Want to spend a day onboard Queen Mary 2? Here's how you can!
Before boarding Queen Mary 2, I’d wanted to experience this ship for such a long time. Infact, completing a Transatlantic onboard QM2 was on my bucket list way back when I started cruising! I managed to board the ship in December 2023 for a 7-night Transatlantic crossing from New York City to Southampton, and I couldn’t believe my eyes as soon as I stepped onboard - this ship is absolutely stunning! If you’ve never been onboard before, or you have and really enjoyed it, you might be delighted to know that you can now visit the world famous QM2 for the day. That’s right - you can board the ship in the morning while she’s docked in port, and leave before she sets sail in the afternoon! In this post, let me tell you how you can do this.
Before we jump in, please do come over and subscribe to my YouTube channel for so much more content from my experiences onboard this ship, and so many others. You can access my channel via the link below, which is my full ship tour of the QM2.
Before the pandemic, it used to be fairly common practice to be able to board some passenger ships while they were docked in port. This privilege would often be reserved for Travel Agents, or others in the Travel industry, but now it’s much more difficult to get onboard. This is for a whole number of reasons, but largely due to the fact that cruise lines will conduct a very thorough deep-clean between guests. ‘Turn around day’ (the day that a ship ends one cruise and starts the next, therefore embarking thousands of new passengers) is also one of the busiest days in the working life of the ship, and so it’s often not possible to then accommodate guests onboard as the crew will often be pushed to their maximum on this day.
However, Cunard have recently announced that it’s going to be possible to board Queen Mary 2 for a day, on a number of dates later in 2024. So, here’s the details!
Cunard have teamed up with the Prince’s Trust, and are working to raise as much money as possible for the charity. As a result of this partnership, they’re offering a unique daytime experience onboard the Queen Mary 2, which includes a guided tour followed by a three-course lunch in the Britannia Restaurant (the main dining room onboard the ship).
When are these ship visit days taking place?
In terms of dates, there are currently only two dates to choose between: September 15th 2024 and November 1st 2024, and both of these dates are for the port of Southampton. At the point of writing this article, it’s not currently known if this initiative will be available in further ports - perhaps, if these dates go well, then Cunard might offer the same ‘across the pond’ - who knows!
How much will it cost to go onboard for the day?
This was the big question that I had when I first found out about these ship visits. To board for the day, a ticket is £120 per person. This includes the tour, and also lunch in the restaurant (which comes with a glass of wine included).
What does the schedule look like for the day onboard?
At this point of writing this article, the following timeline applies to the day visits:
09:15 - 10:00 - Arrive at Mayflower Terminal for security check in
10:00 - 10:30 - Board the Queen Mary 2
10:30 - 12:30 - Guided tour of the ship
12:45 - 14:15 - Three-course lunch
How do I book to join one of the ship visits?
To purchase a ticket to board Queen Mary 2 for the day, you can purchase your ticket from the Eventbrite site that’s been set up by Cunard. You can go there now by clicking here.
If you do board the ship, I hope you have a wonderful day. If you’re thinking about it, I’d probably recommend that you try to decide as quickly as possible - I reckon these are going to sell out pretty quickly! If you’d like to see more of what awaits you onboard, here’s a few photos from my time onboard back in December 2023…
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Why not check out more of my posts on my experiences of cruising with Cunard here?