Queen Victoria

Last week Cunard's Queen Victoria called into Bergen for the day. The following photos were taken as she made her departure from the city and passed under the Askøy bridge.

Cruise Ship Queen Victoria, Askøy Bridge, Bergen
Queen Victoria approaches the Askøy bridge on her departure from Bergen
Before her eventual contruction and entry into service in 2007, Queen Victoria had a complicated conception. In 2000, Carnival Corp placed an order with Fincantieri yards in Italy for a vista class cruise ship to be added to the Holland America Line fleet. However, the decision was made that the ship would instead be moved to the Cunard fleet, to be named Queen Victoria.

Cruise Ship Queen Victoria, Askøy Bridge, Bergen
Queen Victoria approaches the Askøy bridge
During construction, it was felt that the new Cunarder should incorporate more of the successful design features from the recently built Queen Mary 2. As such, the hull at Fincantieri was transferred again shortly before completion to the P&O fleet and renamed Arcadia. A new order was placed for the ship which would eventually become Queen Victoria - still a Vista class design, but with several modifications and a slight increase in length.

Cruise Ship Queen Victoria, Askøy Bridge, Bergen
A vew of her top decks shows the Pavilion pool and glass-roofed Winter Garden
The completed Queen Victoria finally entered service in December 2007, and was officially named by Camilla, Duchess of Conrnwall during a ceremony at Southampton.

Cruise Ship Queen Victoria, Askøy Bridge, Bergen
'The Courtyard' (visible below the funnel) is an area accessible from the Queens Grill and Princess Grill restaurants
Since then, she has enjoyed a relatively uneventful career, with only minor incidents (including a collision with a pier in Malta in 2008 caused by a thruster malfunction).

Cruise Ship Queen Victoria, Askøy Bridge, Bergen
Queen Victoria's iconic funnel
Queen Victoria sports the instantly recognisable red and black Cunard funnel, which makes for an especially impressive sight when viewed from above at a distance of just a few metres.

Cruise Ship Queen Victoria, Askøy Bridge, Bergen
The Lido pool sits at the aft end of Deck 9, with fantastic views over the ship's wake
After passing smoothly beneath the Askøy bridge, Queen Victoria continued on through Byfjorden to continue her cruise.

Ships in Bergen have now featured all three members of the current Cunard fleet on this blog. Take a look at our full report of QM2's recent visit to the city here (including photos of her passing beneath the Askøy bridge), and an archive photo of Queen Elizabeth's 2013 call here.
Location: Laksevåg, Bergen, Norway

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