Cunard Puts Alaska On The Itinerary

Luxury cruise line Cunard has a soft spot for Canada – its founder Sir Samuel Cunard, after all, was a Canadian shipping magnate born in Halifax – and will this year and next spend more time in Canadian waters than ever before, reports assistant editor, Greg Coates in this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press.

Josh Leibowitz, senior vice-president, Cunard, North America, recently spoke with Canadian Travel Press and said he believes that Canada is a real growth market for the cruise industry and one that Cunard has big plans for.

The big news is that after a 20-year hiatus, Cunard is making a grand return to Alaska in May, and will spend a full season there in 2020 from June through September, home-based in Vancouver aboard the newly refit Queen Elizabeth.

Between 2017 and 2020, Leibowitz says Cunard will triple its number of calls in Canada, with the 2019-2020 seasons alone seeing 44 sailings that touch the shores of Canada. This includes Vancouver, Halifax, Quebec City, Saguenay, Que., Corner Brook, Nfld., and Sydney, Nova Scotia.

“There’s demand, we see it as a big untapped market [and] no one serves Canada like Cunard,” said Leibowitz. “We think of Queen Elizabeth as Canada’s ship.”

For the full story, check out this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press.