Here’s the other half of today’s Carnival’s big ship swap news, and it’s a surprise. Cunard’s Queen Anne, the line’s first new ship in 14 years, will leave the fleet in 2029 and join sister brand P&O Cruises. It’s all part of a related move that sends P&O’s Arcadia to Holland America Line.
Queen Anne will keep sailing for Cunard through the end of her 2028 to 2029 world voyage. After that, she’ll go through an extensive reimagining, get a new name, and enter service with P&O in May 2029.
A Very Short Cunard Career
Queen Anne is still a brand new ship. Fincantieri delivered her to Cunard on April 19, 2024, and she sailed her maiden voyage from Southampton on May 3 of that year. She was the 249th ship to sail under the Cunard flag, and her arrival meant the line had four ships in service at the same time for the first time since 1999.
Her naming ceremony in Liverpool was a big moment too. The city was named her godparent in an industry first, and tenor Andrea Bocelli took part in the celebration. Cunard reported record bookings the month after her launch.
Before she goes, she’s got some big events ahead. She’ll play a central role in the Four Queens celebration in Liverpool in May 2028, and her final world voyage as a Cunard ship sets sail in January 2029. By the time she leaves, she’ll have been a Cunard ship for around five years.
Queen Anne By the Numbers
- Builder: Fincantieri, Marghera, Italy
- Gross tonnage: about 113,000 to 114,000 GT
- Length: roughly 322.5 meters (about 1,058 feet)
- Beam: around 35.6 meters
- Guest capacity: up to roughly 3,000 (2,996 listed)
- Crew: about 1,225
- Decks: 14
- Propulsion: twin Azipods, with a speed of around 22 knots
She’s also built on a familiar platform. Queen Anne’s design is a stretched version of Holland America’s Pinnacle Class, the same family as Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam, customized for Cunard with touches like Grill Room accommodations and an English pub. She’s the second largest ship in the Cunard fleet, behind only Queen Mary 2.
Why the Move?
According to Paul Ludlow, president of Carnival UK, P&O Cruises and Cunard, the swap comes from a long term view of the portfolio and where each ship’s strengths can best support guest demand. He describes Queen Anne as a bold and contemporary expression of Cunard, with modern design, lots of dining and entertainment choices, and highly flexible public spaces. Those qualities, he says, give her a natural affinity with the modern P&O holiday experience, but one that many long time Cunard loyalists were not thrilled with.
It’s worth noting that Queen Anne has always been a bit of an outsider in the Cunard fleet. Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth are sisters built on a modified Vista Class platform, and Queen Mary 2 is a true ocean liner. Guest reviews of Queen Anne have also been divided. Plenty of passengers love her crew, her food and her theatre, but a number have said she doesn’t feel like a traditional Cunard ship, with complaints about the open plan layout, the lobby and the buffet.
Where She Fits in the P&O Fleet
For P&O, Queen Anne will become a new class of ship. The company says she’ll bring a different scale, style of onboard experience and range of itineraries, complementing the existing fleet and making her a defining addition to the next chapter of the line. At roughly 3,000 guests, she’ll be a major boost in capacity.
Here’s the part that makes this swap so interesting. Arcadia was originally ordered by Holland America in 2000 as the fifth Vista Class ship, then briefly planned as Cunard’s Queen Victoria before landing at P&O. Now she’s heading to Holland America after all, while Queen Anne, a ship built on a Holland America design, heads to P&O.
P&O hasn’t shared Queen Anne’s new name, her reimagined onboard experience or her first P&O itineraries yet. Those details are coming later. Cunard says it’ll announce more about the celebrations for her final season at a later date. Anyone with a voyage already published before the transfer dates doesn’t need to worry, since those sailings will operate as planned. We’ll pass along the details as soon as they’re announced.
