Travel on more than one Queen

[Pushpit]

I get quite a few marketing emails from Cunard and today's one caught my attention and had the subject of "Travel on more than one Queen" and the sub title of "Queen to Queen". The email goes on:

 

Dear Mr Pushpit, did you know that you can combine voyages to experience a holiday on more than one Cunard Queen? 

You could start your holiday in New York before embarking on a Transatlantic Crossing to Southampton. From there you could join our newest ship, Queen Anne, as she sails to explore Iceland. Returning to the UK, a quick flight to Barcelona takes you to Queen Victoria, ready to take in the Mediterranean sunshine. This is just one set of itineraries you could combine but there are many exciting blends to choose from.

 

If you click through, it seem the standard Find A Cruise page has a special logic on it to throw up multi ship options. They still have to be booked separately, but they come lined up on the same query page. There are about a dozen options. So one example is

 

Queen Anne H602 - Southampton to Southampton - 7 nights, visiting Hamburg, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge 4 January 2026, then

Queen Mary 2 M603N - Southampton to New York - 7 night crossing, 11 January 2026, then

Queen Elizabeth Q603 - Miami to Miami - 9 nights in the Caribbean, 20 January 2026

 

It gives a link to this site:

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/cruise-types/queen-to-queen-cruises

 

It may be that non UK locations will find that URL won't work, so here's a screengrab:

 

[Victoria2]

Many of our Australian friends already do this. The Three Queens was very popular this year on Annie.

[bluemarble]

Interesting marketing approach for Cunard. I have not received the email but there are equivalent "en-us" pages on the Cunard US website. Wouldn't you know one of the suggested three queens itineraries (for Aug-Sept 2026) only shows two of the queens (QV and QM2). It is supposed to include voyage H621A but that voyage is currently "Sold Out".

 

It seems to me this would be more successful if they were to actually bundle the three suggested voyages into a package deal. There have been and will be several four queens package deals I've seen advertised by Australia travel agents (as @Victoria2 has alluded to).

[Gwendy]

In Australia a couple of travel agents are marketing 4 Queens. Voyages on each of the Queens, airfares and hotel stays in between each cruise. Pricey, but I hope it is a wonderful experience for next year as I am booked,   Probably my last big adventure as age is catching up. Lol

[exlondoner]

7 hours ago, Gwendy said:

In Australia a couple of travel agents are marketing 4 Queens. Voyages on each of the Queens, airfares and hotel stays in between each cruise. Pricey, but I hope it is a wonderful experience for next year as I am booked,   Probably my last big adventure as age is catching up. Lol

In 2019, we on QV with 400 Australians doing three queens. It seemed an exciting undertaking.

[Gwendy]

Itinerary is as follows.  Alaskan cruise, trans Atlantic, Mediterranean, and finally Iceland and Scotland.

We have sailed on QE once but I have completed over 40 cruises with 8 different cruise lines.  The luggage or limits of luggage will be a challenge.

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

Itinerary is as follows.  Alaskan cruise, trans Atlantic, Mediterranean, and finally Iceland and Scotland.

We have sailed on QE once but I have completed over 40 cruises with 8 different cruise lines.  The luggage or limits of luggage will be a challenge.

Do you have to fly across the US or do they put you on a nice train?

[tacticalbanjo]

12 hours ago, bluemarble said:

It seems to me this would be more successful if they were to actually bundle the three suggested voyages into a package deal. There have been and will be several four queens package deals I've seen advertised by Australia travel agents (as @Victoria2 has alluded to).

It did seem a bit strange to me that these are just suggested itineraries and you have to book each cruise separately and arrange airfare and any hotels you need between cruises. It's not really competitive with a travel agent offering a package deal where you can see upfront exactly how much the trip is going to cost you.

[Victoria2]

We had a slight delay embarking on the 14th due to not all coaches carrying QM2 transfer passengers had arrived.

Easy transfer one ship to the next one in 'the package'.

[Windsurfboy]

What is the transfer from one to other like.

 

If it anyway resembles Embarkation then that would be a frustrating day.

 

Can you just leave luggage to be transferred directly to new cabin, be issued with new cabin cards/ID on old ship,  go out for day with only essentials with you. Come back and walk straight on.

 

Or if you don't want to go out for day, stay on old ship , use amenities  then be taken direct to new ship with no sitting round.

 

That's my definition of ship to ship

[Pushpit]

Well some of the trips lined up in this promotion have several days between sailings, and some even involve an air transfer between such as Rome to Southampton. I think I've read elsewhere that same day transfers in the same port do get a bit of assistance with luggage between ships.

[Victoria2]

48 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

What is the transfer from one to other like.

 

If it anyway resembles Embarkation then that would be a frustrating day.

 

Can you just leave luggage to be transferred directly to new cabin, be issued with new cabin cards/ID on old ship,  go out for day with only essentials with you. Come back and walk straight on.

