Cunard’s Alaska: A Luxurious Choice

Posted onAuthorChris Owen

I have been to Alaska several times, but never with Cunard Line. Sister cruise line to Princess Cruises and Holland America Line, both of which I have sailed to Alaska with, this was distinctively different. This trip on Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth sailing round-trip Vancouver was a stand-alone unique way to visit and enjoy the land of the midnight sun. And so we did. Today, two weeks after sailing, I’m taking a look back, day by day, to focus on the highlights of visiting Alaska with Cunard.

The Lifeboat Drill- “The Lifeboat Drill” is called “Assembly Station familiarization” and the Cunard way of doing it is a brilliant, unexpected highlight of the voyage. Ok, first, what is the main reason for having the lifeboat drill? So everyone will know where to go in case of an emergency, right?

Cunard accomplishes this in a far more civilized way. Travelers are invited to visit their assembly station on the first day, at their leisure, where their Voyage Card will be scanned to record their attendance. You know where the lifeboat is, you’re done. Brilliant

What To Wear- This was not our first trip with Cunard. Many years ago, we sailed on board Queen Mary 2 and the feel of the ship was quite elegant, like formal wear was appropriate for every evening after 6. Now, formal wear is welcomed and encouraged but alternatives are available and pointed out to travelers from the first day and then repeated throughout the journey.

Currently for gentlemen that means trousers and a collared shirt with a jacket and tie optional and you’ll see some guests that are dressed up for dinner all day. Different on this sailing and reflective of Cunard’s evolved dress focus: “If you prefer to spend tonight in more relaxed attire, feel free to dress more casually in the following venues: Lido Restaurant, Golden Lion, Casino, Cafe Carinthia, Garden Lounge and Yacht Club.” That works very well.

Dining Room Seating- Table assignments have been allocated by fare type and the date you booked your voyage. This is where it gets more complicated if you’re not familiar with the system. There are several areas of accommodations and dining facilities for them that are separate from others and only the people who are berthed in those areas can dine there.

For example, we were in the Britannia area on our last Cunard cruise so we dined in the Britannia dining room. On the first day, dining room requests were entertained between 2:00 and 4:00 like on many other big cruise ships.

Different here, our stateroom was in the Brittania Club section which had a special restaurant just for those berthed in that part of the ship. No one else could dine there and we had the same table every night, regardless of if we showed up or not. We could go there every night at our leisure, between 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM.

Here’s me when no one else showed up for dinner. While I tried other venues for lunch from time to time, I really liked the selection and the crew who worked in the Brittania Club restaurant and dined there as much as possible.

The Other Accommodations- While we’re on the topic, there really is not a “class system” here that can evoke negative thoughts or feelings. Still, there is a division most commonly noticed in the dining arrangements for different fare types. Like we were in Brittania last time so we ate at the large Brittania dining room. On this sailing we were in Brittania Club accommodations so we ate in the Brittania Club restaurant.

But there are two other, higher categories of accommodations (and thus dining rooms). The Princess Grills and the Queens Grills, are both private, luxurious areas we were not allowed to see the first time we sailed. That has not changed. We still have no idea what pleasures await travelers in the grills. Maybe someday we’ll be curious enough to book one of them…but frankly, the Brittania Club experience (new since we last sailed) was really nicely done.

Unique: The ship’s photographer uses different colored backdrops and changes color every night. this is announced in the Daily Programme.

Unique: Themed evenings everyone really gets into. That’s as opposed to “formal night” where some passengers play along while others simply don’t. For example, on this sailing the first themed night was the Ice White Gala Evening when passengers are encouraged to join in the fun. “Join in your finest white, silver, and blue attire as we embrace Alaska’s incredible glacial scenery with a night inspired by natural wonders” The second formal night was a Masquerade Ball that was heavily attended.

Also unique- one of the very best haircuts I have ever had in my lifetime at the Mareel Spa on board Queen Elizabeth.

Church Service and Fellowship- Traditional Maritime (Inter-Denominational) Church Service is held on Sundays in the three-deck-high Royal Court Theater. Before that, a Christian Fellowship Gathering happens in the nicely-appointed Admiral’s Lounge.

Killer Darts is held in the Golden Lion Pub before lunch making this a great event for someone choosing to have lunch in the Golden Lion Pub.

Cunard Insights features speakers brought on board by Cunard to lend expert Alaska knowledge from a variety of sources supplementing the extremely knowledgeable crew on the ship.

  • Kenton Cool- One of Britain’s leading alpine and high-altitude climbers
  • Dr. Rachel Cartwright- our naturalist for the journey lending a familiar voice to off-ship events, sightings, and tours.
  • Mark Kelly- Award-winning Alaskan photographer

But some of the very best people to talk to on a Cunard ship are fellow travelers, many of which have great stories from amazing places they have been or want to see some day.