Cunard set sail again

Cunard return to cruising on 19 July 2021 after an extended pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The luxury cruise line’s Queen Elizabeth cruise ship will welcome excited guest back on board next month.

“This will be a momentous day for Cunard as after a long pause we finally get back to doing what we love doing, hosting guests for fantastic holidays. To say we cannot wait would be an understatement!”

Cunard president Simon Palethorpe

Queen Elizabeth will sail a series of Summer at Sea staycation voyages for UK guests departing from Southampton. From October she will resume limited international operations with new itineraries including to the Spanish Iberian coast and the Canary Islands.

Cunard return to cruising with QM2

Queen Mary 2 is also due to return to cruising this year. Cunard’s flagship will resume her transatlantic crossings on 14 November 2021. Indeed, QM2 will carry on her regular transatlantic schedule until January 2022 when she commences a series of Caribbean voyages.

There will be three roundtrip voyages from Southampton to the Caribbean on QM2. One of these will sail via the Canary Islands, while the other two will sail via New York City. In addition, QM2 will sail three short cruise breaks.

When will Queen Victoria return to the high seas

The news is less sanguine for the remaining ship in the Cunard fleet, Queen Victoria. None of her voyages this year will go ahead. In fact she is not due to be part of the Cunard return to cruising until next April.

At the time of publishing, Queen Victoria is due to depart Southampton on 22 April 2022 for voyages in Western Europe, the Baltic and the Iberian Coast before resuming her published schedule on 20 May 2022.

Indeed, the pandemic is still causing major disruption for Cunard. COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of Queen Elizabeth’s sailings from the UK to Australia and her homeport season in Australia this year. It has also forced the cancellation of the World Voyages on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria in 2022.

“Unfortunately, there are simply too many international ports of call impacted by the ongoing complexities of COVID-19, which has sadly led to this decision.”

Cunard president Simon Palethorpe

While no doubt disappointing, it’s not unexpected. Indeed, the staggered Cunard return mirrors that of other luxury cruise lines.

For more information about the Cunard return to cruising visit the Cunard website.