world cruises 2026

[dbjhughes]

Have any of the usual suspects laid eyes on the itineraries for the 2026 world cruises? A check of the Sydney cruise schedule lists Queen Mary 2 and Queen Anne as both due there in March 2026, suggesting they are the ships undertaking the world cruises that year. Many thanks.

[Bell Boy]

The new Cunard Brochure is available for QM2 & Q.A  from April 2024 to January 2026 , however, the itineraries are only listed up to ;

QM2 - 11th January New York 

Q.A - 11th January Hamburg/Southampton 

I expect these are the beginning of the World Cruise itineraries - however, no further information in print so far . 

[bluemarble]

I think it's still a bit early to find itineraries for the 2026 world cruises. But we can find a few clues here and there such as what you have found.

 

QV is on the port schedule for Funchal on 12 Feb 2026, 26 Feb 2026 and 15 Apr 2026. That looks like a series of Madeira/Canary Islands cruises rather than a world cruise for her.

 

QA is on the port schedule for Funchal on 26 Apr 2026. That looks like it could be a port of call for her near the end of a 2026 world cruise if we'd like to speculate.

 

Thanks to @sogne for pointing me to the Funchal Port Authority website for those schedules.

 

In Australia, you've already found QM2 on the port schedule for Sydney on 4-5 Mar 2026 and QA on the schedule for Sydney on 16-17 Mar 2026.

 

@LittleFish1976 reported seeing QA on the Darwin port schedule on 8 Mar 2026, on the Melbourne port schedule on 19-20 Mar 2026, and on the Fremantle port schedule on 26 March 2026 as well as QM2 on the Darwin port schedule on 14 Mar 2026.

 

So that gives us a few tidbits to speculate about what the 2026 world cruises might look like. Check back in a few months to see if we've learned anything further.

 

In the mean time, if anyone else has found port calls for Cunard beyond 11 Jan 2026 (on port authority websites or elsewhere), I'd love to hear about them.

[dbjhughes]

As QM2 is not on the port schedule for the usual south/west Australian ports of call, this suggests she is sailing round Cape Horn as part of her world cruise that year, which she hasn't done since 2016.

[bluemarble]

Queen Mary 2 is on the Brisbane schedule for 7 Mar 2026 and Queen Anne is on the Brisbane schedule for 14 Mar 2026. Here's what we have so far.

 

Queen Mary 2

11 Jan 2026 - Southampton

4-5 Mar 2026 - Sydney

7 Mar 2026 - Brisbane

14 Mar 2026 - Darwin

 

Queen Anne

11 Jan 2026 - Southampton

8 Mar 2026 - Darwin

14 Mar 2026 - Brisbane

16-17 Mar 2026 - Sydney

19-20 Mar 2026 - Melbourne

26 Mar 2026 - Fremantle

26 Apr 2026 - Funchal

Edited November 7, 2023 by bluemarble

[LittleFish1976]

15 hours ago, bluemarble said:

Queen Mary 2 is on the Brisbane schedule for 7 Mar 2026 and Queen Anne is on the Brisbane schedule for 14 Mar 2026. Here's what we have so far.

 

Queen Mary 2

11 Jan 2026 - Southampton

4-5 Mar 2026 - Sydney

7 Mar 2026 - Brisbane

14 Mar 2026 - Darwin

 

Queen Anne

11 Jan 2026 - Southampton

8 Mar 2026 - Darwin

14 Mar 2026 - Brisbane

16-17 Mar 2026 - Sydney

19-20 Mar 2026 - Melbourne

22 MARCH 2026 - ADELAIDE

26 Mar 2026 - Fremantle

26 Apr 2026 - Funchal

 

 

I have only one port to add to the above (see above 22nd March, Adelaide).

 

I expect the ship will possibly sail to Funchal Via South Africa (Cape Town) and Tenerife, or via Suez and the Med to Funchal. Either route might make sense, time-wise.

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

Trying to guess 2026 World Cruise itineraries becomes exiting! Thanks to all for that info.

 

Queen Anne appears to 'half-circumnavigate' Australia. She 'enters' via Darwin and 'exits' via Fremantle.

 

This perhaps implies that she is not doing a full world circumnavigation, but following QM2's precedent she sails from Southampton to Australia via Asia and returns via Cape Town. If she sailed to Australia from America, she would not normally call Darwin first.

 

This scenario, although somewhat strange, is strengthened by the call at Funchal. Cruise ships usually don't call to Madeira/Canaries when they return via the Med. in their World Cruises. Iberian peninsula ports is the norm in that case.

 

But then, it is challenging to guess QM2's itinerary in that case.

 

Otherwise, Queen Anne could just do a full circumnavigation of Australia, Sydney to Sydney, like QM2 in 2012, and then continue her World Cruise itinerary, whatever it is.

