Adding a flight to your cruise

Where the sailing time permits and subject to availability, your flights will be arranged for the day of embarkation/disembarkation.

• Flights will not necessarily be direct or non-stop. All flight times, air carriers, and flight routings are subject to change. Cunard has no control over any changes airlines may make to flight times, but will inform you of any changes.
• We will determine the city airport e.g. for London either Heathrow, Gatwick or London City may be used and this may not be the same for your outbound and return flights. Therefore you may have to make your own arrangements for transfer between London airports. For Quebec, Quebec or Montreal may be used.
• For long haul flights, if you have any special dietary requirements, including child meal requests, please advise us at the time of booking or at least seven days prior to travel. We are unable to guarantee that all requests can be met.
• Any amendment or cancellation made prior to departure will incur an administration fee of £20 per person, plus any costs charged by airline. Costs vary depending on the airline and the change(s) you want to make.

You can find information about your flight:

• On My Cunard
• On your flight confirmation
• By  contacting your travel agent if you have booked your voyage through one.

Flight Confirmations

A flight confirmation should be sent to you if booked direct or to your travel agent via email when your flights are confirmed. If you are travelling on one of our dedicated charter flights you should receive this from 180 days prior to your departure, and if you are travelling on a scheduled flight you should receive this from 300 days prior to departure. 

If you make any changes, such as upgrading your flight, a new confirmation will be issued straight away and you should receive this via email the following day. At this stage information will also be available via My Cunard on the itinerary pages.

Secure Passenger Data

We are required to provide airlines with Secure Flight Passenger Data for guests with air travel as part of their booking. This is applicable for flights into, out of, within and over the United States of America and all information is collected by the TSA (Transport Security Administration). The information required is full names of all guests as they appear on their passport (including middle names), date of birth and gender.

Secure Flight is a behind-the-scenes program that enhances the security of domestic and international commercial air travel through the use of improved watch list matching. By collecting additional guest data it improves the travel experience for all airline guests, including those who have been misidentified in the past.

Please log in to My Cunard, then click on the ‘Flights’ tab. From here you will be presented with your flight details and when available a button to proceed to the flight seat booker.

• If you would like return flights from your regional airport* we can arrange flights between your regional airport and New York and then between Southampton and your regional airport, at additional cost.
• Flights are offered subject to airline schedules available at the time of booking. Should subsequent schedule changes result in no regional service being available from a particular airport, no alternative transport will be provided and any regional supplement will be refunded in full.
  
• Regional flights will not necessarily be direct or non-stop.
• If a same-day connection is not possible, the cost of any overnight accommodation will be at your own expense.
• Flights from Guernsey and Jersey can only be booked the day prior to your onward travel, and overnight accommodation will be at your own expense.
• If you book regional flights to/from Southampton airport through us, then the fare includes optional transfers to/from the cruise terminal. If you would rather make your own way between the airport and the port, please advise us at the time of booking.
• Transfers between London airports are not included.

*Please note that not all regional flights operate to New York on a daily basis, so indirect flights may be offered as an alternative.

Where possible, Cunard will arrange flights and transfers for you to join your ship on the day of embarkation. However, where the included flight timings necessitate a pre-/post-cruise overnight stay, a hotel room at the international port of embarkation/disembarkation is included in your fare for the night before or after your cruise.

Luggage allowances vary by airline and destination, but are generally between 20kg and 23kg per person. While some airlines have an allowance that is greater than 23kg, we ask that no individual bag weighs more than 23kg to ensure safe handling by our crew.

When flying to meet your ship, please retrieve your luggage and proceed through customs. Once you have cleared customs, you will be met by a Cunard representative who will ensure that your luggage is delivered directly to your stateroom on board.

London Heathrow and Gatwick are the nearest international airports if you’re joining one of our cruises from Southampton. From here you could explore the historic gems of Northern Europe, sail alongside waterfalls in Norway’s Fjords, take a Transatlantic Crossing to New York, or even embark on a Full World Voyage. Both Gatwick and Heathrow are connected to Southampton by rail and road, however, journey times, costs, and frequencies do vary. For more information, please refer to our London airports to Southampton cruise terminals guide, which goes into greater detail on transfer options and approximate travel times. 

If you’re flying to Rome to meet your Cunard Queen in Civitavecchia, you’ll have the choice of landing at Leonardo de Vinci or Ciampino airports. Both offer indirect trains and road transfers to Civitavecchia; however, you’ll find the journey to be shorter from Leonardo de Vinci. Many of our Mediterranean cruises sail from Civitavecchia on Queen Victoria, with the option to explore cities such as Barcelona, Zadar, and Valletta. If you’re considering one of these voyages, our Rome airports to Civitavecchia cruise terminals guide contains more advice about journeying from the airport to embark your ship in port.

New York is a popular embarkation port for Queen Mary 2’s legendary Transatlantic Crossing to Southampton as well as our voyages to New England and Canada. The city is served by no less than three airports, these being: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. Each is located within easy reach of The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal by bus or rail, or by hailing one of the city’s iconic yellow cabs. If opting for the latter the fare is metred, and prices will be determined by time and distance travelled. Pre-bookable taxis also operate in New York and may be preferable if you enjoy the convenience of door-to-door travel with the price agreed upfront. 

Nestled at the northern tip of Spain, Barcelona is the embarkation port for our cruises to France, Italy, and Greece, among many other jewels of central, eastern, and western Mediterranean. Flights to Barcelona land at Barcelona-El Prat airport, located just 8 miles (13km) south of the city centre. A direct taxi to Barcelona cruise terminal from the airport takes around 30 minutes and is charged at a flat fare. An airport bus also operates between the terminal and the city centre, should you choose to stay in Barcelona before or after your cruise. Cunard ships usually dock in Terminal D of Barcelona’s Adossat Quay, also known as Palacruceros. 

Seattle cruise port is the gateway for Alaska cruises on Queen Elizabeth. It’s a cruise unlike any other, offering scenes of tidewater glaciers and frontier-style towns that once held legions of gold prospectors. Taxi or airport shuttle offers the fastest way to get from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to the cruise terminals in Seattle. These, along with rideshare app operators, can be picked up from the 3^rd floor parking garage. An alternative (and possibly preferable option if you’re staying in Seattle before your cruise), is to take the LINK Light Rail train to Westlake Station in downtown Seattle, then taxi the short distance to the cruise terminals from here.

With their blankets of white sand and tropical sunshine, the islands of the Caribbean have long attracted cruisers looking to escape the hustle and bustle. Our Caribbean cruises sail from PortMiami on Queen Elizabeth. The cruise terminal is located a convenient 20-minute drive from Miami International Airport, or roughly 35 minutes from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International – though the journey can double during rush hour. Many Miami hotels also offer shuttles to the cruise terminal for cruise guests, which is worth bearing in mind should you be planning on staying in the city in the days leading up to your voyage.