MS QUEEN VICTORIA

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|colspan="2" style="background: #efefef; text-align:center;"| 'MS ''Queen Victoria'''
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|-
!style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"| Career
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|- style="vertical-align:top;"
|'Nationality'
|British
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|'Owner:'
|Carnival Corporation & plc
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|'Operated By:'
|Cunard Line
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|'Ordered:'
|December 3, 2004
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|'Laid down:'
|May 12 2006
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|'Float out:'
|January 15 2007
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|'Named:'
|
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|'Maiden Voyage:'
|December 11 2007
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|'Status:'
|under construction
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!colspan="2" style="color: white; background: navy;"|General Characteristics
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|'Tonnage:'
|90,000 gross tons
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|'Displacement:'
|N/A
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|'Length:'
|294 m (964.5 ft)
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|'Beam:'
|41 m (135 ft) waterline, 36.6 m (120 ft) extreme (bridge wings)
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|'Draft:'
|8 m (26 ft 3 in}
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|'Height:'
|62.5 m (205 ft) keel to funnel (includes 12 passenger decks)
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|'Power:'
|63.4 MW Sulzer ZA40 diesel plant
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|'Propulsion:'
|Two 16.7 MW pods: independently azimuthing
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|'Speed:'
|approximately 24 knots (44 km/h)
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|'Complement:'
|2,014 passengers, 900 officers and crew
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|'Cost:'
|UK£270 million (approx.)
|^[1]
|}
'MS ''Queen Victoria''' (''QV'') is a new cruise ship under construction for the Cunard Line at the Fincantieri ship yard in Marghera, near Venice, Italy. She was floated out from her construction drydock on January 15, 2007.⁶ Following fitting out and completion, she is due to make her maiden voyage on December 11 of that same year.^[2]
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 will be the second largest Cunard ship ever built, after the RMS ''Queen Mary 2''.

Contents

Characteristics

History

Concept and construction

Service history

Design

Exterior

Interior

See also

References

External links

Characteristics

The ''Queen Victoria'' is to be a running mate to the RMS ''Queen Mary 2'' and, briefly, RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2''; however, unlike all other Cunard ''Queens'', she is not an ocean liner, but rather a cruise ship. Nor will she carry mail and thus will not receive RMS (Royal Mail Ship) 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 Mary'', ''Queen Elizabeth'', ''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.
She can carry 3,000 tons of heavy fuel and 150 tons of marine gas oil, consuming 10 tons per hour for maximum output.

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 MV ''Arcadia''.^[3] A new ''Queen Victoria'' was subsequently ordered with Fincantieri in 2004, which was 11 meters longer, 5,000 tons larger, and with an increased passenger capacity of 2,000.^[4]
Her keel was laid on May 12, 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 January 15, 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''".^[5] 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.^[6]

Service history

Captain Paul Wright was appointed master of the ''Queen Victoria'' in October, 2006.^[7]
The ''Queen Victoria'' will undertake her maiden cruise to northern Europe on December 11, 2007. Following this, after a cruise to the Canary Islands, the ''QV'' will embark on her first world cruise, circumnavigating the globe in 107 days (the first ship to do so was also called ''Victoria''; in 1153 days from 1519 to 1522). The first leg of this voyage will be a tandem crossing of the Atlantic with the ''Queen Elizabeth 2'', to New York City, where the two ships will meet the ''Queen Mary 2''. This will mark the first time three "Cunard ''Queens''" have been present in the same location.

Design

Exterior

The ''Queen Victoria's exterior design closely resembles other Vista class ships built for the Holland America Line, like the MS ''Oosterdam'', with a wrap-around promenade deck, private balconies, and a retractable glass magrodome over the mid-ship pool.
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.

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 is 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 ''Queen Victoria'' 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 is 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 has a Winter Garden lounge with a retractable glass roof and water fountain, and a two storey library with a connecting spiral staircase.

See also

★ RMS ''Queen Elizabeth ''

★ RMS ''Queen Elizabeth 2''

★ RMS ''Queen Mary ''

★ RMS ''Queen Mary 2''

★ Queen Victoria (ship)

References

1. Queen Victoria technical information
2. Cunard Line: ''Queen Victoria naming location announced''
3. Cunard Line: ''Cunard orders new luxury liner, to be named Queen Victoria for delivery in early 2007''
4. Queen Victoria information
5. Hamilton, Keith; ''Daily Echo'': Victoria - new queen of the sea; January 16, 2007
6. Cunard Line: ''Ceremonies mark the float out of the world's newest queen ocean liner''; January 15, 2007
7. Cunard Line: ''First Master Appointed for Queen Victoria''; October 6, 2006

External links

★ Cunard Line: Queen Victoria - official site

★ Queen Victoria information

★ YouTube video of Queen Victoria in Fincantieri Shipyard being fitted out