New "enhanced" QUEEN VICTORIA ordered for 2007 delivery!!

Cunard Orders New Luxury Liner, to be Named Queen Victoria, for Delivery in Early 2007

Monday April 5, 8:50 am ET

Current Queen Victoria Under Construction is Transferred to P&O Cruises

MIAMI, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Cunard Line announced today that it has placed an order for a new, luxury ocean liner, to be named Queen Victoria, and has transferred the Queen Victoria currently under construction in Italy to its sister line, P&O Cruises. The new 85,000-ton, Panamax vessel will accommodate some 1,850 passengers and will enter service in January 2007. She will be built by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA, at its Marghera (Italy) shipyard, and is expected to have an all-in cost of approximately EUR 390 million.

The tremendous success of Queen Mary 2, particularly the demand for its suites and junior suites, has prompted Cunard Line to make these changes to its plans. "The design of the new Queen Victoria will be more consistent with the grand ocean liner style of Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2," explained Pamela Conover, Cunard's president. "It is clear that the traditional elegance of Cunard has broad appeal among discerning travellers worldwide, and we want to be sure that our new ship has all the luxurious Cunard attributes our clients expect."

In addition to increasing the number of suite and mini-suite accommodations, the enhancements will focus on providing passengers with Cunard's classic culinary experience in a variety of dining venues. The ship will feature a Queens Grill and Princess Grill, an impressive two-storey Aquitania Restaurant, as well as alternative dining options, including a Todd English restaurant. Other Cunard hallmark facilities will include a grand ballroom, an authentic British pub, and a classic library.

For more information contact 1-800-7-CUNARD or visit our website at www.cunard.com.

Cunard Line has operated the most famous ocean liners in the world since 1840. Its vessels have a classic British heritage and include Queen Mary 2, QE2 and Caronia. Cunard is a proud member of World's Leading Cruise Lines, an exclusive alliance that also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises, Windstar Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. Sharing a passion to please each guest, and a commitment to quality and value, member lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. Together they offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.

So it seems like QE2 should be in service until at least 2007 and the new ocean liner QUEEN VICTORIA will take over the world cruises.

Well this is good news.

Oh well, looks like this will be another Vista-class after all. Somewhat disappointing but hopefully the new QV will at least be a more authentic QUEEN rather than a glossed over ZUIDERDAM.