I Put Cunard's Controversial Class-Based Cruising To The Test

Cunard has the reputation of being the  most class-based cruise line sailing today, keeping alive the tradition of grand  old ocean liners from the Titanic era had of giving First-Class passengers,  or what Cunard now call “The Grills”, a more rounded and top-notch experience  vastly superior to that of all other guests. But is that the reality? On my recent Cunard cruise on Queen Elizabeth  that fear of missing out on the full Cunard experience shown in their adverts and brochures  was clear wh

en several passengers knowing I’ve cruised Cunard in all grades, asked me if  they should have booked the more costly Grills First Class as they felt they sensed they were  only getting a second-rate Cunard experience. Before I tell you my answer, which did  surprise them, let me explain how Cunard works. There are four broad grades you can book on  Cunard ship, and each grade is named after, and determines, which of the  four restaurants you dine in. The top grade is Queens Grill. This  is the

old First-Class equivalent, and these guests dine in  the Queens Grill Restaurant. Next is Princess Grill, I guess kind  of Second Class in the old liner days, with cabins more akin to mini  suites on other cruise lines. Then there is the Britannia Restaurant,  where guests sailing in inside, ocean view and balcony cabins dine.  Cunard also have Britannia Club, a more premium balcony experience which  on most ships has its own restaurant too. A more modern analogy I like to use is an  airplane o

ne. Queens Grill being First, Princess being Club, Britannia Club is  Premium Economy and Britannia is Economy. But what makes the Queens and Princess Grills experience different to Britannia?  This often surprises people. Despite its reputation for  expansive Grills segregated areas, Cunard is not as segregated as other cruise  lines that also have a class-based system. For example, I have cruised in MSC Yacht Club,  Norwegian Haven, and Celebrity’s Retreat, all of which have segregated areas f

or their first-class  suites, a kind of exclusive “ship-within-a-ship”. These are a pass-controlled sections of  the ship with lounge, bar, restaurant, decks, swimming pool, hot tubs, and concierge  desk taking up a sizeable segment of the ship. Cunard has nothing on this  scale for their Grills First Class Guests. It is rather modest in comparison! On Queen Mary 2, there are  facilities dotted around the ship. The Grills lounge is opposite the Queens  Grill Restaurant, a narrow and uninspiring

Grills Deck is up on deck 11 overlooking  the rear of the ship with one hot tub, no bar and often not even drinks service.  It is a bit of a throughfare. There is no dedicated Grills pool, and no  area is card-access controlled. On Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth there is a dedicated area up on deck 11 and  12, with card-access by elevator. Here are the Princess and Queens Grill  restaurants, small lounge with bar, and Concierge desk. There is also a  shared al fresco dining area. Above is a

deck for sunbathing but no  bar, hot tub, or Grills pool. The newest ship in the fleet,  Queen Anne, has the same approach. Grills cabins account for between 12 to  15% of cabins, and the areas of the ship only Grills guests can access is limited  and probably not much more than that, certainly compared to what I had in MSC Yacht  Club, Norwegian Haven, and Celebrity Retreat. Grills guests also do not get added perks like  dedicated and reserved seating for the shows. There is no Grills priority

  booking for activities, events, speciality dining or excursions  like on those other lines. Everyone has the same daily program, goes to  the same balls, use the same swimming pools, play the same trivia, pay for drinks and so on. So, are there any meaningful perks and benefits  that Grills guests get that others don’t? In theory, priority embarkation  and disembarkation. However, I found the Grills embarkation line is as  long as the general boarding one as the Grills line is also for Diamond

and Platinum  level loyalty guests, and Cunard has many. Unlike those other cruise lines I mentioned, Grills guests are not fast tracked by an  escort to the gangway on disembarkation. When it comes to tender ports, only the highest  Queens Grill passengers get priority tendering on any cruise I have been on, unlike  all the suites on those other lines. One perk I like is afternoon tea  is served every day in the Grills Lounge on Queen Mary 2 or Princess  Grill restaurant on the other ships. Wh

ile the iconic Cunard afternoon tea is  served in the Queens Room, the ballroom, with all the drama of white-gloved waiters  parading with the sandwiches, scones, and cakes, it is rather packed and a bit frantic. It’s  more refined and intimate in the Grills Lounge. So, as you can see the perks are not that huge.  So, what is the point of going Grills then? There are two stand out ones in my view. Without any doubt in my mind, the  dining experience and food in the two Grills Restaurants is way

superior  to that which Britannia guests get. Britannia menus are good and match other  premium line main dining rooms that Cunard competes with like Holland  America, Princess, and Celebrity. The Queens and Princess Grills restaurants are  mirror images of each other in shape and design, with some décor differences.  Both are open-seated dining, meaning you can go whenever  you want during opening times. And as you have the same table and waiters  for all meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I

