MS Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth in Tallinn, 2011

MS Queen Elizabeth is a Signature class cruise ship operated by Cunard Line. She is the second largest ship to be constructed for Cunard, exceeded only by the QM2 and is running mate to the Queen Victoria, and the Queen Mary 2

The Elizabeth is a modified design from earlier Vista class vessels, she is slightly larger than Queen Victoria, at 92,000 GT, largely due to a more vertical stern. Capable of carrying up to 2,092 passengers, she is the second largest Cunard ship ever built, after RMS Queen Mary 2.^[2]

The ship's name was announced by Cunard on 10 October 2007. The company now operates three vessels once more (since the retirement of QE2 in 2008).^[3]

The naming of the ship as Queen Elizabeth sees a situation similar to that between 1940 and 1948, when Cunard's original Queen Elizabeth was in service at the same time as the Royal Navy battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth. In 2016, six years after this ship joined the fleet, the Royal Navy plans to introduce the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth into service.^[4][5]

The first master of Queen Elizabeth is Captain Chris Wells.^[6]

At the end of October 2011 Queen Elizabeth and her fleet mates changed their registries to Hamilton, Bermuda, in order to host weddings aboard.

Design

Exterior

The Queen Elizabeth is almost identical in design to her sister ship Queen Victoria, although because of the steeper stern, her passenger capacity will be slightly higher (2,058 to Queen Victoria's 2,014).^[8] Also because of this difference, the largest suites at the stern of the Queen Elizabeth will have smaller balconies.^[9][10] At the forward end of deck 11, there is a glass roof covering the games deck, unlike the sports deck on the Queen Victoria.^[11]

Also unlike many previous Cunard Queens, Queen Elizabeth is not a true ocean liner as she does not have the heavy plating throughout the hull nor the propulsion system of a dedicated transatlantic liner. However the bow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with the Transatlantic run, and the ship has a high freeboard. The recently completed 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 Elizabeth on a converted Vista-class cruise ship.

Interior

Although having an almost identical interior arrangement to the Queen Victoria, the decor is very different. The ship is a tribute to the two previous Queen Elizabeths: the original Queen Elizabeth and the QE2. It also evokes the era of the 1930s, in which Cunard's first Queen Elizabeth was launched, with manyart deco interior touches.^[12] The ship also features a Britannia Club section of the main restaurant, which is a feature popular on the Queen Mary 2, but not available on the Queen Victoria. This service allows passengers in the Britannia staterooms to have single seating dining arrangements, without having to upgrade to the more expensiveGrills classes.

Queen Elizabeth outbound fromSouthampton on her maiden voyage, 2010

Launch

After manufacture in Italy from 2007 to 2010, Cunard Line officially confirmed that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would name Cunard's new ship.^[14] The ceremony was held inSouthampton on Monday 11 October 2010 before the ship set sail on her maiden voyage to the Canary Islands the following day. The Queen was also the sponsor of the now-retired Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1967 and Cunard's current flagship, Queen Mary 2, in 2004.

MS Queen Elizabeth in Cádiz, 2010

Service History

On Monday 4 October, 2010 Queen Elizabeth was formally handed over to Cunard. She sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton on Tuesday 12 October, 2010, following a naming ceremony with the monarch on Monday 11 October 2010. Her maiden voyage included calls at the Spanish port of Vigo before heading for Lisbon, Cadiz, Gran Canaria,Tenerife, La Palma and Madeira.

The ship made several European cruises until she departed on her first world cruise, leaving Southampton on 5 January 2011 and calling at New York, Fort Lauderdale, Aruba and Limon before transiting the Panama Canal. She would then call at Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas and Los Angeles before crossing the Pacific Ocean to Lahaina, Honolulu, Apia, Pago Pago, Fiji, Bay of Islands, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle, Kota Kinabalu, Hong Kong (thus sailing close to the location where her predecessor RMS Queen Elizabeth caught fire and capsized in 1972). Stops in south-west Asia would include Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Ko Samui, Langkawi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. She would then cross the Indian Ocean westbound for Kochi, Mumbai and Muscat. This would be followed by a journey westbound again across the Arabian Sea before passing through the Strait of Hormuz to call at Dubai in the Persian Gulf, where she would be berthed close to her predecessor RMSQueen Elizabeth 2 for the first time. After calling at Salalah and Aqaba, the ship would transit the Suez Canal. Westbound Mediterranean calls would be at Athens and Rome, then passing through the Strait of Gibraltar to make a final call at Lisbon before returning to Southampton. The voyage is expected to take 103 days.

She will then make many European cruises before September 2011 when she is expected to make her maiden Round Britain cruise, departing Southampton on 2 September 2011, making her way to Edinburgh, Invergordon for Inverness, Greenock for Glasgow,Liverpool, Dublin, Cork and St Peter Port in Guernsey, before returning to Southampton. She will then make various other European cruises until departing for a Caribbean cruise in November and December 2011.

Cunard Royal Rendezvous

13 January 2011:
Two years after the first Cunard Royal Rendezvous, RMS Queen Mary 2 met up with the Queen Victoria and the brand new Queen Elizabeth for another Royal Rendezvous in New York City. Both the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth made an Atlantic crossing in tandem 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.^[15]

5 June 2012:
All three 'Queens' will meet once more, but this time in Southampton in order to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth First Birthday

On 12th October 2011 Queen Elizabeth celebrated her first birthday in Valletta, Malta. In her first year, Queen Elizabeth visited 108 different destinations and travelled 123,351 nautical miles. As part of her insights programme she has had 78 speakers onboard; some of these celebrities and speakers were Lord Jeffery Archer, Ruth Scott, Brian Hoey, and Robert Kershaw.

