Queen Elizabeth cruises 2028

Where does Queen Elizabeth sail in 2028?

Queen Elizabeth spends 2028 ranging across some of the world’s most rewarding cruising waters. The Mediterranean dominates the season — with sailings across both the broader Mediterranean Sea and the western Mediterranean — while round-the-world voyages, transpacific crossings, South Africa sailings and transatlantic passages fill out a programme that runs from short getaways of 3 nights to grand voyages stretching to 117 nights. The median sailing is 21 nights, so most itineraries are genuinely long-haul journeys rather than taster trips. Most sailings are one-way, so you arrive at one port and disembark at another — a domestic flight connects the two ends with ease, and we can arrange that alongside your cruise.

Which ports does Queen Elizabeth sail from?

Embarkation ports in 2028 span Italy, England, Spain, the United States and Japan. Rome (Civitavecchia) and Southampton are the two busiest departure points, joined by Trieste, Barcelona, Miami and Yokohama (Tokyo). If you’re sailing from Southampton you can board without a flight at all — drive, take the train, and you’re on your way. From anywhere else in Australia, a short domestic hop to your international flight is all that stands between you and the ship. For the European and American ports, we can book your flights, a hotel the night before, transfers and any pre- or post-cruise touring as a single package — nothing left loose.

Sailing into Miami? It’s worth knowing that Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) is about half an hour away, so a Florida trip can sail from either port — worth checking both for dates and prices.

Close to home and long-haul destinations

Close to home — Australia and the Pacific

For Australian readers, Queen Elizabeth does offer a small number of sailings that touch Australian waters — so if you’re near the embarkation port, a flight may not be necessary at all. These are a compact part of the overall 2028 programme, but they are there. If you’re planning around a Sydney departure, our Sydney cruise hub is a good place to start. For broader Australian itineraries in 2028, see our cruises around Australia 2028 guide, or if you’re thinking about the April window specifically, April 2028 Australia cruises has the detail. Queen Elizabeth also sails a Japan programme — a small number of departures, but worth exploring if you’ve always wanted to see Japan by sea; Yokohama (Tokyo) features as both an embarkation and a destination. Our Japan cruises 2028 page covers the full picture.

Transpacific crossings link the Asia-Pacific region to the Americas in a voyage that few other experiences can match — Queen Elizabeth’s transpacific sailings in 2028 are a strong option for anyone who wants to cross an ocean rather than simply skim a coast. Disembarkation in Los Angeles is one of the options on this route, with a domestic or international flight home from there.

The Mediterranean — the heart of the 2028 season

The Mediterranean is where Queen Elizabeth concentrates most of her 2028 programme, and it’s easy to see why this region suits the ship so well. Sailings cover both the Mediterranean Sea broadly and the western Mediterranean specifically, with disembarkation ports including Rome (Civitavecchia), Barcelona and Trieste. These are point-to-point itineraries for the most part — you board in one city and step off in another, which means you can combine the cruise with a few days in two different European destinations. We can build that into your booking: hotel nights, transfers and tours before or after the sailing, all on one invoice. Our Mediterranean cruises 2028 page shows the full range across all lines if you want to compare. For context on how the 2027 season looked, Mediterranean cruises 2027 gives a useful reference.

Round the world, transpacific and beyond

A handful of sailings in 2028 take the grand route: round-the-world voyages aboard Queen Elizabeth that call at ports across multiple continents. These are long commitments — voyages in this category can run well past 100 nights — but for those who have always wanted to circumnavigate, Queen Elizabeth offers a genuine way to do it in the style Cunard has built its reputation on. South Africa sailings round out the programme for those drawn to that coastline; the South Africa cruises page covers what’s available across the fleet. Transatlantic crossings between Europe and the Americas are a classic Cunard proposition, and Queen Elizabeth carries on that tradition in 2028 — see the transatlantic cruises hub for the broader range. For the complete Cunard 2028 programme, including world voyage sectors, the Cunard 2028–2029 world cruise season launch page has the detail, and the Queen Elizabeth 2028 programme release goes deeper still.

What fare types are available on Queen Elizabeth in 2028?

Cunard offers several fare tiers on Queen Elizabeth sailings, and choosing the right one makes a real difference to both price and flexibility. Our cruise experts can walk you through the options, but here is what each tier covers:

• Cunard Fare (with OBC and drinks, or coach and drinks, or car parking and drinks): The most flexible option, available on all sailings regardless of when you book. You choose your stateroom number, get priority consideration for upgrades, pay a low 15% deposit, and can amend your booking up to the balance due date. Complimentary shuttle buses at ports are included. This tier suits anyone who wants to lock in a specific cabin and keep their options open — and it pairs well with our cruise-plus-package approach if you want flights and hotels added.
• Cunard Saver Fare: Cunard’s lowest-priced tier, designed for last-minute and price-led bookings. You pay in full at the time of booking and accept a pre-allocated stateroom rather than choosing your own. Cancellation fees of 100% apply and the booking cannot be amended after it is made, so this fare suits those who are certain of their dates and happy to let Cunard decide the cabin. The saving can be significant, and our cruise experts can tell you which sailings currently carry a Saver option.

