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How different is a Queen Elizabeth cruise? See for yourself on this VIP tour

The Queen Elizabeth sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
The Queen Elizabeth sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. pportal@miamiherald.com

The Queen Elizabeth is making Miami home for the next six months.

Cunard’s cruise ship arrived on Thursday morning, and by evening it was on its way to the Caribbean for a 12-night voyage.

MORE: Queen Elizabeth as ship makes Miami home for first time

We took a VIP tour of the ship right after it pulled into PortMiami. Take a look at what the ship looks like from the inside:

Video tour of the Queen Elizabeth in Miami

@miamiherald

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. 🔗: Read more at the link in our bio ✍️: Vinod Sreeharsha 🎥: @pportalphoto and @jessicaserranotv

♬ original sound - Miami Herald

Royal-looking public spaces on the ship

View of a main hallway on deck two inside of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
A look at the main hallway on the Queen Elizabeth during a tour at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
View of a lobby on deck four inside the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
View of a lobby on the fourth deck of the Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

Passengers check out the ship

Passengers Jenny and Robert Beard of Australia posed on the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth's pool deck as the ship is docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
Passengers Jenny and Robert Beard of Australia on the Queen Elizabeth's pool deck while the ship was docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
View of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth's pool deck, as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
A view of the Miami skyline from the pool deck of the Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

What a penthouse cabin looks like

View of a Queens Grill cabin inside of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
One of the luxury cabins on the ship Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
View of a Queens Grill penthouse cabin inside of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
Here’s what the Queens Grill penthouse cabin looks like on the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

The Golden Lion Pub on the Queen Elizabeth

View of the Golden Lion Pub's bar on deck two of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
The Golden Lion Pub's bar on the second deck of the Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
View of the entrance to the Golden Lion Pub on deck two of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
The entrance to the Golden Lion Pub aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

British life on board

View of a Clock commissioned by Cunard to the same manufactures of the Big Ben in London located on a stair case connecting decks inside the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
A clock by the same manufacturer as Big Ben in London, located on a staircase connecting decks inside the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Hostesses welcome guests and passengers to the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
Hosts welcome guests and passengers aboard the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth by artist Isobel Peachey hanged in the lobby of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
A portrait of Queen Elizabeth by artist Isobel Peachey hanging in the lobby of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

Dining and dancing on the ship

View of the dance floor on deck two of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
A dance floor on the Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
View of the entrance to the Golden Lion Pub on deck two of the Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth', as it sits docked at PortMiami on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Miami. The vessel arrived around 6 a.m. and will be based in Miami for six months, offering voyages to the Caribbean. After tours and festivities, the ship is scheduled to depart later Thursday on its inaugural 12-night Caribbean cruise.
The entrance to the Golden Lion Pub aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 7:15 AM.

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