Cunard announces plans for 2007

I can barely believe we’re three months into 2006, but Cunard is already looking ahead to 2007. The cruise line is planning several new itineraries and will debut its third “queen,” the Queen Victoria in December 2007.

Here are the highlights of Cunard’s plans for next year:

• Cunard has cornered the market on transatlantic crossings. The Queen Mary 2 (QM2) will offer 22 six-day crossings between New York and Southampton in 2007, plus she’ll introduce one seven-day crossing from Le Havre, France, and four eight-day sailings from Hamburg, Germany.
• The QM2 will introduce four “Getaway” sailings, timed to correspond with long weekends. She’ll sail four round-trip cruises from New York to the Bahamas during Memorial Day and Fourth of July 2007, and President’s Day and Easter 2008. Two other short sailings are scheduled for January 6, 2007, from Ft. Lauderdale and on Labor Day, 2007, from New York to Halifax.
• The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) celebrates her 40th birthday in 2007. She’ll sail an anniversary itinerary around the U.K. with stops in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Liverpool.
• In December 2007, Cunard’s newest ship makes her debut. The Queen Victoria will include innovative features such as private boxes in the theater, alfresco dining at its Grill restaurant, a museum of Cunard memorabilia, and a two-story library. Her maiden voyages will be a Christmas markets sailing on December 11 and a Canary Islands holiday cruise later that month.

In addition, the QM2 has new Caribbean and Europe itineraries planned. For more information about any of the three queens, visit Cunard’s website.