A complete guide to Cunard Line cruise cabins and suites

In its more than 180-year history, Cunard Line has evolved from offering essential transatlantic transportation to leisure travel. Its current fleet offers several classes of cabins with plush furnishings and modern comforts that still evoke nautical ocean-liner style. Although the options might seem confusing at first, they’re fairly easy to understand once broken down.

Across inside, outside, balcony and suite categories, Cunard offers four accommodation classes, each with its own dining room. Regardless of cabin type, passengers have access to the same public areas — including pools and sun decks, gyms, theaters and spas. Although, some categories do have their own lounges and outdoor spaces.

Here, we’ll go through the types of cabins available and what they include in the way of amenities, square footage and dining experiences.

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Cabin square footage varies by ship and location on the ship. Cabin configurations also vary by vessel. Multiple configurations can exist within the same cabin type, which accounts for differences in square footage. Accessible cabins are larger than standard cabins, and those measurements are included in the ranges given. Contact your travel agent or cruise line representative for specific details before booking.

Cunard cabin primer

Cunard ships feature four main categories of cabins: inside (no window or balcony), outside (a window or porthole), balcony (with a small, semi-private outdoor space) and suites. They fall into four experience tiers — Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill and Queens Grill — each with different perks, inclusions and dining assignments. (See below for more details, or check out Cunard’s amenity comparison chart.)

Britannia cabins come only in inside, outside and basic balcony categories, while Britannia Club rooms are available only in the balcony category. The latter rooms are a step up from basic Britannia balcony accommodations. Cruisers booked in these categories will be assigned to either the Britannia Dining Room or Britannia Club Restaurant, respectively.

Passengers wanting an elevated experience — complete with more space, lots of added perks and more expensively outfitted accommodations — will want to look to the Princess Grill Suites and Queens Grill Suites. Standard rooms feel more like any cabin on a mass-market vessel, while Grill accommodations are outfitted with more elegant furnishings, richer colors (think regal hues like purples and reds), and more plush linens and furniture.

Depending on the suite booked, you’ll find walk-in closets, separate living and sleeping areas, and bathrooms with higher-quality amenities (such as marble countertops and mirrors with built-in makeup lights). These rooms provide access to either the Princess Grill Restaurant or Queens Grill Restaurant, as well as the Grills Lounge, which is exclusive to travelers staying in suites.

Cunard offers a variety of accessible rooms in all cabin categories, from inside cabins to suites. They are designed for passengers who use wheelchairs, walkers, scooters and other mobility devices or who otherwise require features like wider doorways, flush zero-entry thresholds, extra square footage for maneuvering, and wet bath-style bathrooms with grab bars and pull-down shower seats. (You can find more accessibility specifics on Cunard’s website.)

Cunard was one of the first cruise lines to offer accommodations for one — something that has become standard on many cruise lines’ newest vessels. You’ll find a selection of solo cabins in inside and ocean-view categories under the Britannia experience if you’re traveling alone and don’t want to pay a single supplement. The former range from 152 to 243 square feet; the latter come in between 133 and 201 square feet.

All rooms, no matter the category or type, feature rich furnishings in nautical colors like bright blue, sunny yellow and deep red. Each room provides passengers with a queen-size bed that can be converted into two singles on request; bedside tables with lamps; a vanity area with a desk, chair, mirror and both 220-volt U.K.-style outlets and 110-volt North American-style ones (Queen Anne also has USB ports); a closet and drawers for storing personal items; a TV, safe, hair dryer, phone, refrigerator, minibar and tea- and coffee-making facilities; bathrobes and slippers; and an in-cabin bathroom with a shower and Penhaligon toiletries.

Each cabin also includes 24-hour room service options and the daily services of a room steward who will clean up and provide you with any items — like ice, extra towels and the daily activity schedule — you might need. More expensive cabins come with additional or upgraded amenities, extra space and more furniture. Details about inclusions, square footage and more can be found below.

Inside cabins on Cunard ships

Britannia insides range from 152 to 243 square feet and include all of the amenities listed above, plus a half-bottle of sparkling wine at embarkation. Passengers booked in these cabins are assigned to eat in the Britannia Dining Room, which is basically a standard cruise ship main dining room but with ornate art deco touches.

