MS Queen Anne explained

MS Queen Anne (QA) is a Pinnacle class cruise ship operated by Cunard Line, named after Anne, the first monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain. She is currently the second largest ship in Cunard's fleet, after . She sailed from her homeport of Southampton on 3 May 2024 for her maiden voyage, calling at A Coruña and Lisbon. She can carry up to 2,996 passengers.

History

In 2017 Cunard announced the order of the fourth ship in their current fleet[1] [2] and the 249th ship in its history.[3] It was initially announced that the new vessel would be based on the MS Koningsdam, Holland America Line's Pinnacle-class ship.[4] With a gross tonnage of 113,000, the ship would carry up to 3,000 passengers.[5] The delivery was originally planned for 2022,[1] but later the maiden voyage was postponed to January 2024.[6] Later, this was pushed back again, to May 2024.

In June 2019 Cunard announced the design team for the public spaces.[7] Steel cutting began at Fincantieri’s Castellammare di Stabia shipyard on 11 October 2019.[8] [9] The forward stub was transferred to Marghera in August 2022 for completion. On 3 May 2023 the structurally complete ship was floated out of the construction dry dock for the first time.[10]

Media agencies initially speculated whether the ship's name would continue with Cunard's practice of naming them after queens[11] or return to its long-standing convention of giving their vessels names ending in -'ia' like past Cunard ships RMS Aquitania, RMS Berengaria, RMS Caronia and RMS Mauretania.[12] In February 2022, Cunard announced that the ship would be named Queen Anne.[13] Maritime historians Chris Frame and Rachelle Cross[14] were engaged to work with Cunard to name the ship's six grand suites, so named after famous Cunard waterways including: River Mersey, River Clyde, Hudson River, The Solent, Boston Harbor and Halifax Harbour.[15]

The ship's maiden voyage, a 7-night-voyage to Lisbon, began on 3 May 2024 in Southampton.[16] [17] [18] The ship's maiden insights presenters, who hosted presentations as part of the ship's Insights Programme were Yeoman Warder Peter McGowran, Sports Broadcaster Claire Balding and Maritime Historian Chris Frame.[19]

On 3 June 2024 at Liverpool, Queen Anne was christened by Ngunan Adamu, Natalie Haywood, Jayne Casey, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Melanie C. Celebrations lasted from 4pm until ending an hour later at 5pm. The city of Liverpool was also announced to be the godmother of the ship.[20] Cunard broke with their usual traditions by not selecting an individual to name the ship, and in keeping the godparent a secret until the day of the ceremony.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FINCANTIERI TO BUILD A NEXT-GENERATION SHIP FOR CUNARD. Fincantieri. 25 September 2017.
  2. https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/carnival-corporation-build-new-cruise-ship-iconic-cunard-brand Carnival Corporation to Build New Cruise Ship for Iconic Cunard Brand
  3. Web site: Carnival Corporation Intends to Build a New Cruise Ship For Cunard . 25 September 2017 . CruiseBe.com. 26 October 2019.
  4. Web site: What's Next for Cunard's New Ship, Fleet Renovation. Young . Susan J. . 20 November 2017. TravelAgentCentral . 26 October 2019.
  5. Web site: Cunard to launch the biggest cruise ship in its history. Machan . Teresa . 27 September 2017 . UK Telegraph . 26 October 2019.
  6. Web site: Cunard Pushes Back Introduction of New Queen Anne. Cruise Industry News. 9 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20240102151247/https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2022/11/cunard-pushes-back-introduction-of-new-queen-anne/ . 2024-01-02 .
  7. Web site: Cunard announces design team for new ship. 11 June 2019 . 26 October 2019.
  8. . Count down to New Cunard Ship Begins as First Steel is Cut. London/Trieste. Cunard/Fincantieri. October 11, 2019. October 22, 2019.
  9. https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2019/10/steel-cut-for-new-cunard-line-ship/ Steel Cut for New Cunard Line Ship
  10. Web site: One year to go. Cunard.
  11. Web site: Breaking News: Cunard Add Fourth Ship To Fleet On 50th Anniversary Of QE2. 25 September 2017 . 26 October 2019.
  12. Web site: Cruise Industry: Cunard face dilemma in choosing name for fourth ship. 26 September 2017 . 26 October 2019.
  13. Web site: Romanenko. Maria. 8 February 2022. Cunard Announces New Cruise Ship Queen Anne. 19 May 2022. www.cruiseindustrynews.com. en-gb.
  14. Web site: Suite Naming, Queen Anne . 30 Jul 2024. 30 Jul 2024.
  15. Web site: Queen Anne History: Chris Frame's Cunard Page . 5 June 2024. 5 June 2024.
  16. News: Davey . Matt . 3 May 2024 . Queen Anne leaves for maiden voyage with Southampton fireworks display . Southern Daily Echo . 4 May 2024.
  17. Web site: Queen Anne Departs on Maiden Voyage . 2024-05-05 . cruiseindustrynews.com . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2024-05-06 . Queen Anne Departs for Historic Maiden Voyage . 2024-05-05.
  19. News: Frame . Chris . 17 June 2024 . Queen Anne's First Insights Speakers . Chris Frame Official . 17 June 2024.
  20. Web site: Instagram .
  21. News: Frame . Chris . 17 June 2024 . Queen Anne Naming Ceremony: Cunard break with tradition! . Chris Frame Official . 17 June 2024.

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