New Cunard Cruise Ship to Sail Special Maiden Voyage

Cunard has added a British Isles Festival cruise to the roster of voyages its newest queen will operate when she debuts in May 2024. Queen Anne, under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, will sail the theme cruise three weeks after entering service.

Queen Anne Theme Voyage Celebrates British Culture

Queen Anne, the 3,000-guest luxury ship set to join the Cunard fleet in May 2024, will sail a special British Isles Festival voyage that celebrates British culture and features guest performers and speakers. 

The 14-day cruise, sailing roundtrip from Southampton, UK, on May 24, 2024, will be the ship’s first cruise around the British Isles, with calls at ports in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The onboard festival program will provide British and Irish entertainment, and offer Insight lectures tied to British heritage and the UK’s natural resources.

The theme cruise follows Queen Anne’s maiden voyage, set for May 3, 2024, when she will sail a 7-day cruise roundtrip from Southampton, UK, with port calls at Lisbon, Portugal, and La Coruna, Spain.

“Christmas has come early for travelers looking to celebrate the arrival of Queen Anne as we announce her British Isles Festival voyage, which will be a real celebration of our newest ship and showcase the very best of Great Britain and Ireland,” said Katie McAlister, President of Cunard.

“Queen Anne’s maiden voyage around these shores will be a truly historic sailing and I know many of our loyal Cunarders will be eagerly awaiting what will be an iconic journey,” added McAlister.

The British Isles Festival cruise will call at Edinburgh, Bass Rock, Isle of May, Kirkwall, Inverness, Isle of Skye, and Glasgow, Scotland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Cork, Ireland; and Liverpool, England.

Following her British Isles event cruise, Queen Anne will spend the summer season sailing in the Western Mediterranean and in Northern Europe, including the Norwegian Fjords and Scandinavia. Departures of 5- to 18-day cruises will be offered from Southampton, Rome, and Kiel and Hamburg, Germany.

Read Also: Cunard Reveals 2025 Plans and New Itineraries for Three Queens

An 18-day Canary Islands Celebration cruise, for example, sails roundtrip from Hamburg and calls at Arrecife de Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Coruna, Spain, plus Funchal, Portugal.

The ship will sail Europe cruises until January 2025, when she will embark on her first world voyage, a 111-night cruise roundtrip from Hamburg.

New Dining, Entertainment Will Debut on Queen Anne

The 14-deck Queen Anne will offer 1,400 staterooms, and like the other Cunard ships, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria, the new-build will feature three accommodations categories — Queens Grill Suites, Princess Grill Suites, and Britannia Club staterooms. Under the category system, certain lounges and dining rooms are reserved for guests who book Queens and Princess suites.

As Cunard counts down the months to Queen Anne’s launch, it has revealed new partnerships, dining venues, and entertainment options that guest onboard the new ship will enjoy.

The luxury cruise line, a brand of Carnival Corporation, announced a collaboration with two-Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux, well known for Le Gavroche, his French restaurant in London. Roux will create a gala menu exclusively for Queen Anne‘s Queens Grill restaurant and he will revamp the menu at the ship’s Golden Lion pub, a signature venue across the fleet.

New dining venues on Queen Anne will include Aji Wa, serving Japanese specialties; Aranya, an Indian restaurant; Sir Samuels, offering steaks and seafood; and Tramonto, an al fresco venue serving Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

Another new partnership brings the British Film Institute onboard the Cunard new-build. The institute will provide blockbuster movies and films to be shown on the outdoor screen in The Pavilion, a two-deck, open-air theater space on Queen Anne.