The Cruise Report With Cruise Specialists Cruise Reporter Ralph Grizzle

Cunard’s impeccable White Star Service will make an intriguing east-west world voyage aboard the Queen Mary 2 starting January 2011, the fourth world cruise for the line’s flagship. Cunard’s 2011 world cruises — on the magnificent QM2 as well as the newer Queen Elizabeth — go on sale next week, and Cunard is offering some significant early-booking incentives.

The voyage starts in New York, and after a call in Fort Lauderdale, the ship will head to the Caribbean and South America, calling on Barbados, Brazil and Uruguay before arriving for an overnight stay in the magnificent city of Cape Town in South Africa, the ship’s second visit to this exceptionally beautiful destination. From there she will sail to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean before an exploration of Australia that culminates with an overnight stay in Sydney. The ship continues on to New Zealand and Guam before sampling some highlights of China and Japan en-route to an overnight stay in Hong Kong, followed by visits to Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and India en-route to Dubai. From here, Queen Mary 2 will call in Egypt before making a transit of the Suez Canal that will take her to European calls in Italy, Monaco, Spain and the United Kingdom, her last call before ending her 103-day odyssey in New York.

Segment voyages aboard Queen Mary 2 range from 15 to 25 days, and consecutive segments can be combined.