As the final stop on her special 14-night British Isles Festival Cruise, Queen Anne made her inaugural port call on Cork, Ireland, on June 5, 2024, which is the gateway to the seaport town of Cobh.
The new ship from Cunard Line – which is the first in more than a decade – arrived just two days after making her historic debut in Liverpool, England, where she was officially christened and named.
The Port of Cork celebrated the arrival of the 3,000-guest ship with much fanfare, including a traditional plaque exchange that commemorated the milestone occasion and honored the long-standing relationship between Cork and the British-operated cruise line.
“The arrival of the Queen Anne on her maiden voyage to Cobh is a momentous occasion for the Port of Cork. This event not only celebrates our rich maritime heritage but also reinforces the strong bond we share with Cunard,” said Conor Mowlds, Chief Commercial Officer at the Port of Cork Company and Chair of Cruise Ireland.
“We are honored to welcome the Queen Anne and her passengers, and we look forward to many more such visits in the future,” continued Mowlds.
Indeed, the 249th ship to sail under Cunard’s flag is now a part of the rich history shared between the Irish Port and the cruise line. Cobh, which was formerly known as Queenstown, is one of the oldest ports of call visited by the Cunard fleet.
While much of Cunard’s history with Cork is positive, it was also the location where Cunard’s RMS Lusitania sank on May 7, 1915 after it was struck by a torpedo. Approximately 1,200 people died in the unfortunate incident.
As a way of honoring the memory of those lost in the tragic sinking, a commemorative wreath was placed at the Lusitania Memorial in Cobh during Queen Anne’s happy visit.
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Queen Anne’s arrival marked an important milestone for the Carnival-owned cruise line, which hasn’t operated four ships at once since 1999.
The new ship was also designed to pay homage to the cruise line’s 183-year history, with her passengers encouraged to enjoy a unique blend of heritage, craftsmanship, and innovation across her 14 decks, as well as more onboard experiences than ever offered on any other Cunard ship.
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The Pinnacle-class ship officially entered service on Friday, May 3, 2024, from Southampton, UK. Her 7-night maiden voyage was a round trip sailing to La Coruna, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal, which went off without a hitch.
Queen Anne is currently sailing on a historic 14-night festival voyage – aptly named as the cruise included her official naming ceremony – that embarked from Southampton on May 24, 2024.
The inaugural port call to Cork was the final stop of the itinerary, which also included maiden calls on Edinburgh (South Queensferry), Scotland, and the aforementioned Liverpool, England.
Throughout the voyage, the young ship also visited Kirkwall, Scotland; Invergordon, Scotland; Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The cruise is due to disembark in Southampton on June 7, from where the 113,000-gross ton vessel – the second largest in the Cunard fleet – will transition to offering a mix of voyages throughout the Mediterranean and Northern Europe for the next several months.
She will spend the end of the year and beginning of 2025 in Western Europe and the Canary Islands, before embarking on her maiden world voyage, which will last for 111 nights, from Hamburg, Germany, on January 7, 2025.
