Cunard has closed out its Alaska season with no plans to return in 2027 or 2028, pulling the 2,092-passenger Queen Elizabeth out of the market while the rest of its fleet spends summers in Europe and the Atlantic.

The final sailing departed roundtrip from Seattle as a seven-night cruise calling at Ketchikan and Victoria, concluding a four-month deployment that began in May. The season spanned a series of seven- to 11-night itineraries, with port calls including Sitka, Haines and Wrangell, plus scenic cruising through the Inside Passage, Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.

The last departure did not run as booked. The sailing, initially scheduled for September 17, 2026, was delayed 24 hours due to required maintenance onboard the ship. The change forced Cunard to cancel a visit to Juneau and planned scenic cruising in Endicott Arm.

For sellers of Alaska product, the exit narrows the premium and luxury supply pool in a market where Cunard had positioned longer Inside Passage itineraries alongside larger-volume competitors sailing from Seattle. Agents with clients booked on future Cunard Alaska sailings will need to redirect demand to other Carnival Corporation brands or rival lines for at least two summers.

The Queen Elizabeth is not sitting idle. The ship is now operating a 21-night repositioning voyage to Miami that, before transiting the Panama Canal, calls at Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Quetzal, with two Caribbean port calls at Willemstad in Curaçao and Oranjestad in Aruba along the way.

From mid-October, the vessel begins a winter season from the Port Miami, offering nine- to 12-night itineraries to the Western, Eastern and Southern Caribbean. That program runs through early 2027, giving Florida-based agents a new premium ship to sell in the Caribbean winter market.

After the Caribbean season, the Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to cross the Atlantic to the United Kingdom, then operate cruises from Southampton before repositioning to the Mediterranean for a summer program departing from Spain, Italy and Turkey.

The deployment plan underscores where Cunard sees its revenue concentrated: European and Atlantic itineraries through at least 2028, with Alaska — one of the industry's highest-yield seasonal markets — left to competitors during that window.