Cunard revives tradition of grill lounge amenities for suite passengers

To mark the 175th anniversary of the Cunard Line’s first transatlantic crossing, its luxury ships recently rolled out some extra goodies. The British line is offering daily dining credit, free bottles of wine and other extras for suite passengers.

It’s called the Grills Suites Inclusive Package (more on that later) and applies to those in selected suite categories, according to a Cunard announcement. Reservations for the offer must be made by Feb. 28.

Here’s what’s included:

Dining credit: Passengers receive $48 to $70 credit per cabin each day, which is good at the shipboard Queens Grill or Princess Grill (you choose which package you want). Indeed, that’s how the promotion got its name.

According to Cunard, passengers on the original Queen Mary (now docked at Long Beach Harbor as a hotel) in 1936 paid a little extra to eat and dance at the ship’s lavish Verandah Grill. Cunard re-creates the tradition with the Grills Suites offer.

Free wine: Passengers receive selections from what’s called the Captain’s Wine Collection. Guests on a cruise 13 days or less receive four bottles of wine. The number increases to six bottles for cruises 14 to 20 days long, and nine bottles for those on voyages of a 21 days or more.

Free gratuities: Prepaid tips of $13.50 per person per day are covered.

Free Internet: Guests receive 120 to 480 minutes of Internet access, depending on the length of the trip.

Free coffee cards: Two coffee cards good for 10 specialty (non-liqueur) coffees come with each cabin.

The inclusive fares for a five-day European cruise start at $2,399 for the Princess Grill package and $2,699 for the Queens Grill package.

Info: Cunard Cruise Line, (800) 728-6273 or contact a travel agent