Although it wasn't the same table every morning in Epicurean
Obviously you were doing something wrong as we always have had the same table.
I agree with Freedom and the problem is that on P&O Freedom dining is effectively three sittings of Club dining but not necessarily same table/companions/time. I just hope that with Iona being all Freedom that they have a re think and organise it better.
Or is it by chance and could a chronologically experienced couple such as us find ourselves seated with a bunch of well oiled, loud, impossibly tight lycra clad 20 somethings?
My, very limited, experience is that they just take passengers as they come and put them on the table size requested - maybe if there are a lot all at the same time they may "mix and match".
I understand what you’re saying about guests leaving a larger table before everyone has finished. But on the other hand, I wouldn’t want to miss the show/quiz/concert every night as would happen on one table we were on. Every single night - it ruined the cruise for us. We have never shared a table since!
Yes, we had a situation like that as well.
We were on a table with the slowest eater in the world, and she also wanted starter and soup. As the cruise went on, she slowed up even more as she was talking more as she got to know everyone. We gave up on the shows in the end. It also didn't help that she was very softly spoken and you had to strain your ears to hear her.
She was a perfectly nice woman, but she did impact on our enjoyment of the cruise.
Wherever possible, we now have tables for two, where we can eat at our own pace, and not have to wait for people to have extra courses that we're not having,
That is exactly us Gill. We rarely eat more than two courses, often only one and don’t want to sit for hours, can’t sit for hours in fact, waiting while others chomp through the entire menu. A table for two, or we eat elsewhere, other than the very occasional night.
I am on holiday and I enjoy club dining, and eating and enjoying dinner is a big part of of this enjoyment. I like to have the four courses plus cheese if I desire to, it's my holiday. If a fellow table companion would like to leave the table early to go to a show, a polite request to the table to say would we mind if they left would be in order. I feel it is wrong to blame a diner if he/she eats slow or goes through the menu, after all, we are not all the same, but we are all trying to enjoy our holiday.
Of course Ray and apologies if it sounded as though I felt you shouldn’t. But for those that do want to leave the table before others have finished, for whatever reason, it shouldn’t be frowned up if they leave early. My husband simply can’t tolerate sitting that long each night, it causes him great pain, me too to a lesser degree, which is why after our “difficult” table, we decided to only dine at a two top.
If one wishes to leave early from time to time / all the time then surely a ' proclamation ' of one's intentions at the outset will put everybody in the picture, ditto re alternate venues or the Curry Night.
If one wishes to leave early from time to time / all the time then surely a ' proclamation ' of one's intentions at the outset will put everybody in the picture, ditto re alternate venues or the Curry Night.
You’d think so. Except in our instance the rest of the table always arrived late, ate every course and ate very slowly, so to see a show we’d have needed to leave at the main course stage. Since we never eat a starter and my husband likes a dessert, and the table is all served together we had to sit for ages just waiting, then to eat what we’d ordered miss the entertainment. On the odd occasion we did leave, there was much tutting and sighing.
If one wishes to leave early from time to time / all the time then surely a ' proclamation ' of one's intentions at the outset will put everybody in the picture, ditto re alternate venues or the Curry Night.
You’d think so. Except in our instance the rest of the table always arrived late, ate every course and ate very slowly, so to see a show we’d have needed to leave at the main course stage. Since we never eat a starter and my husband likes a dessert, and the table is all served together we had to sit for ages just waiting, then to eat what we’d ordered miss the entertainment. On the odd occasion we did leave, there was much tutting and sighing.
It just wasn’t worth it.
Ah yes … the good old tutting and sighing
As an aside I would mention that we also opt for tables for two.
Gill, it sounds like it was not a very friendly table you had there. I will say that in my 20+ years of cruising we have always had good to really good table companions, but who knows what the next cruise will bring.
In the main they were friendly, but they took AGES over dinner, far longer than is usual. Most of them had done the whole World whereas we were only on for six weeks.
Anyway, it won’t happen again so not an issue now - for us.
In the main they were friendly, but they took AGES over dinner, far longer than is usual. Most of them had done the whole World whereas we were only on for six weeks.
Anyway, it won’t happen again so not an issue now - for us.
Probably second hand reconditioned false teeth they were running in for someone else
I have noticed that where some on the table have starter and soup (me being one of them) and others only one of them that the waiters manage to serve the soup whilst the others are still finishing their starter.
This whole issue is even worse with Freedom dining and tables for two where the whole group of tables are served the courses simultaneously meaning that those who are not having soup have to wait for their main course until the soup eaters have finished.
I am on holiday and I enjoy club dining, and eating and enjoying dinner is a big part of of this enjoyment. I like to have the four courses plus cheese if I desire to, it's my holiday. If a fellow table companion would like to leave the table early to go to a show, a polite request to the table to say would we mind if they left would be in order. I feel it is wrong to blame a diner if he/she eats slow or goes through the menu, after all, we are not all the same, but we are all trying to enjoy our holiday.
