Latest news with #QueenMary2
Cision Canada
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
Cunard partners with Abbey Road Studios for iconic music collaboration
VALENCIA, Calif., June 10, 2025 /CNW/ -- Cunard has come together with Abbey Road Studios to bring a new and exclusive Listening Lounge experience to music lovers on board Queen Elizabeth. The luxury cruise line has partnered with the iconic recording studio to create a series of curated playlists packed with iconic recordings, each specially handpicked by the Abbey Road team. Set to debut on Queen Elizabeth this Autumn, the 60-minute Listening Lounge experience will be hosted in the Commodore Club, taking listeners on a themed journey via Hi-Res / ANC Bowers & Wilkins headphones. A number of the world's most celebrated artists from Abbey Road's rich recording heritage will feature in the playlists, including the likes of Ed Sheeran (who recorded part of '÷' on Queen Mary 2), Fela Kuti, Gregory Porter, Ezra Collective, Little Simz, and The Beatles – who famously hail from Cunard's spiritual home, Liverpool. The Beatles connection also represents a symmetry of two very special crossings, with their iconic Abbey Road album, the cover of which four Cunard bellhops have recreated above, released in 1969 – the same year as QE2's maiden Transatlantic Crossing to the USA. The playlists will also serve up some of the world's most famous film scores, showcasing Abbey Road's recently refurbished Studio One, as the home of film music for more than 45 years. Guests will be treated to goose-bump recordings from the likes of Raiders of The Lost Ark, The Return of The Jedi, The Last Emperor, The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Harry Potter, Skyfall, The Shape of Water and Gravity. And more recently, the Black Panther films, 1917, Tár, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Wonka, Barbie, Deadpool & Wolverine, Gladiator II, and Wicked. Guests will have the chance to experience the Listening Lounges on select sea days, starting during Queen Elizabeth's maiden Caribbean season from Miami in October. A curated menu of paired Cunard cocktails will be on offer to complement the music and scenery. Abbey Road at Sea Music fans will be able to enjoy the ultimate experience on this special Event Voyage in partnership with Abbey Road. The sailing departs Southampton for New York on October 23, 2026, the same voyage as many music legends over the years, celebrating the incredible heritage of Abbey Road. The week-long crossing will feature live performances, a photography exhibition, and intimate Q&As with Abbey Road's roster of award-winning recording and mastering engineers – sharing stories of the studios' continuous innovation, creativity, and role as an inspiring home for creators around the globe. Katie McAlister, President of Cunard, said: "We're always exploring new ways to make life on board even more special, and incredible voyages deserve incredible soundtracks. Abbey Road Studios is synonymous with iconic musical performances, and this partnership allows us to bring this heritage to sea. Whether guests are unwinding with a cocktail, watching the waves roll by, or just taking a moment for themselves, our exclusive Listening Lounge experience will set the mood beautifully. When it comes to luxury ocean travel, all you need is love – and the perfect playlist." Jeremy Huffelmann, General Manager at Abbey Road, added: "We're thrilled to collaborate with Cunard for this special partnership, which will offer guests a unique way to experience music, wherever their journey takes them. Abbey Road has been the home of music-making for more than 90 years, and has helped shape the landscape of popular music, film and, games scores. We are excited to bring this incredible musical heritage to Queen Elizabeth this year." For more information about Cunard or to book a voyage, contact your Travel Advisor, call Cunard at 1-800-728-6273, or visit For Travel Advisors interested in further information, please contact your Business Development Manager, visit or call Cunard at 1-800-528-6273. About Cunard Cunard is a luxury British cruise line, renowned for creating unforgettable experiences around the world. Cunard has been a leading operator of passenger ships since 1840, and this year celebrates an incredible 185 years of operation. 2025 is a momentous year in Cunard's history, which will be marked with several iconic land-based events and special Event Voyages. The Cunard experience is built on fine dining, hand-selected entertainment, and outstanding White Star service. From a partnership with a two-Michelin starred chef, to inspiring guest speakers, to world class theatre productions, every detail has been meticulously crafted to make the experience unforgettable. A pioneer in transatlantic journeys and round world voyages, destinations sailed to also include Europe, the Caribbean, Alaska, the Far East and Australia. There are currently four Cunard ships, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and new ship, Queen Anne, which entered service in May 2024. This investment is part of the company's ambitious plans for the future of Cunard globally, with the brand now boasting four ships in simultaneous service for the first time since 1999. Cunard is based at Carnival House in Southampton and has been owned since 1998 by Carnival Corporation & plc. (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cunard partners with Abbey Road Studios for iconic music collaboration
