On May 27, the world’s most iconic luxury cruise line will showcase untold stories from guests around the world as part of its exciting new Sea of Glamour exhibition celebrating 185 years of Cunard.
Curated by celebrated British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney, the exhibition features 185 incredible images – sourced from the Cunard archives, and a collection of guest pictures, chosen from more than 1,000 photographs submitted by hundreds of guests from across the globe.
Archive images will include rare shots of Hollywood icons, musicians, and politicians at sea, alongside historic moments with royalty.
Cunard is a proud pioneer of luxury ocean travel, boasting a strong British identity – but its iconic ships have touched lives across the world. This exhibition is a platform for their stories to be heard on a global scale.
From America to Australia, Canada to Germany, Japan to the UK, Cunard guests’ pictures help tell a magical story of life on board the iconic liners, from the 1900s to the present day. These captivating moments of family holidays, friendship groups, wedding ceremonies, milestone anniversaries, and more will help recreate Cunard’s magic at sea at The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, England this Spring.
For the 185th anniversary image, Mary McCartney will also capture a portrait of Cunard’s Queen Anne Icons in Liverpool on the exhibition’s opening day, offering a fresh and captivating perspective on the brand’s deep-rooted history with its spiritual home.
The Icons are all proud Liverpudlian women: Spice Girl and author Melanie C, broadcaster and community leader Ngunan Adamu, local restaurant entrepreneur Natalie Haywood, Liverpool music and cultural legend Jayne Casey, and British Olympian heptathlon athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Sea of Glamour exhibition
The Sea of Glamour exhibition is open to the general public at The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool between May 28, 2025, and June 17, 2025, before setting sail around the world aboard the Cunard fleet.
The exhibition features a stunning collection of 185 photos of Hollywood icons, musicians, politicians, and royalty from the Cunard archives, alongside newly curated images from the public to form a timeline of iconic moments that immerses visitors in the magic of nearly two centuries of transatlantic travel.
Visitors are treated to an experience of glamorous maritime history like no other, with interactive moments including an immersive audio storytelling experience, transporting visitors to life aboard Cunard ships through the stories of guests past and present, as well as striking sculptural installation, Sails of History, whose beautiful feature sails are suspended mid-air in The Royal Liver Building. The sails themselves serve as dynamic canvases for the images of the exhibition.
Contact us for more information and to book your voyage with Cunard.