Cunard Celebrates Month of Record Bookings

[tntornadox]

It seems that Cunard has reported a record high number of bookings in the month of May since the debut of Queen Anne. Apparently her European itineraries are proving especially popular. I know Queen Anne has been quite the divisive topic among Cunard loyalists, but is she having the growth effect for the line that Cunard (and likely Carnival) management wanted her to have? Her new look was conceived to bring on a different demographic, is it working? And if so, what does it mean for the future of Cunard? Will we see a sister to QA in the future?

 

She seemingly has provided the 'jolt' that the brand that has needed for some time, considering the huge gap between new ship introductions prior to QA's arrival. Considering the global reach Cunard currently has with only four ships, it would seem more ships would be welcome. I am keen to hear the opinions of those here.

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cunard-celebrates-record-bookings-following-queen-anne-launch-302169986.html

[JimDee363636]

@tntornadox

My wife and I will be on the QA in less than three weeks, a cruise we're eagerly awaiting---and I'm sure many others are eager to sail on her, too.

 

But keep in mind that QA's debut has in one fell swoop increased Cunard's overall cabin capacity by about 30%. They now have a lot more cabins to sell, and it's not really surprising that---given the "buzz" around QA---there's more awareness of the Cunard line in general and QA in particular. An increased sales volume is to be expected; in fact, the same level of sales as before would be a disappointment.

 

Having said that, though, I hope it continues. I want Cunard to not only survive but to thrive. It's one of the last bastions of sophisticated cruising.

 

Jim

[WantedOnVoyage]

All I know is that for the first time since Covid, Cunard is running some pretty good "Sail Soon" savings on the Cunarders I actually would want to book (QV and QM2) and in the Grills, too, even into September (that's "soon"?).  So that extra capacity via a ship I have no desire to go on, floats my boat.  

[Victoria2]

9 hours ago, tntornadox said:

It seems that Cunard has reported a record high number of bookings in the month of May since the debut of Queen Anne. Apparently her European itineraries are proving especially popular.

And if so, what does it mean for the future of Cunard? Will we see a sister to QA in the future?

 

She seemingly has provided the 'jolt' that the brand that has needed for some time, considering the huge gap between new ship introductions prior to QA's arrival. Considering the global reach Cunard currently has with only four ships, it would seem more ships would be welcome. I am keen to hear the opinions of those here.

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cunard-celebrates-record-bookings-following-queen-anne-launch-302169986.html

It will take a while for any change , if there is one, in demographics.

There were less of the ' bright young things' and more of the elderly and 'oof my back' brigade on the second cruise. Considering the majority of the guests in that demographic want to sail S'ton-S'ton, it will be interesting to see what happens in a few years for Annie if she stays on the home port itineraries.

The only thing which might change for 'oofers' is the ship, with its 'quirks'  doesn't seem as welcoming for the mobility challenged.

Bring back a Vista, preferably Victoria and send Annie off to the Med.

 

 

 

[exlondoner]

51 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

It will take a while for any change , if there is one, in demographics.

There were less of the ' bright young things' and more of the elderly and 'oof my back' brigade on the second cruise. Considering the majority of the guests in that demographic want to sail S'ton-S'ton, it will be interesting to see what happens in a few years for Annie if she stays on the home port itineraries.

The only thing which might change for 'oofers' is the ship, with its 'quirks'  doesn't seem as welcoming for the mobility challenged.

Bring back a Vista, preferably Victoria and send Annie off to the Med.

 

It is certainly quite a trek to get anywhere, and this is made worse by not being able to get along Deck 10 or 11. However, at least for those in the Grills, one can have an agreeable promenade round Deck 11.
But I think it is time QE returned to Southampton.

[majortom10]

The proof will be in repeat bookings. Whilst bookings on QA might be high and many might be first timers but it all depends on whether they book further with QA or Cunard.

[Victoria2]

30 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

The proof will be in repeat bookings. Whilst bookings on QA might be high and many might be first timers but it all depends on whether they book further with QA or Cunard.

I think Cunard is lucky because like 'Fred', they have a lot of very loyal customers and we are two of them.

