Cunard Announces New Ship to Arrive in 2022

Cunard Line announced Monday that it has signed an agreement to add a fourth ship, the largest it has ever sailed, to its fleet in 2022.

The ship, which will be built with Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard, will be Cunard’s first new vessel since Queen Elizabeth debuted in 2010. Its addition will mark the first time Cunard has sailed four ship at the same time.

In a statement, Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold W. Donald said that the Cunard fleet expansion is another “part of our ongoing goal to exceed guest expectations” and that the new ship will be a “next-generation vessel.”

“This includes replacing less efficient ships with more efficient vessels over time as part of our managed capacity growth,” he added.

The new ship will weigh in at 113,000 gross tons and will be able to carry 3,000 passengers. Cunard’s current largest ship, Queen Mary 2, sails 2,695 passengers. Neither of its other ships, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, sails above 2,100 passengers.

The news comes as part of Cunard’s reinvention of its fleet.

Queen Mary 2 went through its major renovation last year. It debuted with a metamorphosis that “makes it feel like a brand new ship.”

Queen Victoria is currently coming off a $40-million+ renovation that saw every cabin retouched, marking a “new story” in her history.  

And Queen Elizabeth is set for an upgrade later next year.

Cunard is currently celebrating 50 years since launching Queen Elizabeth 2, a ship that is has been laid up at a shipyard in Dubai since 2016.