VALENCIA, Calif., June 10, 2025 /CNW/ -- Cunard has come together with Abbey Road Studios to bring a new and exclusive Listening Lounge experience to music lovers on board Queen Elizabeth. The luxury cruise line has partnered with the iconic recording studio to create a series of curated playlists packed with iconic recordings, each specially handpicked by the Abbey Road team. Set to debut on Queen Elizabeth this Autumn, the 60-minute Listening Lounge experience will be hosted in the Commodore Club, taking listeners on a themed journey via Hi-Res / ANC Bowers & Wilkins headphones. A number of the world's most celebrated artists from Abbey Road's rich recording heritage will feature in the playlists, including the likes of Ed Sheeran (who recorded part of '÷' on Queen Mary 2), Fela Kuti, Gregory Porter, Ezra Collective, Little Simz, and The Beatles – who famously hail from Cunard's spiritual home, Liverpool. The Beatles connection also represents a symmetry of two very special crossings, with their iconic Abbey Road album, the cover of which four Cunard bellhops have recreated above, released in 1969 – the same year as QE2's maiden Transatlantic Crossing to the USA. The playlists will also serve up some of the world's most famous film scores, showcasing Abbey Road's recently refurbished Studio One, as the home of film music for more than 45 years. Guests will be treated to goose-bump recordings from the likes of Raiders of The Lost Ark, The Return of The Jedi, The Last Emperor, The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Harry Potter, Skyfall, The Shape of Water and Gravity. And more recently, the Black Panther films, 1917, Tár, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Wonka, Barbie, Deadpool & Wolverine, Gladiator II, and Wicked. Guests will have the chance to experience the Listening Lounges on select sea days, starting during Queen Elizabeth's maiden Caribbean season from Miami in October. A curated menu of paired Cunard cocktails will be on offer to complement the music and scenery. Abbey Road at Sea Music fans will be able to enjoy the ultimate experience on this special Event Voyage in partnership with Abbey Road. The sailing departs Southampton for New York on October 23, 2026, the same voyage as many music legends over the years, celebrating the incredible heritage of Abbey Road. The week-long crossing will feature live performances, a photography exhibition, and intimate Q&As with Abbey Road's roster of award-winning recording and mastering engineers – sharing stories of the studios' continuous innovation, creativity, and role as an inspiring home for creators around the globe. Katie McAlister, President of Cunard, said: "We're always exploring new ways to make life on board even more special, and incredible voyages deserve incredible soundtracks. Abbey Road Studios is synonymous with iconic musical performances, and this partnership allows us to bring this heritage to sea. Whether guests are unwinding with a cocktail, watching the waves roll by, or just taking a moment for themselves, our exclusive Listening Lounge experience will set the mood beautifully. When it comes to luxury ocean travel, all you need is love – and the perfect playlist." Jeremy Huffelmann, General Manager at Abbey Road, added: "We're thrilled to collaborate with Cunard for this special partnership, which will offer guests a unique way to experience music, wherever their journey takes them. Abbey Road has been the home of music-making for more than 90 years, and has helped shape the landscape of popular music, film and, games scores. We are excited to bring this incredible musical heritage to Queen Elizabeth this year." For more information about Cunard or to book a voyage, contact your Travel Advisor, call Cunard at 1-800-728-6273, or visit For Travel Advisors interested in further information, please contact your Business Development Manager, visit or call Cunard at 1-800-528-6273. About CunardCunard is a luxury British cruise line, renowned for creating unforgettable experiences around the world. Cunard has been a leading operator of passenger ships since 1840, and this year celebrates an incredible 185 years of operation. 2025 is a momentous year in Cunard's history, which will be marked with several iconic land-based events and special Event Voyages. The Cunard experience is built on fine dining, hand-selected entertainment, and outstanding White Star service. From a partnership with a two-Michelin starred chef, to inspiring guest speakers, to world class theatre productions, every detail has been meticulously crafted to make the experience unforgettable. A pioneer in transatlantic journeys and round world voyages, destinations sailed to also include Europe, the Caribbean, Alaska, the Far East and Australia. There are currently four Cunard ships, Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and new ship, Queen Anne, which entered service in May 2024. This investment is part of the company's ambitious plans for the future of Cunard globally, with the brand now boasting four ships in simultaneous service for the first time since 1999. Cunard is based at Carnival House in Southampton and has been owned since 1998 by Carnival Corporation & plc. (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK). Social MediaFacebook: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cunard View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Risk Of Dengue Fever Is Just Another Reason Cruises Suck
