Cunard cruises

Discover the Cunard legend and the most famous cruise ships in the world

To understand the Cunard legend and its 175-year history, we need to go back a little further. After all, Cunard has made history more than once.

Cunard first made history when it was founded by Sir Samuel Cunard. In the mid-19th century, this Canadian businessman, reserved and conservative by nature, recognised the potential of a scheduled shipping service between America and Great Britain. When he sent his first ship, the Britannia, from Liverpool to the New World on 4 July 1840, a new era of seafaring began. Without masts and rigging, the Britannia was roughly the size of the restaurant of the same name on today’s Queen Mary 2.

The Britannia’s departure from Liverpool on 4 July 1840 on the first transatlantic crossing made maritime history: she was the first liner to cross the Atlantic. After a 14-day voyage, the Britannia arrived in America with the latest news and, on the return journey, brought the mail from America to Liverpool. As a result, Cunard was awarded the contract to carry the Royal Mail between America and Great Britain. In total, 248 ships sailed under the Cunard flag, and every ship that carried passengers between 1840 and 1969 was an RMS – Royal Mail Ship! However, the Queen Mary 2 was the only ship to officially bear this prefix when she entered service; she was christened RMS Queen Mary 2.

Cunard also made history during one of the greatest disasters in maritime history. When the White Star Line’s Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg, the Cunard ship Carpathia was the first to reach the scene and brought the survivors to New York. The White Star Line, owner of the Titanic, was later taken over by Cunard and lives on today as Cunard’s ‘White Star’ Service.

Cunard made history once again in the Second World War, when its ocean liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth served as troopships. On one of these crossings, 16,683 passengers were carried aboard the Queen Mary – still the largest number of people ever on board a single ship. Historians today agree that the deployment of the two Cunard ships shortened the Second World War in Europe by a year.

And the story continues

With the launch of the Queen Mary 2 in 2003, Cunard made history yet again: today the Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner that regularly crosses the Atlantic. Together with the two classic cruise ships Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth, Cunard now offers first-class cruises all over the world.

Come aboard and experience the legend of the world’s most famous ocean liners. Book your Cunard cruise with voyageplan – our travel consultants will do everything they can to make your wishes come true.