MSQueen Victoria (QV) is aVista-classcruise ship operated by theCunard Line and is named after the formerBritishmonarchQueen Victoria. The vessel is of the same basic design as otherVista-classcruise ships, includingQueen Elizabeth. At 90,049 gross tonnage (GT) she is the smallest ofCunard's ships in operation.^[3]

MSQueen Victoria

Queen Victoria nearHook of Holland on August 30, 2022
History
Bermuda
Name	Queen Victoria
Namesake	Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom
Owner	Carnival Corporation & plc[1]
Operator	Cunard Line
Port of registry	Southampton, U.K. (2007–2011) Hamilton, Bermuda (2011–present)
Route	Various
Ordered	3 December 2004
Builder	Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy
Cost	£270 million (approx.)[2]
Laid down	12 May 2006
Launched	15 January 2007 (float-out)
Christened	10 December 2007
Completed	2007
Acquired	2007
Maiden voyage	11 December 2007
Identification	Call sign ZCEF3 IMO number: 9320556 MMSI number:310624000
Status	In service
General characteristics
Class and type	Vista-classcruise ship
Tonnage	90,049 GT
Length	964.5 ft (294 m)
Beam	106 ft (32.3 m) waterline, 120 ft (36.6 m) extreme (bridge wings)
Height	205 ft (62.5 m) keel to funnel
Draft	26.2 ft (8.0 m)
Decks	16 total, 12 passenger
Installed power	Sulzer ZA40diesel engines 63,400 kW (85,000 hp) (combined)
Propulsion	TwoABBAzipods (2 × 16.7 MW)
Speed	23.7 knots (43.9 km/h; 27.3 mph) maximum, Service speed 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[2]
Capacity	2,081 passengers
Crew	900

Unlike many previousCunard ships,Queen Victoria is not a traditionalocean liner, as she does not have the heavy plating throughout thehull. However, thebow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with thetransatlantic run, and the ship has a highfreeboard. TheQueen Mary 2 had cost approximately $300,000 US per berth, nearly double that of many contemporary cruise ships, soCunard made the economic decision to baseQueen Victoria on a modifiedVista-class cruise ship, andQueen Elizabeth retains the same design with some minor changes. Nonetheless, Ian McNaught, who wasQueen Victoria'scaptain in 2009, has asserted that the ship is a liner based on her classic décor.^[4]

An order for aVista-class vessel was transferred byCarnival Corporation & plc, parent company toHolland America,Cunard andP&O from itsHolland America Line toCunard with the intent that the vessel would become theQueen Victoria^[5]Fincantierilaid down thekeel in 2003, butCarnival reassigned the hull again to become theP&O shipArcadia.^[6]

The newQueen Victoria ordered from Fincantieri in 2004 was 11 metres (36 ft 1 in) longer, 5,000 tons larger, with an increased passenger capacity of 2,000.^[7] and features which had proved successful onQueen Mary 2. The keel was laid on 12 May 2006. Eighty prefabricated steel "blocks", each complete with interior structure, cabling, and ducts, and each weighing 325 tons, were then added. The completed hull withsuperstructure wasfloated out on 15 January 2007, after having a bottle ofProsecco smashed against her side by Maureen Ryan, a Cunard employee who has served on all four "Cunard Queens".^[8] The ceremony also saw the traditional placing of coins on themast – in this case aEuro and a gold Queen Victoriasovereign were welded beneath theradar mast.^[9]

Queen Victoria departed the Port ofVenice on 24 August 2007 to commence hersea trials,^[10] and, after handover toCunard, arrived inSouthampton,United Kingdom, to fanfare and media attention on 7 December; much of the coverage was focused on the ship's superlatives, and representedQueen Victoria as "Cunard's most luxurious ship."^[11] The same day, the ship was officially named byCamilla, Duchess of Cornwall, continuing the tradition of Cunard "Queens" being named by royalty.^[12] The bottle ofchampagne failed to break upon impact withQueen Victoria's hull, which according to nautical superstition is a bad omen.^[13] However, a backup bottle was immediately successful.^[14]

Captain Paul Wright was appointed as the first master ofQueen Victoria in October 2006.^[15] Captain Christopher Rynd became secondary master. Captain Ian McNaught^[16] briefly commandedQueen Victoria before transferring toSeabourn.^[17]

Queen Victoria undertook her maiden voyage, a 10-day cruise to northern Europe, on 11 December 2007. Following this and a cruise to theCanary Islands,Queen Victoria embarked on her firstworld cruise,circumnavigating the globe in 107 days. (The first ship to have previously done so—also namedVictoria—took 1,153 days in 1519 to 1522.) The first leg of this voyage was a tandem crossing of the Atlantic withQueen Elizabeth 2, to New York City, where the two ships metQueen Mary 2 near theStatue of Liberty on 13 January 2008, with a celebratory fireworks display, marking the first time three Cunard "Queens" had been present in the same location.Cunard declared that this would also be the only time the three ships would ever meet,^[18] owing to theQE2's impending retirement from service in late 2008,^[19] though the ships did meet again in Southampton on 22 April 2008, resulting from a change inQueen Elizabeth 2's schedule.^[20]

In May 2008,Queen Victoria struck a pier inMalta after her thrusters malfunctioned. However the damage was minimal, allowing the ship to continue operating, but repairs resulted in her missing a port of call inLa Goulette.^[21]

Queen Victoria completed her third world cruise in 2010 when she was joined by Captain Chris Wells, who was aboard to familiarise himself with the Vista-class ship before taking command ofQueen Elizabeth in late 2010. During a call atSydney,Queen Victoria was illuminated in pink in support ofbreast cancer research.^[22] On 9 December 2010 Cunard announced its first female captain,Faroese-born Inger Klein Olsen,^[23] who took command ofQueen Victoria on 15 December.^[24]

