In regards to QV, she stated:
'will be a liner, with strengthened and elongated hull with transatlantic capabilities and will have the traditional signature dining rooms.'

In addition, QV's keel laying is scheduled for the first half of 2006, while QV's marketing launch will begin during the 1Q of 2006.

Marlow also was asked about QE2. She stated 2007 will mark QE2's 40th anniversary, and that QE2 will be able to operate beyond 2010.

When asked about a Cunard three ship operation, Marlow stated:
'I am confident we can fill all three liners and as long as QE2 remains popular and in demand we will continue to operate her.'

I would consider that last statement a big "if". Basically, QE2 could go at anytime if Cunard decides she is no longer popular and earning money. Time will tell.

It will be interesting to see how her interiors turn out. From the outside I don't think she will look any different then the current Vista Class except be slightly longer, and of course have a Cunard funnel.

quote:

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Originally posted by eroller:
'will be a liner, with strengthened and elongated hull with transatlantic capabilities and will have the traditional signature dining rooms.'

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Can a modified Vista class really be said to have 'Transatlantic capabilities'? Or do ALL cruise ships have 'Transatlantic capabilities'?

[ 12-07-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Can a modified Vista class really be said to have 'Transatlantic capabilities'? Or do ALL cruise ships have 'Transatlantic capabilities'?

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Personally, I think it takes more than a strenghtened hull to make a ship a "liner". Of course Cunard is already touting this ship as a true "liner" so we shall see.

GRAND PRINCESS can have a stregthened hull ... that does not make her a "liner". Merely a cruise ship with a strengthened hull ... which is what I imagine QV will be. No doubt Cunard's PR hype will tell us otherwise.

Ernie

[ 12-07-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Can a modified Vista class really be said to have 'Transatlantic capabilities'? Or do ALL cruise ships have 'Transatlantic capabilities'?

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A standard Vista Class ship is not a Transatlantic liner if you compare them to QM2 as an example. The lifeboats are positioned to low, the hull is 1/2" thick plate verses 1" as on QM2 and the engines are not powerful enough for extra reserve speed. Hopefully QV(2) will actually have features of a liner/cruise ship and a family resemblence to QM2.

[ 12-07-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

I think Carnival have finally realised that a mass-produced cruise ship does not really fit the Cunard barnd, so instead of designing another real 'Ocean Liner' which is expensive, they are 'bigging' QV up!

[ 12-07-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Can a modified Vista class really be said to have 'Transatlantic capabilities'? Or do ALL cruise ships have 'Transatlantic capabilities'?

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She is saying that all other Vista vessels do not have Transatlantic capabilities, would be hopeless for World Cruises and are purely for pottering about on milk runs They have to make QV different to Arcadia somehow, even the funnel will be the same except colour, otherwise. I thought Cunard had nothing left to do with QV anyway except having it built for them. Didn't all design etc get removed from Cunard's control?

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Originally posted by PamM:

Didn't all design etc get removed from Cunard's control?

Pam

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Apparently Princess Cruises has sole responsibility for QV now, including the design work. At least that is what I have been reading. Princess is Cunard, and Cunard is Princess so I guess it doesn't really matter?? I just hope Teresa Anderson, the Princess in-house designer doesn't get her hands on QV. We don't need another Princess clone.

I would venture to say the QV will have a longer sharper bow and a Constanzi stern to better handle the Force 6 and higher oceans. Hope they get the dining room away from the stern and midships where it belongs.

My experience is the transom sterns tend to lift the props out of the water in the swells and not do well in a following sea. The blunt bows slam against the waves.

quote:

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Originally posted by PamM:

She is saying that all other Vista vessels do not have Transatlantic capabilities, would be hopeless for World Cruises and are purely for pottering about on milk runs
Pam

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lasuvidaboy wrote:
I thought that the project was cancelled??

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and...

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Thad wrote:
I think she will definitely be built.

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and...

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eroller wrote:
Of course we have seen QV get derailed in the past, so who knows for certain?

