Cunard vs Other Cruise Lines: What Makes Cunard Different?

Cunard sells a formal cruise built around sea days, and your cabin grade picks your main restaurant for the whole voyage. It is premium rather than all-inclusive: drinks, Wi-Fi, speciality dining and a nightly service charge cost extra. Next to Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, P&O and Holland America, that style is the product.

Cunard is premium, not all-inclusive luxury

Cunard sits in the premium bracket, not the all-inclusive luxury one. Your fare covers the ship and the main dining room, not the whole holiday. Book expecting one upfront fare for drinks, tips and excursions and you’ll feel short-changed.

The onboard style is deliberately not a big-ship resort. No water slides, go-kart tracks or robot bartenders.

It isn’t a small-ship line either. The fleet runs from around 2,000 guests to about 3,000, so you get a ballroom, a theatre and several restaurants rather than yacht-scale intimacy.

Cunard sells Signature packages that add a beverage collection, Wi-Fi and a speciality dining credit. That’s a bundle, not an all-inclusive fare. If an all-inclusive fare is what you want, the all-inclusive cruise guide explains what different lines bundle.

Cabin grade fixes your restaurant, your lounge and who you can dine with

Your cabin grade fixes which of Cunard’s four main restaurants you eat in for the whole voyage. That’s the single biggest difference from the other lines. Each restaurant is tied to an accommodation grade: Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill and Queens Grill.

• Britannia: early or late seating, open dining through the My Voyage app virtual queue, or pre-reserved times.
• Britannia Club: a balcony stateroom grade. The benefit is the exclusive Britannia Club restaurant and dining at leisure. It’s a restaurant upgrade, not a suite.
• Princess Grill and Queens Grill: a dedicated table for the whole voyage, open dining, Grills Lounge and Terrace access, concierge, priority boarding and in-suite dining from the Grills menu. Butler service comes with Queens Grill only.
• Room service: chargeable for Britannia staterooms. It’s complimentary unless stated for Britannia Club and Grills suites, who can order from the Grill restaurant menus in their suite.

Cunard’s rule is that you must be in the same accommodation grade to dine together in your main restaurant. If you’re in different grades, you can eat together in the alternative restaurants or the buffet.

Call Cunard to link bookings so parties in the same grade are seated together. On Late Saver fares, the stateroom and Britannia dining time are allocated.

A Gala Evening menu is included in the main dining room, and the Queens Grill Gala menu is designed by Michel Roux. There’s more on cabin grades in the Cunard cruise line guide.

What the fare covers, and what still costs extra

A Cunard fare covers your accommodation, main restaurant meals, the buffet, afternoon tea, theatre and live music, Insights talks, pools, the gym, Gala Evenings and breakfast in bed. Drinks, Wi-Fi, speciality dining, shore excursions, the spa, photos and the casino cost extra.

A hotel and dining service charge goes on every guest’s account per night, and a service charge is added automatically to bar and spa bills. You can adjust the daily charge at the Purser’s Office before you leave the ship.

P&O is the structural opposite: gratuities are inside the fare, with no daily charge. All five rivals sell a mainstream or premium product without Cunard’s grade-linked main dining rooms. Only Cunard ties your restaurant for the whole voyage to your cabin grade.

What formal means: Gala Evenings and the opt-out

Cunard has two evening codes: Smart Attire on most nights, and Gala Evenings where the code steps up. Every voyage of three nights or more has at least one Gala Evening. The dress code and theme are published in advance in the My Cunard calendar, and Cunard describes the evenings as entirely optional.

Gala Evenings follow one of four themes: Black and White, Red and Gold, Masquerade or Roaring 20s. They call for tuxedos and evening gowns, or whatever makes you feel your best.

A dark lounge suit is accepted in place of a tuxedo. If the tuxedo stays in the wardrobe, the buffet and the pub run a relaxed dress code on Gala nights. That’s the standard opt-out.

Men can hire tuxedos on board from the shops, including shirts and dinner jackets. There’s no hire service for women’s formal wear, only eveningwear to buy.

The dress code is the same across the fleet; only the number of Gala Evenings changes with voyage length. If you’re packing for a Gala Evening, these formal night outfit ideas cover what people wear.

What you do at sea: enrichment over entertainment

Cunard’s sea days are built around enrichment rather than entertainment. Cunard Insights talks, Q&As and workshops run on every voyage across the fleet, with speakers drawn from authors, actors, explorers, historians, scientists and broadcasters. Cunard lists more than 800 Insights speakers fleet-wide in a single season, including around 200 high-profile names; recent names include Rory Bremner, Rebecca Stephens, Linda Greenlaw and Zelda la Grange.

The Queens Room is the ballroom for afternoon tea, live music and Gala Evenings. Theatre productions, live music, classical performances, comedians and cabaret have no ticket fees. You won’t find water slides, go-kart tracks or robot bartenders.

The transatlantic crossing: the one product no other line offers

Queen Mary 2 is the one Cunard product no other line offers: a scheduled transatlantic crossing on a true ocean liner, normally Southampton to New York. Cunard calls her the only true ocean liner still cresting the waves, and she is the only ship in the fleet running scheduled crossings.

