Cunard Line

Cunard Line is a British-American cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc since 2005. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic, celebrating 175 years of operation in 2015. ''

In 1839, Nova Scotian Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British trans-Atlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company together with Robert Napier, the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line. To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganized as Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd to raise capital.

In 1902, White Star joined the American owned International Mercantile Marine Co. and the British Government provided Cunard with substantial loans and a subsidy to build two superliners needed to retain its competitive position. Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929. The sinking of her running mate Lusitania in 1915 was one of the causes of the United States' entering the First World War. In the late 1920s, Cunard faced new competition when the Germans, Italians and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the Great Depression. In 1934, the British Government offered Cunard loans to finish Queen Mary and to build a second ship, Queen Elizabeth, on the condition that Cunard merged with the then ailing White Star line to form Cunard-White Star Ltd. Cunard owned two-thirds of the new company. Cunard purchased White Star's share in 1947; the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950.

Cunard (coachbuilder)

The Cunard Motor & Carriage company was a British vehicle coachbuilder. It was founded in London in 1911 and continued in various forms up to the 1960s.

Napier

The main customer for the bodies was Napier & Son and from its works in Lower Richmond Road, London, SW15 Cunard provided a range of coachwork to fit on Napier chassis. Shortly after its formation, Cunard became a subsidiary of Napier and acted as their in-house coachbuilder but continued to supply bodies to other companies.

Weymann

In 1924 Napier stopped making cars and the Cunard business was sold to Weymann Motor Bodies Ltd who were looking for premises in which to build their range of car bodies. The Cunard name was dropped.

Stewart and Ardern

The name was revived in 1930 by an ex Cunard managing director, R. I. Musselwhite and V. E. Freestone from another well known coachbuilder, Thrupp & Maberly. New premises were opened in Acton in West London. In 1931, after only a few bodies had been made, the company was bought by the London agent for Morris cars Stewart and Ardern and both Musselwhite and Freestone left. Production was now concentrated on a range of standard bodies for Morris, Rover and Wolseley (especially the Hornet model).

Cunard (surname)

Cunard is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

  • Grace Cunard (1893–1967), American silent film actress
  • Nancy Cunard (1896–1965), English writer, editor, and publisher
  • Samuel Cunard (1787–1865), British shipping magnate
  • Podcasts:

    PLAYLIST TIME:

    Latest News for: cunard

    Luxury cruise line Cunard launches their 'Adventure Awaits Sale' across more than 100 iconic voyages

    Rio Grande Sun 17 Apr 2025
    VALENCIA, Calif., April 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Luxury cruise line Cunard is offering incredible savings on voyages to some of the world's most captivating destinations ... .

    Cunard reveals first phase of 2026 Event Voyages program

    Sierra County Sentinel 16 Apr 2025
    VALENCIA, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cunard's iconic Event Voyages are curated in partnership with the biggest names in entertainment, and now the luxury cruise line has unveiled part of its 2026 schedule ... .

    Cunard’s Queen Anne makes maiden visit to Cape Town

    Moneyweb 11 Apr 2025
    The 2023/24 cruise season injected an estimated R1.2bn into the Western Cape economy ... .

    Cunard’s Queen Anne cruise ship arrives in Cape Town

    Independent online (SA) 09 Apr 2025
    Cape Town’s harbour will welcome the Queen Anne, Cunard’s newest luxury liner, for the very first time on Thursday April 10 ... This is a historic moment for Cunard, as their newest luxury liner makes her South African debut.
    • 1
    ×