SOUTHAMPTON DOCKS

Photograph above:

QUEEN VICTORIA shows her lines well in this portrait of the smallest of the Cunard fleet as she passes Berth 38/39 at Southampton Docks on her way down Southampton Water for The Solent and open sea.

 

Photograph Copyright: Digital Expression UK (2020)

 

OVERVIEW:

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

SERVICE HISTORY

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

 

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, owing to the QE2's impending retirement from service in late 2008, though the ships did meet again in Southampton on 22 April 2008, resulting from a change in Queen Elizabeth 2's schedule.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

CUNARD RENDEVOUS

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.

 

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.

 

5 June 2012:

All three Queens met again but this time in Southampton to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.The modifications saw her passenger capacity increase to 2,081 from 1,988.

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

 

TECHNICAL:

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. 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. 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. 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.

 

On 14 May 2008,

on Queen Victoria's first visit to Port 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.

Done