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Is Cunard Cruise Line still unique, different and special enough to be worth cruising on? I explore how Cunard now compares to other cruise lines to see if Cunard Cruise Line stands out from the cruise crowd enough to be worth going on a cruise vacation with.
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0:00
while other cruise lines have been
0:02
changing adding new features
0:04
experiences and even totally rethinking
0:06
ship design
0:08
cunard cruise line has largely stayed
0:10
the same
0:11
now i've done 20 cruises i've spent 176
0:14
nights on qnart ships
0:16
at the time of recording this means i've
0:18
traveled on cunard more than
0:20
any other cruise line now that's mostly
0:22
because for the last 15 years
0:24
every time i go on a cruise vacation
0:27
with my partner
0:28
he insists it has to be on cunard and
0:31
the few that were not cunard
0:32
were never rated as good by him but with
0:35
all these innovations going on
0:36
and all the changes since he last tried
0:38
another line
0:40
is now the time to call it a day on
0:42
those
0:43
cunard cruise vacations i've been
0:45
charged with planning our vacation
0:47
cruises
0:48
for next year and the year after and
0:50
drawing on all the experience i've got
0:52
from the other eight or nine times a
0:54
year that i
0:55
go cruising without him for my channel
0:58
i've set about
0:59
trying to convince him not to cruise on
1:01
cunard
1:02
and to try a different line this
1:05
is how i got on if you're new here i'm
1:07
gary bembridge welcome aboard
1:09
i'm here to help make it easy and fun to
1:11
discover plan
1:12
and enjoy unforgettable cruise vacations
1:15
without
1:16
our mind let's go cruising on cunard
1:19
now i hit a snag right up front
1:23
the challenge was transatlantic you want
1:25
to go to transatlantic so one of those
1:27
has to be one of those
1:28
particular vacations now cunard is the
1:31
only
1:32
line that runs a scheduled transatlantic
1:35
service
1:35
on a very specially designed cruise line
1:38
it's not a cruise ship and that's the
1:39
queen mary 2.
1:40
they run seven night crossings from
1:43
southampton to new york and back the
1:45
season
1:45
basically starts at the end of the world
1:47
cruise in may roughly
1:49
and runs until about october time they
1:51
also do a couple of winter crossings
1:52
that goes onto the caribbean
1:54
at christmas they're the only line that
1:55
has a scheduled
1:57
season of transatlantics and a dedicated
1:59
ship but i did
2:00
have an alternative repositioning
2:02
cruises now repositioning cruises
2:04
limits us in some ways to march april
2:06
and september october this is when the
2:07
ships
2:08
are moved from the caribbean to europe
2:10
at the beginning of the season
2:12
in the mediterranean and then from
2:13
europe back to the caribbean to start
2:14
the caribbean season
2:15
the challenge is most of those ships
2:17
don't go from europe or the uk
2:20
to new york they tend to go to the
2:21
caribbean but there's some to find
2:23
the other advantage is there is a huge
2:25
choice of those all the premium lines
2:27
that compete with cunard
2:28
like celebrity holland america princess
2:31
probably even pinot cruisers
2:32
they all do repositioning transatlantics
2:35
even ultra luxury lines do it the more
2:37
family resort lines your norwegians
2:39
royal caribbean
2:40
and so on do them so there's lots and
2:42
lots of choice and they tend to be
2:44
pretty good value because demand for
2:46
those
2:46
is not always that high we've done one
2:48
of those before and it was fine it was
2:50
good value it was on piano arcadia
2:53
however cunard transatlantics won the
2:56
day that they're experts at
2:57
transatlantics they've been doing it for
2:59
about a hundred years
3:00
they understand how to schedule every
3:02
single day of a transatlantic they have
3:03
an amazing program with
3:05
enrichment speakers they have lots of
3:07
events there's a sense of event
3:09
there's a very special atmosphere you
3:11
have beautiful balls you have
3:13
grand afternoon teas and the whole
3:16
sense of experience and the whole sense
3:20
of being part of something special
3:22
is just never created anywhere else on a
3:25
simple repositioning cruise
3:27
also importantly the queen mary 2 as a
3:29
liner is designed to handle the
3:31
vagrancies
3:32
and the ups and downs literally of the
3:34
north atlantic
3:35
so it's a much smoother trip overall