A crossing has no port stops, so the rhythm is different from a cruise: days at sea, formal evenings, lectures and the planetarium. Queen Mary 2 carries the only dedicated kennels at sea, and pets travel on transatlantic crossings only. Illuminations is billed as the largest planetarium at sea and doubles as the cinema and lecture hall.

Book a crossing expecting a port-heavy cruise and you’ll be surprised. If you want the sea itself to be the destination, this is the reason to choose Cunard. For more no-fly options, the no-fly cruise guide covers UK departures.

Which ship you are comparing: ocean liner and smaller classic

Cunard’s ships are not interchangeable. Queen Mary 2 is the ocean liner, while Queen Victoria is a smaller, quieter classic ship with around 2,000 guests after a three-week refit that refreshed the Grand Lobby, Queens Room and Grill suites. That refit also added eight Britannia staterooms, including a new Britannia Deluxe Oceanview category, and The Pavilion Wellness Café.

After that refit, Queen Victoria sails the Mediterranean, Norwegian Fjords and Canary Islands. Queen Mary 2 also sails the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. Assume the ships are interchangeable and you’ll make the wrong booking: the ocean liner is the one for crossings, while the smaller classic is the one for a quieter cruise.

Where Cunard sails, and when the style works in the Caribbean and Mediterranean

Cunard sails from Southampton to Norway, Hamburg, Rotterdam, the Canary Islands, the Azores, France, Spain, Italy and the Greek islands, and sends ships to the Mediterranean, Alaska, Canada, the Caribbean and on world voyages. One ship spends an Alaska season, then heads to Miami for Caribbean voyages to Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia and St Maarten.

The style pays off on long voyages with sea days. On a port-heavy week in the Caribbean or Mediterranean, the ship becomes a hotel and the premium is harder to justify.

You’re paying for lectures, ballroom dancing and long dinners you may not have time to use. Alaska is the same trade-off: the destination takes the time.

In the Caribbean, the onboard style is the same, but a port-heavy week leaves less time for the ship. If you want the formal evenings and enrichment, choose a longer voyage with sea days rather than a seven-night port marathon.

Southampton departures and the no-fly argument

Cunard’s Southampton departures matter if you live in the UK because they turn a cruise into a no-fly trip. Queen Mary 2’s scheduled crossings run Southampton to New York, so one leg is a no-fly departure from the UK. The Southampton programme includes Norway, Hamburg, Rotterdam, the Canary Islands, the Azores, France, Spain, Italy and the Greek islands.

If you want to avoid airports, start with the Southampton list rather than the destination list. The cruises from Southampton guide covers terminals and getting there.

How Cunard compares with Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, P&O and Holland America

Against Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, P&O and Holland America, Cunard wins on formality, dining structure and sea-day atmosphere. It loses on inclusions, onboard technology and big-ship facilities.

All five rivals sell a mainstream or premium product without Cunard’s grade-linked main dining rooms. Only Cunard ties your restaurant for the whole voyage to your cabin grade.

What it costs and whether the premium is worth paying

Cunard generally costs more per night than Princess and well above P&O. The extra buys atmosphere, space and formality rather than a longer list of inclusions. The fare looks closer to the competition until you add drinks, Wi-Fi, speciality dining and the daily service charge. Then the gap widens.

Some trips are better value elsewhere: a port-heavy week in the Mediterranean or Caribbean, or a family trip that needs water slides and go-kart tracks. The premium is easiest to justify on a transatlantic crossing or a long voyage with sea days, where the ship itself is the point.

Who Cunard suits, and who should book elsewhere

Cunard suits couples and solo travellers who want formal evenings, lectures, ballroom dancing and a quiet ship. It can work for families who don’t need big-ship attractions. Cunard sells dedicated single staterooms, which let solo guests avoid paying for accommodation meant for two; check the supplement on higher grades before booking.

Families get supervised age-specific children’s clubs, but no water slides, go-kart tracks or robot bartenders. If you want an all-inclusive luxury fare covering drinks and excursions, or a resort ship with activities, book elsewhere. The Cunard solo travel guide covers single staterooms and supplements.

Cunard vs other cruise lines FAQs

How does Cunard compare to other cruise lines?

Cunard is premium rather than all-inclusive luxury, and that is the main difference when you compare it with the other lines. Your fare covers the main restaurant, buffet, afternoon tea, theatre, live music and Insights talks. Drinks, Wi-Fi, speciality dining, shore excursions and a daily service charge are extra.

Are Cunard cruises good?

Cunard is good if you want formal evenings, lectures, ballroom dancing and a quiet ship with a real ocean liner. It’s a poor match if you expect all-inclusive luxury or big-ship activities.

Are Cunard and P&O connected?

Cunard and P&O are separate cruise lines with different fare structures. P&O includes gratuities in the fare with no daily charge, while Cunard adds a daily hotel and dining service charge on board.

Can pets travel on a Cunard crossing?

Pets can travel on a Cunard crossing, because Cunard has the only dedicated kennels at sea and they’re used on transatlantic crossings only. Pets don’t travel on the other itineraries.