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Why some much doubt? I have previously posted many times that QUEEN VICTORIA was ALREADY being built (in two phases). A forward (bow) section has been (or just about) completed, and as you noted Ernie the keel laying will happen before mid-year 2006. Next inline at Marghera should be CARNIVAL FREEDOM, and I can only guess that work will start on QV’s keel when this latest Carnival vessel is floated out for outfitting.

******

quote:

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Originally posted by bulbousbow:

Why some much doubt?

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Not that we ever doubted you, but the fact is there has been very little in print regarding QV, at least not officially. You hear this and hear that, but rarely anything in the way of an official press release. This coupled with the fact that the last QV was suddenly transferred to P&O has created a credibility issue with this ship. Also keep in mind that Cunard touted the first QV as a ship with "liner qualities". As it turned out, she was nothing more than a HAL Vista Class with a restaurant stuck on top. Are we to believe the second QV will be different, based on Cunard's track record?

I'm still not 100% certain this ship won't end up at P&O at the last minute. It's happened before.

quote:

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Originally posted by eroller:
I'm still not 100% certain this ship won't end up at P&O at the last minute. It's happened before.

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eroller wrote:
I'm still not 100% certain this ship won't end up at P&O at the last minute. It's happened before.

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Ernie, you are entitled to your opinion, but why would Carol Marlow (of all people) make such an announcement if it wasn’t true?...and I’m referring to the thicker hull plates and the liner bit. What cruise line besides Cunard would a (transatlantic) liner suit...P&O? I wouldn’t think so.

******

I'll try and see what more info I can get. It won't be easy since even Carol Marlow couldn't disclose more details.

******

quote:

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Originally posted by bulbousbow:

Ernie, you are entitled to your opinion, but why would Carol Marlow (of all people) make such an announcement if it wasn’t true?...and I’m referring to the thicker hull plates and the liner bit. What cruise line besides Cunard would a (transatlantic) liner suit...P&O? I wouldn’t think so.

******

Cheers

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I have no clue who Carol Marlow is? I know nothing about her except she is the new President of Cunard. Suddenly I'm to believe everything she has to say?

Regardless, when did I ever imply that anything she stated wasn't true in my previous post? You seem to have fabricated that all on your own. Basically, I gave you reasons why people have been skeptical about QV, and they are all valid reasons. Sure the "new" QV will have thicker hull plating, but at the end of the day she is an HAL Vista Class cruise ship.

I have no doubt the ship will be built with a thicker hull and so called "liner qualities" ... whatever they may be. So what. The previous QV (now sailing as ARCADIA) was also promised to have "liner qualities". What did they turn out to be? Absolutely nothing.

Could a ship with a thicker hull benefit P&O? Absolutely! In case you haven't noticed, P&O likes to offer rather long round trip cruises to the Caribbean from England. This means making an Atlantic crossing in each direction. A ship with "liner qualities" would certainly benefit a line like P&O.

You seem awfully defensive about QV. I think I made my case quite clear in my previous post as to why there may be credibility issues with QV and Cunard.

quote:

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Originally posted by eroller:

Could a ship with a thicker hull benefit P&O? Absolutely! In case you haven't noticed, P&O likes to offer rather long round trip cruises to the Caribbean from England. This means making an Atlantic crossing in each direction. A ship with "liner qualities" would certainly benefit a line like P&O.

Ernie

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Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:

IMO Carnival Corp. will assign the ship to whatever division they feel will benefit the most. Hopefully if completed, she will be part of Cunard Line.

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Agreed. Apparently Carnival felt the last QV would generate more revenue at P&O. I also hope this new QV finds it way to Cunard (no last minute brand changes). Cunard can't continue to operate as a two ship fleet forever. I think it's time for them to expand market share.

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eroller wrote:
I have no clue who Carol Marlow is? I know nothing about her except she is the new President of Cunard. Suddenly I'm to believe everything she has to say?

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Ernie, you don’t have to believe anything anyone says, but the way I see it, it would be very irresponsible for a president of a company to blabber false statements.

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Regardless, when did I ever imply that anything she stated wasn't true in my previous post? You seem to have fabricated that all on your own.

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No fabrications anywhere.

