Take a look inside the Queen Elizabeth as ship makes Miami home for first time
Passengers boarding the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship in Miami first saw the bellhops, standing stiffly and wearing formal English uniforms.
At the entrances to the port terminal and aboard the vessel, men and women wore long red jackets tightened by gold buttons and donned black pants with gold stripes. They could have been mistaken for the Royal Guard standing outside Buckingham Palace.
Their presence is meant to evoke Cunard’s long history, including an era “when only the rich could travel,” Wade Menard, business development manager for the cruise line, told the Miami Herald Thursday while waiting in Terminal D at PortMiami as travelers arrived. Back in the day, bellhops would greet each guest entering the ship and take their bags to their rooms.
Cunard certainly has history — 185 years of it — but in that long span, the company’s ships have never called Miami home. Until now.
The Queen Elizabeth arrived at PortMiami around 6 a.m. Oct. 16. It wasn’t there for long, departing that evening for a 12-night voyage to the Caribbean, the vessel’s inaugural trip from the Magic City. Stops include San Juan. Puerto Rico, St. John’s, Antigua and Bridgetown, Barbados. The ship returns to Miami’s port on Oct. 28.
About the Queen Elizabeth
The Queen Elizabeth accommodates 2,081 guests and the initial trip was sold out, Menard said.
The ship brings history and perhaps some English restraint to the world’s cruise capital.
Aboard the vessel, on open-aired Deck 9, Jenny Beard, 74, and her husband, Robert Beard, 79, from Adelaide, Australia, were seated besides a pool enjoying lunch. The cruise and ship appealed to them in part because it drew a less rowdy crowd, said Jenny.
Robert said he was looking forward to the lectures and hitting the massive library onboard.
“It’s an older crowd,” he noted. “It’s not a party boat.”
On the morning of Oct. 16, the Queen Elizabeth was visible from high-rises in downtown and outside the Perez Art Museum. But driving down Port Boulevard toward PortMiami, it was blocked by a ship from Virgin Voyages, which was also debuting a new ship, Brilliant Lady. Perhaps that was fitting as Cunard considers itself a far less ostentatious and more reserved brand.
Cunard’s ship came into full view on the approach to Terminal D. Outside the Queen Elizabeth, tractors whizzed by, hauling carts of supplies and goods onto the ship. Suitcases were being loaded as well.
Passengers started to board first on Thursday around 11 a.m., and had until 4:30 to get on the ship before it departed for San Juan.
Accommodations
Passengers held their beers as they headed down narrow hallways. A waiter passed by with a cart of champagne he was taking to a room. It was not yet noon. The ship’s crew was still getting prepared. Lots of cleaning carts filled the hallways.
The Penthouse Queens Grill Suite is among the largest rooms on the ship.
There’s a walk-in closet and large bathroom with both a shower and bathtub. A flat-screen TV is in front of the bed. There’s a desk to work at and a sofa. A champagne bottle and glasses sit on top of a coffee table. A balcony overlooks the water. The suite also comes with exclusive dining options.
The luxury ship has nine types of guest accommodations, including those compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. More than two-thirds of the 1,045 staterooms have private balconies. The largest room is nearly 1,500 square feet, about a third of a full NBA court.
The pub and other amenities
Meanwhile, at the Golden Lion Pub, over two dozen guests were already seated. The typical English pub has trivia and quiz nights and live piano performances.
Some attractions such as the casino weren’t open yet. The multiple blackjack and roulette tables and slot machines start operating once the ship is offshore. Dubbed Empire Casino, it’s nostalgia for an earlier British era.
The library, a distinctly Cunard feature with about 6,000 books, drew guests as soon at it opened.
On the second floor, standing next to wooden bookshelves running as high as six stacks, Peter Sones, 62, and his wife, Lesley Sones, 64, were among the first to visit.
“They’ve got really choice books,” he said. “We knew that the library is good.”
