Chapter 8: At Sea
Another Gala
23.09.2023 - 23.09.2023 75 °F
View Fjords on paulej4's travel map.
"At Sea"
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Queen Elizabeth, sailing on a southwesterly heading on the Medtetrranean Sea, is rocking a bit as we awake just before 8:00. It is 70 degrees outside and at sunrise the skies are punctuated with scattered clouds. North-north-westerly winds create "slight seas with short low swells." The wind blows at 36 knots as we steam at 12.5 knots. With waves about, when one makes from the bed for morning ablutions, caution is the word. It takes a moment to gather sea legs. For me, a man who normally stumbles around at that hour on dry land, vigilance is in order. And for me, the first thing i do is apply my sea sick patch behind my ear; I'm not taking any chances.
We travel with a scale. Going forward, I must call a halt to deserts. And maybe dinner every other day.There is no shortage of food on a cruise. tonight's dinner was beef wellington with baked alaska for dessert. We passed on the bread and the appetizer but enjoyed the amuse bouche. We had to recover from a lunch of pasta carbonera and sliced steak. You can see why the scale is going 'tilt'!
On sea days there are lots of lectures and interesting things to do. We went to listen to Glynda, a geologist with whom we happened to have lunch one day. She gave a lecture today on the Geology of the Mediterranean. It was quite interesting, fascinating really. We followed up with her on a discussion over drinks. She lectures on ships frequently, a good gig if you can get it. Glynda is a very smart and interesting lady. As she explains the evolution of the world and understanding how it has changed over millions of years you realize that Adam and Eve cannot be taken literally.
In addition to being a sea day, it is also a formal night. The theme is 'Masquerade'. We were amongst those without a mask, but lots of folks really got into the spirit of the theme. Paul has lots of pics below of those we encountered this evening, all of us in our fancy attire. One of the pics, and you'll easily figure out which one, is of us and our table mates. We hit the lottery with the two tables next to us. We have great fun together at every meal. We closed the evening with a show called 'Hollywood Nights'. It was like a Las Vegas review, really fun. All in, it was a relaxing lazy day and a very fun evening. The show featured a larger cast than I have ever seen at sea: ten dancers and four singer dancers backed by an 8 piece orchestra. I was highly impressed by the dancers and happy with the singers. That doesn't happen on cruise ships much; I'm quite a critic.
On this day at sea and black tie evening, we look at who is aboard and wonder what they are all about? Why did they pick Cunard, which, with it's English flare, is a bit different than most others with it's 3pm tea time and ballroom dancing. It also seems to us that most everyone on this ship is on it for a minimum of two weeks; some are on it for much longer. That makes the questions even more so. Are they all rich? Do they live part time on the ship? Do they treat themselves once a year or every other year? If cost and age are in the decision set, here is a bit about that.
On this screenshot from vacationstogo filtered to show only everything going out of Barcelona for the next week or so, you'll see balcony cabin price per night variations from $101 to $777 and ship ratings from 3.5 stars to 6 stars.
We are aboard Cunard's Queen Elizabeth--a 5 star ship. The prices you see here are not for upgraded suites but they aren't for inside cabins either. They are for fine balcony accommodations with which most people would be quite happy.
Travel site CruiseHive reports that it costs, on average, $214.25 per person per day to take a cruise. Two-thirds of that is base fare and one third is onboard spending.
Regarding Cunard, Frommer's says it this way: "In general, Cunard attracts a well-traveled crowd of passengers mostly in their 50s and up, many of them repeaters who appreciate the line's old-timey virtues and are more the 4-o'clock-tea crowd than the hot-tub-and-umbrella-drink set. That said, the hoopla that surrounded, and still surrounds, the Queen Mary 2 (and to a lesser degree the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth) is attracting a much wider demographic, especially on summer Atlantic crossings when families travel together and about 50% of passengers might be from the U.S. British passengers make up the next largest percentage, and usually several hundred passengers hail from various other nations, making Cunard one of the few truly international cruise lines." By the way, Cunard is the only cruise line that I know of that offers ballroom dancing to a live orchestra every night of the cruise. If you want to waltz and tango with the pros, this is your only option.