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I have no doubt the ship will be built with a thicker hull and so called "liner qualities" ... whatever they may be. So what. The previous QV (now sailing as ARCADIA) was also promised to have "liner qualities". What did they turn out to be? Absolutely nothing.

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I can’t recall how much was said previously about the first intended QV (now ARCADIA), but this time a statement has been made that she will have the capabilities of a transatlantic liner, see Marlow’s statement: 'will be a liner, with strengthened and elongated hull with transatlantic capabilities and will have the traditional signature dining rooms.'.

quote:

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Could a ship with a thicker hull benefit P&O? Absolutely! In case you haven't noticed, P&O likes to offer rather long round trip cruises to the Caribbean from England. This means making an Atlantic crossing in each direction. A ship with "liner qualities" would certainly benefit a line like P&O.

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Maybe so, but P&O does not do North Atlantic crossings in mid-winter, unless Carnival decides that P&O should rival Cunard, which I think would be a stupid move. There is also the question of the extra expense of building a ship for transatlantic purposes and then deploying her on itineraries that other P&O ships can serve. To me that is a waste of engineering and money.

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You seem awfully defensive about QV.

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Call it the way you want, but the fact is (as it stands), she is being built and she will be a Cunarder (that one day will be QE2’s substitute).

******

quote:

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Originally posted by bulbousbow:

Ernie, you don’t have to believe anything anyone says, but the way I see it, it would be very irresponsible for a president of a company to blabber false statements.

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Oh I don't think Marlow is a liar by any means. She is stating what she knows *today*. That is no different then what occurs in any large corporation on any given day. Marlow is in charge of a division and not the corporation. Her capacities are limited. Tomorrow Micky Arison may decide that QV has more revenue opportunities over at P&O or some other Carnival Corp. brand. We have seen this before at Carnival Corp. so it shouldn't come as a shock.

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Maybe so, but P&O does not do North Atlantic crossings in mid-winter, unless Carnival decides that P&O should rival Cunard, which I think would be a stupid move.

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Who is to say that QV will do mid-Winter crossings? She may do one or two, but I'm doubtful QV will be put into regular transatlantic service. I think that will remain QM2's role, even though many sailings don't go out full (even with heavy discounting). The transatlantic market is very limited and I don't envision more than one ship in the role. If anything, in the future we may see far fewer scheduled crossings, and more cruising. I might also add it's not just the North Atlantic that experiences rough waters in the Winter. In fact the South Atlantic does as well, which are the waters that P&O ships ply to the Caribbean.

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Call it the way you want, but the fact is (as it stands), she is being built and she will be a Cunarder (that one day will be QE2’s substitute).

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Probably so, but that remains to be seen. The last QV was also being built and even promoted for Cunard, but somehow ended up at P&O. The first QV was even pictured in the brochures and on the Cunard website. Here today and gone tomorrow. Basically I'm stating that anything is possible, and I'm not so quick to get sucked into the Cunard PR machine.

Ernie

[ 12-07-2005: Message edited by: eroller ]

Most of the session was about people's perception of Cunard generally, but it went onto the ships, and finished off with a few minutes about Queen Victoria. We were handed a few pages of what appeared to be a mocked-up brochure extract about the Queen Victoria: a picture of the ship, some 'facts & figures', and then some artists' impressions of how she might look internally.

I didn't pay much attention to the latter, but the introductory stuff was very interesting. As regards appearance, as far as I could see (and recall) the external image was very similar to Arcadia - the same tiers of balconies, the same interruption midships, etc. The 'shot' was from off the bows so it wasn't possible to get an impression of the stern. There was a statement that she was going to be 90,000 tons or so. Then there were some statements about intended use. As well as the obvious ones, eg World Cruise and Transatlantic Liner service, there was one other particularly interesting one: 'Mediterranean Fly-Cruises'. I thought that was very revealing. If it turns out to be true, then QV is (in part at least) seen as a way for Cunard to get a slice of the high-end Mediterannean market, eg the area occupied presently by Celebrity, etc.

[ 12-08-2005: Message edited by: Tom Burke ]