Cunard Line facts for kids
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| Subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc | |
| Industry | Shipping, transportation |
| Founded | 1840 (as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company) |
| Headquarters | Carnival House, Southampton, United Kingdom |
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Area served
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Transatlantic, Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Caribbean and World Cruises. |
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Key people
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| Products | Transatlantic crossings, world voyages, leisure cruises |
| Parent |  Carnival Corporation & plc |
Footnotes / references House Flag |
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Cunard Line is a famous British shipping and cruise line. It's based in Southampton, England, and is part of Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard's ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
The company started in 1839 when Samuel Cunard won the first British contract to deliver mail across the Atlantic Ocean by steamship. The next year, he formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow. They started with four paddle steamers sailing between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston. For many years, Cunard ships were the fastest to cross the Atlantic, winning the "Blue Riband" award.
In the 1870s, Cunard faced tough competition from rivals like the White Star Line. To keep up, the company was reorganized in 1879 as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd. This helped them raise money to build better ships.
In 1902, the White Star Line joined an American company. To help Cunard stay competitive, the British Government gave them money to build two huge new ships. These were the Mauretania and her sister ship, the Lusitania. The Mauretania held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing from 1909 to 1929. Sadly, the Lusitania was sunk in 1915 during World War I.
After World War I, Cunard moved its main port from Liverpool to Southampton. This made it easier for travelers from London. In the 1930s, new, grander ships were built by other countries. Because of the Great Depression, Cunard had to stop building its own new superliner. In 1934, the British Government offered loans to finish the Queen Mary and build a second ship, the Queen Elizabeth. This was on one condition: Cunard had to merge with the struggling White Star Line. They formed Cunard-White Star Line, with Cunard owning most of the company. Cunard bought White Star's share in 1947, and the name changed back to Cunard Line in 1950.
After World War II, Cunard was again the biggest Atlantic passenger line. By the mid-1950s, they had 12 ships sailing to the United States and Canada. However, after 1958, jet airliners became popular, making passenger ships less profitable. Cunard tried to get into air travel with "Cunard Eagle" and "BOAC Cunard" airlines, but they left the airline business in 1966. Cunard stopped its regular year-round service in 1968 to focus on cruises and summer Atlantic trips for vacationers. The famous "Queens" ships were replaced by the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), which was built for both roles.
In 1998, Carnival Corporation bought Cunard. In 2004, the QE2 was replaced on the Atlantic routes by the Queen Mary 2 (QM2). Cunard also operates the Queen Victoria (QV) and the Queen Elizabeth (QE). As of 2022, Cunard is the only company that still offers a regular passenger service between Europe and North America.
In 2017, Cunard announced a fourth ship would join its fleet. This ship, named Queen Anne, was delivered in 2024.
Contents
Cunard's Early Years: 1840–1850
Before Cunard, mail ships called "brigs" sailed from England to New York starting in 1756. These ships carried few passengers and no cargo. In 1818, the Black Ball Line started regular trips with fast sailing ships called "clipper ships." This was a time when American sailing ships were very popular for Atlantic travel.
In 1836, the British government decided that private shipping companies should handle mail delivery instead of the Post Office. Samuel Cunard, a shipowner from Nova Scotia, Canada, was visiting London in 1838. He talked with Admiral Sir William Edward Parry, who was in charge of mail contracts. Cunard offered to provide a mail service every two weeks starting in May 1840. Even though Cunard didn't own a steamship yet, he had invested in earlier steamship projects and owned coal mines. He also had strong support from political leaders in Nova Scotia.
In May 1839, Admiral Parry accepted Cunard's offer. Cunard would get £55,000 a year for a three-ship service from Liverpool to Halifax, with an extension to Boston. This payment was later increased to £81,000 to add a fourth ship. In May 1840, Cunard and his partners formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.
The first of their four ocean-going steamships, the Britannia, sailed from Liverpool on July 4, 1840. This was a special day for both Britain and the US. While sailing ships often took weeks to cross the Atlantic, the Britannia reached Halifax in just 12 days and 10 hours. This speed quickly became normal for Cunard. By 1845, Cunard's steamships carried more first-class passengers than the sailing ships. Three years later, the British Government increased the yearly payment to £156,000 so Cunard could have more frequent trips.
