What actually separates Cunard’s Princess Grill from Queen Grill — and is it worth the price? On this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal welcomes back Bradley, a lifelong cruiser with over 60 voyages under his belt, to break down Cunard’s iconic Grills experience. From ocean liners and transatlantic crossings to butler service, dining differences, and what Cunard does (and doesn’t) include, this is an honest, insider conversation for travelers deciding whether Cunard Grills delivers true luxury or refined premium cruising.
Dr. Krystal sits down with returning guest Bradley to unpack everything travelers need to know about Cunard’s famed Grills experience — one of the longest-running “ship-within-a-ship” concepts at sea.
Bradley explains Cunard’s deep history as a British brand, the difference between an ocean liner vs a cruise ship, and why Queen Mary 2 remains the only true ocean liner still sailing today. Together, they explore how Cunard’s Princess Grill and Queen Grill suites compare in terms of room size, dining, service, inclusions, and value — including where expectations often don’t match reality.
The conversation goes beyond marketing language to examine what actually makes the Grills experience special: food quality, private dining, quieter spaces, white-glove afternoon tea, ballroom dancing traditions, and Cunard’s old-world elegance. Bradley also candidly addresses where Cunard lags behind other luxury brands, including limited inclusions like Wi-Fi, drinks, spa access, and priority seating.
Listeners will come away with a grounded understanding of who Cunard Grills is best for, why people keep returning despite the gaps, and how Cunard compares to Yacht Club, The Haven, and other modern ship-within-a-ship offerings.
Bradley, creator of Explore with Bradley, is a lifelong cruiser from South Wales, UK. Having sailed on nearly 60 cruises across every major and luxury line, he brings candid, firsthand insights to his growing online community. His content is known for being open, honest, and authentically self-funded—showing what travel really looks like beyond the brochure.
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
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[00:00:00] Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, crystal SOEs, and we've got, honestly, one of my favorite guests back with us. Bradley is here. He is going to. Talk to us and really educate us and me too, about Kard and specifically the grills. Like what is that level of service? What does it mean? I can't wait to dig in and learn everything I can.
So Bradley, please remind. The audience of who you are and let them know anything you want them to know about you. Of course. Well, hello everyone. My name's Bradley. You've seen me before. I'm from Wales in the United Kingdom, and to keep it short and sweet, I am just addicted to cruising. Everything about cruising.
In its entirety. That's me. I'm 30 years of age and I've already been on 60 voyages, uh, from every different brand you can think of. Of course, haven't gone on them all yet, but we're trying to get it all ticked off the list. But yeah, my love for cruise is my love for life, should we say.
Awesome. [00:01:00] That is amazing. Okay, so let's start with ARD in general, because I think of it as sort of the quintessential classic. It's a cruise line, but also it's known for ocean liners, so. Give us some background on Cunard and I think I kind of know, but if you know, what's the difference between a cruise ship and an ocean liner?
Of course. Yeah. As you've rightly said, I think QAD as a whole, even though owned by an American parent company, uh, the Carnival Corporation, it is quintessentially a British. Brand should we say, uh, from the start all the way back to the earlier ships, which I believe is the white star line, famous for certain ships, shall we say, don't want to, uh, you know, throw the name in there.
But, there's certain ships that are a very famous one and a very famous movie, and many others in which it's very much that white. Glove service. You have the bell boys, they call 'em the Kuna boat. They were their red hats, their red uniforms to welcome you on board the afternoon tea. Um, and famously, as you know, that they're [00:02:00] all named after Queens.
Queen Elizabeth, queen Victoria, the new Queen Anne, and of. Course the iconic ocean lion. The only ocean lion left in the world, queen, married to. Now I'm not, an expert on ship, should we say, but from my understanding, an ocean liner is purpose built across the Atlantic or the transatlantic voyage.
'cause one of the most, uh. Famous voyages in the world, especially QM two or Queen Married Two's famous Voyage is the transatlantic. So that's seven nights from Southampton all the way into New York and vice versa. in which, from what I know, is one of the most famous and most well loved. Voyagers ever, because not a lot of people like to fly as we know.
You know, I prefer to cruise, of course, I have no issue jumping on a plane. Um, but it's so iconic because that was done in the yester years, should we say. And in the years gone by where you had all the celebrities, the socialites, the. Everything going on that they would be on this.
'cause it was the best way to travel and the most luxurious way to travel. Um, and not just that, but you could take your dogs on board. I think that [00:03:00] was the selling. That's right. So only on QM two, as far as I know, they have a dedicated kennels. in which, I believe is booked out two and a half years in advance.
Um, because you can also imagine there's quite a few people who have family in different ends of the earth, should we say, or different ends of the Atlantic. and they take their animals 'cause they go for 6, 9, 12 months to the year, you know, and for even longer. And of course I think people would much rather.
