Queen Anne WILL be different & that's good news! Cunard New Ship Update. 

Thanks to the hundreds of people who have reached out asking about Queen Anne. What do you think of the design?

Looks more like a boxy Caravel ship then an elegant Holland American ship. Interiors look more like Viking ships mixed with a contemporary office. Hopefully I will be happily surprised when she is finished.

Having sailed on Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, I love the whole Cunard ethos. Looking forward to sailing on Queen Anne

The design of the Britannia reminds me of a modern interpretation of Normandie's dining room!

Hi Chris… I travelled with Cunard for the first time last summer when I did a westbound transatlantic crossing on the QM2. After watching this video, I’m looking forward to sailing on the new Queen Anne. P.S. I love your books… I bought a couple of them last summer in the QM2 bookshop.

I sailed on the QE2 twice, the QM2 four times, on the Queen Elizabeth, and on the Queen Victoria. I am 75 and have no idea if I will sail again. I sure did love my earlier sailings.

Really informative and good perspective on QA. Having read some of the chats I'll add my view. Queen Anne has never been flagged as a new innovative design of cruise ship, more how Cunard can be reimagined and reflected in the current "midsized" cruise liner, what your have show in your various videos have interested and excited for future opportunities. Our cruises on QM2 have been a fantastic blend of Ship & Service, that's our Cunard experience that our lines don't offer because its different. We'll certainly continue cruising with other lines but already checking out QA's itineraries or 24 & 25. Please keep us updated Chris 👏

I understand that the QA has no single oceanview staterooms. This seems like a step backwards. The single staterooms on the QM2 are exquisite.

I think, based on the pictures of the interior decor I have seen so far, she is going to be fabulous looking.

Thank you for sharing this new cruise ship.😊

Interesting video and thanks for sharing. After travelling with Cunard for 20 plus years I can honestly say I won’t be travelling with them again due to the constant “dumbing down” of the service and dress codes and so on. The prices constantly rise but the service is declining ~ sadly Cunard is going the same way as other cruise lines - bigger isn’t always better and they are now turning into the same as all others - floating holiday camps.

So glad to see the small white upper strake on the bow...

We’re booked on to the QA for a Norwegian Fjord cruise in June 24. Looking forward to it. It’s great that the lovely Captain Inge has been made captain of the ship.

Interesting overview. I prefer the QM2 in style. It isn’t like the others, a floating shoe box. I have health issues so my sailing days may be over. I was a “platinum”passenger from my many cruises on QM2.

Thank you for showing us, it looks amazing and hope to sale on it some time.

Hope to meet him on my next voyage in 2025. He is a most “ gracious genius ”!

Nice thank you Chris. We will meet you on the maiden voyage. *yay*. I like the design. What I'm not sure about is the dancefloor. It looks very small and I already heard, they won't do ballroom dancing each evening 😲 We are so looking foward to the maiden voyage. discover all the new parts of this ship.

