"But you get what you pay for sir!" Are the fares fair?

[Guest]

Paying more for better service seems to be a given, but do you find this to be unfair? You've all paid to be aboard the same ship, do you feel that you are treated differently from other passengers?

Read the full opinion article here!

We would love to hear what you think of this subject! Is paying more for better service entirely acceptable, or would you like to be treated the same for as everyone else on a cruise?

[Wilba]

It's not unfair at all, the more you pay, the more you expect, and hopefully the more you receive.

Reserved decks, restaurants, lounges etc are what you pay for.

Some people can afford it, but are happy to book a lower grade cabin and some will never be able to afford it, but Hey! That's Life!

As for first come first served for the top grade cabins, No Way!............Wilba

[dst87, Falkirk]

I never understand the problem with this. Better things cost more money, and people with more money will (often, but not always) buy better things.

People often complain that Cunard operate a class-based system. So what? As long as Britannia passengers can enjoy their experience, why does it matter? Britannia guest will never experience the private areas reserved for Grills guests, so they'll never feel like they're missing out. Celebrity's unadvertised closure of otherwise-available lounges for Captain's Club functions is much worse, in my opinion.

I would assume service given would be largely the same in bars and in the MDR regardless of which grade of cabin you paid for. Of course if you sail in the Grills (Cunard), the Yacht Club (MSC), or the upcoming Suite Class (Celebrity) you'll have your own dining room in which I would expect better service. That's what comes with more staff per passenger, a small number being catered for, and a more intimate dining room. That's precisely what you're paying for.

Cabins being on a first come first served basis? That's insanity! I promise there would be much more annoyance if those booking at the last minute got a poorly situated inside cabin for the same price someone booking early paid for a top suite!

[annie, Glasgow]

I don't sail Cunard but aren't other cruise lines doing similar things like MSC Yacht Club??

Let me think about it:

1 cruise in Queen's Grill or multiple cruises in a lower grade cabin - no brainer for me.

Annie

[dst87, Falkirk]

I don't sail Cunard but aren't other cruise lines doing similar things like MSC Yacht Club??

Let me think about it:

1 cruise in Queen's Grill or multiple cruises in a lower grade cabin - no brainer for me.

Annie

Thankfully this diversity gives people the choice!

Isn't it great that we're all different I can't quite justify the PG/QG prices, though I don't begrudge or envy those who can.

[Malcolm, Essex]

It's NOT unfair, it's NOT 'class' distinction, it is CAPITALISM.

There are a range of accommodation and services on-board EVERY cruise ship linked to the fare paid or for an additional premium.

I think there was a time in the earlier days of cruising (after the demise of the great Ocean Liners) when the old 'class' system was scrapped and the range of facilities on-board cruise ships were generally 'one size fits all' for example: there would be just one main dining room. Cunard's system of three dining rooms, linked to the cabin grade/fare paid was quite an anomaly for many years.

However, today even the mass market ships like MSC, RCI and NCL have 'ship-within-a-ship' features. A prime example is NCL's 'Haven' complex (below) with private key-code access, private pool, private deck space and a private dining room and bar etc.



Interestingly the cabins which sell fastest on-board any cruise ship are the cheapest (inside ones) and the most expensive suites. All o the middle grades take longer to sell.

.. do you think that the better rooms should be on a first-come, first-served basis, like seats at concerts, for example?

I don't understand this statement. Rooms ARE sold on a first come first serve basis. When the big cabins are all sold, they are no longer vailable. Even concert tickets are sold at different prices for different locations.

Cabins being on a first come first served basis? That's insanity!

It does sound like insanity, but it would be a sure-fire way to reward early bookers if all cabins were sold at the same fare. It would eradicate much of the last-minute rush that cruise lines don't like. However money would be lost, so it's unlikely to ever happen.

"But you get what you pay for sir!"

If only life was that simple!

If you pay twice the cost for a product, is it twice as good as one half the price? Will it even be any better at all? Hopefully!

Why, just because they have paid more, should richer people not have to wait to board like everybody else?