On Queen Mary 2 — known for its iconic transatlantic voyages between New York City and Southampton in the U.K. — cruisers can also choose from special inside cabins that overlook the ship’s atrium.

Outside cabins on Cunard ships

Britannia ocean-view rooms provide between 133 and 201 square feet of space. Passengers in these cabins also take meals in the Britannia Dining Room.

Outside cabins include the same amenities as inside ones. The most obvious difference is that you’ll have a window to look at the ocean as you sail.

Balcony cabins on Cunard ships

Britannia balconies

Ranging from 228 to 472 square feet, these cabins feature the same general furnishing style as insides and outsides but with semi-private balconies. These balconies offer passengers their own outdoor space, where they can enjoy fresh air from the comfort of their room, complete with chairs and a table.

These accommodations include the standard amenities listed above and dinner in the Britannia Dining Room. On Queen Mary 2, passengers can select cove-style balconies; they offer a bit of shelter from the wind since they’re more akin to an enclosed pod with an open window than a balcony open on all sides.

Britannia Club balconies

Britannia Club rooms, a step up from Cunard’s Britannia balcony accommodations, come in the balcony category only. In addition to slightly more square footage (248-470 feet), they include additional amenities.

All previously mentioned features come with these cabins. They also include upgraded tea and coffee makers, a pillow menu, velour bathrobes, a full bottle of sparkling wine at embarkation, daily fresh fruit on request, and priority embarkation and disembarkation. Cruisers booked there can dine in the Britannia Club Restaurant, which is a bit more understated and refined than the Britannia Restaurant but offers similar food.

Suites on Cunard ships

Princess Grill Suites

Princess Grill Suites are the first-tier of suites on Cunard ships; they offer access to an exclusive restaurant, Princess Grill, featuring elevated food options. Guests can also order menu items from the Grill via room service and order off-menu in the restaurant with advance notice. Passengers in Princess Grill Suites share a dedicated Grills Lounge or Concierge Lounge (found on Queen Mary 2) and sun deck with passengers booked in Queens Grill suites (see below).

The 335- to 513-square-foot Princess Grill Suites feature separate living and sleeping areas and private balconies. Passengers can enjoy all above-mentioned inclusions, plus elevated perks like an in-cabin atlas, dedicated concierge service, sparkling wine and chocolates at embarkation, complimentary spring water, afternoon tea in the Grills Lounge, and a bathroom with a bathtub and a shower. (Note that bathtubs aren’t available at the Princess Grill level on Queen Anne.)

Queens Grill Suites

The most lavish rooms on board Cunard’s vessels are the Queens Grill Suites, featuring 484 to 2,249 square feet of space. They come with all of the above perks, plus additional in-cabin books, binoculars for use on board, fresh flowers, complimentary minibar items, a bottle of Champagne and chocolates at embarkation, and priority tendering where applicable. (Note that Queen Anne offers bathrooms with tubs and showers at the Queens Grill level.)

Passengers booked in these accommodations have access to the Queens Grill Restaurant in addition to the shared spaces — Grills Lounge, Concierge Lounge (where available) and sun deck — that cruisers booked in Princess Grill Suites also can use. Each suite’s butler will deliver in-cabin canapes daily prior to dinner.

Queens Grill Suites are impressive, especially the duplex-style suites found only on Queen Mary 2. Three 1,566-square-foot Duplex Apartments (Windsor, Buckingham and Holyrood) and two 2,249-square-foot Grand Duplex Apartments (Balmoral and Sandringham) are all the way aft on decks 9 and 10. These accommodations — some of which are larger than land-based apartments — offer stunning wake views via two-story windows.

Bottom line

Although Cunard’s cabin experience types might seem confusing at first, they’re fairly straightforward. The relatively small number of cabin types and categories makes the booking process easier to navigate while still offering enough variety to cater to many tastes and budgets.

Whether you choose to sail in a basic Britannia inside cabin or the most swanky Queens Grill Suite, you’re sure to enjoy Cunard’s upscale nautical vibe.

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