Watching a cruise ship come together is incredibly cool, but having to actually go out and cruise on one is another story entirely. Every cruise ship is a small tourist-trap city, packed to the brim with the most entitled and sunburned people you'll ever have the misfortune of meeting. And now, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the cruise experience is only getting better: A number of popular cruise destinations are facing outbreaks of dengue fever. Fun! Dengue is far from the first disease outbreak we've seen around cruise ships — the Queen Mary 2 saw a norovirus outbreak already this year, after 2024's record number of shipborne stomach bugs — but this one is bigger than any one ship. The outbreak is hitting multiple continents, according to The Street, including Mexico, Panama, and Caribbean islands like Saint Lucia — some of the most popular ports for cruises out of the United States to visit. Cruise ships are packed with people, allowing diseases to spread and fester from bow to stern, and you want to go sail on one? On the boats where they'll put your corpse in a drink cooler to stop it stinking up the joint? Read more: These Are The Dumbest Looking Cars Of All Time, According To You Dengue is a mosquito-borne illness, and mosquitos are famously capable of flight. Even if you stay on the ship at an affected port of call, its proximity to the shore could allow infected mosquitoes to make their way aboard and suckle at your sweet, sweet flesh — giving you headaches, fever, rashes, nausea, and vomiting in the process. Y'know where doesn't have dengue fever? Toronto! Go visit that on vacation. The food will almost certainly be better, and you can leave if you want. Not all major cruise locales are affected by this outbreak — Alaska, traditionally a popular destination, reportedly remains dengue-free — but there are enough ports besieged by infected mosquitoes that you should maybe reconsider your next cruise. Even if you're not bound for dengue territory, actually, you should probably reconsider. Why did you want to get stuck on a boat with a bunch of obnoxious people and their sticky children anyway? Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Orien McNeill, artist/pirate prankster who made merry mischief on the water, dies at 45
Soon, a cohort of street artists and dumpster-diving freegans -- the anti-consumerist foragers of the late aughts -- who might otherwise have been squatting in Brooklyn warehouses, were drawn to the same lawless territory. It was a last frontier and haven in the ever-gentrifying New York City boroughs. They made art from scavenged materials and held events that harked back to the Happenings of their 1960s predecessors, although the events were intended for no audience but themselves. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up No critics were summoned, and not much was documented. Mr. McNeill was their pied piper, guru, and pirate prankster, who hatched extravagant, loosely organized adventures involving costumes, flotillas of handmade rafts, and, once, a pop-up bar on a sinking tugboat. Advertisement When Caledonia Curry, otherwise known as the artist Swoon, began to conceptualize 'Swimming Cities' -- winsome floating contraptions built from salvaged materials that she launched on the Hudson River in 2008 -- Mr. McNeill, her classmate from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, was an inspiration, project architect, and co-pilot. Advertisement 'Some of the funniest and proudest and most exciting moments were with Orien, just making things," said Duke Riley, a fellow traveler in art and antics. Duke Riley/NYT The following year, when she reimagined the project for Venice, Mr. McNeill played the same role. With a crew of nearly 30, Curry sent her materials to nearby Slovenia, where customs inspectors initially held up their shipping containers: They were confused by the contents -- they thought it was garbage. The crew members built their fantastical crafts in Slovenia and sailed to Venice, where they crashed the annual Biennale, enchanting the assembled art crowd as the vessels floated through the canals. Mr. McNeill served as the escort and advance guard, scooting about in a battered skiff in case someone fell overboard. 'Orien introduced me to world building,' Curry said in an interview. 'He was living this beautiful, feral existence on the water -- the center of this artist community. He shied away from the limelight, but his spirit informed everybody.' She added, 'With artists, there's always this thing about what's art and what's life, and nobody held that closer to the bone than Orien.' Duke Riley, an artist known for releasing thousands of pigeons outfitted with LEDs into the night sky above the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as building a wooden replica of a Revolutionary War-era sub and launching it at the Queen Mary 2, was a co-conspirator on a variety of adventures. One was the sinking bar, which Mr. McNeill persuaded Riley to help him build in a half-submerged tugboat with a rusted-out floor. The bar opened at low tide, and as the hours passed, guests eventually found themselves waist-deep in water. They swam out before the tide rose too high. Advertisement 'He never let personal safety get in the way of a genius idea,' Riley said. He added: 'Some of the funniest and proudest and most exciting moments were with Orien, just making things. . . . Maybe, in time, people will look back and realize what an important catalyst he was.' Mr. McNeill was irresistible, said Dan Glass, a fellow artist and frequent collaborator. He was like a combination