Fantastic video you clearly did a lot of research thx

Gotta disagree with you on this one. The reason the Queen Mary's interiors were decried by critics wasn't because they were new and different. It was because they felt like a mismatched hodgepodge with no clear message or direction. Now a big part of this was the arrival of the Normandie the year before which stole a lot of her thunder and remains, especially in terms of decoration, the incomparable liner. The French Line had a clear message: The Glories of France. Cunard was at a decorative crossroads. They had to be true to Britain, always a staid and conservative country. But the primary clientele they wanted to attract was wealthy Americans. How to appeal to both? For the record a large number of my quotes going forward are going to be form John Malcolm-Brinnin's exhaustive treatise on ocean liner interiors "Grand Luxe: The Transatlantic Style" where he both makes his own observations and quotes many papers of the time. "Good wooden surfaces have been broken up and disfigured with what businessmen call 'art'." "Strip-lit Winter Gardens and rubber plants" Describing the floors of the 1st class dining room he says "Korkoid. As trendily synthetic as it's name, this substance, buffed to a high gloss, was patterned in big brown and beige squares laid diagonally across the width and length of the room. The effect was not unlike that of a duchess in flowing chiffon and sparkling tiara who, close up, is seen to be wearing jogging shoes." In the novel "Brideshead Revisited" by Charles Ryder the character describes the character Evelyn Waugh describes the Mary as "I turned into some halls of the ship, which were huge without any splendor, as though they had been designed for a railway coach and preposterously magnified. I passed through vast bronze gates whose ornamentation was like the trade mark of a cakse of soap which had been used once or twice; I trod carpets the colour of blotting paper, the painted walls the were like blotting paper too; kindergarten work in flat, drab colors; and between walls were yards and yards of biscuit-coloured wood which no carpenter's tool had ever touched, wood that had been bent around corners, invisibly joined strip to strip, steamed and squeezed and polished. When Queen Mary, the person, made her remark "not as bad as I expected" she was referring to it being more to her tastes and not as modern as she feared. (Remember she was 69 years old at this point and not exactly one to be having her tastes changing with the times.) The simple fact was Mary, while always a popular and happy ship, was never one to win decorative awards. It's like when people compared her cuisine to the Normandie's. Normandie's was the finest of french cuisine while the Queen Mary's, even her most ardent admirer's would admit, was uninspired hotel fair (albeit plenty of it.) As for the QE2 you are correct in that she started out in the glass and chrome of the 60s. But by the end of her life she was done in Art Deco and had been for several decades. Interior design is a fickle business. No one knows what will last and what won't. Why some designs remain iconic decades later and why some never make a comeback. Art Nouveau and Art Deco remain iconic almost a century later. 50's modern has it's adherents too of course. But, with rare exceptions, there aren't many people crying out for the return of neon green shag carpeting, mohair covered furniture, and orange kitchen cabinets seen in the 60s'-80's. Art Deco remains timeless because it was big, bold, & beautiful. Almost every piece was hand crafted & ridiculously expensive. Rooms were designed as a whole. You could mix an appropriately colored Louix IVX chair in a Louis XVI room and most people wouldn't be able to tell you it didn't belong. In Art Deco, in most cases, you couldn't take one Art Deco chair from one room to another in the same house without it looking out of place. It was the last era before mass production took ever. It was bound to happen and of course the war sped it up. But so many of it's buildings remain iconic. The Chrysler Building. The Empire State Building. Radio City Music Hall. Rockefeller Center. And that's just in New York! I'm sure the new ship will have lovely amenities. And will serve Cunard proud. But Cunard will learn the same lesson they learned with the QE2: modern is temporary and transitory. It never lasts. All of this stuff going into homes now? All of this ikea looking, all neutral, open concept design? It may last but my gut says it won't. It will be like the 60s when everyone was going space age and futuristic. Eventually people always come back to wanting warmth, comfort, and color. The 3 current Cunard ships have it. If Cunard was smart they'd save tons of money putting it in now rather than later. Sorry for the long rant. Between 2-6 am my brain fires on all cylinders.

Great video full of information! We are on the maiden voyage too so look forward to seeing you onboard!

Very interesting, as always Chris. Hopefully one day we will get to sail on her...

Presently moving shells around to facilitate sailing on the maiden world cruise on QA. Really want to be part of that history

Thank you. It will be our first time cruising next year and we've booked onto Queen Anne. I'm 40 and my partner is 50. We don't like the though of being surrounded by kids and wanted the English elegance so that's why we chose Cunard. I've watch everything I can and have studied the deck plans on Queen Anne and it looks like she will suit us perfectly.

Thanks for the video!

THANKS CHRIS EXCELLENT

Great video and historical insight.

This looks like an updated concept in Cunard cruising. I like it. 😀👍 That new pool and its surroundings almost looks like a Piscine Molitor concept. Hopefully the new Commodore Club is designed so that you don’t have to close the curtains too. Maybe QA will better Queen Victoria as my favourite Cunard ship. Peace be with you!

Don't like it at all and will give it a miss. I'll stick with the beautiful QM2, think she will see out my remaining cruising years.

QE2 and QM2 have been unique, QV and QE are not. I own a vid bought on the QV early in her career in January 2010 where at the end Cunard actually apologizes and asks for understanding that for the first time they built a hybrid vessel primarily designed as cruise ship.. Sfew years later they added the ugly stern. Now Queen Anne's outward design is as ugly as the ones of any other apartment block " cruise ships" but disguised as a Cunarder so that they can charge much higher prices. Folks, always keep in mind that Cunard is not British but part of Carnival. And Carnival doesn t care for traditions but finally uses Cunard as a mere facade.

Of course - thank you for the preview of QA - just an honest assessment of where I wish Cunard wasn’t going. They’re running out of monarchs to get it right! They’ll someday need another QM2 and Stephen Payne to get it right!

Thanks for this Chris. Your knowledge of Cunard history can perhaps give us traditionalists something to compare to and think about. I don't think of myself as a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist but have wondered about QA's design. One thing that stands out to me is the spacious feed--of course I'm seeing her pre-final result with spaces more open. But still I have a sense of a spacious feel. Any comments?

Thank you

We are certainly going to book a sailing on Queen Anne. Keen to see the difference. Equally heading on the Refurbished QM2 in a few weeks' Love you very informative vlogs. Thank you 👍

Just booked the 14 day Med cruise departing late July this year - we are very muchlooking forward to it.

