The last time these ships got together, more than a million people showed up. This time there will be one more of them.
Liverpool, in north-west England, has a lot of which it can be proud: its famous football team for one, and being the birthplace of the Fab Four for another.
But there’s another fabulous foursome set to make a splash in the historic maritime city. On May 16, 2028, all four of Cunard’s ships – Queen Victoria, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Anne – will rendezvous on the River Mersey. The 2028 gathering follows Cunard’s spectacular 175th anniversary celebrations in Liverpool in 2015, when the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria assembled in the city before crowds estimated at more than 1 million people.
The event featured a choreographed formation on the river, a Red Arrows flypast and a waterfront program of music and celebrations, cementing its place as one of the biggest maritime spectacles in Liverpool’s recent history. With the addition of Queen Anne, Cunard is expected to surpass that milestone in 2028 when all four of its current Queens come together for the first time. Two will dock – Queen Anne and Queen Mary 2– while the other two perform ceremonial sail-bys.
It’s the centrepiece of a broader year of celebrations for Liverpool, which will host two UEFA Euro 2028 matches as well as mark two decades since its European Capital of Culture designation. While details are yet to be announced, Liverpool is planning a year of waterfront festivities for 2028. The city’s docklands have been undergoing extensive revitalisation, with one of the biggest projects, the nearly £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters redevelopment, reaching another major milestone in 2028.
Major infrastructure works at Central Docks, beside Everton’s new waterfront stadium, are due for completion that year, with the UEFA matches to be played there. The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. For Cunard, the event is a salute to the city of its 1840 founding. Liverpool is considered the line’s spiritual home, and housed the company’s headquarters for more than 120 years.
The city is also the godmother of Queen Anne which, debuting in 2024, is the youngest ship in the fleet. The Queen Mary 2 and sister ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria sail in formation en route to the UK in 2014. Nine itineraries feature the Four Queens Celebration in Liverpool, but from different perspectives. Some place the emphasis on the event itself, while others combine it with longer journeys through the British Isles, northern Europe or across the Atlantic.
Queen Mary 2 will perform a historic eastbound crossing from New York to Liverpool culminating in the Four Queens rendezvous and recreating a direct transatlantic arrival not seen in more than 60 years. Travellers wanting to immerse themselves in the spectacle may instead gravitate to Queen Elizabeth’s six-night round trip from Southampton, promoted as offering a “front-row” view of the celebrations, while Queen Anne’s northern Europe departures include overnight stays in Liverpool, giving guests extra time to soak up both the city and the festivities.
Other itineraries weave the celebration into longer holidays through the British Isles and northern Europe, allowing the fleet gathering to become one memorable chapter in a broader voyage. The voyages also celebrate the distinct characters of Cunard’s four Queens, from the enduring romance of Queen Mary 2’s ocean-liner heritage to the contemporary elegance of Queen Anne. Queen Mary 2 remains the world’s only purpose-built ocean liner in commercial passenger service.
Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth are effectively sisters, sharing the same underlying platform while expressing different interior personalities. Queen Anne is the first Cunard ship named after the 1702–1714 monarch who united England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The wider 2028 program covers 190 voyages across 36 countries and 125 ports, including 98 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 19 overnight port stays and 37 late departures.
Queen Anne focuses on Scandinavia and northern Europe; Queen Elizabeth is Mediterranean-based and is joined by Queen Victoria, who returns to Mediterranean itineraries after more than a decade. Queen Mary 2 continues transatlantic crossings alongside voyages to Canada, Norway and the Caribbean.
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