The Queen Victoria is resuming service today in Southampton, England. Returning after a two-year operational pause, the Cunard vessel is welcoming guests for a Western Mediterranean cruise.
The 14-night voyage sails to six ports in Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
In addition to Barcelona, Cádiz and Cartagena, the Queen Victoria will visit La Spezia and Civitavecchia. Before returning to Southampton on Jun. 19, the vessel will also pay a visit to Gibraltar.
Continuing its first post-pandemic program, the Queen Victoria will offer different cruises during the summer, with itineraries visiting Western Europe, Scandinavia, the Norwegian Fjords, Iceland, Iberia and more.
In September, the vessel is offering a special 19-night cruise that will visit the Adriatic. Sailing roundtrip from Southampton, the itinerary features stops at seven ports in five countries, including Trieste – from where the passengers will be able to visit Venice.
The Queen Victoria is also sailing several cruises to the Canary Islands and Madeira that include calls in St. Cruz de Tenerife, La Palma, Arrecife, Funchal and more.
Designed to honor the ocean liners of the past, the Queen Victoria originally entered service for Cunard in 2007.
As the second biggest vessel ever built for the British company in its over 150-year history, the 90,000-ton cruise ship followed the 2004-built Queen Mary 2.
At the time, the 2,000-guest ship introduced several new features, such as a theater with private viewing boxes, the first floating Cunardia museum and a two-story library with a spiral staircase.
In 2017, the Queen Victoria was subjected to a month-long, $40 million refit that included the creation of a new Lido Sun Deck as well as a new Winter Garden.
The ship was also fitted with 43 new staterooms, a new restaurant and five new Penthouse Suites.
Before resuming service, the vessel also spent over two weeks at one of the drydocks of the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.