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YEAR 2007
New programmes showcase
milestones and "firsts"
June 5, 2006 - In the grand Cunard tradition, 2007 promises to be another historic year for the world's most famous ocean liners.
Demonstrating the line's historic ties to its home port of New York, Queen Mary 2 will offer an expanded season of transatlantic travel, as well as introduce a collection of six four-day Getaway sailings and 12 10-day Connoisseur's Caribbean voyages in 2007 and 2008 - all originating from New York.
Queen Mary 2 will call on six ports as far south as Barbados on the Connoisseur voyages, highlighting the ship's fast sea-keeping abilities. Longest-serving Cunarder Queen Elizabeth 2, will celebrate her 40th anniversary with a special commemorative voyage around the British Isles. The year wraps with the highly anticipated maiden voyages of the new Queen Victoria, marking the first time in Cunard's 167-year history that three Cunard Queens will be in service simultaneously.
Says Cunard president Carol Marlow: "Interest in ocean travel is at an all-time high. More than ever, we are crafting genuinely intriguing itineraries that satisfy the growing demand for meaningful luxury adventure travel. From our flagship Queen Mary 2 to the soon-to-debut Queen Victoria and the quintessential Queen Elizabeth 2, Cunard is the line of choice for travlelers charmed by a singular blend of history and innovation."
Transatlantic Crossings, Short Getaways and More Aboard QM2
The only ocean liner offering regularly scheduled transatlantic service between New York and Southampton, Queen Mary 2 will offer 22 six-day crossings between New York and Southampton, April through October 2007. In addition, QM2 will introduce one seven-day crossing from Le Havre, France and four eight-day crossings from Hamburg, Germany in 2007; all include calls in Southampton for sightseeing in and around London.
Short Holiday Getaways
Queen Mary 2 will also introduce a collection of six four-day Getaway voyages in 2007 and 2008.
Coinciding with popular long weekend holidays, four are roundtrip sailings from New York to sunny Eleuthera, Bahamas, overlapping with Memorial Day 2007, Fourth of July 2007, President's Day 2008 and Easter 2008. Another four-day Getaway voyage is offered from Fort Lauderdale on January 6, 2007 and a Labor Day 2007 Holiday Getaway voyage travels to picturesque Halifax, Nova Scotia from New York.
In September, the ship's Splendours of the Fall itinerary takes leaf-peeping passengers on a roundtrip journey from New York to five historic seaports: Newport, RI; Boston, MA; Bar Harbor, ME; Halifax, Nova Scotia and Quebec City, Quebec.
QM2 on a Caribbean Course
Another addition to Queen Mary 2's 2007-2008 deployment is a series of 12 10-day Connoisseur's Caribbean voyages, traveling roundtrip from New York, and two 13-day Panama and the Caribbean voyages.
The Connoisseur's Caribbean itineraries include stops in classic Caribbean ports of call, including Road Town, Tortola; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia and Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas.
In April, QM2 makes back-to-back journeys to Caribbean ports on two eight-day itineraries: Caribbean Adventures, which sails from Fort Lauderdale to New York, and the Taste of the Caribbean, a New York roundtrip. In December, the ship's 14-day Caribbean Celebration takes passengers on an extended holiday journey to eight Caribbean ports of call.
A Trio of European Voyages
Interspersed in QM2's transatlantic schedule are three European voyages, departing from Southampton, which are ideal add-ons to transatlantic crossings.
Departing in May and September, the 12-day Mediterranean Explorer and Mediterranean Medley voyages call in such romantic destinations as Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Marseille and Lisbon. In June, the 10-day Norwegian Odyssey traces a path through the magnificent fjords of Norway with calls in eight ports.
Queen Mary 2 will offer a new dining option for 2007. Guests in 46 AA category staterooms will enjoy delicious five-star cuisine in an exclusive private dining area within the Britannia Restaurant. This single-seating club-like restaurant will offer the Britannia Restaurant menu, plus various a la carte options and table-side flambe service.
Queen Elizabeth 2 Birthday
In September 2007, the grand dame Queen Elizabeth 2 will celebrate the 40th anniversary of her launch by The Queen. To commemorate this event, Cunard plans a QE2 40th Anniversary Celebration voyage with stops in Newcastle, England; Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland; and Liverpool, England, where a public "anniversary party" is scheduled.
Other QE2 highlights in 2007 include three longer roundtrip voyages from Southampton to North America, including a 16-day Caribbean Crossing voyage via New York in April; a 19-day Autumn Colors voyage in September, with calls in Canada and throughout New England; and a 21-day Caribbean Calypso voyage in December.
The balance of QE2's full schedule will be spent traversing the waters of the Mediterranean and Northern Europe on 19 voyages of varying lengths, ranging from two-day Getaway voyages to Zeebrugee, Belgium to a 16-day Mediterranean Odyssey, with calls to Malaga, Spain; Sicily, Italy; Crete and Athens, Greece; Marmaris, Turkey; Valletta, Malta; and Gibraltar.
Launch of Queen Victoria
The year ends on a high note, with the December 2007 launch of the 90,000-ton Queen Victoria, a quintessential Cunard liner that includes all the hallmark features associated with the line together with exciting innovations, including private viewing boxes in the Royal Court Theatre, alfresco dining for Grill guests, a floating museum of Cunard memorabilia, and a two-story library with 6,000 books. She will debut with two special maiden voyages, a Christmas Markets Voyage on December 11, and a Canary Islands Festive Celebration in December.
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