I can take or leave Annie [my husband would rather leave] but as we don't like QM2 [very much] and want to remain with the devil we know etc, at the moment, Annie it is and I would think there are many like us so between the reluctant/needs must repeaters, the happy repeaters and QA newbies, I think she'll do very well.

 

Suffice to say, we're [needs must] repeaters later in the year so I will see if enough snags have been snagged to make us less of the needs must and more just repeaters for the next couple of years.

 

I will be very interested in CC members thoughts in the coming months.

 

Are you contemplating Annie M.T?

Edited June 13 by Victoria2

[MylesS]

4 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

Suffice to say, we're [needs must] repeaters later in the year so I will see if enough snags have been snagged to make us less of the needs must and more just repeaters for the next couple of years.

With how much of an improvement we've seen within four weeks, I think there will be very little, if any, snags left.

[napria]

Well, we’re a small part of that May sales bump.  I was looking for places to see the next total eclipse and in my internet search came across an article that said that being on a cruise ship is one of the best ways due to the ability to “chase” the totality in case of clouds (which is what happen to me in 2017… totality is nothing if clouds roll in), and you don’t have to fight crowds leaving afterwards, which also happened to us.  Cunard was the only cruise line in May that advertised “Eclipse” cruises.  Out of the three possible itineraries I picked the QM2.

 

Cunard started sending emails after that first booking and I thought, “why not look into crossing in QM2 instead of flying?”  I booked it.

 

The emails continued and started to promote Memorial Day Sales. There is a five day sailing going from Quebec City to NY on QM2 that was very reasonable.  Good way to try out the ship.  Booked!

 

A few more emails and I saw a lovely British Isles cruise that would nicely fill the gap between this September and July of 2026.  Booked!

 

Mind you, we still haven’t set foot on any Cunard ship yet, and have only two pre-pandemic cruises (on ships that hold under 1,000 passengers).  Yet we currently considering booking a cruise for next year around the Azores.  
 

So I’m not sure what it is, but for now, we’re huge QM2/Cunard fans 

[King Amo]

I wouldn't mind betting that a fair few people will have jumped across to Cunard from P&O, given the latest ships and all the reports of falling standards more generally. 

[WantedOnVoyage]

So does Miami (which really runs the show) content themselves with recycling the same market of passengers between Cunard, P&O, Princess and Holland America Line?  They must shrug when someone says "Carnival has ruined my P&O, I'm switching to Cunard."  

 

Dividing up the same pie is not baking more of them.

 

It's telling that Carnival never, ever releases line specific performance figures for their component lines.  

Edited June 13 by WantedOnVoyage

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

I think Cunard is lucky because like 'Fred', they have a lot of very loyal customers and we are two of them.

I can take or leave Annie [my husband would rather leave] but as we don't like QM2 [very much] and want to remain with the devil we know etc, at the moment, Annie it is and I would think there are many like us so between the reluctant/needs must repeaters, the happy repeaters and QA newbies, I think she'll do very well.

 

Suffice to say, we're [needs must] repeaters later in the year so I will see if enough snags have been snagged to make us less of the needs must and more just repeaters for the next couple of years.

 

I will be very interested in CC members thoughts in the coming months.

 

Are you contemplating Annie M.T?

We are due on QA in July and rather foolishly booked 2 further cruises on her. I will go with an open mind and if we like her all well and good. If we don't and with QV/QE out of the equation it only leaves QM2 which is our favourite ship but has limited cruises because most are TAs. Love roundtrip TAs but one a year is enough for anyone. If it turns out we don't like QA then I am afraid we will look elsewhere away from Cunard in the future.

[majortom10]

10 minutes ago, King Amo said:

I wouldn't mind betting that a fair few people will have jumped across to Cunard from P&O, given the latest ships and all the reports of falling standards more generally. 

Having done both Cunard and P&O since COVID standards have declined and onboard prices increased on both. P&O can be still excellent value for money and is not as bad as many male out. Also I think when they see the prices of drinks and gratuities on Cunard a lot will go back to P&O.

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, MylesS said:

With how much of an improvement we've seen within four weeks, I think there will be very little, if any, snags left.

