On board with Cunard Cunard history

Fit for a Queen

A dedicated butler. Bathrooms made of marble. A complimentary mini bar (stocked with handpicked spirits). Cunard’s Queens Grill Suites are the epitome of luxury cruise suites. Discover how this unique experience has evolved over the years.

4 mins 10 Feb 2026

Chris Frame

Maritime historian

The history of the Cunard Grill Suite experience

The Cunard Grill Suite experience today

A stay in our Princess or Queens Grill Suites is an experience like no other. We’re proud to offer something special, drawing from more than a century of expertise. The Cunard Grill Suites experience has a deep-rooted connection to our past and here, expert and historian Chris Frame takes us back to the beginning.

The history of the Cunard Grill Suite experience

Cunard had already been in operation for over 70 years when the concept of ‘Grills’ was first introduced, but it looked quite different from the experience offered today.

“The first Cunard Grill Room was found on board Aquitania," says Chris. "It was beautifully appointed, with tables set for couples or larger groups. It offered a quiet and intimate escape from the ship’s larger, grander, main first-class dining room and first-class passengers were welcome to dine here, at no extra cost.”

The Grills restaurant on Cunard's Aquitania (1914 - 1950)

Although Aquitania’s Grill Room was the first in Cunard history, it wasn’t until post war, with Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth’s Verandah Grills, that the Grill experience really came into its own.

Grills guests dance and dine on Cunard's Queen Mary (1936 - 1967)

The Verandah Grills

“The Verandah Grills were a special experience on board the Queens, with highly attentive service, a diverse menu and a club-like ambience," Chris says. "These restaurants were also more private than the main dining room, making them a popular place for celebrities of stage and screen.”

For a charge of 10 shillings, first-class passengers could drink, dine, and dance to the Verandah Grill orchestra into the early hours. Guests were encouraged to request special orders - a custom that continues today in the Queens Grill Suite restaurants.

Browsing a vintage Cunard brochure titled Gracious Living at its Best, from the late 1940s/early 1950s, offered up a wonderful review of Queen Elizabeth’s Grill dining room:

“If you prefer the more intimate atmosphere of a night-club you can go up to the Starlight Roof Club in the Verandah Grill (the highest room in the ship) and have supper. Dancing up there with the great ship all ablaze with lights driving through the Atlantic night is a sensation to remember.”

The exclusive Grills on Cunard's Queen Mary (1936 - 1967)

Why "Grill"?

The use of the term "Grill" in this context can be dated back to the start of the 20th century, when the HAPAG liner Deutschland opened an "extra tariff" restaurant specializing in grilled meats, such as steaks.

Cunard followed just over a decade later with our first Grill Room, only the restaurant did not involve an extra charge. Instead, it was an exclusive, intimate dining experience reserved for first-class passengers. The ultimate in luxury cruise dining. The ‘Grill’ experience has evolved over the years, but the name has remained for over a century.

When it comes to seeing the world, few experiences top the glamor of ocean travel on a Cunard Queen. With considered touches like a complimentary mini-bar stocked with your favorites and a butler who seems to pre-empt your every request, nothing compares to seeing the world in Cunard's Queens Grill Suites.

View of the bedroom in one of the new Grand Suites on board Cunard's Queen Victoria. Picture date: Wednesday June 7, 2017. Photograph by Christopher Ison © 07544044177 chris@christopherison.com www.christopherison.com

Fashionable travel

This photograph, taken in the late 1940s or 1950s, was captured on board Queen Elizabeth at Southampton Dock during a photoshoot by British fashion company, Roecliff & Chapman. Specializing in women’s evening wear, they would advertise in high-end fashion magazines like Vogue.

The dress in the photo was named Sea Mist, and the picture was taken in the Verandah Grill on Queen Elizabeth’s Sun Deck.

A Grills guest on board Cunard's Queen Elizabeth (1938–1968)

Passing the torch

The Grill concept continued on Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969 which, like Aquitania in 1914, had a Grill Room for those traveling in first-class. The Queens Grill was added in 1970, becoming the ship’s highest-rated restaurant, and the original Grill Room was relaunched as the Princess Grill.

As Chris explains: “The popularity of these restaurants led to their inclusion on Queen Mary 2 when she entered service, and they have become much-loved Cunard experiences, now found on board all Queens.”

Grills guests on board Queen Elizabeth 2 (circa 1969)

The Cunard Grill Suite experience today

Today, in your Grill Suites Restaurant, you can dine whenever the impulse takes you (and for however long you wish), at a table that’s reserved just for you. A table that comes with enviable, ever-changing views of the world outside.

We’ve been refining the sense of occasion and intimacy of the entire Grill experience since our first Grill Room in 1914. From dining to décor, we work with the very best. Discover the finest way to sail, finessed over more than a century - book your Princess Grill Suite or Queens Grill Suite experience now.