 

Or if you don't want to go out for day, stay on old ship , use amenities  then be taken direct to new ship with no sitting round.

 

That's my definition of ship to ship

Ship to ship is what happened on the last QA cruise. QM2 passengers went straight through to security from their coach through a separate channel and new cruisers weren't able to board until they had all been processed. No luggage was seen so assumed that was taken care of.

Not sure what's involved if 'you' want to go ashore for the day as far as embarkation to the new ship is concerned.

I presume new cruise cards would be in their pigeon hole but I can't be sure.

[Gwendy]

On 7/29/2024 at 6:22 PM, exlondoner said:

Do you have to fly across the US or do they put you on a nice train?

 

On 7/29/2024 at 6:22 PM, exlondoner said:

Do you have to fly across the US or do they put you on a nice train?

Fly from Seattle to New York, 4 days there before boarding QM

[tacticalbanjo]

13 hours ago, Gwendy said:

 

Fly from Seattle to New York, 4 days there before boarding QM

Well if you wanted to get a train you could since the connections are down to the passenger to book.

[Gwendy]

On 7/31/2024 at 9:39 PM, tacticalbanjo said:

Well if you wanted to get a train you could since the connections are down to the passenger to book.

Ours is a package deal with flights to various ports included and also hotel stays pre cruise.

[tacticalbanjo]

2 hours ago, Gwendy said:

Ours is a package deal with flights to various ports included and also hotel stays pre cruise.

I assume you've booked with a travel agent who has put together a package. Here in the UK Cunard are promoting Queen to Queen trips but not selling them as a package so you have to do the leg work of booking flights and hotels yourself. There are no doubt travel agents here who sell two or three Queen packages too.

[Pushpit]

43 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

I assume you've booked with a travel agent who has put together a package. Here in the UK Cunard are promoting Queen to Queen trips but not selling them as a package so you have to do the leg work of booking flights and hotels yourself. There are no doubt travel agents here who sell two or three Queen packages too.

In the FAQ at the bottom, Cunard offers this option:

 

Currently, voyages must be booked separately. You can do this via our website (use our handy booking guide if you need help), via our Contact Centre, or via your travel agent. If your holiday includes a hotel or connecting flight, Cunard offers hotel and flight packages with various inclusions: you can add these to your cruise when you book.

[Gwendy]

1 hour ago, tacticalbanjo said:

I assume you've booked with a travel agent who has put together a package. Here in the UK Cunard are promoting Queen to Queen trips but not selling them as a package so you have to do the leg work of booking flights and hotels yourself. There are no doubt travel agents here who sell two or three Queen packages too.

Don’t think i would consider doing all that leg work.  Much easier to have it all done for you.  Only thing not included is transfers, from airport to hotel and then to port.  I have been to all ports previously, Seattle, New York, London and Rome and Venice so happy to sort that ourselves.

[tacticalbanjo]

1 hour ago, Pushpit said:

In the FAQ at the bottom, Cunard offers this option:

 

Currently, voyages must be booked separately. You can do this via our website (use our handy booking guide if you need help), via our Contact Centre, or via your travel agent. If your holiday includes a hotel or connecting flight, Cunard offers hotel and flight packages with various inclusions: you can add these to your cruise when you book.

I read this as you needing to pick what is available. Sadly, they hadn't added flight or hotel options specifically for these Queen to Queen itineraries.

 

For example the 2026 Two Queens option. There are two days between the two cruises. You need to fly back to the UK, stay in a hotel for 2 nights then head to Southampton. Because the first cruise is a fly cruise you can book flights from either London or Manchester to Barcelona. But there is no option to fly Manchester to Barcelona to London to get your second cruise nor is there an option to add a hotel in London or Southampton when you get back. On the second cruise there is no option for a pre-cruise hotel.

 

Similarly, for the Jan 2026 Three Queens trip which requires a flight from New York to Miami neither cruise offers anything except a flight home to the UK or a round trip flight UK to Miami. There are no pre or post-cruise hotels available to book except for the Caribbean leg where if you select a round trip UK to Miami flight you get a night in an operational hotel included.

Edited August 2 by tacticalbanjo

[Victoria2]

33 minutes ago, Gwendy said:

Don’t think i would consider doing all that leg work.  Much easier to have it all done for you.  Only thing not included is transfers, from airport to hotel and then to port.  I have been to all ports previously, Seattle, New York, London and Rome and Venice so happy to sort that ourselves.

 

 

6 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

I read this as you needing to pick what is available. Sadly, they hadn't added flight or hotel options specifically for these Queen to Queen itineraries.

 

For example the 2026 Two Queens option. There are two days between the two cruises. You need to fly back to the UK, stay in a hotel for 2 nights then head to Southampton. Because the first cruise is a fly cruise you can book flights from either London or Manchester to Barcelona. But there is no option to fly Manchester to Barcelona to London to get your second cruise nor is there an option to add a hotel in London or Southampton when you get back. On the second cruise there is no option for a pre-cruise hotel.

