MS Queen Victoria

MS Queen Victoria (QV) is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by the Cunard Line, named after the British Monarch Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria is of the same basic design as other Vista-class cruise ships including Queen Elizabeth.

The ship first departed the Port of Venice on August 24th 2007 to commence her sea trials. After a handover to Cunard, the ship arrived in Southampton to fanfare and media attention on December 7th of the same year. Much of the coverage focused on the ship’s superlatives, and representing Queen Victoria 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 royalty. The bottle of champagne did not break upon impact with Queen Victoria’s hull, which according to nautical superstition, is a bad omen. Luckily, a backup bottle was immediately successful.

Queen Victoria is not a traditional ocean liner as she does not have heavy plating throughout the hull. However, the bow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with the transatlantic run, and the ship sports 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.

The ship’s external and internal designs are a classic style, and at 90,049 GT it is the smallest of Cunard’s ships in operation. Queen Victoria’s facilities include seven restaurants, thirteen bars, three swimming pools, a ballroom, and a theater.