Hopefully the quality of the main dining room food doesn't suffer with the addition of the alternative dining options. Read this has happened on other lines. Otherwise - I like! Understated and elegant.

I prefer the Designs of QM2, QE and QV. I won't make a voyage on Queen Anne.

I have always been optimistic that QA was going to be a GREAT ship, your video makes me feel that way even more so. Thanks.

Good looking ship Chris. Didn’t know they were building a new ship. Good video though maybe you could pull back a bit from the camera as it seams as if you are trying to climb in to look around my room. Well done though and look forward to the launch this year.

Where’s the yacht club gone ? Decks plans show no sign or indeed of any nightclub!

I won't get to sail on Queen Anne myself, but I look forward to seeing your videos when you sail on her. Is it too early to know if the new restaurants will be extra charge venues?

Can’t wait for May 10th

Having sailed QE and QV many time and absolutely loved them, I hope my voyage on QA will meet the same standards. I'm worried there's no famous brittania breakfast or lido buffet. Giving it try

@Chris Frame, do you know why they didn't build single cabins into Queen Anne?

Can’t wait to sail on her, really excited to see the next gen of the Cunard ships.

The interior rooms look ok. But externally she looks like a floating condominium.

Nice video. One bit of minor feedback: I think you could benefit from a higher volume on your videos.

The funnel looks odd. Don’t miss the wind scoops but the red color is off. Should be painted International Orange like QE2.

My understanding is this ship was bought from Holland America and it was gonna be their next pinnacle class ship until the pandemic so basically the ship will be just like the MS Rotterdam

Was disappointed on QM in October 2022 that there wasn't a lecture about the ship - how it works, its design etc. You'll be doing this sort of thing on the QA inaugural voyage - Cunard should so it on every voyage. I guess you aren't on the Norway QA cruise at the end of June

Any idea name of 250 ship and when will we see it

Formulaic beige rage and/or light gray is the base for most new ship designs. And those who recognize this see it right away and are tired of the lack of imagination and distinction among the new ships. Sure, there are a few exceptions in the spaces but mostly that's the formula used. The formula has been marketed as modern and fresh when really, all these colors are a cycle of trends and simplifying of things has been called modernization. So more modern is supposedly good for some and dreadful for others. OTOH, darker woods and more detailed furnishings in more vibrant colors atmospheres are considered old world and dated by some or rich and charming by others. So there's another extreme that dismisses anything lighter or simpler. So, we have the extremes at play of what is modern that is somehow assigned to "younger," a vague comparative term that's nonspecific while "older" is outdated dark or anything that isn't beige rage or simplified modern and for old-fashioned fogies (that people saying this don't realize they will be some day if they stay alive). There's nothing that interesting about these renders and what Cunard folks are saying is give me something that looks like Cunard, not like so many others in too many areas. And that's my issue with Celebrity's Edge. It's more gray rage than beige but there's plenty beige too. But it doesn't look like a Celebrity ship inside except for the restaurants. And some of this beige rage seems to be in the Sphere class from Princess. I don't care how "beautiful" any of this is. I'm looking for evocative and ambiance and these ships have a neutral palette and neutral ambiance. That's the problem here.

Hi Chris. It takes a lot of work to change opinions, hearts, and minds, even if the ship is still "In Build." Passions run deep, and the traditionalists are having conniption fits over her. Hopefully the hullabaloo will die down closer to Queen Anne setting sail next year, Let Us Pray !! Hopefully Captain Hudson will accompany you on board !! he he he

Hi Chris, new Irish subscriber in Manchester U.K. here 17 years (and BTW you are very handsome❤) - having extended family in Rural Ireland and knowing that in recent years, Dublin Port (North Wall) has been extended to take cruise ships despite the very narrow River Liffey channel, despite the 8 hours sailing time, I’ve always wanted to join a cruise ship at Liverpool and get off at Dublin or even Cobh - I usually go SailRail on the Irish Ferries Ulysses Cruise Ferry or Stena Adventurer ferry from Holyhead to Dublin (3 hours - train from Manchester via Chester) - any advice? 🇮🇪☘️🇮🇪❤️

The ship looks nice. She is different. I like QM2, QE and QV. They were more classic ships. I know ship was built for HAL. I don't know why did they change from HAL to Cunard. I like indoor pool and promenade deck there. It looks like that QE and QV don't have indoor pools. I heard that they are heated pool. I like ship size and carry 2,000 passengers. Not 4,000+ passenger ships. .