Fare inclusions such as on-board credit, drinks packages, coach transfers or car parking depend on which tier and which sailing you choose. Call our team or use our fare comparison tool to see what each option actually covers on the specific departure you have in mind.

How do I get to Queen Elizabeth in 2028?

The answer depends entirely on where you are and where the ship departs. Southampton is the one embarkation port where an Australian reader living nearby could board without a flight — train or car, straight to the dock. For everyone else in Australia, the quickest route is a domestic flight to your nearest international gateway, then onward to the departure city. The key point: none of these connections need to be arranged separately. We book the flights, the hotel the night before embarkation, airport and port transfers, and any post-cruise nights in one package. If you disembark in a different city from where you boarded — which applies to the majority of Queen Elizabeth’s 2028 sailings — we sort the return leg too. Nothing is left for you to patch together on your own.

For sailings departing from Singapore, check our cruises from Singapore 2028 page and the Fremantle to Singapore 2028 route, which shows how Australian passengers can connect to Singapore-based departures. The cruise from Singapore to Australia 2028 page is useful if you’re thinking about the return direction.

Queen Elizabeth — the ship

Queen Elizabeth is one of Cunard’s classic ocean liners, carrying the White Star Service® tradition that has defined the line for generations. She is built for long ocean passages — the kind of sailing where the voyage itself is the destination, not just the means of getting somewhere. On board, the atmosphere is formal enough to feel special without being stiff: the grand ballroom, the tiered theatre, the library (one of the largest at sea), and the various restaurants give the ship a character that mass-market vessels simply do not replicate. Cunard’s signature is the sense that you are crossing an ocean aboard something that takes the crossing seriously.

For a full breakdown of what is on board — cabin categories, public spaces and deck layouts — visit the Queen Elizabeth ship page. If you are weighing up cabin grades, the Queen Elizabeth cabins and deck plans page shows every grade with its size and position on the ship, which is the clearest way to understand what you are actually buying.

The Queen Elizabeth extended Australia season page is worth a read if you are particularly interested in her local programme, and the Queen Elizabeth 2027 programme release gives context on how the preceding year’s schedule was shaped, which helps set expectations for 2028.

Make it a holiday

A Queen Elizabeth sailing in 2028 is rarely just the cruise. Most departures begin in Europe, the United States or Japan, which means the trip starts before you board and continues after you disembark. CruiseAway can build the whole journey into one booking: international and domestic flights, hotels the night before and after, port transfers, shore tours and travel insurance. Our DreamAway Packages are designed exactly for this — a cruise-inclusive holiday rather than a cruise you then have to build a trip around. You deal with one team, one booking reference, and one point of contact if anything needs adjusting.

Our cruise experts are familiar with Queen Elizabeth’s cabin grades and fare tiers, and they can match you with the stateroom category and fare combination that suits your travel style and budget — something that is genuinely harder to do on the cruise line’s own website, where the full comparison is rarely laid out plainly. The Best Price Guarantee means that if you find the same sailing at a lower price, we’ll match it.

Looking at other years or regions?

If 2028 is not the right fit, or you want to compare Queen Elizabeth across years, our Queen Elizabeth cruises 2027 and Queen Elizabeth cruises 2026 pages cover the neighbouring seasons. For the broader Cunard 2028 release, including world voyage segments, see the Cunard 2027–2028 world cruise season launch and the Cunard 2028–2029 programme release. If you’re open to other lines in 2028, our cruises 2028 hub covers every ship and region on sale for the year. For the British Isles — Queen Elizabeth’s home waters — the British Isles cruises destination page is a good place to explore. And if you’re drawn to the idea of cruising around Australia in 2027, cruises around Australia 2027 remains one of our most-visited pages for that region.

Interested in world cruises more broadly? World cruises 2027 shows how the grand-voyage landscape looked the year before, and the Cunard 2028–2029 world cruise season launch shows what is coming next. For Barcelona as a starting point, cruises from Barcelona 2028 and cruises from Barcelona 2027 both help with planning. Thinking about cruises from Southampton 2027? That page is a useful companion if you are comparing years for a UK embarkation. Browse all available sailings on our cruise search.

*Prices are per person based on 2 people sharing, and are subject to change. This price is not kept up to date and therefore does not reflect live pricing and availability. Prices and any discounts shown were checked on 14 October 2026.

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. Discounts and prices shown are not kept up to date: the reduction available now may be smaller, or may have ended, and prices may have changed.