of Auntie Mame and George Carlin -- or like a Martin Scorsese character but in a Wes Anderson movie, he added, noting Mr. McNeill's singular style. (Mr. McNeill favored blazers and jaunty feathered hats.) He made meals into performance art. He once served a roasted alligator to Riley in lieu of birthday cake (there were candles). Another event featured martinis made from Pepto Bismol and garnished with Band-Aids (surprisingly drinkable, by all accounts). He conceived an annual adventure he called 'The Battle for Mau Mau Island,' named for a lump of landfill circled by a creek near Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. Hundreds of intrepid people would organize themselves into themed gangs and set out in homemade crafts of dubious seaworthiness through Jamaica Bay to compete, 'American Gladiators'-style, with various props and pseudo-weapons. The 'boats' disintegrated once the shenanigans were over. For McNeill, the intent was to highlight the potential of the city's waterways 'as a frontier of temporary arts and theatrics,' he told Gothamist magazine in 2016, while pointing out the scarcity of free creative space on land. Mr. McNeill's most ambitious project was inspired by Curry's 'Swimming Cities.' He wanted to do the same thing, but bigger, and conceived a 500-mile trip along the Ganges River to Varanasi, the sacred city and pilgrimage site in northern India. He called it 'The Swimming Cities of the Ocean of Blood.' Advertisement Mr. McNeill and a group of collaborators built five metal pontoon boats in Brooklyn -- three of them powered by motorcycles, one by sail and oars, and another by paddle wheel -- which he would captain. The boats were designed to lock together for camping on the water. In 2010, they shipped the components to a small Indian university in the city of Farrukhabad, which had agreed to host them while the collaborators reassembled their crafts. Though they had spent two years raising money through events that Mr. McNeill orchestrated, they were still underfunded and under-provisioned. It was an arduous monthslong trip. Marauding monkeys attacked their camp. They often saw bodies floating in the river. At one point they encountered a quarter-mile-wide concrete dam -- a terrifying 'Class 5 rapid,' said Porter Fox, a participant who knew his waterfalls (he had been a white-water guide). Mr. McNeill tackled it first. Fox went next, his boat flipping end over end as it plummeted over the torrent. Clearly, it was not going to be possible for the rest of the boats, or their crews, to survive the dam. Mr. McNeill single-handedly disassembled the remaining boats on shore, somehow found a tractor for hire, and set off on land to bypass the dam. 'I remember seeing him coming over a rise, like Lawrence of Arabia, waving from the tractor,' Fox said. 'It was just so herculean. No one else could have sallied their spirit enough to think about getting out of this jam. Everyone just wanted to go home, and he's, like, 'No, we're not done.'' Advertisement Orien McNeill was born Dec. 7, 1979, in Manhattan, the only child of Van Cleve, a filmmaker, and Malcolm McNeill, an artist, author, and television director. His mother and father are his only immediate survivors. Mr. McNeill's godfather was author William S. Burroughs, with whom the elder McNeill had collaborated on a graphic novel. Burroughs baptized Orien with a dab of vodka from his afternoon drink. He also turned over the lease on his loft in Tribeca to the family. By age 10, Orien was drawing, painting, and sculpting 'as well as any mature artist,' Malcolm McNeill said. He taught his son how to use an airbrush at 12 and a vacuum forming machine, for molding plastic, at 13, because Orien wanted to build a spaceship. 'Otherwise, I got out of the way,' McNeill said. 'He could make anything.' After graduating with a degree in industrial design from Pratt in 2001, Mr. McNeill spent a year traveling, stopping in New Zealand, Borneo, India and Ireland. When he returned, he bought the Chris-Craft, parked it in the Gowanus Canal and began homesteading there. He later lived on a sailboat, which he reconfigured by cutting the mast off to make room for a massive deck -- the kind one might build for a house, cantilevered over the boat's bow -- so that he could host more people. 'He would do anything to create the ecosystem he wanted,' Fox said. For his 10th birthday, Orien had asked his parents to get him business cards. His father still has a few. 'Orien McNeill,' they read. 'All your dreams made real.' Advertisement This article originally appeared in
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Cunard celebrates 185th anniversary with new cruises
Cunard is launching 195 new itineraries across its four ships between April 2027 and January 2028, featuring 115 destinations in 32 countries. Six cities will receive maiden calls from Cunard ships, including Charlottetown in Canada, Sorrento in Italy, and La Rochelle in France. The itineraries include visits to 93 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 18 overnight port calls, and 33 late-evening departures. Queen Anne will offer northern lights cruises and a New Year's Eve cruise with evening fireworks in Madeira, while Queen Mary 2 will make a maiden call in Charlottetown and spend Independence Day in Boston. Queen Elizabeth will revisit 22 Mediterranean ports after 15 years, including Palermo and Istanbul, and will debut in Trieste and Calvi; bookings open June 11 for Cunard World Club members and June 12 for the general public.