Be with their pets when traveling. Of course, on a plane it's a bit different unless you go private, but it's, you're not with your pets. You're putting through so much stress on board. I've seen it for myself. They are treated, uh. Better than humans should we say they've got everything they could ask for.
And rightly so, the amount it costs, 'cause I know it's a lot of money. I don't know the exact cost. However, it's that tradition where the Bell Boys will take them, run the deck, it'll be sectioned off. You have certain hours throughout the day where you can go see them. Um, they've got their own kennels and they're very well looked after.
And yeah, I think it's just a tradition that Qan a started and it's. Still [00:04:00] here today. So, yeah. And as I said, that's on QM two. Um, it's even got the American fire hydrant and the British telephone box mm-hmm. And everything like that for them to feed at home when they need to, uh, enjoy or relieve themselves, should we say.
But, it's, the QM two, the only ocean line in the world, and the most famous from what I know. So yeah, that's what I believe and that's why I strongly. Love the fact that qan a, throughout the years of how long they've been in service, it still remained at the top of that quintessential classic era of cruising.
And even though a lot has changed within the industry, of course it still has that label that it is. Oh, Nard. And that's how like, say Yes. so yeah. People definitely perk up when you hear kudos. Yeah. let's just say a standard veranda state room, would you consider that on the premium side or on the luxury side?
Given the fact as everybody knows a new self, I've gone on recently quite a few [00:05:00] six star cruises and, you know, gone right into the luxury market, should we say, and ultra luxury. Back before these companies started. I would say more towards the luxury side. Of course, every cruise to a degree is luxurious.
Okay. And we're all lucky enough if we get to go on one, that's a luxury within itself. I'm going to say that QNA slots nicely into the premium line because you know, that they're so not small ships, they're medium to large ships. Uh, I'm gonna say more on the medium size, you know, two and a half thousand pastures, that sort of thing.
unless you're in the grills. Every standard of class. Again, it used to be a class basis and some people still think of it as a class basis. And so you've got the Britannia Club, princess Grill, and Queens Grill. So even though the grills takes into account the princess and the Queens, there's two different levels.
I'll go through the difference there, how it differentiates, however, yeah. Um, yes, if you're in the grills, you're very much looking at the. Luxury side of things for many different aspects and the ship as a whole and the company and the [00:06:00] line very much within the premium market. Obviously since COVID and even before COVID, things have changed and there's been cutbacks, so I certainly wouldn't say that, you know, they may have lost that edge over.
Their competitors, should we say. Um, and different lines have come out, but I'm very much saying it's sitting on a budget cruise line by any means. And they still have that traditional sense of, in the evenings there is a dress code. It's not as strict as it used to be, but gentleman wear jackets, you know, ladies cocktail, whatever ladies decide to wear
It's all labeled. Um, but very much, you know, it's a formal cruise line, should we say. Mm-hmm. But more relaxed as of now. Yeah. Okay. That's a good sort of like backdrop. So now tell us about the different grills and what distinguishes them. what pops them into that luxury category? So the grills in its entirety, um, it differs between ships because obviously there's a new ship now and that's changed a bit from the older ships, so
The concept of the grills is epitome of luxury [00:07:00] within their brand. It's very much like, um, you know, with the sanctuary collection with Princess, MSCs Yacht Club, the Haven with NC, it so very much, revolves around that. But this was set prior to all these companies. 'cause of course, the grills goes back.
Gosh, I can't tell you how many years. Um, it used to be a class-based system, back in the olden days, should we call it. people still think of it now, however, I just think of it as it's a sweet category. So the grills in itself, you will get Princess Grill and Queen Grill. Now with both, you get priority boarding, you know, priority.
Welcome you get in the Princess grills. The differential to the cabins or the suites should we say? 'cause there's a princess grill suite and a princess queen girl suite. Now obviously the princess It's like the mini suites on a princess ship, sort of the royal clash ship.
Okay. Yeah. So it's like a soup. Peria deluxe balcony on other ships. So you walk into your suite, there'll be of, of course your lovely bed, a nice [00:08:00] sofa with a little sort of dining area, and then your balcony. Um, and some differ. There's either bath or a shower depending on what ship you're in. so it's very much follows the same standard layout of other ships.
Now the Queen Grill suites are obviously. Bigger. So the epitome of, you know, a queen Trump's a princess. Um, so it's very much that. Yeah. So in regards to the suites themselves, yes, they do differ and they differ a lot 'cause you have different categories and of Queen Grill. So the Princess Grill are all the same category.
Obviously some are a bit better if they're in the middle of the ship, but they're all the same layout and all the same, square footage, or meters or. Whichever way you are in the world. now the queen grills differ quite a lot. We like the aft queen grill suites 'cause they have a lovely wraparound balconies or deeper balconies, uh, at the back.
