Cunard cruises

Where does Cunard sail, and which ship will you be on?

Cunard’s programme spans the Mediterranean Sea, the Transatlantic, the Caribbean, Norway, the British Isles, South Africa, Transpacific crossings and round-the-world voyages. Sailings run from 5 nights to 117 nights, with a median of 14 nights — long enough to settle into the Cunard rhythm, short enough not to need a sabbatical. A good share of itineraries are one-way voyages, so the ship sets you down in a different city from where it picked you up; a domestic flight or a night in port closes the loop, and we can arrange both.

Mediterranean and southern Europe: the heart of the programme

The Mediterranean is where Cunard concentrates the bulk of its sailings, and it shows in the breadth of itineraries on offer. The western basin features strongly, with voyages calling at ports along the coastlines of southern Europe. Rome (Civitavecchia) is one of the busiest disembarkation points in the programme, making it straightforward to add a few days in Rome before or after your cruise — and that is exactly the kind of addition our team builds into a DreamAway Package. Barcelona is another well-served port, both as a starting point and a finishing one. Trieste also features prominently, opening up the upper Adriatic as a gateway for broader European travel.

If you are flying from Australia to join a Mediterranean cruise, we book the international flights, the hotel the night before you board, and any transfers between the airport and the port — so you step aboard Queen Elizabeth or Queen Anne without having solved any of that yourself.

For a deeper dive into Mediterranean cruises in 2027, that page covers the full picture across all lines.

Transatlantic crossings: the voyage Queen Mary 2 was built for

No ship in the world does the Transatlantic crossing quite like Queen Mary 2. She is the last true ocean liner — not a cruise ship repositioning, but a vessel designed from keel to funnel for the open Atlantic. Transatlantic sailings connect Southampton with New York, and the crossing itself is the experience: a Planetarium — the only one at sea — ballroom dancing lessons, the elegance of the Queens Room, and White Star Service throughout. If you are joining from Australia, we can package the flights to Southampton or New York around the crossing, and add a hotel at either end.

New York and Southampton both appear as disembarkation ports in the programme. For Florida-based options, Miami also features — and it is worth noting that Miami and Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) are about half an hour apart, so a Florida departure can sail from either; check Fort Lauderdale alongside Miami for dates and prices.

Caribbean, round the world and beyond

The Caribbean features in the Cunard programme, with sailings connecting from American ports. Round-the-world voyages are a Cunard signature — full circumnavigations and extended sector sailings that take in ports across three or more continents. These are the longest itineraries in the fleet, and they suit travellers who want to cover serious distance in one voyage. You can browse the Cunard 2027–2028 world cruise sailings for the full listing, or look at the broader Cunard 2025–2027 winter and summer programme if you are still deciding on a year.

Transpacific sailings also appear in the programme, and ports in Asia feature across the wider itinerary mix — including Hong Kong and Singapore, which serve as embarkation or disembarkation points on longer voyages. For Australian travellers, Sydney appears as a port of call on some world voyage routings — a genuine reason to consider a longer sailing.

Norway and the British Isles

Norway is a natural fit for Cunard’s style of travel — measured, scenic, well-paced. The fjord itineraries depart from Southampton, which is also the home port for British Isles sailings. For Australians, Southampton is typically the end-point of a flight rather than a drive, but once you are there the ship leaves and returns to the same port, so there is no second city to navigate. We can add the flight, a night in Southampton beforehand and any pre-voyage touring you want — it all goes on one booking.

Which ships sail with Cunard?

The Cunard fleet is four ships, each with a distinct character. Here is what you will find aboard each one.

Queen Anne — new in 2024

Queen Anne is Cunard’s newest ship, having entered service in 2024, and she blends the line’s signature Art Deco elegance with a genuinely fresh feel. The Carinthia Lounge pairs live music with cocktails, the grand Queens Room ballroom is the centrepiece for evening dancing, and The Golden Lion pub serves a menu created by Michelin-starred chef Michael Roux — proper British pub life, mid-ocean. Cabin grades on Queen Anne range from interior to suite; explore the Queen Anne cabins and deck plans to compare layouts and sizes.

• Interior — Britannia Inside cabin IA: 13.7 m², with a personal cabin steward available around the clock and daily turndown service included.
• Ocean view — Britannia Deluxe Ocean-view cabin EA: 21.9 m², with a separate seating area and around 3 m² more space than the standard ocean-view grade.
• Balcony — Britannia Club Balcony cabin A1: 21.9 m², with exclusive access to the Britannia Club Restaurant and a reserved table for a more intimate dining experience.
• Suite — Queens Grill Grand Suite Q1: 133.8 m², the largest suite category on board and more than twice the size of the Master Suite.

