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Which would.......

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JoeyandDavid

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It's an academic question. Crystal was the only 5-6 star line that had inside cabins, and they got rid of the only ship that had them. There are now no insides on any 5 or 6 star line that I know of. By my standards, 5 and 6 star lines catering to the U.S. market include Seabourn, Sea Dream, Silversea, Crystal, Cunard (grill class only), and Regent. Non U.S. market lines include Sea Cloud (no insides) and Hapag-Lloyd. I don't knopw whether the Europa has insides; but few Americans will sail on a ship where everything is in German. Windstar, which has no inside cabins, is perhaps 4.5 stars. HAL, Celebrity, and Cunard other grill class are not in that category: they are all 4 star.

We've had both the lowest category on a 5 star line (category H on the Regent 7 Seas Navigator, with no balcony) and a suite on a 4 star line (category SA on the Noordam). The room on the Noordam was much bigger, and had a balcony. The Neptune Lounge and the Pinnacle Grill were fantastic. Nonetheless, if the Noordam and the Regent Navigator were sailing on the same itinerary, we would pick Regent. The Service and food were much better than HAL, and we enjoyed being on a much smaller ship; so it would be worth having a smaller room on Regent.

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Cunard (grill class only),

Joe or is it Joan today :tongue: ... anyway.. discuss if you will for us not as familiar with Cunard.. your comment "grill class only"

It's Joe. I haven't sailed on Cunard either; but apparently it is a line that has a true class system similar to the old ships. According to people who rate ships, their first class, which even eats in separate restaurants (called grills), is a 5 star experience, but ordinary rooms, with the ordinary dining room, are not. Picture, if you will, old style ocean liners with first class and tourist class (but no steerage anymore!).

Maybe someone here has sailed on the QE2 or QM2, and can enlighten us.

Here are the 2006 Berlitz ratings of ships:

Berlitz Publishing’s Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006

FIVE-STARS-PLUS (*****+) CLUB

Europa (Hapag-Lloyd Cruises) with 1,858 points out of a possible 2,000

FIVE-STARS (*****) CLUB

SeaDream I with 1,790 points

SeaDream II with 1,790 points

Seabourn Legend with 1,786 points

Seabourn Pride with 1,785 points

Seabourn Spirit with 1,785 points

Silver Shadow with 1,757

Silver Whisper with 1,757

Hanseatic with 1,740

Silver Cloud with 1,722

Silver Wind with 1,722

Queen Mary 2 (Grill Class) with 1,712 points

Sea Cloud II with 1,706

Sea Cloud with 1,704

Crystal Serenity with 1,702

Crystal Symphony with 1,701

Seven Seas Mariner with 1,701

Seven Seas Voyager with 1,701

For 2007, Silver Cloud, Silver Wind, and the two Seven Seas ships were dropped to 4 + stars. Bear in mind that Berlitz is a tough grader. Several of the five star Berlitz ships are rated six stars by other rating systems, and the two downgraded Silversea ships, both Regent ships, plus the one we sailed on, the Navigator, are rated at least five stars in most ratings.

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Cunard (grill class only),

Joe or is it Joan today :tongue: ... anyway.. discuss if you will for us not as familiar with Cunard.. your comment "grill class only"

It's Joe. I haven't sailed on Cunard either; but apparently it is a line that has a true class system similar to the old ships. According to people who rate ships, their first class, which even eats in separate restaurants (called grills), is a 5 star experience, but ordinary rooms, with the ordinary dining room, are not. Picture, if you will, old style ocean liners with first class and tourist class (but no steerage anymore!).

Joe I asked the specific question in regards to Cunard and the "classes" on another forum and was told there was no difference between the quality of food and services on Cunard except for the location an room amenities..

I tend to lean more to your way of thinking...

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Here are a few posts from another board about Cunard Grill class;

1) just one person's opinion : if you are not in the grills the QM2 is just another mass market ship albeit very large and beautifull

2) Grill upgrade- worth it?

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Having sailed on the QM2 in both Britannia and Princess Grill category staterooms, the differences are pretty distinct when you start making a point by point comparison. Is the price difference worth it? I guess it depends on your income level and what you consider important when traveling. For instance, do you travel in business or coach when you fly? You are on the same plane but the differences in service, location on the plane, food and seating all make for a more enjoyable, hence more pricy journey.

In a PG cabin you have a LOT more space insdie as well as a large balcony. Also you have a walk-in closet adjacent to the bathroom, which has a tub and a shower, all of the cabins are located on deck 10 and also feature a sitting area, a separate bar and personalized stationary. Then you have the single seating PG restaurant. You eat when you want and how you want. They cater to your every whim. You can order a la carte however you want or test them. With 24 hrs notice they can pretty much make you whatever you want. And they enjoy the challenge! You want to eat fast, they can do it! You want to eat in your room, served in courses like in the restaurant- they can (and will) do it! Also the PG is much easier to get to and and from since it is located on the same deck as the promendae and you can go to the QG Lounge both before and after dinner for drinks and coffee. It is a nice little oasis where you can slip away to and not be bothered. We loved it. Then you also have the priority boarding and disembarkation. All in all there are a lot of little reasons which add up to a Grill experience. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

But if the Grill is sold out do I not go? Never, I will sleep on a sofa if it means I get to sail on her! If you have not tried the Grill, I would highly recommend it. Plus, I have been in a Queen's Grill cabin and I actually preferred the Princess Grill cabin as well as the decor in the PG restaurant. Also, the PG is smaller than the QG since there are fewer PG cabins than QG cabins.

Those are just my top of mind thoughts. As I said, I have enjoyed both cabin grades and would prefer to sail in PG always, but it is not always available as they tend to sell out rather quickly.

Enjoy and bon voyage!

3) Dining.

In a word, superb. The first night was very good, and things got better as the crossing went along. Meat was the usual very high standard, and flambé was on the menu each night. There was no problem in being a little greedy – in fact the greediest evening was at the instigation of our waiter, who suggested that we might like a lobster as a side order! Needless to say we did…..

The Britannia restaurant may be spectacular but during dinner what matters is quality of food and service, and both have been superb. The service in particular has been wonderful – the Maitre’D has moulded a superb team – which, in our case, is all ex-Queens’ Grill. And it shows. I have never had better service on a Cunarder. I’m convinced that this grade offers the best value on board – by a wide margin. I know what one gets over and above this grade in Queens’ Grill, and the difference in food isn’t worth the difference. Unless the cabin is important to you (and I’ll discuss this later) then Britannia Club offers 90% of the value of Queens’ Grill at 50% of the price. That’s not to say that the Queens’ Grill isn’t worth it if you can afford it, or that it isn’t better – because it clearly is. But it does mean that you could do a back to back for the price of a westbound.

4) We have sailed both the QM2 and the Noordam, and must disagree with you on food quality and overall value.

I will admit, the Noordam is very good value for your money. It does have a better system for their lido buffet area than the QM2's Kings Court. However, if you eat most of your meals in the dining room, then I would give the QM2 the upper hand. Not only is food quality superior on the QM2, but so is the service in my opinion. In fact, on the Noordam, our head waiter was borderline rude to us at times, something that we are not used to. Holland America does excel with their room stewards, and we have had our best room stewards sailing with them, while Cunard's just don't seem to go the extra mile.

The Noordam does not have the Grill level, and to charge a similar fare for a suite (compared to Princess Grill) with only a handful of the QM2's perks is not good overall value. Dining in the Princess Grill for three meals a day alone makes the QM2 superior in dollar value.

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