Some have big ones at the front. Uh, again, all depends what ship you're on. Um, but these can vary from a standard Queen's Q six suite, which we love right up to a duplex or, A staircase, with two balconies, [00:09:00] you know, piano bar, everything you can think of.
They even have adjoined rooms. So if there's a big family or if you have, you know, there's some families that go with, staff should we say, or nannies or anything like that. Everything is there. So it very much varies in the size of there. Now in the Grills experience itself, there's.
Two restaurants, you get the Princess Grill Restaurant and the Queen Grill restaurant. Now is there a lot of difference? Some people will disagree with me and say, no, there's not that much difference, and the service is the same. I will agree with the service 'cause the service within the grills as a whole is fantastic Now.
Recently on cruises, we have seen a difference in the cutbacks and the food. Now we have different sort of food in the Queens grill. When I mean different, I mean subtle changes. For example, a few more specialty sort of dishes within the menu. The a la carte. You can order certain things off menu in the Queen's Grill, which you may not be able to do in the Princess Grill if you ask nicely.
they might do [00:10:00] it, they have done it in the past, but it all depends on what should be on and what team is there, should we say. Um, but it doesn't differentiate a lot you know, you wouldn't go into both restaurants and think, oh my gosh, one was miles different over the other.
However, on recent avoiders, a lot of people have said and fed back to me, and even we got into this. They tend to use sometimes the likes of different cuts of meat. So your fillet in the queen might be a better fillet steak, um, and not upper my meat, but you know, a better quality of grain of meat, should we say, compared to the Princess grill.
And not only that, in the Queen's grill, this is one of the perks of it. I love caviar. Now you can have cavi. Included in the Queen Grill, you can't have that in the princess grid. It'll cost something like $90. So there's subtle changes, you know. But QA very 90, like A $90 addon, 90 0 I don't know how much that's for in its entirety.
Um. Yeah, that's for my previous cruise. Of course that might have changed. Um, but that's what it was. But that's where it gets clever. That's where Q and A [00:11:00] clever in their marketing. 'cause as you know, a lot of people in the luxury category will see the fact of, oh, you get C on the Queen grill. Even though you could be paying thousands of pounds more on top of Princess for a Queen's grocery because of the luxury and extra perk they will pay because I'm one of them.
I won't pay the thousands of pounds of difference. But you know what it's like when you get into that luxury market and the way the marketing is in its entirety for these cruise lines, they're very clever and they know what to do. Just like if you get a Queen Grill suite, you get two complimentary bottles of liquor as we call it here, or you know,
Vodka. Alcohol. Alcohol. Yeah. Um, in the princess. Sweet. You don't, but this is where it also changes. The American viewers can correct me on this. Um, in the Canadian and all North America side. When you book there, I believe you have an option or it's included that it comes with a drinks package. Now over here.
We have to add on the drinks package. Now, prior to them offering drinks packages, it's only over the last few years here that they've [00:12:00] actually offered drinks packages on board. It used to be primarily buying, you know, just buying on board. But I know a lot of American friends that I have an American guests, when they book their crews, it comes included.
Or if you book the grills, it comes included with the drinks package. So that's something to look out for if you are booking from different parts of the world. Um, interesting. So let me just Say that back to you. So I understand. So if you're booking in North America, yeah. When you look into the Queen's Grill and the Princess Grill or just Queens Grill?
I can't tell you exact, but I have been in, on cruises before or one thing, a qan a say it's a voyage, not a cruise. So it's a qan, a voyage. Okay. Um. They have booked. Now, whether again this is with the travel agent or with Kuna directly, if you actually go onto the US site when they've booked it, there might be a deal to say if you book a princess or a Queen girl suite, we will include uh, a classic drinks package, should we say.
'cause I believe it's a classic and a premium. Um, but that was only for us and North. You know, nothing that [00:13:00] side of the world should be said. Yeah, back here it was never a thing. It was never inclusive. It was always you either prepay Yeah. Prior to the cruise or you just buy your drinks as your pay as you go.
Should we say on board? Yeah. Okay. So whether that's all changed now. 'cause as you know, they've changed things completely over the last few years and just recently. They have done a new drinks package. They're following the likes of p and o that I've just launched, which are changing things up. I can't give you the ins and outs 'cause I'm not sure 'cause it hasn't come out in its entirety, but constantly changing.
So it's a good thing for these viewers to understand is where you book in the world could very much change. Your inclusive package as a whole. So always look out for that and always look out for the deals because as I said, that your area of the world tends to have more inclusions within the deal.
Yeah. Okay. Good tip. Maybe try and get on the US site or Yes, exactly. Or whatever. Yeah, if you can. Okay, got it. Awesome. so there's two separate restaurants depending on if you [00:14:00] book Queens Grill or. Princess Grill. Correct. Um, and also the only difference in the rooms mostly is the size between Princess and Queen and the size of the balcony, size of the interior and size of the balcony.
pretty much yes. and a few perks here and there. For example, the Queen's Grill guests get a Butler and the Princess Grill guests don't. So whether or not you use your butler, of course, it's like pretty much. I'll use Princess for an example. If you're on a princess cruise, uh, they don't have a Butler service, but you have a full suite with access to the suite, you know, restaurant and whatever else.
