It is extremely unlikely that Europe will have completed its vaccination programme by July. In the UK - everybody over 70 will have received their first dose by 15th Feb but second doses will not be given until 12 weeks have passed, which takes us to May. Europe is way behind. Sorry to say your July cruise looks pretty unlikely.

Spoke to a friend in NZ today who says there will be no cruise ships in NZ waters until Jan 22 at the earliest.

I think it is extremely unlikely that the Mediterranean will be possible this year. Maybe the transatlantics will go as cruise companies want to reposition their ships back to the Caribbean for the winter in the hope that there is a winter season.

The vaccination programme in Europe is very slow to get off the ground and until a very substantial majority of the population are vaccinated, European countries will not open their borders.

Bear in mind when considering the last posters comments that HAL world cruises have been carried out on the Amsterdam and will be on the Zaandam (if she survives in the fleet).

These are much smaller ships than the 3 Queens so not sur ione is comparing apples with apples!

The Queen ELizabeth and The Queen Victoria are based on the same hardware platform as the Ost/West/Nor and Zuiderdam so there are plenty of similarities although internal layouts are different- cabins are essentially the same. The atmosphere on Cunard is more formal with formal dress required on several evenings during the cruise although this is more relaxed than it used to be.

The Queens offer ‘Grill’ class which is enhanced single seating dining in the Grills restaurants which are exclusive to passengers occupying the highest grade cabins/suites. Some people do not like this as they say it smacks of the old class system.

The Queen Mary 2 is different as she is primarily a transatlantic liner rather than a cruise ship. She is more a ‘travel’  experience rather than a ‘cruise’ experience and is more formal.

Having cruised several times with both lines, my personal preference would be for Cunard - I think the food is better. (It was a bit of a surprise  to be  offered meatloaf and jerk chicken as a main course in the HAL restaurant! )

Both lines decorate their ships beautifully and crew on both are top notch although you might find more European crew on Cunard. Both companies offer world wide itineraries,

In summary you won’t be sorry which ever you choose, although with the present problems for the Carnival Group caused by the pandemic/ you might even find the 2 companies merged or sold the next few months!

I hope you enjoy whichever line you choose!

Given how things are at the present time with European countries attitudes to non nationals accessing their countries, combined with the delays in the vaccination 

programmes, I think it is extremely unlikely that there will be any cruising in Europe in 2021. Another unknown is whether vaccinated people can infect others. Until this is resolved, I cannot believe that countries will allow large numbers of cruise ships to discharge passengers.

sad - but too many unknowns.

This was always on the cards once Royal Caribbean acquired Silverseas. Azamara  and Silverseas are too close and Silverseas has a higher profile.

I think Cunard and P& O may be merged and possibly spun off but I also think that HAL has lost its way as a brand over the last few years - it’s very much competing with Princess and must have been damaged by  the fact that the traditional HAL passengers are ageing and prefer smaller but less profitable ships. Viking Ocean has taken passengers from HAL.

Just remembered that the 4th Cunard ship presently in build is a Konigsdam platform

I think that merging Cunard and HAL might be Carnival’s preferred option.

They both have a European pedigree, both tend to cater to a more mature mostly well travelled clientele and both have world wide itineraries . 2 of the Cunard ships and 6 of the HAL ships have essentially the same hull platform.

Carnival today reported that they intend to sell 4 more ships bringing their total disposals to 19.

I suppose that some the older AIDa ships may be in the frame but Volendam and Zaandam must be vulnerable - they are more or less the same age and capacity as the Rotterdam and Amsterdam . It would be a shame.

In a England the 6th of Jan is generally known as 12th night.  Church goers refer to it as Epiphany ( there aren’t many of them left).

- traditionally all Christmas decorations are supposed to be packed away by the 6th.

As you may know - most of the European countries are in yet another lock down which realistically will probably last until early March. There are very differing rates of vaccination - as of today France has given 500, Italy 100000 and the UK 1.3m, although this will obviously ramp up. At the moment, I would think it extremely unlikely that Mediterranean/European cruising will start properly before July. Although you may have had a vaccine, it is as yet unknown as to whether you can still infect others. I suspect cruise ships with a thousand or so passengers will not be welcome until this is resolved. Also the attitude that some segments of the population in the US have taken to the virus could make the European authorities wary, although I am sure that the cruise lines will work really hard to obviate this.

