Over the last few years Cunard has had quite a few reasons to celebrate. The company celebrated its 175th anniversary with a marvelous parade of their three Queens in Liverpool and successfully refurbished Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. As the company is celebrating 50 years since the naming of the former and much loved oceanliner QE2 Cunard has announced the arrival of a new ship.
Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise company and parent of Cunard, has signed a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of a next-generation cruise ship for Cunard.
The new ship is to join Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth as the fourth member of the fleet in 2022. She will be the first new Cunard ship in 12 years, making it the first time since 1998 that the company will have four ships in simultaneous service.
“We are very pleased to announce a fourth ship for our immensely popular Cunard brand, which is also one of the most legendary brands in the entire vacation industry. Cunard offers a fleet of unrivaled vessels and one of the most unique travel experiences in the world, which together create an enchanting and memorable vacation for our guests. While today’s news helps drive Cunard’s overall strategic growth plans, we also look forward to launching this next-generation cruise ship to help meet increasing global demand and entice even more travelers to explore the Cunard experience.”
– Arnold Donald, CEO Carnival Corporation
Sharing the iconic livery and red funnels, the 249th ship to carry the Cunard flag will measure 113,000 ton ship and carry 3,000 guests.