Cunard vs. Other Cruise Lines such as Princess, HAL?

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forcrazyan

A few questions please..

1. What are the things/services offered on Cunard that don't offer on other cruise lines?
2. What is that Cunard Grills Experience all about? Is that another type of dinning style? Does that cost extra?
3. Would you recommend for someone who's not comfortable dressing up all the time to cruise with Cunard?

P. S. Have cruising experience with HAL, Princess, Carnival. Thinking about trying out a new cruise line.
Thank you.

Answer
Perhaps our experiences may help you in a different direction.

Our very first cruise was Princess, Vancouver to Seward in Alaska. Loved it.

Cunard is not like Princess and certainly nothing like Carnival (not been on Carnival - never will!). It is run as a separate "brand" under Carnival but there the similarity stops. Having done a Transatlantic trip Cunard is perfection in high class living!

We had several other quality big ship cruises worldwide before realising we were missing the "real world" passing by. Big ships only visit tourist trap destinations and sometimes we were appalled to find 2/3 other big ships also in for the day and the town swamped by passengers.

We now only go on small (+/-100 passengers) ships visiting remote/unusual/incredible places. Seldom do we see a major city (except departure + arrival) but we have:-
Sat with 1/2 million King penguins in South Georgia (Antarctica)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1393379/King-Penguin-colony-South-Georgia-Stunning-pictures-worlds-largest-cr-che.html
Drifted in the ships Zodiacs for 2 hours watching 20 humpback whales "bubble feeding" in a remote area of Alaska.
Sat with a family of Walrus (very grumpy and fishy smelly!) and 50 ft above Polar Bear that had just caught and was eating a seal in Svalaard (500 miles north of the top of Norway).
http://www.etravelphotos.com/photo.php?pid=2068
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi8K9z3JfB8
Drifted through the icebergs in Disko Bay Greenland.
Been on a dormant active volcano (White Island) in New Zealand.
http://www.whiteisland.co.nz/
Stood one side of a river watching the bears catching salmon the other side (remote Alaska)
Stood in our "wellies" in a remote Alaskan gravel stream (with our Zodiac beached near us) and watched the salmon running through our feet.
Swum with wild baby seals and been overwhelmed by the wildlife variety (Galapagos)
Visited the scientific bases on the Antarctic peninsular.
http://ukaht.org/peninsula/port-lockroy
Next year going on the National Geographic research ship whale watching off Baja California, and later in the year 24 person luxury boat exploring the Peruvian Amazon!
Etc. etc.

On these ships you have a selection of top quality guides. Typically:- geology, history, marine life etc. who give very informative lectures on the "nature all around you". It is amazing what you learn!

You spend a lot of time out in their Zodiacs visiting Nature in the raw! Your fellow travellers are well educated and knowledgeable - you travel in great comfort/service but the ships priorities are to give you experiences of a lifetime! The costs are similar to the best suites on the big ships - but the experiences are a million times better!

This may open your mind to a world you don't know exists - or the thought of it may appal you!

What's so bad about what I am doing?

Mr. Luxury

Okay, so I'm 15, and a guy. I'm not gay, I just like to shop a lot. I have total about 46 shirts, and 21 pairs of pants (this includes jeans, pants, khaki's, etc). I also can't help myself when it comes to brands. I have brands such as Ralph Lauren, Guess, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers, JoS. A. Bank, and more. But I don't pay full price for all these. I purchase some of the more expensive clothing such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren used on eBay. The good thing about this is that most kids in my school don't have access or a paren't who knows how to use eBay, so i'm at an advantage when it comes to this. I've saved hundreds of dollars! I only paid $60 for the Gucci shirt! That shirt new was a $400 shirt!. And by some miracle, I have gotten all my Ralph Lauren shirts for around $20-$30 used! My JoS. A. Bank I purchased at Goodwill for $2.99, along with my Calvin Klein, my L.L. Bean, and my Brooks Brothers. The JoS. A. Bank shirt I got was new $119.99! The Calvin Klein new was about $50, and my Calvin Klein Jacket new was about $100! My brooks brothers shirt new was $118.50 when I looked on their website, and the Abercrombie & Fitch shirts I have I paid about $3 a piece for used when new they were $60-$70! Now I also have automatic watches, Seiko watches, etc... I paid about $30 for my used Seiko watch (new was a $250 watch), and bought my Automatic watch on eBay for $30, but not sure how much it was new. BUT I LOVE IT! Now for my shoes, I have 9 pairs, Nike Elite's (which are one of the best shoes Nike has released, costing between $250-$300, which I got on eBay for $50 used! I am even looking at a pair of used Gucci shoes on eBay at the moment.

So even though I am wearing some of the best brands in the school (Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers, JoS. A. Bank, Guess, etc) I have paid about the same as all the other kids in my school. About 99% of the kids in my school wear Aeropostale, and American Eagle. I don't tell them I got all my shirts off eBay, because that wouldn't be smart. I haven't spent a dime more than the other kids at school for clothing... but have the best brands in the school. Some of the brands I wear have even found themselves onto the list of top 10 most expensive brands in the world, such as Gucci, and Guess.

So now to get to the point.... even though I am thrifty when it comes to buying my name and luxury brands, my parent's still fear I have a spending problem. I don't think so... I mean, who wouldn't want brands such as Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers, and more? Plus, for the cost of very cheap brands, I have some of the best brands you can find according to an article I read online. I looked at all my clothing the other day, and added together what I would have spent if I purchased hem new. I would have spent over $5,000 on everything if they were new. But do you know what I spent? Not even 1/5 of that! About $600 total. So yes, I do spend a little more than most people, but for the brands I have, it could have been a lot more.

My mothers birthday was about 4 months ago, and to show her how nice luxury things were since she doesn't have any, I saved for about a year (yes I know I don't have a steady income) to buy her two Gucci watches, which I spent $100 for the pair on. Mind you, these watches new were about $1,000. One model was outdated, but there's one they still sell today. I thought it would show here how nice these things are... but she hasn't even worn them once! I also got my dad a Ralph Lauren Dress shirt (new was about $150), and he's never worn it. My dad sticks to his $5 shirts from Walmart, and my mom sticks to her $12 watches from Walmart. My parents complain about me spending too much... but they can afford it. My mother has an administrative position in the office, and my father is a programmer.

So back onto the subject, do you think I have a spending problem?
Even the organ I am standing next to in this picture I got used for $50

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76137898@N08/10144487393/

Answer
I understand that you don't buy clothes for full price, but that is still an exorbitant amount of money that you spend. You must go to a school with really rich kids, because most people I know would probably not spend a hundred dollars on a single piece of clothing. You say that you are being frugal and it's not a problem because you can afford it, but I think that your parents just want the best for you. If you spend a lot of money now, you might not have enough for an emergency in the future. The less you spend now, the more you have later, even if you think that you won't need that much money. Just try to curb your spending a little - save them for special occasions. But if you still feel that you need to continue spending, then do what makes you feel good - as long as the consequences are not bad.

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Title Post: Cunard vs. Other Cruise Lines such as Princess, HAL?
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