Following the safe return of its ship Queen Mary 2 to her homeport of Southampton, president of Cunard Simon Palethorpe has shared an update on the cruise line’s fleet and what the brand has got planned for the foreseeable future.

Taking to Twitter, he said: “I’m delighted to announce that Queen Mary 2 has now returned to her homeport of Southampton and the small number of guests who were on board are now making the final legs of their journeys home. All our ships now only have crew on board.

“I’d like to say thank you, a really big thank you, to Captain Aseem Hashmi and his incredible crew who have sailed Queen Mary 2 home, navigating some extraordinary circumstances along the way.

“I’d also like to extend this thank you to the captains and the crews of Queen Mary 2’s sister ships, Queen Elizabeth, currently in Asia and Queen Victoria in Southampton. I’m in frequent contact with both ships and they assure me that the crew members are well and in characteristic good spirits.

“Protecting the wellbeing of our crew is currently our number one priority and while we take a pause in our sailings, we are trying to reunite as many crew members with their families back home, quite a logistical challenge as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Simon Palethorpe carried on by saying that the crew on board the ships are being kept busy and well-entertained with the likes of Zumba classes, fencing tournaments and team quizzes.

In a bid to keep guests “connected to the Cunard family” during lockdown, the cruise line is creating a number of videos, the latest of which is a guide to baking the perfect scone, created by executive chef Nick Oldroyd, which will shortly be available on Cunard’s social media channels and website.

He continued: “We hope we can play a very small part in keeping you entertained while you may be in lockdown while also providing some travel inspiration.”

Palethorpe concluded by asking guests to share their favourite Cunard moments and holiday experiences that inspire them.

Cunard has extended its global suspension of sailings until 15 May.

Visit cunard.com for more information for the latest updates.