3:38
than it is on a normal cruise ship
3:40
mark who although loves cruising does
3:42
suffer from seasickness
3:44
found the queen mary 2 on crossing
3:46
atlantic was an absolute
3:47
must so that was a challenge i lost that
3:50
particular one for many people
3:51
repositioning is great but nothing beats
3:53
a cunard
3:54
transatlantic next to address was the
3:57
grade of travel because i felt
3:59
there probably is a better option with
4:01
all the changes out there than perhaps
4:03
qnart can offer cunard have three
4:07
class system on their ships they're one
4:09
of the last to make it
4:10
quite as class based as it appears to be
4:13
the whole ship
4:14
is based around this system so you have
4:16
britannia grill
4:18
which are inside to balcony cabins but
4:20
they also include some premium balcony
4:22
cabins britannia club you then have
4:24
princess grill
4:25
and you have queen squirrel it's a bit
4:26
like economy business and first class
4:29
now the other lines of course all have
4:31
this system they all have balconies
4:33
insides
4:34
suites etc but cunard really make
4:37
it much more integral to the whole
4:39
experience now mark
4:40
loves the queen's grill he likes the
4:42
fact that you have the open seated
4:44
dining but you have the same staff
4:45
the ability to order off menu you have
4:47
caviar every night
4:49
he quite likes the whole pampering that
4:51
comes with that queen's grill
4:53
experience the cabins they're good
4:55
they're comfortable and they're spacious
4:57
a queen's grill cabin we would normally
4:58
go at q6 or q5 which is the lower end
5:01
of queen's grill it's basically about
5:03
the size of two
5:04
balcony cabins they're great cabins and
5:07
they have butler service
5:08
and they're very comfortable however i
5:10
have seen phenomenal suites on
5:13
other cruise ships but more importantly
5:15
other cruise lines now have
5:17
a much more integrated premium
5:18
experience with ships within ships
5:20
so for example you've got msc with a
5:22
yacht club you've got norwegian with
5:24
their haven
5:25
inside those areas you have the suites
5:28
you have a concierge lounge you have a
5:30
dedicated bar you have a restaurant you
5:31
have a swimming pool and all those kind
5:33
of facilities other cruise lines like
5:35
celebrity
5:36
are doing similar things on cunard it's
5:38
not quite the same
5:40
on cunard the queen's grill suites are
5:42
dotted around the ship in various parts
5:44
you have those restaurants princess
5:46
grill queens grill you do have a grills
5:48
lounge area but it's nothing
5:50
particularly specific so once you head
5:52
out of your restaurant into the ship
5:55
there is no
5:55
kind of class system in fact the yacht
5:58
club and
5:59
the haven create much more of an
6:01
enclosed
6:02
and special experience for people
6:04
traveling in premium cabins
6:05
that's not really the case on cunard
6:08
now i've traveled and looked at sweets
6:10
on other ships but
6:12
the critical thing though that i
6:14
realized with queen's grill
6:15
for mark was there was a sense of magic
6:17
about it the sense of service
6:19
the menu it is a very elevated and very
6:22
unique
6:23
experience so i realized that convincing
6:26
him to move from the growth experience
6:28
to perhaps a ship within a ship
6:29
was still not enough to convince him
6:31
that's when i realized
6:32
the real reason for cunard and wanted to
6:34
go on cunard was much deeper
6:36
than actually the cabin or the
6:38
restaurant or having access to a
6:40
dedicated
6:41
area what i realized is it was the
6:43
overall keynote experience the
6:45
britishness
6:46
the decor the formality and a tradition
6:49
cunard oozes britishness throughout
6:52
everything it does the senior crew the
6:53
way the things are done it's very
6:55
british entertainment
6:56
humor it's very familiar certainly to
6:59
brits
6:59
they appeal to those outside the uk
7:02
especially
7:03
people in the u.s for example there's a
7:04
real britishness about everything they
7:06
do
7:07
the decor is also very distinctive and
7:09
different
7:10
it harks back to the glory days of the
7:13
liners
7:14
crossing the atlantic it's an art deco
7:16
kind of style
7:17
it's very classic you know from the
7:18
outside that ships particularly things
7:20
like the queen victoria and the queen
7:21
elizabeth
7:22
look like any other cruise ship in fact
7:24
they look pretty much the same
7:25
as many of the honda america ships
7:27
