Cunard Line

What sailing with Cunard is really like

Cunard occupies a space entirely its own in ocean travel. This is not a resort ship with a waterslide bolted on — it is a grand liner experience, with proper dressing for Gala evenings, a daily ritual of Afternoon Tea served with scones and clotted cream in the Queen’s Room, a ballroom where a live band plays everything from classic British hits to Motown and Disco, and a Library you will actually use at sea. The pace is measured, the atmosphere elegant, and the whole thing feels deliberately, beautifully unhurried.

At the same time, Cunard is not stiff. The Golden Lion — an authentic British pub at sea — runs quizzes, live music and sports alongside beer-battered cod and daily pie specials. Churchill’s Cigar Lounge invites you to sink into leather seating with a single malt. The Commodore Club offers panoramic ocean views at sunset with seven signature cocktails. There is a late-night club, G32, if you want to dance until the early hours, and a Casino bar if you prefer to try your luck at the roulette wheel. The formality and the fun coexist — that balance is Cunard’s signature.

Dining — from the grand to the casual

Where you eat on a Cunard ship depends partly on the cabin you book, and this is worth understanding before you choose. The Britannia Restaurant — the main dining room, open to all — serves classic and international menus in a sweeping formal space, with Gala evenings raising the atmosphere further. If you upgrade to a Britannia Club Balcony Suite, the Britannia Club Restaurant offers intimate à-la-carte dining with flexible open-seating between 18:30 and 21:00. Book a Princess Grill Suite and the Princess Grill Restaurant becomes your private dining room, its menus inspired by the ports of each voyage. The Queens Grill Restaurant, reserved for Queens Grill Suite guests, is widely regarded as the finest restaurant at sea — floor-to-ceiling windows, seasonally inspired menus, and highly individual service.

For something more relaxed, Kings Court serves everything from continental breakfast to handmade sushi and wood-fired pizza in a casual buffet setting. The Steakhouse at The Verandah is available to all guests and brings Prime Cut, Black Angus and Wagyu steaks, plus a Fruits de Mer platter with Alaskan crab and Maine lobster, to sea days at an additional charge.

Where Cunard sails — and who it suits

Cunard’s home is Southampton, England, from where most voyages depart — but the fleet reaches far beyond the North Atlantic. You can sail the British Isles, ride the Transatlantic crossing that made the line’s reputation, explore the Mediterranean in 2027, push north to Norway, winter in the Caribbean, reach South Africa, and for adventurous Australians, the fleet also calls at Sydney and departs from Singapore — including itineraries that sail between the two. Japan, Hong Kong, Yokohama (Tokyo) and Los Angeles all feature as embarkation or destination ports.

Sailings range from four nights to epic 117-night voyages, so the line suits both those who want a taste and those who want to circumnavigate the globe. The round-the-world programme is particularly popular with Australian travellers for whom a Cunard voyage is itself the destination.

Cunard suits travellers who appreciate formality balanced with genuine warmth — couples marking a milestone, solo travellers drawn to structured social occasions, and anyone who believes that how you travel matters as much as where you go. It is not a children’s entertainment complex, but families who appreciate immersive, enriching travel will find the Cunard Insights guest speaker programme, wellness seminars, behind-the-scenes ship tours and fitness facilities offer plenty.

The fleet

Queen Mary 2 is Cunard’s flagship and the only true ocean liner in regular transatlantic service — built to cross the North Atlantic in all weather, longer and higher-sided than a typical cruise ship. Her cabins and deck plans tell the full story of what life on board looks like. Queen Anne is the line’s newest addition, bringing fresh spaces and design to the Cunard tradition, and is worth exploring if you want the most contemporary take on the classic experience. Queen Elizabeth carries the largest share of sailings across the fleet and is a versatile, elegantly appointed ship whose 2026 programme and 2027 programme span multiple continents. Queen Victoria rounds out the fleet with a slightly more intimate scale and her own devoted following.

If you want to compare cabin grades and deck plans before you call us, start with the Queen Anne cabin and deck plans, the Queen Mary 2 cabin and deck plans, or the Queen Elizabeth cabin and deck plans — understanding The Grills versus Britannia grades before you book makes a real difference to the holiday you experience.

Voyages worth planning around

If a world voyage is on your list, Cunard’s programme is one of the most established in the industry — see the full Cunard 2027–2028 World Cruise and Season Launch details. For those drawn to the Mediterranean in 2026, sailings depart from Rome (Civitavecchia), Barcelona and Trieste, making it straightforward to combine the cruise with a few days in Italy or Spain. Australians interested in a Pacific crossing can browse our full Transpacific cruise options, or look at itineraries that connect Singapore to Australia directly.

How CruiseAway helps you book Cunard

For the vast majority of Cunard sailings, the cruise is the centrepiece of a longer trip — you will fly into Southampton, New York, Barcelona or another embarkation port and likely want a hotel either side and transfers sorted. Our DreamAway Packages bundle the cruise, flights, hotels and transfers into one booking, so nothing falls through the gap between a cruise booking and a flight booking. Our Best Price Guarantee means you pay no more than booking direct — and our cruise experts know these ships, know The Grills dining hierarchy, and know which cabin grades genuinely transform the experience. A small number of Cunard sailings depart from Sydney: for those, there is no long-haul flight needed at all — if you are in another Australian state, it is a short domestic hop rather than an international journey, which is still the easiest way to reach a ship. Either way, we put the whole holiday on one booking.

Fares start from A$439pp* — use the offers grid below to find a sailing that fits your dates, or call our cruise experts to talk through which ship and cabin grade suits you best.