Queen Anne Is Leaving Cunard for P&O Cruises in 2029, and Arcadia Is Off to Holland America
Carnival's big ship swap explained: dates, what changes, and what it means if you've booked Queen Anne or Arcadia
So, this one caught a lot of people off guard. Cunard's newest ship, Queen Anne, will leave the Cunard fleet after her 2028-29 World Voyage and join P&O Cruises in May 2029 with a new name. At the same time, P&O's long-serving Arcadia will sail a farewell season and then move to Holland America Line. If you love either ship, or you're a loyal Cunard or P&O cruiser, this genuinely changes your options over the next three years.
Key Facts
Queen Anne stays with Cunard until the end of her 2028-29 World Voyage, then gets an extensive refit and a new name before joining P&O Cruises in May 2029.
Arcadia finishes a farewell season with P&O Cruises ending on 21 August 2029, then transfers to Holland America Line.
Cunard drops back to three ships: Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.
Holland America grows to 12 ships, adding capacity for more than 2,000 guests.
Queen Anne's new P&O name has not been announced yet.
Both moves stay inside the Carnival Corporation family, announced on 6 October 2026.
What Has Actually Been Announced?
The news broke on 6 October 2026 and was reported by Cruise Industry News. It's two linked moves, both decided by Carnival UK, which runs P&O Cruises and Cunard under one president, Paul Ludlow.
First, Queen Anne. She only joined Cunard in 2024, so she's barely run in. She'll keep sailing as a Cunard Queen right through 2028, including a starring role in the Four Queens celebration in Liverpool in May 2028. Then she sets off on her last World Voyage as a Cunard ship in January 2029. Once that finishes, she goes into the yard for what Carnival is calling a reimagining, comes out with a new name, and starts sailing for P&O Cruises in May 2029.
Second, Arcadia. She gets a proper send-off: a farewell season with P&O that wraps up on 21 August 2029. After that she heads across to Holland America Line, which confirmed the move the same day in its own announcement, also covered by Cruise Industry News.
Now, what hasn't been announced? Quite a lot, honestly. No new name for Queen Anne. No confirmed new name for Arcadia at Holland America. No detail yet on what P&O will change inside Queen Anne, and Holland America says the venues it adds to Arcadia will be decided over the next several months.
Why Is Carnival Moving Queen Anne to P&O?
The official line is that this is about putting each ship where it fits best. Ludlow described the decision as a long-term view of the portfolio, and said Queen Anne's modern design, wide choice of restaurants and flexible public spaces give her a natural fit with how P&O holidays work today.
And I think that's fair. Queen Anne was always the least "classic" Cunard ship. Lots of dining choice, more contemporary styling, lots of flexible spaces that change use through the day. That's a very P&O approach. Cunard's identity, on the other hand, leans hard on heritage, formality and that sense of occasion, and Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth all do that very well.
Ludlow put it plainly, saying the move gives Cunard "a more closely unified fleet" built around those three Queens.
There's also a nice bit of history here. Arcadia herself was originally ordered for Cunard and was due to be called Queen Victoria, before Carnival switched her to P&O in late 2004 while she was still being built. So a Cunard ship heading to P&O isn't new. It's happened before, and the ship it happened to is the one making way this time.
For P&O, Queen Anne is a different size and style to anything in the current fleet, sitting between the smaller ships and the huge Excel class ships like Iona and Arvia. Carnival says she'll bring in a new class of ship for P&O and a different range of itineraries. That's a real gap in the line-up, and it's probably the most interesting part of the story for UK cruisers.
Is Cunard Shrinking? What This Means for Cunard Fans
Well, yes, in ship count. Cunard goes from four ships to three in 2029. That's a step back for a line that only celebrated Queen Anne's arrival a couple of years ago.
But Carnival is keen to say this isn't a retreat. Ludlow said the decision doesn't change the company's commitment to Cunard, and pointed to a major upgrade of Queen Mary 2 due to be completed next year. QM2 is still the only ocean liner running a regular transatlantic service, and keeping her fresh is clearly a priority.
