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Cunard is to commemorate the loss of Lusitania – torpedoed during World War 1 – with a special sailing next year.
Queen Victoria will run a special seven-night cruise from Southampton, calling at Cobh in Ireland on May 7, 2015, which will be 100 years to the day since Lusitania was lost.
The ship sank approximately 14 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale headland in Ireland. Cunard lost a total of 22 ships during the First World War, including Carpathia which had rescued all of the survivors of the Titanic.
A special service ashore will be held in addition to a number of other tributes that will be made that day.
Queen Victoria will depart from Southampton on May 3 and call at St Peter Port in Guernsey, Le Havre, Cobh and Dublin. Fares start at £799 per person for the sailing which goes on general sale from 1pm on March 13.
Details of the Lusitania memorial cruise came as Cunard released details of a series of special events planned to mark the 175th anniversary of its first ship Britannia making the first scheduled transatlantic service by sea in 1840.
Queen Mary 2 will recreate the voyage on July 4, 2015 with the first Cunard ship departure from Liverpool to the US since 1968.
Liverpool, the former base of Cunard, will host all three ships in the fleet between May 24-26 next year, following the vessels appearing together in Southampton on May 3 to kick-start the company’s 175th birthday celebrations.
David Dingle, chief executive of Cunard parent Carnival UK, said: “Cunard’s history reads like no other. For so long the heartbeats of Cunard and Britain have been as one and we intend to celebrate this landmark anniversary in grand style.
“These special voyages have been planned over many months to commemorate key dates in the company’s history with all who wish to be part of Cunard’s special and unique heritage.
“We look forward to delivering this year of spectacle and celebration to the many people who share the pride we feel in Cunard’s ongoing success on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.”