Or the new sanctuary person. Mm-hmm. All the other ships. Yeah. Um, the club class, should we say. And then you have a mini suite. Mini suite is lovely, but it doesn't have the inclusions of a full suite. So think of it like that on the princess in Queens. Yeah. However, they do get that. The specialty restaurant, which is only for queens, grow guests and princess grow guests and the grills in its entirety.
Every grill's guest will get a separate lounge, a separate sandeck, and [00:15:00] that area pretty much like the yacht club or the sanctuary collection. For example, on Queen Anne, they now have, an extended bar area. So when you go up to the grill deck, it's its own deck with a little bar. Two restaurants. So think of it, you walk up the stairs or you have your key access into the elevator.
You walk out, you've got the bar, and then on the left, princess. Right Queens or, vice versa. And they all share the same sandeck, and little jacuzzi pool. Plunge pool, should we say on the new Queen Anne. little jacuzzi on the back for Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Victoria, I don't think have a pool or jacuzzi, but again, it differs between ships.
So this is what people need to be careful of, is if you looking specifically at the market in tools with QA. You'll open the brochure and you'll see Queen Anne, you'll see their little jacuzzi and their new deck area, and you automatically think, oh, that's what I'm going to get on Elizabeth Victoria, or Queen Mary
And it's not always the case. You will get the girls experience, of course, and you will get the deck and you will give. But it's completely [00:16:00] different. For example, queen Mary's Eck is a little section of the back ship with a small jacuzzi because she's an ocean lion in the way that she's set out. Now, if somebody was to look at the brochure and book the grills based on they want this lovely Eck with these lovely views and these, you know, lovely little pool and all this sort of thing, if they went on Queen Mary, they'd be quite disappointed because that wasn't.
What was in the brochure? Yeah. 'cause they use the different, same as every, you know, company. they use their biggest and best ships, but it's always something to look out. For the girls experience as a whole, they would always get the restaurant, the bar, the sandeck, the lounge area that's the same on all ships to a point, different designs, different areas.
but they also differentiate quite a bit, um, depending on what ship you're on. Yeah. Love it. Okay. That's really helpful. Okay. And so would you say that because the grills have existed, those different categories have existed for decades? [00:17:00] Do you think that Cunard really sort of led the idea of a ship within a ship concept before that term was ever even coined?
That's a very good question. 'cause I thought about this, especially at my age, obviously I was very lucky, uh, ever since a young age to be able to travel cruising in its entirety whatever level on the ship you are. As we got a bit older, um, we've always gone in suites, which is fast only because we preferred.
And the fact that it suited our family better because it was always a multi-generational cruise. My great-grandmother, my grand, my mum. My sister, me. So it was, you know, we had four generations at one point, um,three generations. And it was a case of you could have a suite connecting with a balcony cabin or two suites connecting.
It just worked. was ship within. The ship was never used because we were pretty primarily Pinot cruises who had a suite class, but it was nothing like it is today. There was pretty much no perks. You had a, but there was no separate restaurant stuff like that. [00:18:00] The only time I viewed in the, my. Latter few years of cruising.
So say the last 10 years of a ship within the ship was from MSC because they sell that as a ship within a ship experience. To your question, to the point, as we said, it was very much a class-based system years ago. However, when you talk about did they invent the luxury suite level of cruising and a sanctuary within the ship, or as, you said, a grill section within the ship, do I think so?
To my knowledge, yes. I dunno anybody else that did it, of course there might have been other companies. I'm gonna strongly say and confidently say yes. They started that luxury level of cruising on a mega scale for that time because their ships at the time were the biggest in the world.
They were the best. And you know, you are talking A level of luxury and the cost of that luxury that I certainly couldn't afford in today's world. It just so happens now that luxury is on such more of a massive scale or mass market, should we say that it has become more affordable for [00:19:00] someone like myself.
so yeah, back then it was a very different understanding of the ship within the ship experience. But should we say they might have been the pioneers of it. Yeah. that's how I sort of see it And then I also wonder too, because if we think historically, you know, the movies we've seen and whatever about the Ocean Liners and the crossings and the class system, the lower classes didn't really mix and mingle with the upper classes.
And when I'm saying class, I'm not saying people, I'm saying the level of service they paid for. Level of room they paid for. Right. I mean, there some distinctions. you couldn't cross over. no. I'm thinking if you're in one of the grills, you can go to the rest of the ship.
You're not Correct. Sort of confined. Exactly. Now, this is why, um, back to your original question of premium or luxury, because now these days, as you know, with [00:20:00] Kard, the Yacht Club Haven, everything like that. You are able to mix. Okay. Individuals who are not within, um, the sweet level of class can't come up, although, you know, there always will be.
