Tag Archives: queen Victoria

Queen Victoria has updated look but the same grand library

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The Queen Victoria’s two-deck library is unified by a spiral staircase, complete with standing globe at the base. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
 

ABOARD THE QUEEN VICTORIA — One of the splendors of this ship is the wood-paneled two-deck library, among the best at sea.

During a recent month-long renovation in which Cunard Line made a number of changes to the ship, it could have taken the opportunity to cut back the size of the library, add a bar or rebrand it as a learning center.

Cunard did none of those things, leaving intact the 7,000-volume collection for guests to peruse.

There’s something extravagant about a two-story library on a ship. The space is unified by a spiral staircase, complete with a standing globe at the base. Upstairs is devoted to fiction, from Aaronson to Zander, while the lower level is for nonfiction.

“Cunard has a proper library,” said Svetlana Minic, one of two librarians who staff the book vault. The only library bigger than the one on Queen Victoria is the one on the larger Queen Mary 2, which has 10,000 volumes, Minic said.

The marvel of such a library is that there’s something for everybody. Not only does Queen Victoria have a fiction section, but it has a separate case for short stories only. There’s a section for young adult fiction as well as one for science fiction. The Everyman Library of classics spans authors from Jane Austin to Virginia Woolf.

The nonfiction collection is even more impressive and superbly organized. There are labeled shelves for everything from Animals, Gardening, Fitness and Science to Arts & Crafts, Food and Drink, Sport, Dance and Digital Photography.

Besides English, there are volumes in Italian, French, German, Japanese and a small number in Chinese.

Reference books include a complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. There are five floor-to-ceiling cases of travel books, and two of books on marine themes such as Maritime History, Merchant Shipping, Warships, Yachts and Passenger Shipping.

There are about a dozen books on Cunard Line or its individual ships. Minic said there used to be more but guests have taken them home as souvenirs, even though Queen Victoria has a bookshop stocked with new commemorative Cunard books for sale.

For guests who want to take a book home, Minic operates a paperback exchange. She said the library is very popular on world cruises. There’s often not a seat to spare on either level.

Two or three times a year, the collection is freshened with 400 new books. The next change-out is set for the start of Queen Victoria’s June 8 cruise from Southampton.

Minic said she then picks 400 older volumes to be donated at one of the ship’s ports of call.

Cunard Promises The World in 2019

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PHOTO: Queen Victoria will see the world in 2019

Cunard is throwing one amazing opportunity at your feet: The chance to tour the world at a leisurely pace.

Cunard recently announced (h/t USA Today) its Oceans of Discovery program, which is an apt title for a set of voyages that will take myriad travelers to grand destinations.The downside is that you will have to be a bit patient, as the party doesn’t kick off until 2019.

That’s when The World Voyage aboard Queen Victoria launches.

This particular ship is no stranger to wading past some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. This past January, it became the largest passenger ship to have traversed the Amazon. 2019 will see it help Cunard once again offer a circumnavigation journey that will take several months and see 24 countries over the course of 107 nights.

Voyagers have a wealth of options when it comes to the 2019 program. Boarding the Queen Victoria alone will have you selecting from 37 voyage possibilities.

As the website states, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth will also embark on some truly remarkable adventures.

Josh Leibowitz, Senior Vice President, Cunard North America, states, via Cunard: “Across the fleet, Cunard’s Winter 2019 program covers the globe, including places that we have not visited for years. Our itineraries have been designed to offer enriching days in port as well as plenty of time on board for our guests to relax and enjoy all that our ships have to offer.”

While Queen Victoria sets sail to conquer the world, its sister ships will concentrate on “exotic voyages that offer richer, deeper and more regionally-focused itineraries than ever before.”

In the case of Queen Mary 2, this means a few fabulous firsts as it calls at Doha, Qatar; Mormugao, India; Seogwipo, Jeju Island, South Korea and Chennai, India.

Queen Victoria’s world journey starts at $17,579 per person. So at just under $20,000, you are getting the absolute trip of a lifetime.

But if you want to save some bucks and are on this side of the pond, you can skip the trip to Southampton and start the journey on this side of the Atlantic. USA Today puts the price of a voyage from Fort Lauderdale at $15,799.

Cunard announces Alaska return for first time in over 20 years

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A visit to Alaska has been added by Cunard in 2019 for the first time in more than 20 years.

Queen Victoria will operate the only full world cruise in 2019, leaving flagship Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth with “greater flexibility” to travel to a mixture of destinations and itineraries, the line said.

Queen Elizabeth will run its first Alaskan cruise, crossing the north Pacific and Gulf of Alaska en route to Vancouver.

This will be the first time that any of the line’s current fleet will have travelled to Alaska.

The largest US state is featured in a newly released January to May 2019 ‘Oceans of Discovery’ programme, which includes 21 maiden calls and new destinations including Boracay in the Philippines, Akita in Japan and Goa in India.

Queen Victoria, which will undergo a refit in June, is to run a 107-night world voyage in 2019 on a western circumnavigation via the Panama Canal.

Passengers can travel on sections of lone world cruise which sees the ship end up sailing the Indian Ocean to South Africa before returning to Southampton.

Queen Mary 2’s winter 2019 deployment features ex-UK departures through the Mediterranean, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean to Far East and back.

The journeys range from one to three weeks in duration but can be combined through to a full 94-day voyage.

Queen Elizabeth will run 41 cruise combinations ranging from two to 38 nights.

The line’s three ships will call at 49 countries and 109 destinations in the first five months of 2019.

Ten destinations being re-introduced include Beijing, Picton in New Zealand, Abu Dhabi and Chennai.

Sales vice president, Alex White, said: “It’s an exciting time for Cunard, with a 2019 programme that offers more choice, more variety and more destinations for our guests than ever before.

“Whether you want to fly and cruise, or depart from the UK, we have a blend of iconic, world-class cities and delightful destinations with cruises that cover two to 107 nights.

“Our itineraries have been designed to offer enriching days in port as well as plenty of time on board for our guests to relax and enjoy the luxury of time, space and all that our ships have to offer.”