46 Facts About Cunard Line

In 1839, Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns together with Robert Napier, the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route.

For most of the next 30 years, Cunard Line held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage.

However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line.

In 1919, Cunard Line relocated its British homeport from Liverpool to Southampton, to better cater for travellers from London.

Cunard Line withdrew from its year-round service in 1968 to concentrate on cruising and summer transatlantic voyages for holiday makers.

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In 1998, Cunard Line was acquired by the Carnival Corporation, and accounted for 8.

In 1818, the Black Ball Cunard Line opened a regularly scheduled New York–Liverpool service with clipper ships, beginning an era when American sailing packets dominated the North Atlantic saloon-passenger trade that lasted until the introduction of steamships.

Cunard Line returned to Halifax to raise capital, and Howe continued to lobby the British government.

Cunard Line returned to London and started negotiations with Admiral Parry, who was Cunard's good friend from when Parry was a young officer stationed in Halifax 20 years earlier.

Cunard Line offered Parry a fortnightly service beginning in May 1840.

Cunard Line had the strong backing of Nova Scotian political leaders at the time when London needed to rebuild support in British North America after the rebellion.

Napier and Cunard Line recruited other investors including businessmen James Donaldson, Sir George Burns, and David MacIver.

Burns supervised ship construction, MacIver was responsible for day-to-day operations, and Cunard Line was the "first among equals" in the management structure.

The next year, Cunard Line put pressure on Collins by commissioning its first iron-hulled paddler, Persia.

Cunard Line emerged as the leading carrier of saloon passengers and in 1862 commissioned Scotia, the last paddle steamer to win the Blue Riband.

When Cunard Line died in 1865, the equally conservative Charles MacIver assumed Cunard Line's role.

Cunard Line responded with its first high speed screw propellered steamer, Russia which was followed by two larger editions.

Under Cunard's new chairman, John Burns, son of one of the firm's original founders, Cunard commissioned four steel-hulled express liners beginning with Servia of 1881, the first passenger liner with electric lighting throughout.

In 1884, Cunard purchased the almost new Blue Riband winner Oregon from the Guion Line when that firm defaulted on payments to the shipyard.

That year, Cunard Line commissioned the record-breakers Umbria and Etruria capable of 19.

In 1893 Cunard Line countered with two even faster Blue Riband winners, Campania and Lucania, capable of 21.

The next year Cunard commissioned two ships to compete directly with the Celtic-class liners on the secondary Liverpool–New York route.

In 1911 Cunard entered the St Lawrence trade by purchasing the Thompson line, and absorbed the Royal line five years later.

In 1916 Cunard Line completed its European headquarters in Liverpool, moving in on 12 June of that year.

Cunard Line was in an especially good position to take advantage of the increase in North Atlantic travel during the 1950s and the Queens were a major generator of US currency for Great Britain.

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Cunard Line's slogan, "Getting there is half the fun", was specifically aimed at the tourist trade.

However, some Cunard Line stockholders questioned the plan at the June 1961 board meeting because transatlantic flights were gaining in popularity.

Cunard Line hoped to capture a significant share of the 1 million people that crossed the Atlantic by air in 1960.

In June 1961, Cunard Eagle became the first independent airline in the UK to be awarded a licence by the newly constituted Air Transport Licensing Board to operate a scheduled service on the prime Heathrow – New York JFK route, but the licence was revoked in November 1961 after main competitor, state-owned BOAC, appealed to Aviation Minister Peter Thorneycroft.

Cunard Line Eagle succeeded in extending this service to Miami despite the loss of its original transatlantic scheduled licence and BOAC's claim that there was insufficient traffic to warrant a direct service from the UK.

However, the joint venture was not successful for Cunard Line and lasted only until 1966, when BOAC bought out Cunard Line's share.

Cunard Line sold a majority holding in the remainder of Cunard Line Eagle back to its founder in 1963.

All Cunard ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags until 4 November 1968, when the last White Star ship, Nomadic was withdrawn from service.

In 1971, when the line was purchased by the conglomerate Trafalgar House, Cunard operated cargo and passenger ships, hotels and resorts.

In 1988, Cunard acquired Ellerman Lines and its small fleet of cargo vessels, organising the business as Cunard-Ellerman only a few years later, Cunard decided to abandon the cargo business and focus solely on cruise ships.

In 1993, Cunard entered into a 10-year agreement to handle marketing, sales and reservations for the Crown Cruise Line, and its three vessels joined the Cunard fleet under the Cunard Crown banner.

In 1994 Cunard purchased the rights to the name of the Royal Viking Line and its Royal Viking Sun.

The rest of Royal Viking Cunard Line's fleet stayed with the line's owner, Norwegian Cruise Cunard Line.

Cunard Line was embarrassed in late 1994 when Queen Elizabeth 2 experienced numerous defects during the first voyage of the season because of unfinished renovation work.

In 1995, Cunard Line introduced White Star Service to Queen Elizabeth 2 as a reference to the high standards of customer service expected of the company.

Cunard Line has created the White Star Academy, an in-house programme for preparing new crew members for the service standards expected on Cunard ships.

Carnival House opened in Southampton in 2009, and executive control of Cunard Line transferred from Carnival Corporation in the United States, to Carnival UK, the primary operating company of Carnival plc.

In 2007 Cunard added Queen Victoria, a cruise ship of the Vista class originally designed for Holland America Line.

Cunard Line commissioned a second Vista class cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth, in 2010.

In 2010, Cunard Line appointed its first female commander, Captain Inger Klein Olsen.

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In 2011, Cunard Line changed the vessel registry of all three of its ships in service to Hamilton, Bermuda, the first time in the 171-year history of the company that it had no ships registered in the United Kingdom.