Queen Elizabeth

Step aboard Queen Elizabeth and the Art Deco glamour is immediate — chandeliers, a promenade deck and the kind of interiors that make you reach for a dinner jacket. White Star Service sets the table in the Britannia, Princess or Queens Grill dining rooms exactly as you would hope. The Royal Court Theatre anchors the evening entertainment, while the Queens Room ballroom keeps the nights moving. See the Queen Elizabeth cabins and deck plans for full layout detail.

• Interior — Britannia Inside Deluxe cabin GB: 19.2 m², around 5 m² more than the standard inside grade on the same ship.
• Ocean view — Britannia Ocean-view cabin EB: 18.3 m², with natural daylight and sea views through a cabin window.
• Balcony — Britannia Club Balcony cabin A1: 24.0 m², with a private balcony and exclusive outdoor space not available to inside or ocean-view guests in the Britannia category.
• Suite — Queens Grill Grand Suite Q1: 127.7 m² with a private balcony of approximately 90 m² — the largest outdoor space of any Queens Grill suite on board.

Queen Mary 2

Queen Mary 2 is a ship unlike any other afloat. She was designed as an ocean liner rather than a cruise ship, which means crossing the Atlantic is not a repositioning exercise — it is what she was built for. The onboard Planetarium is the only one at sea, and the Queens Room ballroom, the White Star Service and the formal rituals of a Cunard crossing remain intact. Review the Queen Mary 2 cabins and deck plans before choosing your grade.

• Interior — Britannia Inside cabin HB: 14.8 m², with a view into QM2’s atrium — the only inside grade on board that offers any outlook at all.
• Ocean view — Britannia Solo cabin KB: 16.5 m², designed specifically for solo travellers with no single supplement, offering full Britannia comfort for one person.
• Balcony — Britannia Balcony cabin BU: 25.0 m², with a sheltered loggia rather than an open balcony, so you get fresh air and sea views in any weather.
• Suite — Queens Grill Grand Duplex Suite Q1: 208.9 m² across two levels — more than twice the space of any other Queens Grill suite on board.

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria is the most intimate ship in the fleet — spacious enough to feel like a proper Cunard voyage, compact enough that you quickly find your feet. The Gala evenings and white-gloved Afternoon Tea ritual are genuine set pieces, and the Royal Court Theatre delivers West End-calibre performances — vocalists, illusionists, aerial performers — night after night. Compare grades and layouts on the Queen Victoria cabins and deck plans page.

Where do Cunard sailings depart from?

Southampton is Cunard’s home port and handles the largest share of departures in the programme. Beyond Southampton, sailings also depart from New York, Rome (Civitavecchia), Trieste, Barcelona and Hamburg. For most Australian travellers, these are fly-to ports — we book the international leg, the hotel the night before you board, and the transfer to the ship as a single package.

A small share of sailings call at or depart from Sydney. If you are Sydney-based and one of those dates works, you can join without an international flight. If you are in another state, a domestic hop is still a far shorter journey than flying to Europe.

Are there any Cunard cruise deals available?

A selection of sailings carry a reduced fare — up to 19% off on one departure, with most discounted sailings sitting around 10% off the price previously listed for that cabin grade. These reductions appear across the programme and are worth checking when you are comparing dates. Fare types such as early-saver offers and last-minute reductions appear periodically, and our cruise experts will point you to any current saving that applies to the sailing you have in mind.

You can also look at exclusive Cunard packages that include flights alongside your cruise fare, or browse the Cunard 2026–2027 programme releases if you want to lock in a sailing early.

Can CruiseAway add flights and hotels to my Cunard booking?

Yes — and for most Cunard sailings departing from the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy or Spain, that is exactly what we recommend. Our DreamAway Packages bundle flights, hotels, transfers and tours around your cruise fare into one booking. You choose how much or how little to add; we put it all together. If you prefer to book just the cruise now and add travel later, our cruise experts can keep options open and revisit the package when you are ready.

Browse all cruises if you are still comparing lines, or read about luxury ocean cruise lines to see how Cunard sits alongside other premium fleets.

Where a discount is shown, it is a reduction from the price previously listed for that cabin grade on that sailing, not a comparison between cabin grades or against a brochure rate.