I like to have coffee after my meal, but if the meal had taken a long time, and I felt I needed to leave the table to go to the show, I'd probably miss out on coffee. In any event, I'd just feel plain rude if I was leaving the table early every night.
I certainly wasn't blaming other diners. As you say, we are not all the same, so I've taken steps to ensure that this situation doesn't arise. On a table for two, we eat at our own pace and leave when we are ready to go.
As it has been said we are all different, I tend to feel a bit claustrophobic in some of the older theatres where the seating is in tightly packed rows, so am not bothered about the shows.
So it doesn't worry me if our table takes it time, and if fellow diners want to leave for the show I have no objection whatsoever.
I was one on a table though where an elderly gentleman diner ate through every course ever so slowly,and severly taxed the waiters who pounced on his plate as soon as he had finished.
It gave us a few laughs.
So another instalment. The rest of the "luxury" experience. With a P&O suite it really is mostly about the cabin and breakfast. You do get priority boarding and disembarkation and tendering if your loyalty grade doesn't include that already. The latter removed the need to collect tickets and wait your turn. Just go straight to the appointed public area, a restaurant in our case, when you're ready. You still have to queue in the usual way to get back.
Of course the Princess Grills give you access to the private area, which as well as the restaurants and courtyard includes the Grills Lounge and the Terrace. There are two levels of the latter which have sunbeds, some shaded, with cushions thicker than many mattresses. Very comfortable. Sadly I have to report that Grills passengers are no better behaved than sny others when ir comes to bagging the beds in the best spots and then vanishing. It's not normally a problem as there are plenty of them. It was one day when it has hot in the sun and half the beds in the shade were occupied only by towels, books snd iPhones.
The lounge is a very pleasant lounge /bar, a quiet oasis most of the time, with stewards who quickly learned their clients usual tipple. The view is not as good as the Commodore Club, however. This being the Crows Nest in P&O terms.
The whole complex is accessed by two midships lifts which require the insertion of a cruise card to get above the public deck 10 tobthe exclusive 11 and 12.
So for the luxury extras a big win for Cunard.
Last edited by Mervyn and Trish on 26 May 2019, 11:55, edited 3 times in total.
For the rest of the ship much of it is about mid sized ship versus bigger ship. But there are also significant differences between the lines.
Cunard is more expensive in every way, from basic price through drinks snd tours to teddy bears. It's also in dollars so there is the added cost of currency conversion dependent of course on how you manage that.
It is, an officer confirmed, a deliberate policy to differentiate the lines by price. No point in Carnival chasing the sarne clients with two lines. There is also a step up in formality on Cunard, with a jacket required on non formal nights. My impression is that while there are minor deviations from the code there is no downright fingers up at it and no tracksuits and lycra in the evenings. Sorry if I sound a snob again, but I think Cunard are targeting me!
They do apparently have an aim of a broadly 50:50 British/American mix on Southampton sailings, with a range of other nationalities thrown in, as opposed to the British market P&O appeal. Cunard widely market the sailings as fly cruises in the States.
So all that clearly results in a generally more up market passenger mix on the Cunard ship. Looking at recent offers you can get Azura and Ventura under £100 per person per night on some sailings. No surprise 7 nights is becoming the new booze cruise sadly. But we can't gripe. It makes cruising more affordable for us too.
Entertainment was pretty similar. In fact one act, the 4 Tunes, who were excellent, were on both ships. We thought P&O edged it in the production shows, particularly with the two new ones we'd not seen which were so different from previous offerings.
For ballroom and latin dancing, our new hobby, there's no comparison. Despite learning on Ventura, a very special memory, nothing touches Cunard's Queen's Rooms for dance floors at sea.
There is no Freedom Dining on Victoria. They handle it a different way. As well as the Grills there is the slightly lesser Britannia Club experience. It's the same menus as the usual MDR but in a smaller single flexible sitting restaurant. Like the Grills turn up to your own reserved table at the time of your choosing. Freedom dining without stress and pagers.
Another difference which may affect future choices is that luxury comes packaged on Cunard. To get the mini suite or suite cabins you have to have the whole deal. You can't opt for a posh cabin and lesser dining. If you're in the Britannia MDR the best cabin available is a balcony. That's what you get with Club too.
It contrasts with P&O where cabin and dining choices are separate.
Last edited by Mervyn and Trish on 26 May 2019, 12:27, edited 7 times in total.
I get the overall impression that it is a bit of "swings and roundabouts" and you get what you pay for and that overall Cunard wins 52% to 48% (perhaps you need a re-run to give P&O another chance!). In your opinion is Cunard worth the extra cost over P&O?