found I can build huge rapport and  get a highly personalised service. In Britannia guests must choose between fixed  dining (early or late) or Anytime Dining. If fixed you may not get the table size you request  (as tables for two are fewer than demand I found), but you will have the same table and staff  - but unlike in Grills only for dinner. So, for every other meal you will  be sat wherever there is space. If on Anytime dining, it is more potluck on  table size and how long you may have to

wait, and it means different servers each time. In the Grills you usually get  whatever table size you want, with many tables for two. They are  though quite close to each other. So, for example, on the Queen Elizabeth  trip I mentioned, I was travelling solo, and they had allocated me at a table for  six because that’s what most solos want. I didn't! No problem, they  sat me a great table solo. The core menu is the same for both Grills,  and the food is amazing. I do find the Cunard Grills food

is some of the best  I have at sea. The menus are enormous. The breakfast one is four pages,  Lunch is two pages and Dinner is vast. Dinner has an a la carte menu which changes  daily, a long list of standards on every day, like chicken breast, steak,  pheasant, and mushroom ravioli, and then a selection of more exotic items  you pre-order at either breakfast or lunch. I found a big difference between cruising  Princess and Queens Grill here though. In Queens Grill, I can ask for caviar with al

l  the trimmings as often as I want, which I love. In Princess Grill I was told it would be a $60  charge per order. It was on the main menu once, but wasn’t served as in Queens Grill, with the  beautiful silver pots and serving utensils. Also, in Princess Grill there were only three  items for pre-order (Dover Sole, Duck a l’Orange and Rack of Lamb) but in Queens Grill  there were those plus Beef Wellington, Chateaubriand and Lobster Thermidor. I also found in Princess Grill the Maître D’  trie

d to talk me out of making the special orders. I wanted to order Dover sole, but every day  he would keep talking about how there was a better thing on the regular menu  that day, whereas in Queens Grill, the maître d always comes round  asking for special orders. And in Queens Grill I can order  almost anything, even if not listed. For example, when I travel with my partner,  Mark, as he is sensitive to dairy, he asks them to make a sorbet Baked Alaska. The table next  to us, on our recent Quee

n Mary 2 Transatlantic. ordered off-menu every day. Things like steak  tartar, roast chicken, and various curries. Also, in the Grills items like Dover  sole or crepe Suzettes and Cherries Flambe are prepared table side  by one of the Maire D’s with grand performances. This does not  happen in Britannia Restaurant. The second and most obvious perk  is having a bigger cabin which are mostly in the best locations, like  midships on Queen Mary 2 to have least movement on those sometime  rocky Trans

atlantic Crossings. Let me talk about the cabins in more detail. I’ve stayed in a range of Grills suites, ranging  from the more entry level Q6 grade on Queen Mary 2, to Penthouse Q3/ Q4 on Queen Victoria and  Queen Elizabeth to a vast Master Suite on a short 3-night cruise on Queen Victoria. The  décor is pretty similar to Britannia cabins. I’ve also stayed in Princess Grill  cabins, which felt very similar to a mini-suite I had on Princess Cruises  Majestic Princess in terms of size. There are

some big differences that Queens Grill suites get that Princess  Grill and Britannia do not get. Things like a butler, two bottles of alcohol  of your choice, a mini-bar stocked with beers and soft drinks, embarkation champagne,  chocolates, chocolate-covered strawberries, fruit basket and stationary printed  with your name and suite number. The thing I said to those guests asking  if they should upgrade and spend more to go in The Grills was, they will not get  back in perks the large premium

they paid. But they will get a bigger cabin,  probably in a better location, with a much better dining experience  and menu. And a feeling in the limited Grills areas an elevated feeling  of pampering and personalisation. But the crew around the ship will treat  them no different to any other guest. The Cunard experience of the Britishness,  dressing up for formal nights, Ballroom dancing, themed balls to an orchestra in the Queens Room,  in-depth enrichment talks from four speakers, daily after

noon tea, the traditional British  Golden Lion Pub and sense of stepping slightly back in time to a more glamorous age of cruising  will be the same in or out of the Grills. While I don’t think non-Grills guests miss out  on the Cunard experience, I know why some feel they are. The advertising for Cunard makes it  look a very luxurious experience. It is not quite that. It is more like other premium lines  like Holland America, Princess, and Celebrity who they compete closest with than people exp

ect  from the advertising and image – with the Grills providing an elevated  experience but mostly in the dining. One thing Cunard though does that no other cruise  lines is the Queen Mary 2 scheduled Transatlantic Crossings. To find out more about why that  is join me in this video. See you over there.