Everything about Ms Queen Victoria totally explained
MS Queen Victoria (
QV) is a
cruise ship in the
Cunard Line fleet, named after Queen
Victoria.
The
Queen Victoria is of the same basic design as other
Vista class passenger vessels, though slightly longer and more in keeping with Cunard's interior style. At 90,000
tons, she's the second largest Cunard ship ever built, after the
RMS Queen Mary 2. The
QV's facilities include seven
restaurants, thirteen
bars, three swimming pools, a
ballroom, and a
theatre.
Characteristics
The
Queen Victoria is to be a running mate to the,, briefly, and, in future, ; however, unlike most other Cunard
Queens, she isn't an
ocean liner, but rather a
cruise ship. Nor will she carry mail and thus won't receive
Royal Mail Ship (RMS) status.
Some ship
aficionados have criticised Cunard for naming this ship as a
Cunard Queen; the designation having previously been reserved for the line's
flagships (
Queen Elizabeth 2, and
Queen Mary 2), which were all ocean liners. In comparison, the
Queen Victoria is neither ocean liner nor flagship, and has an essentially mass-produced hull and superstructure form. It has been opined that the
Queen Victoria should have borne the name of one of Cunard's previous smaller ships, such as
MS Mauretania, or
MS Aquitania, as was done with the last SS
Caronia, which served Cunard between 1999 and 2004.
History
Concept and construction
Originally destined to be an addition to the
Holland America Line fleet, the order for a Vista class vessel put into
Fincantieri was soon transferred by
Carnival Corporation (parent company to Holland America, Cunard, and P&O) to Cunard with the intent that the vessel would become the MS
Queen Victoria. The keel was laid down at the Fincantieri ship yard in 2003. However, due to restructuring within Carnival Corp., as well as a later decision by Cunard that modifications should be made to the design to bring in certain aspects which had proven successful on the
Queen Mary 2, such as decor, junior suites, dining alternatives, promenades, etc., the hull was then designated to become the
P&O ship
MS Arcadia. A new
Queen Victoria was subsequently ordered with Fincantieri in 2004, which was 11 metres longer, 5,000 tons larger, and with an increased passenger capacity of 2,000.
Her
keel was laid on
12 May 2006. 80 prefabricated steel "blocks", each complete with interior structure, cabling, and ducts, and each weighing 325 tons, were then added. The completed hull and superstructure was floated out on
15 January 2007, after having a bottle of
Prosecco smashed against her side by Maureen Ryan, a Cunard employee who has served on all four
Cunard Queens. The ceremony also saw the traditional placing of coins on the mast - in this case a
Euro and a gold Queen Victoria
sovereign were welded beneath the radar mast.
The
QV left the Port of
Venice on
24 August 2007 to commence her sea trials, and, after handover to Cunard, arrived in Southampton to much fanfare and media attention on
7 December; much of the coverage focused on the ship's superlatives, the
QV being touted as "Cunard's most luxurious ship." The same day, the ship was officially named by
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, continuing the tradition of Cunard
Queens being named by members of the
Royal Family. However, the bottle of
champagne didn't break upon impact with the
QV's hull, though a backup bottle was immediately successful.
Service history
Captain Paul Wright was appointed master of the
Queen Victoria in October, 2006.
The
QV undertook her maiden voyage, a 10 day cruise to northern
Europe, on
11 December 2007. Following this, and after a cruise to the
Canary Islands, the
QV embarked on her first
world cruise, circumnavigating the globe in 107 days (the first ship to do so was also called
Victoria; in 1,153 days from 1519 to 1522). The first leg of this voyage was a tandem crossing of the
Atlantic with the, to
New York City, where the two ships met the
Queen Mary 2 near the
Statue of Liberty on
13 January 2008, with a celebratory fireworks display; this marked the first time three Cunard
Queens have been present in the same location. Cunard purported this to also be the only time these three particular ships would ever meet, due to the
QE2's impending retirement from service in late
2008, though the ships did met again in Southampton on
22 April 2008, due to a change in the
QE2's schedule.
In May, 2008, the
QV hit a pier in
Malta after her thrusters failed to work. She wasn't damaged severely, but repairs meant she'd have to miss a port of call in
La Goulette.
Design
Exterior
The
Queen Victoria's exterior design closely resembles Vista class ships built for
Holland America Line and
P&O Cruises, like the, with a wrap-around promenade deck, private balconies, and a retractable glass magrodome over the mid-ship pool.
The ship wasn't designed primarily for speed, not having a long prow, deep draft, or whaleback on her bow; though, the hull has been built to meet the demands of the
Atlantic Ocean, with extra steel added to strengthen key decks and bulkheads, and reinforced, thicker bow plating.
. Still, the ship has inferior abilities to the
Queen Mary 2 and
Queen Elizabeth 2 to sail through rough waters, as evidenced on her maiden
trans-Atlantic crossing.
Interior
As with most newbuild passenger ships, the
Queen Victoria's public rooms are mostly arranged along the lowest public decks of the ship, mainly on 2 Deck and 3 Deck. Unlike the
Queen Mary 2, however, there's no central circulation access, the main corridors being to the
starboard side, with the public rooms mostly along the
port.
1 Deck, the lowest passenger deck, holds the lowest level of a three story lobby, as well as of the Royal Court theatre. On 2 Deck can be found the mid-level of the Royal Court theatre,
casino, Golden Lion
Pub, Queen's Room,
Todd English à la carte restaurant, Chart Room bar, and lower level of both the library and Britannia restaurant. The top most level of the theatre, Royal Arcade, Midships Lounge, and upper level of the library and dining room are all on 3 Deck, along with a wrap-around exterior promenade. The decks above these contain mostly passenger cabins until 9 Deck on which is the Cunard health club and spa, Winter Garden lounge, Lido Restaurant, and two outdoor pools. On 10 Deck is the Commodore Club, and Hemispheres night club, and the Queen's Grill and Princess Grill, along with their attached lounge, as well as an open courtyard between, are on 11 Deck.
Though
QV is theoretically a
classless ship, it has been argued that the
Queen Mary 2 and
Queen Elizabeth 2, both of which follow the same practice of separating passengers into different restaurants based on the price of the cabin they booked (the Britannia as
standard for regular cabins, the Princess Grill as
middle for those in junior suites, and the Queen's Grill as
superior for deluxe suite occupants), are actually ships divided into three classes, despite the fact that all other public rooms are used by all passengers equally. Though this situation is similar on the
QE2 and
QM2, it's further enhanced on the
QV by the fact that
Grill Passengers (those dining in the Princess Grill or Queen's Grill) also have a private outdoor deck on 11 Deck with the specific name "Grills Terrace."
Of note is that the
QV's theatre is the first at sea to have private boxes. As well, she's a Winter Garden lounge with a retractable glass roof and water fountain, and a two storey library with a connecting spiral staircase.
Technical
Power plant and propulsion system
The
Queen Victoria can carry 3,000 tons of heavy fuel and 150 tons of marine gas oil, consuming 12 tons per hour for maximum output.
[Further Information]
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