And people always like to come and see and have a nose and rightly so, especially on turnaround days. If it's something for you to come and have a look, but you are right back is certainly was stricter and a different understanding of a ship within the ship, feel back in them days because your class-based system was right.
This is you. If you are. Um, the old term of Steel Ridge. Should we say third class, you know where you bought your ticket and that was your ticket for your room? That's where you were. You might have had a little open deck at the back of the ship or right down at the dregs of the ship, should we say.
And then the ones who were in, you know, second and first class, so we say the grills class, um, had free range of the ship, but just for them. So it was a lot more strict and a lot more privacy. And the fact of we are in this class of ship, And this is where we're allowed to access. and you are not, [00:21:00] as you know, from famous, scenes within a certain movie.
Um, it very much was. And that's what he was portrayed as. you paid for this. Yeah. And this is what I'm getting. paid for that and that's where you are. Um, nowadays with the grills, do we love the grills, of course, but there's nothing better than, having your food, of course, up in the grills, lovely spending time at the bar and the Sunday, and then you roam around the ship.
And that's what you do because You've gotta go see things, haven't you, if you wanna see a show, it's not just for guests, it's for everyone. So you've gotta go to the theater. Yeah. if you wanna visit one of the bars or if you wanna walk around the ship, you go out to the grills.
So Yeah. you're very much right. it's certainly changed and it's adapted. Very much so. so is there anything on the rest of the ship that. Is afforded to you or any perks that come with a grill's room, prior to boarding, as I touched upon earlier, you get priority boarding, pretty much so when you get to Southampton or whatever port you're in, I've already gone from [00:22:00] Southampton on a Q nine cruise, so you've got your lovely, like any suite within certain ships.
You priority boarding. When you board, you get on board and then you have a welcome on board lunch within the grills, uh, restaurant, whichever princess or queen that you are. Now, that's primarily all the sort of, benefits you would get there. As I said, when you get your room, if you're in the princess, there's another two things actually, I forgot to mention.
Princess Grills get a bottle of Prosecco and if you're in the Queen's grills, you get a bottle of champagne, which is normally, um, Lauren per. That is something where a lot of people think, oh, well no, I prefer a bowl of champagne, so I will pay the extra money. Just like I was saying about the caviar, and a lot of people, listeners might think, well, I certainly wouldn't, but trust me, there's a lot of people that certainly would do that.
and I know quite a few of them, within the cabins, as I said, Butler service for Queens. Um, not for princess. You get a pillow menu with. Both, rooms for Princess and Queens, uh, larger rooms than before. And of course, them grill amenities. Should we say amenities? [00:23:00] Is the restaurant, the lounge, the bar?
of course, I might have a few small Yeah. Uh, benefits. Yeah. But as for the. Best of my knowledge, you don't have certain area, you've got your grills area, but you don't have perks to say, oh, grills, guests can go here first, or grill guests can go there. there's nothing like that.
from what my understanding you will, on a longer voyage get invited to A senior cocktail party, something like that. I think that's more primary for the Queen's grills. Um, but there's certainly no perks in. My biggest thing is with QA, you pay so much, why aren't things like wifi included?
Why don't you get a onetime complimentary, minibar setup. In the Queens you get your two free bottles of alcohol, and if you've got a drinks package, then you should be able to have things in your minibar, as far as I'm concerned. But it's very, stringent.
primarily I believe the people who purchase the grills. It's because of the grills. Not so much the itself. It's because of the food. The best thing for me within the grills is the food. So yeah, there certainly is a lot of benefits and you certainly pay the price for them, but it's having that ship [00:24:00] within the ship experience of that little deck with the restaurants, the service.
the attentive, the luxury of that and making you feel Luxurious. But there's no premium seating for the theater I was gonna touch on because Princess have actually stopped doing this now, from what I've seen. They used to do the plus and the premium package and they would give you premium seating.
Um. You know, within the theater or MSC Yacht Club have this section, um, of the theater. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Nothing like that. You know, nothing at all. it's like any other mainstream cruise line where you've gotta get there as early as you can if there's a good show. So again, well done for touching on that.
'cause something I was gonna go into is the factor. Where's perks like that when you pay that much money, you know, look at what other lines are doing and what their inclusions are. it's non-existent and I don't think it ever has been. Now talking about the earlier years of cruising, I can't comment, but certainly over the last 15 odd years that I've been with Q Nard, I've never had premium seating or anything like that.
Sort priority over whatever, [00:25:00] you know. Yeah. 'cause you know, part of the luxury experience is sort of ease and if it's a really popular show, I don't know how big the theaters are, but if it's a really popular show, and let's say you've got a group of four or five, like, you don't wanna have to, if you're paying all that for the grills, you don't wanna have to rush through your dinner or whatever so that you can make sure to get to the theater in time to get completely agreed.