Sociologists no longer talk about 'class' segregation, they often talk about 'consumption' patterns.

I can afford to travel 'Grill Class' if I want, but I choose to spend less on more modest accommodation. It is not because I am not 'rich' and I do not accept that those that do travel 'Grill' are all rich.

What does rich mean anyway?

[philhar, wallasey]

As Duncan has hinted the "class" system" is much more subtle these days,I can remember as a child being unable to access quite a few areas onboard as I was "tourist" class and naturally as a child pondering what wonders these areas had.

[annie, Glasgow]

As Duncan has hinted the "class" system" is much more subtle these days,I can remember as a child being unable to access quite a few areas onboard as I was "tourist" class and naturally as a child pondering what wonders these areas had.

Is it 'class' as is usually perceived ??

I just view it as a sort of penthouse grade - good for them but I would rather spend my money on other things

Annie

[Norfolkboy, Norfolk]

If someone can afford it then why not it's their choice, I personally would rather have an inside cabin so I could have twice as many cruises or more.

If people would rather segregate themselves from the masses that's up to them, it makes no odds to me I'll still be enjoying myself.

NB.

[MAGGIEMOU, CYPRUS]

I Like to travel on Cunard ships and I always enjoy the experience.
Booking into Queens grill would not be for me.
I am not interested in having a private butler as I have my own anyway, namely my husband who brings me, fetch me, carries me on a daily basis.
I am not interested in having a large private balcony as I have an even bigger extra large one here on my house and sit and see the sea daily.
Food wise I am not into gourmet cooking. I like nice food simple and no thing fattening so all the lush stuff would be wasted on me. A good piece of seared tuna or Barramundi from Britannia is all that I require. (I had loads of sushi a special order) delivered to our table in Britannia and if there was absolutely nothing I fancied which was rare I was offered something different not on the menu.
Strawberries dipped in chocolate I can live without on embarkation day, and we get a priority boarding anyhow through loyalty. Also priority disembarkation.
I am not bothered about laying in the sun all day and really as long as I am not surrounded by screaming kids I will lay next to who ever is there. I am not fussy
To arrive at dinner any time between 6-0 and 9-30 or what ever the time the Grills dine is also not for me as I like to go to dinner at 8-30 and know everyone else is going to be there as well.
I love the atmosphere in the Britannia and we had the best table on the the ship on QE this year, table 317 the one that is in all the photos of the restaurant. the one in front of the Captains table and the grand staircase. Just sitting there watching the comings and goings is just great fun. You can see along the corridor and people watch!
Been tucked away in a secluded lovely restaurant is very nice if you enjoy that, but not for me.
I have a lot of friends who sail in the Grills. They are just the same as me and we all get along and have a good time. Often meeting for drinks in the Commodore before dinner. What I found this year was three of them (all rather large people) would eat in the Lido as well. Often having a meal in the Grills and nipping in the Lido for seconds or for ice cream.
It was funny watching one guy we know it was as if he did not want his wife to know he had been there so it was all a bit hush hush!
A lady friend was in the Grill on her own and spent weeks in her suite just getting room service delivered. The Butler was on call for her all day and God did he earn his keep! I would not want to be indoors no matter how nice the room is as I am too nosey and like to see what is going on about the ship
The Grills sun deck on QE is visible from the midships pool for us non Grill paxs. I noticed it was never busy. Maybe because it is right under the ships funnel and whistle and you got blasted at 12-00 noon each day. The beds have better mattresses and the towels are different colour , but us steerage paxs still could take three towels for your lounger or more if need be and most people did. The pool waiters walked around serving drinks so no hardship there. Click your fingers and they came running.
The most expensive Grill suites on QM2 have balconies and they look down on us steerage pax, however we have a better view of them as we look up and see right into their large living area. So not a lot of privacy there. Also you can stand one deck up from the Grills private deck on QM2 and look down on them and the crew deck is just above and they do the same. May as well just sun bathe on deck 8 and watch the wake of the ship.
I am certain that people who book the Grills really love it! In fact I know they do, but it isn't for me. No matter how big the walk in wardrobe is most people never take as many clothes as I do or even dress up as I do so it really doesn't matter. It is all down to what one feels they want to spend and if it is the Grills then good, go for it! You will have a good time on Cunard I think what ever cabin you book.

