VALENCIA, Calif. --
Cunard Line has released the first details of its next liner, the
Queen Victoria, scheduled to enter service in December 2007.
The line opened
bookings for sailings to preregistered passengers earlier this
month and will enable past Cunard passengers to book starting Feb.
26. The line will begin accepting bookings from the general public
on April 3.
The 90,000-ton Queen
Victoria, with a capacity of about 2,000 passengers, will cost
parent firm Carnival Corp. about $525 million.
Its pricing scheme will be
similar to the other Queens, but the maiden voyage will break with
tradition. The Queen Victoria will leave its homeport in
Southampton, England, on Dec. 11 and head north, rather than south,
for a 10-night Christmas markets tour of northern Europe. The ship
will call in Amsterdam; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Hamburg,
Germany; and Bruges, Belgium.
For people who prefer
warmer waters, the next trip leaves Dec. 21 for a 16-night
Christmas cruise to the Canary Islands via Spain, Portugal, Morocco
and Gibraltar.
Carol Marlow, Cunards
president and managing director, said new features include a
three-story theater with private viewing boxes, a three-tiered
lobby with a sweeping staircase and a conservatory called the
Winter Garden.
The ship will have a
two-story, 6,000-book library. Marlow noted that the first seagoing
library was on another Cunard vessel, the Bothnia, in
1874.
Passengers in the top
category, Princess Grill and Queens Grill, will have their own deck
with an exclusive restaurant, bar and lounge area and a terrace for
sunbathing. Grill restaurants will have an al fresco dining area,
something new to Cunard liners.
The Queen Victorias
debut marks the first time three Queens will be in service at the
same time in Cunards 167-year history.
To contact
reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].