Queen Anne delivery pushed back to May 2024 amid ongoing shipyard delays

Cunard Line has announced a delay to the introduction of its newest cruise ship, Queen Anne, with the 3000-passenger ship now due to enter service in May, 2024 instead of at the beginning of the year.

Cunard Line, part of the Carnival Corporation group, said numerous challenges in shipbuilding had caused the delay, including supply chain and energy shortages.

The ship is under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard, which was also recently forced to delay the delivery of Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Prima-class ships.

“Our new ship Queen Anne will be arriving slightly later than expected,” the company said in a statement.

“We have automatically transferred guests booked or waitlisted on the maiden voyage to the new seven-night maiden voyage, which will depart from Southampton on May 3rd, 2024, visiting La Coruna on May 5th,2024, Lisbon on May 7th, 2024 and then return to Southampton on May 10th, 2024,” it added.

Queen Anne’s new maiden season voyages will include sailings from Southampton to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, the Canary Islands, and the Norwegian Fjords. Voyages go on sale this December.

Queen Anne will be the fourth cruise ship in the Cunard fleet, joining flagship Queen Mary 2, as well as Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.

Queen Anne’s design draws on Cunard’s Art Deco history, intended to pay homage to the “Golden Age” of travel, suggesting she will feature decor and interiors reminiscent of RMS Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth 2.

The ship will also feature Cunard’s first two-deck, 825-seat Royal Court Theatre inspired by the great theatres of the world, with sumptuous fittings and velvet seating, in addition to 15 restaurants.

One of these will of course be the Britannia main dining room, which is on all the line’s ships, as are the popular Golden Lion Pub.

Few details have been released about the ship thus far, but we have been shown renderings of her staterooms, as well as ‘re-imagined’ popular public spaces, such as the Grand Lobby, Golden Lion and Royal Court Theatre.

The staterooms aboard Queen Anne are said to have been designed to deliver a new level of exclusivity, with each finish carefully curated in every room, inspired by the flowing lines of Cunard’s past liners, with sculpted ceiling panels and grand saloon carpets.