With thousands of flights across Europe canceled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, travelers looked for alternate methods of transportation: rail, car, and yes, ship.
In fact, it didn't take people too long to realize that Cunard's Queen Mary 2 had just begun her regular transatlantic crossing schedule, sailing six, seven, and eight-day crossings between Southampton and New York, or Hamburg-Southampton-New York.
In short order, the April 22nd crossing from Southampton, the April 29th crossing from New York, and the May 21 crossing from New York sold out and are now waitlisted - to the tune of well over 1,000 guests.
Cunard initially took a lot of flak for not offering passengers booked on the April 22nd crossing who could not make it to Southampton the option to rebook their journey at a later date. While this isn't so dissimilar from statements from both NCL and Royal Caribbean, Cunard guests were vocal that they felt the line was profiting off of their misfortune, essentially filling the ship twice.
To the line's credit, they are now allowing guests booked on the April 22nd crossing who could not make the voyage due to airline schedules a Future Cruise Credit in the amount of their original sailing price, with the option to rebook their Cunard journey at a later date. If you were one of these affected travelers, Cunard will be in contact with you to make the necessary arrangements.
In the meantime, if you're considering a transatlantic crossing - either as a vacation or as a form of transportation to Europe or North America - visit Cunard's website.
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