Excellent news. I look forward to 'inspecting'! 😄

[exlondoner]

1 hour ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

So does Miami (which really runs the show) content themselves with recycling the same market of passengers between Cunard, P&O, Princess and Holland America Line?  They must shrug when someone says "Carnival has ruined my P&O, I'm switching to Cunard."  

 

Dividing up the same pie is not baking more of them.

 

It's telling that Carnival never, ever releases line specific performance figures for their component lines.  

You suggest that Carnival is content to move passengers between their constituent companies, or some of them, rather than increase overall totals. This does not seem inherently likely. But, even if it is the case, it is not really connected to whether they report figures for each line individually, for, if they were just moving passengers between them, they would remain the same over time, wouldn’t they?

Incidentally, we did get an idea at least of which ships were performing poorly, for they were culled during Covid.

[tntornadox]

2 hours ago, napria said:

Well, we’re a small part of that May sales bump.  I was looking for places to see the next total eclipse and in my internet search came across an article that said that being on a cruise ship is one of the best ways due to the ability to “chase” the totality in case of clouds (which is what happen to me in 2017… totality is nothing if clouds roll in), and you don’t have to fight crowds leaving afterwards, which also happened to us.  Cunard was the only cruise line in May that advertised “Eclipse” cruises.  Out of the three possible itineraries I picked the QM2.

 

Cunard started sending emails after that first booking and I thought, “why not look into crossing in QM2 instead of flying?”  I booked it.

 

The emails continued and started to promote Memorial Day Sales. There is a five day sailing going from Quebec City to NY on QM2 that was very reasonable.  Good way to try out the ship.  Booked!

 

A few more emails and I saw a lovely British Isles cruise that would nicely fill the gap between this September and July of 2026.  Booked!

 

Mind you, we still haven’t set foot on any Cunard ship yet, and have only two pre-pandemic cruises (on ships that hold under 1,000 passengers).  Yet we currently considering booking a cruise for next year around the Azores.  
 

So I’m not sure what it is, but for now, we’re huge QM2/Cunard fans 

I’m with you and also contributed to the May sales bump. I’ve always wanted to sail Cunard but wanted to try it without having to fly to Europe or do a TA (just yet, it’s on my near term must-do list) so I booked one of QE’s new Caribbean sailings out of Miami in January 2026. Then I saw how great a deal her Alaskan sailings are next year and it got me thinking about doing that as well! The offers and prices are terrific at the moment and it’s very possible I end up on QE twice in a six month period, just in very different climes!

[napria]

When is the next sale?  I need to book another trip 😁

[starquake]

4 hours ago, King Amo said:

I wouldn't mind betting that a fair few people will have jumped across to Cunard from P&O, given the latest ships and all the reports of falling standards more generally. 

We know a family which were top loyalty status in P&O who now havn't taken a sailing in 2 years and now exclusively sail Cunard.    I doubt they are only ones as you say - the 2 comments that family made to us that sold it to them... The coffee in the buffet is actually drinkable (to them it's not on P&O), and the overall food in Main dining room is far better.   With P&O the upsell to other restaurants because MDR was so poor they ended up hating cruises when they couldn't get reservations in the other resturaurants.

 

Cunard for them, on a 21 day cruise, we ate in MDR on 19 nights, buffet one and Verandah one.

[WantedOnVoyage]

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 But, even if it is the case, it is not really connected to whether they report figures for each line individually, for, if they were just moving passengers between them, they would remain the same over time, wouldn’t they?

I

Well... no.  If they report individual annual passenger carryings per line per year, you'd have a very good idea of which of them was performing better than the others.  

 

So if Cunard's bookings for May are up 30% where did they come from??? If they came from P&O or Princess, as a Carnival shareholder (which thankfully I am not) I would not be impressed. If they came from MSC or RCCL, that would be quite something.  Or indeed from first time cruise passengers. 

 

And if QA winds up giving QM2, QE and QV a bump for whatever reasons, now that would be instructive, too. QA already induced us book a one-way fly-cruise in QV when we would have much rather sailed roundtrip from Southampton. It worked pretty well and we might try and take QV on another Med fly cruise before the season ends. 

[Poole Boy]

11 hours ago, majortom10 said:

The proof will be in repeat bookings. Whilst bookings on QA might be high and many might be first timers but it all depends on whether they book further with QA or Cunard.

