bluemarble

No, in previous years the Carnival annual reports have mentioned the shareholder benefit when originally published in late February/early March. The omission of the section about the shareholder benefit in this year's annual report is what prompted this topic.

Sorry, I figured Alan Cumming would be better known to those of you in the UK although I have to admit I am only familiar with his work in US television. He has twice been billed as the featured celebrity on board QM2, for the January 3, 2019 and December 8, 2023 crossings. He was also the headliner at an event in New York last October to promote the Bright Lights Society on Queen Anne.

Here's a link to an article in the March issue of Town & Country Magazine written by Alan Cumming. Alan Cumming on How a Transatlantic Crossing Can Change Your Life My favorite quote is this one. "Sailing the Atlantic for a week, I felt I had not just rediscovered but personally learned for the first time that the journey can indeed be more important than the destination."

OK, we now have three new ports to add to our seen Cunard ports list. That brings us to a total of 647 by my count. 645. Lifou, New Caledonia 646. Luganville, Vanuatu 647. Port Vila, Vanuatu

I'll go ahead and identify Port B. That's Lifou, New Caledonia. I think the third photo for that port is showing us the Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes on the hilltop.

That is a lovely photo of Moorea. As it happens, you posted our only previous photos of Moorea (including that photo) back on April 26-27 of 2021. Here are those previous posts of yours to jog your memory. Quite understandable as that was almost three years ago now.

All I can contribute is that today's press release from Cunard titled "Cunard Announces New Voyages from September 2025 through January 2027" makes a point of mentioning Dakar. So if Dakar has been removed from Queen Annes 2026 world voyage itinerary, it's another case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

The Princess Grill fare for the QM2 world voyage (M603H) on the Cunard US website happens to be (drum roll please): Princess Grill Suites From$53,999pp So, my theory is some glitch on the Cunard UK website was displaying the fare in US dollars as if it were the fare in UK pounds.

Yeah, it looks like you found a couple more discrepancies between the brochure and the published itineraries. I'll be interested to learn if you spot any more.

Yes, there is a gap in QM2's schedule from 16 May through 23 June 2026 (38 days). The assumption is that's for QM2's extended "mid-life" refurbishment. Here's what I posted earlier on the "Cunard 2026 Itineraries Preview" thread to update the running tally I keep of the number of QM2 transatlantic crossings per year. The total number of crossings during 2026 is approximately in line with previous years, especially when taking into account that she will be out of service for over a month during that gap in May/June. QM2 Crossings Per Year 2004 = 15 2005 = 26 2006 = 20 2007 = 23 2008 = 24 2009 = 23 2010 = 21 2011 = 21 2012 = 20 2013 = 18 2014 = 18 2015 = 22 2016 = 21 2017 = 24 2018 = 24 2019 = 24 2020 = 1 2021 = 1 2022 = 25 2023 = 16 2024 = 20 2025 = 24 2026 = 19

The itineraries posted on the Cunard websites list Sept-Îles rather than Îsles de la Madeleine as the port call for voyage M625 in October 2026. The new brochure seems so convincing about Îsles de la Madeleine, even including it on their map for USA and Canada.

Have a great cruise, @sfred. I'll be expecting some photos for us to identify in due course. 😉

Here's an observation comparing the QM2 itineraries I found elsewhere and what's listed in the brochure @D&N found. For voyage M625, Quebec-New York, 4-11 Oct 2026: I found Sept-Îles listed for that itinerary. The brochure lists Îsles de la Madeleine. Now Sept-Îles would be expected as that's a typical port call on that Quebec-New York itinerary. I'll be interested to see if Îsles de la Madeleine is on the itinerary when that voyage is posted on the Cunard website. I think that would be a new port for Cunard.

Probably. The Ports America calendar for the World Cruise Center in San Pedro currently only lists cruises through the end of 2024. The Long Beach cruise terminal is mostly used by Carnival Cruise Lines ships (Radiance, Firenze, Panorama).

The version of the 2026 QM2 world voyage itinerary with one day in New York and two days in Los Angeles appears to be confirmed as well.

I don't think that figures into the equation since the Bridge of the Americas is at the Pacific entrance to the canal outside all the locks. I would assume the water level under the bridge is the prevailing Pacific Ocean sea level at Balboa, hence the need to time the passage under the bridge at low tide.

Yes, indeed. The challenge for QM2 doing a Panama Canal transit is fitting under the Bridge of the Americas. QM2's height from the water line is close to 62 meters. Here is what the Vessel Requirements document found on the Canal de Panamá website has to say about the maximum height for ships to transit the Panama Canal. "Maximum Height The allowable height for any vessel transiting the Canal or entering the Port of Balboa at any state of the tide is 57.91 meters (190 feet) measured from the waterline to its highest point. With prior permission from the Transit Operations Division Executive Manager, height may be permitted to 62.5 meters (205 feet) on a case-by-case basis, with passage at low water (MLWS) at Balboa. Maximum Height Restrictions are due to the tide and the unpredictable upward movement of water from swells, surges, waves, etc., and maintenance equipment suspended beneath the bridge at Balboa."