 

Similarly, for the Jan 2026 Three Queens trip which requires a flight from New York to Miami neither cruise offers anything except a flight home to the UK or a round trip flight UK to Miami. There are no pre or post-cruise hotels available to book except for the Caribbean leg where if you select a round trip UK to Miami flight you get a night in an operational hotel included.

So [here in the UK ] you find yourself an excellent agent who will do all the legwork in collaboration with the passenger and have cruises, any flights and hotels booked and rolled into a package under one Cunard booking reference.

Edited August 2 by Victoria2

[tacticalbanjo]

1 minute ago, Victoria2 said:

So you find yourself an excellent agent who will put the whole thing together and here in the UK have it all on one Cunard booking reference.

 

So you find yourself an excellent agent who will do all the legwork in collaboration with the passenger and have cruises, any flights and hotels booked and rolled into a package under one Cunard booking reference.

You have to have a separate booking reference for each cruise according to the FAQs as they are just suggested itineraries not actual packages. I agree with you that a good travel agent is the best option.

 

I just find it a bit laughable that Cunard's marketing email made it sound like they'd put together multi Queen packages but all they have done is put together some suggested itineraries for you to put together yourself.

[Victoria2]

7 minutes ago, tacticalbanjo said:

You have to have a separate booking reference for each cruise according to the FAQs as they are just suggested itineraries not actual packages. I agree with you that a good travel agent is the best option.

 

I just find it a bit laughable that Cunard's marketing email made it sound like they'd put together multi Queen packages but all they have done is put together some suggested itineraries for you to put together yourself.

I realise that but bookings can be consolidated by an agent with the add ons of flights and/or hotels and it then becomes becomes a 'self-made' package under one booking reference.

 

We have done that in the past although to be fair, it was flight, land and hotel, cruise then flight, all under one Cunard booking reference and it became 'a package'.

I don't see any difference when adding a couple of cruises rather than just one.

[tacticalbanjo]

Just now, Victoria2 said:

I realise that but bookings can be consolidated by an agent with the add ons of flights and/or hotels and it then becomes becomes a 'self-made' package under one booking reference.

 

We have done that in the past although to be fair, it was flight, land and hotel, cruise then flight, all under one Cunard booking reference and it became 'a package'.

I don't see any difference when adding a couple of cruises rather than just one.

Cunard say on their Queen to Queen page a number of times that voyages have to be booked separately and will be under two booking numbers. It's probably some IT related thing where the system just assumes one booking number=one cruise plus a number of optional things like flights, hotels and transfers. We don't want to make their one computer bought in 1995 to fall over attempting new things now, do we?

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, tacticalbanjo said:

Cunard say on their Queen to Queen page a number of times that voyages have to be booked separately and will be under two booking numbers. It's probably some IT related thing where the system just assumes one booking number=one cruise plus a number of optional things like flights, hotels and transfers. We don't want to make their one computer bought in 1995 to fall over attempting new things now, do we?

Awww bless. What a kind nature you have.

 

Always thinking of others!  😄

[Queenvee]

@Windsurfboy I was on the QM2 TA from NYC to SOU and transferred to the QA the same day (Sunday, July 14) for the British Isles cruise in a Britannia interior cabin.  It was extremely smooth to transfer between ships, as Victoria2 stated.  In response to your question about going into town, Cunard made it very simple.  They had a free shuttle to/from the QM2 into the center of Southampton (drop off point was near the West Quay shopping center) and another free shuttle from the same spot to/from the Queen Anne.  On board QM2, we received a very thorough packet of info which answered all my questions:  1) special luggage tags printed w/our name & QA cabin #; 2) Priority embarkation card for QA which indicated QM2 transferee; 3) details about the free shuttle and how to spend your day in SOU directly from QM2 and then board QA before 3:30 pm. and 4) clear instructions about getting your luggage from the terminal after disembarkation and onto the coach transferring people and luggage OR just luggage to the QA.

 

I put my luggage outside my cabin the night before disembarkation; I got off the QM2, walked into the terminal & found my luggage in a designated QA Transfer area and wheeled it to the QA transfer coach where I left it with the bus staff.  Then I took the free shuttle which was right there into Southampton.  At about 2:30, I took the free shuttle to the QA; there was a long line waiting to enter the terminal but I showed my "Priority Embarkation QM2 Transfer" & boarding pass card to the gate keeper and bypassed the entire line.  Had to go through security which always takes forever since people never seem to be prepared before they reach the machines.  Using the "Priority Embarkation QM2 Transfer" card I bypassed the long check-in line, did the photo and other logistics and was on the ship quickly.  They scanned the QR code on the boarding pass when I boarded and my cruise card was in a sealed envelope outside my stateroom door.   

 

Caveat - because there were about 400 people transferring between ships, Cunard may have made a special effort to make the process simple so can't guarantee this would always be the approach.