bluemarble Posted Thursday at 06:54 PM #1 Share Posted Thursday at 06:54 PM I saw a posting about this elsewhere so I did some further digging myself for the details. Apparently Cunard is filling the previous gap in QM2's schedule for 15 May-24 June 2026 with new voyages. That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. Now the following voyages are being planned instead. Nothing yet on the Cunard website but these can be found now on various travel agent sites complete with fares. QM2 (New 2026 Voyages) 15-May-26 - Southampton (M611N) 17-May-26 - Stavanger 18-May-26 - Skjolden 19-May-26 - Olden 20-May-26 - Hardangerfjord 22-May-26 - Southampton (M611P) (M611A roundtrip) 29-May-26 - New York (M611Q) (M611B to Le Havre) (M611C roundtrip through 17 Jun) 5-Jun-26 - Southampton (M611R) 6-Jun-26 - Zeebrugge 8-Jun-26 - Le Havre (M611D to New York) 9-Jun-26 - Cherbourg 10-Jun-26 - Southampton (M611S) (M611E roundtrip) 17-Jun-26 - New York (M611T) (M611F roundtrip through 3 Jul) 24-Jun-26 - Southampton That's four more crossings for 2026, bringing the 2026 scheduled total for QM2 to 23 crossings according to my count. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare D&N Posted Thursday at 07:37 PM #2 Share Posted Thursday at 07:37 PM 40 minutes ago, bluemarble said: That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. I wonder when they'll fit that in if the schedules are published without gaps up to early 2027. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winifred 22 Posted Thursday at 08:32 PM #3 Share Posted Thursday at 08:32 PM 1 hour ago, bluemarble said: I saw a posting about this elsewhere so I did some further digging myself for the details. Apparently Cunard is filling the previous gap in QM2's schedule for 15 May-24 June 2026 with new voyages. That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. Now the following voyages are being planned instead. Nothing yet on the Cunard website but these can be found now on various travel agent sites complete with fares. QM2 (New 2026 Voyages) 15-May-26 - Southampton (M611N) 17-May-26 - Stavanger 18-May-26 - Skjolden 19-May-26 - Olden 20-May-26 - Hardangerfjord 22-May-26 - Southampton (M611P) (M611A roundtrip) 29-May-26 - New York (M611Q) (M611B to Le Havre) (M611C roundtrip through 17 Jun) 5-Jun-26 - Southampton (M611R) 6-Jun-26 - Zeebrugge 8-Jun-26 - Le Havre (M611D to New York) 9-Jun-26 - Cherbourg 10-Jun-26 - Southampton (M611S) (M611E roundtrip) 17-Jun-26 - New York (M611T) (M611F roundtrip through 3 Jul) 24-Jun-26 - Southampton That's four more crossings for 2026, bringing the 2026 scheduled total for QM2 to 23 crossings according to my count. Oh I’ll book the Zeebrugge Le Havre Cherbourg one. Already booked on the 2 nighter that was supposed to be post dry dock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeBeetle24 Posted Thursday at 09:09 PM #4 Share Posted Thursday at 09:09 PM (edited) 2 hours ago, bluemarble said: I saw a posting about this elsewhere so I did some further digging myself for the details. Apparently Cunard is filling the previous gap in QM2's schedule for 15 May-24 June 2026 with new voyages. That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. Now the following voyages are being planned instead. Nothing yet on the Cunard website but these can be found now on various travel agent sites complete with fares. QM2 (New 2026 Voyages) 15-May-26 - Southampton (M611N) 17-May-26 - Stavanger 18-May-26 - Skjolden 19-May-26 - Olden 20-May-26 - Hardangerfjord 22-May-26 - Southampton (M611P) (M611A roundtrip) 29-May-26 - New York (M611Q) (M611B to Le Havre) (M611C roundtrip through 17 Jun) 5-Jun-26 - Southampton (M611R) 6-Jun-26 - Zeebrugge 8-Jun-26 - Le Havre (M611D to New York) 9-Jun-26 - Cherbourg 10-Jun-26 - Southampton (M611S) (M611E roundtrip) 17-Jun-26 - New York (M611T) (M611F roundtrip through 3 Jul) 24-Jun-26 - Southampton That's four more crossings for 2026, bringing the 2026 scheduled total for QM2 to 23 crossings according to my count. Ah, that's somewhat disappointing! Thanks for the digging though. Nevermind, perhaps they'll announce the date at the 185th anniversary event next June? Edited Thursday at 09:10 PM by DukeBeetle24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare D&N Posted Thursday at 09:17 PM #5 Share Posted Thursday at 09:17 PM 2 hours ago, bluemarble said: Nothing yet on the Cunard website I'm told they went on sale in UK this morning. Although I don't see M611E. But someone I know has fares for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RK-NC Posted Thursday at 10:08 PM #6 Share Posted