Queen Victoria is a 90,746gt cruise ship operated by Cunard. Introduced in December 2007, she combines the line's traditional British styling with a smaller and more intimate scale than Queen Mary 2 and Queen Anne.
Construction and entry into service
Queen Victoria was built for Cunard by Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard in Venice, Italy, as yard number 6127. Her design is derived from Carnival Corporation's Vista-class platform but incorporates alterations and interiors developed for the Cunard brand.
The ship floated out in January 2007 and was delivered later that year. Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, named Queen Victoria at Southampton on 10 December 2007.
Her maiden voyage departed Southampton on 11 December 2007, calling at Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo, Hamburg and Zeebrugge. The ship initially sailed under the British flag before transferring to the Bermuda registry in 2011.
Queen Victoria is registered at Hamilton, Bermuda. Her permanent IMO number is 9320556, her current MMSI is 310624000 and her call sign is ZCEF3.
Size and capacity
The ship measures 294 metres in length and approximately 32.3 metres across the beam, with a draught of about eight metres. Her current registered gross tonnage is 90,746gt, slightly higher than Fincantieri's original delivery figure of 89,500gt following later alterations.
Cunard's voyage pages commonly present Queen Victoria with approximately 2,059 guests and 913 crew. Its main ship page also publishes a higher guest figure of 2,313, reflecting maximum rather than normal occupancy.
Queen Victoria has 16 decks in total, with 12 used by passengers. Following earlier alterations, the ship has approximately 1,035 passenger cabins. Eight more Britannia staterooms are scheduled to be created during the announced October–November 2026 refit.
Machinery and performance
Queen Victoria uses diesel-electric propulsion. Her generating plant comprises four larger and two smaller Sulzer-design diesel engines, originally documented by Fincantieri at 11,520kW and 8,640kW respectively.
Electricity from the generating plant supplies two ABB podded propulsion units, each originally rated at 17,600kW. Fincantieri records a service speed of 21 knots and a maximum speed of 24 knots.
Her dimensions were designed to permit passage through the original locks of the Panama Canal, supporting the longer world and repositioning voyages that have formed an important part of her career.
Accommodation and dining
Queen Victoria offers Britannia, Britannia Club, Princess Grill and Queens Grill accommodation. The principal dining room is determined by the accommodation category, with dedicated restaurants for Britannia Club and Grills passengers.
The 2017 refit introduced Britannia Club dining to Queen Victoria and created 43 Britannia Club balcony staterooms. It also added new Britannia accommodation and five Penthouse Suites while refreshing existing cabins and major public areas.
Current dining spaces include the Britannia Restaurant, Britannia Club Restaurant, Princess Grill, Queens Grill, Lido Restaurant and Steakhouse at The Verandah. The Golden Lion offers a traditional pub setting, while the Chart Room serves drinks and lighter refreshments.
Entertainment and public rooms
The Queens Room is the setting for afternoon tea, ballroom dancing and Cunard's Gala Evening programme. The two-level library, connected by a spiral staircase, maintains the line's emphasis on quieter sea-day spaces.
The Royal Court Theatre extends across three decks and was the first theatre at sea designed with private boxes. It hosts production shows, visiting performers and speakers from the Cunard Insights programme.
Other spaces include the Commodore Club observation lounge, the Yacht Club, Winter Garden, Grand Lobby, casino, spa, fitness centre, swimming pools and outdoor decks.
Major 2017 refurbishment
Queen Victoria underwent a substantial month-long refurbishment at Fincantieri's Palermo shipyard in May and June 2017. The project introduced Britannia Club dining and accommodation, expanded the aft Lido Sun Deck and refreshed existing staterooms.
The Grand Suites and aft Penthouse Suites were redesigned, while the Winter Garden and Yacht Club were updated. A new Chart Room concept and revised bar offerings were also introduced.
The physical alterations increased the ship's accommodation inventory and changed its internal arrangement, explaining why present-day cabin, capacity and gross-tonnage figures differ from the original shipbuilder specifications.
Completed 2022 dry dock
Queen Victoria entered Harland & Wolff's Belfast shipyard for scheduled dry-docking in 2022. The work was described as standard dry-dock activity rather than a transformation comparable with the 2017 programme.
Deck7 records 2022 as the latest completed and independently documented refurbishment or dry-dock year at the present verification date.
Further transformation scheduled for late 2026
Cunard has announced another extensive transformation at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam from 17 October to 5 November 2026. As this work is scheduled but not yet completed, it is not used as the latest-refurbishment year in the ship index.
The project is due to refresh the Grand Lobby and Queens Room, enhance Queens Grill and Princess Grill suites and introduce The Pavilion Wellness Café. Eight additional Britannia staterooms are planned, including three Britannia Deluxe Oceanview cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Queen Victoria is scheduled to return to service on 7 November 2026. Once the work has been completed, the refurbishment year, cabin count and relevant description fields should be updated.
Environmental equipment
Queen Victoria is conventionally fuelled and was not built to operate on liquefied natural gas. Cunard confirmed in 2023 that the ship had been equipped to connect to shore electricity at compatible ports, reducing onboard engine use, emissions and noise while alongside.
Deck7 has not located a sufficiently clear current primary source confirming the ship's precise exhaust-gas cleaning configuration. That field therefore remains marked as unknown rather than being inferred from equipment installed elsewhere in the Carnival Corporation fleet.
Itineraries
Queen Victoria frequently operates Mediterranean programmes alongside voyages from Southampton to Northern Europe, the Norwegian fjords, the Canary Islands and the Atlantic islands. She has also undertaken World Voyages and extended journeys through Asia, Australia and the Americas.
Her comparatively traditional public rooms, dedicated Grills areas and manageable size give Queen Victoria a distinctive position within Cunard's four-ship fleet.