This review is written by Amy Blume.
January 30th, 2008 saw the maiden Los Angeles arrival of Carnival Corp's new Vista class hull, the 90,000gt Queen Victoria. Sailing under the flag of Cunard Line, I have to admit I have very mixed feelings bout the ship. It is nice that Cunard has a new ship, and I approve of the growing fleet, but as Victoria is displacing my Queen Elizabeth 2, I am disappointed they didn't design something truly unique. The new Victoria looks a lot like the other Vista class ships I've seen, especially the dark-hulled HALs. I approve that they put a more Cunard-like funnel on the ship, whatever that is. It's something which only looks nice from the front. It's squat like that on QM2 but ruined by those horrible pipes. They should have covered those, making the stack taller and more graceful. Also it doesn't help that it's identical to that on the original Queen Victoria, P&O Cruises Arcadia. I really wanted to get excited about a new Cunarder like I had with QM2 but just can't when it's bits of Carnival, HAL and what ended up going to P&O. I also feel the extra decks that were built around the stack sort of choke it, making it look even smaller than it is from the front and sides. The people who were out for her evening departure were very happy to see her, many having come down to see the QM2 in 2006 for the Meeting of the Queens in Long Beach.
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