New QM2 voyages added for May-June 2026

[bluemarble]

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.

[D&N]

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.

[Winifred 22]

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. 

[DukeBeetle24]

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

[D&N]

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.

[RK-NC]

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.

[Jonem2001]

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.

[buchanan101]

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,,,

[exlondoner]

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. 

[D&N]

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

[buchanan101]

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)

[exlondoner]

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.

[foodsvcmgr]

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.

[buchanan101]

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..."

[stan01]

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.

[D&N]

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! ☀️

[exlondoner]

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.

[NE John]

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!

 

[bluemarble]

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

[bluemarble]

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.

[D&N]

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!

[D&N]

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.

[Winifred 22]

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 

[bluemarble]

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

[Winifred 22]

Thank you. I have found the one I want and will book on Monday. Still loads of availability for solo cabins.