Queen Victoria Deck Plans

Are here:

http://www.cunard.co.uk/QueenVictoria/QueenVictoria_1-4.pdf

http://www.cunard.co.uk/QueenVictoria/QueenVictoria_5-8.pdf

http://www.cunard.co.uk/QueenVictoria/QueenVictoria_9-12.pdf

And the ARCADIA deck plans here:

http://www.pocruises.com/ships/arcadiaMicrosite/Decks.htm

Some observations - the Grill Rooms are TINY - about 32 places in each - the 'two deck high' Britannia Restaurant is, in truth, two restaurants, one above the other with a smallish hole linking the two. At least they have a Commodore Club forward, if not the Library, though that could be pleasant with the upper level on the Promenade Deck.....I'm sure the 'Friends of Vista' will have more observations.....

Peter

Hi Peter:

Seems like QV is much more of a two class ship than QE2 and QM2.

Appears they have really gone all out on this one to accommodate

their grill passengers with even more "private" areas.

Bob.

Appears they have really gone all out on this one to accommodate their grill passengers with even more "private" areas. Bob.

Hi Bob,

Yes, and they have done it cleverly - the Grill only deck areas are separate - unlike the QM2 which has a small bit of deck reserved for Grill passengers which the hoi poloi can go traipsing past.....though I still don't know how they are going to get 250 people to dine in the space they have for the Queen's and Princess Grills......

Peter

Perhaps some of the petrolheads can work out whether the two 17.6MW pods can push her along at more than the 18 knots claimed - again - in this more detailed write up:

http://www.cunard.com/queenvictoria/queenvictoriatechnical.pdf

Peter

Interesting to see the deck plans. All the info, including press releases, facts and descriptions etc. is now on the Cunard site at http://www.cunard.co.uk/QS-06$$/ . I note that Cunard seems to have redefined a “Classic Cunarder”. I was always under the impression that such a vessel was an ocean liner with all that entails – apparently no longer! According to the Press Release, it is the red and black livery and the interior decor that now comprise the differentiating factors. I hope that somebody has told the North Atlantic! I am also intrigued to find that there is a two-story (sic) library with 6,000 books. This intrigues me. Do they mean volumes, in which case are there two tales spread over 3000 volumes each? Surely too much for even a world cruise at the heady speed of 18 knots. Having looked at the picture, I wonder whether they perhaps mean “storey”. Queen Victoria’s debut is awaited with much interest.

I wonder why so many of the rooms are off-centered? I can understand for passenger flow in lounges but it seems awkward how the dinning room is off-centered.

Great to see Cunard finally publicizing the ship as it makes the Queen Victoria feel more like its really going to happen than just a bunch of rumours like we have had over the year.

Been on HAL's Vista-class ships so it will be interesting to compare the Queen with my experience to date. And oh so glad to see three ships running with Cunard from December 2007 on.

It is interesting to finally see the deck plans for the Queen Victoria. I am an avid Cunard fan (seven sailings aboard QE2, one cruise on QM2 (with another one booked), and cruises aboard the Vistafjord and Sagafjord). In fact, I even have two "sled chairs" that formerly resided in the QE2's Caronia Restaurant before the refit in late 1999.

Although the QV is essentially a Vista ship, I think Cunard has done a good job of adding some Cunard features to the ship. I am already excited about the Cunardia area. Also, the Queens Room looks like an excellent space. It is interesting that shops are located along the upper level of the Queens Room. This reminds me a little of the upper level of the QE2's Grand Lounge. Also, I am glad that the ship will have the traditional Cunard spaces (Chart Room, Golden Lion Pub, etc.).

Obviously, the furniture drawn in the dining spaces is not very accurate. The technical details of the ship indicate that the Queens Grill will seat 130 passengers, the Princess Grill will seat 120 passengers, and Todd English will seat 100 passengers. However, the deck plans show very few tables in these restaurants.

I am certain that I will be cruising aboard the QV during its first year of service. Next month, I am sailing aboard HAL's Westerdam. It will be interesting to compare the two ships.

Even though the QV may be a little slow and too similar to the Vista ships, I am always excited about a new Cunard ship! However, I certainly do not think that this ship can ever replace the incredible QE2.

