Cunard plans North American voyages for 2019 cruise season

Cunard Line (cruise.center/cunard/) is putting renewed focus on its North American departures for 2019, with voyages aboard its Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, and iconic transatlantic liner, Queen Mary 2, scheduled to grace the east and west coasts.

These new voyages — which open for booking on Sept. 15, — include Cunard’s first foray into Alaska in two decades; an extended transatlantic season incorporating ports in Canada’s Maritimes; and a spectacular voyage aboard the Queen Elizabeth from Yokohama, Japan to Vancouver.

Leading the pack is Cunard’s massive flagship, Queen Mary 2. She’ll complete 19 transatlantic crossings in 2019, sailing from New York to Southampton, England or reverse.

But for the first time in her history, Queen Mary 2 will offer a transatlantic voyage with ports of call along the way.

Departing July 14, 2019, Voyage M921 will see Queen Mary 2 set sail from Southampton, bound for New York.

As she sails westbound, time will be found to call on Liverpool before arriving for an overnight stay in Reykjavik. QM2 will then sail to Corner Brook, N.L., and Halifax, N.S., before arriving in New York on July 28, 2019.

This one-way, 14-night crossing is only offered once and is likely to sell out very far in advance.

Queen Mary 2’s Canada and New England season is also being extended, with five weeklong voyages to the Maritimes.

Over on the West Coast, the 2,081-guest Queen Elizabeth is worth hopping onboard for her unique 17-night voyage from Yokohama to Vancouver.

Departing May 5, 2019, this transpacific crossing visits the Japanese ports of Aomori and Sapporo before heading eastbound across the International Date Line to Alaska.

From there, stops are made in Kodiak, Anchorage and Juneau before she arrives in Vancouver on May 21, 2019.

A longer version of this itinerary (27 nights) lasts until May 31 and sails from Yokohama to Vancouver before heading up for a more in-depth exploration of Alaska. This cruise returns to Vancouver.

Of course, this is the part of the article where I strongly recommend taking one of Cunard’s transatlantic crossings aboard Queen Mary 2.

The only purpose-built, modern ocean liner in the world, it lets you set out across an ocean for nothing but seven uninterrupted days at sea.

Happy cruising. Visit portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800707-7327, cruiseshipcenters.com, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-thescenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com