because they are actually the same class
7:29
and structure of ships
7:30
but once you step inside you step
7:32
straight back into
7:33
a world of tradition a world of heritage
7:36
a world of the glory days of the
7:38
crossings it's a very distinctive
7:40
look and feel the minute you step into
7:42
that ship it's hard to define
7:44
but it's a very different feel and
7:46
ambiance the minute you step back and
7:48
you're transported
7:49
back in time to a more glamorous age
7:52
there's also an enormous amount of
7:53
formality
7:54
and tradition on cunard so for example i
7:57
brought up the issue of the dress code
7:59
many people think the dress code on
8:01
cunard is very antiquated however it's
8:04
very
8:04
unique to what they do they're very
8:06
strict on dress code so as
8:08
other cruise lines are moving to more
8:09
relaxed dress code and no
8:11
no dressing up on even informal
8:14
nights
8:15
are what most cruise lines would
8:17
consider extremely
8:18
formal so men are expected to wear a
8:20
jacket a long sleeve shirt you don't
8:22
have to wear a tie
8:23
any longer you used to have to ladies
8:26
would wear really smart
8:27
dresses that's an informal night on
8:29
former nights
8:30
gentlemen are expected to wear either a
8:32
tuxedo or a dark suit and tie
8:35
ladies can wear glamorous cocktail
8:37
dresses or even up to
8:38
almost ball type gowns and it's very
8:41
strictly enforced if you don't want to
8:44
dress up
8:44
in that dress code theoretically you're
8:46
only able to eat in the buffet
8:48
restaurant and you shouldn't even be in
8:49
the public areas
8:50
so it's pretty regimented and pretty
8:52
strict however
8:54
it is part of what cunard do unlike
8:57
other cruise lines
8:58
they're sticking with the tradition and
9:00
the old way of cruising and that becomes
9:03
part of the romance and the appeal
9:05
certainly for mark
9:06
is a sense of dressing up an occasion on
9:08
vacation
9:09
it's part of what he's looking for some
9:12
people
9:12
think it's antiquated but for many
9:14
people it's part of the allure and
9:16
attraction
9:17
so it may sound old-fashioned but it's
9:19
actually becoming extremely
9:20
unique within the cruising world again
9:23
it's part of that whole process
9:24
of stepping into a glamorous world not
9:27
like on land
9:28
not like on other cruise ships dressing
9:30
up becomes part of the q9 experience
9:33
especially on the transatlantic when you
9:35
have all day
9:36
and evening to enjoy the ship so i
9:39
thought all of that
9:39
tradition would be my opportunity to
9:42
switch
9:43
they've stayed largely the same offering
9:44
that traditional classic experience
9:46
while other lines
9:47
in their same class like princess
9:48
holland america celebrity they've
9:50
changed they've modernized
9:51
they've relaxed it however it becomes
9:53
part of what cunard is
9:54
so i had to find another angle q dot
9:57
offer a very classic very traditional
9:59
cruise ship and also a very traditional
10:02
and classic on-board experience
10:04
an experience and process that has been
10:05
around for decades
10:08
choices are pretty limited and this i
10:09
thought could be the opportunity
10:11
especially dining for example celebrity
10:14
and princess
10:14
they have lots and lots of specialty
10:17
dining
10:18
options even horror america has more
10:20
than cunard
10:21
on cunard especially dhani is not really
10:23
an option
10:24
you really only have the veranda however
10:27
within the restaurants they have very
10:28
big menus
10:29
and there are choices you do have as i
10:30
mentioned the veranda you've got the
10:32
buffet you've got room service
10:34
but actually especially dining is not a
10:35
big thing on kunai the venues
10:37
are relatively limited hot america has
10:39
got the music walk celebrity
10:40
on the new ships have eaten that big
10:42
experiential dining and entertainment
10:44
place
10:45
cunard has the queen's room where you do
10:48
dancing in the evening
10:49
and perhaps have some shows there but
10:51
they don't have these big new
10:53
modern venues it's not core to what they
10:55
do
10:56
all those competitors are trying to add
10:57
new flagship
10:59
innovative venues and places where
11:01
cunard has kept it
11:03
very simple and classic could this be an
11:05
opportunity
11:06
to get him to switch the casino on
11:08
cunard is pretty small and limited
11:10
and mark likes to play blackjack however
11:12
it was actually enough for his needs