Chuck

Comparing Deck plans with the original go at Queen Victoria;

1 Deck: Two more Cabins - Arcadia goes up to 109, QV to 113, also the QV has changed elevator positions so they do not ride up the exterior of the ship - and has 3 banks of 4 vs Arcadia's 4-6-4.

2 Deck: Spinaker Bar is the Chart Room, Intermezzo, the Carinthia lounge, Arcadian Rhodes, Todd English. The lower deck of the Library has eaten into Todd English space. Forward of the Queen's Room the layout is very similar: Casino/Pub/Theatre. The Queens Room layout is completely different.

3 Deck: Different shaped hole in front of restaurant, rather than centre, in attempt no doubt to replicate QM2 Britannia feel - but this is two restaurants with a connecting hole, rather than a room like the QM2's. Different layout midships to reflect the Queen's room double height - I hope they don't repeat the mistake of the QE2's (not so) Grand Lounge, with people passing through on the upper level to distracting effect. Theatre has boxes on upper tier - should they make these available to Grill Class passengers?

4 Deck - same number of cabins, but more suites - space lost to external elevators on Arcadia given over to cabins - ship also bulges out here like Carnival Spirit Class, as in Carnival and Costa executions (Carnival Spirit, Pride, Legend and Miracle, Costa Atlantica and Mediterranea) and unlike the HAL Ooster-, Zuider-, Wester- or Noor- dams, or P&O's Arcadia. Interestingly plan also shows 16 lifeboats for QV, while Arcadia has 18.

5, 6, 7, 8 Decks: Generally, more cabins, despite the greater number of suites on QV. as a rough rule of thumb: Highest cabin number QV:Arcadia: 5 Deck: 194:187, 6 Deck: 203:197, 7 Deck: 159:159, 8 Deck: 166:161

9 Deck: Very similar, ex the QV Magradome aka the 'Winter Garden'. Both have gyms with views forward.

10 Deck: Very similar - Crows Nest is now Commodore Club, though they seem to be making something of the 'Hemispheres' feature on the QV.

11 Deck: Orchid Restaurant and bar has been expanded into the two Grill Restaurants, the sports court behind the funnel on the Arcadia is not marked as passenger space on the Queen Victoria.

12 Deck - exclusive Grills deck on the QV, not a passsenger deck on Arcadia.

Overall, I think they've got an elegant solution to differentiating the Grill Passenger's experience - I wonder if they will get the boxes in the Theatre too? THe Queens Room might work if the upper deck isn't a thoroughfare, but the Britannia Restaurant feels a bit of a cheat......

Peter

Here is a quick reply from a friend on QE2.

"The designer of the Queen Vistoria, Stepphen Payne, was on board QE2 recently and spoke to the passengers about this wonderful new Cunard Ship. However, he carefully explained to us during an interview with the Cruise Director in the Grand Lounge that she definitely will not be a liner, but a super-fine cruise ship."

And what I see is quite HAL Vista-like to me. Of course these are preliminary plans so we can hope for a better layout coming.

Did you notice how few inside cabins there are? Do they have the pricing or itinerary out for Victoria yet?

Well, I've just had a look at the images on the Cunard site and I'm not sure what I think about this one.

Of course her interiors are contrived and "traditional", but then we all knew that would be the case. (To be fair, I know a lot of Cunard passengers like this kind of decor... I just don't happen to, unless it is extremely well done. My tastes run more towards QE2's original modernist interiors.) While ARCADIA (the original QUEEN VICTORIA) was supposed to be "modern", that was never the case with this ship. I'm glad ARCADIA didn't go to Cunard (she looks like a decent ship, but not a Cunarder) but on the other hand ever since I heard descriptions of what QV's interiors would turn out like ("classic", "traditional", etc.) I'd been rather worried that she'd be a decorative disaster. Hearing that her interior design had been turned over to the in-house designers at Princess didn't do much to allay my fears.

I guess my worst nightmare was a whole ship like QM2's Winter Garden, a room which I still think is truly abominable, no matter how much others try to convince me otherwise. My best hope was that she'd turn out something like the Renaissance R-class ships - fake, but tolerable.

Now, after seeing these renderings, I guess she'll be some of each.