The retired British couple flew to Miami from London’s Heathrow Airport to board the Queen Elizabeth. After their 12-night cruise, they’ll fly back. Lesley Sones said they’ve been on other Cunard ships, but this is their first time on Queen Elizabeth.
British tourists
Miami-Dade tourism officials are hoping Queen Elizabeth’s presence brings more travelers like the Soneses. Travel officials see this as an opportunity to boost the number of British tourists or travelers, still not a fully tapped market. In 2024, the United Kingdom was sixth in passenger volume at Miami International Airport among top international markets.
While overall passenger volume, domestic and international, at Miami International Airport decreased in the first half of 2025, arrivals from the UK slightly increased. And for the first time, that figure surpassed the first half of 2019, the last year before COVID-19 arrived.
Queen Elizabeth’s arrival in Miami will mark the first of two winter seasons that it’s based at PortMiami. The ship will be back from October 2026 to April 2027. Journeys from Miami will run 9 to 28 nights and visit places including St. Lucia, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico, Montego Bay, St. Thomas, Barbados and Puerto Rico.
The Queen Elizabeth is one of 10 new cruise ships to be based at PortMiami for the 2025-2026 cruising season. Others include Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady.
In November, Holland America’s Zuiderdam, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xcel and Oceania Cruises Allura will debut. In December, MSC Cruises’ Grandiosa will start voyages.
And 2026 will mark the launch of Windstar Cruises’ Star Seeker, Holland America’s Eurodam, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Luna and Silversea Cruises Silver Nova.
Cunard is a cruising pioneer
Cunard, based in Southampton, England, has operated passenger ships on the North Atlantic since 1840 — that’s more than 50 years before Miami was founded. Hollywood icons Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor and Charlie Chaplin were passengers. The original Queen Elizabeth ship was retired in 1968.
The company’s founder, Samuel Cunard, was urged by the British government to develop a faster way to transport mail from Britain to the U.S. On one of its first voyages, from Liverpool to Boston, author Charles Dickens joined him, according to the site Cruise Critic. That ship was called Britannia, the name of the ship’s signature restaurant today.
Since 1998, Doral-based Carnival Corp. has owned Cunard. Around the time of the acquisition, Cunard had only two ships and was struggling. But Carnival’s then chairman and CEO, Micky Arison, ordered a new $850 million vessel. He was bullish on Cunard’s future.
Dubbed Queen Mary 2, it would be the largest and most costly ship of the day. It took off on its first voyage in 2004 and became “the flagship of Cunard Line,” Cruise Critic said.
Miami’s newest cruise ship
Queen Elizabeth was built at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, and named by Queen Elizabeth II in Southampton in October 2010. While Queen Elizabeth isn’t Cunard’s newest ship, it was refurbished in March.
While docked in Singapore for three weeks, the ship got new carpeting and new furniture.
The Queens Room, which boasts a ballroom dancing floor and hosts live bands nightly, got a complete redo, with new walls and a new floor. Windows on the second floor of the club resemble stainless glass.
As passengers boarded on Thursday, the ship’s music director gave them a Miami touch, playing the famous Cuban song “El Manisero,” composed by Moisés Simons, and in English called “The Peanut Vendor.”
Dining
The Queen Elizabeth features over 10 restaurant and cafes, in addition to the high-end signature restaurant Britannia. And in March, the ship added Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux.
On Thursday, the Britannia restaurant offered a three-course meal. It has two levels with views of the water.
Queen Elizabeth’s flagship dining venue had luxury cutlery from the German company HEPP meticulously arranged along with William Edwards-made fine china.
Waiters wearing vests and ties didn’t miss a detail, including continually restocking the butter plate. If you stood up to leave the table for a minute, when you returned the waiter put your napkin back on your lap.
The main course selections included beef tenderloin, lemon sole and poached chicken.
For those hoping for something more British, waiters at the Golden Lion Pub on Deck 3 were whizzing by with plates.
On the menu? Fish and chips.
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.