11:14
the shows are predated i think on cunard
11:16
versus all the others
11:18
they're pretty standard review type
11:20
shows versus the investment and high
11:22
tech that we're seeing on other cruise
11:24
lines even the latest holland america
11:25
ships
11:26
in fact i think they feel very dull and
11:27
out of date however
11:29
again they were not the reason to switch
11:32
cruise line
11:32
the shows were good enough they were
11:34
enough to keep you busy of an evening
11:36
the wi-fi is pretty dire in my view
11:39
versus
11:39
other lines especially princess and
11:41
celebrity which now have incredibly
11:43
fast wi-fi however his point i don't
11:46
necessarily need that when i'm on
11:47
vacation
11:48
the issue was the ships are actually big
11:50
enough to have choice
11:51
there are enough venues there are enough
11:53
bars there's enough to do it's not too
11:54
big
11:56
however the other elements were much
11:58
more important the experience the
11:59
ambiance
12:00
was bigger and more important than the
12:02
venues
12:03
so what about itineraries could that be
12:05
the way to go
12:06
the cunard fleet is pretty small it's
12:09
had three key
12:10
ships queen mary 2 queen elizabeth queen
12:13
victoria
12:14
and a fourth one on its way so it's a
12:16
pretty small fleet versus
12:17
its competitors so there is much more
12:20
limitation on the places you can go
12:22
however
12:22
i realized this was not really an option
12:24
because we traveled on cunard
12:26
to north america both the east coast and
12:28
the west coast we traveled to the
12:29
caribbean
12:30
we've been to hawaii we've been to new
12:32
zealand we've been to australia we've
12:33
been
12:34
all through asia we've traveled around
12:36
japan we've been to the mediterranean
12:38
and we've been to the norwegian fields
12:39
if we wanted to we could also go to
12:41
south america
12:42
and alaska and africa if we wanted to so
12:45
although
12:45
the fleet is much smaller you can pretty
12:47
much travel anywhere in the world you
12:49
want to on cunard so those bigger fleets
12:51
on the competitors may give us more
12:53
choice more opportunity
12:55
of timing however tinder alone was not
12:57
going to do the trick
12:58
to get a different line chosen and of
13:01
course we have loyalty
13:03
on qnode with diamond and we get perks
13:05
like added wi-fi
13:06
laundry and all kind of other perks and
13:08
benefits
13:09
so i came to realize two really
13:11
important
13:12
things through this whole process cunard
13:15
by actually staying true to what it is
13:18
and has been
13:18
is actually becoming much more different
13:22
to the others the other lines are
13:23
actually blending into each other
13:25
they're changing their dress codes
13:27
they're focusing on specially dining
13:29
they're looking for bigger and better
13:32
bells and whistles and headline grabbing
13:34
features
13:34
but actually they're becoming more and
13:36
more similar cunard
13:38
actually stands out even more than it
13:39
did before because it's unique it's
13:41
different on its dress codes its looks
13:43
its style
13:44
the way that it operates the grill
13:45
system britannia
13:47
princess queensgrill it is actually
13:50
extremely different to the others which
13:51
are becoming more similar
13:53
i also realized that once you find
13:54
something that works there's nothing
13:56
wrong
13:57
with sticking with it my obsession is
13:59
with trying new things it's fine for me
14:01
i have the opportunity to cruise up to
14:03
10 times a year which is what i'm
14:05
doing so some don't work out it doesn't
14:07
really matter
14:08
to me because i have others coming but
14:11
if it's your only cruise vacation
14:13
in a particular year like it is for him
14:16
sticking with what you know
14:17
like and has been proven makes sense
14:20
that
14:20
tied with the fact that cunard is
14:22
actually standing out more and more for
14:23
the competition
14:25
all of that considered means that
14:26
actually both of our trips
14:28
next year and the year after will be on
14:30
cunard
14:31
now i recommend that you find out more
14:33
about kuna by watching this video
14:35
of tips and advice about their
14:36
transatlantic crossings
14:38
including i answer the frequently asked
14:41
question about how smooth
14:42
or rough the caesar when on those
14:45
crossings so click now
14:46
and i will see you over there
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