Thursday at 10:08 PM 3 hours ago, bluemarble said: That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. Now the following voyages are being planned instead. Very interesting. Day 28 of our QM2 voyage and we have seen so much maintenance work underway, especially on the promenade deck. (New group of maintenance workers came onboard in Southampton on Sunday) This ship needs to be drydocked. It's disruptive and unfair to passengers to block off areas of the ship. Yesterday a water main broke and the whole ship was without water for 3 hours. Many out of order toilets in public restrooms. White paint flecks everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonem2001 Posted Friday at 06:27 AM #7 Share Posted Friday at 06:27 AM 10 hours ago, D&N said: I wonder when they'll fit that in if the schedules are published without gaps up to early 2027. There are two options from my perspective. Cunard now believe they can delay it to 2027+ (either QM2 is in better condition than they planned for, or they want to use a longer window than 2026 afforded); or they need to move the window closer to ‘now’, and this is the first step in that process. If so, we’ll likely see some cancelled cruises in 2025. I’m not sure which is the more likely. I can see arguments for both. But I’m hoping for the former option because that’s less disruptive and potentially means better, more thoroughly considered work. I’ve dismissed the potential ‘we don’t need a mid-life refit at all’ option, as I think mechanically and aesthetically/functionally the arguments are strong, but I suppose Cunard may think any work *could* be done in existing schedules. Seems dubious though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchanan101 Posted Friday at 09:54 AM #8 Share Posted Friday at 09:54 AM 14 hours ago, bluemarble said: I saw a posting about this elsewhere so I did some further digging myself for the details. Apparently Cunard is filling the previous gap in QM2's schedule for 15 May-24 June 2026 with new voyages. That's the gap we had been assuming was going to be a drydock for QM2's next extended (mid-life) refit. Now the following voyages are being planned instead. Nothing yet on the Cunard website but these can be found now on various travel agent sites complete with fares. Shame - I was hoping our New England fall 2026 cruise would be post refit. May be getting a bit tired by then,,, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlondoner Posted Friday at 10:00 AM #9 Share Posted Friday at 10:00 AM 11 hours ago, RK-NC said: Very interesting. Day 28 of our QM2 voyage and we have seen so much maintenance work underway, especially on the promenade deck. (New group of maintenance workers came onboard in Southampton on Sunday) This ship needs to be drydocked. It's disruptive and unfair to passengers to block off areas of the ship. Yesterday a water main broke and the whole ship was without water for 3 hours. Many out of order toilets in public restrooms. White paint flecks everywhere. I have never been on any Cunard ship when parts of the deck weren’t blocked off to allow maintenance. It is a constant ongoing process. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare D&N Posted Friday at 11:04 AM #10 Share Posted Friday at 11:04 AM (edited) 4 hours ago, Jonem2001 said: If so, we’ll likely see some cancelled cruises in 2025. Our original preference would have been June 2026. We booked September due to the gap in schedules. I asked my TA to investigate changing to June. Cunard's price for same B2B crossing on June 10th 2026 is nearly 28% higher than we paid on release date. I'm thinking that we might see some sailings being cancelled, with bonus future cruise credit offered, and a number of new sailings available at much higher prices! Edit: I should add that we don't think it's worth the extra money to get slightly longer daylight hours in June. Edited Friday at 11:05 AM by D&N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchanan101 Posted Friday at 01:35 PM #11 Share Posted Friday at 01:35 PM 2 hours ago, D&N said: Our original preference would have been June 2026. We booked September due to the gap in schedules. I asked my TA to investigate changing to June. Cunard's price for same B2B crossing on June 10th 2026 is nearly 28% higher than we paid on release date. I'm thinking that we might see some sailings being cancelled, with bonus future cruise credit offered, and a number of new sailings available at much higher prices! Edit: I should add that we don't think it's worth the extra money to get slightly longer daylight hours in