All of your seats together. Absolutely. And as you know, unlike many ship within the ship experiences, they're either at the top. Outta the way of the theater, you know, so you've gotta get there. And the grills experience when it comes to dining. Is a formal affair. you're not talking two or three courses.
You can have 4, 5, 6 courses, as many as you want. So you go to dinner and you treat it like a banquet. You know, you go, of course everybody's different. Yeah, they can go then they just want a main course. But for me, when I'm on a QA cruise, and I've paid that. Grills price. I want to go to dinner and I want to sit there and I want to enjoy all my friends and family and have this amazing food, and then [00:26:00] not have to rush anywhere.
So as you rightly said there, if you don't have that priority seating or certain areas within the ship where something is on entertainment wise, are you gonna have that factor of, oh gosh, you know, am I gonna make it? and yeah, you're right. Yeah, I completely agree. Anything else? you know what I realize, like I don't talk to many people about the spa.
It doesn't come up that often as I'm talking to people about their experience. But are there any spa perks? That might go along with Grills experience. Again, from what I have seen, um, you know, whether that's the fact that I'm not a spa person, so that's just me and that's just my own preference.
You know, I have family and friends that absolutely love the spa, so I wouldn't really go through my grills sort of benefits and think, oh, I've got spa treatment included, but I can tell you 99.9% certainty that nothing like that is included at all. So again, MSC is, I'll use them as
you've got access to the aurora spa area, you know that that comes with it. Which normally you have to pay for. I dunno about NCL or the likes of, princess, I don't think they have any exclusive benefits there. in [00:27:00] regards to the spa, very nice spas with every treatment and everything that you can think of.
Yeah, for sure. But again, no, you would think being in the grills, you would get the likes of, from my understanding, people may differ with me. If you're paying that much money, why aren't you drinks included like every other line that you. For that level. Why isn't your internet included? Why haven't you got them?
I know Now this is something else that comes up. Some companies will offer you free meal specialty dining for one night I also know that some of the staunch, Q Nard that are listening and certainly myself will know that no specialty restaurant will touch how good.
The grills are, you know, people might have different premises. Like I love the Veranda Steakhouse in which I go to a perk of my loyalty is I get to have a lunch once in one of the voyages, for my diamond status. Um mm-hmm. So I go there and Is it amazing? Yes. And is it a different level to the grills?
No. Is it a better setting? No, I'm not gonna say so. But because it's specialty and you've technically paid for it, you [00:28:00] do feel a little bit special because it is a specialty restaurant. However, the grills in its entirety is a specialty restaurant for the grills. Yes. So, yeah, I can't give you with a definite answer on the spa, but I can say with 99.9% that no, no perks like that are included.
Yeah. Okay. So, um, I know you were earlier on, and for people who aren't watching on YouTube, you were sort of like. Grading the different levels. Is there a level of state room above the grill? No. So you get, standard, um, sort of level, should we say. the leading category is Britannia, so Britannia balcony, uh, Britannia inside Britannia, ocean View.
and then you've got a Britannia club, which is, a standard balcony cabin like you would have normally or veranda. For you guys. Um, but you have little perks such as, you do have a separate restaurant called the Britannia Club Restaurant. Now this is, again, mixed reviews, [00:29:00] but this is a separate restaurant on Elizabeth, Victoria and Anne that you can go for, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I think it's only lunch on sea days, but you know, I can check that. Yes. Um, where you will have the same table. For your entire voyage with the same staff or the same crew very much like, uh, the sweet experience and unlike the grills, but it's a little attentive, you get a little, a la carte menu as well.
Only a few dishes on there. such as the rack of lamb and Dover soda. it's like that. Mm-hmm. Um, where you get specialty with sometimes as well, they'll do a tableside, like in the grills, pretty much everything you order is tableside. They'll prep it in front of you.
The Britannia Club, is obviously a bit more expensive than the normal Britannia. Is it worth it? We've done it and I certainly think it is for the right price and I very much enjoyed it, but that's primarily the only perk you get there, apart from Priority Boat and that's also included. and possibly a few other perks.
And then you get to the grills. So I'll go from the bottom. It's Britannia Britannia [00:30:00] Club Princess Grill. Queens Grill, nothing above Queens' Grill. Got it. So there's also obviously loads of different categories of Queens, grill Suites ranging from the standard layout Q six, all the way up to the duplex suite.
Which, you know, there can be multiple levels, but of course depends on what ship you're on. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, so you talked a little bit about is the Britannia Club worth it? What do you think after all of your, experiences on, luxury and maybe even you've been on some premium ships in a higher level suite, do you think the value is there or is it more.
That the history behind it, does that add a little bit to it, that you really can't put a price tag on it? I always come back to this. Everybody has different experiences and everybody has a different, sort of expectation of the level of luxury or premium class, whatever way you put it. If you are happy paying a price and you are happy with your service, then.
