Queen Mary 2 departs Cape Town on final 2026 World Cruise sector to Southampton

Queen Mary 2 departed Cape Town Monday April 13th, 2026, on a 17-night cruise to Southampton, marking the final sector of her 110-night 2026 world voyage.

The cruise, which was also available as a 25-night voyage with a trans-Atlantic sailing from Southampton to New York, forms the concluding leg of a global itinerary spanning 30 ports.

It follows the ship’s recent call in Durban and her arrival from Singapore. From Cape Town, the vessel will operate a 17-night voyage to Southampton, arriving on April 30th, bringing her 2026 world voyage to a close.

The same departure is also available as a longer 25-night itinerary, extending beyond Southampton with a transatlantic crossing to New York, arriving on May 8th. This extended sailing continues the ship’s established role on the North Atlantic route, which remains central to her deployment.

As the flagship of Cunard Line, Queen Mary 2 continues to operate as the only purpose-built ocean liner in regular passenger service, maintaining scheduled crossings between Europe and North America alongside longer global itineraries. Her departure from Cape Town reflects a transition from a world voyage context back to her core transatlantic operations.

The Cape Town departure follows a South African call sequence that included Durban, part of a broader pattern of periodic regional visits. These calls continue to position South Africa within longer-haul cruise itineraries, particularly for vessels operating extended global deployments.

The voyage north from Cape Town will take in a series of ports along Africa’s west coast and into Europe, before concluding in the United Kingdom. For passengers continuing on the extended itinerary, the subsequent Atlantic crossing reinforces the ship’s operational distinction within a sector largely oriented towards cruise itineraries rather than scheduled ocean liner services.

The turnaround call also provides a significant cash injection to the local cruise sector, on previous visits Queen Mary 2 has injected over R2 million into the market, through passenger spending, shore excursions, port fees, and associated transport spending, particularly in the aviation sector.

Following her arrival in Southampton, the vessel will begin a dedicated season of transatlantic crossings between May and December 2026, returning to the Southampton–New York service that has defined her position within the global passenger shipping sector.