Four Queens Celebration: Cunard Ships Heading to the Mersey in 2028
Liverpool was once the most important dock city outside of London, being the passageway to the rest of the world. In the years since, the city’s importance as a dock diminished, but in recent times there has been a push to see some of the biggest ships in the sea heading onto the Mersey.
On May 16th 2028, that will be celebrated by the arrival of four of the ships on the Cunard line sailing along the river at the same time, celebrating 20 years since Liverpool was named European Capital of Culture, the money from which helped to transform the city into the place that we know and love today.
The question is, what will happen in two years’ time?
Cunard’s Spiritual Home
The Cunard shipping line was based in Liverpool from the moment that the company came into being, created in order to run three ships from Liverpool to Halifax and then Boston, later adding a fourth ship.
Although the company’s headquarters were moved from Liverpool to Southampton in 1919, it has long been considered that Liverpool is the spiritual home of Cunard, which was actually known as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company when it first launched.
@geldards_history Colourised/remastered footage of life aboard a Cunard ship in Liverpool, 1901. #british #uk #ship #beautiful #geldards #history #interesting #foryou ♬ Lo-Fi analog beat – Gloveity
In 2015, the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Victoria ships all sailed on the Mersey in order to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the company’s formation.
The company has always been proud of its ‘rich maritime heritage’, which is a fact that it shares with the city of Liverpool itself. It is only right, therefore, that the company’s biggest ships head along the River Mersey together and offer the people of Liverpool a chance to see the four of them in all of their glory.
Four Large Ships Ready to Sail
The Queen Mary 2 is the first of the four ships that sail under the Cunard banner to have been put into service, first taking to the seas in 2004. Three years later and the Queen Victoria joined it, being the smallest of the Cunard fleet thanks to its gross tonnage of 90,746, compared to the 149,215 of the Queen Mary 2.
In 2010, the Queen Elizabeth was launched, boasting a gross tonnage of 90,901, with the Queen Anne being the newest vessel thanks to its 2024 launch. It offers 114,188 gross tonnage.
Queen Anne from the shore end of the Cattle Landing stage in Liverpool today
— Mark Caldwell (@impworks.bsky.social) Jun 3, 2024 at 21:43
That all four of the ships will be sailing down the Mersey is something that will be an impressive sight for those lucky enough to be there to witness it.
It will be the first time that all four of the ships will have assembled alongside each other, gathering for a spectacle that will be part of a year-long celebration of the European Capital of Culture anniversary. It will also represent the first time that the Queen Mary 2 will have sailed from New York to Liverpool, following in the footsteps of Cunard’s RMS Sylvania in 1966.
