How Cunard Is Successfully Competing in the 21st Century

Cunard has long been associated with luxury. Now it competes in a crowded field. How do they continue to deliver the feel of luxury while keeping costs under control?

• The ship within a ship. Queen Mary 2, like Cunard’s three other ships, retains a class system. About 87% of the ship is Britannia Class, the remaining 13% the Princess Grill and Queens Grill category. These have their own dedicated deck space, dining rooms and cocktail lounge. My understanding is these top tiers sells briskly. They easily compete in the ultra-luxury market.
• Years ago, this took a long time. Today, the data collection is all done in advance. When you stand in line and approach the check in desk at the pier, they take your photo and send you aboard. One of the perks of the higher tiers of the loyalty program is the ability to stand “on the short line.”
• Staff attitude. The feeling of luxury is often delivered by how staff interact with you. Cunard has both an excellent training program and loyalty within its staff. You often meet stewards or servers who have built their career rising through the ranks. You occasionally meet crew members who have brought the next generation into the firm. Once you step outside your cabin, everyone is treated like a king or queen.
• In-cabin dining. On land this would be called hotel room service. Breakfast has stayed the same. You can place your order for rolls, juice, coffee etc. on a paper form and hang it on your door handle before turning in. Years ago, the room service menu only featured light snacks. Over the past few years this has been expanded. Now you can order steaks (a good thing) yet the entire menu has nominal charges for everything. (not a good thing.) This creates an additional dining venue, dining in your cabin or on your balcony.
• We order it with breakfast. Instead of using an alarm clock function to wake up, we get a knock on the door from our steward. In addition, the cabins come with a coffee machine, similar to the ones you expect in a luxury hotel room. You don’t need to order coffee; you can make your own whenever you choose.
• Dry cleaning. They have managed to keep this incredibly cheap with a one day turnaround service. Back home, my local dry cleaner charges $22 to clean a blazer (discounted to $15.00 on Wednesdays.) Onboard the ship, they charge $9.00. That is before thew loyalty program discount!) It is priced to take it out of the luxury spending category.
• Simplified wine lists. I am a wine fan. I loved the full wine list, the size of a white pages phone book! It probably confused non wine fans. They have a new, slimmed down version of 100+ wines, organized by style and grape type, not by country. This is also aligned to packages offering a discount if you commit to multiple bottles. Same professional service, easier to understand process.
• Cocktails and wine. Years ago, Cunard offered liquor and wine in two portion sizes. Today, they have only one size. This simplifies ordering yet still lets you know how much you are getting. Drinks have stayed reasonably priced.
• Dinner in the Britannia dining room. This is where the rubber meets the road. We did not see lobster as one of the five entrée choices on any of the seven dinners. There is less beef, and more pork and chicken offered. However, a few years ago, they added an “always available” choice of steak, chicken or salmon. he right hand side of the menu shows additional entrees including lobster and filet mignon, available with a supplementary charge. Some might consider the regular menu portions small, yet you can always ask for seconds.
• Dining times. Cruise ships are famous (or infamous) for set dining times. You ate at 6:00 PM or 8:30 PM. These were called first and second or early and late seatings. Like other cruise lines, Cunard has introduced Freedom Dining. You can make a timed reservation in advance or show up and line up for open seating, similar to lunch service. Choice is a luxury.

• Dressing up. Cunard was long famous for its formality. There were three formal nights during a seven night crossing. Today there are two. Men are expected to wear a tuxedo or a dark suit. If this isn’t your style, there are other dining venues available. Passengers are advised not to wear gym shorts or jeans in the deck 2 and deck 3 public areas after 6:00 PM, but this is difficult to enforce. It is still elegant, but not as much.
• This is an area where Cunard has cut back. In previous years, a seven night crossing included three pre dinner parties. There was the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail Party (everyone invited), the World Club Party (previous cruisers) and the Senior Officers Party (Passengers with 7+ voyages). On our most recent voyage, there was only one party. In my opinion, this is a mistake. The parties build a sense of community among the passengers.
• Glam events. Cunard is famous for afternoon tea in Queens Room. It is packed. We showed up on the dot at 3:30 PM and every seat was taken. We waited and space opened up. There were two after dinner galas, the Black and White Ball and a Masquerade Ball. These are well attended and take place on formal nights. Glamour is alive and well.
• My favorite is the wine and food pairing lunch. Four courses, eight wines and interesting people to meet over a 2+ hour meal. ($100/head) This voyage also included a champagne and canape tasting ($65/;head). On some voyages there is a Michel Roux tasting menu dinner you can sign up to attend. These activities align with the luxury theme.

There are cost pressures everywhere. Cunard needs to price Britannia grade accommodations completely while still delivering the luxury feeling people expect. This is how they do it and how it has been gradually evolving over time.

QM2 cover photo Queen Mary 2 in New York, credit Cunard

article guest post courtesy of Bryce Sanders, travel writer, wine and Cunard afficianodo

Photos courtesy Bryce Sanders