Cunard Line has announced that its new
85,000-ton cruise ship, which is scheduled to enter service in 2005, will be
named Queen Victoria. Dividing her time between Southampton, England, and Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida, the Queen Victoria will be
the second largest Cunarder ever built. Together with the current flagship,
Queen Elizabeth 2, and Queen Mary 2, the biggest passenger liner ever, the
Cunard fleet will include three Queens for the first time – truly the most
famous ocean liners in the world.
Available For Bookings Beginning
Approximately April 2004.
Past passengers of Cunard and her sister cruise lines will enjoy early booking
privileges.
Call us early at 844-442-7847 or 844-44-CRUISE as soon as you receive the
word that you can book for 2005.
Anticipated itineraries include 12-day cruises between Barcelona, Spain,
and Athens, Greece, as well as cruises originating and ending in
Venice. Some cruise itineraries will include Istanbul, Turkey, the
Black Sea ports of Yalta and Odessa--exciting ports that
will complement ports in Greece and the Adriatic.
When the Queen Victoria winters in North
America, she will feature 15-day cruises between Ft. Lauderdale and
Los Angeles, through the Panama Canal, and will visit Hawaii
and the Hawaiian Islands, with a relaxing 15-day itinerary that
makes visiting these islands a pleasure enhanced even further by
eliminating the need to pack, unpack, fly from island to island, or locate a
good restaurant for dinner.
The South America itinerary of this
elegant Queen will offer segments of from 17 to 55 days, similar to the quickly
sold out sailing in January 2004 of the Caronia, when she completely
circumnavigated South America in January, February and March of 2004, leaving
Ft. Lauderdale and visiting Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Chile,
Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Montevideo, Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro and other ports in Brazil,
and popular islands in the Caribbean. This itinerary typically offers the
chance to see Antarctica, the famous Nazca lines in Peru, and sometimes
Machu Picchu or the Galapagos Islands.
The 1,968-passenger vessel will feature a
covered wraparound promenade deck, a forward-facing observation lounge, a large
Lido pool with a retractable magrodome, and 10 of the12 passenger decks will be
served by exterior glass-walled lifts. Like QE2 and QM2, the liner will have a
Queens Grill, offering single-seating gourmet dining. There will also be a
unique Colonial Restaurant on Deck 11 with spectacular panoramic views.
Queen Victoria will offer a wide range of
accommodations, large standard outside cabins (170 square feet) and a high
percentage of balcony cabins (67%).
The on-board menus, entertainment and lecture program will feature British
tastes, as well as American and Continental flavors. Queen Victoria will fly the red
ensign; she will have the name of her home port, Southampton, on her stern, and
she will have a British Captain and Officers.
In design terms she will have an undeniably British feel, with two British design
teams being responsible for her interiors.
Queen Victoria is being built at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, near
Venice, with her keel laid on July 12, 2003. One of the most technically
advanced shipbuilders in the world, Fincantieri has built more than 7,000
vessels, including many for Cunard’s parent Carnival Corporation. Originally
ordered as the fifth in a series of five 'Vista' class ships for sister company
Holland America, the contact was signed over to Cunard before the keel was laid
and Holland America then ordered a further ship for delivery in 2006. The
lead ship in the series, Zuiderdam, entered service in December 2002.
Her float out is scheduled for May 2004, prior to
her delivery in March 2005. She is scheduled to enter service in April 2005.
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