Thread: Worried about Queen Victoria

I am meant to be cruising on the Queen Victoria to Norway next Tuesday. Has anyone heard whether the damage in Malta really was suferficial and has been fixed, or whether next week's cruise will be cancelled so work can be carried out on the ship? I'm really gutted.

Thanks! theatre girl x

From all the reports I have read, the repairs were made with sheet metal from the dry dock workers in Malta, the damage was above the water line, and they missed the next port, but are underway again, with minor work continuing as they sail!! Looks like no cruises will be cancelled at this point!! Keep in touch with your TA!! Have a wonderful cruise!!

Looks like it's not too bad. Here's an excerpt from an article I read:

The word out of Malta this morning is that Cunard's much-ballyhooed Queen Victoria, the newest ocean liner in the company's fleet, hit a quay this morning as it arrived for its maiden call at the island.

The Times of Malta reports that the 2,014-passenger vessel was pulling up to a berth at Malta's Valletta Waterfront when the ship's throttle failed, resulting in the crash.


Link to full article: Cunard's Queen Victoria crashes into dock in Malta - Cruise Log - USATODAY.com

Here is another one!!

HeadlinesQueen Victoria's crashing entrance into Grand HarbourCunard mulling over suing Maltese port authorities!Queen Victoria leaves the Grand Harbour after overnight repairsmaltastar.com teamThu, 15 May 2008 Cunard cruise ship lines, described as the most famous Ocean liners in the world, is mulling over the idea of taking legal action against Maltese port authorities after Wednesday’s incident, when the luxurious Queen Victoria hit the quay along the Valletta Waterfront.

On her first of six stop-overs in Malta scheduled for this year, the Queen Victoria got a bloody nose (on the stern) when it bumped into the quay in a mooring manoeuvre.

The £300 million luxury liner left Valletta harbour early on Thursday morning after repairs on the ship’s dented stern were made overnight.

A spokesperson for Cunard ships told maltastar.com that it is “too early to say whether we will be taking any legal steps while the investigations are still taking place.”

Sources explained that there is a high possibility that the shipping line will be taking legal action against local port authorities. The reason is because the ship was being piloted by a Maltese captain. Port regulations stipulate that large ships – over 500 gross tonnage – are piloted by a Maltese pilot provided by local Port Authorities.

Yet, local authorities are insisting that the ship developed a mechanical failure and hit the quay. The unofficial reason for the incident is in fact that the 90,000 tonnes liner’s throttles got stuck while manoeuvring in the port and the ship kept moving towards the quay until it hit it.


Wednesday’s incident totted up the number of bad luck incidents to the Queen Victoria to 3 in the first 6 months of sailing.

The captain, local agents Thomas C. Smith and crew did not lie back and think of England, so to speak. Local shipping industry and port authority workers told us that in no time at all the Malta Dry Docks surveyors were summoned to do a thorough damage assessment and technical survey.

Ship-chandlers were called in, we were told by suppliers, to acquire sufficient extra steel sheets and iron bars to augment the emergency supplies on board.

Malta Dry Docks personnel did the necessary repairs to make 100% sure the ship will be able to make next port with no worries. On board technicians will carry on working round the clock to secure the safety factor to 1,000% a local ship agent told us.

Meanwhile, the passengers were given extra time ashore although they were welcome to use the ship's hotel and catering facilities as usual.

Thanks for your replies. I think they have made the Queen Victoria secure until she returns to Southampton on Tuesday but it sounds like she has been patched up rather than repaired. We booked this cruise over a year ago and can't believe our bad luck that she was damaged 6 days before our cruise. It is so difficult to find out any information.

theatre girl x

If you booked with a TA any information released would go there who would pass it on to you, if you booked with the cruiseline they would be the one to talk to, but if a cancel were needed, they would already know it!!

Do you think so Sue? We are unsure how long we have to wait to find out whether the cruise has been cancelled. I am still getting ready but the more I prepare this weekend I think the more disappointed I will be. I hope they don't cancel on Monday at the 11th hour! Sorry, I am so fed up today, we have looked forward to this for a year. There is no statement on Cunard site even to say - don't worry folks, the cruise schedule is unaltered!

theatre girl x

Yes I do, If it was not seaworthy the ship would still be in port!! It may not be perfect but it was patched with sheetmetal above the waterline! The one port stop was cancelled for the repair to be finished. If they want to paint over the repairs, they can do that on a port day and wait for a dry dock to make it perfect!! I understand how you feel, we all would be, but she is sailing and that is great news

Absolutely do check with your TA if you are using one. They are very good about staying on top of things like thise. And if there were to be any adjustment to the sailing schedule, the cruiseline would notify them directly.

Is you booked directly with Cunard, you should probably think about giving them a call to put your mind at east.

Thank you Sue and Canary Moon, your replies have been a great comfort to me. I have just phoned my TA and also Cunard - no plans to cancel the cruise (as yet). So I guess I have to think that no news is good news and keep preparing. My TA said we would be given sufficient notice if the cruise was going to be cancelled. We don't mind if the cruise starts late or we miss a port etc, etc, we just don't want the whole cruise cancelled.

theatre girl x