At the end of October 2011Queen Victoria and her fleet mates changed their registries toHamilton, Bermuda, to host weddings on board. Also the word "Southampton" across the stern was replaced by Hamilton.^[25]

In January 2011, two years after the first Cunard Royal Rendezvous, on the same date,Queen Mary 2 met up with bothQueen Victoria andQueen Elizabeth for another Royal Rendezvous inNew York City on 13 January 2011. Both theQueen Victoria andQueen Elizabeth made a tandem crossing of the Atlantic for the event. All three ships met in front of the Statue of Liberty at 6:45 pm for a Grucci fireworks display. TheEmpire State Building was lit up in red to mark the event.^[26] In March 2011Queen Victoria passed the former Cunard retired ocean linerQueen Mary for the first time. TheQueen Mary is permanently docked inLong Beach, California and operated as a hotel.^[27]

On 5 June 2012 all three Queens met again but this time in Southampton to celebrate theDiamond Jubilee of QueenElizabeth II.^[28]

On 6 May 2014 all three Queens met up for the first time inLisbon,Portugal, in preparation forQueen Mary 2's 10th birthday. All three on departure sailed in a one-line formation to Southampton.^{[citation needed]} On 9 May bothQueen Elizabeth andQueen Victoria led in single file,Queen Mary 2 up the Southampton channel, with both ships docking in a bow to bow formation performing a birthday salute toQueen Mary 2. Later on, all threesisters gather for a fireworks display in whichQueen Mary 2 led the vessels back down the channel.^[29]

On 25 May 2015 the three "Queens" were atLiverpool celebrating 175 years of the formation of theCunard Line, which was formed and based in the city. At low tide, the three ships stopped in line in the middle of theRiver Mersey, bow to stern, manoeuvred 180 degrees in full synchronisation with each other, which was described as a river dance, and then formed an arrow side by side.Queen Mary 2 was in the centre with her bow in line with theCunard Building at thePier Head. The RoyalAir ForceRed Arrows aerobatics team performed aflypast inVic formation, emitting red, white and blue smoke, over the vessels. An estimated 1.3 million people lined the river banks to witness the spectacle.^[30]

Queen Victoria's exterior design closely resembles that ofVista-class ships built for various cruise companies.

A feature which distinguishes her from her younger fleet mate,Queen Elizabeth, is the more angled sloping stern, as compared to the newer ship's vertical one. In addition to this she lacks the covered games deck above the bridge, a feature which is present on theQueen Elizabeth.

Queen Victoria's public rooms are mainly located on the lower-level public decks of the ship, 2 Deck and 3 Deck. UnlikeQueen Mary 2, however, there is no central circulation access, the main corridors being to theport side. The ship does have the similar grand lobby staircase with an artwork feature as on the Queen Mary ships, a relief portrait of the ship situated on the staircase sculpted by British sculptorJohn McKenna.

1 Deck, the lowest passenger deck, holds the lowest level of a three-storey stairwell 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 LionPub, Queen's Room,Verandahà la carte restaurant, Chart Room bar, and lower level of both the library and Britannia Restaurant. The topmost level of the theatre, Royal Arcade, Midships Lounge, and upper level of the library and formal 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 are the Cunard Health Club and spa, Winter Garden lounge, Lido Restaurant, and two outdoor pools. On 10 Deck is the Commodore Club, Churchill Lounge (for smokers) and Yacht Club^[31] nightclub. The Queen's Grill and Princess Grill, with their attached lounge and an open courtyard between, are on 11 Deck.

TheQueen Victoria operates similarly to both theQueen Mary 2 and the formerQueen 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 onQueen Elizabeth 2 andQueen Mary 2, it is further enhanced onQueen Victoria by the fact thatGrill Passengers (those dining in the Princess Grill or Queen's Grill) also have two private outdoor areas on 10 and 11 Decks with the specific name "Grills Terrace", a feature which also appears onQueen Mary 2 at the aft section of 10 Deck.

Queen Victoria's theatre is the first at sea to have private boxes. There is also has a Winter Garden lounge with a retractable glass roof and a two-story library with a connecting spiral staircase.

In May 2017,Queen Victoria underwent a second major overhaul, which added new cabins aft, as well as refurbishing other spaces and adding new dining facilities.^[32] The modifications saw the passenger capacity increase to 2,081 from 1,988.^[32]

Changes included a new Britannia Club restaurant,^[33] updated Chartroom, refreshed Winter Garden, refreshed Yacht Club and new outdoor pool area.^[34]

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.^[2] Although the ship burns heavy fuel, it uses low-sulphur fuel in certain jurisdictions.

OnQueen Victoria's 21 December 2007 voyage, 122 guests and 11 crew on board contractednorovirus.^[35] It was officially attributed to a guest who had already contracted the virus prior to boarding the ship. The outbreak was also popularly attributed to the Duchess of Cornwall's initial failure to break the champagne bottle during the ship'schristening, which is a bad omen in naval tradition.^[36] While most recovered, 30 were still reported to be ill at that time.

This was not reported on theCDC's website, which recorded three morenorovirus outbreaks on the ship's 4 January 2010, 12 January 2010, and 21 February 2018 voyages.^[37]

On 14 May 2008, onQueen Victoria's first visit toGrand Harbour,Valletta,Malta, the throttles malfunctioned during berthing, resulting in the vessel colliding with the pier. She remained in port for an extra night whilst repairs were carried out to the stern.

• Cunard Line:Queen Victoria – official site
• "On board Queen Victoria's exclusive cruise" – review intraveller.com.au (Fairfax Media) of a cruise onQueen Victoria
• Queen Victoria – review by Douglas Ward inThe Daily Telegraph, London.
• Queen Victoria Pages at Chris' Cunard Page