Cunard Line: History and Heritage

Cunard Line has a very rich haritage. Mr Samuel Cunard started the shipping line as a Canadian service in 1840 with the first passenger vessel Britannia. Since then, long after his death, Cunard Line has prospered through a great deal of history. For the longest time now, it has been defaulted as a British line.

During the Great Depression (that truly wasn't so great), Cunard Line was undergoing construction on the world renowned Queen Mary. White Star Line (the British "rival" line) was, at the same time, working on their own liner to be named Oceanic.

Work had to be suspended on both ships (Queen Mary halted for two years), and were at a downfall. The two lines decided to combine and finish Queen Mary, while Oceanic was never completed.

This is how Cunard became Cunard White Star, as it was known throughout the 1930's-1950's.

The two Cunard Queen's Mary and Elizabeth were popular liners of the 1950's with a multitude of noted celebrites, and stars sailing them frequently. It wasn't until those two had to retire, and make way for the next generation of ocean liner-cruise travel. The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) prospered through the line for 41 years as other noted cruise ships (like the known Vistavjord, bought by Cunard and renamed Caronia) including the twin luxury yaughts Sea Goddess I and II.

Lately, Cunard Line has gradually succeeding in getting out of the fall they were encountering, what with the transfer of the Caronia fairly recently, with QE2 their main source of income. In 2004 Queen Mary 2 (QM2) was brought into service as flagship, and Queen Victoria in 2008 as luxurious sister.

What with the QE2 retiring in Dubai World as a hotel and tourist attraction, Cunard is expecting Queen Elizabeth in 2010. Indeed Cunard is prospering through another century, and another generation of ocean liners in a world where the tradition is fading away.