First, the bad. To think that that atrociously ugly Queens Room is named after one of my favorite rooms on any ship (the Queens Room on QE2) is almost nauseating. Why has it only got a balcony on one side? (The deck plans reveal that it's to fit in an extra shop. Bad choice.) And worse, what in heaven's name are those round things on the other side where the balcony should be? I can only presume that they're fake windows. (Yech!) The whole space is so overwrought, it could only be an American designer's idea of what "British" looks like...

The Royal Court, amazingly, looks even worse. The balustrades are just plain odd, the Cunard logo over the stage looks vaguely fascist, and what on earth is on that ceiling beneath the balcony? I don't think I even want to know! The whole place is just awful. Unlike the Queens Room, it doesn't even look "faux-British"; it just looks strange.

The Royal Arcade makes it on the "bad list" too, but I think it could almost be saved if it weren't for those terrible chandeliers which look like they belong in a haunted house... Or, even more terrifying, that awful Winter Garden on QM2. I guess it's fair to say that my worst nightmare of QUEEN VICTORIA was the whole ship looking like the Royal Arcade; I'm not sure my imagination is vivid enough to come up with something as awful as the Royal Court or the Queens Room!

Fortunately, the whole ship doesn't look nearly that bad. The Library looks a lot like the ones on the R ships, but over two decks. And the Britannia Restaurant actually looks like it could have the potential to be rather nice. Todd English is a bit strange, but not as strange as the one on QM2. And the Queens Grill wouldn't be bad at all if it weren't for those sofas. (Sofas in restaurants have been an unfortunate affliction of Princess ships for a long time now; I'm sorry to see that they're carrying over to Cunard.) The Grand Lobby is probably the nicest-looking space to my eye; it's "traditional" but not over-the-top. I think I actually prefer it to the one on QM2, which has never been a favorite space of mine.

The two outdoor spaces shown are intriguing not so much for what they look like, but what they are. The Courtyard, despite the silly-looking lamp, is a very interesting idea - private outdoor dining for the Grills. And putting the Winter Garden under the Magradome is interesting, too, though I'm not sure a "Winter Garden" can be outdoors...

Now, to the cabins. These look pleasantly decorated, and interestingly they don't all look like standard Vista-class cabins either. In particular, take a look at that Princess Grill cabin for a moment - it should be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with Princess ships. For those that aren't, it's a standard Princess mini-suite with fancier decor. Not bad, though, and the other cabins look nice enough too.

The deck plans don't reveal any surprises... We have a modified Vista-class here, with a fairly logical layout. What is interesting is how few suites there are - which explains why the Grills are tiny. Otherwise, everything is about what one would expect.

Unfortunately, there is no cinema or auditorium. The press release says that she will have "A 270-degree lounge called Hemispheres, the venue for classes, lectures or relaxing before transforming into a stunning nightclub in the evening". No, no, no! Whoever thought this up clearly has no conception of how popular the lecture program is on Cunard. I am sure they will wind up being shown in that ugly Royal Court, which would seem to be the only space on this ship that can actually accomodate them. Anyhow, "multi-purpose" rooms like these never work - they tried something similar on the other Vista-class ships, and it's a disaster.

And who thought up the names for the suites? Why on earth is CARONIA's counterpart CARPATHIA? Someone is obviously trying to cash in on CARPATHIA's involvement with TITANIC. And the four big suites are AQUITANIA, BERENGARIA, MAURETANIA and... LACONIA? I have nothing against LACONIA, but still, one wonders how they came up with THAT one...

Finally, please, Cunard, stop calling her a liner! Anyone who cares about the difference between a cruise ship and a liner will know you're trying to pass her off as something she's not...

Anyhow, just my thoughts...

Here is a quick reply from a friend on QE2.

 

"The designer of the Queen Vistoria, Stepphen Payne, was on board QE2 recently and spoke to the passengers about this wonderful new Cunard Ship. However, he carefully explained to us during an interview with the Cruise Director in the Grand Lounge that she definitely will not be a liner, but a super-fine cruise ship."

And what I see is quite HAL Vista-like to me. Of course these are preliminary plans so we can hope for a better layout coming.

I noted in your signature that you sailed in 1974 & 1975 on Raffaello. I also sailed on Raffaello twice in '74 and Michelangelo once in '75. I have not surfed across anyone else on CruiseCritic with those sailing credentials. I loved those ships very much.

