Cunard review

About Cunard review

By the ULTIMATE Cruises Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Cunard has carried travellers across the Atlantic for more than 185 years. Today four Queens sail under its red and black funnels, led by Queen Mary 2, the world’s only ocean liner. Here is who Cunard suits, how the ships and grades differ, and how to book well.

For more than 185 years, Cunard has carried travellers between Europe and America, and in that time it has sailed 249 ships. Charles Dickens and Mark Twain sailed with Cunard; in the golden age of ocean travel, Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor and Charlie Chaplin followed. In 1874 the Bothnia carried the first library at sea, and Queen Mary 2 carries the largest one today.

Four Queens carry the red and black funnels now: Queen Mary 2, Queen Anne, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth (cunard.com, Oct 2026). Cunard is not a small-ship line, and it does not try to be. It sells something no other line can: the ocean liner, the seven-day crossing to New York and an evening in black tie in the largest ballroom at sea.

If you sail with Cunard once, make it a Transatlantic Crossing on Queen Mary 2.

Who Cunard suits

Cunard suits travellers who love ceremony: the Gala Evenings, when guests appear in tuxedos and ball gowns; Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room; a pianist or string quartet in the Commodore Club and the Chart Room. It suits readers, dancers and anyone who likes the idea of a week at sea with talks, classes and a library. It suits British travellers especially, with sailings from Southampton and short breaks to begin with.

It is also a line of grades. Where you sleep decides where you dine, so the experience in a Queens Grill Suite is very different from that in a Britannia stateroom. If you want everything included, or a ship of a few hundred guests, look at the luxury lines instead.

Queen Mary 2

Queen Mary 2 is, in Cunard’s words, the world’s only true ocean liner, built to sail the mightiest waters. She carries 2,759 guests and 1,173 crew, is 1,132 ft long and cruises at up to 28 knots, with 10 restaurants and 13 bars and lounges. On board are the Queens Room, the largest ballroom at sea; a Laurent-Perrier Champagne Bar; The Fairways golf simulator; a Promenade Deck; The Golden Lion pub; and, uniquely, kennels for dogs and cats on the Transatlantic Crossing.

She is to be refined in 2027, with refreshed accommodation, new wellness and beauty facilities and redesigned boutiques; deck plans change for sailings after 30 March 2027.

The other Queens

Queen Anne, the newest, carries 2,956 guests and 1,225 crew and is 1,058 ft long. She introduced new restaurants, Aji Wa, Aranya, Tramonto and Sir Samuel’s Steakhouse and Grill, alongside the classic dining rooms, and the Pavilion Wellness Studio.

Queen Victoria carries 2,079 guests. A refit in Rotterdam from 17 October to 5 November 2026 brings new staterooms, an uplifted Grill Suites experience, a reimagined Queens Room, a refined Grand Lobby and a new Wellness Café. Queen Elizabeth carries 2,074 guests, with 11 restaurants and 12 bars and lounges, giant chess on the Games Deck, cocktail masterclasses in the Commodore Club and silent discos in the Yacht Club.

Where you sleep is where you dine

Cunard keeps a long tradition: each accommodation grade has its own restaurant. Britannia staterooms dine in the Britannia Restaurant, and your fare includes all meals in your main dining venue, with vegetarian, vegan and other dietary needs catered for with notice. Britannia Club Balcony guests have their own Britannia Club Restaurant.

The Grill Suites are Cunard’s first class. Princess Grill Suites come with a concierge and dinners in the Princess Grill, with tableside carving and flambé. Queens Grill Suites add a butler and the Queens Grill restaurant, and both grades share the Grill Suites Lounge for pre-dinner cocktails and exclusive venues. On Queen Mary 2, the Duplex Suites stand apart; ask Cunard’s dedicated Grill Suites line about layouts and availability on your sailing.

Dining beyond the main restaurants

On Queen Mary 2, Steakhouse at The Verandah, which carries a supplement, is the place for a special night, and Kings Court serves world flavours. On Queen Anne, Aji Wa brings authentic techniques and ingredients, balanced by Cunard’s chefs, Tramonto serves simple dishes from Europe’s sunshine coast in the evening, and Sir Samuel’s Steakhouse and Grill and Aranya complete the choice.

Wellness

Mareel Wellness & Beauty runs across all four Queens, with wellness seminars, morning yoga and a fitness centre with resistance machines and free weights; Queen Anne adds the Pavilion Wellness Studio. Spa and salon services carry their own charges.

Life on board

The days at sea are the point. Cunard Insights talks, dance classes, art classes and the libraries are included, and so is Afternoon Tea. The Crossing brings at least one Gala Evening, and Event Voyages add themed programmes. Pack properly: the Gala Evenings are a large part of the pleasure.

Where Cunard sails

The Transatlantic Crossing between Southampton and New York is the voyage Cunard is built on: seven days of open ocean, with crossings on sale for 2026, 2027 and 2028. Grill Suites guests spend the week with exclusive venues and dining.

Beyond the Atlantic, the Queens sail World Voyages, a tradition of more than 100 years, the Norwegian fjords, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, North America, Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean, the South Pacific and South America, with short breaks from Southampton.

What’s included, and what isn’t

Your fare includes your stateroom or suite, all meals in your main dining venue, Afternoon Tea, Cunard Insights talks, classes, entertainment and the libraries. A daily hotel service charge is added: US$19 per person per day in the Queens and Princess Grill Suites, and US$18 in Britannia and Britannia Club (cunard.com, Oct 2026). Bars, the spa and the salon carry their own charges, and Steakhouse at The Verandah has a supplement.

Cunard Signature Packages bundle drinks, Wi-Fi and alternative-dining credit, and are worth pricing against what you expect to spend.

How Cunard compares

No other line offers an ocean liner, and none offers a regular crossing of the Atlantic in the same style; that alone sets Cunard apart. Against the all-inclusive luxury lines, such as Regent Seven Seas or Silversea, Cunard’s fare includes less and its ships are much larger, but its Grill Suites bring a butler or concierge, private restaurants and lounges at a different price. Against the big resort lines, Cunard trades water parks and big production shows for ballroom dancing, lectures and tradition.

Booking tips

Choose the grade carefully, because it decides your restaurant: Britannia Club is the best step up from Britannia, and the Grill Suites are Cunard at its most refined. Budget for the service charge, US$18–19 per person per day, and price a Signature Package if you expect to drink wine with dinner and use the Wi-Fi. On Queen Mary 2, check whether your sailing falls before or after 30 March 2027, when her deck plans change.

Our advice: if you sail with Cunard once, make it a Transatlantic Crossing on Queen Mary 2, and pack properly for the Gala Evenings. Book Steakhouse at The Verandah for one night, take Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room every day, and arrive in New York the way travellers have for more than a century.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Cunard review before you go.