2024: 2419 passengers and 1245 crew

May 30, 2024: 2591 passengers and 1252 crew

June 9, 2024: 2442 passengers and 1249 crew

July 14, 2024: 2622 passengers and 1246 crew

July 21, 2024: 2508 passengers and 1251 crew

August 16, 2024: 2445 passengers and 1242 crew

August 30, 2024: 2449 passengers and 1220 crew
September 11, 2024: 2554 passengers and 1253 crew

That's an interesting insight, and quite encouraging.

[Log Flumer]

On 9/13/2024 at 10:29 PM, NE John said:

What cabin grade are you sailing in?

Thank you for your reply, NE John. We'll be sailing in a P1 Princess Grill suite. Started off looking at Britannia Balcony and then, well, things sort of escalated...

[Log Flumer]

On 9/15/2024 at 6:31 PM, bluemarble said:

The latest counts from QM2's departure today indicate the highest crew count I've heard recently.

 

September 15, 2024: 2442 passengers and 1267 crew

If things keep moving in this direction we'll soon be at 1:1 😉 

[NE John]

2 hours ago, Log Flumer said:

Thank you for your reply, NE John. We'll be sailing in a P1 Princess Grill suite. Started off looking at Britannia Balcony and then, well, things sort of escalated...

That’s a nice upgrade. Great walk-in closet/wardrobe, bathroom, and balcony space. While off-menu ordering is more for QG, we asked for and had a nice Indian vegetarian banquet on the last night of Crossing (June 2023) The wait staff knew I liked steak and they also added a 28 day aged prime steak to the banquet; I had to plead not to add two steaks! 
It’s extraordinary how the Grills staff remembers you, even after the first visit. 

[WantedOnVoyage]

Sigh... I doubt we shall enjoy QM2 again as she was on our January 2022 Southampton-West Indies cruise, her first long cruise since reactivation after the Covid shutdown.  

 

We had... 1333 passengers (!) aboard for that and a full crew of 1200 and something. Delightfully deserted in spots and one could wander into the Chart Room at 6:45 p.m. and have a choice of 4-5 empty tables and stewards practically rushing over to take one's order. Princess Grill had two stewards and an assistant for each table in their station, too.

[RK-NC]

3 hours ago, Brummel said:

I am convinced the bakery and pastry shops are mostly not operational.

 

Yesterday in Southampton, we watched the supply loading operation for about an hour. We saw pallets of pre-made croissants and danishes. A bird was pecking the top of one pallet and and flew off with a whole croissant. We also saw pallets of bakery mixes from Macphie "Simply Clever Foods". I gave up eating all the bread/bakery items within the first 7-10 days of our (30 day) voyage. Lots of bread on the ship but we have struggled to eat enough good quality protein. We got a boost today at Verandah Steakhouse. 

[Log Flumer]

20 hours ago, NE John said:

Great walk-in closet/wardrobe

Now we just need to buy the clothes to go in there...!

[Log Flumer]

20 hours ago, RK-NC said:

pallets of bakery mixes from Macphie "Simply Clever Foods"

This is some excellent detective work! The whole 'pre-baked' thing does feel somewhat disingenuous, particularly as it leaves you wondering how much kitchen activity is 'cooking', and how much is reheating...

[Victoria2]

23 minutes ago, Log Flumer said:

Now we just need to buy the clothes to go in there...!

Half the fun is in the planning.

 

Concentrate on the positive 'cos there is so much to look forward to. You will have an amazing time.

[D&N]

10 minutes ago, Log Flumer said:

This is some excellent detective work! The whole 'pre-baked' thing does feel somewhat disingenuous, particularly as it leaves you wondering how much kitchen activity is 'cooking', and how much is reheating...

They probably need to balance out what they have capacity to bake onboard against what can be stored.

We don't eat much bread when away from home since we're used to bread from high quality artisan bakeries. The ones we use are over a mile away in different directions. Rather than go daily we buy several at once, slice and freeze them. The slices defrost easily before eating or can be toasted from frozen. Still taste just as good defrosted. You can't keep it without freezing as  the French don't use preservatives and it goes rubbery.