In accordance with the recommendations of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the complexity of operating international travel, luxury cruise line Cunard will extend its pause in operations from November 2020 until March 25, 2021 for its Queen Elizabeth ship, until April 18, 2021 for the Queen Mary 2, and until May 16, 2021 for the Queen Victoria.
Cunard's chairman, Simon Palethorpe, said:
“We are very sorry for all those guests who were going to sail on the canceled cruises and for all the inconvenience this news will cause. After careful consideration and reviewing the latest recommendations, we simply do not feel it is sensible to begin sailing again with our current schedule, so we have revised our future itineraries.”.
The Queen Elizabeth has returned to the UK and with the current uncertainty surrounding the reopening of many ports and countries, sadly, it is not practical to continue with its planned itineraries until 2021.
Therefore, in addition to the pause in operations, all Queen Elizabeth voyages scheduled to depart between March 26, 2021 and December 13, 2021 in Australia, Japan and Alaska and surrounding areas will be cancelled.
These voyages will be replaced by a program of shorter European cruises ranging from three to 14 nights, departing from Southampton. These will begin in late March 2021, with a series of scenic voyages along the Cornish coast, the west coast of Ireland, and the Scottish islands. There will also be short trips to Amsterdam, including an overnight stay in the city, as well as voyages to destinations in northern and southern Europe, including Norway and the Iberian coast, with several of these itineraries featuring city breaks.
The Queen Elizabeth 's new program will be complemented by a series of 7- and 14-night Mediterranean cruises, sailing from Barcelona . It's an exciting new program that I'm sure will be very popular.
All new itineraries on board the Queen Elizabeth will be available to book from September 29, 2020.”
Palethorpe continued: “Furthermore, recognizing the immense disappointment of those on board Queen Mary 2’s reduced World Cruise this year, and the cancellation of the World Cruise in 2021, we are delighted that Queen Mary 2 will sail a classic World Cruise in 2022. This will replace her scheduled sailings from 3 January 2022 to 3 April 2022, including the voyage to South America.”.
The new 118-night adventure will depart from and return to New York on January 3, 2022, and will include stops in Greece, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, and Bali before returning to Southampton via Abu Dhabi, Oman, Italy, and Portugal. The ship will transit the Suez Canal on both the outbound and return journeys. Bookings will be available, either as a complete world cruise or as one of six segments, beginning September 8, 2020.
Given the current uncertainty, the complexity of our scheduled Round the World tour with our international mix of guests visiting many countries and continents, each with its own evolving travel regulations, was a very real factor in our decision-making.”.
Cunard will contact affected guests and travel agents, and once again, all guests who have cancelled their trip will automatically receive an enhanced 125% future cruise credit or, alternatively, can complete the website form for a 100% refund.
Full details of changes to operations and options available to passengers affected by canceled trips, as well as the latest news, can be found at www.cunard.com
