Queen Victoria Sails Into Sydney for Celebration

[pianomanmaestro]

I would hate to ride in a ship with that name....

[bettabreeder181]

Oh. The ACTUAL sister of this ship is under sonstruction...the MS Queen Elizabeth...so Arcadia, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, and the Vista class all have the same design.

[bettabreeder181]

I think the Queen Victorias sister ship is the Arcadia of P&O. Since the Arcadia was originally to be the Queen Victoria but Cunard wanted a more advance model. If you look at them they are very similar.

[jamzie2]

all carnival ships are tacky¬!

[tomjune1983]

Nope. the aurora is not:)

[homeric9]

The Aurora shares the same decorators as the Queen Victoria. Same suppliers, same designers, same managers. P&O, like all the Carnival acquired brands ha ve lost its individual identity. There are some who don't need to be stimulated when travelling, like yourself. Carnival banks on customers like yourself who enjoy cattle call cruising. Go and have them tomjune, I'll take their competition anyday.

[tomjune1983]

I HAVE A BOOK ABOUT AURORA AND THE INTERIOR IS NOT SUPPLIED FROM ANYWHERE BUT ENGLAND AND BECAYSE IT WAS BUILT FOR THE BRITISH MARKET WE WONT FIND ARROGANT AMERICANS LIKR YOU ON IT, AND AURORA WAS BUILT BEFORE STUPID CARNIVAL TOOK OVER. I WISH P&O STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY WOULD OWN P&O CRUISES.

but my freind builds ships and said the ventura was POORly built. ps the aurora is the best looking cruise ship in the world

[homeric9]

Tommy, you need to look beyond the speak generated by Canrival and it's PR hype and read between the lines. Yes,Aurora was built with British components but those same suppliers have worked on other Carnival brands including the Victoria. Notice in your post you said "not supplied anywhere but England",not "exclusive to the Aurora". Fact is Tommy Carnival brands have grown under their stewardship but suffer immensely from the lack of creative drive that made them what they were before Carnival.

[homeric9]

You also seem to be aught in some sort of angst too Tommy. Carnival brands have grown immensely but the very element that made them so attractive for Carnival to buy is fast disappearing. Arrogant Americans saved Cunard and built the Mary and Vicky. So you could have Cunard in a state of old mediochrity or have them one step above it. Aurora is indeed attractive from the ouside, which says Mickey Arison didn't build her.

[tomjune1983]

plus MV aurora and mv oriana stand out from other cruise ships the very stream-lined aurora is georgeous

[tomjune1983]

i think all homeric9 does is trawl videos of queen victoria and complain about her, i can just as easily say carnival freedom is tacky.

[cadz4me]

Thanks again Rockhopper! It's obvious that we are BOTH passionate about liners & I commend you for that!You are correct in your observation that the QE2 was designed to carry less passengers. Being less than 1/2 the size of the QM2, the QE2 was ostensibly intended to be "a North Atlantic ferry" & henceforth designed the way she was.Today's liners are almost like floating bricks. If they just softened the lines, made them a little more sweeping, a longer bow & proper rounded stern,they'd nail it!

[cadz4me]

Thanks for replying to my comment.Back in 1998,I had the pleasure of boarding QE2 & interviewing Commodore Ronald Warwick for the Sydney Morning Herald.Commodore Warwick was in command of QE2 for many years before becoming first Captain of QM2.We discussed the designs of liners today & HE agreed with my observations too!He told me there was something elegant& unique about the designs of the older liners which are sadly lacking today. Pamela Connover, CEO of Cunard, does NOT design ships!

[rockhopper2496]

well, there arnt many designs for ships. And you are of course right that many ships look the same, however, they are not totally boring. I agree with you further more, about the QE2 being very different. Its design is unique. Thats what my model of it shows anyway. But I think that the shape the qe2 was in made it less capeble of carrying large amounts of passengers.

[rockhopper2496]

well, there arnt many designs for ships. And you are of course right that many ships look the same, however, they are not totally boring. I agree with you further more, about the QE2 being very different. Its design is unique. Thats what my model of it shows anyway. But I think that the shape the qe2 was in made it less capeble of carrying large amounts of passengers.

[Mattsana]

It's not supposed to carry more passengers. They aimed for a high passanger/space ratio and brought very high elegance to the facilties onboard which I think is good. Cause I would not prefer to get the "inner city" feeling when cruising. It's a little like Voyager/Freedom Class ship from RCCL but not as extrem as QM2.

[cadz4me]

I agree totally with Homeric9. ALL ocean liners today look the same! Why are they just "cookie cutter" replicas of each other? I personally think all the new Cunard liners & indeed all today's cruise liners look like a floating block of flats!! The most boring & uninspiring designs EVER created. As dated as she is, I will miss the elegant, flowing lines of my perrenial favourite, my beloved QE2, terribly. It was sad to see her sail from Sydney & into our maritime history on February 25th, 2008!

[rockhopper2496]

What, QV and QM2 not good enouth for you? Why dont you come u with a different design then? Huh? What is your problem? a ship is a ship. They ARE floating blocks of flats! God what the hell is wrong with you. they are not boring. If you have something to say go and blut it out in the cunards chirmans face!

[homeric9]

It's hard to get excited about this ship when there are nearly 12 identical vessels like it just with a different name. Every new vessel Carnival builds is seemingly no better than the last. Carnival seems to rubber stamp these designs as they come. The Vicky was designed by P&O Cruises (Cunard is managed by them as well). I invite anyone to take a look on the Princess Cruises website and look at their interiors then look at the Vicky. So many elements carried over it is disappointing.

[1452hp]

I saw this ship in Brisbane Today.

[blkruby07]

i saw this boat in brisbane today

[tairua1]

Smells sweet to me, nothing better.

[scooterbooterscott]

This boat smells bad.. DO NOT USE IT

[jimmyhobbit]

didnt smell bad at all when i was there, maybe your nose is too close to your arse