MS Queen Victoria

MS Queen Victoria (QV) is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by the Cunard Line and is named after the British Monarch Queen Victoria. She is of the same basic design as other Vista-class cruise ships including Queen Elizabeth. At 90,049 GT she is the smallest of Cunard's ships in operation. Her facilities include seven restaurants, thirteen bars, three swimming pools, a ballroom, and a theatre.[3]

MS Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria at Station Pier, Melbourne
History
Name: Queen Victoria
Namesake: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
Owner: Carnival Corporation & plc[1]
Operator: Cunard Line
Port of registry:
Ordered: 3 December 2004
Builder: Fincantieri Marghera shipyard, Italy
Cost: £270 million (approx.)[2] (US$346 million)
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:
Status: Service Suspended
General characteristics
Class and type: Vista-class cruise 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:
Propulsion: Two ABB Azipods (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

Characteristics and naming

Unlike many previous Cunard ships, Queen Victoria is not a traditional ocean liner as she does not have the heavy plating throughout the hull. However the bow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with the transatlantic run, and the ship has a high freeboard. The Queen Mary 2 had cost approximately $300,000 US per berth, nearly double that of many contemporary cruise ships, so Cunard made the economical decision to base Queen Victoria on a modified Vista-class cruise ship, and Queen Elizabeth retains the same design with some minor changes. Nonetheless, Ian McNaught, who was Queen Victoria's captain in 2009, has asserted that the ship is a liner based on her classic decor.[4]

The ship was named after British Queen Victoria who reigned from 1837-1901. Some elements of her interior decoration are loosely based on Victorian era design styles.

History

Concept and construction

An order for a Vista-class vessel was transferred by Carnival Corporation & plc (parent company to Holland America, Cunard, and P&O) from its Holland America Line to Cunard with the intent that the vessel would become the MS Queen Victoria[5] Fincantieri laid down the keel in 2003, but Carnival reallocated the hull again to become the P&O ship MS Arcadia.[6]

The new Queen Victoria ordered from Fincantieri in 2004 was 11 metres longer, 5,000 tons larger, with an increased passenger capacity of 2,000.[7] and features which had proved successful on Queen Mary 2. The 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 with 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.[8] 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.[9]

Queen Victoria departed the Port of Venice on 24 August 2007 to commence her sea trials,[10] and, after handover to Cunard, arrived in Southampton to fanfare and media attention on 7 December; much of the coverage was focused on the ship's superlatives, and represented Queen Victoria as "Cunard's most luxurious ship."[11] The same day, the ship was officially named by Her Royal Highness Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, continuing the tradition of Cunard Queens being named by royalty.[12] The bottle of champagne failed to break upon impact with Queen Victoria's hull, which according to nautical superstition is a bad omen.[13] However, a backup bottle was immediately successful.[14]

Service history

Captain Paul Wright was appointed as the first master of Queen Victoria in October 2006.[15] Captain Christopher Rynd became secondary master. Captain Ian McNaught[16] briefly commanded Queen Victoria before transferring to Seabourn.[17]

Queen Victoria undertook her maiden voyage, a 10-day cruise to northern Europe, on 11 December 2007. Following this and a cruise to the Canary Islands, Queen Victoria embarked on her first world cruise, circumnavigating the globe in 107 days. (The first ship to have previously done so—also named Victoria—took 1,153 days in 1519 to 1522.) The first leg of this voyage was a tandem crossing of the Atlantic with Queen Elizabeth 2, to New York City, where the two ships met Queen Mary 2 near the Statue 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 the QE2'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 in Queen Elizabeth 2's schedule.[20]

In May 2008, Queen Victoria struck a pier in Malta 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 in La Goulette.[21]

Queen Victoria completed her third World Cruise in 2010 where she was joined by Captain Chris Wells who was aboard to familiarise himself with the Vista-class ship before taking command of Queen Elizabeth in late 2010. During a call at Sydney, Queen Victoria was illuminated in pink in support of Breast Cancer Research.[22]

On 9 December 2010 Cunard announced its first female captain, Faroese born Inger Klein Olsen,[23] who would take command of Queen Victoria beginning on 15 December.[24]

Queen Victoria in her home port; Queen Elizabeth 2 is astern, and Queen Mary 2 is passing them

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

Cunard rendezvous

January 2011: Two years after the first Cunard Royal Rendezvous, on the same date, Queen Mary 2 met up with both Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth for another Royal Rendezvous in New York City on 13 January 2011. Both the Queen Victoria and Queen 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. The Empire State Building was lit up in red to mark the event.[26]

March 2011: Queen Victoria passed Queen Mary herself, a former Cunard ship, now permanently docked in Long Beach, California, as a hotel for the first time, along with a fireworks display in Long Beach.[27]

5 June 2012: All three Queens met again but this time in Southampton to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[28]

6 May 2014: All three Queens met up for the first time in Lisbon, Portugal, in preparation for Queen Mary 2's 10th birthday. All three on departure sailed in a one-line formation to Southampton.

9 May 2014: Both Queen Elizabeth and Queen 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 to Queen Mary 2. Later on, all three sisters gather for a fireworks display in which Queen Mary 2 led both sisters back down the channel.[29]

Queen Victoria at anchor in the River Mersey, on 25 May 2015, after the Cunard 175 celebration

25 May 2015: The three 'Queens' at Liverpool celebrating 175 years of the formation of the Cunard Line, which was formed and based at Liverpool. At low tide, the three ships stopped in line in the middle of the River Mersey, bow to stern, turned 180 degrees in full synchronisation with each other (called a river dance), and then formed an arrow side by side. Queen Mary 2 was in the centre with her bow in line with the Cunard Building at the Pier Head. The RAF Red Arrows performed a flypast in Vic 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]

Design

Exterior
John McKenna's relief sculpture panel on the grand lobby staircase
Queen Victoria passing Calshot Spit light buoy outward bound from Southampton.
Queen Victoria at Circular Quay, Sydney
Queen Victoria travelling through a fjord in Norway
Queen Victoria Entering Auckland harbour, New Zealand
Queen Victoria at Manzanillo, Mexico.
MS Queen Victoria anchored in Stavanger Norway

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

A feature which distinguishes her from her younger fleet mate, MS 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 the Elizabeth.