 

QM2 on a 2026 World Cruise is a very pleasant surprise, as many believed that she would be restricted only to Caribbean itineraries after Anne's introduction. Let's see if Cunard has another surprise in the making.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Ocean_Liner_Traveller

[bluemarble]

3 minutes ago, Ocean_Liner_Traveller said:

QM2 on a 2026 World Cruise is a very pleasant surprise, as many believed that she would be restricted only to Caribbean itineraries after Anne's introduction. Let's see if Cunard has another surprise in the making.

 

Yes, to temper the speculation about a 2026 World Cruise for QM2, there have been previous reports indicating QM2's 2024 World Cruise may be her last for a few years. For example, there's this quote from Chris Frame on his "chriscunard.com" site.

 

"QM2 will start 2024 undertaking yet another world cruise. This will be her last world cruise for the next few years, as Cunard has since indicated that from 2025 onward QM2 will focus more on the transatlantic service while Queen Anne will take up a global cruising role."

 

It will be interesting to find out in the next few months if those 2026 dates for QM2 in Australia turn out to be real and QM2 will be doing a 2026 World Cruise after all.

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

35 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

It will be interesting to find out in the next few months if those 2026 dates...turn out to be real and QM2 will be doing a 2026 World Cruise after all.

 

Interestingly the ports attributed to Anne in 2026 seem part of a regular QM2 World Cruise. Similarly, those attributed to QM2 seem part of a usual full world circumnavigation, continuing from Darwin to Hong Kong or Singapore.

 

Like an unwilling (?) change/mistake has taken place. Yes, it remains to be seen if all this is real.
 

[Cjohns16]

I asked on board the QM2 yesterday , the world cruise host about the schedule for Queen  Anne world cruise  2026 and she said we will get the announcement late February  or early March. 

[bluemarble]

10 hours ago, Cjohns16 said:

I asked on board the QM2 yesterday , the world cruise host about the schedule for Queen  Anne world cruise  2026 and she said we will get the announcement late February  or early March. 

 

I'm anticipating the announcement in February based on their post on their facebook page a couple days ago which talks about "300 awe inspiring new voyages" (including the world voyages) and concludes by stating "Look out for more information coming February 2024."

[57eric]

QM2 Honolulu 2/11/26.

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, 57eric said:

QM2 Honolulu 2/11/26.

 

That agrees with what I've found elsewhere and reported on the "Cunard 2026 Itineraries Preview" thread. Did you find that on a port authority website for Honolulu? The one I've found only lists their cruise schedule for 2024.

[57eric]

More threads than I can keep track of.  It's at https://hawaii.portcall.com/#!?date=2026-02-11. 

[bluemarble]

17 minutes ago, 57eric said:

More threads than I can keep track of.  It's at https://hawaii.portcall.com/#!?date=2026-02-11. 

 

Thank you! That is the port authority website for Hawaii I was looking at earlier. I didn't realize the Traffic Schedule portion of that website contained the schedules that far out. That's a good find. I'll add that to my list of port authority websites who post their schedules well into the future.

Edited February 3 by bluemarble

[Ocean_Liner_Traveller]

6 hours ago, 57eric said:

QM2 Honolulu 2/11/26.

 

Thank you for this. The possibilities of a QM2 2026 westward full circumnavigation are increasing. Exciting!

[watsonbeau]

The next program from Sept 25 to Jan 27 is apparently released to World club members on 6 March. World Cruise from 5 March. Can’t wait ! 

Edited February 14 by watsonbeau

[cruiseluvva]

Hooefully they will release the schedules in the next few days for viewing purposes.

[Wonky]

According to staff on board it’s the 19th.

[bluemarble]

8 hours ago, Wonky said:

According to staff on board it’s the 19th.

 

The announcement does appear to be very close now. I'm finding the 2026 itineraries on a couple more cruise booking sites today. They confirm the QM2 world voyage itinerary I posted on the "Cunard 2026 Itineraries Preview" thread as a westbound full circumnavigation including a Panama Canal transit. I'll probably be booking either the New York to Los Angeles or the New York to San Francisco segment as soon as they go on sale.

Edited February 18 by bluemarble

[watsonbeau]

39 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

 

The announcement does appear to be very close now. I'm finding the 2026 itineraries on a couple more cruise booking sites today. They confirm the QM2 world voyage itinerary I posted on the "Cunard 2026 Itineraries Preview" thread as a westbound full circumnavigation including a Panama Canal transit. I'll probably be booking either the New York to Los Angeles or the New York to San Francisco segment as soon as they go on sale.

That’s the one I want - transit Panama on QM2. Sounds fabulous!

[Winifred 22]

11 minutes ago, watsonbeau said:

That’s the one I want - transit Panama on QM2. Sounds fabulous!

Can she go through the old locks ? 

[Victoria2]

8 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Can she go through the old locks ? 

Victoria did, at least twice when we were onboard so I imagine her sister can too.

[MylesS]

23 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Can she go through the old locks ? 

Not the old ones, but the new ones are wide enough for her. However, the question then becomes getting her under the bridge that is after.

[Host Hattie]

15 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Victoria did, at least twice when we were onboard so I imagine her sister can too.

But the itinerary is for QM2, she will have to go through the new locks