Let's hope that QE2 does not fade even more into the past. At Payne's presentation, was there any indication whether QE2, Queen Victoria or Queen Mary 2 will do the 2008 world cruise? I'm fully booked and deposited on the 2007 QE2 swing around. I am wondering if that will be her swansong?

LACONIA? I have nothing against LACONIA, but still, one wonders how they came up with THAT one...

quote]

 

Well, Laconia is known for being the first liner to do a world cruise, in 1923.

I guess that's how they came up with that one. :rolleyes:

And the four big suites are AQUITANIA, BERENGARIA, MAURETANIA and... LACONIA? I have nothing against LACONIA, but still, one wonders how they came up with THAT one...

That one puzzled me too - though I guess her claim to fame may be the first Cunarder to go on a World Cruise (II). Unfortunately both I and II were sunk during WWI and WWII, the second leading to Donitz' 'Laconia Order' banning U-Boats from picking up survivors, after American planes bombed the U156 carrying survivors, among them Italian POWs, and displaying a Red Cross.....

Lots of interesting stuff here:

http://www.cunard.co.uk/AboutCunard/default.asp?Active=Heritage&Sub=Fleet

Not a great fan of Berengaria either - though as the first Cunarder to be named after a Queen, I suppose we can overlook her pedigree, wiring, list...

Peter

Unfortunately both I and II were sunk during WWI and WWII, the second leading to Donitz' 'Laconia Order' .....

Come to think of it the CARPATHIA was torpedoed in 1918, the CARINTHIA (II) in 1940....hang it all, why not go for LUSITANIA, ATHENIA, LANCASTRIA........tricky thing 'history'.......

Peter

In particular, take a look at that Princess Grill cabin for a moment - it should be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with Princess ships. For those that aren't, it's a standard Princess mini-suite with fancier decor. Not bad, though, and the other cabins look nice enough too.

 

Good observation Doug. Yes, the Princess Grill cabin looks EXACTLY like a typical Princess Cruises mini-suite (right down to the ceiling treatment). Having stayed in one of these cabins they are not bad. I do agree the Cunard decor looks slightly upgraded.

When I look at the accommodation decks of QV (Decks 5-8) I'm very much reminded of CORAL PRINCESS. Very similar layout.

The three deck foyer with staircase reminds me of CROWN and REGAL PRINCESS.

The interior passenger flow of QV is weighed heavily on the starboard side, with the majority of lounges off the starboard walkways and on the port side. This is very much a Carnival Cruise Lines trait and used extensively on all their ships since the HOLIDAY back in the mid-80's.

Two "features" typical of Vista Class ships missing from QV are exterior glass elevators and a glass covered pool. At least I think the center pool is open-air while the "Winter Garden" has the sliding glass roof.

All in all QV looks ok. While I would have preferred a completely original design, I'm pleased she is not an exact clone of other Vista Class ships.

Ernie

Looks like the PR people are earning their keep.....can't wait for some journalist to ask why they are naming Suites or Cafes after sunk liners;)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4719616.stm

Peter

Looks like the PR people are earning their keep.....can't wait for some journalist to ask why they are naming Suites or Cafes after sunk liners;)

 

 

L O L !!!!

Has anyone taken notice of the dining room chairs in the main dining room on QV? Do they remind you of a certain ship/s from Cunard's past? They do me!

Ernie

Exterior view. Not very exciting.

Ernie

Disagree with the exterior view. I think its a beauty! Seriously!

While I love some of the things about the QM2 I rather thought that liner was sort of on the ugly side from its exterior. Sigh! I guess we can't satisfy everyone.

Disagree with the exterior view. I think its a beauty! Seriously!

 

While I love some of the things about the QM2 I rather thought that liner was sort of on the ugly side from its exterior. Sigh! I guess we can't satisfy everyone.

Then you must also love the exterior of WESTERDAM, OOSTERDAM, NOORDAM, ZUIDERDAM, and ARCADIA. They are pretty much identical looking. Take your pick of any of the clones. At least QV is different on the inside.

You may also like the exterior look of Carnival's Spirit Class. Personally I think QV resembles the Spirit Class even more than the previous Vista's since the exterior lifts have been removed and there is a now a section of cabins in the center that jets out from the rest of the ship. That is very much a Spirit Class trait.

Ernie

I loved the Oosterdam. Its my baby! Hence, the bias towards the QV.

Not familiar with the Spirit Class. Last done Carnival in 1994!