That's down [00:31:00] to you. you're gonna have a different experience to me. You're gonna like different things. Do I believe that, Kuna Grills, should we say is expensive? Yes, of course it is. And just like any other cruise line, even though we know now that we're going into the luxury market, that there are certain categories of luxury that I believe to be good value.
Mm-hmm. Do I constantly see myself going back to the grills? Yes. Because I love it for the history. I love it because the grill speaks to me in regards to, it was one of the first, and I always aspired to go in the grills. 'cause as a child we couldn't go as a massive family because it was just too expensive.
And it was an older expression of cruising there where even though I know a lot of children that did go, it is a family area, certainly now, but it wasn't somewhere where we would go as young children because. It wasn't the place to be. I don't mean that in a nasty way, but very much on different lines.
If you're even in a suite, you're in a main dining room or you get a specific thing where the company is different. There, of course it was a very formal [00:32:00] affair. So say now, for example, if we're going three weeks in the Caribbean, we like to go with p and o because back then it was a family orientated ship in which it was a much more relaxed feel.
Now, can you imagine having 10 family members with five kids all under the age of 10 who don't wanna dress up? Don't want to go to dinner for three and a half hours. even though the service is amazing, don't want to be, you know, put in a position where they feel like they can't run around.
Not that you're gonna in dinner, you don't want anybody running around or be loud or joke around or, you know, and it was a much different. Times back then where cruising was. Mm-hmm. For the more affluent and older generation, that's all change. Yeah, of course it still remains. But certainly with Kard, I will say with absolute fact, their grills will always be sought out because I've seen it from day one.
I always return 'cause I do believe it's good value of money for what you get in respect to the food and the sweet and stuff like that. But the inclusions, no. I'm going to say, as I've touched upon quite a few times now, within this episode, there [00:33:00] should be more inclusions, eg. Internet, you know, yeah.
Drinks. Because Q nard are one of the most expensive. Of course, I haven't been on royal camera, and I know that drinks are expensive for if you don't get certain, um, you know, yeah. Packages, or if you want a certain level of loyalty, however. Because it's American Bacu. In Britain, we normally say are now a pint of lager.
Should we say is five pound? That's what it is. Yeah. With American Lines. It's $5 plus a gratuity, plus duty, whatever it is. So it works out very expensive. So I think there's a catch 22 there. You may pay a lot for the grills anyway. But it's value for money. If you know what you get and you're happy with the service provided, but then if you don't have that drinks package, it also, they're making you spend a lot of money on drinks.
You don't have to drink. Of course. I'm not saying that, but, right. Yeah. You know, all the add-ons, like we've talked about before. Everything now is an add-on, you know, internet drinks. Yeah, it might have been before, but a lot of cruise [00:34:00] companies now, more mainstream premium lines have that included with the package that you get.
For example, I'll go back to Princess MSC yacht club who have everything included. As you know, if you go in a suite or yacht club or sanctuary collection, right? You have. You know, everything's there. there's no extra apart from treatments and something else. So yes, I do believe a lot of returning ardas, should we say, are there for the history and they've seen a massive change, but they don't want to take the delve into, different, um, cruise lines and the heritage of it and the fact that it is.
Queen Mary to Queen Elizabeth, queen Victoria, queen Anne. And I'm one of these where, you know, I'm going back on Queen Mary twice next year because she is the Queen Mary, you know, queen Mary too. She is that iconic ocean liner that I don't think we'll ever see again. And there's only one over. So like with me, I go on cruises sometimes specifically for the ship.
I don't care where I'm going because I know that they're not gonna be here forever. And I will return to that vessel because I love it. So yeah, it's very much an open market where. There's a lot of returning customers that has a lot of new [00:35:00] breed of customers now who are trying the luxury aspect of it.
And they might think, well, hang on, I understand that QA have got that luxury aspect called the grills. We'll give it a go even though it's on a more of a mass market. Um. Yeah, I think it's one of them where you have to try it to see if it's value for you. Will you feel special? Yes, of course. Is it amazing?
Yes. As I said, one of the best things about it is the food, 'cause I believe the food blows out the likes of Princess MSC. I haven't done The Haven for years, so I can't really comment on that, but the food is. Exquisite. Yes. Okay, good. Awesome. Anything else that you know, maybe I didn't ask or we didn't touch on about the Grill's experience?
There is two things that I'm gonna actually touch on. It's the iconic afternoon tea. So this is the white glove, afternoon tea. you may believe that I know a lot of people who genuinely have gone on a kard cruise 'cause they wanted to experience the queen room. This is where it's served in the [00:36:00] queens room where all the crew or the bellboys or whatever, the content with all their white.