May 2017 refit

During her 2017 refit, Queen Victoria was fitted with an additional block of cabins at the stern that makes her more similar in appearance to Queen Elizabeth. This addition also made more space available around a newly re-designed aft lido pool area, and reduced the size of aft-facing balconies.

Interior

Queen Victoria's public rooms are mainly located on the lower-level public decks of the ship, 2 Deck and 3 Deck. Unlike Queen Mary 2, however, there is no central circulation access, the main corridors being to the port 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 sculptor John 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 Lion Pub, Queen's Room, Verandah à 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.

Though Queen Victoria is theoretically a classless ship, it has been argued that 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 Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2, it is further enhanced on Queen Victoria by the fact that Grill 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 on Queen Mary 2 at the aft section of 10 Deck.

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

May 2017 refit

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

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

Technical

Power plant and propulsion system

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.

Incidents

On Queen Victoria's 21 December 2007 voyage, 122 guests and 11 crew on board contracted norovirus.[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 Duchess Camila's initial failure to break the champagne bottle during the ship's christening, 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 the CDC's website, which recorded three more norovirus outbreaks on the ship's 4 January 2010, 12 January 2010, and 21 February 2018 voyages.[37]

On 14 May 2008, on Queen Victoria's first visit to Grand 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.

References

Notes
  1. Queen Victoria Vessel Details. Lloyd's Register.
  2. "Queen Victoria technical information" (PDF). Cunard Line. 9 March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  3. "Queen Victoria sets sail for Australia". The West Australian. 9 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  4. Tom Peters, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Sat. 3 October 2009
  5. "History of Queen Victoria".
  6. "Queen Victoria". Chris' Cunard Page. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  7. "Queen Victoria information". Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  8. Hamilton, Keith (16 January 2007). "Victoria – new queen of the sea". Southern Daily Echo. Archived from the original on 5 December 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  9. "Ceremonies mark the float out of the world's newest queen ocean liner". Press releases. Cunard Line. 15 January 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  10. "Queen Victoria: The Story So Far". Cunard Line.
  11. "New liner arrives in Southampton". BBC News. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  12. "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall To Name Cunard's New Queen Victoria". Press releases. Cunard Line. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  13. Eyers, Jonathan (2011). Don't Shoot the Albatross!: Nautical Myths and Superstitions. A&C Black, London, UK. ISBN 978-1-4081-3131-2.
  14. Sloan, Gene (10 December 2007). "A royal launch for Cunard's Queen Victoria". The Cruise Log. USA Today. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  15. "First Master Appointed for Queen Victoria". Press releases. Cunard Line. 6 October 2006. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  16. "We Are Cunard: Interview with Captain Ian McNaught". Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  17. "Captain Greybeard : QE2 Captain Moves to Seabourn".
  18. "Royal Rendezvous". Cunard Line. 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 April 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  19. "QE2 To Leave Cunard Fleet And Be Sold To Dubai World To Begin A New Life at the Palm". Press releases. Cunard Line. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
  20. "Three 'Queens' in final meeting". BBC News. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  21. Sloan, Gene. "Cunard's Queen Victoria crashes into dock in Malta". Cruise Log Blog. USA Today. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  22. "Cruise Ship Turns Pink For Charity". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  23. "Inger er blivin skipari á Queen Victoriu" (in Faroese). Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  24. "Women gaining (a little) ground as cruise ship captains". Gadling. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  25. "It's Official: Cunard Re-flags Ships in Bermuda, Launches Weddings at Sea - Cunard Line - Cruise Critic". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  26. "Iconic Cunard Line Queens to Meet for Historic Royal Rendezvous in New York Harbour on 13 January". PR New Wire. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  27. Cunard ships rendezvous Archived 26 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  28. "Cunard Line Announces 2012-2013 Deployment". cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  29. "Pictures of the day". The Telegraph. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  30. "Three Queens: Eyes of the world on Liverpool for Cunard's 175th anniversary". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  31. http://maritimematters.com/2017/08/queen-victoria-refurbished/
  32. "Cunard Releases Details of Queen Victoria Cruise Ship Refit". Cruise Critic. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  33. Chris Frame (2 August 2017). "Queen Victoria Britannia Club". Youtube. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  34. Chris Frame (2 August 2017). "Queen Victoria Refurbished". Maritime Matterz. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  35. "Cunard confirms Norovirus outbreak on Queen of Victoria: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  36. "The Queen Victoria cruise ship a queen, all the same". Los Angeles Times. 20 January 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  37. "Cruise Ship Outbreak Updates | Vessel Sanitation Program | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.

Bibliography
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  • Dawson, Philip (2010). Queen Victoria: a celebration of tradition for twenty-first century ocean travel. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Lily Publications. ISBN 9781906608231.
  • Frame, Chris; Cross, Rachelle (2010). Queen Victoria: a photographic journey. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 9780752452982.
  • Miller, William H. (2009). Cunard's Three Queens: a celebration. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Amberley Publications. ISBN 9781848683648.
  • Plowman, Peter (2007). Australian Cruise Ships. Dural, NSW: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 9781877058509.
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