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106 Days, the Suez Canal and a Circumnavigation of New Zealand? Um Yes, Please.

What are your vacation plans for 2013? To many, it may seem wayyy too soon to start even thinking about what city you'll be living in two whole years from now, let alone where you'll head for rest and relaxation, but for those dead-set on a once-in-a-lifetime world cruise now is the time to begin planning. An even more compelling reason to look forward to 2013 is the fact that Cunard announced three epic voyages, one for each of their three sleek ships:

Queen Mary 2
Following a 2012 world cruise circumnavigation of Australia, the QM2 is doing an encore in 2013 with a circumnavigation of New Zealand before hitting South Africa. Exotic! In total, the world cruise (beginning in January 2013) is 106 days to 34 stops in 18 countries. The ship will sail through the Mediterranean to the Suez Canal and Middle East before visiting India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Australia and New Zealand. Starting price for the whole shebang? $19.995. For that, at least you get an at-sea planetarium thrown in.

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Jaunted Reporting Live / Cunard / Royal Rendezvous / New York City / Cruise Travel / Ships / Queen Mary 2 / Queen Victoria / Queen Elizabeth / Photo Gallery / Fireworks / → All Tags

Photos and Video of The Cunard Ships' Royal Rendezvous on New York Harbor

Just as promised, last night saw the three Cunard ships—Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth—take to NY Harbor all at the same time for a little "Royal Rendezvous" and a lot of fireworks. This is only the second time that all three Queens have been together in NYC at the same moment, and the last was only in 2008, as the Queen Elizabeth II (now retired) made her final departure from the Big Apple after hundreds and hundreds of historical sailings. Needless to say, it was a very cool occasion.

We managed to take in the scene from the Cunard party in the lounge at the tippy-top of the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, and still froze our bits and bobbles to death on the outdoor deck, catching these photographs.

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Cruise Travel / Cunard / New York City / Events / Queen Mary 2 / Queen Elizabeth / Queen Victoria / Ships / Fireworks / → All Tags

The Best Spots for Viewing Cunard's 'Royal Rendezvous' on NY Harbor Tomorrow

We took this video during 2008's Royal Rendezvous (the first), as the now-retired Queen Elizabeth II tooted her horn. Seen from Liberty State Park in New Jersey—not a recommended spot.

Tomorrow evening in New York Harbor, the three ships of Cunard's fleet—the Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth—will get together for the first time in three years, and for only the second time ever. The meeting of all ships in the harbor is called the "Royal Rendezvous" and cruise fanatics, ship-watchers and the generally curious will turn out in droves to watch the ships slide by and the massive accompanying fireworks display. And we'll be there too, of course.

We saw it three years ago, when the Queen Elizabeth II was making her final NYC departure, and this year there's a new ship making her first entrance: the Queen Elizabeth. She'll be the big and shiny one—ha. Anyways, we have to say that it is a very cool, very New York event, and the fireworks are awesome. They will feature Cunard red pyrotechnics, and even the Empire State Building will be lit up in red for the occasion. P>Now on to the best spots to watch everything:

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Technology / WiFi / Cruise Travel / At-Sea WiFi / Queen Mary 2 / Cunard / Ships / → All Tags

How Much Does Using the Internet Cost on a Cruise Ship?

In the world of travel WiFi, there are three big players: hotel wifi, in-flight wifi and airport WiFi. Actually, now that Amtrak and many European have installed the internet, we could even add "on-track WiFi" to the list too. But let's take a step further than these. Let's go to the frontier of travel connectivity. Let's talk about at-sea WiFI.

On our recent tour of Cunard Line's massive Queen Mary 2 liner while she was docked in Brooklyn, we started wondering if we could ever settle in for a 9-day transatlantic crossing as the passengers boarding were doing. Our hearts told us yes, but our minds know the reality of the situation, and that is how we'd probably develop a tick if we had to go more than two days without the internet, especially out in the middle of the open ocean.

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Inside the World's Only Floating Planetarium

Last week, Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 arrived to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal after a transatlantic voyage to from England, bringing with it many ash-trapped travelers who threw their worthless airline tickets out the window in favor of sailing back in style. Before the ship headed back across the pond, Cunard invited us aboard for a quick peek and some canapes with chef Todd English.

Looking at the QM2, she seems every bit a classic ocean liner; there's no multi-deck-high water slides or putting greens on this baby, but then she's got have something special for modern cruisers. And what she has—aside from that classic appeal—is the world's only planetarium at sea.

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Ships / Food Travel / Cunard / Queen Mary 2 / Boats / Todd English / → All Tags

Why is Chef Todd English in the Queen Mary 2's Captain's Chair?

What's he saying? 'All ahead flambe!' or possibly 'Release the gravy boats!'

Get down from there, chef Todd English! While onboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 yesterday, English took first position on the bridge and determinedly surveyed New York harbor. Luckily, it was only for a second, as the QM2 was safely tied up at dock at Brooklyn's Cruise Terminal, taking on new passengers for a transatlantic crossing to Southampton and Hamburg, where she'd drop off some long-stranded European travelers affected by the volcano ash and unwilling to deal with the airlines any longer.

Cunard invited us onboard for a quick tour of the behemoth boat, which is longer than the Chrysler building is tall and more packed with passengers than a whole line of A380 superjumbo airplanes. Needless to say, we were impressed, and the heady combination of the world's only at-sea planetarium, lemongrass-infused champagne and Todd English's bedroom eyes made us want to stowaway in a closet onboard and never return to dry land.

Food porn for sure, after the jump

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Got a Fear of Flying? Cruise With Erica Jong!

It's zipless: Set sail with feminist legend Erica Jong (author of Fear of Flying, which is not about aviophobia) and Cunard this June on the Queen Mary 2 between Southampton and New York.

The cruise is part of the Literature and Liners series, which promises lectures, Q&As and book signings, although we haven't been able to find any kind of specific itinerary or idea of what the price would be (if any) to add this onto your trip. Jong, a poet and author whose most famous work addressed female sexuality through the unhappily married character of Isadora Wing, is one of several authors invited aboard Cunard in this new program, which also includes poet Rita Dove and novelist E.L. Doctorow.

Set sail with Jong on June 13 and you can participate in the other onboard enrichment on the same trip, Oxford University Press' "Science at Sea." How studious and balanced of you!

Related Stories:
· Cunard Insights [cunard.com]
· Five Reasons We Might Actually Take A Cruise In 2009 [Jaunted]
· Cruising with Celebs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: njron]