Your American authors are in their seventies. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Global Passenger Report says that Cunard has an average passenger age of 60.5. The average age of all cruise passengers across all companies is 46.7.
So, older folks are aboard, right? Not necessarily. Holland America's average passenger age is 64. Luxury brands also draw an older crowd: Oceania is 64.1, Seabourn is 66.3, Regent is 62.4 and (this comes as a surprise to us) Silversea is only 59.5. We think that the Silversea age may be due to the fact that Silversea is pushing their expedition business and older travelers are less drawn to that experience. It is physical challenging.
Travel expert "The Points Guy," writes: "the Cunard demographic generally is comprised of wealthy, sophisticated individuals." Of note is "the fact that the average length of a Cunard Line voyage is 25 nights. On longer cruises, passengers tend to be from an older demographic, because retirees are the ones with the money and free time to spend on a three, four or five week grand voyage," according to Cruise-Arabia.com.
USAToday reported, "Citing 'growing travel trends,' Cunard ships will have only three formal nights on trans-Atlantic crossings, and two formal evenings on its other sailings. The rest of the evenings will be 'informal,' with jackets required but ties now optional. The change in evening dress codes, [is] from 'formal,' 'semi-formal' and 'elegant casual' to just 'formal' and 'informal.' If passengers opt out of evening wear on formal nights, they will be asked to limit themselves to the ships' main buffet restaurants and the adjoining Winter Garden or Garden Lounge bars, 'out of respect for their fellow guests', Cunard said." Most passengers observe that request but not all.
B4 and I love formal nights. I love to dress in a suit and tie or, better yet, a tuxedo (I own three of them and brought two). That makes me an outlier among the majority of my friends. When we recently invited one dear friend (you know who you are) to a quiet dinner at the River Club in Kansas City--which requires a jacket and tie for gentlemen--that requirement was met with a heavy dose of skepticism. When I reminded my friend that the venue was the most quiet dining opportunity in the city, he relented. I suspect that cruising aboard a Cunard ship would not be his cup of tea. Instead, he would love Norwegian Cruise Lines which is described as 'Cruise Casual," writing 'khakis, jeans, shorts and casual shirts are fine for men.' Nobody even bothers to bring a blazer aboard Norwegian--and that's nice if that's what you want.
Cunard itself is old. Founded in 1839 by Samuel Cunard, it was a shipping company that also offered regular scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service. Carnival Corporation bought Cunard in 1998 but kept its British ambiance in place. A voyage on Carnival and a voyage on Cunard is as different as a road trip in a BMW versus a VW. I've done both and you would not be able to persuade me to sail on Carnival again as I am in the wrong demographic for them.
Our Queen's Grille companions have spent a lot, adjacent Princess Grille passengers only slightly less, Britannia Club passengers a good deal less and Britannia passengers the least. As a reminder, however, the extra money goes to a larger cabin and an upgraded dining room. The entertainment and port visits are the same no matter what one paid. Oh; all excursions aboard Cunard cost extra. On six-star lines such as SilverSea, most excursions at this port and that port are included--as is your non-premium beverage selection. Gratuities for the crew might be pre-paid and might not; you have to check when booking.
On this cruise, our beverage package and gratuities were complementary due to a promotion. The excursions--the only place where we had to stand in line or experienced crowding--the only things we can point to as a strong negative--cost extra. The way to avoid the tourist crowds is to book private excursions. I for one, learned my lesson on that at our first port of call. Please don't let our crabbing about a bad excursion sour you on the idea of a cruise. Cruises are great fun.
That means that the "Price Per Night" column can be deceiving. On SilverSea the price per night includes everything. On Celebrity, it includes just your suite.
And, my impression is, that every cruise sells out these days. Travel & Leisure writes: "...if a cruise's departure date is fast approaching and the ship is only partially booked, prices will drop, and complimentary add-ons will increase, resulting in some happy customers." However if the cruise sells well and you wait too long, I write that "results in some very unhappy customers." For the record, our cruise is sold out.
Here is a look at who is on board with us. A good time, no, a great time, was had by all. EXCEPT for the last lady, the one playing cards. She's a very nasty person. Sorry, but it's true.
(Suggest avoidance if possible)