The ship has consistently received a rating of 90% on the customer satisfaction questionnaire and ranks third behind sister ship MS Queen Victoria and the Celebrity Eclipse in the top 10 cruise ships at Cruise.co.uk cruise ship passenger ratings, which are based solely on passenger reviews.

MS Queen Victoria

MS Queen Victoria at Station Pier, Melbourne

MS Queen Victoria (QV) is a cruise ship operated by the Cunard Line, as is named after Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria is the running mate to Queen Mary 2, and the Queen Elizabeth. Until November 2008, she also operated alongside Queen Elizabeth 2. 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 GRT, she is the smallest of all three Cunard ships, after the RMSQueen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth.

QV's facilities include seven restaurants, thirteen bars, three swimming pools, a ballroom, and a theatre.

Characteristics and naming

In a departure from other Cunard Queens, Queen Victoria does not carry mail and thus will not receive Royal Mail Ship (RMS) status.

Also unlike many previous Cunard Queens, Queen Victoria is not a true ocean liner as she does not have the heavy plating throughout the hull nor the propulsion system of a dedicated transatlantic liner. However the bow was constructed with heavier plating to cope with the Transatlantic run, and the ship has a high freeboard. The recently completed 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 baseQueen Victoria on a converted Vista-class cruise ship, and the Queen Elizabeth retains the same design with some small modifications. Nonetheless, Ian McNaught, who was Queen Victoria's captain in 2009, has asserted that the ship is a liner based on her classic decor.

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 byCarnival Corporation & plc (parent company to Holland America, Cunard, and P&O) to Cunard with the intent that the vessel would become the MS Queen Victoria.^[6] 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 MS Arcadia.^[7] A new Queen Victoria was subsequently ordered with Fincantieri in 2004, which was 11 metres longer, 5,000 tons larger, and with an increased passenger capacity of 2,000.^[8]

Her 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 ofProsecco smashed against her side by Maureen Ryan, a Cunard employee who has served on all four Cunard Queens.^[9] 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.^[10]

QV left the Port of Venice on 24 August 2007 to commence her sea trials,^[11] and, after handover to Cunard, arrived in Southampton to fanfare and media attention on 7 December; much of the coverage being focused on the ship's superlatives, and representing the QV as "Cunard's most luxurious ship."^[12] The same day, the ship was officially named by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, continuing the tradition of Cunard Queens being named by members of the Royal Family.^[13] The bottle of champagne did not break upon impact with the QV's hull, which according to nautical superstition is a bad omen.^[14] However, a backup bottle was immediately successful.^[15]

Queen Victoria in her home port withQM2 about to pass her. QE2 can be seen in the dock behind.

At the end of October 2011 Queen Victoria and her fleet mates changed their registries toHamilton, Bermuda in order to host weddings onboard. Also the word "Southampton" across the stern was replaced by Hamilton.

Service history

Captain Paul Wright was appointed master of Queen Victoria in October 2006.^[17] Captain Christopher Rynd became secondary master. Captain Ian McNaught^[18] (of QE2 fame) briefly commanded Queen Victoria before transferring to Seabourn.^[19]

QV undertook her maiden voyage, a 10-day cruise to northern Europe, on 11 December 2007. Following this and a cruise to the Canary Islands, the QV 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 the Queen Elizabeth 2, to New York City, where the two ships met the Queen 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,^[20] owing to the QE2'simpending retirement from service in late 2008,^[21] though the ships did meet again in Southampton on 22 April 2008, resulting from a change in the QE2's schedule.^[22]

In May 2008, QV struck a pier in Malta after her thrusters malfunctioned. However, the damage was minimal, allowing the ship to continue operating, but repairs meant she would missed a port of call in La Goulette.^[23]

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, QV was illuminated in pink in support of Breast Cancer Research.^[24]

On 9 December 2010, Cunard announced its first female captain, Faroese born Inger Klein Olsen,^[25] would take command of Queen Victoria beginning on 15 December.

Cunard Royal Rendezvous

January 2011: Two years after the first Cunard Royal Rendezvous on the same date the RMS Queen Mary 2 met up with the Queen Victoria and the then brand new MS Queen Elizabeth for another Royal Rendezvous in New York City on 13 January 2011. Both theQueen Victoria and MS 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. The Empire State Building was lit up in red to mark the event.^[27]

5 June 2012: Once again all three Queens will meet again but this time in Southampton in order to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee ofQueen Elizabeth II.

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

A feature which will distinguish her from her new sister, MS Queen Elizabeth, is her 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 newer ship.

Interior

Queen Victoria's public rooms are mainly located on the lower-level public decks of the ship, 2 Deck and 3 Deck. Unlike the 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, Todd English 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 is 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 Hemispheres nightclub. The Queen's Grill and Princess Grill, with their attached lounge and an open courtyard between, are on 11 Deck.

Though QV is theoretically a classless ship, it has been argued that the Queen Mary 2 andQueen 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 standardfor 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 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 on the QM2 at the aft section of 10 Deck.

QV'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-storey library with a connecting spiral staircase.

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. In October 2009, Queen Victoria's captain, Ian McNaught, stormed out of a press conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, when asked about the ship's environmental standards.