The announcement does appear to be very close now. I'm finding the 2026 itineraries on a couple more cruise booking sites today. They confirm the QM2 world voyage itinerary I posted on the "Cunard 2026 Itineraries Preview" thread as a westbound full circumnavigation including a Panama Canal transit. I'll probably be booking either the New York to Los Angeles or the New York to San Francisco segment as soon as they go on sale.

I'm seeing a flurry of reports on social media indicating Cunard is canceling all of QE's scheduled calls to New Zealand through the end of her final Australia season in early 2025. Those on QE cruises arriving or departing from Auckland are reporting their cruises have been canceled. Others on cruises that were to call at ports in New Zealand are reporting their itineraries are being changed. The only explanation from Cunard I've seen posted so far is that this decision was taken "following an extensive review of our operation in the region". Some of the port substitutions being reported are to other South Pacific island ports including Lifou, Port Vila, Luganville, Lautoka and Suva. That includes QE's Christmas cruise. One report indicates QE's 14-night New Zealand cruise in November is being canceled in favor of two 7-night cruises to Tasmania instead. More details to follow I'm sure.

OK, hopefully I can resolve any apparent discrepancy. On December 5, and in one or two follow-up posts, I did indeed post a QM2 world voyage itinerary for 2026 which is a full westbound circumnavigation of the world (and surprisingly includes a transit of the Panama Canal). Looking back at what I posted on January 12, that was a summary on the dates for QM2 that we can verify from various port authority websites. I'll repost a consolidated list of only the world cruise dates for QM2 found on various port authority sites, minus the date listed for Haifa. As I mentioned in a follow-up reply on January 13, I believe that's an error on the Haifa port website since it's QA that's supposed to be there, not QM2. I'll also include the date for Honolulu you found on the Hawaii Portcall website and reported on the "world cruises 2026" thread. And by the way, that Hawaii Portcall website also confirms the date for QM2 in Kona. I'll add that to this list as well. Queen Mary 2 11 Jan 2026 - Southampton 11 Feb 2026 - Honolulu 12 Feb 2026 - Kona 4-5 Mar 2026 - Sydney 7 Mar 2026 - Brisbane 14 Mar 2026 - Darwin 21-22 Mar 2026 - Hong Kong These dates from port authority websites are consistent with the QM2 world voyage itinerary I posted on December 5. I apologize if I confused you by listing that erroneous Haifa date for QM2 in my January 12 post. Edit to add: It took me so long to compile this answer I missed your follow-up that you've sorted things out. Nonetheless, this was a worthwhile exercise if only to add confirmation of QM2's call at Kona.

Since you are in the US, you will want to call the US number if you want to book direct with Cunard over the phone. Previous years, sales have opened at the same time in both the US and the UK. The opening times have varied slightly from year to year, but generally they've opened at something like 5:00am Pacific time (8:00am Eastern time) in the US which means they've opened at 1:00pm in the UK. Cunard should advise on the precise timing when this new batch of voyages will be open for booking in subsequent announcements.

Thank you. I haven't received my email yet here in the US. Good to see confirmation that they are intending to release the full 2026 itineraries as anticipated (for QA and QM2 anyway). I'm not expecting Cunard to release anything for QV beyond October 2026 or for QE beyond April 2026 based on what I've found and reported on this thread. Still, as I've mentioned before, it's unprecedented during the time I've been tracking the Cunard schedules for any of the summer/autumn itineraries to be released this early. We've usually had the wait until at least September for the summer/autumn itineraries. I see they haven't mentioned when/if the new itineraries will be announced prior to the listed "on sale" dates. Hopefully, those will be posted a week or two in advance as they've generally done most years.

I see Queen Anne is reporting her destination via AIS as "IT PMA SEA TRIAL" with an ETA of 15 Feb 12:00. She has been doing various maneuvers while sailing around the boot of Italy.

There have been previous reports on this forum indicating that Cunard is no longer applying the shareholder benefit to "net rate" bookings. Those are usually bookings made through travel agents which are package deals where the agent combines the cruise with flights, hotels and perhaps pre-cruise or post-cruise extensions which the agent arranges themselves, not through Cunard. If you have booked your Cunard cruise as part of such a package arrangement through your travel agent, that may be the explanation. It would appear Cunard have only recently stopped applying the shareholder benefit to such bookings, especially if you have been making similar "net rate" package bookings with your travel agent in the past and have received the shareholder benefit.

Queen Anne is on the move again. She's left the drydock at Fincantieri Palermo and is reporting Venice as her destination with an ETA of 15 Feb 13:00 local time. That's in line with the news report stating she would be returning to Fincantieri Marghera by 16 Feb to complete her fitting out.