I may be in a minority here, but I have booked 3 QA cruises, couple of segments of the world cruise in  25 and 26, as well as the Eclipse cruise in 2026, as much as I like QE and QV, I'm not sure I can go back to them given the current itineraries.

[Victoria2]

16 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

 ...as a Carnival shareholder (which thankfully I am not) . ..

Well I'm really glad I am.

 

Bought at about rock bottom in '22, the shares have almost tripled in value and more important, we have just about recouped the outlay, in OBC.

Win Win

[napria]

3 hours ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

So if Cunard's bookings for May are up 30% where did they come from??? If they came from P&O or Princess, as a Carnival shareholder (which thankfully I am not) I would not be impressed. If they came from MSC or RCCL, that would be quite something.  Or indeed from first time cruise passengers. 

 

 

In our case, we’re coming from Silversea. At the risk of stirring up controversy — and it’s sincerely not my intention — we’re hoping to have the lovely, more formal experience at a significantly lower price.  My TA is not happy. But it’s a matter of checking off bucket list destinations and we’re not getting younger.  So no butler (didn’t use ours on our Silversea voyages anyway), and we’ll pay for gratuities, WiFi, shore excursions and wine. But we’re getting a huge chunk of our travel wish list taken care of while we’re able to enjoy it.

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

On 6/13/2024 at 1:32 AM, JimDee363636 said:

@tntornadox

 

...Having said that, I hope it [the increased sales volume] continues. I want Cunard to not only survive but to thrive. It's one of the last bastions of sophisticated cruising.

 

Jim

 

I think these sentences express strongly the feelings of most of us here. Very well said.

 

As a traditionalist I feel Annie is not a match to Mary or the Vistas. I feel lucky and grateful that those three were built with such care and love, and are there for us to love and enjoy.

 

However, times change and survivors like Cunard know how crucial is to adapt.

 

So, best wishes to Annie. Moreover, as we are already booked on her, we wait to see personally before final verdict. Actually, we are sure we shall like her, even if not love her.

[buchanan101]

On 6/12/2024 at 10:09 PM, tntornadox said:

It seems that Cunard has reported a record high number of bookings in the month of May since the debut of Queen Anne. Apparently her European itineraries are proving especially popular. I know Queen Anne has been quite the divisive topic among Cunard loyalists, but is she having the growth effect for the line that Cunard (and likely Carnival) management wanted her to have? Her new look was conceived to bring on a different demographic, is it working? And if so, what does it mean for the future of Cunard? Will we see a sister to QA in the future?

 

She seemingly has provided the 'jolt' that the brand that has needed for some time, considering the huge gap between new ship introductions prior to QA's arrival. Considering the global reach Cunard currently has with only four ships, it would seem more ships would be welcome. I am keen to hear the opinions of those here.

 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cunard-celebrates-record-bookings-following-queen-anne-launch-302169986.html

I guess if you increase your capacity by 45% it is pretty easy to get record bookings; each ship would only have to be at 69% occupancy on average to achieve this. 

[buchanan101]

On 6/13/2024 at 8:06 PM, WantedOnVoyage said:

Well... no.  If they report individual annual passenger carryings per line per year, you'd have a very good idea of which of them was performing better than the others.  

 

So if Cunard's bookings for May are up 30% where did they come from??? If they came from P&O or Princess, as a Carnival shareholder (which thankfully I am not) I would not be impressed. If they came from MSC or RCCL, that would be quite something.  Or indeed from first time cruise passengers. 

 

And if QA winds up giving QM2, QE and QV a bump for whatever reasons, now that would be instructive, too. QA already induced us book a one-way fly-cruise in QV when we would have much rather sailed roundtrip from Southampton. It worked pretty well and we might try and take QV on another Med fly cruise before the season ends. 

Some will obviously have come from other Carnival brands but they will have got some from other brands and new cruisers. 
 

I am a carnival shareholder, bought in summer 2020.. they are up a reasonable amount and give OBC. I’ve bought worse, I’ve bought much better (eg Rolls Royce, Vida). The shares do move up and down a lot.. money could be made just buying/sellinf Carnival if I knew why they moved, in advance.