Zaandam and Volendam are still sitting idle in Torbay and I worry that, the longer this goes on , the more in doubt their future in HAL looks. Still maybe Fred Olsen will pick them up which would be great for the UK market and prolong their sailing life. They are such beautiful ships.

Sarande in Albania

Progreso in Mexico

The choice of line is a matter of personal taste. We have cruised 5 times with each line and the more formal approach of Cunard suits us better as we coast into the evening of our lives. Food also is very subjective - I was not overjoyed to see Meatloaf and Jerk Chicken in the HAL dining room. Although nominally a British line , Cunard tends to bridge the gap between US and UK tastes better than modern day HAL does.

If you have a port side P1 cabin midships, I would stick with PG. The south side of the ship is noticeably warm and brighter than the north. We found the PG experience better than the QG - the other passengers were friendlier and not bragging about how many crossings they had made. There was still the opportunity to order off menu, albeit there was a wider choice in QG. Service was very good in both grills although slightly more formal in QG.

Both are a wonderful travel experience - smooth sailing  with which ever you decide on😁

Westerdam is also heading back across the Atlantic to Florida - she has been in the yard in Holland and was in Southampton as well.

I think there will a merger of some of the Carnival brands. At the moment each brand has its own management/ head office set up. IMO the Princess brand is tarnished  and I wander how long Cunard can stand alone with only 3/4 ships. I know there is some back room crossover between Cunard and Princess but once the bean counters really rev up, I can see cuts/mergers right left and centre,

According the lecture that I listened from Captain Albert,  N Statendam and Westerdam are 2 of the 6 ships which are being relocated back to the US to prepare for the advent of no longer than 7 day cruises from US ports only when the CDC allows.

Zaandam and Volendam remain in Torbay and presumably will be able to pick up European cruising itineraries when HAL decide to resume. 
I suspect that when the go ahead is given, there will be a wholesale rearrangement of itineraries and ships to fit in with what is permitted.

On 11/28/2020 at 2:37 PM, Rotterdam said:

I would pick a trip on QE2 OR FRANCE over QM2. I enjoyed my 3 cruises on QM2 but certainly couldn't compare w her predecessors.🚢

Interesting. I have sailed on France ( once 50 years ago) - several times on QE2 and QM2. Although a traditionalist, I would rate the QM2’s seakeeping qualities much higher than QE2 and there is no comparison on the facilities - except maybe grills restaurants which I thought were more attractive on the QE2

We are lucky enough to have several ships ‘resting’ in 2 of our local bays at the moment. By far the 2 prettiest are Zaandam and Volendam, Nieuw Statendam actually looks surprising good despite the extra decks above the bridge. The Emerald Princess, the Azura and the Ventura ( sisterships for different operators) have to be some of the uglier ships afloat. QM2 is in a class of its own - a true Atlantic liner.  Queen Victoria and Arcadia at least look like ships!

She is in the yard in Brest at the moment. There is a thread further down the page saying that she is one of 6 ships that HAL are repositioning to the US for the eventual resumption of cruising 

In view of the pause in cruising till 31st March - I think that HAL may well end up selling Zaandam and Volendam to Fred Olsen to run alongside the ex Rotterdam and ex Amsterdam. That would be an ideal fleet for olsen

Tuned into a very interesting Zoom lecture on the current situation with HAL given by Captain Albert Schoonderbeek. His opinion was that when cruising eventually restarts in the US  voyages will not be longer than 7 days and will not stray too far from home ports. This will not initially suit the typical HAL cruiser who tends to book longer cruises.

Today is Remembrance Sunday here in locked down England.

Here in Torbay we have the Neiuw Statendam, Westerdam, Volendam, Zaandam and Emerald Princess at anchor waiting for things to get better.

At the 11th hour - all 5 vessels sounded their horns to signal the start of 2 minutes silence. At 11.02 they sounded their horns again to signal the end of the 2 minutes.

The sound echoing around the silent bay was both haunting and strangely appropriate given the current circumstances.

It was a wonderful tribute to those who gave so much for us.

Bravo the Captains of these ships!