From the very beginning, Cunard ships had a special look: a red funnel with two or three thin black bands and a black top. This design was likely created by Robert Napier, who built their engines. Cunard ships also had names ending in "IA."
Cunard became known for its safety. The company's founder, Samuel Cunard, told his captains: "Your ship is loaded, take her; speed is nothing, follow your own road, deliver her safe, bring her back safe – safety is all that is required." This focus on safety helped Cunard succeed.
New Challenges: 1850–1879
In 1850, new companies like the American Collins Line and the British Inman Line started Atlantic steamship services. Collins Line ships were faster than Cunard's best. Inman Line showed that iron ships with screw propellers could make money without government help. Inman also became the first steamship line to carry passengers traveling in "steerage" (a cheaper section).
Both new companies had big accidents in 1854. The next year, Cunard launched its first iron-hulled paddle steamer, the Persia. The Persia was very fast and won back the Blue Riband for Cunard.
During the Crimean War, Cunard provided 11 ships for war service. Cunard was the only company that kept its Liverpool–Halifax–Boston service running. The Collins Line struggled and eventually closed in 1858. Cunard became the top company for first-class passengers. In 1862, Cunard launched the Scotia, the last paddle steamer to win the Blue Riband.
To compete with Inman, Cunard started a second service in 1863 using iron screw steamers that carried steerage passengers. When Samuel Cunard passed away in 1865, Charles MacIver took over. Cunard was slow to adopt new technologies, and rivals like White Star Line started building faster, more comfortable ships. White Star ships also offered better comfort, with dining rooms in the middle of the ship and larger cabins. Cunard fell behind its rivals in speed and comfort during the 1870s.
In 1876, the government mail contracts changed. Cunard's weekly mail trips to New York were reduced, and White Star Line also got a mail contract.
Cunard Steamship Company Ltd: 1879–1934
To get more money, the company became a public stock company in 1879, called the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd. Under its new chairman, John Burns, Cunard ordered four new steel-hulled ships. The first was the Servia of 1881, which was the first passenger ship with electric lights throughout. In 1884, Cunard bought the fast Oregon and also launched two new record-breaking ships, the Umbria and Etruria.
By 1887, Cunard's lead on the Atlantic was challenged by new, faster ships from Inman and White Star. In 1893, Cunard fought back with two even faster Blue Riband winners, the Campania and Lucania.
Just as Cunard became the leader again, new rivals appeared. German companies built very fast liners. In 1897, the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse from Norddeutscher Lloyd broke the Blue Riband speed record. White Star Line, instead of building super-fast ships, focused on larger, more comfortable ships for its secondary routes.
In 1902, White Star joined a big American company called the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM). This company owned many other shipping lines. IMM tried to buy Cunard, but they didn't succeed.
To keep Britain's reputation strong, the British Government gave Cunard a large yearly payment and a low-interest loan. This money was used to build two new superliners, the Lusitania and Mauretania. These ships were incredibly fast. In 1903, Cunard also started a new service to New York from Italian ports.
White Star and another German company, Hamburg–America, also ordered their own huge ships. These ships were bigger and more luxurious than Cunard's, but not as fast. Cunard also ordered a new ship, the Aquitania, to complete its Liverpool mail fleet.
Many of these superliners faced problems. White Star's Titanic sank on its first voyage. Both White Star's Britannic and Cunard's Lusitania were lost during World War I. The German superliners were given to the Allied powers after the war.
In 1916, Cunard Line moved its European headquarters to the grand Cunard Building in Liverpool. This building was one of Liverpool's famous "Three Graces." Cunard used this building until the 1960s.
After World War I, Cunard started building new ships to replace those lost in the war. They acquired the former German ship Imperator (renamed Berengaria) to sail with Mauretania and Aquitania. Southampton became the main British port for these express services. By 1926, Cunard's fleet was larger than before the war.
Despite fewer people traveling across the Atlantic in the 1930s, other countries built new, impressive ships. Germany's Bremen broke the Blue Riband record in 1933. Italy's Rex set a new record in 1933, and France's Normandie crossed the Atlantic in less than four days in 1937. In 1930, Cunard ordered a huge 80,000-ton ship, meant to be the first of two record-breakers. However, work on this ship, known as "Hull Number 534," stopped in 1931 due to the economic crisis.