June. Quite a big difference in daylight hours between June and September, especially TA as the route goes quite far north (depending on weather). We actually followed the great circle route almost exactly on an October crossing - which was unusual as the route is normally a bit further south for better weather - but we had a storm to the south Even at UK latitude, Liverpool gets 17 hours daylight end of June and 12 hours obviously in late September (Don't know why I'm mentioning this here - as we left Southampton OH asked if we'd see whales on the trip... I assumed she said " will we see Wales" and questioned her geographical knowledge... if she likes whales, hopefully Alaska next Sept will fulfill that requirement) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlondoner Posted Friday at 01:47 PM #12 Share Posted Friday at 01:47 PM By mid-September it makes limited difference how far north or south you are because of the equinox, when it is briefly the same everywhere. Might make a difference to warmth though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare foodsvcmgr Posted Friday at 01:53 PM #13 Share Posted Friday at 01:53 PM I had been looking forward to being on a thoroughly refreshed ship for the Eclipse cruise in August 2026, certainly will enjoy it in any case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchanan101 Posted Friday at 01:54 PM #14 Share Posted Friday at 01:54 PM Just now, exlondoner said: By mid-September it makes limited difference how far north or south you are because of the equinox, when it is briefly the same everywhere. Might make a difference to warmth though. Indeed - hence my "obviously". Our October crossing was lovely in the sun on our port side balcony, but the starboard side was freezing. Port Out Starboard Home was (mythically I think) for ships to India, where the side of the ship in the shade was preferable... but was it, or was it just for the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song...."Posh with a capital P, O, S, H, posh..." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan01 Posted Friday at 02:01 PM #15 Share Posted Friday at 02:01 PM Postponing a year always saves money in the short term. Or they need more time to figure out how to add more disabled-capable cabins which very well could be something they need to do with the rule changes on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare D&N Posted Friday at 02:03 PM #16 Share Posted Friday at 02:03 PM 24 minutes ago, buchanan101 said: Quite a big difference in daylight hours between June and September, especially TA as the route goes quite far north (depending on weather). We actually followed the great circle route almost exactly on an October crossing - which was unusual as the route is normally a bit further south for better weather - but we had a storm to the south In practice we don't go out on deck much. We're onboard for the dressing up and dancing. I maybe nip out early to get a sunrise photo. We certainly won't go outdoors in inclement weather. The gym is much more effective for high intensity cardio than walking, and if we want fresh air and sunshine we'd just stay at home! ☀️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlondoner Posted Friday at 02:08 PM #17 Share Posted Friday at 02:08 PM 1 minute ago, D&N said: In practice we don't go out on deck much. We're onboard for the dressing up and dancing. I maybe nip out early to get a sunrise photo. We certainly won't go outdoors in inclement weather. The gym is much more effective for high intensity cardio than walking, and if we want fresh air and sunshine we'd just stay at home! ☀️ Whereas, although I had to enter the gym on QM2 for muster drill, my main point in being aboard is to see the sea, even though there is plenty here, in Bournemouth. I’m not really sure what high intensity cardio is, but it sounds very nasty, and in my case would probably be too late. 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare NE John Posted Friday at 05:32 PM #18 Share Posted Friday at 05:32 PM 3 hours ago, exlondoner said: my main point in being aboard is to see the sea The above to me is what it’s all about! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemarble Posted Saturday at 03:15 PM Author #19 Share Posted Saturday at 03:15 PM (edited) On 9/20/2024 at 6:04 AM, D&N said: Our original preference would have been June 2026. We booked September due to the gap in schedules. I asked my TA to investigate changing to June. Cunard's price for same B2B crossing on June 10th 2026 is nearly 28% higher than we paid on release date. I still can't find the new voyages using a search by date on the Cunard US website, nor can I find the June 10th roundtrip voyage M611E in the Cunard UK search results (which you mentioned previously). But that voyage can be retrieved by voyage number using this URL: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611E/M611E You may be interested to hear that even with the current relatively high exchange rate of approximately $1.32 = £1.00 (which tends to skew the UK fares closer to the US fares), the "From" fares quoted for voyage M611E on the Cunard US website are still 19% to 36% higher than the "From" fares quoted on the UK website. Edited Saturday at 03:24 PM by bluemarble 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemarble Posted Saturday at 04:24 PM Author #20 Share Posted Saturday at 04:24 PM 1 hour ago, bluemarble said: I still can't find the new voyages using a search by date on the Cunard US website, nor can I find the June 10th roundtrip voyage M611E in the Cunard UK search results (which you mentioned previously). But that voyage can be retrieved by voyage number using this URL: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611E/M611E You may be interested to hear that even with the current relatively high exchange rate of approximately $1.32 = £1.00 (which tends to skew the UK fares closer to the US fares), the "From" fares quoted for voyage M611E on the Cunard US website are still 19% to 36% higher than the "From" fares quoted on the UK website. Sorry, make that $1.33 = £1.00. That's the exchange rate I was using to calculate the US fares for voyage M611E at 19% to 36% higher than the UK fares. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare D&N Posted Saturday at 07:20 PM #21 Share Posted Saturday at 07:20 PM 2 hours ago, bluemarble said: Sorry, make that $1.33 = £1.00. That's the exchange rate I was using to calculate the US fares for voyage M611E at 19% to 36% higher than the UK fares. I might be buying the drinks package soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare D&N Posted Saturday at 07:28 PM #22 Share Posted Saturday at 07:28 PM 4 hours ago, bluemarble said: But that voyage can be retrieved by voyage number using this URL: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611E/M611E That makes the difference to what we booked on release date for September 28.4% more. My agent gave me the A2 price and I (under) estimated the likely A1 figure. They also commented that these are priced much higher than they would have expected considering they have a full ship to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winifred 22 Posted Saturday at 08:23 PM #23 Share Posted Saturday at 08:23 PM 55 minutes ago, D&N said: That makes the difference to what we booked on release date for September 28.4% more. My agent gave me the A2 price and I (under) estimated the likely A1 figure. They also commented that these are priced much higher than they would have expected considering they have a full ship to sell. Yes I still can’t find a price foe 611R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemarble Posted Saturday at 09:35 PM Author #24 Share Posted Saturday at 09:35 PM 55 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said: Yes I still can’t find a price foe 611R You can find all the new voyages on the Cunard website using the brute-force approach with the voyage number included in the URL. M611A: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611A/M611A M611B: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611B/M611B M611C: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611C/M611C M611D: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611D/M611D M611E: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611E/M611E M611F: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611F/M611F M611N: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611N/M611N M611P: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611P/M611P M611Q: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611Q/M611Q M611R: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611R/M611R M611S: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611S/M611S M611T: https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/M611T/M611T 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winifred 22 Posted Sunday at 03:51 AM #25 Share Posted Sunday at 03:51 AM Thank you. I have found the one I want and will book on Monday. Still loads of availability for solo cabins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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