A new era in transatlantic travel was born in 1840, when Cunard’s Britannia set sail for North America. When she arrived in Halifax and Boston, she launched the world’s first regularly scheduled transatlantic steamship service.
Spanning over 18 decades, Cunard Line has operated a huge fleet of hundreds of vessels.
Each is unique, and they are varied in size and scale. From its tiny pioneering paddle steamer, Unicorn, which predates even Britannia, to the iconic original Cunard Queens, Cunard’s Ocean Liners have shaped maritime history, as well as the way we live and travel as a species.
With these pages maintained by Maritime Historian Chris Frame and with support from co-author Rachelle Cross, our Cunard history archive allows you to explore the rich history of Cunard.
While not yet an exhaustive list of every single Cunarder, we have curated a collection of some of Cunard’s most celebrated vessels. We are regularly expanding this Cunard archive with new ship profiles, so remember to bookmark it and come back again and again.
You can navigate through the various time periods using the menu on the left (or at the top on mobile) to delve into the captivating history of each Cunard or Cunard-White Star ship.
Historic Imagery Acknowledgement: Historic Cunard images on these pages are provided by various collectors and used with their permission. Additionally, some images are in the public domain and sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We would like to thank all contributors. Special thanks to Ian Boyle from Simplon Postcards, as well as Rob Henderson and Doug Cremer, whose permission was granted to use these images; their support is greatly appreciated.