This is exactly what I've been saying this whole time. Right from the get-go, when we got our first look at Queen Anne's interiors, my jaw went on the floor. She is so new and so stylish compared to the other Queens as well as many of the other ships today. She looks like a tip-top, first class, exclusive boutique luxury experience akin to such ships as those from ultra-luxury cruise lines. If her interiors were just more of the same as what we've already seen with QM2, QV and QE, honestly, I would've yawned. Not because they're old-fashioned or that they're any less beautiful: Heavens no. But like you just said, historically, Cunard has never been the type to not push the boundaries of what's possible with ship design when able. It's about time that they've tried to do so again, and even though she's not much to look at from the outside, inside, I am absolutely loving what I'm seeing with Queen Anne. I understand that some people don't want to see Cunard change and are happy with what they already have, and that's fine. But what about the newer generations, whom Cunard will also have to please? Maybe it's easy for me to say since I'm one of them, but I'm not wrong. Cunard will always hold their heritage close to heart - they do it better than most anybody else - while also moving forward with the times. Therefore, they'll have something for everyone. Happy New Year in advance, Chris!

Is the ship a transatlantic?

Not clearly stated is the Queen Anne a "cruise ship" or a "cruise liner" (as is the QM2)? There is difference, and not that subtle.

Thank you Chris for this video. It shows how Cunard Line has evolved throughout the decades. And as it was once said about Her Late Majesty, "The Queen does not change … she adapts". And I feel that is what MS Queen Anne will be. An adaptation to the 21st century new era. Inspired from Cunard’s glorious past to the present and evolving towards the future.

More reasons to not like this new Carnival ship. I have a reso for SF to Sydney in early 2025. Already found out there are fewer places to do your own laundry, unlike previous Cunard ships. I have until November to cancel, looking like someome else will get my spot....shame

Hull type...crusing or trans Atlantic...

The audio is a bit too quiet, the commentary especially.

Best looking Cunard ship yet the interior looks amazing.

Half of this video was a unwanted history lesson about Cunard, and the rest did not give much of an impression of how the ship will be.

Why Did They Name It Queen Ann, They Should Have Named It Princess Ann, It Sounds More Romantic, And Would Be Nice To Have A Liner In The Fleet That Represents Her, I Think She Should Be Hounerd With Something In Her Long Royal Service, Considering She Is More Popular Than Charles, THE FORGOTTEN ROYAL LADY, 🇬🇧⚘👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Es

Zero interest in QA. Looks like a cruise ship. I have dreamed of a transatlantic crossing since i was a kid but the current offering of QM2 was a disappointment due to the cruise ship styling. I was born far too late for my tastes

Unfortunately it looks like a boxy hotel plopped onto a barge. Such an ugly exterior profile. At least the QM2 still is somewhat reminiscent of an ocean liner. This Queen Anne thing looks no better than Carnival or Disney garbage. Sad to see!

I'm seeing a lot of Holland America design elements especially the pool with the retractable roof. Not a bad thing, I prefer Holland America and Cunard over other brands for their classic approach to cruising. They focus more on elevated entertainment and venues vs gimmicks which a lot of the competition tends to rely on.

Really no longer Cunard. Really just carnival

Cunard is Carnival. There is nothing original here. This is another Vista Class Cruise ship with what I would call a “Box of Cheese” stuck on top of the bridge making her look way off balance. Kinda like the Norwegian Epic. While her interiors may be winning, her exterior is UGLY! On this point, Carnival/Cunard should reconsider renaming the Queen Anne to Queen Camilla, in honour of the current Queen Consort.

Still too big.

Of course you're going to say you like the ship. You're hoping to get lots of free travel on her. Cunard has lost the art of shipbuilding. It was noticeable from the QM2 and on. It would have been so easy to design a more outwardly streamlined ship, but they chose to go the route typical of all tacky cruise ships - council flats on water. The Queen Anne is no different. She's too boxy and they've crammed as many balconied decks as possible into her. And that high forehead above the bridge is ridiculous. But then the company is owned by Carnival (tackiness epitomized) and Cunard just copied parts from other cruise ships. (There's another ship out there that has the same high forehead.) It would've taken just a few strokes of the pen to create a more pleasing superstructure. I've seen drawings online from people who have reimagined the QM2 and created a wonderful looking ship which looks more ocean liner-like than the QM2. Too bad Cunard's naval architects couldn't have done the same thing. I'm glad I was able to travel on the QE2 before she was sold. To me, she was the ocean liner. Yes, I know the QA is a cruise ship and not an ocean liner. But even Disney was able to design one of their earlier ships with a nod to ocean liners.

Thanks - but NO. This Cunard World Club member will never cross that gangplank thanks to THIS video.

This review is just a big wet kiss planted firmly on Cunard and their new unremarkable ship,but then again if it were an honest review it would most likely limit future access and perks…

The traditional look is what people want and what sets it apart from all the cookie cutter ships today. The Queen Anne is going the way of all the boxy mansions you see in LA. It's soulless and ugly. Your opinion is way off the mark.