So what does that mean for you? If you prefer Cunard's traditional atmosphere, the three remaining ships are the ones that deliver it most strongly anyway, so you're not really losing your style of cruise. If you specifically liked Queen Anne because she was the modern Cunard option, you'll need to follow her to P&O, where the onboard feel, dress codes and pricing will be different.
And if you've always wanted to sail Queen Anne as a Cunard ship, the window is now fixed. You've got the 2027 and 2028 seasons, the Four Queens event in Liverpool in May 2028, and her final Cunard World Voyage from January 2029. I'd expect those last sailings to be popular, so don't leave it too late.
What Happens to Arcadia, and Why Holland America?
Arcadia has been with P&O since 2005, so more than 20 years. She's one of P&O's two smaller ships, alongside Aurora, and has been adults only for most of her sailings, although P&O has already opened selected Arcadia sailings to families from December 2026.
Holland America's reason for taking her is simple: demand. The line's president, Beth Bodensteiner, said Arcadia is a natural fit because she's a Vista class ship, the same design family as several existing Holland America ships. Bringing her in adds capacity for more than 2,000 guests and takes Holland America to 12 ships.
She'll also become part of Holland America Evolution, the line's big multi-year upgrade programme. That's the project bringing features like the Grand Dutch Café, a renovated Ocean Bar, Bridgeview Suites and solo verandah cabins to Oosterdam (from autumn 2027) and Zuiderdam (from April 2028). Exactly which of those Arcadia gets is still to be decided.
For P&O loyalists, this is the sad bit. Arcadia has a very loyal following, especially among adults-only cruisers who like a smaller, quieter ship. Once she leaves in August 2029, P&O's small-ship choice gets thinner. The good news is she's not going for scrap. She stays in service, just in a different livery and with a different crew culture.
What Should You Do If You're Booked?
Here's the practical bit. Right now, nothing changes for sailings before the handover dates. Queen Anne sails as normal for Cunard until her World Voyage ends in 2029, and Arcadia sails as normal for P&O until 21 August 2029.
What hasn't been confirmed is how bookings after those dates will be handled, or exactly when Queen Anne's P&O sailings go on sale. If you're booked on anything in 2029 on either ship, I'd keep an eye on your booking and speak to your travel agent or the cruise line directly rather than assuming. I'll update this post when the new names and P&O itineraries are released.
If you're booking fresh, the simple version is this: want Queen Anne as a Cunard ship, book before early 2029. Want Arcadia as a P&O ship, book before late August 2029.
FAQ
When is Queen Anne joining P&O Cruises? Queen Anne will enter service with P&O Cruises in May 2029. Before that, she completes her 2028-29 World Voyage as a Cunard ship and then has an extensive refit and rename. Her new P&O name hasn't been announced yet.
Will Queen Anne keep her name at P&O? No. Carnival has confirmed she'll be renamed before she starts sailing for P&O Cruises. The new name is still to be revealed, so watch for an announcement over the coming months.
When is Arcadia leaving P&O Cruises? Arcadia's farewell season with P&O Cruises ends on 21 August 2029. After that, she transfers to Holland America Line, taking its fleet to 12 ships.
How many ships will Cunard have after Queen Anne leaves? Cunard will have three ships from 2029: Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. Carnival says it's still investing in Cunard, including a major Queen Mary 2 upgrade due to be finished next year.
Will Arcadia stay adults only at Holland America? That hasn't been confirmed. Holland America says the venues and features it adds to Arcadia will be decided over the next several months, and it hasn't announced any adults-only policy for the ship.
The Bottom Line
So, this is one of the bigger fleet shake-ups we've seen from Carnival's UK brands in years. Cunard gets smaller but more focused, P&O gets a new mid-sized ship to fill a real gap in its fleet, and Holland America gets a ship that already matches its design family. For cruisers, the key takeaway is timing: if Queen Anne as a Cunard Queen or Arcadia as a P&O ship is on your list, you now know exactly when those chances run out.
What do you make of it? Are you sad to see Queen Anne leave Cunard so soon, or excited to see what P&O does with her? Let me know in the comments, share this with anyone booked on either ship, and subscribe to The Walking Cruiser on YouTube for more cruise news and honest ship reviews.