[Curious, London]

The idea that if you pay more, you can get better accommodation is just how capitalism has always worked, but the emergence of ship-within-a-ship facilities with separate dining rooms, separate deck areas, separate pools and separate bars is different. It has to be seen in historical context.

There was a rigid system of class division in the older liners. First class, second class and third class had entirely separate facilities. First class, sometimes as few as 10% of the passengers, had most of the ship for themselves. Third class travelled in dirty, overcrowded conditions with inadequate numbers of toilets and washing facilities, terrible food, hardly any space for recreation and access to only a very small part of the deck. Over the course of the twentieth century, conditions in third class improved, some ships allowed passengers of different classes to mingle in some public areas and some ships moved to a two-class system of cabin class and tourist class with lesser class divisions.

One of the ideas with the advent of cruising was the move to one-class ships where all the public areas were shared, regardless of the grade of accommodation booked. It was an attempt to get away from the class hierarchy on liners that came to be seen as obnoxious. Cunard was the lone hold-out against this. On QE2 the accommodation in Mauretania grade was worse than on a normal cruise ship and, as Malcolm described on his blog, the food served in the Mauretania restaurant was also worse than on normal cruise ships. The class divisions on the new Cunard ships are much less obnoxious because all the accommodation is of a reasonable standard, the Britannia restaurant is the most spectacular dining room (like the first class dining room on an old-school liner) and the food is of similar quality in each class.

The move by MSC, NCL and RCI towards a ship-within-a-ship for suite passengers, with separate dining rooms, separate deck areas, separate pools and separate bars is bringing back the old first class on a smaller scale. A suite passenger can avoid the distastefulness of mingling with the hoi polloi. Cruising was intended to be more egalitarian, with people in different grades of accommodation prepared to rub shoulders and perhaps even talk to each other, but as memories faded of the old class divisions, economic inequality has increased in the US and the UK since 1980, and now a class system like the one on the old liners is being quietly introduced to cruise ships. The extremely relaxed attitude you are all taking to it shows that consciousness about class divisions has faded since the one-class system on cruise ships became the norm in the 1960s.

[Malcolm, Essex]

On QE2 the accommodation in Mauretania grade was worse than on a normal cruise ship and, as Malcolm described on his blog, the food served in the Mauretania restaurant was also worse than on normal cruise ships.

Very well read!

Yes the QE2 food was probably the worst (maybe mediocre is a better term) that I've had on a cruise ship including the budget and mass-market lines!

Thanks for providing an historical context.

[annie, Glasgow]

If the ship is the destination for you, the 'privileges' of the better grade cabins may be more important to you.

As I say it doesn't bother me - unlikely to sail Cunard as I don't do formal nights - so 19th century - JMO

Annie

[Garfield, Waterlooville]

Banish the hoi polloi from the parts of the ship that us ragamuffins frequent...that's what I say..
Let them pay extra for their own bit of the ship but don't come lording it up in our bit..
Why they want to travel on the same ships as us I've no idea....if I had the money why travel MSC in Yacht class when you could travel Silversea?
They want to look down their (usually red from to much port) noses at us...that's why...
Nuff said
Regards
Garfield

[annie, Glasgow]

Banish the hoi polloi from the parts of the ship that us ragamuffins frequent...that's what I say..
Let them pay extra for their own bit of the ship but don't come lording it up in our bit..
Why they want to travel on the same ships as us I've no idea....if I had the money why travel MSC in Yacht class when you could travel Silversea?
Nuff said
Regards
Garfield

Thanks for the chuckle. But don't they sit in the same theatres/bars as the rest of us?? oh no!

If they want to pay OTT for their cabins - let them get on with it

Annie