Cunard-White Star Ltd: 1934–1949
In 1934, both Cunard Line and White Star Line were having money problems. The British government offered Cunard a loan to finish Hull Number 534 and build a second ship. The condition was that Cunard had to merge with White Star.
The merger happened on May 10, 1934, creating Cunard-White Star Limited. Cunard owned about two-thirds of the new company. Because the new company had too many ships, many older liners were sold for scrap. This included the old Cunard ship Mauretania and White Star ships like Olympic. In 1936, Hull Number 534, now named Queen Mary, replaced the White Star ship Majestic in the express mail service. The Queen Mary set a new Blue Riband record in 1938. Cunard-White Star then started building the Queen Elizabeth. A smaller ship, the second Mauretania, also joined the fleet.
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During World War II, the "Queens" ships carried over two million soldiers. Winston Churchill said they helped shorten the war by a year. All four large Cunard-White Star express liners – the two Queens, Aquitania, and Mauretania – survived the war. However, many other ships were lost, like the Lancastria and Laconia, which sank with many lives lost.
In 1947, Cunard bought White Star's share of the company. By 1949, the company dropped the White Star name and became "Cunard Line" again. They also ordered new cargo ships. The Caronia was finished in 1949 as a cruise liner, and the Aquitania was retired the next year.
Changes with Air Travel: 1950–1968
Cunard was in a good position to benefit from more people traveling across the North Atlantic in the 1950s. The "Queens" ships brought a lot of money to Great Britain. Cunard's slogan, "Getting there is half the fun," was aimed at tourists. From 1954, Cunard received four new ships for the Canadian and Liverpool–New York routes.
The introduction of jet airliners in 1958 brought big changes for ocean liners. In 1960, a government committee suggested building a new large liner, project Q3, to replace Queen Mary. The government would lend Cunard most of the money. However, some Cunard shareholders wondered if this was a good idea, as transatlantic flights were becoming very popular. By 1963, the plan changed to a smaller ship, Q4, designed for both cruising and transatlantic trips. This ship eventually became the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) in 1969.
Cunard tried to deal with the challenge from jet airliners by getting into air travel. In 1960, Cunard bought a large part of British Eagle, an independent airline, and renamed it Cunard Eagle Airways. This helped Cunard Eagle become the first British independent airline to use jet airliners. Cunard hoped to get a big share of the one million people who crossed the Atlantic by air in 1960. This was the first year that more people flew across the Atlantic than sailed.
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In 1962, Cunard's main competitor, the state-owned BOAC, formed a new joint company with Cunard called BOAC-Cunard. BOAC owned most of this new company. Cunard Eagle's long-distance flights were taken over by BOAC-Cunard. However, this joint venture was not successful for Cunard and ended in 1966 when BOAC bought out Cunard's share.
Within ten years of jet airliners appearing, most of the traditional Atlantic liners were gone. The Mauretania retired in 1965, Queen Mary and Caronia in 1967, and Queen Elizabeth in 1968. All Cunard ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line flags until November 4, 1968. After that, the White Star flag was no longer flown.
Trafalgar House Years: 1971–1998
In 1971, a large company called Trafalgar House bought Cunard. At that time, Cunard had cargo ships, passenger ships, hotels, and resorts. The main passenger ship was the Queen Elizabeth 2, which was two years old. Trafalgar House sold most of the cargo ships and focused on cruise ships.
During the Falklands War, the QE2 and Cunard Countess were used as troopships. Sadly, Cunard's container ship Atlantic Conveyor was sunk during the war.
Cunard bought the Norwegian America Line in 1983, which had two classic ocean liner/cruise ships. In 1988, Cunard also bought Ellerman Lines and its cargo ships, creating Cunard-Ellerman. However, a few years later, Cunard decided to leave the cargo business and focus only on cruise ships. Cunard's cargo fleet was sold off between 1989 and 1991.
