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United States/England

Churchill’s Finest Hour: A Transatlantic Voyage on QM2

Program No. 23191RJ
The Russians nicknamed him the “British Bulldog.” Learn about Winston Churchill’s fighting spirit as you study his life and work on a Transatlantic voyage aboard the QM2.

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Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.

DATES & PRICES

Ship Inside Ship Out Ship Balc Ship Suite
Jul 26 - Aug 8, 2024
SOLD OUT
Ship Inside 5,499
Ship Outside 5,799
Ship Balcony 5,999
 
Special Offer

Enroll by March 31, 2024 and return flight from London to New York (JFK) is included at no extra cost. Ask about low-cost round-trip air from select cities!

Itinerary Note

This departure is 14 days long and spends an additional day at sea.

Dec 2 - Dec 14, 2024
Ship Inside 4,999
Ship Outside 5,299
Ship Balcony 5,499
Ship Suite 7,499
Special Offer

Enroll by March 31, 2024 and return flight from London to New York (JFK) is included at no extra cost. Ask about low-cost round-trip air from select cities!

DATES & PRICES

Ship Outside Ship Balcony
Jul 26 - Aug 8, 2024
SOLD OUT
Ship Outside 7,499
Ship Balcony 7,999
Special Offer

Enroll by March 31, 2024 and return flight from London to New York (JFK) is included at no extra cost. Ask about low-cost round-trip air from select cities!

Itinerary Note

This departure is 14 days long and spends an additional day at sea.

Dec 2 - Dec 14, 2024
SOLD OUT
Ship Outside 6,999
Ship Balcony 7,499
Special Offer

Enroll by March 31, 2024 and return flight from London to New York (JFK) is included at no extra cost. Ask about low-cost round-trip air from select cities!

At a Glance

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’” A leader who brought hope to England during its darkest times, Winston Churchill may very well be one of the most admired, controversial and inspirational politicians of the modern era. Study Churchill’s life and career on a transatlantic voyage from New York City to Southampton, England, and delve further into his legacy during expert-led field trips to his home, Westminster and more.
Activity Level
On Your Feet
Walking 2-3 miles daily on field trips; paved streets with some cobblestones, gravel paths, grass lawns. Extent of walking and other activities aboard ship according to personal preference.

Best of all, you’ll…

  • Join experts on board the QM2 for insightful lectures into the political and military career of Winston Churchill, including his roles during the Boer War, Gallipoli and World War II.
  • Trace Churchill’s life during field trips to his birthplace at Blenheim Palace, his beloved home of Chartwell, and St. Martin’s Church in Bladon where he was buried.
  • Gain a sense of Churchill’s “finest hours” as you explore the Churchill War Rooms and Museum, Westminster and the Imperial War Museum.
Featured Expert
All Experts
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Spencer Jones
Dr. Spencer Jones is an award-winning historian and author with a special interest in the First and Second World Wars and the life of Sir Winston Churchill. He is a senior lecturer in armed forces and war studies at the University of Wolverhampton, and serves in the British Army as the regimental historian of the Royal Artillery. His most recent publication is 'The Darkest Year: The British Army on the Western Front 1917' (Helion and Company, 2021).

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Spencer Jones
Spencer Jones View biography
Dr. Spencer Jones is an award-winning historian and author with a special interest in the First and Second World Wars and the life of Sir Winston Churchill. He is a senior lecturer in armed forces and war studies at the University of Wolverhampton, and serves in the British Army as the regimental historian of the Royal Artillery. His most recent publication is 'The Darkest Year: The British Army on the Western Front 1917' (Helion and Company, 2021).
Profile Image of Ruth Polling
Ruth Polling View biography
Ruth graduated at the top of her class as the London Blue Badge Travel Educator of the Year and has been sharing her knowledge of England with curious travelers for three years. London born and bred, she is energetic and passionate about the United Kingdom. Ruth graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in International History with an emphasis on Military History. She previously worked in London politics for eleven years including working in the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Darling Winston
by David Lough
Churchill: Walking with Destiny
by Andrew Roberts
Winston Churchill dominates our view of the history of Britain in the twentieth century - the brash, brave and ambitious young aristocrat who sought out danger in late Victorian wars, the mercurial First Lord of the Admiralty who was responsible for the Dardanelles disaster in 1915, the Home Secretary who crushed the General Strike in 1926, the Colonial Secretary who rode with T. E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell at the Pyramids, the Chancellor who took the country back to the Gold Standard and then spent more than ten years in the political wilderness - and who, finally, was summoned to save his country in 1940. 'I felt that I was walking with destiny, and all my life had been but preparation for that hour.' Andrew Robert's titanic new biography interprets all these events, especially Churchill's leadership during the Second World War, which he sees through the prism of all Churchill's earlier life. He gives full visibility to Churchill's flaws, and brilliantly explains his genius. Roberts has used over forty collections of papers not available to Churchill's previous biographer Roy Jenkins (2001) and he is the first Churchill biographer to be granted access by the Queen to the private diaries of King George VI. This is the Churchill biography for our times and the next generation.
Chasing Churchill: The Travels of Winston Churchill
by Celia Sandys
Churchill: A Biography
by Roy Jenkins
From the admiralty to the miner's strike, from the Battle of Britain to eventual victory over Nazi Germany, Churchill oversaw some of the most important events the world has ever seen. Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature for his personal writing and cautioning against a powerful Soviet Russia in his later years in office, his larger-than-life and complex personality has continued to fascinate writers and historians. In this comprehensive biography, Roy Jenkins faithfully presents these events, while also managing to convey the contradictions and quirks in Churchill's character. Weaving together in-depth analysis and brilliant historical research, Jenkins has succeeded in crafting this magnificent one-volume account packed with insights that only a fellow politician can convey. Bringing to life the statesman, writer, speaker and leader, Churchill is packed with insights into one of the most important figures of the twentieth century.
Churchill: Wanted Dead or Alive
by Celia Sandys
Churchill: A Study in Greatness
by Geoffrey Best
Winston Churchill's inspiring leadership in the Second World War once put him above criticism. In recent years his record has come under attack. This book makes sense of this extraordinary man and his controversial and heroic career. Best brings outChurchill's strengths and weaknesses, looking past the many received versions of Churchill in a biography that balances the private and the public man and offers a fresh insight into his character.
No More Chamagne: Churchill and His Money
by David Lough
Churchill: The Power of Words
by Winston Churchill and Martin Gilbert
Winston Churchill understood and wielded the power of words throughout his six decades in the public eye. His wartime writings and speeches revealed both his vision for the future and his own personal feelings, fascinating generation after generation with their powerful style and thoughtful reflection. In this book Churchill’s official biographer, Martin Gilbert, has skilfully selected 200 extracts from his entire oeuvre of books, articles and speeches that reflect his life story, career and philosophy. From intimate memories of his childhood to his contributions to half a century of debates on war and social policy, we see how Churchill used words for different purposes: to argue for moral causes; to advocate action in the national and international spheres, and to tell of his own struggles, setbacks and achievements. Martin Gilbert’s informed choice of extracts and his illuminating explanations linking them together create a compelling biography of Churchill as recounted in the great man’s own inimitable words.





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