Uh, uniforms. They're white gloves and they are, it's a tradition. it's a spectacle. You know, lined up. You walk in, they're clapping, they come around with the teas, they come around with the sandwiches. the cakes, the scones, scones are sever way you say it. and it'sa tower.
They come with their, it's not a tower because everything is sooth to you. Um, from the team that are looking after you. So you can see it's all on silver tray. so it's certainly not, um, that's more of, you know, when you pay to go to an afternoon tea and it's there on the table, this is pretty much people will queue up for up to an hour because it's included maybe.
No, this isn't an extra,Well done actually. 'cause in the grills princess, uh, this is where it gets funny on Kard. If you go to Afternoon Tea and the grills, it's only served in the Princess Grills restaurant. It's not served in the Queen, so you're all in the Princess Grill restaurant, but that is served on a tower.
Okay. But if you're in downstairs with the traditional afternoon tea in the [00:37:00] queen's room, which is a lovely big room apart from Queen Anne, it's a lovely big room, uh, where the dancing is held and you'll have a live orchestra or a dance, uh, you know, a couple of dancing. Uh, it's a spectacle to be hold.
And of course with that, it's amazing what people think with, you get some people come in with white gloves and pour new tea is such an event, should we say, but it really is and we love it. even though we're in the girls, we end up queuing. Um, you know, waiting in line and going down to do it because it's something, it's one of them where your phone's out, you're taking a video and you're having a picture with, whatever's serving you.
and that is lovely. it's unique to QNA. Of course everybody does afternoon tea to an extent, but I think a really did start the afternoon tea, tradition. Exactly. And the other thing is, yeah, I don't see it in a lot of cruise lines now.
But Q Nard are very, much in the market for their traditional ballroom dancing. So you will go to the ballroom or the queen's room where you're actually invited, you're encouraged to partake in the dance. And they have a dancing couple who are on the, primarily [00:38:00] just for dancing. Um, and they also employ,
Individuals who come on board to make sure, like, you know, if Mrs. Jones is owned by herself and she wants to dance, or if Mr. Jones is owned by himself and wants to dance, and we love that because I've seen such a variety of individuals from all aspects of life, whether that's someone who doesn't have anybody and they've always cruised on their own, or someone who has been an adv.
Should we say for 50 years and he or she has lost their partner and they've come on, and these individuals will go up to them and send the stories told, and then people will actually go back on these voyages because they've met Steve or Susie who danced with them. And they wanna know what cruises are on next because they know, they feel at home, they feel comfortable.
And that, really resonates with me because my Nan lost her husband, my grandfather, and although she didn't do any solo cruising because I was always jumping at the bit, to get on a cruise with her or my family, however. I know that she would've loved that and we loved watching it and it was, as you said, a tradition, a spectacle.
I'm watching [00:39:00] people dance and I can't dance, but I gave it a go. But watching the ones that really can was like, you'd sit there even as a youngster and go, oh wow, that's, something. It's like we have strictly come dancing and you have Dancing with the Stars,
Right? Exactly. Yeah. That's beautiful. Wow. That's a beautiful story. I love that. Awesome. Well, tell us. Where you're headed to next, what's on the agenda in terms of luxury cruising or travel otherwise? Um, quite a few different trips here and there that are non cruise related, so that's just popping out to Spain and stuff like that, just for a few city breaks.
But I'm trying a new luxury, line of cruising. I'm trying to, as a Mara, early next year. I forgot the exact dates, so I'll come back to you now. And so that's gonna be a new one that I'm going on at the same time, only within a few days of each other. We are going explorer once again, but this time it's only for five nights.
So a little jaunt out 'cause the price was so good. Um, and then as Amara, I've got a couple of, grills, cruises. So I am now doing, I've got Queen Anne next year [00:40:00] and I've got Queen Mary, uh, both in the grills. I've also got I think it's a silver Sea or a sea bone, which is gonna be new to me 'cause I haven't done them.
I completely forgot which one. And I'm looking at a regent one. But unfortunately it's well out of my price range at the moment 'cause they are right up there price wise and even too much for myself who loves to save and spend that extra on luxury. However. Too much for me. So you could say there's quite a few cruises in there.
Um, I'm trying to book another crystal one, but, um, my parents did, they got their, 35th wedding anniversary, so they're going on, crystal back on Serenity, um, next year, which I am biting at the bit, as we say back here to get on. But I'm hopefully going down to meet them because the, company that I, book with are gonna invite me down for the ship for a day.
'cause I'm gonna see them anyway 'cause I'm gonna pick them up for Southampton. Yeah. Um, I'm gonna jump on board there, but yes, in between now and our next episode, I can guarantee you I would've booked something else and we'll have something else to speak about. So
Well, it's great talking to you always. [00:41:00] Um, we're recording this almost at the end of the year. Have a wonderful end of the year and happy new year. I can't wait to hear about your 2026 cruises and to the audience. Thank for listening, and until next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.