Cunard has announced changes of the Queen Mary 2 current itinerary cutting short the Caribbean cruise. New York arrival on January 3 has been canceled and the ocean liner will remain in Barbados until January 2, from where the vessel will sail directly to Southampton. This means that the 7-Nights Eastbound Transatlantic Crossing departing from New York on January 3, has been canceled.

The reason for the sudden changes is that the ship needs additional manning in essential roles before being able to continue sailing back to the UK. This appears to be due to Covid cases through differing reports and the CDC investigation with reported cases of COVID-19 meeting the threshold.

A letter from Queen Mary 2 Captain Andrew Hall was distributed among guests onboard the Queen Mary 2 saying:

“Having spoken to the relevant authorities and to our head offices in Miami and in Southampton about our long onward itinerary we have concluded, that as a precautionary measure, we will need to take on additional manning in essential roles onboard before we continue our voyage back to the UK. Given the current international travel situation, this will take a few days so we will remain here in Barbados until the new crew members join.

At the moment our plan is to stay in Barbados until the evening of 2 January, but this is yet to be confirmed. Therefore, this extended stay in Barbados means that unfortunately, we will no longer be calling in New York on 3 January if we are to maintain our arrival back in Southampton on 10 January.

As per my broadcast, our focus now is making sure that for these guests due to disembark on 3 January in New York, the onward journey home is as smooth and easy as possible, and we will assist in making these arrangements. We are looking at flight options for you and we will be in contact directly with exact details and confirmation.”

Hi there, Queen Mary 2’s current itinerary has been changed and she will currently remain in Barbados until 2nd January 2022. Queen Mary 2 will then sail directly to Southampton.

— cunardline (@cunardline) December 29, 2021

Cunard is also looking for options for guests who wish to fly back to the UK from Barbados, with departures on 31 December and 1 January. Guest who wish to stay on board for the rest of the voyage can do so and the ship is expected to arrive in Southampton on January 10. Guests will receive 125% future cruise credit to all days sailed from 22 December, when Queen Mary 2 departed from New York.

Despite stringent measures to keep guests and crew safe, Cunard Line reported 10 positive cases on board the Queen Mary 2 as the ocean liner arrived in New York City on December 20. According to Daily Express, there were around 60 people in isolation confined to their cabins. People who have tested positive disembarked the ship and were sent in 10-day quarantine at a Hotel in Brooklyn, 

Back then Cunard released the following statement:

"Queen Mary 2 arrived in New York City yesterday, carrying 1,473 guests. During routine testing, 10 guests (0.7%) tested positive for Covid-19 and are being disembarked in New York City in line with our framework of protocols and due to the length and complexity of the onward itinerary, which includes a number of Caribbean ports of call and countries.”