By the mid-1990s, Cunard was having problems. In 1994, the Queen Elizabeth 2 had many issues during a voyage because renovation work wasn't finished. This cost the company a lot of money. After Cunard lost US$25 million in 1995, a new CEO was brought in. He found that the company had management problems. In 1995, Cunard Line started its "White Star Service" on the Queen Elizabeth 2. This was a nod to the high standards of customer service expected from the company. This term is still used today on Cunard's newer ships.
In 1996, a Norwegian company called Kværner bought Trafalgar House. They tried to sell Cunard, but no one wanted to buy it. So, Kværner invested a lot of money to improve Cunard's reputation.
Carnival Era: 1998–Present
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In 1998, the big cruise company Carnival Corporation bought 62% of Cunard. The company historian said this was partly because of the success of the 1997 movie Titanic. The next year, Carnival bought the rest of Cunard. Carnival wanted to rebuild Cunard as a luxury brand, focusing on its British traditions. Their advertising slogan was "Advancing Civilization Since 1840," highlighting the elegance of ocean travel. Only the Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia continued under the Cunard brand. The company also started a project to build a new ocean liner/cruise ship for the transatlantic route, which became the Queen Mary 2.
By 2001, Carnival was the largest cruise company. In 2004, the 36-year-old QE2 was replaced on the North Atlantic route by the new Queen Mary 2. The Caronia was sold, and the Queen Elizabeth 2 continued cruising until she retired in 2008. In 2007, Cunard added the Queen Victoria, a cruise ship originally designed for another line. To keep Cunard traditions alive, the Queen Victoria has a small museum on board. Cunard ordered a second similar cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth, which joined the fleet in 2010.
In 2010, Cunard appointed its first female commander, Captain Inger Klein Olsen. In 2011, Cunard changed the registration of all three of its ships to Hamilton, Bermuda. This was the first time in the company's 171-year history that no Cunard ships were registered in the United Kingdom. Ships registered in Bermuda allow captains to marry couples at sea, which is a popular service.
On May 25, 2015, the three Cunard ships – Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, and Queen Victoria – sailed into Liverpool's Mersey River. This was to celebrate Cunard's 175th anniversary. The ships performed special movements, and the Red Arrows (a famous British air display team) flew overhead.
In September 2017, Cunard announced that a fourth ship had been ordered for the fleet. This ship, the Queen Anne, was delivered to Cunard on April 19, 2024. She arrived in Southampton on April 30, 2024, and began her first cruise on May 3, 2024. She will be officially named in Liverpool in June.
The White Star Line flag is raised on all current Cunard ships and the Nomadic every April 15th. This is done to remember the Titanic disaster.
Cunard's Fleet Today
| Ship | Delivered | In service for Cunard | Shipyard | Type | Gross tonnage | Flag | Christened By | Image |
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| Queen Mary 2 | 2003 | 2004–present | Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St Nazaire, France | Ocean liner | 149,215 GT |  Bermuda |
HM Queen Elizabeth II |
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| Queen Victoria | 2007 | 2007–present | Fincantieri Marghera Shipyard, Italy | Cruise ship | 90,049 GT | Bermuda |
HRH Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall |
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| Queen Elizabeth | 2010 | 2010–present | Fincantieri Monfalcone Shipyard, Italy | Cruise ship | 90,901 GT | Bermuda |
HM Queen Elizabeth II |
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| Queen Anne | 2024 | 2024-present | Fincantieri Marghera Shipyard, Italy | Cruise ship | ~ 113,300 GT | Bermuda |
To be Announced |  |
Former Fleet
Cunard Line has operated many ships throughout its long history.
Images for kids
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Cunard Line, from New York to Liverpool, from 1875
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The Persia of 1856
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Cunard Line offices in New York City
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A captain waves aboard a Cunard Line vessel in 1901
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The Etruria of 1885
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The Campania of 1893
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The Aquitania of 1914 served in both World Wars
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G-ASGC Vickers Super VC10 Srs1151 (cn 853) BOAC. (5662144246).jpg
A Vickers Super VC10 aircraft, similar to those used by BOAC-Cunard
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Queen Mary 2 Boston July 2015 01.jpg
The Queen Mary 2 of 2004, docked in Boston Harbor as part of a tour to mark Cunard's 175th anniversary in 2015
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See also
- Cunard Building (New York City)
- Cunard Yanks