I get the overall impression that it is a bit of "swings and roundabouts" and you get what you pay for and that overall Cunard wins 52% to 48% (perhaps you need a re-run to give P&O another chance!). In your opinion is Cunard worth the extra cost over P&O?
Like the Grills turn up to your own reserved table at the time of your choosing. Freedom dining without stress and pagers.
I do wish P&O would offer something along those lines - hopefully on Iona!
Yes so do I. It's very similar to the Princess Club Class we experienced last year on Sapphire Princess, which comes linked to suites and the best mid-ships mini-suites, the equivalent of the Superior Deluxe P&O balconies.
I would have to disagree that Cunard cruise prices are more than P&O. Sometimes yes. Often no.
We looked to book a cruise a couple of years or so ago on QV in a Q6 Queen’s Grill cabin. Aurora was doing an almost identical itinerary. The lead in suite price on Aurora was £1,000 more expensive, and without the infinitely better dining that QV offered. I have noticed similar on several occasions.
I would have to disagree that Cunard cruise prices are more than P&O. Sometimes yes. Often no.
We looked to book a cruise a couple of years or so ago on QV in a Q6 Queen’s Grill cabin. Aurora was doing an almost identical itinerary. The lead in suite price on Aurora was £1,000 more expensive, and without the infinitely better dining that QV offered. I have noticed similar on several occasions.
You may be right on occasions Gill. Depends on when you book and how full the ship is. On our one trip oin QE2, booked late, we got a better cabin for less than a lower grade one simply based on fluid pricing. And I've recently seen some offers through a TA on P&O where a balcony was less than an inside.
So, with apologies for generalising but I do think that on average P&O are usually lower and Cunard officers confirms that is pretty much Carnival policy. Certainly they were for us on this occasion. Suite on Azura £1,329. Mini-suite on QV £1,994. But sure, when boolking check the specific rather than the general.
However, see conclusions coming up below, with more price comparisons.
So the final scores have been counted and verified.
Roll of drums and big pause....... but you can see this coming a mile off. It's like Anne Widdecombe not winning Strictly.
If money were no object it would be Cunard Princess Grill every time. In fact if money were no object it would be Queens Grill. P&O suite sized cabin and even better grub.
But this was a special treat and money is usually a consideration. So yes, we'd look out for the deals, but generally the Grills might be out of our reach. We've been looking at some cruises ahead speculatively and we were talking nearly £10,000 for the two of us in Princess Grill on QV on one we fancied. Bearing in mind we did the Britannia Maiden for £4,000 for the two of us in a Superior Deluxe Balcony cabin, a similar space, albeit 4 years ago, that's a big difference.
We loved to be able to push the Deck 11 button in the lifts and escape the comparative crowds down below, even if I was bit self conscious sometimes putting the cruise card in the slot. I often waited till everyone else got out at Deck 10 and then did it quickly.
The Queens Room dancing is a big draw, and we loved the flexibility of dining when we want at the same table. Maybe a fall back would be Britannia Club, but that would mean a standard balcony cabin again. That's what we have on QM2 next year (not even the Club version) but we have got used to the extra space. Price wise we could usually book a suite on P&O and pay the extra to eat in Epicurean every night and still be winning. And lycra apart we do still like Azura and her sisters.
The experience made us think about Saga again and their new offering, Spirit of Discovery. Their prices have always seemed expensive to us, even when we take into account their included chauffeur service and drinks. So we thought we'd look again at them too. And then their latest offers dropped through our letter box and our jaws dropped through the floor.
14 nights Baltic later this year.
P&O Arcadia: Balcony £1,999; Suite £3,379.
Cunard Queen Victoria (same sized ship of course, same basic hull, but very different inside): Balcony £1,899 (yes, less than P&O!); Princess Grill £4,799; Queen's Grill £5,593
Spirit of Discovery: Balcony £2,999; Deluxe Balcony (not as big as a QV PG and none of the frills) £6,066; Suite £7,308
We may continue to give Saga a miss!
And of course we still have Princess Cruises Club Class to put into the mix. Not Grills standard but a step up from Club or Freedom in the MDR.
So there is it. We've loved our look at life on the other side and would love to do it again. But it will very much depend on what's around at the time. Our next trip is QM2 in 2020. Not sure what we're doing in 2021. Might be land based or grab a late bargain. 2022 will be P&O because we plan to take our daughter and grand-daughters and (a) think the P&O kids' clubs look better and (b) want to put the three of them into a Superior Deluxe sized cabin and I'm not sure the Grills are ready for a 9 and 10 year old (or indeed my wallet!
But after that, who knows? Though we do suspect we may be growing into Cunard passengers.
When Mrs S and I met you and the lovely Trish in March we had no idea we were mingling with the super rich/upper class. If we had known I would have doffed my cap and got Mrs S trained up in curtsying ready for our meet up.
Last edited by Stephen on 26 May 2019, 16:52, edited 1 time in total.
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