Cunard Line

Title: Cunard Line Category: C Clicks: 3 Listing added: Mar 1, 2009 PageRank: 0/10

Cunard Line dates back to 1840, when its founder Samuel Cunard began steam-powered crossings of the Atlantic. In succeeding decades, the company built and operated a high impressive fleet of ocean liners. But with the growing popularity of the jet age in the 1960s, the company adjusted by converting some of their ships to modern cruising. In 1969, the line’s flagship Queen Elizabeth 2 made her debut and continued to cross the Atlantic on a regular basis. (The ocean liner has under gone several multimillion dollar refurbishments, the most recent in 1999. Originally powered by steam turbines, in 1986 she was refit with a diesel-electric propulsion system for greater speed and efficiency.)

In 1971 Trafalgar House, based in London, acquired Cunard. In the 1980s Cunard acquired two more cruise ships and added the twin Sea Goddesses I and II to it fleet. In 1994, Cunard acquired the Royal Viking Sun.

In 1996, Norwegian company Kvaerner ASA took over Trafalgar House and Cunard underwent massive changes again. In 1998 Kvaerner sold the Cunard Cruise Line to Carnival Corporation and a group of Norwegian investors, who then merged it with the Yachts of Seabourn. A year later the Royal Viking Sun and the two Goddesses were transferred to Seabourn and renamed, leaving only the QE2 and the Vistafjord, which was renamed the Caronia after Cunard’s original ship that sailed in the 1950’s and 1960’s and which introduced World Cruises.

Maintaining the legacy of her Cunard and White Star Line predecessors, the QE2 is an authentic ocean liner and is the fastest ship afloat with a speed of nearly 30 knots. She will bequeath regular transatlantic crossings to sister ship, the Queen Mary 2, the world’s largest ocean liner. After a refurbishment, the QE2 now operates regional cruises from the UK. However, she will continue to operate her annual Round the World Cruise.

The 150,000-ton QM 2 is the first transatlantic liner to be built in more than 30 years, and will operate regular transatlantic crossings in addition to regional cruises in Europe and the Caribbean. A third ship—the 90,000-ton Queen Victoria—is currently on the drafting board and is expected to debut in 2007.

Ships:
Queen Elizabeth 2 1,791 p UK Registry

Queen Mary 2 2,620 p UK Registry

Caronia* 665 p UK Registry

Queen Victoria** 2,000 p UK Registry

*Scheduled to leave Cunard in November 2004, the ship will sail for Saga Cruises under the name Saga Ruby.
**Scheduled to debut in 2007.

Addresses:
24303 Town Center Drive
Suite 200
Valencia, California 91355-0908

UK Office address:

Cunard Line Ltd
Mountbatten House
Grosvenor Square
Southampton S015 2BF
England
Fax (011-44-0238) 022-5843